MUSLIM RULERS, BEWARE!
YOU ARE GUARDIANS &
SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE
(By: M. Javed Naseem)
وَعَدَ
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّالِحَاتِ
لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ
فِى
ٱلأَرْضِ كَمَا ٱسْتَخْلَفَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ
لَهُمْ
دِينَهُمُ ٱلَّذِى ٱرْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ
أَمْناً
يَعْبُدُونَنِى لاَ يُشْرِكُونَ بِى شَيْئاً وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ
فَأُوْلَـٰئِكَ
هُمُ ٱلْفَاسِقُونَ
“Allah has promised, to those among you who believe
and
work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant
them in
the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to
those before
them; that He will establish in authority their
religion – the one
which He has chosen for them; and that He will change
(their state),
after the fear in which they (lived), to one of
security and peace:
'They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with
Me.’
If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious
and wicked.”
(al-Quran 24:55)
Almost all Muslim countries of the
world today have corrupt governments and incompetent administrators who are, as
a result, creating misery and despair for their people. Among them are those
who are honest, sincere, just; and are trying to pursue the right path but they
are facing hardships. Their lives have become miserable because of corruption and
injustice of the rulers. They are oppressed. They can get consolation only from
the thought that since the good times did not last long, the bad times are not going to
last either.
That’s the law of nature. The righteous and
the steadfast always stand the chance to be favoured by Allah. Eventually, Allah
grants them power and authority.
وَنُرِيدُ
أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُواْ
فِى
ٱلأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ ٱلْوَارِثِينَ
“And We desired to bestow a favour upon those who
were being oppressed in the land, and to make them
leaders (in Faith) and make them heirs.”
(al-Quran 28:5)
In the
meantime, both the oppressor and the oppressed go through tests and trials.
Allah has warned mankind of grave consequences if they spread corruption in the
earth. But man always ignores such warnings when enjoying power and authority. These
days, many Islamic countries are going through election phase. Candidates are
‘fighting’ for power. Allah has defined in the Holy Quran the qualifications of
a just ruler of an Islamic state:
ٱلَّذِينَ
إِنْ مَّكَّنَّاهُمْ فِى ٱلأَرْضِ أَقَامُواْ ٱلصَّلواَةَ وَآتَوُاْ ٱلزَّكَواةَ
وَأَمَرُواْ
بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهَوْاْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنْكَرِ وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ ٱلأُمُورِ
“(They are) those who, if We establish them in the
land,
establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin
the right and forbid wrong; with Allah rests the end
(and decision) of (all) affairs.”
(al-Quran 22:41)
If we are Muslims and believe in the Day of Judgment, there
should
not
be
any
doubt
then in
our
minds about
the
accountability process. A
ruler or administrator is like a shepherd or a guardian who is responsible for
the protection, safety, physical and economic well-being of the people under
his rule.
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) has explained in
different Ahadith what a ruler is supposed to do. It has been narrated on the authority
of Ibn
Umar that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.)
said:
"Beware! Every one of you is a shepherd and
every one
is answerable with regard
to his flock. The Caliph (ruler)
is a shepherd over the
people and shall be questioned
about his subjects
(as to how he conducted their affairs).
A man
is a guardian
over the members
of his family and
shall be
questioned about them (as
to how he looked after
their physical and
moral well-being).
A woman is a guardian
over the household of her husband and
his children and
shall be
questioned about them (as
to how she managed the
household and brought up the children). A
slave is guardian
over the
property of his master and shall be questioned
about
it (as to how he safeguarded his trust). Beware, every one
of you
is a guardian and every one of
you
shall be
questioned with regard to his trust.”
Those who are in charge of others, will be questioned on
the Judgment Day.
There is no escape from it. In a Muslim society,
everybody is responsible. These days,
most of the people complain about corruption and
mishandling of affairs, but who
is responsible for that?
What happened to the accountability set-up? Alas, there is no such thing! The Muslims
don’t perform their duties honestly and diligently. They sit back and do nothing, as usual, while their rulers enjoy good life. They appoint their inept family members
and friends to the positions of authority. They create crisis after crisis and
wait for Allah’s intervention to resolve problems, eradicate injustice and
corruption, punish the criminals and, most importantly, keep them in power.
Amazing!
The incompetent and corrupt rulers of today can learn a lot from the
Muslim rulers of the past, only if they open the history books.
Haroon Rasheed was a great Caliph of Islam, known for his social justice, compassion and charity. He was a ‘powerful servant’ of God. He had many scholars and wise men in his court.
Everyday
they would discuss inspirational events and
enlighten others
with
their
wisdom.
One day, a wise man asked Haroon Rasheed what would he do if a drop of urine
were blocked in his
urinary track and he could not
urinate? Haroon Rasheed
said that he would give half of his kingdom to cure that. The wise man asked, what if after a short time, again
a
drop of urine got stuck and he could not release himself? Haroon Rasheed answered that he would
give
the remaining half of his kingdom for that. Then the wise
man told the Caliph: “Your entire kingdom is worth
two drops of urine. Why should you be so proud
and boastful of that
worldly possession? A ruler should
be a humble servant of
people”. Haroon Rasheed listened calmly
and started crying.
Those were the
honest and God-fearing rulers. They knew that authority only meant responsibility and service to
the mankind.
Here is another
Hadith. According to Ma’qil, Prophet
Muhammad (s.a.w.) said:
“Any man
whom Allah has
given the authority of
ruling some people and
he does not look after
them
in
an honest manner, will never
taste even the
smell of Paradise ”.
According to Abd al-Rahman bin Samura, the Messenger
of Allah (s.a.w.)
said to him:
“Abd al-Rahman, do not ask for a position
of authority,
for if you are
granted this position as a result of your
asking for
it, you will be left alone
(without God’s help
to discharge the
responsibilities attendant thereon);
and
if you are granted it without making any request for
it, you
will be helped (by God
in the discharge of your duties)”.
In another
Hadith, Abu Burda narrated:
“The Prophet (s.a.w.) sent my father (Abu
Musa) and Mu'adh
bin Jabal to Yemen
"Make things
easy for the
people and do not put hurdles
in their
way, and give them
glad tiding, and don't let them have aversion
(i.e. to make people hate
good deeds) and you both
should work
in cooperation
and
mutual understanding." Abu Musa said to
Allah's Apostle: "In our
country a special
alcoholic drink,
called ‘Al-Bit', is prepared.”
The Prophet (s.a.w.)
said:
"Every
intoxicant
is prohibited.”
Those who are fighting
and struggling for power or authority, should know that all power belongs to
Allah. He has sovereignty over everything in the heavens and in the earth and
whatever is in-between. Authority over people in this world means
responsibility for their well-being. Allah has inscribed justice and mercy for
Himself, and that should also be an obligation for us humans who are given
authority or responsibility here. On the Day of Judgment, we’ll be questioned
about it. And if any ‘man of authority’ does not believe this, he is definitely
going to be one of the losers on the Day of Justice.
قُل لِّمَن مَّا فِى ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ وَٱلأَرْضِ
قُل لِّلَّهِ كَتَبَ
عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ٱلرَّحْمَةَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ
إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَامَةِ
لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوۤاْ
أَنْفُسَهُمْ فَهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ
“Say: ‘To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and
“Say: ‘To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and
on earth?’ Say: ‘To Allah. He has inscribed for
Himself
(the rule of) Mercy. That He will gather you together
for
the Day of Judgment, there is no doubt whatever. It is
they
who have lost their own souls, that will not believe.”
(al-Quran 6:12)
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