Whenever a state comes into existence
in this world it is among its obligations to maintain peace within its
territory, to negotiate all foreign threats, to defend its frontiers and
to work for the welfare and benefit of its people. The question is that
when an Islamic State is established does it have any additional obligations
to fulfill in the light of the Quran and Sunnah? In this article, we shall
attempt to answer this question.
There is no doubt that all the above
mentioned obligations of an ordinary state play an important role in an
Islamic state also. As the name itself suggests an Islamic state has its
specific standpoint on the philosophy of a community living on Islamic
principles. The religion of Islam is a way of life in which man learns
to form a relationship between his God and his fellow human beings in the
right perspectives. Therefore, the basic obligation of an Islamic
State should be to set up a system within it which enables its citizens
to establish a true relationship with their Creator and with their fellow
human beings.
According to the dictates of sense
and reason, all divine scriptures as well as the Quran and Sunnah, the
greatest obligation we have towards God is that we should never associate
anyone else in His Being, Attributes and Rights. If we do so, then this
what is called Shirk (polytheism). The Quran calls it zulmun `azeem. On
the other hand, if the relationship between a person and other fellow human
beings is to be established on correct lines, then it is necessary that
all their rights be fulfilled and all affairs between them be carried out
with justice and fairness.
The Quran, therefore, while mentioning
the obligations of an Islamic State says:
[These believers are those who], if We grant
them authority in this land, will establish regular prayers and pay zakat
and enjoin what is virtuous and forbid what is evil. (22:41)
Four obligations have been mentioned in
this verse. We shall elaborate on each one of them.
I. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGULAR PRAYERS
On studying the Quran, it is quite
clear that just as Tauheed is the basic belief in Islam, in the same way
Salaat (prayers) is the basic deed which a person must do. A student of
the Quran knows very well that Prayers encompasses the whole edifice of
religion.
In the verse under consideration,
establishing regular prayer has been ordered at the state level. In other
words, here `establishing prayers' refers to that system which the Holy
Prophet (sws) set up in Medina as the head of state and after him the four
pious Caliphs, in particular, followed. The main points of this system
are:
1. The people must stand committed
to the fact that if they are Muslims then they should appear in the mosques
at prayer times as a proof of their faith.
2. Mosques must be managed and supervised
by the government and the government only must appoint Imams for them.
3. The address of the Friday prayers
must be delivered only by the head of state and only he must lead these
prayers in the central Jami-i-Masjid of the capital. The provincial governors
must be entrusted with this job in the central Jami`-i-Masjids of the provinces,
while the representatives of the government must perform this duty in the
Jami`-i-Masjids of the various administrative units.
It should be kept in mind here that
salaat (prayers) occupies primary importance in a person's relationship
with the Almighty. Consequently, if the system of a state is conscious
of this fact, hopefully all other requirements of Islam shall be carried
out by the people. If on the other hand, a state is indifferent to this
primary obligation, there is all the probability that it shall be indifferent
to other directives of Islam as well.
II. PAYMENT OF ZAKAT
Just as salaat occupies the primary
position in establishing a relationship between man and his Creator, zakat
occupies the fundamental poistion in establishing a sound relationship
between man and other human beings of his society. Therefore, in the afore
mentioned verse the second obligation which must be fulfilled by an Islamic
State is that it should implement that system of zakat at the State level
which was preached by the Prophet (sws) and which was enforced at Medina
to help the poor and needy and to fulfill the financial requirements of
the state.
III. TO ENJOIN WHAT IS GOOD
The third obligation of an Islamic
state as laid out by the verse quoted above is that it should do all that
it can to propogate, patronize and implement all that is good. By `good'
(ma`roof) is meant all that which is considered pious in the light of the
Shariah and our intellect. It should remain quite clear that where the
state has the right to propogate what is good, it also has all the authority
to implement it keeping in view the dictates of the Shariah and the welfare
of the Muslims in general.
IV. TO FORBID WHAT IS EVIL
In the verse under discussion, the
fourth obligation set for an Islamic state by the Quran is that it should
take sterps to curb and root out the evil from the society. `Evil' means
all that which is disapproved by the Shariah and which is abhorrent to
human nature. The state has all the authority to forcibly stop people from
committing evil if need be.
O
Just as a state has a police department
to maintain internal peace and an army to ward off external threats, in
the same way the Quran has orderd Muslims to set up an institution which
should invite people to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. This
institution should have legal authority bestowed on it by the Parliament.
The Quran says:
You are the best Ummah that has been raised up
for mankind [to bear witness to the religion of truth upon them]. You enjoin
what is virtuous and forbid what is evil and really believe in God. (3:110)
Therefore, it should be declared in an
Islamic State that the establishment of Tauheed, eradication of shirk,
enforcement of salaat and zakat, popularization of good deeds and elimination
of bad ones are the basic obligations of an Islamic State and they should
be given due consideration by the rulers of the state.
(Adapted Moiz Amjad's Commentary on Ghamidi's
"Manshoor")
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