Political Thought of Islam

By: Professor Maqsood Jafri

The political system advocated by Islam needs to be clarified. The modern Muslim scholars say that Islam is a democratic religion, yet many Muslim clerics today do not believe in democracy. I meant by Islamic democracy. " fe remember verses of the #oly $uran are presented here hich give us the basics ould li!e to discuss briefly hat I feel is

for Islamic political thought. In %ura Baqara &The #eifer' the $uran says: ("nd hen your )ord said to the angels, I am going to place a successor &*halifa' on +arth, &-:./'. This verse is about the vice0regency of "dam. Then again in the chapter The #eifer about "braham the $uran says: ("nd remember hen the )ord of "braham tried him ith certain commands hich he fulfilled. "llah said to him, verily, I am going to ma!e you a leader &Imam' of man!ind. "braham said, 1"nd my offspring2 "llah said, 1my providence includes not the rong0doers &oppressors'3,&-:4-5'. This verse sho s that divine leadership is not for transgressors and tyrants. It is for righteous and 6ust people. In %ura %aad the $uran says: (7, 8avid9 :erily successor &*halifa' on the earth, so 6udge bet een men e have placed you as a ith truth and 6ustice., ell.

&.;:-<'. 8avid as not only a leader or caliph or prophet but he as ruler as

#ence according to the $uran a ruler must be truthful and 6ust. It is the religious obligation of a ruler to provide 6ustice to everyone irrespective of color, cult, class, country and creed. In %ura The "doration Israel the $uran says: ("nd hile tal!ing about the children of ith patience and e appointed from among them, leaders &Imams',

giving guidance under our command, so long as they preserved

continue to have faith in our signs, &.-:-5'. #ence are the basic requirements for divine leadership. In %ura "l0$asas the $uran says: ("nd ho e

e see that patience and faith

ished to be gracious to those

ere being depressed in the land, to ma!e them &Imams' leaders and ma!e

them heirs. &-;:='. This verse sho s that "llah condemns transgressors and oppressors and divinely helps the oppressed ones ma!ing them leaders and heirs on the basis of 6ustice and piety. Then at another place the $uran alludes about divine rulers as a man of physical fitness and of !no ledge. "ccording to %ura The #eifer in verse -5> the $uran tells us about Jalut appointed as !ing because of his !no ledge and physical pro ess. The %hias consider Imam "li fit for these merits. In %ura "l0?isa &The @omen' The $uran says: (7 you "llah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged ho believe9 7bey

ith authority among you,

&5:=A'. The above cited verses give us the basics of Islamic political morality. These verses tell us that a leader or a ruler in Islamic state must be a man of certain qualities. Muslim political thin!ers li!e "l0Ma ardi and Ibu *atiba also rite that a Muslim ruler must be a pious, !no ledgeable and 6ust man ith administrative qualities. There are numerous sayings of the #oly Prophet that instruct us to obey the men of piety and virtuosity. The tyrants and evil0doers must not be accepted as leaders or rulers. These passages leave unans ered the question of ho a ruler is to be e find

chosen. Is it through nomination or through elections2 7n this point

Muslims divided. The %unni sect believes that the #oly Prophet did not appoint his successor. #e totally left it up to the Bmmah &community'. The %unnis believe in (I6mah,&consensus', democracy. They say that hich, of course bears some similarity to as on deathbed, he as!ed hen the #oly Prophet

#aCrat "bu Ba!r to lead the prayers. To their indicates the superiority of #aCrat "bu Ba!r.

ay of thin!ing this request

"fter the #oly Prophet of Islam died, the #elpers of Medina and the Immigrants of Mecca had a heated discussion on the right of caliphate. Both the groups eDchanged hot ords. "ccording to Tabari ultimately #aCrat 7mar as elected in %aqifa Bani %aada. ho ere as presented the name of #aCrat "bu Ba!r and he

Then #aCrat "bu Ba!r, on his deathbed, nominated #aCrat 7mar as his heir, in turn nominated siD people and as!ed for elections amongst them. They as elected. "li did not participate in the competition. @hen #aCrat Bthman

"bdur Eehman, Bthman, "li, Talah, Fubair and %aad bin @aqas. #aCrat Bthman assassinated the ma6ority of people openly elected #aCrat "li as their Galiph. The %unnis maintain that, after these four guided caliphs, the Ma iyya turned the caliphate into a monarchy. The boo! of "bu "ula Mududi, entitled (Galiphate "nd Monarchy, sheds ample light on this issue. ?o , the %unni clerics say that Musha art &consensus and counseling' must be adopted for Islamic concept of Galiphate. By Islamic democracy they mean the election of pious, honest and 6ust people. By contrast, @estern democracy can change the basic moral and divine la s and regulations. The @estern parliaments have passed rules favoring and allo ing homoseDuality, hich is not permitted in divine scriptures. In an Islamic democratic state, the basic rules are the divine rules and cannot be changed by the decision of ma6ority. %overeignty lies ith Hod. @e can ma!e la s and rules that deal ith day0to0 day matters of life, but these la s should not be contrary to the e see that the %unni modern thin!ers support parliaments basics of Islam. #ence and democratic system.

7n the other hand, the %hias say that the #oly Prophet &PBB#' had nominated #aCrat "li as his successor. They believe in the concept of Immah, hich means that the door of Prophethood Muhammad, and divine leadership &Immah' as closed after the #oly Prophet as prescribed by the $uran and the

Prophet. They mostly quote from the %ura The Israelites the follo ing verse: (7n the 8ay hen e ill summon every people ith their Imam &leader'., &4>:>4' By this verse the %hias mean that #aCrat "li is their Imam and under his banner they ill resurrect on the 8ay of Judgment. They say that hen the #oly Prophet invited his near relatives to dinner and as!ed them to support Islam, none declared support eDcept #aCrat "li. 7n that occasion, the Prophet saidI (7, "li you are my brother, my minister and my successor., The famous @estern historian, Hibbon, in his boo!, (The Eise and Jall of the Eoman +mpire, also mentions this event. They also say that in #adith0e0Thaqalan, quoted by Muslims, Tirmidli, "hmed ibn #anbal, Tibrani and Mustadra! "l0#a!im, the vicegerency of #aCrat "li is proved. The Prophet3s pronouncement at Hhadeer0e0*hum, ( hoever3s Master I am, then this "li is his master, sho s that #aCrat "li as nominated as the heir by the Prophet of Islam. The %hias also cite from the %ura the Gonsultation:, (?o re ard do I as! of you for this eDcept the love of those near to &my' !in., &5-:-.' By this verse they infer that the #ousehold of the #oly Prophet on divine merits had the right of Galiphate &*halafah' and leadership &Imamah'. "ccording to the %hia sect, it #aCrat "li ho as the legal and divine heir of the Prophet. But let us dra a conclusion out of this controversy. In my opinion, both the sects, the %unnis and the %hias, believe in the divine merits of the status of caliphate and leadership. The %unnis also believe in the Immah and :elayah of #aCrat "li. Practically spea!ing, e have no other ay but to go for elections and select pious and 6ust people as our caliphs and leaders. Iran is a %hia state. They have a as

parliament, and they have a system of chec!s on the programs and policies created by the parliament. They have a council of guides. In Pa!istan they have Islamic ideological council hich deals ith the la s. If there is any doubt about a la , it e have to adopt e regard these is referred to Islamic council for approval. This means that character of the leadership must be noble, 6ust and righteous. If practices neutrally and impartially,

democracy to run the state. The %hia concept of Imamah also implies that the e see that there is little basic difference in ay to see to it that such righteous

political thought bet een the %unnis and the %hias. Both believe in the vicegerency of righteous individuals. The only piety. Jinally, it is essential to mention that the %hias are !no n as (The T elvers, because they believe in the spiritual and they orldly leadership of the t elve Imamss from Imam "li to Imam Mehdi. %ome %hia clerics believe that as ere the pious and 6ust personalities and also belonged to the #ousehold of of Imam Mehdi, e find some the Prophet. #ence, on merits, they had the right to be our caliphs &*halifa' as ell. #o ever, after the disappearance from vie 6urists &Jaqaha' claiming to be his heirs, assistants, or the lieutenants. They are simply religious people. The ma6ority of them refused to participate in politics. Imam *homeini, in his boo! entitled (Islamic %tatem, has given the idea of the government of clerics. "nother great %hia cleric, "yatollah %hariat Madari, ho as Imam *homeini3s contemporary, did not agree ith his political ideas and deeds. +ven Imam *homeini did not re6ect the modern method of democratic elections. This sho s that practically elections. In %ura %hura e have to re6ect nomination and go for ith e find that even the Prophet is as!ed to council people do indeed become leaders is Islamic democracy based in 6ustice, peace and

people in day0to0day social and political matters. The concept of Imamah in the Ismailis and Bohras is a spiritual monarchy having no Islamic sanction. #ence it

can be said that the %unnis and the %hias have no other Islamic democracy, and piety and is enacted through general elections. #ere monarchy, militarism and fascism. &The

ay but to act upon the e all unite and re6ect

hich is based on freedom, equality, peace, progress, 6ustice

riter is an eminent spea!er and scholar on comparative religions and a

political activist. #e can be reached at maqsood6afriKaol.com'

Political System of Islam

Eeligion and politics are one and the same in Islam. They are intert ined. @e already !no that Islam is a complete system of life and politics is very much a part of our collective life. Just as Islam teaches us ho to say %alah, observe %a m, pay Fa!ah and underta!e #a66, so it teaches us ho to run a state, from a government, elect councillors and members of parliament, ma!e treaties and conduct business and commerce. Bear in mind that Islamic ruling system is not the same as the ruling system e have in the non0islamic countries. " detailed discussion of the Islamic political system ould be desirable, but e have to content ourselves ith its basic principles and main features. The Islamic Political %ystem is based on the folloing main principles:

4. %overeignty of "llah s t.
%overeignty means the source of po er. In Islam, "llah is the source of all po ers and la s &.:4=5, 4-:5/, -=:-, <>:4'. It is "llah ho !no s hat is good and hat is bad for #is servants. #is say is final. "ll human beings unitedly cannot change #is la . The $u3an says, L"s for the thief 0male and female, chope off their hands. It is the re ard of their o n actions and eDemplary punishment from "llah. "llah is Mighty, @ise.L &=:.>'. "ccording to Islam, this order is unchangeable by any parliament or any government hich claims itself to be Islamic &=:55, -:--A'. There are many more la s in the $ur3an concerning our life and those la s must be put to practice by an Islamic state for the greater good of human beings.

-. *hilafah of Man!ind &:icegerency of man'.

Man is the vicegerent, the agent or the representative of "llah s t on earth &-:./, <:4<='. "llah is the sovereign and man is #is representative. Man should do as "llah commands him to do. But he has a choice to either obey or disobey "llah and, because of this freedom of choice, he ill be tested on the day of 6udgement. In the political sense, *hilafah means that human beings should implement the ill of "llah on earth as #is deputy or agent. "s "llah3s agents, human beings ill carry out the ill of "llah s t on #is behalf as a trust &"manah'. *hilafah is a trust. "n agent is al ays eDpected to behave as his master ants him to behave &4/:45'.

.. )egislation by %hura &Gonsultation'.

Islam teaches us to run a government, to ma!e legislation and decisions by the process of %hura. %hura means Lto ta!e decisions by consultation and participationL &.:4=A, 5-:.;'. This is an important part of the Islamic political system. There is no scope for despotism in Islam. The $ur3an and the %unnah ill be the basis of legislation in Islam.

5. "ccountability of government.
The Islamic political system ma!es the ruler and the government responsible firstly to "llah and then to the people. The rular and the government are elected by the people to eDercise 1po ers on their behalf. @e must remember here that both the ruler and the ruled are the *halifah of "llah and the ruler shall have to or! for the elfare of the people according to the $ur3an and %unnah. " ruler is a servent of the people of Islam. Both the ruler and the ruled ill appear before "llah s t and account for their actions on the day of 6udgement. The responsibility of the ruler is heaver than the ruled. "ny ordinary citiCen of an Islamic state has the right to as! any question on any matter to the ruler and the government.

=. Independence of 6udiciary.
In the Islamic political system, the Judiciary is independent of the +Decutive. The head of the state or any government minister could be called to the court if necessary. They ould be treated no differently from other citiCens. The $ur3an has many in6unctions about 6ustice. 7ne of the main functions of the Islamic state is to ensure 6ustice to all citiCens &5:=;, 5:4.=, =:;'. The ruler and the government has no right to interfere in the system of 6ustice.

<. +quality before la .

The Islamic political system ensures equality for all citiCens before the la . It does not recognise any discrimination on the basis of language, colour, territory, seD or descent. Islam recognises the preference of one over the other only on the basis of Taq a &piety or fear of Hod'. 7ne ho fears "llah s t most is the noblest in Islam &5A:4.'.

Gonclusion
The duty of an Islamic state is to establish %alah and Fa!ahI promote the right and forbid the rong &--:55'. The state is responsible for the elfare of all its citiCens 0 Muslims and non0Muslims ali!e. It must guarantee the basic necessities of life. "ll citiCens of the Islamic state shall en6oy freedom of belief, thought, conscience and speech. +very citiCen shall be free to develop his potential, improve his capacity,

earn and possess. " citiCen shall en6oy the right to support or oppose any government policy hich he thin!s right or rong ith the follo ing in mind.: The Islamic state is a duty bound to implement the la s of the $ur3an and the %unnah. The $ur3an strongly denounces those ho do not decide their matters by "llah3s revelations &=:5-0=/'. The Islamic state shall ensure a fair distribution of ealth. Islam does not believe in equal distribution as it is against the la of creation. There is not a single perfect Islamic state in the orld today. There are many Muslim countries. "n Islamic state is based on the model of Prophet Muhammad3s &phuh' state in Madinah hile a Muslim state is one hich has a ma6ority Muslim population and some Islamic features. #o ever, organised efforts have been going on in many Muslim countries to establish truly Islamic states. "l0i!h anul Muslimun in the Middle +ast, MuCahid or Taliban in "fganistan, the Jama3at0e0Islami in Pa!istan, and *ashmir, Jehaad movement in Bangladesh, &infor. source0 BBG B*' 8e an 8a! ah Islamia &Islamic 8a ah Gouncil' in Indonesia, "l0Muha6irun in Britain, and #iCb0ut0 Tahrir in most advanced Islamic &muslim population' countries are some of the Islamic movements and parties hich have been or!ing for the re0establishment of "llah3s la on "llah3s land. )et us pray and hope that a real Islamic state ill emerge and guide the orld to ards 6ustice, fair play and peace &very soon 0if Hod ills'.