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Articles & News
The
Political Framework Of Islam
The political system of Islam is based on the three principles
of Tawhid (Oneness of Allah), risala (Prophethood) and Khilafa
(Caliphate).
Tawhid means that one Allah alone is the Creator, Sustainer and
Master of the universe and of all that exists in it - organic or
inorganic. He alone has the right to command or forbid. Worship
and obedience are due to Him alone. No aspect of life in all its
multifarious forms ? our own organs and faculties, the apparent
control which we have over physical objects or the objects
themselves ? has been created or a acquired by us in our own
right. They are the bountiful provisions of Allah and have been
bestowed on us by Him alone.
Hence, it is not for us to decide the aim and purpose of our
existence or to set the limits of our worldly authority; nor
does anyone else have the right to make these decisions for us.
This right rests only with Allah. This principle of the Oneness
of Allah makes meaningless the concept of the legal and
political sovereignty of human beings. No individual, family,
class or race can set themselves above Allah. Allah alone is the
Ruler and His commandments constitute the law of Islam.
Risala is the medium through which we receive the law of Allah.
We have received two things from this source: the Qur'an, the
book in which Allah has expounded His law, and the authoritative
interpretation and exemplification of that Book by the Prophet
Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him), through
word and deed, in his capacity as the representative of Allah.
The Qur'an laid down the broad principles on which human life
should be based and the Prophet of Allah, in accordance with
these principles, established a model system of Islamic life.
The combination of these two elements is called the shari'a
(law).
Khilifa means "representation". Man, according to Islam, is the
representative of Allah on earth, His vice-gerent; that is to
say, by virtue of the powers delegated to him by Allah, and
within the limits prescribed, he is required to exercise Divine
authority.
To illustrate what this means, let us take the case of an estate
of yours which someone else has been appointed to administer on
your behalf. Four conditions invariably obtain: First, the real
ownership of the estate remains vested in you and not in the
administrator; secondly, he administers your property directly
in accordance with your instructions; thirdly, he exercises is
authority within the limits prescribed by you; and fourthly, in
the administration of the trust he executes your will and
fulfils your intentions and not his own. Any representative who
does not fulfil these four conditions will be abusing his
authority and breaking the covenant which was implied in the
concept of "representation".
This is exactly what Islam means when it affirms that man is the
representative (khalifa) of Allah on earth. Hence, these four
conditions are also involved in the concept of Khalifa. The
state that is established in accordance with this political
theory will in fact be a caliphate under the sovereignty of
Allah.
Democracy In Islam
The above explanation of the term Khilafa also makes it clear
that no individual or dynasty or class can be Khalifa: the
authority of Khilafa is bestowed on the whole of any community
which is ready to fulfil the conditions of representation after
subscribing to the principles of towhid and Risala. Such a
society carries the responsibility of the Khilafa as a whole and
each one of its individuals shares in it.
This is the point where democracy begins in Islam. Every
individual in an Islamic society enjoys the rights and powers of
the caliphate of Allah and in this respect all individuals are
equal. No-one may deprive anyone else of his rights and powers.
The agency for running the affairs of the state will be formed
by agreement with these individuals, and the authority of the
state will only be an extension of the powers of the individuals
delegated to it. Their opinion will be decisive in the formation
of the government, which will be run with their advice and in
accordance with their wishes.
Whoever gains their confidence will undertake the duties and
obligations of the caliphate on their behalf; and when he loses
this confidence he will have to step down. In this respect the
political system of Islam is as perfect a dorm of democracy as
there can be.
What distinguishes Islamic democracy from Western democracy,
therefore, is that the latter is based on the concept of popular
sovereignty, while the former rests on the principle of popular
Khilafa. In Western democracy, the people are sovereign; in
Islam sovereignty is vested in Allah and the people are His
caliphs or representatives. In the former the people make their
own; in the latter they have to follow and obey the laws (shari?a)
given by Allah through His Prophet. In one the government
undertakes to fulfill the will of the people; in the other the
government and the people have to fulfil the will of Allah.
The Purpose Of The Islamic State
We are now in a position to examine more closely the type of
state which is built on the foundations of tawhid, Risala and
Khilafa.
The Holy Qur'an clearly states that the aim and purpose of this
state is the establishment, maintenance and development of those
virtues which the Creator wishes human life to be enriched by
and the prevention and eradication of those evils in human life
which He finds abhorrent. The Islamic state is intended neither
solely as an instrument of political administration nor for the
fulfillment of the collective will of any particular set of
people; rather, Islam places a high ideal before the state for
the achievement of which it must use all the means at its
disposal.
This ideal is that the qualities of purity, beauty, goodness,
virtue, success and prosperity which Allah wants to flourish in
the life of His people should be engendered and developed and
that all kinds of exploitation, injustice and disorder which, in
the sight of Allah, are ruinous for the world and detrimental to
the life of His creatures, should be suppressed and prevented.
Islam gives us a clear outline of its moral system by stating
positively the desired virtues and the undesired evils. Keeping
this outline in view, the Islamic state can plan its welfare
programme in every age and in any environment.
The constant demand made by Islam is that the principles of
morality must be observed at all costs and in all walks of life.
Hence, it lays down as an unalterable policy that the state
should base its policies on justice, truth and honesty. It is
not prepared, under any circumstances, to tolerate fraud,
falsehood and injustice for the sake of political,
administrative or national expediency. Whether it be relations
between the rulers and the ruled within the state, or the
relations of the state with other states, precedence must always
be given to truth, honesty and justice.
Islam imposes similar obligations on the state and the
individual: to fulfil all contracts and obligations; to have
uniform standards in dealings; to remember obligations along
with rights and not to forget the rights of others when
expecting them to fulfil their obligations; to use power and
authority for the establishment of justice and not for the
perpetration of injustice; to look upon duty as a sacred
obligation and to fulfil it scrupulously; and to regard power as
a trust from Allah to be used in the belief that one has to
render an account of one's actions to Him in the life Hereafter.
Fundamental Rights
Although an Islamic state may be set up anywhere on earth, Islam
does not seek to restrict human rights or privileges to the
boundaries of such a state. Islam has laid down universal
fundamental rights for humanity which are to be observed and
respected in all circumstances. For example, human blood is
sacred and may not be spilled without strong justification; it
is not permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the
sick or the wounded; women's honour and chastity must be
respected; the hungry must be fed, the naked clothed and the
wounded or diseased treated medically irrespective of whether
they belong to the Islamic community or are from amongst its
enemies. These, and other provisions have been laid down by
Islam as fundamental rights for every man by virtue of his
status as a human being.
Nor, in Islam, are the rights of citizenship confined to people
born in a particular state. A Muslim ipso facto becomes the
citizen of an Islamic state as soon as he sets food on its
territory with the intention of living there and thus enjoys
equal rights along with those who acquire its citizenship by
birth. And every Muslim is to be regarded as eligible for
positions of the highest responsibility in an Islamic state
without distinction of race, colour or class.
Islam has also laid down certain rights for non-Muslims who may
be living within the boundaries of an Islamic state and these
rights necessarily form part of the Islamic constitution. In
Islamic terminology, such non-Muslims are called dhimmis (the
covenanted), implying that the Islamic state has entered into a
covenant with them and guaranteed their protection. The life,
property and honour of a dhimmis is to be respected and
protected in exactly the same way as that of a Muslim citizen.
Nor is there difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim
citizen in respect of civil or criminal law.
The Islamic state may not interfere with the personal rights of
non-Muslims, who have full freedom of conscience and belief and
are at liberty to perform their religious rites and ceremonies
in their own way. Not only may they propagate their religion,
they are even entitled to criticize Islam within the limits laid
down by law and decency.
These rights are irrevocable. Non-Muslims cannot be deprived of
them unless they renounce the covenant which grants them
citizenship. However much a non-Muslim state may oppress its
Muslim citizens it is not permissible for an Islamic state to
retaliate against its non-Muslim subjects; even if all the
Muslims outside the boundaries of an Islamic state are
massacred, that state may not unjustly shed the blood of a
single non-Muslim citizen living within its boundaries.
Executive And Legislature
The responsibility for the administration of the government in
an Islamic state is entrusted to an amir (leader) who may be
compared to the president or the prime minister in a Western
democratic state. All adult men and women who subscribe to the
fundamentals of the constitution are entitled to vote for the
election of the amir.
The basic qualifications for an amir are that he should command
the confidence of the majority in respect of his knowledge and
grasp of the spirit of Islam, that he should possess the Islamic
quality of fear of Allah and that he should be endowed with
qualities of statesmanship. In short, he should have both virtue
and ability.
A shoora (advisory council) is also elected by the people to
assist and guide the amir. It is incumbent on the amir to
administer his country with the advice of this shoora. The amir
may retain office only so long as he enjoys the confidence of
the people and must relinquish it when he loses that confidence.
Every citizen has the right to criticize the amir and his
government and all reasonable means for the ventilation of
public opinion must be available.
Legislation in an Islamic state is to be carried out within the
limits prescribed by the law of the shari'a. The injunctions of
Allah and His Prophet are to be accepted and obeyed and no
legislative body may alter or modify them or make any law
contrary to them. Those commandments which are liable to two or
more interpretations are referred to a sub-committee of the
advisory council comprising men learned in Islamic law. Great
scope remains for legislation on questions not covered by
specific injunctions of the shari'a and the advisory council or
legislature is free to legislate in regard to these matters.
In Islam the judiciary is not places under the control of the
executive. It derives its authority directly from the shari'a
and is answerable to Allah. The judges are appointed by the
government but once a judge occupies the bench he has to
administer justice impartially according to the law of Allah;
the organs and functionaries of the government are not outside
his legal jurisdiction, so that even the highest executive
authority of the government is liable to be called upon to
appear in a court of law as a plaintiff or defendant. Rulers and
ruled are subject to the same law and there can be no
discrimination on the basis of position, power or privilege,
Islam stands for equality and scrupulously adheres to this
principle in social, economic and political realms alike.
Translated by Prof Khurshid Ahmad
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