They are in full accord with his primordial and immutable nature...

They are in full accord with his primordial and immutable nature; ensure the fulfilment of justice in public life; and make it possible for man to ascend through the degrees of perfection. It is of course true at the same time that these laws may be opposed to man's personal inclinations and his self-interest and that some may experience God's commands as arduous and in conflict with their temperament.

When the ruler is selected by God Who is Himself the sole possessor of sovereignty he will necessarily be free of all taint of sinfulness disobedience and oppression and the only goal he pursues will be the welfare and benefit of society the guidance of die ummah and die construction of a pure and exalted community based on justice. A government of this type will be utterly incompatible with arbitrariness oppression and the usurpation of rights.

If religion lays down certain conditions for rulership and restricts people's right to choose this in no way contradicts their possession of sovereignty. For society has already given its free consent to a system of rule based on its beliefs and is in fact inwardly devoted to such a system. The principle of popular sovereignty is thus limited by certain conditions that ( 105 ) are deemed necessary by the religious beliefs accepted by the people.

Furthermore in democratic governments which are elected by majority vote the ruler is always concerned with either winning the support of popular opinion or with following popular wishes with no criterion available for measuring the legitimacy of those wishes.

For that which determines those desires and inclinations are the circumstances in which a person grows up and which influence his attitudes towards the individual and society towards history and the laws which he supposes to be the best for his particular society.

What is important for a politician in this system of government is to align himself with the views of the majority of his constituents irrespective of whether or not his performance in social and administrative matters conforms to the principles of justice. His sole concern is to keep the social and political privileges he has obtained and he may sometimes trample on the truth in order to avoid endangering his position.

Rare are those who have no fear of public opinion and base their decisions solely on the welfare of the society.