Assignment

Islamic and western

State and sovereignty

Course Title :- Intro to Political Science

Course Code :- POL 101

Submitted to:- Mr. Rizwan Ali

Submitted by :- Muhammad Awais

22011624-029
ISLAMIC AND WESTERN STATE AND SOVEREIGNTY

State :- Different political theorist have defined state in

their own style and according to their own perception. The
underlying purpose seemed to be pointing out particular
features or objectives of body politic.
According to Aristotle:-
“He regarded state as an aggregation of different families
and villages organised for the purpose of providing facilities
for the promotion of a happy and prosperous life .”
According to Joh-W Burges :-
“ State is a particular portion of life mankind views as
an organised unit “
To sum up , we can define state as an
“ A politically organised
within a definite territory, having its own government with
coercive power to enforce obedience and which is free from
external control .”

Sovereignty:- It is that supreme power of the state by

virtue of which it enforces law effectively and can
punish its violation.
Jean Badin, a French political thinker of 16th century,
defined sovereignty as "Supreme power over citizens
unrestricted by law.
In every civil society, there is always a person or
institution who is the repository of all powers,
necessary for law-making and its enforcement. As this
power, he writes, is the fountain of all authority and,
therefore, is regarded above law , it can impose
restraints but none other can put limitations on this
authority.
Islamic concept of state and sovereignty:-
Islamic concept of sovereignty is most logical, explicit
and realistic one. According to Islamic version, al
powers belong to Allah All attributes of sovereignty,
are implicit in Islamic concept. It is laid down in the
Quran.
“Lo!Your Lord is Allah who created the heavens and
the earth in six Days, then mounted He the Throne-He
covered the night with the day, which is in haste to
follow it, and hath made the sun and the moon and
the stars subservient by His commands: and
commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the
worlds! (Quran VII: 544)”
 Sovereignty of Allah is not limited to any particular
sphere as He is the Creator of the Universe and
governs through His commandments. Thus there is no
place for titular sovereignty in the political theory of
Islam, Islamic state recognises consciously within its
constitutional framework, sovereignty of Allah in all
walks of life.
Legal Sovereignty:-
It implies that in an Islamic state, Quran and Sunnah
stand paramount. Allah's will and all His
Commandments are found in the Holy Text while
Sunnah consists of the actions and sayings of the Holy
Prophet (PBUH) that have been compiled in the Books
of Hadith . Sunnah is the interpretation and
explanation of the Quranic injunctions. The life of the
Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) is the best exposition of Islamic
teachings, as he was perfect man from every aspect.
This position of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has been
recognised by Allah and therefore, it is the duty of
every Muslim to follow his example.
Attributes
Universality :-
Sovereignty of Allah is all comprehensive, as laws of
sharia provide guidance in all directions and are not
restricted to a particular felt human activity. A true
Muslim is a person who consciously recognises Al will
in all phases of his life. Thus the whole life of a Muslim
become consistent and harmonious. To believe in part
of the scripture and dispel in any part amounts to clear
denial .
2 Absolutism and Indivisibility :-.
Allah's sovereignty is limitless and He is absolute
Master of the whole Universe. His authority can't be
compared identified with any other as it is unique.
Allah's absolute authority is indivisible and inalienable;
even the Prophets had no say in Allah's affairs.
According the verses of Quran:
And when thou brings not a verse for them they say:
why hast thou not chosen it? Say: follow only that
which is inspired in me from my Lord. (VIII: 203)
There is no place for political or popular sovereignty in
Islamic concept, as Allah’s will is the source of all
power .Neither the electorate nor the entire humanity
is authorised to alter the permanent laws of sharia. AS
far as the concept of popular representation, people
no doubt have the right to elect their representatives
who are regarded accountable to people .Political
authorities has been declared as a trust to be exercised
within the limits set by Quran .
The concept of State in Islam :-
An ideal Islamic polity whose infrastructure is formed
within Divine has distinct advantages. The monopoly of
any particular class in any walk of has not been
recognised. In this sense there is priest class that can
claim absolutism in the realm of politics. Hence the
concept of theocracy, as it worked in medieval Europe,
finds no place in Islamic thought. The concept of
political sovereignty has been substituted with popular
vice regency. Political authority is scared as a trust to
be exercised within Shariat law. Government is
accountable the people. People have been given the
right of political participation through her elected
representatives
Khilafat :-
The institution of khilafat came in to being when the
Holy Prophet died .The khilafat is also known as Imam
as it combine both the political and religious duties of a
leadership of Muslim community both in matter of
religion and state .Under the sovereignty of Allah and
authority of law ,shariah of Islam .Caliph is the
temporal ruler of state and commander of faith
Laws of Sharia :- They are in the nature of eternal
commands that guide the people in all directions
.Islamic law gives fundamental and underlying
principles while the people are allowed to resort to
ijtehad in matters where law is either silent or unclear
.It is to be noted ,that the constitution as well as other
branches of law in an Islamic state ,have to be enacted
in the light of shariah
CONCEPT OF RIGHT AND DUTIES :- Shariah is the main
source of rights and obligations in any Islamic state
.Better and more effective safeguards are provided for
the protection of rights of people ,as they emanate
primarily from divine commandments .Islam attaches
maximum sanctity to human personality and all
political institutions are under obligation to protect
and respect human rights .
Rule of law /Equity of all mankind :-
Legal recognition of sovereignty of Allah implies the
repudiation of the supremacy of man over man. From
the head of the state at the top, to a common man at
the lowest, all stand equal in the eyes of law. Laws of
Shariah do no reflect any class conflict; these are the
exposition of Divine Wisdom. Rule of la nullifies all
trends of autocracy on the part of government.
Everybody in an Islam State is under the same law and
none is above the law. Law provides equality
opportunities to all alike necessary for the
development of their capacities. After embracing Islam,
a Muslim repudiates the rule of all autocrats or
masters a recognises Allah as his sole Master. Since
each gives himself up to Allah an reduces himself to
Zero, equality of everyone, therefore, is gained with
ever other.
Order good and Punish wrong :- Islam enjoys state to
implement morality .It ask ruler to order good and
punish wrong .The Quran also teaches us to do good to
others and prevent each other from commenting
wrong .
Western concept of state and Sovereignty
The ancient Greeks were the first people in world
history who had systematically thought about the
nature and the purpose of the state, which they called
polis or city state. Their concept of the state was
ethical; they believed that it existed to realise good. As
Aristotle said: The state came into being to make life
possible, it continues to exist to make it good.
According to the Greeks, the state was an ethical
society, its aim was to make man's life good and
perfect. The good life could be attained by education
and equal and full participation in all activities of
the state by its citizens.
Secularism :- is a modern concept, which first came
into being in the West during the early years of the
twentieth century, when politics was separated from
religion in almost all the Western countries. However,
the idea of secular state was first propounded by
Machiavelli .
Example :-
If you take the United States as an example of a
Western state, one key difference is the rigorous
separation of church and state: the state is secular (not
based on religion or supporting any particular religion)
and religion is left to individuals and their churches.
(England is not like the US in this regard: England has a
state church (the Church of England) and the English
monarch is the head of this church.)
Ambiguity of the Western concept. With the
widespread popularity of the democratic ideals, the
monistic view of sovereignty was practically discarded.
The presence of an all-powerful absolute government,
was regarded injurious to the protection of public
liberties. As far the concept of state sovereignty, it
merely signifies a physical feature of state by virtue of
which it claims unconditional obedience from its
citizens and is regarded independent from external
control The real controversy arose regarding the use of
this ultimate authority. In this context, many new
terms originated, each one signifying different
repositories of sovereignty power . In modem
democratic states, no institution can claim absolute
power in the sense as was envisaged in the concept of
sovereignty as expounded by Bodin, Hobbes, Rousseau
and Austin. Those Western political thinkers who
upheld the cause of public liberties, struck over the
concept of absolutism in all its guises. They believed
that absolute power in any human repository would
lead to tyranny. Consequently, such terms as legal
sovereignty, de facto, de jure, political, popular,
ultimate and immediate sovereignty, became
associated with this concept, thereby making it all the
more ambiguous. The very use of the title 'kinds of
Sovereignty is nothing but a contradiction in term.
Aristotle believes Sovereign as a 'supreme power' of
the state. According to Ibn Khaldun. sovereignty is the
basis of the state. In the sixteenth century, the French
political thinker. Jean Rodin gave it new meanings.
Properly understood. Bodin argued, "sovereignty"
refers to the source of the state's authority, regardless
of its form of government. Sovereignty may be vested
in a king or in some elite group or even in the
corporate citizenry of the society over time. Whatever
the form of sovereignty, Bodin explained, it is
distinguished by three attributes: it is absolute,
perpetual, and indivisible. Bodin's primary concern was
to strengthen the authority of the French monarchy,
which some argued was constrained to honour certain
long-establish traditions and principles enshrined in
the common law and in France's medieval institutions.
But if the king was limited by the common law or by
tradition, Bodin observed, the king was not sovereign.
And, as the Sovereign power could not be divided
among various institutions, or formally limited by past
experience; it followed that the king could do whatever
he pleased. Sovereignty was absolute, perpetual, and
indivisible.Hugo Grotius an international jurist defined
sovereignty that all the states are equal and
independent with supreme jurisdiction within their
boundaries. Later, the monistic theories of sovereignty
were expounded by several thinkers. Hobbes gave us
its absolutist or legal theory. Locke gave us the theory
of political sovereignty and Rousseau the theory of
popular sovereignty. Austin further developed and
perfected the idea of legal or juristic
The concept of Westphalia
The western concept of state sovereignty based on
Westphalian order has been in practice for more 369
years which over the years has undergone enormous
changes. 1 agree with Robert Gliptin, a renown scholar
of international politics and supporter of System
Theory that the international politics since the treaty
has undergone cycles systemic changes within a state-
centric system with the fact that the stability the
system depended (s) on the existence of economic and
political hegemonic a nation-state. There is uneven
division in the international system of being rich and
poor, developed and underdeveloped etc with wars
being "principal mechanism of change in international
system" To him, international politics is a continual
struggle by states to seek control over their land,
others land or at least the behaviour of other states,
and the world economy. He explains that in the states'
struggle for power and wealth "only rich states can act
on these preferences The Westphalian order was
largely based on secular, non divine or less divine
order. As Michael Candelabrum discusses in his book
the "sovereign state, and impersonal territorial unit
with no higher power within its borders is customarily
dated from the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. It was
created by the triumph of the monarch over the
nobility and the clergy, among which power had been
shared in medieval Europe". Bryan Turner also
supports the fact that Westphalian concept of nation-
state tilted towards secular lines by separating the
church from politics as in Christianity there was already
a provision of rendering to Caesar what was to Caesar.