The possibility of abusing authority and power is ever present. But this disposition to get rid of authority and power because the possibility to abuse it exists runs counter to the human right to life and development and the need to maintain public order.
Allah has bestowed humans with faculties and capabilities such as reason, sensory organs, excitability, rage, desire and instincts. Abusing these reduces humans to a level lower than animals, while making proper use of them elevates them higher than angels. But the Creator bestowed these upon humans despite the inherent risks.
A country needs soldiers and internal security forces. It is impossible to protect a country from external attack without soldiers but the same soldier can revolt and abuse his power, betray the country that grants him that power, violate freedoms, and make criminals of innocents through torture and pressure. We can’t say let’s get rid of security forces because these possibilities exist.
Justice is the foundation of the state. The legal aspect of justice is administered by the judiciary but the possibility exists, and sometimes occurs, that judges at all levels, from top to bottom, go astray, take bribes, issue rulings influenced by their ideological leanings and put themselves in place of the nation’s will and form a state of jurists. Can any sane person say that the judicial institution should be abolished because such a possibility exists or because of such incidents having occurred?
Plenty more examples could be cited because power and authority are not limited to the spheres mentioned. The stage we need to reach is to ask what appropriate and legitimate measures can be taken to “prevent the abuse of authority and power.”
Since getting rid of authority and power, bestowing equal authority and power on everyone, and leaving everyone to their own devices during times when authority and power are required is not, and won’t be, a solution… just one solution remains: Maintaining limits on authority and power, and implementing measures to prevent any abuse even within these limits.
What could such measures be?
Stringent supervision, penalties for those who exceed their limits, rewards for those who are successful in this regard could all be effective but the measure I want to stress in this article is related to morals (the virtue that can be imparted through education). I want to focus on two virtues in particular: Responsibility and trust.
There is an aphorism in our tradition that states, “A person who serves society is respected by members of that society.” This draws from Yavuz’s protest upon being called “the ruler of Mecca and Medina,” who responded with, “No, the subservient and servant.”
According to this accepted principle, the greatest power and authority, too, have been granted for service to humans and values, and those burdened with this authority are responsible for service.
According to a representative/simile Sahih hadith, “the head of state is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock, the individual is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for it, the woman is the shepherd of her husband’s house and is responsible for the house, the servant is the shepherd of his master’s possessions and is responsible for his flock.”
Just like the shepherd is responsible for his flock in the real sense in this simile, i.e. serving his flock, protecting it, feeding it, watering it, letting it rest and cleaning it… the incumbent who has been granted the authority of being a shepherd whether it be public officials, heads of family, house wives… too have been granted this authority with a clear purpose and will be held accountable both in this world and in eternity for improper execution or abuse of this authority.
This verse translates as: “Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.” (Ahzab:33/72).
The late Mevdudı explains the last part in the following way:
“…Finally this weak creature arose and accepted this trust placed upon him: ‘Dear God, I am ready to face this test. With the hope that upon passing this test I will be blessed with the most exalted position in your realm, I will shoulder all the dangers that arise out of this freedom of choice and independence.’ Man can only become aware of his sensitive position in the universe by imagining such a scene in his mind. In this verse, Allah defines as ‘unjust and ignorant’ those who face this test by leading careless lives, and those who don’t realize the magnitude of this responsibility and the consequences of their right or wrong decisions while choosing a stance in this mortal life. Such a person is ignorant because this poor person believes he is not accountable to anybody; unjust because he is preparing for his own ill fate and leading many others to disaster as well.”
If you could just impart these two virtues to people, they won’t abuse authority and power even if you make them king. Otherwise, even a doorman will abuse his authority.
