Session 22 Notes
Political Governance (Consultation): The Principle of “Shura” in the Qur’an
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ ٱلْقَلْبِ لَٱنفَضُّوا۟ مِنْ حَوْلِكَ ۖ فَٱعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَٱسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَمْرِ ۖ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ
“It is out of God’s grace that you were gentle in your dealings with them – had you been harsh or hard-hearted, they would have been broken away from you. So, pardon them and pray that they will be forgiven. Consult with them about matters then when you have decided on a course of action, put your trust in God: for surely God loves those who put their trust in Him” (3:159)
This verse was revealed after the battle of Uhud where the prophet (pbuh) had consulted with his companions against his own preference – leading to a loss in the battle. We learn a lot in terms of getting guidance from this verse in personal and social matters. Rather than blaming the archers whose disobedience caused the loss, the Qur’an reaffirms consultation with them. This is an unbelievable psychological direction to pay attention to. Many would just be furious and put the blame on someone else although they were doing it with good intention and had some misunderstanding. Many would never consult them again out of one mishap. The term “هُمْ” indicates to particularly consult with those whose misinterpreting the command of the prophet not to leave the position until he tells them to do so. The Qur’an is extremely precise by using this term. This guidance is unbelievable on how to deal with people for them to feel safe rather than be in disdain and animosity. Human beings learn in a better way from their mistakes.They know within their feelings that disobedience to the command of the commander in chief of the army is bad. The kind and honorable treatment of these people, even consulting them results in them being more loyal, even willing to die for the cause. With mistakes, we learn to improve ourselves and not make the same mistake again.
…وَإِذَا مَرُّوا۟ بِٱللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا۟ كِرَامًۭا
…and when they come across falsehood, they pass it by with dignity (25:72)
This verse is another indication of how important it is to honor human dignity which we need to practice in our practical lives.
Aisha, the wife of prophet (pbuh) narrates that God prepared Madina to be administered by the prophet (pbuh). At that time, many tribal leaders were killed in internal conflicts in Madina, and people were fed up with these conflicts. At this time the prophet (pbuh) received the invitation to go to Madina. The conditions required certain verses to be revealed accordingly, the foundational belief matters revealed in Mecca are now practically being experienced in human personal, social and economic life in Madina. The “asbu’l-nuzul” (occasions of revelation) is used for the jurisprudential (Fiqh) application to make a lived real experience which we need.
Through this historical event, the Qur’an establishes “shura” (consultation) as a permanent political principle and not merely pragmatic advice. Muslim political thinkers from Al-Mawardi (d. 1058 CE) to contemporary scholars have built entire theories on political governance from this verse and another.
Regarding the earlier verse, the phrase “فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ” followed using a “fa” and not a “wa” which is important in reading the Qur’an to pay attention to. After the consultation whatever is decided you have to put it in practice. The translation is “when you have decided on a course of action” that is, at the end of this decision, definitely put your trust in God “فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۚ”. I must be careful on this point, which means not to put my trust in the people, their advice, money, and status, but to put the trust in God only. We must consult with people in our personal and social life but must put our trust in God. We don’t know the future but things are created in order in specific ways that are witnessed by me. I don’t know if I have something that would be good for me, “Tawakkul” means that I cannot guarantee something for my future, only God knows what is good for me. If I trust my work, I wouldn’t ask for God’s compassion for me, to make the result good for me. I must be modest to admit: “I don’t know what I am doing will result in goodness or not. You know the past and present at the same time, I trust Your judgement. I admit that I am in need of Your decision to make it good for me”
“Tawakkul” is a means of acknowledging one’s neediness of their Creator.