PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE IN ISLAM Concept of Public Administration in Islam Introduction The concept of public administration is Islam is more of human welfare generic than the implementation of law and order as it is in the current Western dominated world, The public administration is to deal with all affairs of the public and to deal them with just, equity, and unbiased decisions. Public administration though has not been once scripted in the Quran, though from the life of the Prophet (PUBH) and the Caliphates, we can assume the trademark essentialities of a public administrator and how the Islamic system assimilates public administration. The following are some of the concept of Public Administration in Islam: 1.Amanah- Authority In the times of the Prophet (PBUH), the Prophet was revealed through the angels that it is ordained for those who believe to follow the Quran, the Prophet (PBUH), and those among you who have been bestowed with authority. This authority bestowed upon the public administrator is in fact an amanah (upholding trust). He is to withhold the trust of the public and to deliver the knowledge as per the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah, 2.Khilafat-role of leadership in good governance ‘The role of caliphate in Islam is of profound importance as he is considered to be the supreme leader in the Islamic administration, both politically and spiritually. The Caliphate is to whom the governors, judges, and tax collectors are responsible. He is the supreme ruler in the Islamic empire and every person under his administration is accountable to him and the people their serving. The Caliphate though may be the supreme leader, he is not a dictator or authoritarian in nature as he himself consults and is also elected through mutual consultation. 3.Shurah-consultative body for administrative affairs‘As mentioned above, the caliphate has a consultative body for administrative functions as he is neither an authoritarian nor a dictator. The Prophet (PBUH) would ask his trusted fellow companions among whom he would take pay heed to their remarks and suggestions regarding things related to religion, politics, administration, and other matters of human life, In Islam, the public administration works through collective effort of the few trustworthy underlings of the Caliphate. 4.Justice ‘The Quran ordains: “O ye, who believe! Be ye staunch in justice, witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourself or (your) parents or (your) kindred, whether a rich man or a poor man for Allah is nearer unto both (than ye are). So follows not passion lest ye lapse (from justice) and if ye lapse or fall away, then Lo! Allah is ever informed of what ye do.” It is inherent from the above mentioned verse that Allah has ordained for each and every person to do justice and so should a public administrator who as a Qazi is endowed with the authority in this world to judge prudently and f 5. Transparency Itinvolves that all the trancsactions are made transparently and no underhand game is played by all the concemed, Public can check the accounts of the Government, if there is a need. This transparency allows for people to have faith in their administrators and to trust them with the money they are donating either as Zakat, Sadagah, or Jizya. This keeps the public more cognizant of the whereabouts of the money being spent and obtained. 6.Equity, fairness and social justice The Prophet (PBUH) enjoined his followers to act in fairness, without compromising egalitarianism and social justice. The same teachings are prescribed in the public administration where the judge, the governor of the provinces, and the tax-collector are ordered to be fair without being unequal to anyone. The Muslim concept of public administration deals with social justice where the welfare of the people is considered as a foremost necessity of the public administration system. 7.Accountability It involves the existence of a mechanism which ensures that both politicians and officials are answerable for their actions, performance and use of public resource. Those who have the authority to manage the funds and wealth of the people are responsible for even a single penny of it being misplaced or gobbled up. Hadith:“Each one of you is a guardian and each guardian is accountable to everything under his care”. 8.Commanding good and forbidding bad ‘The Prophet (PBUH) said, “whosoever among you sees evil, then he should stop it with his hands, and if cannot stop with his hands, then he should impede it with his voice, and if he cannot do that, than with his heart — for this is the least form of faith.” As the concept of public administration is ingested with teachings of religion and spirituality, therefore, itis also important for the public administrators to command good and forbid bad. Umer (RA) during his caliphate once sent a governor to a province and told him that he is not being sent as a ruler but as a person who enjoins good and forbids evil, 9.Rule of law It involves the rule of law which is strictly based on social equity. In equity, one is treated equally on the basis of justice. There is no discrimination in the administration and statecrafi. The person who is being harmed will get ju he perpetrator is a rich and wealthy man. 10.Quality assurance Since the teachings of Quran and Sunnah are proven through its long standing history and success, therefore, the public administration in Islam connotes quality assurance as the people get what they want and nothing done to them is done out of the law. The law is equal for all and hence they are assured of quality and equality at the same time 11.Responsibility It provides the principle of responsible government, which is answerable to the people. The responsible government is always relevant for the good governance. The public administration in Islam calls for each and every administrator to be responsible to its people. The administrators are responsible to the Caliphate and the Caliphate himself is responsible to his people, and Allah. Therefore, when everyone is God fearing, then responsibility ensues a good governance. 12.Moral and ethical behavior What the public governance in Islam focuses more is on the moral and ethical behavior of the human beings than the law and order in the society. According to the Islamic system of public administration, an administrator should have an exemplary moral and ethical behavior which impedes him from doing any act that is against the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH). This would make him a better administrator. 13.Striving for excellenceIslam is a deen which compels its followers to strive for excellence. The Islamic way of public administration endows the rulers to go for the best. The Muslims are ordered to lead and live a life as the Prophet (PBUH) lived and this will lead them to excellence. In here, we can refer to excellence as superiority over the West and even the life after death where Muslims will go to heaven and meet their Creator. 14.Public welfare The Prophet (PBUH) said that the best among you is the one who is best in conduct with his people. Therefore, a Muslim society ensures public welfare and demands to be just and kind with the public. The Islamic public administration similarly is ordained to be more public welfare-oriented. ‘The Muslims are supposed to treat their fellow Muslims and non-Muslim with justice and equity. 15.Effective and efficient administration Effective and efficient administration is another characteristic of the Islamic system of public administration as it doesn’t deal with finding evidence or waiting for evidence to arrive. It deals with a more quicker and efficient administration where if the evidence is clear, the perpetrator will be penalized or indicted for his crimes. 17.Impartiality There is no impartiality in the Islamic administration system. Once a case of theft was brought before the Prophet (PBUH) that was intervened on behalf of Sahaba of the Prophet (PBUH) to have some sort of compensation. The Prophet (PBUH) said that if it were even his own daughter, Fatima, who had committed the act, then she too would have been amputated. 18.Brotherhood When the Prophet arrived in Medina, the Prophet (PBUH) introduced and established a system of brotherhood where each and every Muslim person was ascribed brother of another. The Immigrants and the Helpers thus became brothers for life. This system continued and still exists where the public administration in Islam deals with its people on the system of brotherhood. The brotherhood system ensures a family life system where the whole Muslims are considered a one Ummah. 19.Redressing of grievances In the times of the Prophet (PBUH), there were no separate institutions as are today where the education, politics, or religious matters are discussed. Each and every problem relating to the Muslims were discussed in the Masjid. The Prophet (PBUH) would settle all the grievances of the people and would look to find a reasonable solution to each problem. This is one of the major comerstones of the public administration in Islam. 20.Law, order and security In an Islamic administrative system, the Muslims are ordained to prepare their weapons and be ready for fights wherever it occurs. The Prophet (PBUH) was the commander-in-chief of his army. ‘Though he had no fixed quota for choosing his army, he choose people as per his liking but those hetrusted and considered piety and pious. He established a law and order for the Muslims and any non-Muslim living in the protection the Muslim state was demanded to pay tax for their security. 21. Accessible and approachable Administration One thing that the Prophet (PBUH) in his time taught us was that his administration was very austere and simple, Anyone could easily approach the Prophet (PBUH) and share their grievances. This was because each and every matter of the people was discussed in the Masjids and there was a fixed place for people to go to if they needed any sort of assistance or help. 22.Administrator as a role model for public As the administrator is mostly known for his piety, truthfulness, dignity, integrity, knowledge, and other similar profound capabilities, therefore, he is expected to be a highly skilled man and a man of ‘great caliber. He is an administrator up to whom the peasants pay a key notice. They take him as a role model to follow and try to become as good as he is with all the attributes that classifies him to be an exceptional case in the Muslim administrational dealings. He is hence a man of ample magnitude with people being inspired by him as a role model for the youth and the upcoming generations. 23.Freedom of expression ‘The public administration in Islam is in fact for the maintenance and providence of the public. If this reason is obscured from the duty of the public administration, then there isn’t any purpose of having a public administration to begin with. Thus, if you want to listen to the voices of the people, then you must also give them freedom of expression which Islam gives in the public administration with eloquent effect. In fact, during the reign of Umar (RA), a women came to him and argued and made Umar (RA) purport that the women is correct and Umar (RA) is wrong. 24.Public as pi ity ‘There are no personal favors or nepotism in the public administration in Islam, The administration has been set up as means for people to avail their birth rights as priority. The public is considered the foremost priority of the people and the administrators are asked to address their impediments as critical juncture for the prosperity of the human beings. FEATURES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE UNDER SEVEN FUNDAMENTALS 1. Rules of Law (As-Shura)It involves the rule of law which is strictly based on social equity. In equity, one is treated equally on the basis of justice, There is no discrimination in the administration and statecraft. The person who is being harmed will get justice even if the perpetrator is a rich and wealthy man, 2.Khilafah To ensure good governance, a system of Caliphate must be implemented where a sole single ruler responsible to his people should be elected as a Caliphate and then he will be the one to regulate the affairs of all the Muslim states. He, along with his Majlis-e-Shura (his cabinet) will be regulating the policies of the states with the utmost desire to help the citizens and the denizens. 3. Accountability It involves the existence of a mechanism which ensures that both politicians and officials are answerable for their actions, performance and use of public resource. Those who have the authority to manage the funds and wealth of the people are responsible for even a single penny of it being misplaced or gobbled up. 4.Transparency It involves that all the tranesactions are made transparently and no underhand game is played by all the concerned. Public can check the accounts of the Government, if there is a need. This transparency allows for people to have faith in their administrators and to trust them with the money they are donating either as Zakat, Sadaqah, or Jizya. This keeps the public more cognizant of the whereabouts of the money being spent and obtained. ‘The Quran ordains: “O ye, who believe! Be ye staunch in justice, witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourself or (your) parents or (your) kindred, whether a rich man or a poor man for Allah is nearer unto both (than ye are). So follows not passion lest ye lapse (from justice) and if ye lapse or fall away, then Lo! Allah is ever informed of what ye do.” It is inherent from the above mentioned verse that Allah has ordained for each and every person to do justice and so should a public administrator who as a Qazi is endowed with the authority in this world to judge prudently and fairly. G.Equit ‘The Prophet (PBUH) enjoined his followers to act in fairness, without compromising egalitarianism. and social justice. The same teachings are prescribed in the public administration where the judge, the governor of the provinces, and the tax-collector are ordered to be fair without being unequal to anyone. The Muslim concept of public administration deals with social justice where the welfare of the people is considered as a foremost necessity of the public administration system.