Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c5.s1.4

c5.s1.4

The teachings of the Qur’an appear to have worked more or less satisfactorily in the tribal surroundings and the strong democratic traditions of Madina. But as soon as Islam began to expand beyond the limits of a city-state, the ‘Inspired word of God’ failed to be elaborated for the working of a more extensive political structure, and the meagre doctrine of ‘Mashwara’ (counsel) never shaped itself into a workable political institution.³ The political and territorial expansion of Islam, however, continued with great rapidity; it was soon felt necessary to organize the loose fragments of the Arabian tribes under a strong and stable government ruling over a large and ever-growing territory. Injunctions of the Qur'an and the precedents of Madina and its first Caliphs were now subordinated to the need for a strong and compact political structure. It is a singular fact that the Arab thinkers, who deal philosophically with the rise of kingship, point to it as a necessary institution for the maintenance of social order. According to their exposition of the case, kingship was an indispensable condition precedent to civilization. They did not indeed hesitate to declare that even an unjust and oppressive monarchy is better than an unlicensed freedom.¹ In short, the Muslims were faced with a choice between monarchy and anarchy, and they wisely chose the former. Meanwhile the ‘Ulama’ or the learned doctors of Muslim theology, who were confined to Madina, were elaborating a system of Muslim law which had very little to do with the conditions of the Muslim State. This breach of sentiment between Madina, the centre of Muslim orthodoxy, and Damascus, the capital of the Arab Empire, explains why, from the very beginning, so much of Muslim law became purely theoretic in character and began to lay down so many principles that have hardly ever been put into practice.²