Muslims have two major factions among them: the Shi’iMuslims and the Sunni Muslims. They have differences in their perspective of political leadership of Islam but their commonalities are many. The first belief practiced by all Muslims regardless of birth, gender, race or color is in the belief of Allah, the one true God and Creator of all things. All Muslims ascribe to His word which is found in the Qur’an. All Muslims are united in the belief of his attributes too. He is all knowing, all powerful and has no family, wife or children. Allah is just and merciful. He does only what is good for mankind.
Second, all Muslims believe in angels who are referred to as Mala-eka in the Qur’an. All Muslims believe in their original form of light and that the angel can take the form of anything they want. Third, all Muslims are united in their belief in scripture. They believe in the Qur’an which is Allah’s words passed to man, they believe in the books written by Allah’s messengers such as the Torah, written by Prophet Moses, the Psalms or Zabur written by King David and the Gospels written by Prophet Jesus. In addition to scripture, all Muslims believe in prophets as the servants of God who have been sent to man to teach and lead them in all ways of Islam and religious living. This means, all Muslims recognize that prophets are not simply authorities in spiritual matters but can also make declarations on day to day living such as cleansing oneself daily.
All Muslims believe in the last day on earth which is known as Yawm al Qiyama. All Muslims believe that on this day, all human being will be brought before God for a review of their actions and beliefs and will spend their time in the afterlife with regards to their earthly actions. For example, a person who did good deeds will be rewarded in Paradise while a person who did bad deeds or rejected Allah’s teachings will spend the afterlife in torment in the Jehenam or hellfire. The belief in an afterlife is shared among all Muslims too.
In obedience to their religion, all Muslims share some practices too. For examples, they have days set aside for celebration such as Eid Ul Fitr and Eid Ul Adha. Second, All Muslims believe in the institute=ion of Marriage. Its sanctity is recognized in the Muslim religion. In the words of the Prophet Muhammad, it is one half of the Religion. Third, all Muslims conform to the same rules of Architecture. Their houses have wide open spaces and large windows for increased ventilation. Ant beautification on the house is allowed in pattern drawings. Any form of portraiture is frowned upon.In addition, all Muslims are united in shunning the use of substances such as drugs, alcohol or any chemical for bodily pleasure. All Muslims abhor eating the flesh of the pig or that of any predator be it land animal or bird. And lastly, there are obligations which every Muslim must do in their lifetime. The first is to pray a minimum of five times a day. Prayer is known as Salah. Prayer is often done while facing the general direction of Mecca. The facing of Mecca at the same time during prayer unites all Muslims. Second, all Muslims must give alms to the poor. This act is known as Zakat.
All Muslims must fast once a year during the period of Ramadhan. The act of fasting is known as Sawm and lastly, all Muslims are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life time if they are able to. This pilgrimage is known as Hajj.
The difference between Sunni and Shi’i Muslims is in their perspective of leadership. The Sunni believe that Prophet Muhammad did not designate any successor before his death and hence believe that any political leader among the Muslims should be validly elected. The Shi’i believe that members prophet Muhammad’s family have divine knowledge and hence can be competent leaders without a democratic process. This is manifest in the start of the Shi’i Muslim movement. It was initially a political movement which was created by the supporters of Prophet Muhammad’s Cousin Ali as a means to agitate for his credibility to the seat of khalifa, the political leader.
Sadek Sulaiman demonstrates that shura is a cardinalIslam concept of democracy by marrying its meaning to the objectives of Islam. Shura means collective consensus and is a proper means of decision making. It has numerous steps in it to achieve the perfection of democracy which range from collective nomination of a khalifa to the popular consent of the leader. Shura derives its authority from the fact that God delegated His authority to man to ensure collective responsibility in maintaining the welfare of the society. This construct is known as Khilafa. Man therefore, had the duty to maintain peace and justice on earth. However, not every man can take part in governance and hence, each man can delegate his authority to an elected representative in a process known as ba’ya which is the method of electing a khalifa to manage the affairs of man. The concept of shura as a Qur’anic principle is bolstered by the legal principle of wajib in Islam, which demands that any creation which is necessary for the fulfillment of enjoined Islamic obligations is a religious obligation in itself. Shura encompasses the Islamic principles of justice, equality and human dignity and hence is a religious obligation. Prophet Muhammad was often commanded to consult with his associates during his time but often made the last decision. Shura was a means to achieving a binding decision in his case.
Sunni Muslims believe in the importance of consensus when making decisions. Autocracy and authoritarian regimes are abhorred by Sunni Muslims. The concept of democracy as imported by western nations into Islamic nations in history was tainted by manipulation by the western powers. This contributed to the inability of democracy to satisfy the desires of the citizens of Islamic nations which as a result ended in turmoil. Sulaiman’s view encourages the citizens to build a system of governance from the principles of its religion, Islam. The shura principle is consistent with the requirements of a democracy and is even stronger because it derives its authority from the Qur’an which is a uniting factor among all Muslims. Adopting this system will lead to increased national unity and patriotism because the shura principle originates from a source all Muslims identify with the Qur’an. In addition, it was practiced by Prophet Muhammad and this lends more credibility to it. Lastly, Sunni Muslims will achieve peace and fairness after adopting this view because it is very procedural and allows for dissent. The provision for dissent can also be interpreted to mean that checks and balances and calls for accountability and transparency can be implemented from the principle of bay’aha’mmah. This promotes good governance.
Works Cited
Sulaiman, Sadek Jawad. "The Shura Principle in Islam." The Tribune (2010).
