© Copyright 2007-2008 The Straight Path
Posted by: "brother_farrukh" farrukh@ntlworld.com   brother_farrukh
Sat May 19, 2007 8:26 am (PST)


Assalam alaikum,

The following question and answer is extracted from an interview given by Maududi to Radio Pakistan in 1978.

Question:
The present-day Western democracy is based on four pillars.In what form did they exist in the days of the Holy Prophet?

Answer:
So far as sovereignty is concerned I have already told that according to the teachings of the Prophet it belongs to Allah only. The division of
government into three branches, as it exists today, did not exist in the order of the Prophet. He was the law-giver, the judge and the administrator
at that time. As a ruler appointed by Allah these powers were vested in his person. But the system employed by the Prophet was such that asked
for unqualified obedience from people in respect of Divine Injunctions. No one could dare say a word against them.

But in matters as not explicitly mentioned by Divine Injunctions he always consulted his companions. He allowed them the right to differ and there
are many instances when he preferred there opinion.

One such instance is the Battle of Badr, in which one of his companions questioned him about the choice of the camp. He asked the Prophet
whether the selection of the camp was ordained by Allah or had been made by him? The Prophet replied that the choce had been made by him.
Thereupon the companion submitted that another site would be preferable and his suggestion was accepted.

It can be understood from this incident that the Prophet was giving two kinds of training to the believers. One was that when they received any
order from Allah they should obey it without question. The second training was that in other matters, which were not covered by any Divine
Injunction, competent persons should be consulted.

People should also be given the right to discuss these matters openly with liberty to differ from everybody however highly placed. So much so
that even the opinion of the Prophet in such matters was different from by his companions and the issue decided by consensus.

I would like to quote here one more instance. In the Battle of Azhab when the situation took a very serious turn, the Prophet wanted that some
tribes whose strong forces had gathered there be offered a portion of the agricultural produce of Medina and thereby isolated from the enemy's
block. Thereupon the leaders of the Ansar tribes asked the Prophet whether he had taken this decision at the commands of Allah or on his own?
He replied that it was his own decision and he wanted to take them out of danger. They said to the Prophet that the enemies had not been able to
wrench from them a particle even before they became Muslims. How could they do it now? Consequently, the idea was discarded.

It can easily be understood from this instance what was the system of government of the Prophet. While in matters ordained by Allah there was
no room for personal opinions, matters free from such injunctions were decided in a democratic manner.

Now we come to the judicial system.

The Prophet was a judge by virtue of his divine appointment. Hence he posessed complete judicial powers. The guiding principle concerning the
judicial system was that justice should bnot only be done but it should be done publicly. All cases were heard in the open court. There is no
precedent of secret trial in his days.

There is a famous incident in history that before the conquest of Mecca a companion of the Prophet wrote a letter to the disbelievers and informed
them of the attack that was about to be made on them. This letter was discovered. It was an obvious case of syping. The people of modern age
would say that such a dangerous case should have ben tried in secret but the Prophet held its public trial in a mosque.

Another important feature of the judicial system was that no decision was made without hearing the parties concerned and no one was depriced of
any of his rights without an opportunity of defence. The Qazis deputed outside Medina, by the Prophet were also instructed not to decide any suit
without hearing the parties concerned. The dorr of recommendation in respect of judicial matters was firmly closed.

After the conquest of Mecca a woman of the Quraish tribe committed theft. Her family tried that she was saved from punishment, the amputation
of her hand. The Prophet was approached in the matter through Usama bin Zaid, who was very dear to him. When he did so, the Prophet asked
him if he wanted to intercede in the matter of Allah? Many nations in the past had perished because they made discrimination in the dispensation
of justice. When their ordinary men committed offence they were punished according to law but when their respective men did it they were
treated leniently. The Prophet swore by Allah
that had his own daughter Fatima committed theft he would have ordered the amputation of her hand also. By saying so he not only closed the
door of intercession but also established the principle that all were equal before the law.

He also established the principle that if any one, by conceit, attains judgement from a court of law in his own favour, he could benefit from it only
in this world and nothing would save him from punishment in the life Hereafter.

Next to that comes the question of legislature.

Since under the system of life brought by the Prophet, law was fundamentally God-made and revealed by God and Hod alone had the right of
legislation, the position of the Prophet was not that of a legislator but of an administrator and elucidater of the Divine Law and that of a person
commissioned to educate and train people in the administration of justice in accordance with it.

The Prophet explained the Divine Law to the people and translated it into practice which is contained in his sunnah. For instance there is a very
brief mention of the punishment for theft in the Quran. It enjoins that the hand of the thief be amputated. It does not give any detail. It is only
sunnah which tells us as to how precisely this order will apply and when it will not apply. It is also through the Sunnah that we know what is and
what is not theft. To what kind of goods and to what quantity it will apply and how it will be enforced. If these details were not in the sunnah we
would not have been able to comply to these orders correctly. Thus it becomes obvious that the Prophet himself was not a legislator. The real
legislator was Allah ad the Prophet was His official interpreter and commentator. This is how Islamic law is the name of the injunctions of the
Quran and the sunnah.

The main features of the system which the Prophet had established for the enforcement of law were that:-

1. As far as possible, people should be saved from punishment

2. To err in acquitting a culprit was better than punishing an innocent man

3. People were encouraged to settle their disputes by themselves. If anybody's offence was to be pardoned, it could be done. If anybody's sin had
to be overlooked, it could be done. But all of this was permissible before the matter reached a court of law.

4. Once a matter reached a court of law, it could neither be overlooked nor forgiven.Thereafter only the court could decide the matter in
accordance with the law.

5. Any attempt at influencing judgement of a court was strictly forbidden by the Prophet. The Judge had been given full freedom to decide the
matters in conformity with the Quran and sunnah, at his own discretion without any fear or favour.

6. The Prophet also told his followers, in this behalf, that passing judgement without knowledge or giving wrong judgement intentionally was a
great sin. A true judge was one who posessed knowledge of law and decided matters in the light of his knowledge without fear or prejudice.

We must also bear a few other things in mind in regard to the rule of the Prophet. If we make the modern political ideas a basis of evaluation, we
will not be able to understand his regime properly. For example, there are now three pillars of the modern state i.e. the Executive, Judiciary and
Legislature. Their respective areas of authority and action are determined by the the constitution.

But in those days the position was such, that before the migration of the Prophet to Medina, each tribe in the city had a walled compound of its
own. Therein they had their lands, orchards, houses, cattle-yards and meeting place. The tribal system prevailed and members of each tribe
themselves managed their own affairs.

When a large number of people from Medina pledged their allegience at the hand of the Prophet in Mecca, he appointed on their request, twelve
such persons as their leaders who were among them more able, influential and trustworthy. Each of them was entrusted with the responsibility of
keeping their conduct and affairs clean and straight and in this task they were assisted by pious and respectable persons of different families of the
tribe. Such persons happened to be the
chiefs in the families and tribes in natural course and were made leaders by the Prophet when they embraced Islam.

Later on when he migrated to Medina he still maintained this system. The difference it brought about was that the leadership shifted from the
infidel sheikhs to the believers. This change did not occur through ballot. It was a natural result of the Islamic revolution that the non-believers
receded into background and the Muslim leaders came forward.

The Prophet used to consult the most competent persons of the muhajireen (migrants) and the chiefs of the ansars (locals) in conducting the affairs
of the state. But this consultation had no resemblance with the present day legislature or parliament.

Whenever need arose competent and influential persons from the Muslims, both from the muhajiroon and ansars were called for consultation.
They were not the elected representatives of the people. But nevertheless they were so influential, popular and intelligent that had there been
elections on the modern pattern, they would have won.

All of them were not necessarily invited for advice on each and every issue. Whenever any ordinary problem arose, in which advice had to be
sought, those who happened to be present were consulted. In case of important matters an announcement was made and the people were
summoned to the Prophet's mosque.

When the Islamic state began to spread beyond Medina, governore were appointed in different areas. They were the Chief Executives as well as
commanders of their respective areas. The institution of a standing army did not exist at that time.

Whenever a situation arose people joined the struggle voluntarily. The Prophet had also appointed judges (qazis) in different localities and no
governor could interfere in their work.

The Prophet also appointed some people in each locality who imparted education to the people. Education did not mean reading and writing, it
means that the Quran was recited to them. Its meanings and implications were explained to them and they were acquainted with the teachings of
the Prophet. Most of this work was done verbally. The teachers worked for the reformation of the intellectual and moral conduct in the same
manner as they themselves were reformed by the Prophet. For instance, when Mecca was conquered, the Prophet appointed Attab bin Asid as
governor and Moaz bin Jabal as teacher.

The system of zakat was so arranged that at some places regular collectors were appointed, while on others the task was assigned to the tribal
chiefs. In areas where the non-Muslim population, after their surrender, had agreed to pay ransom, no permanent tax-collector was appointed.
When Khyber was conquered its Jews agreed to give half of their agricultural produce for truce. The Prophet sent one of his companions to them
at the time of the harvest. He divided the whole produce into two halves and gave the Jews an option to choose any of the two lots. History bears
witness to it that when ransom was taken in that manner, the Jews cried in acclaim that this is the justice on which this whole universe depends.

This is a brief outline of the system of government under the Prophet.

[Maududi, System of Government under the Holy Prophet, pp 6-14]

May Allah Almighty have mercy and free us all from the trials and afflictions of life, amen.

fi amanillah, wa salam, f