This article reexamines the political thought of Talibov Tabrizi through the conceptual relationship between Shari'a, modernity, and political theology. Rather than approaching Talibov merely as an advocate of constitutionalism or a transmitter of European modern ideas into Iran, the article argues that his intellectual project should be understood as an attempt to formulate a distinctly modern political theology compatible with the conditions of Iranian society in the late nineteenth century. The central question of the study is how Talibov sought to reconcile the fundamental concepts of political modernity—such as liberty, law, nation, commerce, and progress—with a reinterpretation of religion and Shari'a.

The article argues that, by distinguishing between the “spirit” and the “body” of religion, Talibov attempted to establish an immanent theological framework in which Shari'a no longer concerns salvation in the afterlife, but instead serves the preservation of existence, the expansion of public wealth, and the progress of the homeland. Through an analysis of concepts such as the “Shari'a of the Spirit of God,” the “spirit of liberty,” and the “spirit of nation and state,” the article demonstrates that Talibov redefined religion in accordance with natural law and the practical requirements of modern political life. In this framework, transcendent divine will gradually give way to the necessity of natural laws, while politics becomes primarily concerned with the regulation of worldly human affairs.

The study further shows that Talibov regarded reason not as a means of attaining metaphysical truth, but as an instrument for organizing social and political life. From this perspective, Talibov can be considered one of the earliest theorists of modern political theology in Iran, whose project aimed at reconciling a religious society with the emerging order of political modernity.