RESPONSIBILITY ACCORDING TO CAPACITY

A Wise Policy

ISLAM adheres to the principle of giving such responsibility as is commensurate with individual capacity. Giving anyone more responsibility than one is capable of handling is not the way of God. This principle applies to society as well as to individuals. But what holds for the individual does not necessarily hold for society, as the basic assumptions are different. So far as an individual is concerned, he has full control over his personal matters. It is possible for him to do whatever he regards as being right and proper. He can opt for the way of idealism if he has only himself to consider.

But the case of society is more complex. Social matters always concern several people. Therefore, only that method will work in the case of society, upon which people are in agreement. Besides, if any concept is externally imposed on society, a state of impasse will certainly develop. People will be at loggerheads with one another. There will be clashes and confrontations. Far from attaining what is desirable the result will only be confusion or even violence.

The principle of aiming at the ideal should apply to individuals and the principle of the acceptance of what is practical should apply to society.

The only solution to this problem is that the demands of the different sections of society be separated from each other. The principle of aiming at the ideal should apply to individuals and the principle of the acceptance of what is practical should apply to society. For instance, all individuals can act with justice. On the contrary, establishing justice as a system is a matter relating to the whole of society. The former depends on the individual’s personal choice, whereas the latter depends on the collective choice of society. Thus we can sum up by saying that the only solution is to adopt the principle:

Idealism at the individual level, and
pragmatism at the social level.