Author: Muhammad Dawood Yusufi Eshaqzahi
Islam and Democracy (Part 16)
Politics in Islam and Its Position and Importance
The relationship between religion and politics in Muslim societies has been a central subject of discussion and debate among scholars of Islam. Some regard Islam as purely a religious faith that has neither the right to govern nor the capacity to regulate the day-to-day affairs of human life. Others, however, view Islam not merely as a religion, but also as a social system and order that encompasses all spheres of human life, including government and law.
Such researchers base their arguments on the guidance of the Qur’an and refer to its political implications and to numerous Qur’anic terms such as “Mulk” (sovereignty), “ummah” (community), and other expressions that carry political meanings. For example, the Arabic term “Sultan,” which is repeatedly mentioned in the Qur’an, is a noun conveying the meaning of authority and governance and was used from the early period of Islam to refer to government. Likewise, the term “Hukm” (judgment, governance) and its derivatives, such as “Hakim” (ruler/judge) and “Hakam” (arbiter/judge), occur explicitly more than 250 times in the Qur’an, each carrying political implications. For example, the Qur’an says to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH): “Indeed, we have revealed to you the Book in truth so that you may judge between the people by that which Allah has shown you.” [1] Similarly, the Qur’an commands: “O Dawood! Indeed, we have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth.” [2]
In the aforementioned verse, the form “uhkum” is an imperative verb instructing the leader to judge and govern with justice.
Prophet Dawood (AS) and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were both leaders and judges by divine appointment; therefore, they possessed full judicial authority.
Of course, entrusting the affairs of succession and judgment to them does not mean that they judged and governed according to their own desires. Rather, their governance had to be based upon the naṣṣ, which in Islam refers to the textual evidence of the Qur’an. If there was no explicit or implicit Qur’anic text concerning a particular matter, the prophets would declare their legal position according to revelation and inspiration granted by Allah the Almighty.
Thus far, these Qur’anic texts are sufficient to demonstrate the governmental and legal implications of the Qur’anic term Hukm.
The relationship between religion and society is not limited merely to the performance of acts of worship. Rather, it extends as a constant and powerful force throughout all dimensions of society and serves as its guide and pioneer. There is no fundamental separation between acts of worship and social relations, between social relations and government, between government and Shariʿah, or between Shariʿah and human affairs in general. Rather, these different aspects are interconnected parts of a single whole.
According to Bauma (1992), the nature of religion contains sufficiently developed and organized laws and programs for the advancement of society and for guiding human life toward goodness and prosperity.
Religions came to construct and develop life within society, not to remain stagnant in some corner of society or to be detached and excluded from daily life.
According to him, religions came with moral perspectives concerning goodness, including laws, views, and programs for development and for harmonizing political motivations with other motivations. It may be assumed that the motivations of religions differ from the motivations of society. Nevertheless, differences between the models proposed by a religion and those existing within society do not mean that religions are outdated and must therefore be transformed into modern religions.
Overall, society consists of structured relationships among individuals and groups, and their motivations are motivations arising from society. Religion has come with moral insights and eternal perspectives in order to correct and harmonize the motivations of society. In this process, human beings remain human beings and do not become another kind of creature. For example, it would be highly inappropriate and repulsive to say that human beings are outdated creatures and should be replaced by another advanced and modern species. Likewise, making such statements about religion is even more inappropriate.
Misunderstanding the purpose of religion is one matter, while abandoning religion is another. Islamic Sharīʿah, as Joseph Schacht emphasizes, does not separate religion from daily life. It does not separate religion from politics, politics from ethics, or ethics from the state. In Islamic Sharīʿah, individual activities and people’s relationship with the state possess metaphysical and religious foundations. Islam is a system for practical human life in all its dimensions.
Islam presents an ideal and convincing concept that explains the relationship between the Creator and His creation, as well as the entirety of life and humanity. Islam explains the nature of the universe, determines the position of human beings within it, and defines their ultimate purposes. Islam encompasses practical teachings and structures that emerge from and depend upon this ideal and transform it into a reality reflected in the daily lives of human beings.
If Islam’s purpose in life is understood as bringing the body and soul into order and harmony, the only logical expectation is that it establishes a very close relationship between religion and politics and between the mosque and the military fortress.
According to Bauma, religious activity encompasses the whole person and the framework of social groups because Islam addresses humanity as it actually exists, rather than as an intellectual concept arising from or contrary to idealism, positivism, and similar notions. Islam does not concern itself with propositions that lack practical reality.
On the other hand, Islam does not regard the human being as merely spirit or merely body. A human being is not pure intellect; rather, a human being is a combination of body, mind, and spirit, whose components together form a unified, effective, and responsible whole.
The Islamic social order is based on the universal principle of human brotherhood. Islam seeks to ensure happiness, prosperity, and goodness for both the individual and society. Within this system, there is no place for any form of class conflict between individuals and society. The Islamic social system is collective, favors social life, and encourages collective worship. It is a society in which all people have one ultimate authority, one direction, and one center; Muslims throughout the world fast during the same month and undertake the pilgrimage to Makkah at the same time as one of the fundamental obligations of Islam.
At the same time, Islam places great emphasis on individual responsibility and does not neglect individual development. Nevertheless, it organizes all individuals into one unified whole: the Islamic community. A single law regulates the affairs of life and human beings, regardless of the social class or country in which they live.
It is within this context that we should explain a view repeatedly presented in Western literature: that Islam is not merely a religion but, at the same time, both a religion and a state.
Hegel concludes: “The essence of Islamic morality may be complete. What ought to be an inner inclination becomes a matter of external order. There is no need for a will that commands moral actions; rather, they are performed voluntarily because they are commanded from within, since the external and internal commands have not yet been separated in terms of law and moral consciousness. In this way, they form an undivided unity. Religion and the state are likewise so.”
In this regard, Montesquieu, in his work The Spirit of the Laws, emphasizes that a society without law is not truly a society, and wherever there is law, there must also be government. He bases his view on Biblical and Qur’anic considerations and on the laws established by God:
“God, the Creator and Preserver, established laws because this is related to His wisdom and power. As we observe, the world continues to exist, and its movements must follow immutable laws. If another world apart from this one could be conceived, that world too would either continue according to enduring laws or perish.”
Earlier commentators such as Ibn Kathīr, in his commentary on verse 59 of Surat al-Nisaʾ, state, “The ruler is Allah. He alone is the Lawgiver.” Al-Jaṣṣaṣ, in his commentary on verse 65 of Surat al-Nisaʾ, states, “Sharīʿah has a close connection with Islamic beliefs, and without governance, Islamic Sharīʿah cannot exist.”
Muhammad al-Ghazalī (1917–1996 CE), a scholar of al-Azhar, emphasizes that Allah is the sole Lawgiver and that the Muslim community should establish a consultative government.
The renowned exegete Imam al-Qurṭubi (RA) states: “All scholars agree that Allah the Almighty is the Lawgiver and that a state must exist for the administration of affairs.”
Al-Mawardi likewise states in similar terms: “After prophethood, leadership is recommended as a means of preserving religion and managing the affairs of this world. There is consensus that the person responsible for this position of leadership must accept the covenant of leadership of the Muslim community.”
Likewise, Nawawi, the Shaykh of al-Azhar (1896–1900 CE), states: “Yes, Islam is a state and possesses a clear political theory. Muslims must know that sovereignty belongs solely to Allah the Almighty. Since the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), Islamic Sharīʿah has been the constitution of every Islamic political entity. This belief is a matter of consensus among the Muslim Ummah. Even those who recognize a role for human beings in this particular matter limit their view to matters concerning which revelation has not provided, or does not provide, specific rules or necessary guidance.”
The eminent scholar Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, concerning the importance of the Islamic state, states, “It should be known that all the Companions agreed that the Islamic state of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) should continue. For this reason, before his burial, they selected their leader.”
Likewise, al-Juwayni states: “Muslims must have a leader to govern their state, and this is a matter upon which the Ummah and the Imams have reached consensus.”
According to Ibn Khaldūn: “The Islamic state is obligatory, and this obligation is established by the consensus of the Companions.”
Muhammad ʿImarah (d. 1931 CE), a contemporary scholar, emphasizes, “Islam is a state in which Allah (SWT) is regarded as the highest legal and governmental authority, while its constitution is the Qur’an and the Sunnah.”
Muhammad Khidr Husain, Shaykh of al-Azhar (1952–1954 CE), adds: “Separating religion from the state is an offense against the truth of religion. Whoever among Muslims does so is not a Muslim.”
Muṣṭafa Ṣabrī (1869–1954), president of the Council of Judges of the Ottoman State, was appointed to the position of Shaykh al-Islam four times, with his final tenure ending with the political changes in the Ottoman government. In 1922, he left Turkey for Egypt, where he died in 1954.
He regarded the separation of Islam from politics as a conspiracy against Islam. He states: “Separating Islam from the state in Muslim countries is an innovation introduced by modernists and imitators of foreigners, and it is nothing but a rebellion against Islam. This type of effort is a revolution by the government against the beliefs of the people, whereas the proper course is for the people to rise against the government in order to implement Islamic Sharīʿah. Nevertheless, if this occurs against Islam, first from the government and then from the people, nothing Islamic will remain.”
To be continued…
References:
[1] Sūrat al-Nisāʾ, 4:105.
[2] Sūrat Ṣād, 38:26
