SPIRITUAL POWER NOT POLITICAL POWER

apparently belong to the human world, but both are totally governed by God. As we learn from the Quran: Say, ‘Lord, sovereign of all sovereignty. You bestow sovereignty on whom you will and take it away from whom you please; You exalt whoever You will and abase whoever You will. All that is good lies in Your hands. You have the power to will anything.’ (3: 26) The above verse from the Quran explains this matter further. If we take this verse literally, it emerges that political power is a promise from God, and not a target. That is, it is not something that Muslims should aim at, for they can receive it only by divine edict. Then there is another verse in this connection which throws further light on the subject. ….When Solomon saw it placed before him, he exclaimed, ‘This is by the grace of my Lord, to test whether I am grateful or ungrateful…. (27: 40) This is in the context of the granting of political power to the Prophet Solomon. The words uttered by the Prophet Solomon after receiving power was ‘Leabluani’ (This is meant as a test). These words tell us that political power is given in order to try us. The test contrives to separate the grateful from the insolent servants of God. Thus, 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, children 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. 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 it a gift from 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. The actual possessor of power is God and that it is He who grants power on earth to whom He wants and it is God who takes away power from whoever He wants.