The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Qur’an: The Book of God
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concerned, they could muster only 43%. Could this
be said to be truly representative of the people?
Man’s failure in this field has been summed up in
these words: ‘The history of political philosophy
from Plato until the present day makes it plain that
modern political philosophy is still faced with the
basic problems.
In fact, there is only one political philosophy that
does not contradict itself, and that is the philosophy
put forward by the Qur’an. The Qur’an says, that
only God has the right to rule over man: ‘ “Have we
any say in the matter?” they ask. Say to them: “All
is in the hands of God,’” (3:154).
The idea of God as Sovereign makes for a coherent
system of thought, free from all forms of
contradiction. But when man is considered
sovereign, there are bound to be contradictions and
inconsistencies in the political theories that evolve.
The aim of all political theories has been to
eradicate the divisions between ruler and subjects.
Yet no human system, whatever its nature, has been
able to do this. In both the democratic and
totalitarian systems, human equality has remained
