Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ayatollah Boroujerdi University, Boroujerd, Iran (Corresponding Author).
2
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ayatollah Boroujerdi University, Boroujerd, Iran.
Abstract
From ancient times, once the concept of borders emerged and states were established, the issue of defining boundaries and geographical domains has been a matter of debate and theorization. These borders, in every country, hold special significance, being recorded and confirmed in international documents, global agreements, and transnational law, and are regarded as a symbol of national sovereignty. However, in Islamic political jurisprudence, a different form of demarcation of the world is presented, dividing nations into two fundamental regions: Dar al-Islam (the Abode of Islam) and Dar al-Kufr (the Abode of Unbelief). On this basis, the study of the concept of dar in Islamic jurisprudence illustrates the elevated position of safeguarding and protecting Islamic lands, a matter emphasized in numerous Qur’anic verses and narrations that command and recommend border-keeping and the protection of the frontiers of Islamic territories. (Statement of the Problem). This descriptive-analytical study, based on library research and note-taking, seeks to explain the position of dar in Islamic political jurisprudence and the defense of it (Method). Accordingly, the central question of this research is: On what basis are the geographical borders of Islam and unbelief defined, and from a jurisprudential perspective, where does the domain of Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Kufr lie? (Research Question). The hypothesis of this research argues that: *The criterion for determining borders is the legal sovereignty of the Islamic ruler, or in other words, the effective enforcement of Islamic rulings within a territory—whether the majority population is Muslim or not. This is because non-Muslims are dealt with on the basis of agreements of protection (aman). According to this criterion, no land is permanently Dar al-Kufr or Dar al-Islam.
Keywords
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