The most important Sunnahs in the life of nations and peoples from the story of Taloot, peace be upon him...
Selections from the Book The King Prophets...
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi...
Episode (18)
Sheikh Muhammad Rashid Reda - may Allah have mercy on him - tried to reflect on this story and deduce from it the most important laws of faith in the life of nations, societies and peoples, and he mentioned from them:
(The first Sunnah) If the independence of nations is assaulted and their enemies destroy their rights, the feelings of those nations will be alerted to repel injustice and think about its path, so they will go in search of a just and valiant leader, until they find him, as happened to the children of Israel after the people of Palestine abused them.
(The second) is that the nation’s feeling of the necessity of preserving its rights and preserving its independence is only true and complete in its elite. When these elite are numerous in a nation, they are the ones who ask for the ruler who will rule over them, as is known from the attribution of the king's request to the public from the Children of Israel, who are their elders and the people of the credit for them.
(The third) When the feeling is great in the souls of the elite of the nation that it is necessary to preserve its independence and repel the grievances of its enemies; It soon spreads to the public of them, and the deficient person thinks that he has the same arrogance and zeal for the nation that the perfect person has, until when it emerges from the stage of thought and feeling to the stage of action and appearance, the inability of the pretenders is revealed, and nothing benefits except the truthfulness of the truthful.
(The fourth) that nations differ in choosing who will have kingship over them, and disagreement is a reason for division, so there must be a preference that is accepted by the majority of the nation; Therefore, the Children of Israel turned to their Prophet and asked him to choose for them a man who would be their king. Islam has made it the preferred choice for the Imam of the Muslims to pledge allegiance to those in authority to whomever they choose from themselves, and they are the people of law and order and status in the nation.
(The fifth) that people do not agree to imitate or follow what they see as contrary to their social interest; Therefore, the children of Israel disagreed with their Prophet regarding making Saul king over them, and they argued against that in a way that does not support any argument except in the opinion of those who deny it.
It is a strange thing about people that each of them thinks that he knows what is right in politics and the social system in nations and states.
(The sixth) That nations in the stage of ignorance believe that the people most deserving of kingship and leadership are those with vast wealth, as is known from the words of those who denounce the kingship of Saul in support of their denial.
(The seventh) The conditions that are considered in choosing a man for kingship are what we learned from the Almighty’s saying: {Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature} as follows:
- The person’s innate readiness: {Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you}.
- Abundance in knowledge through which management is achieved: {and has increased him abundantly in knowledge}.
- The strength of the body expresses its health, and the perfection of its powers, which entails the health of thought, {and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature}.
Allah Almighty’s granting success in finding reasons for it, which is expressed in His saying: {And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills}.
(The eighth) is what is stated in the Almighty’s saying: {And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills}, as we have explained, supported by evidence from the Mighty Book, that His will, the Most High, is only implemented in accordance with His general laws in changing the conditions of nations by their changing what is in themselves, and in taking away the property of the oppressors and inheriting the earth to the righteous. The interpretation of these verses and others like them is seen at all times. Where are the sighted people?
(The ninth) The soldiers’ obedience to the commander in everything he orders and prohibits is a condition for victory and the uprightness of the command; The laws of soldiering in this era are based on the army’s obedience to its commanders, whether active or compulsive, reasonable or unreasonable.
(The tenth) That a small group may defeat - through patience, steadfastness, and obedience to their leaders - a large group that lacks patience and unity, because Allah’s victory is with those who are patient.
(The eleventh) Faith in Allah Almighty and belief in meeting Him are among the greatest reasons for patience and steadfastness in situations of executioner and fighting.
(The twelfth) That turning to Allah Almighty with supplication is beneficial in fighting, as indicated by the Almighty’s saying: {So they defeated them by permission of Allah}. Supplication is a sign of faith in Allah and belief in meeting Him.
(The thirteen) Allah's repelling some people by means of others is one of the general laws, which is what the wisdom scholars in this era express as the struggle for survival, and they say: War is natural in humans, because it is one of the branches of the general law of conflict for survival.
You see that the Almighty’s saying: {And if it were not for Allah checking [some] people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted} [Al-Baqarah: 251], is not a text regarding what specifically applies to war and fighting, but rather it is general to every type of conflict between people, requiring stampede and victory.
The divine laws are fixed in the universe, and they apply to man at all times and places, and the law of stampede is one of the laws that is closely related to empowerment, and Allah, Lord of the worlds, has willed that the affairs of this religion - indeed, the affairs of this universe - should be based on current laws and not on supernatural laws, and that is so that a generation of Muslims does not come and neglect and say: The ancients were helped by the supernatural, and the supernatural no longer descended after the seal of the message and the cessation of the prophecies.
The law of stampede is closely linked to empowerment, rule and authority. Allah Almighty knows that evil is boastful, cannot be fair, and cannot allow goodness to rise - no matter how sound and gentle paths this good takes - because the mere growth of goodness carries danger to evil, and merely The existence of truth carries a ban on falsehood, and evil must tend to aggression, and falsehood must defend itself by trying to kill truth and strangle it by force.
From here, there is a stampede between truth and its people, and falsehood and its supporters, and that is the law of Allah, and you will not find any change in the law of Allah. It is an innate law that is ongoing among people to preserve the uprightness of the state of life and moderate the balance of life.
This divine law has been stated in the Holy Qur’an in general, but it has been specifically stated in two noble verses:
The first: Allah Almighty’s saying in Surat Al-Baqarah: And {if it were not for Allah checking [some] people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted, but Allah is full of bounty to the worlds} [Al-Baqarah: 251].
The Second: Allah Almighty’s saying in Surah Al-Hajj: {And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might} [Al-Hajj: 40].
What is noticeable is that the verse of Surat Al-Baqarah comes after mentioning an example of the struggle between truth and falsehood, represented here by Saul and his believing soldiers, and Goliath and his followers.
Allah Almighty concludes the verse with the Almighty’s saying: {but Allah is full of bounty to the worlds} [Al-Baqarah: 251]. Therefore, preventing corruption through this method is a blessing that applies to all people.
The verse of Surat Al-Hajj comes after Allah Almighty’s declaration to defend His faithful servants, and after His permission for them - Glory be to Him - to fight their enemy. The verse concludes with Allah Almighty’s confirmation of a basic rule: {And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might} [Al-Hajj: 40].
Episode references:
- Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi, The King Prophets, pp. 102-107.
- Our Contemporary Reality by Muhammad Qutb, Al-Madina Foundation for Press, Printing, and Publishing - Jeddah, 2nd edition, 1408 AH - 1987 AD, p. 414.
- In the shadows of the Qur’an (3/742).
- Empowerment of the Islamic Ummah in the Light of the Holy Qur’an, Muhammad Al-Sayyid Hamad Yusuf, Dar Al-Salam - Egypt, 1st edition, 1418 AH - 1997 AD, p. 218.
- The Great Interpretation: Keys to the Unseen, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Dar Ihya al-Turath, Beirut, Lebanon, 415 AH - 1995 AD, (3/514).
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:
