Political narrative in the context of islamic mirrors for princes -a philosophical analysis-

It is noteworthy that contemporary studies on Islamic political thought are generally based on conceptual analyzes constructed from a metaphysical perspective. However, classical Islamic thought includes a rich tradition of political literature that is difficult to deal with with a conceptual approach. The political literature in question has been formed by a unique compilation of different narrative genres such as poetry, parables, fables, aphorisms, as well as pieces of sacred texts such as verses and hadiths, and has corresponded to one of the main intellectual traditions of classical Islamic thought for centuries. The political theology of this tradition, which came to the forefront as siyasatnama (mirror for princes) and an advice book, can only be studied by focusing on its narrative character. Because narratives, beyond revealing what political literature says, play a critical role in revealing the character of the political act and the political. Political narratives reveal the linguistic and imaginative dimensions of politics as a human experience and reveal that the political has a fundamentally metaphorical construction process. The narratives provide us with an important hermeneutic possibility in order to reveal the position of classical political thought and what it says. Classical political thought creates some meta-narratives by grouping micronarratives presented in fragments within the framework of certain themes. While the issue of justice is handled through a common narrative known as the justice circle and representing the conjunctural economic-political order, the issue of authority is discussed based on the "twin brotherhood of religion and politics" narrative. It is observed that political narratives form mythical time and space narratives, just as a literary work creates an imaginary chronotope plane of its own. On the other hand, the issues of order and legitimacy do not have a holistic structure since they are related to all meta-narratives and are formed with micro-narrative forms, and in this respect, it makes it possible to discuss the basic problems of political philosophy. The constant dialectic between the effort to concentrate and the limitation of power, and the tension between the ideal and the reality that comes to light from time to time, stand out as the main themes we see in the texts of political literature. In this respect, the fact that the type of politics is actually a part of a political positioning and practice and that it represents a kind of authority on the political scene also emerges.