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The Certainty Of Victory

Apart from the socio-psychological aspects of belief, which necessitates such expectation and conviction in an inevitable victory, we must consider the subject from a realistic and material point of view. We must decide whether such ideas and aspirations are, in fact, valid and viable.

In Islamic jurisprudence, ijmah (consensus of opinion) is the stable and trustworthy criterion by which the validity of laws and traditions can be sounded. The Sunnites relate that the Holy Prophet said,

لا تجتمع امتي علئ الخطاء

"Consensus between our people is not mistake".

The Shi'ites believe that if in any matter there is a consensus of opinion and the Imam is in agreement, then its validity is unquestionable. Therefore, if not only the Islamic sects and communities are in agreement over a question, but there is a general consensus between the more clear-sighted and learned leaders of all world communities, then the authenticity of the matter must be a foregone conclusion.

This is not said merely to provoke sentiment; there is positive historical evidence.

At the very outset of Time and Creation, man possessed virtually nothing that could be called his own. Indeed, from many aspects, especially that of natural equipment and ability, he was considerably weaker than the animal, and even more in need and dependent than the plant. However, despite all his failures and deficiencies, he possessed as much hope and aspiration as one could possibly imagine. Now, when we look at Man of today, we see an entirely different picture.

Compared to these times, he lacks virtually nothing. As opposed to the time when he went naked and homeless, he now clothes and houses himself in the most extravagant manner. The insecurity and danger he once faced against savage animals and various other natural catastrophes have now been eradicated by him. His wish to soar through the sky like the birds has now been fulfilled to the point where he has actually penetrated the heavens and reached the moon - something which was, at one time, beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

He can project his voice anywhere he wishes. With the use of radio and television, he can carry out feats which no human, however sharp their sense of sight or hearing, could ever perform. Likewise, on the political front, he has, out of sheer disappointment and rebellion against the tyrants and absolutionists of old, created new and strong central governments, based on freedom and democracy.

So this human, originally weaker and more helpless than the animal, with his apparently imaginary and immaterial assets of "hope, aspiration and will-power", has reached and obtained anything and everything that he has desired or deemed necessary, however difficult or at times impossible it may have seemed.

On this reckoning, it is absurd to think that such an old and deep-rooted ambition the organization and predominance of a secure and just government, should not be fulfilled. Indeed, as can be seen, there has been worthwhile progress made towards such an aim.

Considerable stages have been reached - the establishment of constitutional systems and civil codes; central government, law and legal consultancy; political freedom and equality; freedom of vote and the right of the people to elect or depose their ruling party or leader at will. In short, autonomous government by means of proportional representation and basic social and political rights, such as the freedom of national and international relations, etc.

Quite naturally, each separate stage of progress has been headed by designers and leaders who, as their own particular aims and ambitions have been sought, have had to tolerate considerable hardships and setbacks.

However, every social and political spearhead has, in proportion to the basic needs and level of mental perception of the people in their respective age and society, only been able to plan and predict for one or two future stages of what is a very long and exacting journey. Unlike the Prophets, they have not been able to specify the actuality of the final stage and halting-place nor assert it in the minds of people as the inevitable aim and destination.

Thus, such a victory is, as it seems, inevitable. The establishment of a government based one hundred per cent on Truth and Justice which will satisfy the hopes and aspirations of all men, will, one day, be actualized! The whole of humanity, regardless of race, creed or color, is working towards it. Furthermore, they have discovered the formula - Single, Universal Government.

In discussing the subject of a "Single, Universal Government", three basic questions must be posed1.

1. Is the idea of a Single, Universal Government a practical one?

2. Will the establishment of such a government pave the way for complete repellence of all social differences and problems, and subsequently see the development and expansion of absolute justice?

3. Supposing that the proposed government does come into effect, and absolute justice and security are established, will this give rise to happiness and prosperity among mankind?

Actually, the answer to all three questions is a negative one. However, the negation is not absolute; it is negative purely in regard to the method of thought, reason and action of present ruling forces - and their enforcement of policies which are egocentric and materialistic. Under these conditions, the aforementioned ideal and desired government is quite out of the question. If such a government is to come into existence, it will only do so on the fulfillment of three basic conditions, which are as follows:

1. The Government would consist of a single, universal body, shared by the people and working for the common good of all.

2. Complete justice and brotherhood must be the dominant factor; any kind of disaccord or oppression must be totally obliterated.

3. The whole concept must be based on and adhere to complete unity of policy, belief and aim - an aim which cannot be other than one based on the worship of God and the acceptance of the Everlasting Life, or the Hereafter.

Thus, the whole subject returns to "ideology" - the ideology of a Single, Universal Government based on solid foundations and with the total acceptance of its people - an ideology which is no other than that of religion and God!

George Sabine, in his book History of Political Theory2, confirms this. In discussing the transition of the Greek "city-state" to the "world-state" of Alexander or the "half-world" imperialism of Rome, wherever the subject turns to that of the establishment arid enforcement of ruling governments over the various states and nations of the world, he states that, "political philosophy and ideology must, of necessity, be of a religious and Divine nature."

  • 1. See: Bazargan, Mehdi -''Hokumate Jahani-ye-Vahed"
  • 2. "All the philosophies after the death of Aristotle became agencies of ethical instruction and consolation and, as time passed, took on more and more the characteristics of religion. Often philosophy was the only religion that an educated man had (in any sense) that implied conviction or feeling. No social tendency is more clearly marked in this period than the increasing importance of religious institutions, a tendency which culminated in the appearance of Christianity and the formation of the Christian church."(Page 113)
    "In the great world an individual could hardly be said to have function unless in some religious sense." (Page 114)

    "This new custom gave Alexander and his successors the authority needed to make their alliance with the cities effective." (Page 117)
    "The world-city of the Stoics was already on the way to becoming the City of God of later Christian thought." (Page 120)

    "By the beginning of the first century (Before Christ) the political processes which began with Alexander's conquest of the East had in a large measure complete themselves. The whole Mediterranean world had been cast into the melting-pot and had become in no small degree a single community. The city-state had ceased to count, and there were no politically self-conscious nations such as the modem era has produced. Already it was apparent that the successor to Macedonia and also to Egypt and the Asiatic Kingdom would be Rome. It was apparent that the known civilized world would be united under a single political rule, as, indeed, happened in the course of the century following.

    By the beginning of the first century, also, the Stoic philosophy had spread the ideas of a world-state, of natural justice, and universal citizenship, though these terms had an ethical rather than a legal implication. The stage was set for the further development and clarification of these philosophical ideas. The more negative ethics of the Epicureans and the Sceptics - the identification of 'nature' with self-interest - continued to exist, but the immediate future, at least, lay with the ideas developed by the Stoics.

    These had now become so dispersed that they were ready to lose their identification with any philosophic system and become the common property of educated men. These ideas included a number of convictions having an ethical or a religious import but not a very high degree of philosophical precision. With an ever-increasing tendency of the Schools to borrow from one another, they had even lost some of the precision which they had in the Stoicism of Chrysippus, as was to be expected when they became current in a culture that was substantially worldwide.

    They included the belief that the world is the subject of divine government by a God who is, in some sense, reasonable and good, and who stands therefore in a relationship to men that may be compared with that of a father to his children. They included, also, the belief that men are brothers to one another and members of a common human family. Their rationality makes them as a race akin to God and in some fundamental way alike, even after allowance has been made for the distinctions which diversity of language and local custom create among them. Hence, there are rules of morality, justice and reasonableness which are binding upon all men, not because they are laid down in the positive law or because a penalty follows their violation, but because they are intrinsically right and deserving of respect.'' (Page 129)
    George Sabine, History of Political Theory