Editorial

One of the basic orders of the Qur’an in world affairs is the consultancy,
which refers to the exchange of ideas from the civil and social
groups to the state administration, in order to find the right thing by
competents. Consultancy, which expresses a common mind in order to
find truth in a free space by free individuals with intellect and specialization,
expects to be understood as a necessary method to produce right
ideas and develope right actions against the social and political issues in
our rapidly changing world.
In the Islamic literature, referring to the social and institutional decision-
making mechanisms based on the verses of “Consult with them
in the affairs” (Âl-i İmran / 159), “Their affairs among themselves take
place by consultation (Şûra / 38); the consultancy expresses, in a wider
mean, the presidents’ and directors’ regarding the experts’ thoughts and
their tendencies. in the Islamic governance forms, this can be seen in
the state governments mostly in the form of advisory councils. It is
noteworthy that Bediuzzaman Said Nursi attributed a broad meaning
to the term by exemplifying the practice in the Asr-ı Saadet. And by
expressing the consultancy as a basic to the democratic governance and
society.
Qur’an frequently orders People use their minds, think and produce
ideas. In this context, the notion of consultation is a Qur’anic order,
method and practice in order to ensure that things can be carried out
and carried out in the light of concepts such as common reason and exchanging
the ideas. However, the fact that this Qur’anic principle, which
must be followed by the rulers and the ruled, can not be applied to the
present-day Islamic societies is a question that must be questioned.
And so by taking these into consideration; We would like to bring
the concept of consultancy into question in order to contribute to the
works on this subject. And we decided to discuss the subject around the
concepts “democracy, republic, democratic society, liberty, justice, despotism,
domination, common reason, progress, regression” etc.
We hope welcoming you with the articles of 12th Risale-i Nur
Congress, entitled “The Rule of Law in the Risale-i Nur Collection and
Religious Relations Between the State and the community (Jamaat) in
the Axis of Justice”, in our next issue.