The Political Aspects of Avicenna's General Theory and the Human Soul.

The Political Aspects of Avicenna's General Theory and the Human Soul. 2002. Penerbit UKM: Bangi. ISBN 967-942-594-0 (paperback). 224 pp. RM 40.00. Idris Zakaria

Ibn Sina is not normally thought of as having contributed much to the area of political theory, as did his predecessor al-Farabi. He did however have a political theory, which he set out routinely as part of his general philosophical system. The basic elements of his thory can be found in the tenth maqala of the mataphysics of the Shifa. Some of these elements are restated in the Najat. A small part of the general theory, particualrly the description of management of the household, is developed and enlarged in the treatise known as Kitab al-Siyasa.
The elements of the theory are presented again in the late work known as Kitab al-Isharat wa Tanbihat, but his attention here is mainly focused on the process of the soul toward mystical union with God. This last work however projects a slightly different version compared to the Shifa, the Najat, and the Siyasa.

IDRIS ZAKARIA, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Department of Theology and Philosophy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His area of interest is Islamic Political Philosophy. His other book with Penerbit UKM entitle Teori Kenegaraan al-Farabi (1986).

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