Chapter XIV Military duties of a prince: Machiavellis and Islamic view point: According to Niccolo Machiavelli a prince should

only think and focus on art of war, its rules and disciplines more than refinements of life. And this rule is of such value that following this rule even a private citizen can become a pr ince. A prince should have no other object, no other thought, and other subject of stud y, then war, its rules and disciplines; this is the only art for man who command s, and it is of such value that is not only keeps born princes in place, but oft en raises men from private citizens to princely fortune . The quickest way to lose a state is to neglect this art, the quickest way to get one is to study. Whereas according to Islam a Caliphate is the symbol of traditionally and th eoretically essential and necessary political unity of the Muslim world. Accordi ng to Islam within the limits prescribed by the Quran and the teaching of the pr ophet, the caliph is required to exercise Divine authority, as authority belongs only to God. Machiavelli only focused on military duties of a prince,according to him a prince should only think and focus on art of war but according to Isla m a prince/caliph is not just there to perform military duties but he also obser ves religious duties of Muslims. Al-Joziri says: The Imams (scholars of the four schools of thought)- may Allah have mercy on them - agree that the Caliphate is an obligation, and that the Muslims must appoint a leader who would implement the injunctions of the religion, and give the oppres sed justice against the oppressors. It is forbidden for Muslims to have two lead ers in the world whether in agreement or discord. Machiavelli also gives example of Francesco Sforza who raised himself from privat e citizen to duke to Milan and his successors who tried to avoid hardships of warf are became private citizens after being duke. A prince should avoid and guard himself from such disgraces as being defenseless and contemptible. Machiavelli offers an analogy, asking us to picture two men: one armed, the other unarmed. He says it is not reasonable to expect an armed man to obey one who is unarmed, nor an unarmed man to be safe among armed servants, because with the contempt of the former and the mistrust of the latter, there is no living together. According to Islamic viewpoint its not necessary for a leader to be armed to gain trust or make his people obey or respect him. He can do this, just by meeting h is Islamic responsibilities to the public and by being just and honest. He shoul d have power but according to Islam Power refers to the psychological ,decision and physical power .So any person who is strong in his decisions ,and is able to cope with circumstances with bravery he should be chosen as leader. In this chapter Machiavelli also says that a prince should never turn his mind fr om the study of war, in times of peace he should think about it even more than i n wartime. .Machiavelli has also given ways how to only focus on study of war. A prince should train himself physically and mentally. Physically by hunting, stren uous exercise and by being aware of geography of his lands. He should become acqua inted with his own lands and understand better how to defend it. As for exercisin g the mind, a prince should read history and reflect on the actions of great men. An incidence is narrated in the holy Quran: Have you not thought about the group of the Children of Israel after (the time o f) Mus (Moses)? When they said to a Prophet of theirs, "Appoint for us a king and we will fight in Allahs Way." He said, "Would you then refrain from fighting, if fighting was prescribed for you?" They said, "Why should we not fight in Allh s Way while we have been driven out of our homes and our children (families have b een taken as captives)?" But when fighting was ordered for them, they turned awa y, all except a few of them. And Allh is All-Aware of the Zlimn (polytheists and wr ong-doers) And their Prophet (Samuel) said to them, "Indeed Allh has appointed Ta

lt (Saul) as a king over you." They said, "How can he be a king over us when we a re better fitted than him for the kingdom, and he has not been given enough weal th." He said: "Verily, Allh has chosen him above you and has increased him abunda ntly in knowledge and stature. And Allh grants His Kingdom to whom He wills. And Allh is All-Sufficient for His creatures needs, All-Knower." (Al-Baqarah 2:246-2 47) These verses clearly indicates that two important attributes of leadership are: 1 Knowledge 2 Power According to Islam Knowledge is also an important attribute for being a good kin g/leader. Knowledge guides the king or leader to the right path he is able to co mprehend the situation wisely due to his knowledge and than after probing the si tuation he should have power to take decision accordingly .If he does not have p ower than he is unable to implement his decisions. XV On the reason why men are Praised or BlamedEspecially Princes: Machiavellis and Islamic view point: According to Machiavelli the style and principles ,a prince ought to adopt i n dealing with his subjects and friends are that he should not be good all the ti me ,because if he would be good all the time then his ruin is bound to come among the great number who are not good. He further says that a prince should learn no t to be good and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it as necessity requi res. He says that there are certain qualities that bring princes either praise or bla me, thus some are considered generous other stingy. He further says that he knows that among those many qualities a prince certainly ought to have all the good q ualities. But since it is impossible to have and exercise them all, because the conditions of human life simply do not allow it, a prince must be shrewd enough to avoid the public disgrace of those vices that would lose him his state. According to Islamic viewpoint a leader/king should be good. He should be patien t, just, pious, simple, honest and should have good communication skills, judgme nt and knowledge. He should not change his rules for his own benefit or for his family even if it brings disgrace for him. Following incident explains this view point: Aisha radia Allaha anha, the wife of Allah s Apostle (may peace be upon him), rep orted that the Quraish were concerned about the woman who had committed theft du ring the lifetime of Allah s Apostle (may peace be upon him), in the expedition of Victory (of Mecca). They said: Who would speak to Allah s Messenger (may peac e be upon him) about her? They (again) said: Who can dare do this but Usama b Za id, the loved one of Allah s Messenger (may peace be upon him) ? She was brought to Allah s Messenger (may peace be upon him) and Usama b. Zaid spoke about her to him (interceded on her behalf). The colour of the face of Allah s Messenger ( may peace be upon him) changed, and he said: Do you intercede in one of the pres cribed punishments of Allah? He (Usama) said: Messenger of Allah, seek forgiven ess for me. When it was dusk. Allah s Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up and gave an address. He (first) glorified Allah as He deserves, and then said: Now to our topic. This (injustice) destroyed those before you that when any one of (high) rank committed theft among them, they spared him, and when any weak on e among them committed theft, they inflicted the prescribed punishment upon him. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, even if Fatima daughter of Muhammad were to co mmit theft, I would have cut off her hand. He (the Holy Prophet) then commanded about that woman who had committed theft, and her hand was cut off. A isha (fur ther) said: Hers was a good respentance, and she later on married and used to co me to me after that, and I conveyed her needs (and problems) to Allah s Messenge r (may peace be upon him) (SahihMuslim: Book 17, Hadith 4188)

Chapter XVI On Liberty and Stinginess : Machiavellis and Islamic view point: According to Machiavelli if a prince exercises his generosity in a really virtuou s way as a prince should then nobody will know of it. Liberality, or generosity, is a quality that many men admire. But if a prince develops a reputation for gen erosity, he will ruin his state. A reputation for generosity requires outward la vishness, which eventually depletes all of the princes resources. In the end, the prince will be forced to burden his people with excessive taxes in order to rai se the money to maintain his reputation for generosity. Ultimately, the princes l iberality will make the people despise and resent him. Moreover, any prince who attempts to change his reputation for generosity will immediately develop a repu tation for being a miser. A parsimonious, or ungenerous, prince may be perceived as miserly in the beginni ng, but he will eventually earn a reputation for generosity. A prince who is thr ifty and frugal will eventually have enough funds to defend against aggression a nd fund projects without having to tax the people unduly. So basically according to Machiavelli a prince should not be generous. But accor ding to Islamic viewpoint a leader should be generous. He should not be a culpri t and should think about his people before his wealth. Example of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A): For the financing of the expedition to Tabuk, the Holy Prophet invited contribut ions from all his followers. Umar made a liberal contribution. When the Holy Pro phet asked him, how much he had left for himself and his family, he said that he had given one half of his wealth for the cause of Allah and had left one half f or himself and his family. Then Abu Bakr came loaded with his contribution, and the Holy Prophet put him the same question as to how much he had left for himsel f and his family. Abu Bakr said, I have brought all that I had. I have left Allah and His Prophet for myself and my family. Thus Abu Bakr excelled every one in ge nerosity. For his generosity and humbleness Prophet (P.B.U.H) called him As-Sadd iq. According to Machiavelli a prince will ruin his state if hell be generous but a s tate can never be ruined until the people practice giving Zakat. Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a fixed portion of one s wealth to charity, generally to the poor and needy. If a prince/leader will be generous an d give Zakat, his state can never be ruined.His state will flourish and in this way hell also keep his people happy and satisfied.