Socio Political Thought Of Shah WaliAllah Rahmatullahi Alaihi

88 Politics and Statecraft
we have noted the universal qualifications necessary for the rulers. They
are: sanity, adulthood, malehood, bravery, wisdom and the abilities to hear,
observe and articulate. Further, they include a general acceptance by the
people of their ruler's distinction for these qualities, and an acknowledge-
ment by them of his sincere pursuit of the public weal in running the affairs
of the state, and in his general political conduct.2gg
In addition to these universally recognized conditions, Islam lays down,
according to Shah Wali Allah, a few other qualifications necessary for the
kllcllifafah. 'They are: (i) total loyalty to Islam, (ii) keen insight and under-
standing in the matters of the shari'ah, and (iii) a high level of integrity
and upright conduct ('add~ah).~~'
Explaining the last condition i.e. 'addlah, Shah Wali Allah says that
the incumbent of khiliifah should be a person who abstains from major
sins,301 and at the same time, does not persist in the commission of minor
ones. Moreover, he ought to be generous and magnanimous.302
As regards knowledge of the shari'ah, we find that Shah Wali Allah
considers it necessary for the khalijah to be a rnujtahid, that is, he should
be knowledgeable and competent enough to form an independent opin-
ion while interpreting the provisions of Islamic law. This seems necessary
since the office of the khildjuh, as defined by Shah Wali Allah, involves
certain responsibilities which cannot be adequately discharged by a non-
nzyjrahici. he^ include the following:
judicial functions at the highest level;
revival of the religious sciences; and
enjoining good and forbidding evil.
It is, theiefore, necessary for the khalgah to possess thorough knowl-
edge of a large body of Islanlic injunctions (ahkiim) along with their de-
tailed proofs (a/-aciillah a/-tafiili.y.ynh) derived from the Qur'Bn and the
Sunnah, consensus (ijmd') and analogical reasoning (qiyiis). This means
that he should understand each injunction pertaining to his functions as
khalijah in relation to its effective cause ('illah). However, according to
Shah Wali Allilh, the klzalijalz need not be an independent (mustaqill) muj-
tahicl like Abii Hanifah or al-Shafi'i. It would rather suffice for him to be
a mu~tahid muizrasib, that is, a mr4Jtahid affiliated with any one of the four
major schools of law. This would require, instead, an acute understanding
of the investigations made on legal injunctions alongwith their supporting
arguments by the first elders of the Muslim community ( ~alaf).~~~