The following Quranic verse provides us an insight into the Islamic understanding of political power:

Say: “O God! Lord of Power, You give power to whom You please, and You take away power from whom You please.” (THE QURAN 3: 26)

THE actual possessor of power is God, and it is He who grants power on earth to whom He wills. It is also He who takes away power from whomsoever He wills. So, the whole matter in this regard rests with God. If someone receives power, it is not due to his own effort: it is given to him by God alone. Similarly, when power is taken away from him, it is done by God alone.

Thus, the dominance or subjugation of any group is ultimately for God to decide. Political power is totally governed by God, just as the entire universe is running in accordance with the Divine plan. It is like saying that God alone is the controller of the universe and that He alone has the final word as to who is going to be given political power. Just as God exercises full power over the setting and rising of the sun, so also He has full power over the granting of political ascendancy.

Just as God exercises full power over the setting and rising of the sun, so also He has full power over the granting of political ascendancy.

This is an incontrovertible fact. There is another Quranic verse in this connection which throws further light on the issue: And He will bestow upon you other blessings which you desire; help from God and a speedy victory. (THE QURAN 61: 13)

In this verse, 'other blessings' includes political power. This has been characterized as something secondary. When we take this verse in its literal sense, it transpires that the status of political power has a secondary rather than a primary position in Islam. Primary place is given to the purification of the self through intellectual and spiritual development.

Another point made clear in this verse is that the receiving of political power depends solely upon Divine succour. Victory and defeat apparently belong to the human world, but both are totally governed by God.

As we learn from the Quran, God grants victory to whomsoever He wills and defeat to whomsoever He wills. From this understanding, it emerges that political power is a promise from God, and not a target. That is, it is not something that Muslims should aim at, for they can receive it only by divine edict.

Another point that we learn from this verse is that power is not granted to any group simply because of its struggle for that end, but, rather, on the fulfilment of two specific conditions. The Quran makes it clear that true faith and virtuous character alone are the deciding factors in receiving political power.

The actual possessor of power is God, and it is He who grants power on earth to whom He wills.

What is meant by faith is that the group who is to be the recipient of political power should have undergone the intellectual and spiritual revolution called Iman (faith) in the Quran, that is, they should evince absolute trust in God, total submission to the Prophet, full conviction regarding the existence of the angels, of the hereafter, of hell and heaven; in short, they should display a keen desire to mould their lives in accordance with the spirit of the Quran. When such qualities of faith are produced within a group, the time will come for it to be considered by God for the grant of political power. Good deeds necessarily entail full conformity with the divine commands regarding worship, moral character and the upholding of justice. In the words of the Quran, our lives should be wholly dyed in God’s hue. When this quality of good character has been developed in the majority of the people, only then is political power given to that group by God’s command.

Then there is another verse in this connection which throws further light on the subject. This is in the context of the granting of political power to the Prophet Solomon. The words uttered by the Prophet Solomon after receiving power was ‘le-yabluwani’ (This is meant as a test for me). These words tell us that political power is given in order to try us. The test contrives to separate the grateful from the insolent servants of God. (THE QURAN 27: 40)

According to the Quran, the nature of political power in this world is exactly the same as that of other things. That is, when an individual is given wealth, offspring or anything of a material, worldly nature like success, all that is designed to test him. All these blessings serve as ‘test papers’. And political power is also a ‘test paper’.

Therefore, according to the Quran whoever receives power should realize that power is given to him in order to test him. It is not something to take pride in, nor is power to be considered as a gift from God.

Victory and defeat apparently belong to the human world, but both are totally governed by God.

The concept of the State that emerges from these verses of the Quran makes it clear that political power is not the target or goal of our activities or actions. Rather it is the result of some other set of actions. That is to say, according to the Quran, the objectives of our struggle should be faith and good character. These conditions have to be fulfilled, and only then can a group be blessed with political power by God, if He so desires. We might say, by way of analogy, that the position of faith is that of the seed and the position of power is that of the fruit. According the Quran, the whole matter can be likened to a tree. The position of the seed in this example is that of action and the position of the fruit is that of receiving the reward of that action. In this way, those who sow the seed of Iman and good deeds may receive political power as a gift from God.

We must then consult the Quran and Sunnah as to what is the structure of political power in Islam. In the Quran, the first principle that comes before us is in the form of approbation of ‘those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation’. (THE QURAN 42: 38)

This verse alludes to a basic principle of conduct so far as the political structure of Islam is concerned. This shows that the political system of Islam is based on mutual adjustment, this being one of the most important social principles of Islam, which is equally desirable, both prior to and after receiving political power.

It is noteworthy that this verse enjoining Muslims to settle their affairs by consultation was revealed in Makkah, whereas Muslims received political power only in Medina after their migration. The revelation of this verse in Makkah shows that this principle of consultation is an all-time social principle. The practical proof of this principle at all times is made clear by the fact that whenever any social problems arose, the Prophet would always call his companions for consultation. Therefore we find in the books of Seerah (the Prophet’s biography) a number of examples which begin with these words, “O people, give me advice.”

After the death of the Prophet in Medina in 632 A.D, Abu Bakr Siddiq was appointed as a leader of the Believers, and first successor of the Prophet. Events prove, that the Prophet was of the opinion that this task of leadership should go to Abu Bakr, but he never nominated the latter, nor did he prepare a will.

According to the Quran whoever receives power should realize that power is given to him in order to test him.

There were, however, certain indications of his wishes during his lifetime. For instance, the task of congregational prayer is such as performed only by the head of the State. That is why the Prophet of Islam used to lead the prayer himself. For, according to Islam, the Imam of the mosque should be one who is the leader of the political institution, or he could be one appointed by the head of the State as his deputy. It is significant that the Prophet of Islam made Abu Bakr lead the prayer several times. This stand of the Prophet was to make it clear to the people that the appointment of the leader of the believers should be in accordance with the opinion of the people. That is why after his death, when the companions gathered together at an assembly hall in Medina, Abu Bakr was appointed the successor of the Prophet, after a long consultation.

Although the Islamic system is democratic in its nature, it would be appropriate to say that democracy in Islam is indirect democracy rather than direct. That is to say, the entire public is not consulted in the Islamic democratic system. Instead we find different methods in that period of Islam ruled by the ‘Rightly Guided Caliphs’.

None of the Caliphs of this period were appointed after consulting the public. Only the senior people available in Medina were consulted. This pattern was adopted concerning the appointment of all the four ‘pious’ Caliphs. With these standard examples during this period before us, we should not be wrong in saying that the democratic system of Islam is almost the same as what is called indirect democracy in the parlance of today.

This system entailed selecting a central body consisting of intellectuals, leaders and others who have a say in society after seeking the opinion of the public. This body then selected the Caliph. That is to say that this decision-making body will be formed by public opinion and this body in turn will be entrusted with the task of selecting the leader.

Muslims have been enjoined to settle their affairs by mutual consultation.

The political structure of Islam is not an unchangeable, rigid structure, but has sufficient flexibility to suit different circumstances. For instance, the selection of Abu Bakr took place after a discussion among the companions, while Umar Faruq was appointed by Abu Bakr Siddiq, the leader of the Believers himself, during his last days. Then, the third Caliph was selected by a six-member board nominated by Caliph Umar. So far as the selection of the fourth Caliph is concerned, it took place in an emergency situation, due to the murder of the third Caliph Uthman; the circumstances did not allow holding normal discussions. Therefore, a group of Muslims declared Ali ibn Abu Talib to be the fourth Caliph and the Muslim community accepted his Caliphate.

During the Umayyad period, Umar bin Abdul Aziz, who is known as the ‘fifth pious Caliph’, was selected. His election took place in the following manner. The preceding Caliph, Sulaiman ibn Abdul Malik, had left his will in a sealed envelope with instructions that it should be opened only after his death. So, this letter was opened in the mosque of Damascus after his demise.

This announcement was made by Reja ibn Haywa, who was appointed by Caliph Sulaiman to read out this will to the large number of people gathered in the mosque. It was an official announcement of the nomination of Umar bin Abdul Aziz as Caliph. But Umar bin Abdul Aziz publicly declared that he was returning this nomination to the people and it was up to them to choose whoever they wanted. At this turn of events, all the people gathered in the mosque chorused: “We accept you as our Caliph.” Only after this general consent did Umar accept the Caliphate.

The first phase of Islamic history is known as the ‘golden phase’. There is no doubt about it that consultation is an established practice in Islam and we see this from the precedent set in this golden period. Yet there is a high degree of flexibility in the principle of consultation in Islam. It is not a hard and fast rule. That is why we find that all the five Caliphs were appointed by different methods. Then another fact is that the area of this principle of flexibility in Islamic democracy is very vast. As we see during the Umayyad period, Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufiyan, the founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, nominated his son to succeed him. This was clearly the way of kingship or dynastic rule, going patently against the precedents set in the golden period. But this method introduced by Muawiyah became so common that it was adopted by almost all the succeeding Caliphs right from Muawiyah to Aurangzeb. Yet, the Islamic scholars in general accepted their Caliphates, giving them their silent approval. This shows that there is great flexibility in the Islamic concept of democracy based on consultation.

The position of political rule in Islam is not that of the target of action, but is rather the result of action.

This flexibility goes to the extent of even accepting dynastic kingship, if circumstances demand it. As for the governments established on the principle of dynastic rule, the scholars held the view that a government’s fulfilling its social, economic and religious responsibilities was more important than this or that political structure.

That is why in later history we find that although the Muslim scholars did not react to this dynastic rule, they did speak out openly about their responsibilities towards social justice.

The religious scholars (Ulama) never shirked their role of reminding the kings of their social duty. Most of the scholars refrained from accepting any government post so that they might not have to yield to any undue pressure. They thought that by remaining independent they would be able to play their role of censuring the policies of the government and of reminding the rulers of their duties.

That is why in later periods of Islamic history, when dynastic rule had become the order of the day among the Muslims, the rulers, more or less, could not deviate far from the Islamic principles of justice. For instance, the ruler had to come to the mosque to pray with the public; he had to spend the money of the treasury to fulfil the requirements of the public; he had to discharge his religious responsibilities and see to it that the public had no difficulty in discharging religious rites. Anyone could approach the king to register his or her complaint. And there was a proper arrangement by the government for the free religious education of the people, etc.

From our study of the Quran, Hadith and Islamic history, we come to these conclusions:

1. The position of political rule in Islam is not that of the target of action, but is rather the result of action. That is to say, fulfilling the criteria of faith and good deeds alone makes one deserving of political power.

2. There is no hard and fast rule for the political structure in Islam. Rather, we find great flexibility.

3. Although there may be adjustment so far as the political structure is concerned, there can be no adjustment or concession so far as the Islamic spirit is concerned.

4. According to the study of the Hadith, our actions towards political reform will be limited to the giving of advice, i.e. by peaceful means.

This should never go to the extent of launching violent movements aimed at ousting the rulers. As the Hadith traditions have it: “When you find corruption among the rulers, you must pay your due and ask your due from God”. It is as if the principle of Jesus Christ is also accepted in Islam: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke: 20: 26).

The Quran tells us: “God enjoins you to do justice”. This justice in its basic sense pertains to individual character. It demands that everyone in his personal life should develop a character based on justice. When the number of these just people grows into a large group, then they desire to lead their lives based on justice at the congregational or social level. When this social life manifests itself in the form of an organized social institution, it is called a state. This action (the desire to lead a just life) will be called just character from the individual point of view, and this same action at the social level will be the mainspring of the just state.