Editing Early Islamic philosophy (section)

===Political philosophy===
Early Islamic [[political philosophy]] emphasized an inexorable link between science and religion, and the process of [[ijtihad]] to find truth - in effect ''all'' philosophy was "political" as it had real implications for governance. This view was challenged by the [[Mutazilite]] philosophers, who held a more [[secularism|secular]] view and were supported by secular aristocracy who sought freedom of action independent of the [[Caliphate]]. The only [[Greek language|Greek]] political treatise known to medieval Muslims at the time was [[Plato]]'s ''[[The Republic (Plato)|Republic]]''. By the end of the [[Islamic Golden Age]], however, the [[Asharite]] view of Islam had in general triumphed.

Islamic political philosophy, was, indeed, rooted in the very sources of Islam, i.e. the [[Qur'an]] and the [[Sunnah]], the words and practices of Muhammad. However, in the Western thought, it is generally known that it was a specific area peculiar merely to the great philosophers of Islam: [[al-Kindi]] (Alkindus), [[al-Farabi]] (Alfarabi), [[Avicenna|İbn Sina]] (Avicenna), [[Ibn Bajjah]] (Avempace), [[Averroes|Ibn Rushd]] (Averroes), and [[Ibn Khaldun]]. The political conceptions of Islam such as kudrah, sultan, ummah, cemaa -and even the "core" terms of the Qur'an, i.e. ibada, din, rab and ilah- is taken as the basis of an analysis. Hence, not only the ideas of the Muslim political philosophers but also many other [[Fiqh|jurists]] and [[Ulema|ulama]] posed political ideas and theories. For example, the ideas of the [[Kharijites|Khawarij]] in the very early years of [[Muslim history|Islamic history]] on [[Caliphate|Khilafa]] and [[Ummah]], or that of [[Shia Islam]] on the concept of [[Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)|Imamah]] are considered proofs of political thought. The clashes between the [[Sunni Islam|Ehl-i Sunna]] and Shia in the 7th and 8th centuries had a genuine political character.

The 14th-century [[Arab]] scholar [[Ibn Khaldun]] is considered one of the greatest political theorists. The British philosopher-anthropologist [[Ernest Gellner]] considered Ibn Khaldun's definition of [[government]], "an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself", the best in the history of political theory.<ref>Ernest Gellner, ''Plough, Sword and Book'' (1988), p. 239</ref>