What does the Quran say about how we should choose our leaders?
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A complete democracy would be the most GOD-compatible and especially if it is a Communism (that works as its designer Karl Marx philosophied).
Salaam
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Peace @noshield30,
For example are aristocracies/royal families allowed in the Quran?
Does the Quran say that we should vote to elect leaders?Negative.
I don't see G-D recommending "democratic voting" (=an appeal to the majority) for nominating/primary election(s) anywhere in the Qurn.
Instead, G-D teachs us that the one best worthy of leading a groupe/tribe/community/nation is ANYone (among the groupe/tribe/community/nation in question) who possesses a superior level of lm (=Knowledge) coupled with a solid/healthy gsm (=body) .
Hope this helps.
SLM
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Hicham,
That system is prone to abuse. It will usually become a survival of the fittest and some dictator come to rule even if the intention was good. A democratic system at least works better technically and the most developed countries (with decent living standard) are not among the dictatorships.
In theory, if we had GOD elect the leader for us well then what you suggested is the best.
Salaam
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Instead, G-D teachs us that the one best worthy of leading a groupe/tribe/community/nation is ANYone (among the groupe/tribe/community/nation in question) who possesses a superior level of lm (=Knowledge) coupled with a solid/healthy gsm (=body) .
Salaam,
Very nicely said, I agree bravo
May Allah increase our knowledge and guide us on His path pr
mmKhan -
In the Qur'an God ONLY gives authority in whagtever measure He chooses to His prophets. Nobdy else gets authority from Him. For the people, other than that, there is shura. The shape of this shura is open, but it must be that.
Choosing and giving power to somebody and then loose all control of what he or she does, be it just a dictator, a presidente or a whole set of mok representatives like parliament, is not what the Qur'an recommends.
As far as I can ascertain the closest to that is the Swiss system when it is applied. Not a representative democracy, which turns very easily into a cheat, but a participative democracy, where every law is publicly discussed by all people, at least by all willing people, and approved or dismissed by referendum after exhaustive popular discussion.
Since shura must get the participation of all interested parties, it is obvious that that should guarantee autonomy at all the levels, from the smallest.
Salaam
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I agree with huruf. The system should allow the voice of everyone to be heard and regarded equally. The worst system is a dictatorship and the most developed countries in terms of living standard have come away from aristocratic systems. It speaks for itself in my opinion.
The utopian system would be Communism where all property belongs to the population instead of private corporations.
Salaam
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Peace @MOF, all
Hicham,
That system is prone to abuse.
This concern is peripheral.
Anything and everything is prone to abuse (and/or misuse) by the immoral (and/or unsound) among us.Democracy is a prime example of this!
It will usually become a survival of the fittest and some dictator come to rule even if the intention was good. A democratic system at least works better technically and the most developed countries (with decent living standard) are not among the dictatorships.
This is an invalid argument (you're invoking fear)!
In theory, if we had GOD elect the leader for us well then what you suggested is the best.
In order for our kind to make a real (=positive) progress towards the apex of eudaemonia, we'll need to plan and act in accordance with the Laws/System of G-D. To do so, we must stop perpetrating and supporting fallacies, including the erroneous appeal to the (fallible/often superficial) belief of the majority (of us); which is what "democratic voting" is all about!
The criteria mentioned (in the Quranic passages concerning alt) places emphasis on knowledge/cognition and strength/soundness, thus taking into considerating competence/effeciency, utility, and endurance This mere fact is enough to depreciate and expose the (common) democratic doctrine with its emphasis on popularity (= an error in judgment/dyn) for what it really is, a perpetuator of idiocy. And mind you, wheresover there is idiocy there is fraud.
SLM
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Salamun alaikum.
To the credit of brother hicham9, he has nicely identified the correct attributes of a good leader based on 2246-251. The best leader indeed should have superior knowledge and physical ability.
However, the point where I believe he is getting confused is ? he is mixing up the criteria of a good leader with the process of selecting a good leader. 2246-251 does not explicitly mention how ?their Prophet? selected Talut ? whether He had a prophetic vision, or he got personally impressed with Talut because of his health and intelligence or whether he discussed with others to identify the most suitable candidate. Rather, the statement ?Indeed Allah has certainly animated Talut as a king/commander for you... (from 2247)? sounds more like a statement of support, than a statement of appointment. It may be very well possible that Talut was selected in somewhat democratic manner and ?their Prophet? was simply providing endorsement to the selection.
In a democratic settings, it will still be the responsibility of the ?voters? to choose the leader with the best ?Knowledge and health?. So, ?democracy? as a process has nothing that conflicts 2246-251.
However, I am not saying Qur?an has prescribed democracy. Per my understanding as of now, Qur?an has NOT given any specific mandated process to select a leader. And the reason is fairly obvious. The appropriate system would vary from generation to generation and society to society. The political system which was appropriate for Arab Bedouins in 7th century, is unlikely to be suitable for a country of millions in twenty first century. So, God would not mandate a specific system, but would leave it up to mankind so that they can explore, experiment and seek continuous improvement.
Yet, I personally find two verses very important in this connection. The first verse is
326 Say, ?Oh Allah! The King of (all) the kingdom(s), You give the Kingdom to whomever You will and You take the kingdom away from whomever You will; and You honor whomever You will and You humiliate whomever You will ? in Your hand is (all) the goodness ? indeed You have power over everything.?
(My personal translation, cross checking is recommended.)
This verse encourages to lend support to any king/leader (implicitly implied that they acquire power and rule the country ?fairly?). This clearly holds irrespective of the political process applied. Rather we must believe whoever acquires power fairly in whatever established process is there in a country can be assumed to have authorization of Allah.
The other verse is
2211 Ask the children of Israel how many of clear signs we gave them. And whoever changes Allah?s blessings from after which came to him, then indeed Allah is intense in punishment!
(My personal translation, cross checking is recommended.)
Per my humble opinion, any society which has a democratic system is enjoying more of Allah?s blessings (compared to an autocratic rule) because the people have greater participation and control over the process of leader selection. Whoever wants to throw away this blessing and opts for a more dictatorial system, is destined to earn the displeasure of our Master who gave us the blessings in the first place.
So in a nutshell, my view on this topic is Qur'an does not mandate a specific political system; but it encourages to support the leaders who acquire power and rule fairly. The absence of a specifically mandated political system gives us the liberty to experiment and improve the political system based on the need of our time and society. A reluctance to exercise this flexibility is in turn rejection of the blessings of Allah.
May Allah guide us all to the straight route.
Regards,
Arman -
Salaam,
Talut was chosen because the 'Children of Israel' whined about having a king to the prophet. It appears the prophet through GOD was reluctant and it was not really the will of GOD. And the people were yet not satisfied because a person they did not really like was chosen.
And the choice to have kings within the 'Children of Israel' turned out to yield many bad kings even though kings like David and Solomon were really good.
GOD would better approve of an ultimate democracy, and I said that a working Communism would be the utopian system were no private person owned anything but GOD (the state) owned it. In GOD's realm everything is built upon communism, even thoughts. It is like the Borg in Star Trek.
Salaam
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Thank you everyone for the thought provoking answers.
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Both Huruf and hicham9 are right. While she is describing a fair system, he is describing the fair leadership type. Both are needed to run a country. If the man is given all the power to decide it is likely for him to abuse it just as MOF said. I think we saw this again and again. No human is infallible. I am not for communism, for it does take away power from people.