30

Generally speaking, Muslim mystics focused their moral reflection on two themes: that of the relation between man and God, and that of the relation between man and his masters and peers. None of them extended this spiritual meditation to relations with non-Muslims or between man and woman, nor dealt with issues related to the exercise of temporal power, except for al-Hakîm al-Tirmidhî. At a time when the question of the renewal of Muslim thinking about many topics, especially politics, is being posed, the work of Tirmidhî takes on a very modern dimension. Viewed in this perspective, three crucial and decisive points emerge from his ethical reflection: the notion of a holy nation, and that of a virtuous community, from which must follow the choice by the community of a leader capable of governing it, and who could, when necessary, even amend the Law of the Prophet.