A Discourse on Madina Fāzila, Virtuous State, in Muslim Thought: An Overview of Jalāl-Al-Dīn Muḥammad Davānī’s Aḵlāq-e-Jalālī

Abstract

This study focuses on Jālāl-al-Dīn Muḥammad Davānī (1426–1502) as an illustrative figure in Muslim political thought, who offered a comprehensive perspective on the characteristics of an ideal Muslim state. Drawing on Davānī’s magnum opus, Akhlaq-e-Jalālī, the study explores his ethical framework for understanding the interrelationship between the individual, the state, and society. This work remained among the most influential writings on Muslim ethics, particularly in the Indian context, and continued to shape Muslim intellectual discourse and educational curricula well into the late 20th century. Its enduring presence highlights its intellectual relevance and its capacity to inspire ongoing debates on Muslim ethics. This paper concentrates on the third section of Akhlaq-e-Jalālī, which addresses fundamental questions concerning politics, governance, statecraft, and the contested notion of the ideal state, Madina Fāzila (the virtuous city/state). Davānī outlines the constitutive elements of such a state by synthesizing Peripatetic rationalism, Illuminationist metaphysics, and Sufi ethics. Central to his political philosophy is the principle of ‘adl (justice)’ which he regards as requiring morality to permeate political praxis. This morality, rooted in Islamic values and piety, necessitates ethical behavior at individual, familial, societal levels. Consequently, the core components of Davānī’s virtuous state include morally guided citizens, ethical politics, principled statecraft, and an ideal ruler whose actions are rooted in Islamic morality and who surpasses others in knowledge and understanding. Davānī’s conception of the ideal ruler closely parallels Plato’s philosopher-king, though it is reinterpreted through the framework of Islamic ethical thought. In his vision, the virtuous state is one in which morality and justice are not only interdependent but also mutually reinforcing, working together to promote happiness and well-being at both the individual and societal levels.