Khilafah as an ethico-spiritual existential purpose: al-Raghib al-Isfahani's theory of human vicegerency | 🧵
Read time - 15 minutes approximately.

Introduction -
Khilafah has always been a central concept of Islamic theology particularly gaining momentum in its political imaginations in the 20th century. Its current popular understanding holds it to be restrictively synonymous with exclusive political sovereignty in dunya. The current essay however sheds light on an alternative perspective on khilafah, as an existential ethico-spiritual condition rather than an activity of political domination and subjugation - exploring the theories of the concept independent of its modern articulations within the nation-state paradigm. Al-Raghib al-Isfahani's (rh) conceptualisation of human vicegerency would be our pivot idea here alongside a few other pre-modern and contemporary thinkers of the Islamic tradition.

Al Raghib al-Isfahani's Cosmology -
Little is known about al-Isfahani's personal life and biographical details, his scholarly footprint however can be traced from his immense impact on al-Ghazali's thought - he openly confessed to be inspired by his writings and as both the thinkers are analysed it becomes more than apparent how influential al-Isfahani's writings were on abu-hamid.
Al-Raghib al-Isfahani can be said to belong to the same intellectual family of philosophers such as al-Tawhidi & Miskawayh - his cosmology was therefore influenced by the inherited philosophical paradigm of neo-platonism but departed from the ideas of ikhwan-as-safaa and the falasifa due to his strong adherence to quranic themes of willing creation and a transcendent yet personal God rather than necessary-emanationism. The general neo-platonic hierarchy of existence (universal intellect - tablet - material existence etc) was accepted by al-Isfahani alongside the macrocosm - microcosm interdependent dichotomy of man and the universe. Man is placed therefore in his cosmological order as (ideally) a united culmination of the values, ideals and attributes of the universe, where the universe itself is the fragmented manifestation of the attributes and qualities of God. With such a cosmological dynamic between God, universe and man, al-Isfahani's proto-akbarian theory presents man's ontological role to be necessarily linked with that of the universe since both are manifestations of the same ultimate ontology - God. Man's understanding of the universe and therefore God is henceforth dependent on his understanding of his self and vice versa - and this understanding, cognition or knowledge of his is man's prime mode of self-actualisation since the self can only be actualised when it grasps the inter-connected hierarchy of existence (as bestowed through the attributes of God) through which its essence is derived. Knowledge of the self here, leads to spiritual ascendancy, for just as one unravels their self and achieves intimacy with their soul by knowing more about it, they achieve closeness (qurb) with God since their self is a manifestation of God's attributes, and their cognition of their self thus is the closest they can get to a cognition of God i.e. pure being, absolute existence & ultimate goodness. How exactly does this process of spiritual cognition and ascendency of the self unfold is tied to his theory of human vicegerency (khilafah).
Important to note that unlike the Akbarian school, al-Isfahani doesn't hold God, universe and man to belong to a single ontological field but rather affirms a fundamental ontological distinction between the creation and the created regardless of their interconnection through the attributes and their manifestations (not being) in the creation.

Vicegerency in Modern Thought -
in 21st century, muslim readers of political theology are majorly informed of the concept of vicegerency through the islamic political scientists of the previous century like syed abul ala mawdudi, dr. israr ahmed & syed qutb (rh) who developed their theories during the eve of the colonial age and under the paradigm of the modern nation-state governing structures. their interpretation of khilafah revolves particularly around its application as political sovereignty (hakimiyyah) through subjugating all man-made theories of social governance and society in general to the spirit of shariah. their language and patterns of thought around the idea of vicegerency forcefully follow patterns of nation-state paradigm naturally due to the age of their intellectual operations running parallel to the age of governance through the logic of nation state - therefore khilafah couldn't be idealised but through the methodology of political dominance and legal sovereignty for them. to fulfill the role of god's deputy on earth, the humankind has to establish the law of god by means of political authority - since the establishment of any legal authority in the nation-state model is essentially dependent on capturing the state apparatus, the actualisation of khilafah had to either battle the state apparatus or grab a complete hold of it for its fulfilment - at least that's the way to look at the "islamist" theory of vicegerency from its concluding conception. however devising a political model even in the ideologically hegemonic context of nation-state paradigm, can't take away from the essentially islamic nature of khilafah and its interconnectedness with the whole quranic ethico-spiritual fabric of ideals, thus even the "islamist" political-theologians (mawdudi, qutb) had to ground their theories of political sovereignty ultimately in ethico-spiritual communal consciousness for it to make sense in the quranic procedural chronology of cultivating socio-political revolution (caliphate of man, andrew march). the "islamist" theories of human vicegerency consequently although appear to work through the topdown logics of revolution & dominance, at their core subtly carry meanings similar (yet beyond) to al-raghib al-isfahani's ethico-spiritual state of being, as presented below. mulana mawdudi was never ignorant of the quranic pragmatic necessity of the bottom-up methodology based on communal ethos of tazkiyah that ultimately depended upon reformation (islah) at the individual level.

Vicegerency as a function of ethico-spiritual existence. 1/3
al-isfahani unlike mawdudi developed his theories of human vicegerency completely independent of the modern nation-state operations of sovereignty, for him just like his spiritual predecessors and successors, hassan al-basri, jarir at-tabari, miskawayh, & al-ghazall, khilatah as a duty extended to the whole of humanity but not primarily with political orientation. vicegerency in the vision of al-isfahani and the pre-modern classical muslim thinkers appears as a collective role of the human kind where each and every individual can participate, not particularly in regard to their political activity but their ethical state of being. the pious nature and ethical action were seen as the hallmarks of the execution human vicegerency for the school of al-isfahani.
"Our Lord spoke the truth; He did not make us khulafa except in order to see how [we carry on with our deeds. Thus, show God the goodness of your deeds by night and day, in secret and in public." - Umar ibn
Khattab
"I read in conventional wisdom that one should listen to the questioner until he finishes and then reply with mercy and kindness, be like a merciful father to the orphan and be just towards the oppressed so that you may become a vicegerent of God on earth." - al-Sulaymi
"The muslihun are the real vicegerents of God in reforming (islah) the people and the land." - Miskawayh
al-isfahani was reflecting upon and devising his theory within the context of literature that carried such interpretations of human vicegerency. the purpose of human existence in his framework was tripartite, building & civilising the earth, worshipping allah and lastly being his deputy on earth - which he conceived in his cosmology, as an emulation of allah's attributes. to fulfil the role of vicegerency is to cultivate good character - that can only be accomplished through understanding the soul and purifying it, since character flows from the soul, the latter becomes the locus of the function of khilafah in al-isfahani's model.

Vicegerency as a function of ethico-spiritual existence. 2/3
"He who has a pure soul is suited for vicegerency, which is the imitation of God according to man's capacity to strive for virtuous actions" - al-Raghib al-Isfahani
as typical of the neo-platonic philosopher-king discourse, purification (through knowledge of the soul) of the soul and its governance is stated as synonymous with the outward governance of society/people - making the latter dependent on the former, for he who cannot govern their own soul justly, can never govern those of others with justice. therefore, even the political leaders can only wear the cloak of khilafah if they have cultivated a pious character through a harmonious governance of their soul.
"Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves" - 13:11
with such theoretical anchors, exploration of the soul to cultivate a character of goodness, is turned into a basic requirement to fulfill the responsibility of god's vicegerency and as mentioned previously the knowledge of the soul in al-isfahani's cosmology is an existential function of insan to achieve ultimate goodness & actualisation since spiritual cognition of the self is the most direct way of experiencing god (haqq al-yaqin) and therefore actualising (emulating) his attributes in one's soul - and therefore character. al-Isfahan brings this spiritually philosophical complexity into the realm of practical application, by placing the initiation of this process of self-knowledge into proactive ethical action - tazkiyah, where acting nobly i.e. in accordance with shariah becomes the primary mode of uncovering the nature of the self through divinely-revealed course of action. adherence to the revealed law is the only way that can bring the realities of the ghayb to a realm of spiritual cognition-experience for insan, that's the system god has set.

Vicegerency as a function of ethico-spiritual existence. 3/3
almost in a circular fashion now, intending to emulate the noble qualities of temperance, wisdom, patience, forbearance, justice, generosity and taking steps to translating them into day to day actions unfolds for the seeker new direct experiences of the soul, which makes them understand their self even better for acting through the noble attributes manifested within them unlocks greater clarity and articulations of those attributes in one's character. knowing (experiencing) the self through actions of piety, and acting through that knowledge bestows upon man the spiritual ascendancy and consequently a state of god-consciousness henceforth triggering khilafah as an ethico-spiritual existential state, that emanates the will of god (obedience to it), its beauty, spirit, purpose and meaning for the society. ultimately, man's knowledge of his soul and the good character-action that follows that knowledge define how much of an insan and deputy of god he is.
"Man is superior if he takes care of what makes him human, which is true knowledge and perfected action. The greater his knowledge of them, the greater his superiority. So it is said, 'Good actions determine what people are'. These actions with true knowledge will distinguish them as human. Thus, 'the finest mortal is one who has knowledge and does good." - Al-Raghib al-Isfahani

The heirs of al-Isfahani in the modern era: Taha Abderrahmane & Syed Naquib al-Attas. 1/2
The discourse of al-Raghib al-Isfahani on vicegerency naturally reminds one of the intellectual project the contemporary moroccan ethicist/philosopher Taha Abderrahmane is building with ethics at its core. One of the very few thinkers of the post-colonial period who theorise about the muslim condition and civilisational futures without any direct recourse to strict political activity, Taha Abderrahmane's thought is built upon the centrality of ethical being as extracted through the moral web of the quran in reference to the covenants between man and God.
Abderrahmane's flagship theory of "Trusteeship Paradigm" situates man's ethical mode of being as his primary most responsibility undertaken by him through the "amanah covenant" between himself and his Lord (33:72)- as a matter of fact, in Abderrahmane's framework, insan by definition is an ethical being, unlike the western-aristotelian tradition that considers human to be a "rational being", prof. taha's outlook makes man's potentiality of ethical function the distinction between him and animals or the non-living. Man's role as the trustee of God is synonymous with his role as God's vicegerent here, the freedom of moral choice then becomes man's ultimate identity, the just exercise of which (freedom) is then his ontological telos. Not exactly, yet similar to al-Isfahani, the standard of ethical ideals is rooted in the attributes of God for taha, as practiced by the last of His messengers ﷺ , and tuning the self or the soul towards these attributes of ethical-decency is to be performed through the sufi practices of self-critique, self-purification & self-exploration.
In line with the general principles of al-Isfahani, Taha conceptualises khilafah not as austere political activity of domination but as an ethico-spiritual state achieved through sustaining practical behavioural morality: self-purification. Not only that but going further than the classical philosopher, Abderrahmane's trusteeship paradigm understands the very teleological principle of human existence through nothing but their fulfilment of responsibility of establishing and maintaining a mode of existential ethico-spiritual order within themselves and radiating it into the society. Abderrahmane with such a ethico-spiritual worldview then seeks to present and interpret the legal corpus of the islamic tradition with a sufi-maqasidi methodology, where no application of any quranic command or shari'i ruling can be implemented without taking into account the holistic/general quranic purpose defined for man, i.e. an existential ethico-spiritualism. Due to these ethical axiomatic principles, he is critical also of the modern era political articulations of Islam, which he believes are atomistically disconnected from the quranic ethico-spiritual worldview and lack the understanding of the required nature of political activism by Islam, as expressed by himself through the trusteeship paradigm.

The heirs of al-Isfahani in the modern era: Taha Abderrahmane & Syed Naquib al-Attas. 2/2
Another contemporary philosopher who reflects within the same framework of on the idea of human vicegerency as al-Raghib al-Isfahani is Syed Naquib al-Attas, although in his own fashion, like Abderrahmane, al-Attas too visualises khilafah away from its hard-political interpretations and mainly emphasises it as an internal balancing realised through spiritual cognition.
" Man thus equipped and fortified is meant to be the vicegerent (khalfah) of God on earth, and as such the weighty burden of trust (amanah) is placed upon him-the trust and responsibility to rule according to God's will and purpose and His pleasure. The trust implies responsibility to rule with justice, and the 'rule' means not simply ruling in the socio-political sense, nor in the controlling of nature in the scientific sense, but more fundamentally in its encompassing of the meaning of nature (al-tabiah), it means the ruling, governing, controlling and maintaining of man by his self or his rational soul"
In al-Attas's perspective, developing a spiritual insight (basirah), exploring the soul and putting it into a harmonious balance/(just structuring between nafs, aql, ruh & qalb) leads one to achieve the state of tranquility of the self (nafs al-mutmainnah) which then inculcates ihsan as an instinctive response of the character to every situation. Man's role as the khalifah of Allah, in the attasian tradition is anchored in his knowledge of his soul, his knowledge of his purpose & his place in the hierarchy of divinely set cosmology. Humankind's ascendancy to accomplishing their destiny as the collective deputyship begins through their dependency on their spiritual- epistemological penetration towards their soul (microcosm) and simultaneously towards the universe (macrocosm) as both present an experience of God as absolute knowledge/goodness, making man's spiritual-cognition the foundational principle of human vicegerency rather than his political-action, which ought to appear as a natural consequence of the former.
For al-Attas, Abderrahmane & al-Isfahani, rightful knowledge necessarily relates to ethical beauty, idealising khilafah in such philosophical paradigms highlights the fundamental nexus of amanah-ilm-akhlaq- that explains khilafah as a trust & responsibility to cultivate a pious character through the knowledge of the soul and its governance.

Conclusion: Kindness as the cosmological telos of man.
The simple reason that al-Raghib al-Isfahani's theory of human vicegerency of God has been selected here to be explored is due to al-Isfahani's profound ability to understand and present a magnanimous idea of extraordinary significance - cloaked in the spirit of cosmological sovereignty - in the simple realm of everyday applicability. The existential purpose of mankind as the deputy of the transcendent divine, is essentialized ultimately in its capacity for kindness - you're as much a khalifah of the God almighty as much you're kind to your parents, as much as you're merciful to the weak, as much as you're generous to the poor. One's control of their anger, their holding onto the rope of patience and remaining steadfast in their pursuit of piety, bestows tranquil experiences of the reality where khilafah is actualised as a lived experience. Khilafah, under al-Isfahani's framework becomes an ideal ethical state of being to strive for on a daily/routinely basis, the way you speak to your servants or the way you treat a cat on the street, become in this context matters of cosmic teleological significance.
All of this in no manner restricts the unfolding of the ethico-spiritual state of khilafah into the socio-political, in fact it enhances the political participation of the believer and encourages it, the thought of al-Isfahani or Abderrahmane isn't mutually exclusive with that of Mawdudi or Qutb, it's complimentary to it, as a required pre-condition. The vision of the concept of vicegerency is to be crafted primarily in ethico-spiritual modes of operation, the socio-political function should then follow from the successful understanding of that existential spiritualism as an wholly integrated disposition, such an approach intricately emanates emphatic politics based on the prophet character and binds Machiavellian tendencies attached to the spheres of power & influence.
If the prophet of Allah is the most perfect human, and he was sent for nothing but the perfection of moral character - then to be human, is to be kind.

References:
Kitab al-Dhari' ah ila Makarim al-Shari'ah, al-Isfahani.
The Path to Virtue, Yasien Mohamed.
Islamic Ethics and the Trusteeship Paradigm, M. Hashas & M. al-Khatab
Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam, al-Attas.