Roleplay - Sustainability in Islam (Social Pillar)

 

Bismillah.

Under the social pillar, we will focus more on the 16th which deals with promotion of peace, justice and strong institutions. Indeed, all these three come under protection of religion in Islamic law. As we know, Islam is derived from root word 'salam' which means peace hence a person entering Islam is entering peace and submitting his will to Almighty Allah and comes under his protection. Islam speaks about justice and encourages it even with enemies in the Quran. Islam also lays down some rights as a human being. For example, protection of life or hifz an-nafs in maqasid syariah, elevate chastity of women, individual freedom, prohibition on slavery, gender equality and many more. As mentioned by Allah in Surah Al-Maidah verse 32 "Whosoever kills a human being without (any reason like) man slaughter, or corruption on earth, it is as though he had killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity. This shows how Islam is very concerned with each life that if we kill just one person, that would equal to kiling the whole humanity. This is why arbitrary mass killing is very prohibited in Islam. Even to declare a war, Islam has set out the guidelines and we Muslims are forbidden to take one's life deliberately.

How does Islam put a solution to this, is by entrusting the leaders to make sure that they carry out the commandment of amar ma'ruf nahi munkar. As mentioned by Allah, in Surah Al-Hajj verse 41, [And they are] those who, if We give them authority in the land, establish prayer and give zakah and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. And to Allah belongs the outcome of [all] matters. This verse implies that it is also incumbent upon the government to ensure that the country is safe and governed under a rule of law which carries out justice without discrimination.

At the end of the day, it is prominent for a nation to have a functioning and stable government so that it can focus its attention on carrying out its responsibilities to fulfil the needs of its people. For this to happen, it is critical for all leaders to understand the weight of the amanah (trust) that they carry. A  government that is contrary with the teachings of Shariah and irresponsible will violate their power and causes the rights of the civilians to be abused. 

Thank you :)