The criterion for selection for leadership and positions in Allah Almighty’s selection of Taloot, peace be upon him...
Selections from the Book The King Prophets...
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi...
Episode (13)
- {He said, “Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature}:
Children of Israel rejected the choice of Saul because he was not of a better lineage or companion than them, and that he did not have abundant wealth, so their Prophet responded to their saying, with two things:
First: Allah Almighty chose him; That is, He chose him from among the elite and the people of zeal and nobility, and said: {Allah chose him over you} and he did not say “from you,” even though he was one of them, to indicate his superiority over them and his superiority to the properties and attributes bestowed upon him by Allah, and that it was sufficient for Allah to choose him so that they could remain calm and not object, because there is no will above Allah’s will and they have no choice in what Allah has chosen; Because they delegated the matter of choosing the king to the Prophet, and Allah, their Lord and the Lord of the Prophet, chose him.
Second: Their Prophet responded to their objection by stating the correct measure of the greatness and status of men, and their readiness to lead peoples to places of pride and honour, and they considered money and lineage to be the measure of greatness, so he explained to them its measure.
Then Allah Almighty said: {and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature} That is, He is greater than all of you, because Allah Almighty has increased him over you in the two matters that are the reason for leadership and wisdom, which are:
A- The strength of the mind, the breadth of knowledge, and the abundance of experiences.
B- Body strength; That is, strength and durability, and He singled out some of them as sufficient. If kingship is the highest of positions, and if great leadership is the greatest of deeds, then what qualifies for positions is not capacity and money, but rather sufficiency for them and the ability to attain them. In the noble verse there is a reference to the measure of greatness, and to the criterion of selection for deeds and positions.
Abundantly in knowledge means breadth in horizons and experiences, strength of mind, planning, and precision in thinking. Abundantly means breadth, and if it is added to knowledge; Its meaning is breadth and encompassing everything that directs the mind to enlightened thinking with the integrity of the mind itself.
The abundantly of the body is its breadth, not in the sense of an abundance of meat and fat; Rather, he should be broad-boned, tall in stature, and there is a distance between the shoulders, and the abundantly of the body may be meant by that fact, and what is meant is: - in war - his appearance casts fear in the hearts of the enemies, and awe in the hearts of the saints. Or what is meant by the abundantly of the body is absolute power; Because whoever has long bones and broad shoulders has, in all circumstances, a strong body, so what is meant by it is absolute strength. It should be noted that the abundantly of knowledge takes precedence over the abundantly of the body to the extent of the need for strength of opinion and planning, breadth of knowledge and abundance of experiences.
- {And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing [in favor] and Knowing}:
Allah Almighty concluded this noble verse with this lofty sentence to indicate two things:
First: that all matters are in His Hand, Glory be to Him, and that He is effective in what He wants, and that whatever He wills in this universe happens, and what He does not want will not happen, and that He, Glory be to Him, gives dominion in this world to whomever He wills, and that He is in control of it; Therefore, kingship was added to it, saying: {His sovereignty} When He gives it to whomever He gives it to, He is in control of His affairs and He can take it away at any time He wants. He is the owner of the kingship. He gives the kingship to whomever He wants and takes away the kingship from whomever He wants. He is the omnipotent one over His servants.
Second: Everything in existence is under the authority of Allah Almighty, and this means that Allah is vast; That is, He encompasses everything, and He has expanded everything with His mercy and power, and He manages matters according to broad and comprehensive knowledge. He connects the causes and effects, and He gives for a wisdom that He knows, and withholds for a wisdom that He knows, and He tests nations with strength and weakness, pride and humiliation, defeat and victory, misfortune and hardship, then blessings and ease, as Allah Almighty said: {Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned} [Al-Anbiya :35].
The defeated nations must take the means by uniting the word and uniting the hearts, liberating the souls from the bondage of whims and desires, and not surrendering to weakness, striving and being patient, and trusting in Allah, and to Allah is the fate of matters.
Among the benefits of this verse:
- The prophets’ veneration of their Lord, their good manners with Him, and their efforts to make people obey Him.
- The obligation to listen and obey Allah and His Messengers.
- The verse indicates that religion and body should be considered when choosing a leader, and it states that the more qualities and advantages the caliph and king have, the more helpful he will be in ruling, and the easier for him to gain the obedience of his people.
- The virtues of the soul take precedence over money.
- The king of the servants is in fact the property of Allah, and Allah gives the kingship to him as a test.
- Some people are deceived by tangible, worldly material matters, and ignore the psychological and moral truths and virtues.
- Knowledge is better than physical strength because He preceded it with mention in the verse.
- The imamate is not deserved by inheritance or wealth.
- It is not a requirement for rulers to be rich.
- The strength of opinion necessary for leadership stems from science.
- Responding well to objections and removing doubts. When they objected to their Prophet and threw out their doubts, he responded to them and refuted their words, so he told them first that the matter was a selection by Allah, to whom obedience and submission to His rule were required.
- Then he drew their attention to the fact that this righteous man has characteristics that are more important than his royal lineage and wealth.
- Then he explained to them that Allah knows best who is fit for kingship, and that His selection by Allah Almighty is a matter of wisdom.
Episode references:
- Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi, The King Prophets, pp. 74-78.
- Zahrat Al-Tafsir (2/893)..
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of King Prophets on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi:
