An essay on the history and hermeneutics of Nasi hat al-Muluk by Ghali, Abu Hamid Mohammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi: history and methodology

A hermeneutic analysis of the Oriental Philosophers' writings is invariably a matter of great challenge and difficulty. It is always full of allegory and literary divagations which intersperse a smooth flow of argumentation. This paper is written by Marklen Konurbaev, Professor of Literature at Moscow State University and his son, Salavat, a student ofArabic Philosophy. The paper consists of six parts and attempts to reveal the hidden message of a famous extract from the renowned book Ihya Ulum Al Din by a Persian philosopher Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Al-Tusi, devoted to the analysis ofthe notion of "fairness" in the doings of a ruler. The hermeneutic analysis was performed based on the methodology propounded by Roland G^ard Barthes - a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist and critic. This is the first ever attempt to put together the methodological efforts of a Western scholar and profoundly oriental piece ofphilosophy. Results ofthe hermeneutic study are stunning and elucidating. The paper could be recommended to the students of literature and philosophy at the universities and colleges.