The Economic System of Islam — Page 11
11 Historical Illustrations of Islamic Precepts of Governance Prayer of Mal Prayer of Mal Prayer of Mal Prayer of Male e e ek Shah k Shah k Shah k Shah In his [History of the] Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , the renowned Christian author, Gibbon, narrates the story of a Turk- ish king, Malek Shah, who was only a youth when his father (Alp Arsalan) passed away. Following the demise of his father, three other individuals—Malek Shah’s brother, an uncle and a cousin— rose as claimants to the throne, leading to a civil war. Nizamud-Din Toosi who was Malek Shah’s vizier [minister] and happened to be a Shia, persuaded Malek Shah to visit the tomb of Imam Musa Riza to offer prayers. After the prayers, Malek Shah asked his vizier, ‘what had been the object of his secret petition’? The vizier replied that he prayed to Allah ‘That your [Malek Shah’s] arms may be crowned with victory. ’ ‘For my part (replied the generous Malek), I implored the Lord of hosts that he would take from me my life and crown, if my brother be more worthy than myself to reign over the Moslems. ’ Gibbon, is a Christian historian, deeply prejudiced against Islam, yet he was compelled to say regarding this incident that historically: ‘it would not be easy to extract a sentiment more pure and magnanimous than is contained in the saying of the Turk- ish prince’. Where did this spirit come from? How was it embedded in the Muslims’ hearts that governance was not the personal right of any individual, that it was a trust that a country’s people confer upon the most deserving, and that it was the ruler’s duty to govern with justice and fulfil the rights of individuals? Such noble ideology and