JUNE 11
The Fear of God
Plato (428-348 BC) is regarded as one of the three great philosophers of ancient Greece, the other two being Socrates and Aristotle. The book for which Plato is best remembered, titled the ‘Republic’ and written in the form of a dialogue, is on the subject of the Ideal State. In Plato’s view, “Unless philosophers bear kingly rule... or those who are now called kings and princes become genuine and adequate philosophers, there will be no respite from evil.”
Throughout the ages, many individuals, who have come to be known as philosopher-kings (or queens) have assumed power, e.g. the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Russian Queen Catherine II, King Frederick II of Prussia, the Macedonian King Demetrius and the contemporary ruler of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew. But none has measured up to the standard of the good ruler as presented by Plato.
There were certain pupils of the Greek philosophers who attained to kingship. For example, Alexander the Great was taught by Aristotle, and Demetrius was trained in Aristotle’s school of thought. Yet these philosopher-rulers were no better than others. As Peter Green puts it: “What happened was, nothing happened... Power, it appeared, could corrupt even philosophers.” (Times Magazine, May 13, 1991)
According to Karl Marx’s theory, the root of all evil was the economic system based on ownership, according to which those who were owners exploited those who were not, in very much the same way as a despot would oppress his subjects. It was thought that if the system of individual ownership were to be replaced by that of collective ownership, all kinds of oppression and exploitation could be uprooted. There would then be neither the owner or the owned, and no group or individual would be able to exploit any other group or individual.
These ideas led to the marxist revolution in Russia in 1917, whereupon the system of state-ownership was introduced by force. However, as events unfolded, it became apparent that in the guise of the no-ownership system, this had become the most tyrannical regime in modern history, the rulers proving to be the most oppressive and dictatorial ever witnessed. Instead of collective ownership improving the lot of the underprivileged, it only encouraged further oppression and coerciveness on the part of the rulers.
Similarly, in the second half of the twentieth century, colonialism was branded as an evil, and independence movements were launched against it on a massive scale. The moving spirits behind these movements held that foreign rule was the cause of all evils, not the least being oppression, and that if it could be replaced by home rule, oppression would die a natural death. These movements for national freedom eventually proved a resounding success and in all the newly freed former colonies, Government posts were promptly secured by the sons of the soil. But oppression and evil did not disappear. Hence rulers continued to be tyrants. Power had only changed hands.
God’s religion, Islam, tells us that all such claims made for improved temporal systems are without foundation; the only factor that can effect true reform is the fear of God. Nothing else can hold a man in power to the observance of proper standards of truth and justice.
The best historical illustration of this theory is the conduct of the Prophet’s companions. They wielded power, but they remained untarnished by the corruption rampant among the rulers who came before and after them. Their probity was unparalleled; as such it was a living proof of the Islamic claim that only the fear of God will right the wrongs of this world.
