Ali Abdel Raziq

Ali Abdel Raziq (Arabic: ﻋﻠﻲ ﻋﺒﺪ ﺍﻟﺮﺍﺯﻕ) (1888–1966) was an Egyptian scholar of Islam, judge and government minister.

[4] His brother, Mustafa Abd al-Raziq, a well known philosopher, studied at Al-Azhar University under the famous reformer Muhammad Abduh.

[2] He wrote that past rulers spread the notion of religious justification for the caliphate "so that they could use religion as a shield protecting their thrones against the attacks of rebels".

The thesis Islam and the Foundations of Governance (Al-Islam Wa Usul Al-Hukm) was published recently by Hamed, the grandson of Abdel Raziq, with a familial introduction.

Its controversial standpoints regarding the necessity of the caliphate and religious government made the book trigger an intellectual and political battle in Egypt.

In essence, it claims that the Muslims may agree on any kind of government, religious or worldly, as long as it serves the interest and common welfare of their society.

Rida described the reaction to his controversial work al-Islam wa 'usul al-hukm [Islam and the Foundations of Political Power] to the "sudden arrival of the Day of Judgment".

[13] Rida condemned the work as “.. a destruction and uprooting of the Islamic regime and its legislation; a tearing apart of its community, and a complete endorsement of disobedience of Allah and His messenger and all religious rules pertaining to the secular order, whether personal, political, civil or criminal... it considers ignorant all generations of Muslims: The Companions, Successors, Imams, Mujtahids, Hadith scholars, and theologians.