Happiness-oriented Government in the Thoughts of  Allāmeh Ṭabāṭabāī

Philosophers’ thoughts are directed at building an ideal society with the hope that all or some constituent elements of such a society will be made possible in the real world. Philosophers such as Plato, and Lock, and even John Rawls’ theory of justice in the contemporary world are aimed at creating such a society. In the Islamic political thought, Muslim philosophers, having taken into consideration certain Qur’anic teachings, traditions received from the Prophet Muhammad and the Infallible Imams regarding the issue of ‘government’ and ‘sovereignty’ and the conditions of an ideal society, have sought to present a good model of a desired or ideal society. In this article an attempt has been made to give a clear picture of the position of “happiness” as an end in an Islamic ideal society as depicted in the thoughts of AllÁmeh ÓabÁÔabÁÐ, the well-known Muslim thinker and Qur’anic commentator (exegete). According to AllÁmeh ÓabÁÔabÁÐ, a society can attain happiness if it moves along the road of human nature (disposition) and is in perfect harmony with the existing system of universe. For him, an ideal government is one that, while laying its foundation on religion and human nature, strives to lead humans toward happiness. Therefore, a society cannot reach happiness in this world and in the hereafter unless it has been governed by a religion which has its roots in human nature. However, governments are intended to set the stage for every individual in the society to attain to his or her own deserved perfection and to move away all the obstacles for them to attain happiness.