The New Civilization Based on Islamic Rationality

Dr. Muhammad Javad Larijani
translated by Dr. Muhammad Legenhausen
In the second half of the twentieth century, mankind was granted two precious gifts by the grace of the blessed existence of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified): one is the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran as an example of Islamic government, and the other is the great movement for the revival of Islam among the Muslims of the world. These two great blessings cannot be fathomed unless we look at them in a broader light, and in this area undoubtedly the most excellent place to begin is with the expression "new civilization", introduced with pedagogical astuteness by the Office of Leadership of the Revolution, [Ayatullah Khamene'i]. Today we sense an urgent need in the intellectual world: on the one hand this need is for the clarification to the world of the rational basis of our statements, and on the other hand, it is a need for the advancement and development of the substance of the Islamic system in Iran.
The essay which is presented to you here is really an exposi- tory essay, and every section and conclusion of it has detailed proofs which are provided in various works pertaining to them. Here they are summarized in order to attract the attention of political thinkers and to be placed at the service of the society, God willing.
1. What things build civilizations and distinguish them from one another? Without a doubt, this is the most important question researchers in the field of the study of civilizations must endeavor to answer throughout their investigations. Some satisfy themselves with a simple (or even simplistic) answer. Among these is the claim that civilization is the collection of the common beliefs and behaviors along with manners and customs! This answer does not clear up anything. The correct answer is that civilizations come into existence with the popularization of rationality; with changes in rationality, civilizations change, and with the degeneration of rationality, civilizations decline. We will call the popular rationality the "rational atmosphere". Therefore, we are faced with two important questions: prior to its popularization, what is the structure of rationality, and second, under what conditions is it possible for a rationality to be popularized?
2. Now we must ask, what is the substance of rationality? Rationality is the basis for action and its evaluation. Man is an existent that acts, and agency, that is, that which produces voluntary action in man, and among the voluntary activities of man the basis for the entire art of being human becomes manifest! Rationality provides the answer to the exceptionally important question, "What is to be done?", whether at a general level or in particular situations in which actions are produced. The voluntary action has three important pillars:
The first pillar. The first pillar is the image the agent has of his situation. This situation is the part of the external world related to the agent and the action he is on the threshold of performing. Obviously, this pillar approaches perfection to the extent that the image comes close to reality, and this is to be achieved by rationality.
The second pillar. The second pillar is the formation of an image of the intended situation, that is, from an ocean of possibili- ties, the agent selects one as the "object of desire". Rationality justifies this choice.
The third pillar. This is the program of execution, that is, in order to realize the desired situation in view of the available possibilities, conditions and standards, the agent selects a "way". Rationality provides a degree of guidance toward the goal as an instrument for finding the best possibility and keeping within the limits of legitimate action. Note that rationality is thoroughly involved in action and is not merely something extra appended to action.
3. Profound and rare thoughts. Inquiries into the roots of the problem of rationality have been made, and its foundations have been constructed, however, when rationality is popularized, this does not mean that all the details about its roots are repeated. Popularization means that the people of a society (or community) gradually come to accept a rationality and their practice settles on that foundation. In that case, that rationality becomes the foundation of "action", and it will be used for the evaluation of relevant social structures. Most important of all, "civilization" is obtained through social practice, and therefore, the manifestations of civilization are based on (popularized) rationality through and through, and are justified by it. It is noteworthy that commerce among civilizations—influences exerted and received, coexisting or in conflict—is also based on their accepted rationality. Commerce among the nations and governments of civilizations must never be misconstrued as the substance of the dealings among civilizations. Nations or governments can have various sorts of commerce with one another, but it is only when this commerce can be related to their civilizations that relations to the relevant rationality can be justified. Of course, the distance from the ideal type (paradigm of rationality) itself is an influential element on practice which must be taken into consideration in its own right.
On the other hand, the popular acceptance of a rationality is also related to social conditions, psychological factors and, of course, (actual) philosophical perceptions. For example, it is natural that people will be driven by the bullying of the officials of the Church to a point of crisis against the bullying and against the acceptance of the teachings of the Church, that is, if you accuse these Church officials of incorrect views and in addition accuse them of adultery, wine drinking and worldliness, and the Church officials are said to be even worse than they are, the people will accept the entire "package". The reverse of this situation is also possible: if in a liberal and democratic society there is an increase in rioting and disorder, and corruption and lack of all restraint become extreme, the disillusioned people will be ready to accept a dictator who aside from creating order imposes dozens of other measures!
4. The Age of Modernity, in which the current civilization in Europe and America is garbed. A certain kind of "rationality" can be defined which may be called "liberal rationality" or "technical rationality". The answer of tins rationality to the question, "What is to be done?", may be summarized in terms of the following main points:
(A.) The question, "What is to be done?", must be separated from the problem of the roots and meaning of Being. The lack of agreement resulting from metaphysical inquiries shows that finding the roots of existence is a problem destined to lead nowhere, and it would be better for us to assume that man is just another species of living thing having special abilities, just as every species has its own special abilities.
(B.) It would be best if everyone could do whatever one wanted! Perfect freedom of action! For under these conditions it is more likely that every alleged good and perfection will become manifest. However, it is not possible for there to be such freedom, because people will immediately violate each other's interests, and thus, governments have been devised so that the limits on the free- dom of individuals will allow for the widest possible range of freedom, guaranteed, of course, to be without prejudice or distinc- tion. Hence, the responsibility of government is merely "security", that is, the protection of safety in all its dimensions. Laws are to be understood as defining the limits of individual freedom. Government has no responsibility to admonish or advise, and no responsibility for guidance.
(C.) Within the scope of legal freedom, an individual, or any sort of agent, must act so as to "maximize benefits", and this is the only rationally defensible standard for the basis of action. But what is "benefit"? This is determined by the kind of action in question.
In economic activities, "benefit" is profit obtained through the investment of capital, and this profit is created through exchange and is the product of a sustained rational planned effort whose strength derives from hard work, and is basically measured by "capital", (Max Weber).
In political activities, "benefit" is an expression for the ac- quisition of political power primarily through democratic means and without resort to force. In individual activities, "benefit" is an expression for the acquisition of the most "pleasure" and the least "pain", (Bentham). Hence what one does to obtain pleasure through the satisfaction of one's own lusts is just as rational as what one does to obtain pleas- ure through the worship of one's Creator! Of course, the activities of these individuals may at the same time be non-economic and non-political (as regards to "benefit")!
5. Liberal rationality has some necessary results that, if not obvious at the beginning of its vogue, today, at the end of the twentieth century, they have become "transparent" for us.
First, the appearance of capitalism and the progress and devel- opment created by it in the economic realm is the first important result of liberal rationality. Take for example "trade". Trade took place for thousands of years, but liberal rationality completely changed the ancient customs which were current.
• "Continuity" became the reason why modern business turned from taking account of the benefits of the transportation of a single consignment of goods to obtaining permanent and reliable markets.
• "Exchange" came to mean the prevention capital stagnation and the necessity for continuous stimulation of capital.
• Rational planning brought about the employment of the most advanced and efficient methods for information acquisition and transfer, and for financial prediction. Progress in the founding of institutions of science and technology, instead of the pursuit of mystic love or amateur science, all were creations of this very system, for science and technology play a definite role in determining the efficiency of the capitalistic system. Scholars are naturally drawn to areas of research in fields which have "validity" and for which facilities are provided.
Second, in the political realm, the system of liberal democracy appeared in which "representation" plays a major role, constitu- tionals based on the social contract became established, and "freedom of speech" and "tolerance" became required dogmas. The only limits on these will be "security". Even heeding public morals is to be understood in these terms, for heedlessness of them sows discord, and discord brings insecurity.
Freedom of the activities of political parties, parliament and the like are all results of liberal rationality in the field of politics. The ability to climb the ladder of power without the use of force and to pull others down by non-violent means, all are necessary products of the liberal intellect.
Third, in individual life the lack of constraint of carnal desires, the loss of importance of the family, all different sorts of adornment and clothing and the like are all results of the liberal intellect according to whose rationality "hedonism" has a kind of official acceptance.
The civilization today of the West which is mainly established in Europe and America, is a civilization which is the product of liberal rationality, and all its characteristics may be explained in relation to this source. On the other band, liberal rationality was not officially announced and put into practice by a mere handful of individuals; rather, the sources of its viewpoint were the subject of investigation and propagation over the course of at least four centuries by philosophers, scholars and writers, and it is in this gradual way that it "has been propagated among the people until it came to take the form of a generally acceptable intellectual atmosphere, and by the second half of the twentieth century it came into dominance throughout Europe, America, Canada and a few other countries. Nevertheless, we have also witnessed manifestations of another rationality in the twentieth century, the rationality of dialectical materialism or the rationality of communism, which appeared very rapidly, became official, was imposed, and by the end of the century, was abolished. What I mean is that it has lost general acceptance, and that its political, economic and cultural institutions have also disintegrated. However, liberal rationality is deeply rooted in the thinking of Western people and has developed with a more natural graduals. Of course, this does not mean that it is not capable of dissolution or overthrow.
Another point is that the transformation to "Post modernism" can also be better understood with the help of the concept of rationality. It has now been about two decades that progressive thinkers in the West have come to consider the sources of modern rationality to be a matter of doubt, and they have begun to move in the direction of a new rationality. It is natural for us to predict that if this new rationality takes hold everywhere, then in those countries we will witness the emergence of a new civilization. This postmodern civilization can be constructed upon the ruins of modern civilization, or it may emerge from the very heart of modern civilization, without following any process of destruction. My prediction is the second alternative. Of course, postmodern rationality is still at a very rudimentary stage, but the period of its own gestation it taking place at present, both with respect to theory and public acceptance.
6. In the second half of the twentieth century we are also witnessing the appearance of another new rationality in the Islamic world. The primary stages of this rationality have received public acceptance in Iran, and it has thrown forth a wave of such great magnitude that it has led to the birth of a special system of gov- ernment (Islamic government), and its waves are moving forward powerfully through other Islamic countries. Of course, we are still in the initial stages of its theoretical generation, and simultaneously, in the initial stages of the spread of the public acceptance of this rationality in the Islamic world. If this rationality continues to perfect itself, without any doubt, a "new civilization" will offer itself to the world. We may say that this civilization, with regard to its affinity to Islam, will reach levels of strength greater than that reached by anything remembered in history that has gone by the name of Islamic civilization. For that civilization, after its beginning in the time of the life of the Noble Prophet (S.A.W.) quickly went in another direction. The important question is whether or not that which appeared in the Abbasid period and that of the sultans of Iran, for example, in government, philosophy and other areas of learning, were products of the atmosphere of Islamic rationality presented by the Noble Prophet (S.A.W.). If we believe that there was a discrepancy between this and the atmosphere of rationality of Islam, we can expect the blossoming of a new civilization, a purer civilization! This is a great challenge! The way is not easy! Hereafter a view is needed that will offer the necessary theoretical constructions for the profound thoughts of the Islamic ummah, their gradual correction and reform, and eventual popular acceptance. Hereafter we have an even more important challenge in history (social achievement): we are living in an incipient era following the triumph of liberal rationality and its complete conquest of the world. Hence, all the facilities in the hands of the West and these facilities are very broad ranging, powerful and influential are overwhelming the thoughts of humanity. Children are not only subject to the overwhelming waves of liberal rationality from birth, for now genetic adjustments to the embryo and fetus are preparing the ground for influences prior to birth! The important question is whether man is at all able to listen to anything else! Does he have the opportunity to come face to face with any other rationality? In the present generation Islamic rationality must be on guard under these conditions to insure the public acceptability of its goods. If the last decade was unsuccessful, we certainly believed that what is done is done. But in Bahman 1357 (January 1979) a great miracle occurred. It became obvious that the dreadful waves of Western darkness were ripped apart and cast behind by the alchemy of truth and the light of its influence. It must not be imagined that Islamic civilization is limited to the Islamic world, for in the West, too, for it also will be a gift for the post- modern age.
7. Now we expound upon the sources of Islamic rationality, explaining in summary the principles stated below:
(A.) All existents are creatures of Almighty God, and were created for a specific purpose; this includes man, although man is more noble than the other creatures. During the life of this world, man must do his "duty" in order to become felicitous. Doing one's duty pleases God and wins nearness to Him, and this is felicity.
In order to aquatint His servants with their duties and the way, God, the Exalted, has sent the prophets to teach the signs of the way.
(B.) Under all circumstances, man has duties; and the further the distance between his works and his true duties, the further back he falls.
The first product of Islamic rationality is a recognition of duty in all circumstances, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), hadith (narrations attributed to the Prophet (S.A.W.), sunnah (the customs of the Prophet (S.A.W.), tafsir (the exegesis of the Glorious Qur'an), etc., are all streams pouring into the sea of rationality.
(C.) After determining duties, the best course of action to carry them out must be discovered in the atmosphere of Islamic rationality. "The best" means "the most efficient" course having Islamic legitimacy! At this level the latest scientific findings and technology are to be employed, although the legitimacy of each course must also be made clear. Of course, in order to be successful, the utmost effort is required, but action in accordance with duty is primary. We are not responsible for results; we have to know what our duty is and make our best effort to follow the best course in order to perform our duties. The rest is in the hands of God, the Glorious.
(D.) Just as has been indicated, "duty" is a key concept of Islamic rationality, and is not confined to individual life. Among the most important duties of Muslims is the establishment of religion, and this cannot be completed except by establishing a government based on Islamic rationality. That is, if an Islamically legitimate government has not been set up, an important duty is the attempt to establish one; and if one has been set up, effort to assist it (assumption of responsibility) is the most important duty. In Islamic rationality the legitimacy of government itself is built on the foundations of wilayat-e faqih (guardianship of the jurist), and efficiency is according to the best existing method.
(E.) In individual life, too, individual action must be based on the performance of duty. On the one hand, Islamic law provides clear limits; on the other hand, the effort to perform one's duty is a constant effort, and is stimulated to excellence as a sort of race.
(F.) The determination of "duty" must have rational sources; hence, "refer to the religious scholar (alim)", which is the most rational method, becomes fundamental. This "referring" has specific branches in various areas, and only some cases require that one exercise ijtihad (personal effort to determine a religious ruling) and only in those cases is taqlid (the duty to imitate a religious authority) dormant. The role of the religious scholar in raising the consciousness of the people about their duties goes beyond the mere explanation of precepts. Likewise, from this it may be concluded that the role and importance of the 'ulama in human life (in the atmosphere of Islamic rationality) is not the purpose for the authority of one specific institution (as the Church is one institution), rather, it is a completely rational channel, and that is for the people to "refer to the 'alim".
8. In order to show the extent to which the subjects explained regarding Islamic rationality are effective in practice (individual/social), we review their effects regarding various pillars of voluntary action.
(A.) The first pillar of voluntary action is the real situation which is the cradle of action. What kind of image can man have of the real situation? The most natural and primary level is the mate- rial/social environment, which may be called the "ecology of action". For liberal rationality, this amount is sufficient, and going beyond this has no justification. However, the situation is entirely different with Islamic rationality: the agent looks at himself and sees himself as a servant of God, the Almighty, Omnipotent and Sovereign, Who has perfect sovereignty over him and over the whole world and is also caring and the most compassionate and most merciful refuge, and he sees that God bolsters him and is his best helping friend. Then there are possibilities which are only a part of divine blessings which God, the Exalted, places in the hands of the agent. Hence, the individual in the atmosphere of Islamic rationality knows no end to the possibilities in his ecology of action, rather the ramifications of the situation are expanded according to the will of God, the Supreme. On the other hand, in addition to the need to know the conditions of his situation, the agent must also understand his situation in terms of his specific duties, for he holds the belief that in all situations he is with in the Divine purview and that he is being examined and that the per- formance of duty is the only way to succeed in this examination.
(B.) The effects of Islamic rationality on the second and third pillars of voluntary action are obvious. First, the ultimate aim is determined: obtaining the pleasure of God! And this is unfeasible except through the performance of duty. Second, the most effective way to reach one's goals must be chosen. At this point the role of the sciences and technology is perfectly clear: it is with the help of the latest scientific and technical progress that one may find the closest and most appropriate way to reach a goal. Third, in the course of attaining an aim, we cannot simply take the shortest route, for the route must also be in accord with Islamic law! Islamic rationality determines practical limits for reaching the aim. Fourth, the agent always must understand himself to be in a race, so a lack of self-motivation is itself contrary to duty!
9. The Islamic Community and Government. Really, this is the most important conclusion obtained by Islamic rationality at the social level. The Islamic community is a community ruled by Islamic rationality in individual and social movement. Regarding this topic, some important results have been obtained:
(A.) The establishment of the community, that is, the institu- tionalization of interdependent human association, even if not natural or a matter of expedience, is certainly a duty! Islamic rationality takes us from an individual life and authorizes civil association.
(B.) The exalted government is one which associates agents in community. Islamic rationality speaks about the basis of the legitimacy of government and also about its efficiency. The criterion for the basis of legitimacy is "the proper conditions for the performance of duty", hence, wilayat-e faqih is precisely the expression of this issue, and in the designs of a the institutional agent of a nation (government) duty demands the course of greatest efficiency. One of the products of this requirement is that the people should actively participate in politics. Hence, functional democracy is one of the obvious conclusions of Islamic rationality.
(C.) What are the limits of the government's jurisdiction and the scope of its activities? In Islamic rationality government, like individuals, has duties. The way to determine its duties and actions is explained in terms of the scale of efficiency of the system. What has been discovered toward the end of the twentieth century in this area is that the smaller a government is and the more the people are in charge of its affairs, the better. Therefore, on the basis of this scientific discovery (in political science) government should stand aside from major activities and merely offer guidance and advice. In my opinion, this is the most modern sort of thinking about government! For there should be a constant readiness to employ the scientific conclusions of man.
(D.) The Islamic Intellect and Tolerance. Absolute tolerance is a conclusion of liberal rationality created by heretical thought and responsibility. Of course, due to exigencies, liberal governments have placed numerous restrictions on tolerance, the most important of which are "security" and "public mores". In Islamic rationality, whether with regard to the behavior of an individual toward others or with regard to the behavior of the government, absolute tolerance is rejected. We comment in summary form on this topic as it pertains to government.
• The tolerance of government is relative to public sensibili- ties; just as the government has responsibility for security and the bodily health of the people, with regard to the prevention of the growth of thoughts opposed to Islam it is also responsible. If the people themselves are sufficiently sensitive toward behavior and speech against the Truth, then in that case there will be no need for the government to get involved. However, anywhere this sensitivity is deficient, the government will become involved. This is based on increasing sensitivity to the extent necessary, and it is self-evident that until that point is reached, there will be interdiction.
• Tolerance is also in a certain way necessary, and in this category there are three important areas to be mentioned:
First Area: Tolerance in the evaluation and criticism of the work of those responsible and officials at every level;
Second Area: Tolerance in the pattern of the various understandings of religion, for at first this must be undertaken by specialized assemblies, and if the understandings are equivalent to one another with respect to the strength of their proofs, there will be room for expansion among the common people.
Third Area: Tolerance for themes taken from non-Islamic rationality, but which, at least, do not appear to be anti-Islamic. This aspect is extremely necessary for dealings among civilizations.
(E.) Freedom of speech is another subject which must be made clear in Islamic rationality. In the liberal mind, theoretically there must be absolute tolerance, and hence, just as is stated in the Declaration of Human Rights, every person is free to change his or her religion, to propagate a new religion, etc.. In practice, liberal governments have limited these affairs to cases in which there is no conflict with the security of the system and public mores. For example, in France, Muslim girls are prohibited from wearing scarves in school. In order to justify this opinion, Mr. Pasqua, the Minister of the Interior during the time of Mitterrand, announced that this is a movement which propagates ideas that if allowed to continue to grow would threaten the essence of the secular government, and the government of France senses that there are grounds for this growth! In Islamic rationality, the "expression of beliefs", like every other action, may be correct or incorrect. The expression of beliefs, if favorable to the establishment of Islam, is good, and if opposed to it, is bad.
Hence, if the sensitivity of the people is at a level such that the people easily recognize the invalidity of incorrect beliefs, in that case there is no need for government interference; however, in other cases the government has the duty to prevent the expression of incorrect beliefs. Likewise, the facilities of the bayt al-mal (Islamic treasury), such as radio, government television, government newspapers, and.even the facilities of government universities cannot be placed at the service of the propagation of views opposed to Islam.
(F.) The role of the religious 'ulama' in Islamic rationality is also a matter that must be determined on the basis of rationality: in order to determine their duties, the people and the government must resort to the 'ulama '! Of course, for the sake of efficiency it is necessary for there to be some mechanism to prevent misunder- standings. The role of the 'ulama ' is not that of one foundation placed on top of another, but rather it must be included in a natural manner in the Islamic community.

Conclusion:
Islamic civilization will not come into existence without the popularization of Islamic rationality. Hence, today it is the duty of the Muslim intelligentsia, on the one hand, to do research on Islamic rationality relying on the teachings of Islamic jurisprudence and its principles (fiqh and usul), and likewise to employ the findings of our 'ulama in philosophy, 'irfan (gnosis), hadith, etc., and the learning in various fields achieved by man today to discover the essence of Islamic rationality, its divisions and principles, and on the other hand, to explain this knowledge to such an extent that its sources and principles can be applied in practice by the public.