Criteria for People in Authority

Criteria for People in Authority

The following criteria can be derived from the Quran for electing or appointing people in authority: (1) integrity (taqwa)[1], (2) honesty[2] & trustworthiness[3] (amanat), (3) knowledge (ilm)[4], (4) wisdom (hikma)[5], (5) sound judgement (hukman) [6], (6) decisiveness (fasl-al-khitab)[7], (7) safeguarding of national interests (hafeez)[8], (8) physical capacity (jism, quwat)[9], (9) good intelligence quotient (istimbat)[10].

People in the executive authority should be conscious of Allah’s commands and not prone to follow their personal desires instead of the will of the Almighty[11]; they should not be extravagant[12]; they should not be disbelievers and deniers of the Islamic belief system nor be hypocrites[13]; they should not be liars, habitually swearing to win public trust[14]; they should not be slanderers or calumniators of their rivals or peers[15]; they should not be involved in any illegal or criminal activities[16]; and they should not be uncivilized or ignoble[17]; No one has the right for any authority just because of their affluence and virile progeny[18].

People need to be educated well that they should vote in elections based on the above given criteria, instead of considering wealth, property, lineage, race, color, kinship, language, ethnicity or tribal affiliations of the candidates. Elected representatives as well as the appointed officials should be based on merit according to the criteria given above. Meritocracy is a fundamental feature of the Islamic Political System. Any kind of monarchy, dynastic rule or nepotism is against the basic principles of Islam.



[1] Al-Quran Surah 49: Verse 13

[2] Al-Quran Surah 28: Verse 26

[3] Al-Quran Surah 4: Verse 58

[4] Al-Quran Surah 2: Verse 247; Surah 21: Verse 79;  Surah 27: Verse 15; Surah 12: Verse 55

[5] Al-Quran Surah 38: Verse 20

[6] Al-Quran Surah 21: Verse 79

[7] Al-Quran Surah 38: Verse 20

[8] Al-Quran Surah 12: Verse 55

[9] Al-Quran Surah 28: Verse 26; 2:247

[10] Al-Quran Surah 4: Verse 83

[11] Al-Quran Surah 18: Verse 28

[12] Al-Quran Surah 26: Verse 151

[13] Al-Quran Surah 33: Verse 48; Surah 76: Verse 24

[14] Al-Quran Surah 68: Verses 8, 10

[15] Al-Quran Surah 68: Verse 11

[16] Al-Quran Surah 68: Verse 12; Surah 76: Verse 24

[17] Al-Quran Surah 68: Verses 13

[18] Al-Quran Surah 68: Verse 14

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