Comparative Analysis of the Components of Social Capital in the Modern and Islamic Paradigms

This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the concept of social capital within two fundamental epistemic frameworks—modernity and Islamic Transcendent Philosophy. Using a descriptive–analytical method grounded in comparative inquiry; it examines the concept and components of social capital in these two intellectual paradigms. The data were organized across three domains: conceptual analysis, ontology, and anthropology. The conceptual comparison of social capital shows that, in modern thought, social capital is primarily defined as a collective resource or asset that emerges through enduring networks of relations among individuals. By contrast, although no exact conceptual equivalent for the term social capital is employed in Transcendent Philosophy, social relations in this philosophical tradition possess a meaning and value that extend far beyond merely worldly functions. From the perspective of Sadrian philosophy, trust, cohesion, and social participation may be understood as extensions of the existential reality of the human being; in this sense, relations among human beings are not merely conventional arrangements or instruments for the exchange of interests, but rather have their roots in the shared nature and primordial disposition of humanity. The differences between modernity and Transcendent Philosophy at the level of philosophical foundations exert a direct influence on the understanding of social capital. The modern worldview is based on autonomous rationality and the separation of the material sphere from the spiritual realm. Finally, the anthropological comparison—that is, the foundations related to human nature—shows that each of the two approaches’ understanding of human nature and the ultimate purpose of life plays a decisive role in the interpretation of social capital. Influenced by humanism and Enlightenment individualism, modern anthropology views the human being as an autonomous and rational agent who forms society as an instrument or contract for securing personal interests.