Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 231
Political Peace 231 Then exalted be Allah, the True King. There is no god but He, the Lord of the Glorious Throne. 8 The fundamental principle, that ultimately all rights to govern belong to God and He is the Lord of Sovereignty, is mentioned in different ways in the Holy Quran of which the above verse is but one example. In the running of political affairs, God’s sovereignty is expressed in two ways: 1. The Law (shariah) as derived from the Holy Quran, the conduct of the Holy Prophet sa of Islam and also from the established traditions attributed to him by early Muslims are supreme. They bear essential guidelines for legislation and no democratically elected government can interfere with the express Will of God. 2. No legislative process would be valid in contradiction of the aforesaid principle. Unfortunately, however, there is no unanimity among the scholars of various sects of Islam as to what are the clear cut Laws (shariah). On this, all the scholars are agreed that legislation is the prerogative of God and that He has expressed His Will through the Quranic revelation to the Holy Founder sa of Islam. Regarding the manner in which Muslim governments should be run, the popular idea is that in the day to day administrative matters, affairs and measures, the government, as representatives of the people, becomes instrumental in the expression of God’s Will. As sovereignty