THE CONCEPT OF STATE IN ISLAM — An Analysis

According to the Quran, the nature of political power in this world is exactly the same as that of other things. That is, when an individual is given wealth, offspring or anything of a material, worldly nature like success, all that is designed to test him. All these blessings serve as ‘test papers’. And political power is also a ‘test paper’. Therefore, according to the Quran whoever receives power should realize that power is given to him in order to test him. It is not something to take pride in, nor is power to be considered as a gift from God. Victory and defeat apparently belong to the human world, but both are totally governed by God. The concept of the State that emerges from these verses of the Quran makes it clear that political power is not the target or goal of our activities or actions. Rather it is the result of some other set of actions. That is to say, according to the Quran, the objectives of our struggle should be faith and good character. These conditions have to be fulfilled, and only then can a group be blessed with political power by God, if He so desires. We might say, by way of analogy, that the position of faith is that of the seed and the position of power is that of the fruit. According the Quran, the whole matter can be likened to a tree. The position of the seed in this example is that of action and the position of the fruit is that of receiving the reward of that action. In this way, those who sow the seed of Iman and good deeds may receive political power as a gift from God. We must then consult the Quran and Sunnah as to what is the structure of political power in Islam. In the Quran, the first principle that comes before us is in the form of approbation of ‘those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation’. (THE QURAN 42: 38) This verse alludes to a basic principle of conduct so far as the political structure of Islam is concerned. This shows that the political system of Islam is based on mutual adjustment, this being one of the most important social principles of Islam, which is equally desirable, both prior to and after receiving political power. It is noteworthy that this verse enjoining Muslims to settle their affairs by consultation was revealed in Makkah, whereas Muslims received political power only in Medina after their migration. The revelation