the three empires and the islamic phoenix 311tion to the problems of an advanced society: duties of the ruler, or
government using modern terms, agreement of people on the forms
of co-operation, irtifaqats(plural of irtifaqah), causes of corruption,
and the need for the proper distribution of labour. Conceivably, as
in line with his thinking, Islamic rules, Sharì"ah must be observed
and Islam must prevail. It is remarkable to observe in Shah Wali-
Allah’s teachings that if injustice prevails, people may rise in revo-
lution if the circumstances were compelling.
The fourth and final phase in the development of society, in Shah’s
deliberation is particularly interesting. It comes when the state becomes
large and the boundaries extend too far for a central government
to be in full control. Decentralization seems to be what Shah Wali-
Allah advocates as he suggested that the state would be divided into
provinces with a ruler, governor, heading each province. The province
should be managed on a self-sufficient basis where it would have its
army, income resources, and administration, all under the rulership
of the central ruler who should be powerful enough to hold the province
accountable to him and have exemplary ideal for others to follow.
The emphasis in Shah’s view seems to be on the powerful ruler who
governs not only by force and assertiveness but also, which is equally
important, by giving his subjects a good example of himself.
On governance, Shah Wali-Allah explains that the need for ruler, or
government, is necessitated by the fact that although, ideally, people
should have mutual care for each other, this may not be the case
and by the virtue of the great number of population in the society
a conflict of interest may arise. A political order would therefore be
required. The order needs to be headed by a ruler, and the ruler
should fulfill certain qualifications. From here Shah Wali-Allah pro-
ceeded to examine the qualifications that ought to be fulfilled in a
ruler and good government. To begin with, the ruler should be
elected. But the election, interestingly enough, is not, in Shah’s mind,
to be exercised by the masses, instead it is to be undertaken by the
wise and headmen of the community. Is this a reflection of the state
of the low level of educational awareness in India at the time, which
would render the populace incapable of choosing their ruler, or is
a continuation of a late practice of the Islamic norm of paying alle-
giance to the potential ruler, bai"ah? It is difficult to tell. Nevertheless,
it is a sound approach to safeguard the community from the mishaps
of a rigged election.