مذہبی ریاست کے مفاہیم: متفرق مصادر کا تحقیقی و تقابلی مطالعہ

"Concepts of the Religious State: An Analytical and Comparative Study of Diverse Sources"

Abstract

The concept of a "religious state" (dawlah dīniyyah) represents a historical fusion of faith and governance, where divine law shapes political authority. This study systematically explores its etymological (lughawī) and terminological (iṣṭilāḥī) dimensions through classical lexicons and scholarly texts. Arabic sources (Lisān al-ʿArab, Tāj al-ʿArūs, al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ) define dīn as obedience (ṭāʿah), divine legislation (sharīʿah), and recompense (jazāʾ), while riyāsah denotes leadership and sovereignty. Persian dictionaries (Burhān-i Qāṭiʿ, Lughatnāmah-yi Dihkhudā, Farhang-i Muʿīn) interpret dīn as creed (kīsh), sacred law (sharīʿat), and riyāsat as dominion (pādshāhī). English lexicons (Oxford, Cambridge, Merriam-Webster) frame "religious state" as a polity governed by ecclesiastical authority or divine mandate, often equating it with theocracy. Terminologically, Islamic thinkers (al-Māwardī, Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Shāṭibī, al-Qaraḍāwī) emphasize khilāfah as viceregency (niyābah) for safeguarding religion and administering worldly affairs under sharīʿah. Persian scholars (Niẓām al-Mulk, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī) stress mutual reinforcement of sultanate and faith, while Western theorists (Weber, Montesquieu, Huntington) highlight theocratic legitimacy versus secular autonomy. The research concludes that a religious state is a sovereign entity where supreme authority derives from divine ordinance, enforced through ethical governance, balancing spiritual obedience with societal welfare. This framework remains relevant for contemporary debates on Islamic governance, theocracy, and state-religion dynamics in Pakistan and beyond.