The Principles of STATE and GOVERNMENT in ISLAM

The Principles of STATE and GOVERNMENT in ISLAM
By Muhammad Asad

Chapter V

THE CITIZENS AND THE GOVERNMENT

The Duty of Allegiance

When the amir has been duly elected, he may be considered to have received a pledge of allegiance (bay'ah) from the whole community — that is, not only from the majority that had voted for him but also from the minority whose votes had been cast against him : for, in all communal decisions not involving a breach of any shar'i law, the will of the majority is binding on every member of the community. Thus, the Prophet said:

The hand of God is upon the community [al-jama'ah]; and he who sets himself apart from it will be set apart in Hellfire.(1) He who departs from the community [faraqa 'l-jama'ah] by [even] a handspan ceases to be a Muslim [literally, "throws off Islam from his neck"]. (2)

Consequently, if the government fulfills the requirements imposed by the shari'ah, its claim to the allegiance of the citizens is absolute. They are bound

"to hear and to obey, in hardship and in ease, in circumstances pleasant and unpleasant" (3): in short, they must stand united behind the government and must be prepared to sacrifice for this unity all their private comforts, interests, possessions, and even their lives — for "Behold, God has bought of the Faithful their persons and their possessions, offering them Paradise in return..." (4)

It follows, therefore, that a government ruling in the name of God and His Prophet and in obedience to the Law of Islam has the right to call upon all the resources of the citizens—including their personal possessions and even their lives—whenever the interests of the community and the security of the state demand such an effort. In other words, the government is entitled (a) to impose, over and above the zakat-tax immutably laid down in Quran and Sunnah, any additional taxes and levies that may be deemed necessary for the welfare of the community, (b) to impose, whenever necessary, restrictions on private ownership of certain kinds of properties, means of production, or natural resources with a view to their being administered by the state as public utilities, and (c) to subject all able-bodied citizens to compulsory military service in defense of the state.

The Question of Jihad

Since this book is limited to a consideration of the constitutional principles underlying the concept of the Islamic state, we need not concern ourselves here with the legislative details which would enable the state to impose on its citizens taxes and other economic obligations in accordance with administrative needs. A few words, however, must be said about the citizens' obligation to render military service—an obligation obviously connected with the concept of jihad, which, as we know, has been atrociously misinterpreted by almost all non-Muslim critics of Islam and by not a few among the Muslim fuqaha' themselves.

The word jihad is derived from jahada, which means "he strove or exerted himself," namely, against anything that implies evil; thus, for instance, the Prophet described man's struggle against his own passions and weaknesses (jihad an-nafs) as the "greatest jihad." (5) Applied to actual warfare, the term jihad has been used in the Quran exclusively to denote a war of defense — defense of man's freedom of religion, of his country, and of the liberty of his community : Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged — and God is indeed able to help them — : those who have been unjustly driven from their homes only because they said, "Our Lord is God." And had not. God enabled some people to repel others, it is certain that . cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, in which the name of God is so often extolled, would have been ' destroyed. (6) It is to be borne in mind that this is the earliest reference in the Quran to the problem of jihad: on this point there is complete agreement in all available Traditions.(7) In the above two verses the Quran lays down the fundamental principle of self-defense against aggression which alone can make a war morally justifiable; and the reference to "cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques" makes it amply clear that this defense of political and spiritual freedom must be accorded by the Muslims not only to their own community but also to all the non-Muslims living in their midst.

(1) At-Tirmidhi, on the authority of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar.
(2) Abu Da'ud and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, on the authority of Abu Dharr.
(3) Al-Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit.
(4) Quran 9: 111.
(5) See Al-Bayhaqi, As-Sunan al-kubra, on the authority of Jabir ibn'Abd Allah.
(6) Quran 22: 39-40.
(7) See Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (Cairo; 1343 A.H.), Vol. V, pp. 592ff.

On no account does Islam permit its followers to wage a war of aggression :

Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but do not yourselves commit aggression: for, behold, God does not love aggressors.(8) And fight against them until there is no more persecution and men are free to worship God [literally, "and all religion belongs to God"]. But if they desist, then all hostility shall cease, except against the oppressors. (9) With regard to those [of the unbelievers] who have not made war against you on account of [your] religion and have not driven you out of your homes, God does not forbid you to show kindness to them and to deal with them justly: : behold, God loves the doers of justice. (10)

It is in the light of these decisive, self-explanatory ordinances of the Quran that all Traditions enjoining jihad upon the Muslims must be read. Whenever the Prophet extolled the merits of jihad, he referred either to wars that were taking place at the time or to future wars that might fulfill, as his did, the conditions of war laid down in the Quran. Only such wars can be regarded as waged "in the way of God" (a term that is almost invariably found in all Traditions relating to jihad}, and therefore as justifiable and meritorious from the viewpoint of the shariah.

The concept of an Islamic state, based as it is on the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, would automatically preclude the government of such a state from contemplating wars of aggression. Indeed, the government could not legally count on the obedience of its citizens in such instances: for, acting on the principle that if a Muslim "is ordered to commit a sin, there is no hearing and no obeying", (11) the citizens would be perfectly justified in resorting to what is now termed "conscientious objection" — that is, a refusal to bear arms in a morally reprehensible cause. On the other hand, no such objection can ever be valid for a Muslim if he is called upon to defend his country against attack from without or rebellion from within: for this is truly a fight "in the way of God," and to die in such a fight means to achieve supreme martyrdom.

In accordance with the teachings of Islam, every able-bodied Muslim is bound to take up arms in jihad whenever the freedom of his faith or the political safety of his community is at stake. Those of the Muslims who are physically unable to serve as soldiers must play their part by means of civic efforts and, so far as they are in a position to do so, through financial contributions. In the words of the Prophet,

"He who equips a fighter in the way of God with arms is indeed taking part in the fight; and he who takes care of the family which a fighter has left behind is indeed taking part in the fight." (12) On the other hand,

"He who does not fight [himself], nor equips a fighter with arms, nor takes care of the family a fighter has left behind, will be afflicted by God with distress even before the Day of Resurrection [i.e., during his lifetime]." (13) Thus, all adult members of the community are expected to participate in the effort of repelling the enemy; and it is for the agencies of the state to coordinate all the individual endeavors and to weld them into a general system of defense in accordance with the needs of the time. But what about the non-Muslim citizens?— for, obviously, in the light of the Quranic principle,

"There shall be no compulsion in religion," (14) the religious commandments of Islam cannot be binding upon non-Muslims.

The answer is self-evident. If the authorities in an Islamic state keep strictly to the Quranic concept of jihad, which makes war permissible only in self-defense, the duty of defending the state which affords them protection is obviously a duty for the non-Muslim citizens as well; and the more so in view of the fact that Islam extends this protection not merely to their material concerns but also to their spiritual freedom. (15) It is true that the Prophet never insisted that the non-Muslims living under Muslim protection (ahl adh-dhimmah) should actively participate in the campaigns which he waged in the defense of Islam; but neither did he forbid non-Muslims to take part in war side by side with the Muslims, if they so desired. The difference between Muslim and non-Muslim in this respect is that the former is bound by the commandments of his religion to sacrifice his life, if necessary, in a just war (and only a just war can be called jihad), whereas the non-Muslim citizen cannot under all circumstances be called upon to do the same. It may be presumed that the great majority of non-Muslim citizens would be willing, and even eager, to play their part in the defense of a state that offers them full protection and guarantees all their civic rights: still, it is conceivable that some of these non-Muslims
—especially Christians—might regard the bearing of arms as incompatible with their religious beliefs and, consequently, object to being drafted for military service; and to such "conscientious objectors" would naturally apply the ordinance, "There shall be no compulsion in religion." They are entitled to exemption from military service on the payment of a special tax, called jizyah (which, as its very name denotes, is a "compensation tax," namely, in lieu of military service). No fixed rate has been set by the Prophet for this tax, but from all available Traditions it is evident that it is to be lower than the zakat-tax to which the Muslims are liable and which—because it is a specifically Islamic religious duty —is naturally not levied on non-Muslims. Only those of the non-Muslims who, if they were Muslims, would be expected to serve in the armed forces of the state (and from among them only those who are financially capable) are liable to the payment of jizyah.

(8) Quran 2: 190.
(9) Ibid., 2: 193.
(10) Ibid., 60: 8.
(11) Al-Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar.
(12) Al-Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid.
(13) Abu Da'ud, on the authority of Abu Umamah.
(14) Quran 2: 256.
(15) See the Quranic verse 22: 40, quoted previously (p. 71).

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