CHAPTER ONE The Quran: The Book of God

‘representatives of the people’ – which did not seem much of an improvement on life under the old monarchs, who had laid claim to being ‘representatives of God on earth.’ All political philosophers have been caught up in contradictions of this nature. And there appears no way out of the impasse. Even the so called “representation” of the people is open to question. Take the example of the British conservatives who, in one year, won a decisive victory, winning an overall majority of 144 seats. In terms of votes, however, the conservative share of the vote (43%) had fallen since 1979, i.e. as far as seats were concerned the conservatives had won a massive overall majority. But, as far as votes were concerned, they could muster only 43%. Could this be said to be truly representative of the people? Man’s failure in this field has been summed up in these words: ‘The history of political philosophy from Plato until the present day makes it plain that modern political philosophy is still faced with the basic problems. In fact, there is only one political philosophy that does not contradict itself, and that is the philosophy put forward by the Quran. The Quran says that only God has the right to rule over man: ‘“Have we any say in the matter?” they ask. Say to them: “All is in the hands of God,’” (3:154). The idea of God as Sovereign makes for a coherent system of thought, free from all forms of contradiction. But when man is considered sovereign, there are bound to be contradictions and inconsistencies in the political theories that evolve. The aim of all political theories has been to eradicate the divisions between ruler and subjects. Yet no human system, whatever its nature, has been able to do this. In both the democratic and totalitarian systems, human equality has remained an unattainable ideal, for power has always had to be put in the hands of a few individuals, with others becoming their subjects. This disparity can only disappear when God is considered Sovereign. Then the only difference that remains is between God and man. He is the Ruler, all are His subjects. All men are equal before Him. There is no division and no distinction, between man and man. Twofold Inconsistency If the different parts of a book contradict each other, the book is inconsistent within itself. If the contents of a book, as a whole, or in part, contradict known facts, the book is inconsistent with external realities. The Quran claims – with justice – to be free of either type of inconsistency, whereas no work of human origin can be free of either. It follows, therefore, that the Quran must be superhuman in origin. Had it been written by a human being, it would have been flawed by inconsistencies of the type so frequently found in the works of man.