Islam Fundamental Principles and Teachings

Islam and the Army

Q. Does the Islamic system of government have an organised army?

A. Yes, it has an organised army in the best form.

Q. Is there compulsory draft system?

A. No. Serving in the Islamic army is voluntary.211

Q. How would that work?

A. The Islamic government would arrange for training opportunities in the various weapons and devices for members of the public so that everyone, young and old, and during their free time such as the weekends and suchlike, receive all the necessary training.

In this way the majority of the nation would receive the training and readiness, and through this it would reduce the expenses for the army. In this way members of the army would remain with their families and at their jobs. Everyone will attend training every day for some hours and then go to their jobs, and stay with their families. When there is an attack on the country it would be mandatory upon everyone to defend the Islamic State. Those who 209 Al-Ka>fi, vol.7, p138, Wasa>’el al-Shi‘ah, vol.26, p36, etc. 210 “Man La Yah}d}uruhu al-Faqih”, vol. 4, p100.

would like to serve in the military may do so if they wish to stay in the military permanently and they would receive salary on that basis.

Military Weaponry

Q. What is Islam’s opinion about the modern tools of warfare?

A. Islam considers it necessary for the Islamic State to manufacture and possess whatever is required to defend itself and to protect the sanctities of Islam and the security and safety of the Muslims212, as the Almighty has said, .and prepare for them whatever you can of power.213.

Q. What the Islamic government would do for the relatives of those killed in the battlefield?

A. If they are needy and not able to make their living the government will help them with whatever they may need and according to their status and dignity, and if they are not needy they will not be given anything, unless there is a certain interest in helping them.

Q. What is the position of Islam on the issue of peace and war?

A. Islam is the religion of peace and tranquillity, as the Almighty says; .O ye who believe enter into peace all together.214. Islam works towards proliferating and disseminating security, safety, peace and tranquillity throughout the world, and equally endeavours to extinguish the hostility of war, put out its flames, root out its cause from amongst the people through uprooting and 211 The determination of this is in the hands of the Council of the Jurist Authorities – Shawra al-Fuqaha>’ al-Maraje’.

212 In parallel, and as a long term policy, it is also mandatory to prevent the manufacture and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons that harm all of humanity, for “there is neither harm nor being harmed in Islam”. [Wasa>’el al-Shi‘ah, vol.26, p14]

213 The Qur’an, Public Estate (8): 60 214 The Qur’an, The Heifer (2): 208

destroying the factors that cause wars, and instead seed the elements that encourage love, harmony, peace and good will. Islam pushes for abandoning war and promotes truce even if the enemy calls for them out of trickery, for the Almighty instructs, .and if they [the enemy] incline towards peace, then you incline towards it [too].215. At the same time, Islam prohibits violence, terrorism, treachery, and assassination, and fights anything that leads to fear and apprehension, terror and trepidation in the people.

Freedoms in Islam

Q. Is there freedom in Islam?

A. Yes. Islam provides the best form of freedom. A freedom that the world has not dreamt of even in the best of civilisations it has come across.

Q. What are the Islamic freedoms?

A. They are many and we shall only mention a few in the following:

Freedom of Earning and Trade

1. Freedom in career and trade, in which every member of the nation can choose for himself any career, profession or job he wishes in order to earn his living; so he can earn through hunting, mining for any ore or precious stone or product, procurement of any of the permissible and suchlike. For example, one can import or export any goods he wishes, and buy or sell without restrictions at all. There are no custom charges or tariffs, and no conditions, in Islam. Of course, there is the condition that the goods must be lawful for buying and selling and not prohibited like liquor, and that there is no usury involved, or that the transaction is unlawful. 215 The Qur’an, Public Estate (8): 61

The trader may not monopolise, or that it does not constitute harm to the people and their economy.

Freedom in Manufacture and Agriculture

2. Freedom in manufacture and agriculture. One would be entitled to farm any amount of land and in any manner that he wants, and there is no “land reform” in Islam – in the ‘imported’ sense. However, if the land were “conquered by force” by the government then the farmer has to pay a small amount of rent to the government, this rent is called Khiraj.

If the farmer is poor the government must see to his need according to his status and dignity. One is allowed to farm as much land as he can, provided one does not deny others the opportunity, and any crop one wants, with the exception of the harmful ones such as opium. The government may not demand any taxes other than Khums and Zaka>h with all their preconditions as mentioned before. The same is applicable to all manufacturing; they are all free – in the full meaning of the word – with the exception of those prohibited in Islam such as the manufacture of liquors and narcotics.

Freedom of Construction and Development

3. Freedom in construction and development. One is allowed to develop the land in any way one wants. Under the Islamic government an individual may take any piece of free216 land and build anything one wants whether a house, shop, factory, mosque, religious centre, school, clinic, hospital, and suchlike, with all freedom [from any restriction or condition] and there are absolutely no charges on any development. The government has no right to make him pay even a single penny for the land or other things. Islam has decreed that “Whoever develops a barren land it 216 By free it is meant the land that is not owned, developed or assigned for development by others. Ed.

is his”217, except if the land has been taken forcibly by the government from the enemy in which case the developer would pay rent to the government.

[As an example of implementing the teachings of Islam] if this one law [of the Islamic laws] were applied to land development, that alone would have been sufficient to meet the needs of the people in housing, eradiating the housing crisis that is prevailing in many countries, not to mention all the Muslim countries.

Freedom of Residence and Travelling

4. Freedom of residence and travelling. One may reside wherever one wants or travel to wherever one wants, without any restriction or condition. There are no geographical borders (between Muslim countries) in Islam, no racial conditions, no discriminations due to colour or language, etc. With this freedom there will be no identity cards, or nationalising certificate, permits, passports and all other related things – just as the European Union has done and has eradicated this loathed innovation from its peoples and countries.

Freedom of Social and Political Activities

5. The total freedom of all forms of social services and political movements with the exception of those prohibited in Islam, which are very few. Thus there are absolutely no spying agencies, for spying upon an individual is prohibited, and there is nothing in Islam called spying agency and suchlike, with the exception of an agency or a department for collecting information for the benefits of the nation, and for the protection of its security and its benefit. Thus in the Islamic government everyone is free to speak, write, express his view and opinion, and to form societies and 217 For “the land belongs to Allah and to whoever develops it” as taught by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his pure progeny. See Wasa>’el al- Shi‘ah, vol.25, p412

associations, groups and political parties, to raise fund and support, to publish magazines and newspapers, setting up radio and television broadcasting stations, etc.218

Freedom of all activities

6. Freedom of all forms of personal and social activities. For example, anyone who is qualified to drive is free to drive without having to pay any fees or charges and suchlike. Similarly, a deceased is not required a permission to be prepared for burial and to be buried, but rather his relatives may prepare him for burial and bury him in any place they want or that which the deceased instructed, without having to pay any taxes, charges, or fees and suchlike. The same is applicable for all other matters.

Q. The issues mentioned here would require dismantling many of the government departments we see today.

A. That is correct. This is how the Islamic government used to be. There were very few government departments, and as we mentioned previously the number of civil servants in the Islamic government is very small indeed, an absolute minimum, and because of the small number of the civil servants the government’s burden is light and its shoulders are not loaded by large sums of money.

The Islamic Justice System

Q. Is there a judicial system in Islam? A. Yes. In Islam there is best form of judicial system, and the judges are the most just men.

Q. How are the judge and the Islamic system of Justice? 218 See for example “If Islam were to be Established” by the late Imam Muhammad Shirazi.

A. In Islam the judge must be a believer and a just man, learned in Islamic judicial law, and expert (mujtahid) in its rules and cases. Judgement must be based on evidences and oath, without complication and bureaucracy and without fees, charges, or costs at all. There are no formal protocols and bureaucracies in the Islamic judicial system, no requirement for formal applications for the hearing, or creating special files for the claimant, and all such bureaucracies that is prevalent today in the courts of law and the judiciary.

So because of this simplicity in the Islamic system of justice, and the required justness and fairness of the judge in Islam, one judge is able to deal with all categories of claims and cases, and judge between them and issue their verdicts in the quickest time possible. And all that is on the basis of [laws of] Islam, and the testimony of just witnesses219, and thus one judge used to make judgments for a city of millions such that there was no case unresolved.220

Q. Where from does the judge receive his salary?

219 The criterion for just witnesses is that they must be a practicing Muslim. 220 This might be surprising, but given the simplicity of Islamic rules and regulations, and their non-bureaucratic and uncomplicated nature, a single judge could see to all the cases of the time. Today, with more elaborate cases, a single judge – together with his specialist advisors – could also perform a similar task thanks to the ‘crystal clear’ nature of the Islamic laws and rulings.

For more details see al-Qad}a>’, volumes 84-85 of al-Fiqh series, by the late Imam Muhammad Shirazi, and Politics from the Islamic Perspective, by the author Grand Ayatollah S{a>diq Shirazi. In Islam the degree of one’s freedom in every aspect of life is far greater than what we have today in any modern ‘free and democratic’ society, and therefore many of the actions or ‘inactions’ that are considered as ‘crime’ and require ‘legal considerations’, ‘appearing before a judge’, and issuing a ‘verdict’ are not considered as a crime at all, and therefore there is no need for any of that (i.e. to appear before a judge, etc.) in the first place. For example the various taxes we have today in modern societies are not called for in Islam and therefore not giving taxes does not constitute a crime.

Acquiring licences for import/export activities, or for setting up businesses is not required and thus not acquiring them is not a crime, and thus this does not force one to appear before a judge etc. and thus a judge has far less to do; as the saying goes ‘why complicate matters when they are so simple?’ - Editor.

A. He will be paid from Bayt al-Mal, or the treasury department.

Q. What is the duty of a judge?

A. With the help of his assistants he would perform what many government departments perform in present day governments. He would supervise the affairs of charitable properties, religious endowments and their staff, manage the properties and affairs of underage individuals and returning them to them when the right conditions are met, perform marriage and divorce as required, supervises transactions, leases, rents, etc. He would also be involved in settling disputes among individuals, and executing the penalties and punishments to be carried out.

Attorney in Islam

Q. Is there in Islam a system of attorneys like we have it today?

A. In Islam there is not a system of attorneys like we have it today, and in the Islamic system there is no need for such a massive body of attorneys, since under the Islamic government matters in general and those of the judiciary in particular run with ease, simplicity, and soundness.221

221 Islam encourages faith, conscientiousness, and individual responsibility in society. Islam relies on people’s natural disposition; their faith, and their honesty, and thus oath and evidence is sufficient. In a legal case brought before a judge, the claimant brings forth witnesses to prove his case, otherwise – if he has no witnesses – the defendant swears an oath to counter the claimant’s claim, and the case is concluded in favour of the defendant. There is no need for lawyers and attorneys. For more details see al-Qada’, volumes 84-85 of al-Fiqh series, by the late Imam Muhammad Shirazi. In today’s societies, if one is required by the authorities to pay taxes, and he cannot, he would end up having to go through the process of seeking an attorney, and spending time and money, and he may or may not win his case, whereas in Islam the case is concluded when he declares his inability to pay. Similarly if one owes money, for example, and cannot repay it, he needs to hire a lawyer and appear before a judge, etc. whereas in Islam the case is concluded by his inability to pay. If there were cause for concern on the truth of the claim, then a judge would require him to produce two witnesses to confirm the truth of his claim. When the author states that “there is no need for

Q. What will [the government of] Islam do with the attorneys and the civil servants that are not required if took charge?

A. Islam does not surprise the nation with its reforms, but rather it implements them gradually and in stages at their pace. So it will facilitate for those whose jobs it does not recognise with alternative appropriate jobs, and it will provide them from the treasury to help them start another career.

And after this will one whose job is not required by Islam allow himself to rebel against Islamic government after Islam had facilitated for him with a useful job that suits his status, and provided for him until his new career with all dignity and comfort? Similarly Islam will dissolve and annul all places and activities involving production and consumption of liquor and prostitution and suchlike while paying great attention to their living matters and expenses, and facilitating job opportunities appropriate to their status and traits to enable them to make decent and lawful living and to make them needless to the vice and the illegal.

Health in Islam

Q. Is there a health service program in Islam?

A. Yes. It has the best of preventive and treatment systems, and the most precise programs in broadness and comprehensiveness, for it covers the health of the body and the soul, the wellbeing of the individual and the society, and the fitness of the climate and the environment.

Q. How does this system work?

A. Islam bases the general guidelines for health care program on three policies:

such a massive body of attorneys”, it does not mean that there is a need for a small body of lawyers, it is meant there is a need for none. - Editor.

1. Prevention; for this protects the individual, the society, and the environment against the spread of disease and infections to anyone of them, and that is through the following:

(a) through the prohibition of the causes of diseases and infections such as liquor, narcotics, adultery, homosexuality, and other harmful things; music and practices that bring about anxieties; liquor shops, brothels, and suchlike.

(b) through encouraging the etiquettes and traditions of the individual and social way of life such as cleanliness, bathing, h } ija>mah which is blood-letting by cupping, fas}d222 which is the piercing and removing of blood from the veins, fasting, marriage, use of body creams and oils, use of herbal treatment such as so‘ut}223, wearing kohl, removal of unwanted body hair, particular manners of eating, drinking, wearing of clothes, housing, sleeping, and while being awake, and suchlike.

2. Treatment; and that is by referring to herbal medicine and dietary procedures beneficial for treating diseases, all of which are simple and easy. Such measures although may not be comprehensive but they would stop diseases especially at the outset of the disease. Detailed health care and dietary programs are given in the books such as “Medicine of the Prophet” and “Medicine of the Imams” peace be up on them.

3. Supervision: Islam supervises the welfare and cleanliness of the environment and pursues its protection against pollution, and also monitors the health of the individual and protects 222 hijamah and fas}d are procedures for removing blood from the body in aid of medical benefits. The procedure of hijamah is to remove and dispense of ‘old’ blood from the body by cutting the skin in specific parts of the body. The procedure fas}d is remove ‘fresh’ or ‘old’ blood from the veins. hijamah is encouraged by the prophet and is normally done twice a year.

223 Herbal drug used for sniffing.

him against infection. Furthermore it carefully monitors the physicians, and fires in them the restraint of the conscience, and the fear of Allah and His retribution. The Islamic law holds a physician responsible for any misconduct, even if he is an expert. This creates a strong sense of responsibility in the physician such that he would not allow himself to be complacent in the diagnosis and treatment, and in turn that makes the physician more observant when diagnosing and treating the disease, and prescribing the medicine.