Principle Thirty-Nine: The Qur’an’s Methodology in Matters of Domestic and Foreign Policy
The Qur’an’s approach in this realm is the loftiest and the most likely to secure every overarching benefit and avert every harm. It would be enough, in this regard, to mention only two verses: in Surat Al ʿImran Allah says, “And consult them in the affair” ⦗Al ʿImran 3:159⦘; and in Surat Ash-Shura He describes the believers, “their affairs are decided by mutual consultation among them” ⦗Ash-Shura 42:38⦘.
In both verses the word “affair” appears in the singular and is linked to the believers; in the first verse it bears the definite article al-, which imparts totality and comprehensiveness. This indicates that every concern of the believers—their collective interests, the pursuit of advantage, and the avoidance of harm—hinges on consultation and cooperative effort to discover the course they must follow in resolving their problems, consolidating their authority, and guarding against dissension that would fracture their strength and unravel their bonds.
People of sound reason concur that the only road to religious and worldly rectitude is the road of consultation. Allah has therefore guided the Muslims to discern their interests and how to reach them through the combined exercise of their intellects. When a certain path is clearly beneficial, they take it; when it is clearly harmful, they abandon it; and when it contains both benefit and harm, they weigh which side is stronger, more pressing, and better in its ultimate outcome. If they find something beneficial yet its means are not at hand or beyond their present capacity, they examine how those means might be acquired and under what conditions the goal can be reached without incurring harm.
Should they perceive that their welfare depends on mastering contemporary sciences and remarkable inventions, they strive for that to the extent of their ability, refusing to succumb to despair or to a ruinous dependence on others. And when they know—and they already know—that striving for unanimity of word and unification