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11-Politics In Islam

11-POLITICS IN ISLAM
Question:

Does Islam have a political system?

Answer:

Yes, since Islam, as we have seen, is concerned both with the spiritual affairs of man and also with the life in this world.  Islam has something to say about all man’s needs and adopts a clear position regarding every issue.

Question:

What do you mean by Islamic politics?

Answer:

To go into detail about Islamic government would require a large volume so here we shall summarize the main principles involved, addressing the following questions:

1.          Who should lead an Islamic state?

2.          How should government in Islam be carried out?

3.          What is the system of government?

Question:

Who then should lead an Islamic state?

Answer:

The head of state is someone who fulfils these conditions:

1.        He must have reached the age of legal maturity, is sane, is a freeman, a male, legitimate in birth and a man of faith.

2.        He must be knowledgeable about worldly and spiritual affairs.

3.        He must be scrupulously just.

Many jurists also stipulate that he should be the most knowledgeable of the religious scholars of his day.

 

Question:

What does Islamic government entail?

Answer:

An Islamic government is concerned with spiritual and material affairs equally, which means that an Islamic ruler rules in the name of God, not in his own right or in the name of any aristocracy.  The advantage of such a government lies in the following:

1.        It fills the spiritual vacuum in society since rule is not distributed between a “spiritual authority” and a “worldly authority” but is, rather, one authority representing both aspects of government together. 

2.        It is not possible for the ruler to become corrupt since if he does he will be exposed immediately, for religion has its own laws which cannot be changed nor be substituted nor be adjusted.

3.        It strengthens the relationship between the people and the government, which results in complete cooperation since people have a spiritual side to their nature.  Even if someone proclaims that he is not religious he means that he is not committed to God’s laws not that he has absolutely no religion or spirituality, for the meaning of religion is that particular ethical path which an individual chooses to follow in life.  Therefore if a government can itself unite both religious and worldly authority, everyone should feel some empathy with it.

4.        Following from the above, such a government will last longer since a government based upon spiritual principles has greater staying power and lasts longer than a secular one.

Question:

Describe an Islamic system of government.

Answer:

This question needs ideally a detailed survey of the various institutions which appertain to such a government but suffice it here to outline some of them and some of the factors that will take priority in a system founded upon Islam:

1.        The judiciary.

2.        The army.

3.        The treasury.

4.        Freedom in its various forms.

5.        Solving disputes and problems.

6.        The prosperity of the nation.

Of these six items, the first three are among the basic constituents of any nation since the law exists to enforce justice within the country, the army to repel an enemy and the like and a treasury is required to provide for the judiciary, the army and other institutions. The last three concern the welfare of the nation and its progress.

Question:

How does Islam regard the judiciary?

Answer:

The judiciary in Islam is uncomplicated, speedy and free of charge.  One judge is sufficient to deal with the litigations of a large town in the simplest fashion by people merely having to report to him for a ruling and, moreover, without paying any legal charges. The plaintiff is asked if he has evidence for what he alleges.  If he has, then judgement is given accordingly and if he cannot produce evidence, then judgement will be in favour of the defendant.  Once the judgement has been announced this is the end of the case.  In this way one judge was sufficient for the needs of a large city like al-Kufa for a period of almost half a century.

Question:

What about the army in Islam?

Answer:

The army in Islam as we gather from various authorities is open to all and you join it by choice and it is not a great burden on those who join.  The ruler establishes camps outside the cities, sets up the necessary facilities and commends the idea of military training to the people.  It is clear that the kind of training envisaged will be popular and there will be great response seeing that a man will only be required to give up a portion of each day for military service, whereas for the remaining hours he is free to busy himself as he chooses.  Also military expenditure will not overburden the government since all it will have to provide are the essential requirements.  The concept of the army in Islam even in a modern context can be likened to a sports team.

Question:

Describe the treasury in an Islamic state.

Answer:

As has already been noted, taxes in Islam are restricted to khums, zakat, jizya and kharaj which are all sent to the Treasury and from this money the various organs of an Islamic state are funded.  Seeing that the administration of the state is run so simply, it does not need that much money and therefore the people under an Islamic government are happy since they do not have to pay tax and the government is content because the burden of expenditure is not heavy.

Question:

What do you mean when you speak of freedom within Islam?

Answer:

Since the apparatus of an Islamic government is uncomplicated, the people correspondingly enjoy the maximum freedom and thus they have a free unrestricted rein when it comes to farming, trading, industry, travelling, building, where to live, the possession of anything that is permissible (from the standpoint of the Shari‘a) and so forth.  For all this freedom there are no taxes to pay and similarly there is no obligatory work to do such as military service.  Man’s needs are met simply and in the same way the judiciary is run on uncomplicated lines and so are trade transactions and those involving pawning and renting and the like.  For instance, buying and selling is carried out speedily and can be summed up by the seller saying, “I sell (something or other)”, or to that effect, and the reply of the purchaser, “I accept” and then writing down on an ordinary piece of paper what has been transacted with the signature of two witnesses.  This simplicity is a common feature of life in an Islamic state.

Question:

How does Islam deal with the problems of the people?

Answer:

Because Islam only recognizes the existence of crucial problems, does not impose any taxes upon commodities or work and also the fact that the apparatus of government is kept to a minimum, the problems you see today in the nations around the world would not exist under Islamic rule.  Only issues of prime significance will remain, such as judicial proceedings, criminal offences and, thirdly, actions which are contrary to Islamic law such as building a house that overlooks another and the like, theft, murder, drinking alcohol and so on.  These three categories are dealt with speedily by Islam to the extent that they should no longer be regarded as problems at all.  Consequently one judge is enough for a whole town. His responsibility is to make a judgement in legal disputes, look after money belonging to orphans, oversee the awqaf (religious estates) and witness trade transactions and business agreements and appoint an official to carry out judicial punishments.  Another factor is that the number of prisons in an Islamic state is very small and so it is true to say that the people under Islamic rule have no intractable problems to confront and consequently they can busy themselves with their own affairs with a sense of serenity and peace of mind.

Question:

How can Islam make a nation progress?

Answer:

There are several factors for Islam being able to do this which can be summarized in the following basic principles:

1.     The simplicity of the government apparatus.

2.     Encouragement.

3.     Mutual cooperation.

Concerning the apparatus of government in Islam, I have already pointed out some of its aspects.  Historians have mentioned that the number of top officials sufficient to rule an Islamic state need not exceed 50 for every million or so inhabitants.  Islam does not see the necessity for the existence of many of the departments considered as being essential by the governments of the nations of today, because it prefers to have things done in an uncomplicated fashion. 

Thus an Islamic state does not unduly make issues intricate nor protract them so that it has to have numerous officials and similarly it delegates many tasks to the people themselves.  These tasks therefore are not monopolized by the government causing it, in turn, to create more departments which would not only be a considerable burden upon it but would also mean having to take people away from the private sector.

 As for encouragement, Islam encourages knowledge and work to an extent not found in any other religion or legal system.  It makes “seeking knowledge an obligation for every Muslim” and both for the scholar and the manual worker it promises an astonishing amount of merit in the hereafter.

So those who are religious possess two forces that will lead to the advance of human affairs: a worldly potential which is also present in non-Muslim societies and a religious, spiritual power which others do not possess and this truth is indicated in the words of the Almighty, “And you hope from God what they do not hope”[4: 104].

Thirdly, concerning mutual cooperation: an Islamic government cooperates with the people in order to bring about a thriving society and a more prosperous nation just as Imam Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him) directed Malik al-Ashtar when he appointed him his governor over Egypt [ca. 37/658] during his glorious period of rule, and there are many other examples.

Since an Islamic government is sure to pursue the policies outlined above, the state cannot help but achieve a remarkable degree of advancement.  We have thus summed up what we mean by politics seen from an Islamic perspective.  A detailed survey is not possible here but we have allocated a special work to this topic.

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