Quran and Islamic State

 Excerpts from Pakistan: Origine and Identity by Pervez Hoodbhoy

Islamic Scholars on the Islamic State Lacking specifc guidance from the Holy Book, or even those derived from the Prophet’s sayings and deeds, Islamic scholars have had to invent their own concepts of an Islamic state. Islam’s frst political theorist was Abul Hasan al-Mawardi (974–1058), a scholar who served the Abbasid Caliphs at a time when they were seriously weakened by Buyid Emirs.11 Al-Mawardi’s task was to ideologically protect the caliphate against the insurgent Emirs. He did this by giving justifcation to the notion of the caliph as the religious leader. His famous political handbook Al-Ahkām As-Ṣulṭāniyyah wal Wilāyāt Ad-Diniya (The Ordinance of Government and Religious Leadership) is a standard reference and key document in the evolution of Sunni Islamic political thought.Al-Mawardi posits the caliph as a vicegerent to Prophet Muhammad rather than vicegerent to God directly, identifying seven key requirements to be a caliph. He also compiled the diferent opinions of jurists in the matter of caliph’s succession and on crucial matters such as heirdom, elections, and designation. But other Islamic scholars refute al-Mawardi’s connection between state and religion. The greatest Muslim historian and social anthropologist of all times, Ibn Khaldun, argued that the Holy Prophet had deliberately sought to separate the temporal from the religious: Some wrongly assume the imamate to be the pillars of the state. It is one of the general public interests. The people are delegated to take care of Why Couldn’t Pakistan Become an Islamic State? 285 it. If it were one of the pillars of faith, it would be something like prayer, and Muhammad would have appointed a representative, exactly as he appointed Abu Bakr to represent him in prayer.12 The Qur’an is clear that the leader of the ummah is to be obeyed: O You who believe, obey Allah, His Messenger and the Ulul Amr (those in charge of rule over you) (Surah Nisa, verse: 59). But it does not specify the manner and procedure by which the Ulul Amr are to be chosen. This vexing problem has found no resolution over the centuries. Instead, says Ibn Khaldun, humans can live civilized lives without the need for prophets. Political laws govern this world; religion is for the afterworld. He rejects the doctrine of scholars who argue that chaos would result if there was no religion: One of its premises is that the restraining infuence comes into being only through a religious law from God, to which the mass submits as a matter of belief and religious creed. This premise is not acceptable. The restraining infuence comes into being as the result of the impetus of royal authority and the forcefulness of the mighty, even if there is no religious law.13 To state it bluntly: if it is too hard to get rid of the usurper who has intrigued his way to power, become his humble subject and serve him well. True, the caliph is supposed to embody high ideals of piety and truth, but that’s only in principle and not in practice. The great theologian al-Ghazali frankly confesses that facts on the ground are what one must accept: An evil-doing and barbarous sultan, so long as he is supported by military force, so that he can only with difculty be deposed and that attempt to depose him would cause unendurable strife, must of necessity be left in possession and obedience must be rendered to him, exactly as obedience must be rendered to emirs Government in these days is a consequence solely of military power, and whoever he may be to whom the holder of military power gives his allegiance, that person is the caliph.14 If some time machine could transport us back into earlier centuries, what would they look like to modern eyes? Let us now investigate three presumed models for the Islamic state.