Islam As It Is
Organisation
~ 165 ~
From the Islamic viewpoint, the organization of
society is symbolic of man’s submission to the word
of God. Adherence to Islamic social order
demonstrates not only man’s obedience to God, but
his having passed the most crucial test in life. Those
who refrain from subjecting themselves to such an
order live in defiance of God’s commandments,
thus failing in life’s greatest trial.
Political power, it should be emphasized, does not
in itself ensure the effective organization of Islamic
society. During the respective Caliphates of Uthman
and Ali, the Muslims wielded political power, yet
their organization had become disoriented. Latter-
day Islamic history abounds in comparable
examples. A social order, to be truly Islamic, must
evince itself in a spontaneous system or
organization. Such as we see in a mosque, with an
Imam leading the faithful in the offering of their
daily congregational prayers. Although this entails
the restriction of personal freedom for the sake of
God, one’s submission to such a system must be
purely voluntary.
Indeed, an individual who subjects himself to an