- ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, Allah be pleased with him
For the last few days or weeks even I thought of studying, thinking and writing something on the nature and reasons of failure of our present day working model of western democracy all over the world. This is not just an academic interest or something which we have luxury to treat as a subject to think about only. In a country like Bangladesh where I live, the scenario of failure of governance and the case of high level of corruption and total epidemic of rich oppressing the rest is almost same as USA, a country where I spent sometime. Only difference is, here poverty is high, so those who are in power are guilty even more because more people suffer because of their faulty policy and attitude. But somehow not able to write what I originally intended. Hence I am calling this an untitled post.
I went back and forth pondering how the state of Medina once was constructed and built and how consensus and mutual consultation was basis of the model city state in the history and how it was ruled by the Messenger of God himself. I was also drawn into thinking how his immediate successors upheld the model and exemplified his footsteps in bringing equality, justice and peace among otherwise war mongering fractions of society.
The very principle of consensus and mutual consultation is still followed in western democracy in its own format, through different forums and by different names, but still we see how a democratic country can overturn fundamental constitutional protections, ignore the opinion of masses, do whatever they want, bail out corrupt banks and you name them all.
What I am convinced is that no model would work unless the people in power and position are of men (or women) of principles. Unless they have certain "faith," certain "values," certain "ethics," they will easily be bought by the rich and the whole system will be ruined. This is what is happening.
What I wanted to write, I am not prepared yet. And also feeling a writer's block, so I decided to put this short, rather than a detail post. But on this subject of good governance, it is certain that we knew better, we have seen much better. We had people in our written history who were extremely just rulers, they would compromise nothing, they would in truth put people first and themselves last. They had faith, they had values and ethics.
But today somehow in the name of secularism in one hand we are destroying our value system, our faith, our ethics and on the other hand with materialism and state sanctioned greed and consumptionism we producing not only selfish common men and women in society, from children to the most senior ones, but also having our presidents and prime ministers who are utterly busy amassing wealth and serving the rich corporates and businessmen who threw money in their political campaign.
In the big scheme of things the moment we forget about Divine Accountability, everything is bound to crumble down because when people are veiled from the truth that at the end each one will be judged for his or her responsibility given to him or her, this itself is enough to give rise to all kind of corruption, dodging of responsibility, doing unbelievable cheating on the very people who elected them. And its bound to happen.
Whether our modern, secular and extremely hypocritical discourses acknowledge this or not, it is the sense of Accountability and reverence for the sacred, if taken out of the equation then we are bound to see the systemic failure in governance and every thing else connected to it.
I wish I could learned more and share here the beautiful model that once was in Medina under the guidance of our Master, the Messenger himself, I wish we all could learned together about the beautiful model of the four rightly guided leaders of the nations immediately after the passing of the Messenger who truly showed the way how true leaders are suppose to be. But whether this is share here or not, their history remains true until the end of times and days will come when people will seek everywhere, including those pages of history to learn how to live in peace and in happiness where mass people are not oppressed by authority whom they themselves elected. I wish people will learn from the Leader of Humanity and his deputies how a nation when governed by Divine Law can eradicate almost all kind of oppression and injustice within the shortest span of time and progress towards producing highly motivated, content and peaceful human beings.
Christian experience of religion and politics is quit different than that of Islamic. In Islam the Messenger himself was not only the Prophet and Religious Leader, but he also was the chief administrator, commander in chief, judge as well as ruler of people. So he could exemplify and leave a vast legacy of how things could work when done by people of highest level of ethics, principle and value and above all God fearing people who were extremely careful about the responsibility for they feared that every single action of theirs is accountable to God in the hereafter. Thus we have seen the most thriving and just time in human history when these illuminated people were in power who never hankered after power and politics but were extremely humble and God fearing people who saw nothing but sacred responsibility and carried it out with utmost humility.
What is sad is that people do not learn, in most cases, specially when they are sleepwalking, unless they are pushed to the extreme end of oppression and when everything good, beautiful and harmonious is divorced from life. We hope and pray that with so much knowledge in our disposal, may we, collectively wake-up and refuse to accept naively ever kind of wrong doings by those who cover up the truth.
We seek refuge with the Most Merciful from those who do not show mercy,
We seek refuge with the Most Just from those who are ever unjust,
We seek refuge from the Tenderly Loving One from those who are cruel and devoid of mercy.
I end here with a prayer as taught in the Book of Illumination:
"Oh Our Lord! Please do not take us to task when we forget Your guidance and when we make mistakes. Oh Our Lord! Please do not put us in trial as You tried and tested the generations before us. Our Lord! Please do not impose upon us with whatever is beyond our capacity. And be clement towards us, and forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Sole Protector, and give us victory over those who cover up truth." Amen
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