Mantaqat al-Faragh
Manṭaqat al-farāgh (Arabic: منطقةُ الفَراغ) (lit. blank area) refers to a theory in Shia jurisprudence which suggests that there is an area without any corresponding religious rulings. This theory was proposed by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (d. 1400/1980) in Iqtisadu-na. According to this theory, religion allows the Islamic ruler to consider some regulations and set out rules in some social issues, based on the needs of the time.
It is said that this theory had roots in the ideas of jurists before al-Sadr, especially Muhammad Husayn Na'ini.
The Theory and Its Developer
Mantaqat al-faragh refers to an area in religion without any corresponding religious rulings. According to the theory of mantaqat al-faragh, in some social issues, religion has not issued any ruling and has allowed the Islamic ruler to set out rules based on the needs of the time.[1]
This theory was proposed by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, the contemporary Shia thinker and jurist in Iqtisadu-na.[2] He wrote and proposed theories in jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, philosophy and economics.[3]
Explanation of the Theory
In his Iqtisadu-na, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr divided the economic school of Islam into two areas:
- One area, wherein Islam has set out specific rules and there are no changes in them.
- Another area, where the task of legislating the law is entrusted to the Islamic government; and the Islamic ruler should set out rules based on the needs of the time.[4] Al-Sadr called this area “mantaqat al-faragh” and said that the Prophet (s) used it as well and set out some rules as the ruler of the society (not as the Prophet (s)). In his opinion, this type of the Prophet’s (s) regulation was neither permanent, nor a permanent element of the economic school of Islam.[5]
Importance of the Existence of Mantaqat al-Faragh
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr emphasized on the importance of the existence of mantaqat al-faragh in Islam. In Iqtisadu-na, he wrote, “a complete evaluation of the economic school of Islam without considering mantaqat al-faragh is not possible.” In his view, disregarding the area without religious rulings is disregarding an important element of the economic school of Islam.[6]
Sayyid Kazim Ha'iri, a student of al-Sadr, considered economic developments in different times and places and comprehensiveness of Islamic rules as the bases for al-Sadr’s argument in defending this theory. He wrote that due to advances in technology, the relation between human and nature changes over time. Since Islam has to propose solutions in correspondence with them, there should be a mantaqat al-faragh, where the Islamic ruler can set out rules based on Islamic economic goals.[7]
Background
Proposing the theory of mantaqat al-faragh and defending it was an innovation of Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. However, some believe that the background of this theory existed previously in the thoughts of Muslim scholars. They compared it with the theory of Masalih al-Mursala in Sunni jurisprudence.[8]
They say that in the writings of some Shia jurists, such as al-Shaykh al-Ansari, there are some clues of the theory of mantaqat al-faragh.[9] But, more than anyone, Muhammad Husayn Na'ini mentioned many of the elements of the theory of mantaqat al-faragh in his views. In Tanbih al-umma wa tanzih al-milla, he spoke about religious rulings about which, there is no specific verses or hadiths available. He wrote, “during the Occultation, setting out corresponding rules is upon the jurists.”[10]
Criticisms
The theory of mantaqat al-faragh has been discussed in scholarly works and different defenses and criticisms have been mentioned about it. Some scholars have said that this theory mentions important points about hadiths regarding or disregarding government; but, it does not suggest any criteria for distinguishing them from each other.[11] Some have also criticized this view of al-Sadr that mantaqat al-faragh addresses non-obligatory rules in religion and said that if the existence of mantaqat al-faragh is proved in religion, there would be no reason for restricting it to non-obligatory rules.[12]
Another criticism has been the claim of disagreement of this theory with verses and hadiths implying the perfection and comprehensiveness of Islam.[13] However, al-Sadr has been aware of this question and answered that the existence of an area void of religious rulings is not considered an imperfection or negligence in legislation; since, religion has not left this area without care, but rather, it has allowed the Islamic ruler to set out rules for it according to every situation and different needs. Thus, this theory shows the power of religion in compatibility with different situations.[14]
Notes
- ↑ Ṣadr, Iqtiṣādu-nā, p. 443.
- ↑ Ṣadr, Iqtiṣādu-nā, p. 443.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī, "Bāzshināsī, Taḥlīl wa naqd-i nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh", p. 90.
- ↑ Ṣadr, Iqtiṣādu-nā, p. 443.
- ↑ Ṣadr, Iqtiṣādu-nā, p. 444.
- ↑ Ṣadr, Iqtiṣādu-nā, p. 444.
- ↑ Ḥāʾirī, "Iqtiṣād-i Islāmī wa rawish-i kashf-i ān az dīdgāh-i shahīd Ṣadr raḥimah-u Allāh", p. 29.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī, "Bāzshināsī, Taḥlīl wa naqd-i nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh", p. 91.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī, "Bāzshināsī, Taḥlīl wa naqd-i nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh", p. 92.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī, "Bāzshināsī, Taḥlīl wa naqd-i nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh", p. 92.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī, "Bāzshināsī, Taḥlīl wa naqd-i nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh", p. 96.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī, "Bāzshināsī, Taḥlīl wa naqd-i nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh", p. 94.
- ↑ Qāʾidī, "Taḥlīl wa arzyābī-yi naqd-hā-yi mawjūd bar nazarīyya-yi manṭaqat al-Farāgh-i shahīd Ṣadr", p. 148.
- ↑ Ṣadr, Iqtiṣādu-nā, p. 803-804.
References
- Ḥāʾirī, Kāzim. "Iqtiṣād-i Islāmī wa rawish-i kashf-i ān az dīdgāh-i shahīd Ṣadr raḥimah-u Allāh". Translated by AḥmadʿAlī Yūsufī. Iqtiṣād-i Islāmī 1. (1380 Sh).
- Ḥusaynī, Sayyid ʿAlī. "BBāzshināsī, Taḥlīl wa naqd-i nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh". Andīsha-yi Sādiq 6 and 7. (1381 Sh).
- Qāʾidī, ʿAbd al-Majīd. "Taḥlīl wa arzyābī-yi naqd-hā-yi mawjūd bar nazarīyya-yi Manṭaqat al-Farāgh-i shahīd Ṣadr". Ḥikmat-i Islāmī 70. (1392 Sh).
- Ṣadr, Sayyid Muḥammad Bāqir. Iqtiṣādu-nā. Edited by al-Muʾtamar al-ʿālamī li-l-imām al-shahīd al-Ṣadr. Qom: Pazhūhishgāh-i ʿilmī Takhaṣṣuṣī-yi shahīd Ṣadr, 1424 AH.