AN ANALYSIS OF ISLAMIC LITERATURE: THE PERSPECTIVES OF NIZAM

AL-MULK TOWARDS A GOOD LEADER (KHALIFAH) IN THE SELJUK

DYNASTY FROM THE BOOK OF GOVERNMENT OR RULES OF KINGS
(SIYASATNAMA) CHAPTER I

Mira Hayati
Faculty of Adab and Humanities
State Islamic University of Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung
Email : Mirahayati45@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This analysis aims to find out how a good leader who reflected from Saljuk
Dynasty's reign and was based on the work of Nizam Al-Mulk, namely The Book
of Government or Rules for Kings. Nizam Al-Mulk wrote that book not solely
for no reason, but he described how he acted as a companion to the kings of the
Saljuk Dynasty which according to him, under their good leadership could create
a good state of society. The background of this analysis is the number of leaders
who are not good enough even makes people disappointed of their performance,
so that not a few people who do not believe in their own leaders. The source or
data used in this analysis refers to the work from Nizam Al-Mulk, namely
Siyasatnama chapter I which has been translated by Hubert Drake. After being
analyzed, the researcher gets five points which outline the views of Nizam Al-
Mulk towards good leaders in the Seljuk Dynasty era, namely: (1) A good leader
is they who covers all the crimes of corruption and community divisions in their
system of government, (2) not using power that has been entrusted by Allah and
society to anarchist arena, (3) using intelligence (wit) and wisdom by employing
subordinates according to their ability (4) able to bring change to the people who
are wiser and more prosperous, and (5) good leaders will create peace and
prosperity in their communities.
Keywords : Leader, Nizam Al-Mulk, The Book of Government or Rules for
Kings, Seljuk Dynasty.

ABSTRAK

Analisis ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana sosok pemimpin yang baik
yang bercermin kepada masa pemerintahan Dinasti Saljuk berdasarkan karya
dari Nizam Al-Mulk yaitu The Book of Government or Rules for Kings. Nizam

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 Al-Mulk menulisnya bukan semata-mata tanpa alasan, namun dia
menggambarkan bagaimana dia berperan sebagai pendamping raja-raja Dinasti
Saljuk yang menurutnya dibawah kepemimpinan mereka yang baik bisa
menciptakan keadaan masyarakat yang baik pula. Latar belakang dari analisis
ini adalah maraknya sifat pemimpin yang kurang baik bahkan membuat
masyarakat kecewa akan kinerjanya sehingga tidak sedikit masyarakat yang
tidak percaya pada pemimpinnya sendiri. Sumber atau data yang digunakan
dalam analisis ini mengacu kepada karya dari Nizam Al-Mulk yaitu
Siyasatnama chapter I yang telah diterjemahkan oleh Hubert Drake. Setelah
dianalisis penulis mendapatkan lima poin yang menjadi garis besar pandangan
seorang Nizam Al-Mulk terhadap pemimpin yang baik di era Dinasti Seljuk,
yaitu : (1) Pemimpin yang baik adalah dia yang menutup segala kejahatan
korupsi dan perpecahan masyarakat di sistem pemerintahannya, (2) tidak
menggunakan kekuasaan yang telah dipercayakan oleh Allah dan rakyatnya
untuk ajang bersikap anarkis, (3) menggunakan kecerdasan (wit) dan
kebijaksanaanya (wisdom) dengan mempekerjakan bawahannya sesuai dengan
kemampuan (4) mampu membawa perubahan untuk rakyatnya kejalan yang
lebih bijaksana dan sejahtera, dan (5) pemimpin yang baik akan menciptakan
kedamaian dan kesejahteraan di masyarakatnya.
Kata Kunci : Pemimpin, Nizam Al-Mulk, The Book of Government or Rules for
Kings, Dinasti Seljuk.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of Research

In this era people began to realize the attitude of the government and leaders who did not
serve or prosper to their people or communities. Not a few people who claim to be less
satisfied are even disappointed with the behavior that their leaders are leading, such as
corruption. A leader is basically the same namely human or creature who created by Allah.
Humans are the most perfect creatures on Earth. Allah as the Almighty God, distinguishes
humans from other creatures in the form of giving potential mind and good sense. The
potential mind and intellect given by God make humans as leaders in the face of the universe.
The leader is a person who has the skills and strengths, especially skills and strengths in one
field or more, so that the leaders are able to influence other people to jointly carry out certain
activities, in order to achieve one or several goals (Kartono, 1994: 33). The leader is the

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person who is a role model for each person who become their people or their societies, be it
in their attitude, speech or pattern of leadership. In Islam the leader is synonymous with the
term Khalifah which means "representative". khalifah or leader becomes a representative to
become a role model in a society. A good leader must have good character. Many good
qualities of a leader that can prosper the people. An example of a good character of a leader
is fair, trustworthy,

Abu Ali Hasan bin Ali Tusi, or better known as Nizam Al-Mulk is a figure from
Persia who lived in the Seljuk empire. He also occupies an important position in the
government and is an academic and King's companion. One of the famous works of Nizam
Al-Mulk is Siyasatnama or The Book of Government or Rules for Kings, which is a book that
discusses fair, effective, good governance etc. In this book he also indirectly explains how a
leader who is good at carrying out his duties in the government of the Saljuk Dynasty.
Because he was the king's companion during the Saljuk Dynasty, which according to him the
leadership at that time was very good and fair.

To find out more about how a good leader in the view of Nizam Al-Mulk the writer decides
to analyze it, as a form of description of how the real leader is.

B. Problem Formulation

1. Who is Nizam Al-Mulk?

2. What is the role of Nizam Al-Mulk in the empire of the Seljuk Dynasty?

3. What is the general description of the Siyasatnama or The Book of Government or Rules
of Kings in general?

4. What is Nizam Al-Mulk's perspective of a good leader in the Seljuk dynasty?

C. Research Objectives

1. To find out the background of Nizam Al-Mulk as the author of The Book of Government
or Rules of Kings.

2. To know the general description of The Book of Government or Rules of Kings.

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3. To give an idea of how the real roles and behavior that must be carried out by a leader
reflecting during the reign of the Seljuk Dynasty.

4. To find out Nizam Al-Mulk's perspective of a good leader or Khalifah.

CHAPTER II
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
A. Nizam Al-Mulk

Abu Ali Hasan bin Ali Tusi, or better known as Nizam Al-Mulk born in 1018 M / 408 H
Radkan. His father was a Gaznawi government employee at Tus. Many historians say that
Nizam AL-Mulk is a devout, generous, and devoted figure in matters of state administration.
His personality is greatly admired by the people around him. Narrated in Al-Kamilfi at-
Tarikh that Nizam Al-Mulk was a Muslim ruler who was generous, pious, and compassionate
towards the poor. In his daily life he always has ablution so that his days are filled with
worship and do not forget to run the Sunnah fasting every Monday (Hasan: 2004).

His good temperament made Nizam Al-Mulk deserve to occupy a position as the Saljuk
Vizier and administrative expert. He grew up and learned a lot about Nahwu Science,
writing, and making Syair. Nizam also served in the Ghaznah and as the times changed, he
was appointed a minister during the reign of Sultan Alp Arsalan and his son Malik Shah. His
position as a Vizier was very Mashur and trusted by the people around him. He likes to
spread justice, control security, build madrassas, mosques and transportation facilities.

Nizam al-Mulk was a political expert, a wise military leader and a pious philosopher and
knowledgeable. He is also famous as a Persian writer who was famous in his time. He wrote
the book Siyasatnama which explained the ways of carrying out matters concerning areas
that could guarantee the glory of government and the good of ordinary people (Syalabi, 2003:
282). It was explained that Nizam Al-Mulk was a pious, religious, generous, fair, trustworthy,
forgiving person who was guilty, simple, kind and like to entertain and entertain the poor.
During the reign of Alp Arsalan and his son Malik Syah, Nizam AL-Mulk was active
as a vizier. On his orders, all people have the same degree in their eyes, nothing noble is

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nothing but despicable. So that many of his friends said that Nizam Al-Mulk was very similar
to the famous Abbasid Wazir named Wazir Barmaki.

Reporting from Nizamalmulk.blogspot.com, there are many policies that have been made
by Nizam Al-Mulk during his tenure as a Vizier in Seljuk. In economic matters he was wise
to abolish taxes which were not subject to Sharia sanctions. In the matter of development,
Nizam Al-Mulk initiated the expansion of Masjidil Haram in the city of Mecca and improved
facilities for the pilgrims. In terms of education, Nizam Al-Mulk founded The Nizamiyah
school in 1067 in Baghdad (Ismawati, 2015 : 17). The curriculum is centered on the Qur'an,
the Date of the Prophet, Arabic literature and arithmetic. Then along with the development
of the times Nizam Al-Mulk expanded this madrasa to various parts of the city. This
Madrasah also became the forerunner of the birth of world Islamic figures such as Imam Al-
Ghazali, Al-Tabrani, Al-Juwaini and others. Of all the policies that he made, it makes people
feel amazed and very respectful of him.

B. The Role of Nizam Al-Mulk in The Saljuk Dynasty

As the previous writing that Nizam Al-Mulk was a figure of Persian descent from a city
called Thus, that is the city in the area of Khurasan. But despite being born in Khurasan
Nizam Al-Mulk was subject to the Saljuk Dynasty because Khurasan and Ghazna were at
that time under the rule of the Saljuk Dynasty. Where the Saljuk Turks originally came from
the Guzz tribe who immigrated from Turkistan and settled in the Transoxania region.
Historians divide the Saljuk Turks into five branches, namely; 1) Iranian Saljuk, 2) Saljuk
Iraq, 3) Saljuk Kirman, 4) Saljuk Asia Kecil and 5) Saljuk Syiria (Nasution S, 2014: 242).

According to Ahmad Syalabi (2003: 282) the relationship between Nizam al-Mulk and
the Saljuk Dynasty occurred when the second Sultan of the Bani Saljuk namely Sultan Alp
Arselan saw the great skills of Nizam al-Mulk. Then Sultan Alp Arselan asked him to come
to the palace in Baghdad and was given the post of prime minister. Thus Sultan Alp Arselan
was accompanied by a very capable and famous Persian prime minister until the death of
Sultan Alp Arselan and Nizam Al-Mulk also accompanied the Sultan of Maliksyah, the son
of Sultan Alp Arselan, for 20 years. Government Saljuk Turkey under the Alp Arselan can

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run well thanks to the help and support of Nizam al-Mulk because Nizam al-Mulk
accompanied Alp Arselan in many battles. Likewise, Nizam al-Mulk accompanied
Maliksyah, the son of Alp Arselan, to launch attacks and wars on the enemy and managed to
conquer the target area. Even Nizam al-Mulk himself led army soldiers to carry out battles
and ended with a brilliant victory.

The role of Nizam al-Mulk in strengthening the Saljuk dynasty government which was
almost torn apart could be seen when Alp Arselan died, his children scrambled to occupy the
throne of the kingdom, at that time Nizam al-Mulk played his role as a silencer that occurred
between them and succeeded put Maliksyah as Sultan.

Other evidence to show how much influence and the role of Nizam al-Mulk in the Saljuk
dynasty government can be seen in one case that befell his grandson, Nizam al-Mulk who
carried out indecent acts which caused anger to the Sultan of Maliksyah. When Maliksyah
sent an envoy to punish the grandson, Nizam al-Mulk prevented and said; "Tell the Sultan
whether he still does not know what I am doing for this kingdom, he must realize that if it
wasn't for the results of my efforts, surely he would not be in his place now and not wear the
crown he is wearing at this time".

From a number of historical facts mentioned above it can be concluded how big the role
played by Nizam al-Mulk in strengthening and advancing the government of the Turkish
Saljuk under the Abbasid Daula government. Because the Saljuk Turks were in a position to
help the Abbasiyah Dynasty, the progress achieved by Nizam al-Mulk was more accurately
said to advance the Abbasiyah Dynasty government which was in a period of decline, even
on the verge of collapse. While traveling from Isfahan to Baghdad in a place called Sinha
Nahawand, Nizam al-Mulk was killed by an Hasan ibn Sabbah force aimed at reviving the
Fatimid Shiite sect on the 10th of Ramadan 485 H / 14 October 1092 AD at the age of 74
(Alan : 2015).

C. The General Description of the Book of Government or Rules of Kings

The Book of Government or Rules of Kings or Al-kitab Siyasatnama was made by Nizam
Al Mulk when he served as vizier from the Seljuq Dynasty. The Book of Government or

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Rules of Kings book is one of the books during the Islamic Caliphate which gave an
explanation of how the Islamic government administration system. There are several books
that address the same theme with this book by Nizam Al Mulk during the Islamic Caliphate
period, such as Al Ahkam Al Sulthaniyah Wa'l Wilayat Al Diniyya (The Ordinances of
Governance) by Abu Al Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Habib Al Basri, Al Baghdadi, Al
Mawardi and the book Al Mulk Advice (Book of Councel For Kings) by Al Ghazali
(Zulyeno, 2013: 119).

The Book of Government or Rules of Kings consists of two parts, namely the first consists
of 39 chapters which explain various rules and guidelines for caliphs to organize their
governance as well as the second section consisting of 11 chapters which focus more on how
the country faces various threats from within the country such as the threat of rebellion or
threats to the corruption of Islamic religious values carried out by some cult groups. The first
part of this book explains how governance starts from tax collection, the process of selecting
government employees, the establishment of intelligence bureaus as part of the form of
supervision of government officials, military arrangements, rules in giving respect to the
people who are instrumental in governance, even training employees in the palace. The
second part of this book explains some of the doctrines, developments and dangers of several
heretical sects such as Mazdak, Qaramitah, Syi'ah and batini (Dhia Athala, 2018: 87)

D. The Perspective of Nizam Al-Mulk Towards a Good Leader (Khalifah) Based on

His Writing in The Book of Government or Rules of Kings Chapter I (Siyasatnama)

The Book of Government or Rules of Kings or Siyasatnama consists of two parts. The
first part consists of 39 chapters and the second part consists of 11 chapters. The first part of
this book explains how governance starts from tax collection, the process of selecting
government employees, the establishment of intelligence bureaus as part of the form of
supervision of government officials, military arrangements, rules in giving respect to the
people who are instrumental in governance, even training employees in the palace. The
second part of this book explains some of the doctrines, developments and dangers of several
heretical sects such as Mazdak, Qaramitah, Syi'ah and Batini.
There are many things discussed by Nizam Al-Mulk in his book, especially about the Islamic

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government system. Each chapter in The Book of Government or Rules of Kings has a
different title. In chapter I, the title is "On the turn of Fortune's wheel of praise of The Master
of the World" actually discusses many things, but is more specific to how a good leader in
Islam is required to run the wheel of leadership in the Seljuk Dynasty. In this section Nizam
Al-Mulk made 5 important points about how good leaders were in the Seljuk Dynasty. The
following are interpretations of the points raised by Nizam Al-Mulk:

1. “In every age and time God (be He exalted) chooses one mem ber of the human race
and, having adorned and endowed him with kingly virtues, entrusts him with the interests of
the world and the well-being of His servants”. (TBOG : 10)

The above quotation is Nizam Al-Mulk's view of who is actually a leader and Caliph.
According to him the leader is someone appointed by God or God who is glorified and
appointed as king and has entrusted to him the interests of the world and the welfare of his
people. Then in the next quote is :

“He charges that person to close the doors of corruption, confusion and discord, and He
imparts to him such dignity and majesty in the eyes and hearts of men, that under his just
rule they may live their lives in constant security and ever wish for his reign to continue”.
(TBOG : 10)

A good leader is he who covers all the crimes of corruption and division of society in his
system of government. When corruption can be tried at the will of a king, it will grow a great
sense of trust from the people towards the government. Then a good leader is he who always
does justice so that it will create constant security in the lives of his people. A good leader
will dissuade all divisions among his people, and that kind of leadership is expected by Nizam
Al-Mulk to be applied during the Seljuk dynasty.

2. Whenever —Allah be our refuge! —there occurs any dis obedience or disregard of
divine laws on the part of His servants, or any failure in devotion and attention to the
commands of The Truth (be He exalted), and He wishes to chasten them and make them taste
the retribution for their deeds—may God not deal us such a fate, and keep us far from such
a calamity! (TBOG : 10)

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According to Nizam Al-Mulk in the second point quotation, He called Allah the best
protector. But if there is one of His creations that is not obedient to all the provisions of God,
not obedient to the rules that God has created, then the divine law will come to them. This
also applies to leaders, if the leader applies a good law then the people do not heed it, the
punishment will judge them.

“anarchy rears its head in their midst, opposing swords are drawn, blood is shed, and
whoever has the stronger hand does whatever he wishes, until those sinners are all destroyed
in tumults and bloodshed.” (TBOG : 10)

The act of anarchy (war, murder etc.) must not be carried out by a leader. The sentence of
the stronger hand does whatever he wishes is a parable of a leader who is free to do what he
wants. If a leader leads to division, for example fighting by shedding blood. According to
Nizam Al-Mulk, it is not very good, because if there is a war, there will be many innocent
lives flying. This means that a good leader does not use power that has been entrusted by
God and his people to an anarchist place.

3. “Then by divine decree one human being acquires some pros perity and power, and
according to his deserts The Truth bestows good fortune upon him and gives him wit and
wisdom, wherewith he may employ his subordinates every one according to his merits and
confer upon each a dignity and a station proportionate to his powers.” (TBOG : 11)

In the third point Nizam Al-Mulk revealed that leaders are human beings who have been
given many advantages, strengths and phrases The Truth bestows good fortune is a parable
for a leader who has been given good fortune by Allah SWT. That means a good leader is
above other human beings so that with intelligence (wit) and wisdom (wisdom) he must
employ his subordinates in accordance with the abilities that have been given or do not
impose his will on the people that he subordinates.

“; anarchy rears its head in their midst, opposing swords are drawn, blood is shed, and
whoever has the stronger hand does whatever he wishes, until those sinners are all destroyed
in tumults and bloodshed, and the world becomes free and clear of them; and through the
wickedness of such sinners may innocent persons too perish in the tumults; just as, by

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analogy, when a reed-bed catches fire every dry particle is consumed and much wet stuff is
burnt also, because it is near to that which is dry. (TBOG : 11)

In the second point, it is also explained that a leader who conducts war or bloodshed will
produce better conditions "for those who are all destroyed in tumults and bloodshed, and the
world becomes free and clear of them" they will free the world from the sinners or who are
considered their enemies. Likewise if the world is led by the sinners, what happens is that
innocent persons too perish in the tumult of innocent people will perish (may innocent
persons too perish in the tumults) and be destroyed. Nizam Al-Mulk analogues it to a fiery
arc that will burn wet objects, but at the same time burn dry objects that are close to the wet
object. This is an analogy of if an environment is good, it will make the surrounding
environment good too, and vice versa if a environment is bad then the surrounding
environment will be carried away badly.

4. “Since the decree of God was such that this should be the era by which bygone ages
are to be dated and that it should crown the achievements of former kings, whereby He might
bestow on His creatures a felicity granted to none before them.” (TBOG : 11)

The quote from the fourth point above Nizam Al-Mulk said that a good leader must abandon
the ugliness that had been done by the previous caliph or leader and be wise by making virtues
not given in the real leader's time. It means that good leaders are those who are able to bring
change to their people who are wiser and more prosperous. In this case Nizam Al-Mulk also
reminded "that it should crown the achievements of former kings" the new leader must always
respect the services or achievements made by the previous caliph.

5. “Now in the days of some of the caliphs, if ever their empire became extended it was
never free from unrest and the insurrections of rebels; but in this blessed age (praise and
thanks be to Allah) there is nobody in all the world who in his heart meditates opposition to
our lord and master, or ventures his head outside the collar of obedience to him—may God
perpetuate this empire until the resurrection and keep the evil eye far from the perfectness of
this kingdom, so that His creatures may pass their days under the equity and authority of The
Master of the World and be ever intent on blessing him.” (TBOG : 12)

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In the last point, Nizam Al-Mulk revealed that a good leader will create peace and prosperity
in his community, there will be no more rebellion, no more division, no more people who
dislike the King. Here Nizam AL-Mulk gave praise to the King or Emperor who ruled the
Seljuk at that time. Because the leader is good, the Seljuk avoid division, all that is is peace.
There is no intention from the people to rebel the government because they are all prosperous.

In the last part explained that” Such is the happy state of this great empire; and in proportion
to its greatness it is blessed with an abundance of wise and good institution.” Nizam Al-
Mulk also argued that good attitudes from the leaders had been created during the Seljuk
Dynasty. Wisdom from the king as if there were many lights that were lit by light and made
people or their people come out of the dark.

CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
The leader is the person who is the role model for each person in their subordinates, be it in
their attitude, speech or pattern of leadership. In Islam the leader is synonymous with the
term Khalifah or caliph which means "representative". Caliph or leader becomes a
representative to become a role model in a society. A good leader must have good character.
I we speaking of good leaders or caliphs, an Islamic leader named Nizam Al-Mulk discussed
it in a kitabah work entitled Siyasatnama or The Book of Government or Rules of Kings.
Nizam Al-Mulk wrote this book not solely without reason, Nizam Al-Mulk wrote it as a form
of reflection on the leadership that took place during the Seljuk Dynasty. After being
analyzed, the writer gets five points which outline the perspektive of Nizam Al-Mulk towards
good leaders in the Seljuk Dynasty era, namely: (1) A good leader is they who covers all the
crimes of corruption and community divisions in his system of government, a good leader
does not use power that has been entrusted by God and their people to anarchist arena, (3) a
good leader is above other people so that with intelligence (wit) and wisdom they must
employ their subordinates according to the abilities that have been given or not imposing
their will on the people that their subordinates, (4) a good leader is they who is able to bring
change to their people who are wiser and more prosperous, and (5) a good leader will create
peace and prosperity in his community. By applying the attitude or how the good leader

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should act, which was presented by Nizam Al-Mulk, it will create a successful and
prosperous leadership for its people in this era.

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