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Shura (Arabic:شُورَىٰ,romanized: shūrā,lit. 'consultation') is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. TheQuran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other.
Shura is mentioned as a praiseworthy activity often used in organizing the affairs of amosque, Islamic organizations, and is a common term involved in naming parliaments.
Sunni Muslims believe thatIslam requires decisions made by the Muslim societies to be made by shura of the Muslim community.[1] Traditionally however, theamir,sultan orcaliph would consult with hiswazirs (ministers) and make a decision, after taking into consideration their opinions.[citation needed]
Shia Muslims say that Islam requires submission to existing rulers if they are correctly appointed, so long as they govern according toSharia or Islamic law. This is a more traditional approach, characteristic of many centuries ofIslamic history.[citation needed]
The difference between the two appears more semantic than actual—the latter accept that the rulers must be accounted in all aspects of ruling, to ensure affairs are managed in the best possible way whether decisions were taken through consultation or not.[citation needed]
"Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (conduct) their affairs bymutual consultation among themselves; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance" [are praised] (Q.42:38)[3]
Thus it is due to mercy from God that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you; pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, andtake counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in God; surely God loves those who trust. (Q.3:159)[4]
...But if both sides decide—aftermutual consultation and consent—to wean a child, then there is no blame on them.... (Q.2:233)[5]
Muhammad made some of his decisions in consultation with his followers unless it was a matter in which he said Allah had ordained something. It was common among Muhammad's companions to ask him if a certain advice was from God or from him. If it was from Muhammad, they felt free to give their opinion. Some times Muhammad changed his opinion on the advice of his followers like his decision to defend the city of Madinah by going out of the city in Uhad instead of from within the city.[citation needed]
Arguments over shura began with the debate over the ruler in the Islamic world. When Muhammad died in 632 CE, a tumultuous meeting atSaqifah selectedAbu Bakr as his successor. This meeting did not include some of those with a strong interest in the matter—especiallyAli ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law; people who wanted Ali to be the caliph (ruler) (later known asShia) still consider Abu Bakr an illegitimate leader of the caliphate.[citation needed]
In later years, the followers of Ali as the ruler of Muslims became one school of thought (Shi'atu Ali orShia), while the followers of Abu Bakr became theSunni school of thought.[citation needed]
The Sunni school of thought believe that shura is recommended in the Qur'an (though some classical jurists maintained it is obligatory), The Qur'an, and by numerous hadith, or oral traditions of the sayings and doings of Muhammad and hiscompanions. They say that the first fourcaliphs, or rulers of Islam, whom they call the Four Rightly-guided Caliphs, were chosen by shura. (SeeSuccession to Muhammad,Umar ibn al-Khattab,The election of Uthman, andAli Ibn Abi Talib.)[citation needed]
The Shi'a school of thought believe that Muhammad had clearly indicated that Ali was his appointed infallible ruler of Muslim nation regardless of shura, a recommendation that was ignored by the first three caliphs. Shi'a do not stress the role of shura in choosing leaders, but believe that the divine vice-regent is chosen by God, or Allah, from the lineage of Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt). The largest Shi'a sect believes that the current imam is in "occultation", hidden away until the last days, but there are minority Shi'a who follow leaders believed to be infallible imams.[citation needed]
During and after Ali's tenure as caliph, the Muslim community fell into civil war. Power was eventually grasped by theUmayyad caliphs and then by theAbbasid caliphs. There were also rival caliphates inEgypt andAl-Andalus (today's Spain and Portugal), and in theIndian subcontinent. TheOttoman Caliphate was officially dissolved by the newly founded Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 1924.
Few of the later caliphs had anything but nominal control over the many Islamic states, and none were chosen by shura; all reached power by inheritance.
The Muslim clergy counseled submission to rulers but also stressed the duty of the ruler to rule by shura. They based this recommendation on the passages from the Qur'an mentioned above.
Author Jebran Chamieh notes that while some Muslims consider Shurah a "pillar" of Islam, a number of factors indicate it may not be.
In some Muslim nations, shuras play a role in the constitution or governance. Some Muslim nations, such asTurkey, are secular republics, andMorocco is a constitutional monarchy. They could thus be said to be ruled by one version of shura. For instance, the bicameralParliament of Pakistan is officially called theMajlis-i-Shura, although theConstitution uses various spellings of the term. InEgypt, theUpper House ofParliament was known as theShura Council. ThePeople's Consultative Assembly inIndonesia is calledMajlis Permusyawaratan Rakyat inIndonesian language. The wordmusyawarat is derived from shura/syawara.
In some monarchies and clerical regimes, there is a shura with an advisory or consultative role.Saudi Arabia, a monarchy, was given a shura council, theConsultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia, in 1993; there are now 150 members. All real power is held by the King, who is elected by family members.Oman, also a monarchy, has a shura council; all members are elected except the president, who is appointed by thesultan. The council can only offer advice, which may be refused by the sultan.
InIran, a council called theassembly of experts has the ability to impeach the supreme leader. In addition to that, a general shura wields legislative powers, equivalent to a modern-day Western parliament.
Shuras have also been a feature ofrevolutions in Islamic societies, such as in theIranian revolution of 1979, where they were formed by workers and held considerable power over parts of the economy for a year before being dismantled. Shuras were similarly a feature of the uprisings inIraq[7][8] in 1991, where they functioned as a form ofparticipatory democracy.
In the 21st century, some emerging scholars[citation needed] are now advocating the infusion of Shura with digital technology as a means to enhance participatory governance or E-Governance among Muslims for state- and community-building purposes.
Many traditionalSunniIslamic lawyers agree that to be in keeping with Islam, a government should have some form of council of consultation ormajlis al-shura, although it must recognize that God and not the people are sovereign.Al-Mawardi has written that members of the majlis should satisfy three conditions: they must be just, have enough knowledge to distinguish a good caliph from a bad one, and have sufficient wisdom and judgment to select the best caliph. Al-Mawardi also said that in emergencies when there is no caliphate and no majlis, the people themselves should create a majlis, select a list of candidates for caliph, and then the majlis should select a caliph from the list of candidates.[9]
Many contemporary Muslims have compared the concept of Shura to the principles of western parliamentary democracy. For example:
What is the shura principle in Islam? ... It is predicated on three basic precepts. First, that all persons in any given society are equal in human and civil rights. Second, that public issues are best decided by majority view. And third, that the three other principles of justice, equality and human dignity, which constitute Islam's moral core, ... are best realized, in personal as well as public life, under shura governance.[10]
Other modern Muslim thinkers distance themselves from democracy.Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, the founder of the modern transnational Islamist partyHizb ut-Tahrir, writes that shura is important and part of "the ruling structure" of the Islamic caliphate, "but not one of its pillars." If the caliph "neglects it," by not paying much or any attention, as happened after the first four caliphs, "he would be negligent, but the ruling system would remain Islamic."
This is because the shura (consultation) in Islam is for seeking the opinion and not for ruling. This is contrary to the parliamentary system in democracy.[11]
The democratic parliamentary system being distinct from and inferior to the true Islamic caliphate system according to Taqiuddin an-Nabhani.[12]
Under theHizb ut-Tahrir constitution, non-Muslims may not serve a caliph or any other ruling official, nor vote for these officials, but may be part of the majlis and voice "complaints in respect to unjust acts performed by the rulers or the misapplication of Islam upon them."
Still others, such as theMuslim authorSayyid Qutb, go further, arguing that an Islamic shura should advise the caliph but not elect or supervise him. In an analysis of the shura chapter of theQur'an, Qutb noted that Islam requires only that the ruler consult with at least some of the ruled (usually the elite), within the general context of God-made laws that the ruler must execute. In 1950 Qutb denounced democracy in favor ofdictatorship, saying it was already bankrupt in the West and asking why it should be imported to the Middle East.[13][14]
The practice of a consultative, but not bill-passing, caliph-electing or popularly elected shura, was adopted by the self-described strictIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan. While the Kandahar Shura of theTaliban debated issues, in the end its spokesman declared, "we abide by the Amir's view even if he alone takes this view."[15]
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