What were the Relations between State and Citizens under Islamic law?

We may now turn to the relations between the State and its citizens.

From the Shar’i point of view, the legitimacy of an Islamic state that is to say, its religious claim to a Muslim’s loyalty and allegiance rests on the fundamental injunction of the Qur’an:-

“O you Faithful Obey God and Obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you” (4:59)

In this concise manner the Qur’an establishes several impor­tant principles relating to the nature of an Islamic State.

First: The foremost duty of such a state consists in enforcing the ordinance of the Shari’ah in the territories under its jurisdic­tion. The obligation has been further stressed in the verse:-

“Those who do not judge by what God has revealed-those indeed are the evildoers” (5 : 47)

Hence, no State can be deemed genuinely Islamic unless its Constitution contains an enactment to the effect that the laws of the Shari’ah bearing on matters of public concern shall form the inviolable basis of all state legislations.

Second: Although such a code must forever remain basic in the structure and the working of an Islamic State, it cannot, by its very nature, supply all the laws that may be needed for the purposes of administration.

Thus, as we have seen, we will have to supplement the Shar’i stipulations relating to matters of public concern by making laws of our own on the understanding, of course.

That we may not legislate in a manner that would run counter to the letter or the spirit of any Shar’i law: for it is said in the Quran:

“Whenever God and His Apostle have decided a matter, it is not for a faithful man or woman to follow another course of his or her own choice.” (33: 36)

Consequently, the Constitution must explicitly lay down that no legislation or administrative ruling, be it mandatory or permis­sible, shall be valid if it is found to contravene any stipulation of the Shari’ah.

Third: The Quranic command, “Obey God and Obey the Apostle”, is immediately followed by the words, “and those in authority from among you” that is, from among the Muslim community.

Which amounts to a statement that obedience to a properly constituted Islamic government is a Muslim’s religious duty.

Obedience to the government is, of course, a principle of citizenship recognized as fundamental in all civilized communities.

But it is important to note that within the context of an Islamic polity this duty remains a duty only so long as the government does not legalize actions forbidden by the Shari’ah, or forbid actions which are ordained by it.

In such a contingency, obedience to the government ceases to be binding on the community, as has been clearly stated by the Prophet:

“Hearing and obeying is binding on a Muslim, whether he likes or dislikes the order-so long as he is not ordered to commit a sin; but if he is ordered to commit a sin, there is no hearing and no obeying.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar)

In other words, the community’s allegiance to “those in authority from among you” is conditional upon those in authority acting in obedience to God and His Apostle.

From this principle it follows that the community has an obligation to supervise the activities of the Government, to accept its actions which are right and to withdraw its consent whenever the government deviates from the path of good conduct.

Thus not only the fact that the government must be subject to the consent of the people is an essential prerequisite of an Islamic State but that it must also be fully representative of the people.

In an Islamic State, furthermore, a Muslim alone can be entrusted with the office of the Head of State.

Since the purpose of an Islamic State is the establishment of Islamic Law as a practical solution to a man’s problems, it is obvious that only a person who believes in the Divine origin of that Law that is a Muslim, may be entrusted with the office of the Head of State.

However, apart from the condition that the Head of State or the amir must be a Muslim and the “most righteous of you” which obviously implies that he must be mature, wise, and superior in character the Shariah does not specify any conditions for eligibility to this office.

Nor does it lay down any particular mode of election, or prescribe the qualifications of the electorate. Con­sequently, these details are to be devised by the community in accordance with its best interests and the exigencies of the time.

After the Amir or the Head of State has been elected, can he run the affairs of an Islamic State merely on the basis of his own whims and wishes?

Certainly not because according to the Quran, the affairs of the State must be conducted through consultation with the believers.

“Their (the Believers) communal business (amr) is to be (trans­acted in) consultation among themselves.” (42: 38)

This nass injunction must be regarded as the fundamental operative clause of all Islamic thought relating to statecraft.

It is so comprehensive that it reaches out into almost every department of political life, and it is so expressive and unequivocal that no attempt at arbitrary interpretation can change its purport.

The word in this injunction refers to all affairs of a communal nature and therefore, also to the manner in which the government of an Islamic State is to be established; that is, to the elective principle underlying all governmental authority.

Beyond that, the phrase “amruhum shura baynahum” literally means “their com­munal business in consultation among themselves” makes the transaction of all political business not only dependant upon.

But synonymous with, consultations; which mean that the legislative powers of the State must be vested in an Assembly chosen by the community specifically for this purpose.