Reconstructing the Nature of Principles and Values of Public Administration in Islam

8/10/2019 Reconstructing the Nature of Principles and Values of Public Administration in Islam

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Management and Administrative Sciences Review www.absronline.org/journalse-ISSN: 2308-1368, p-ISSN: 2310-872XVolume: 4, Issue: 1, Pages: 112-119 (January 2015)Academy of Business &Scientific Research

*Corresponding author: Aliyu Mukhtar Katsina,Department of General Studies, Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, NigeriaE-Mail:[email protected]

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Research Paper

Reconstructing the Nature of Principles and Values of PublicAdministration in Islam

Aliyu Mukhtar Katsina, PhD

Department of General Studies, Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, Nigeria

This article examines the conception and practice of public administration from Islamicperspective. It attempts to achieve this objective through careful identification anddiscussion of the fundamental values and principles that guided the practice of publicadministration in the state of Medina under the Prophet and his four immediate successorsknown as the Caliphs. Further analysis of these fundamental principles and values of publicadministration shows that they have become, in modern time, the standard indicators ofassessing the effectiveness or otherwise of a public organization. By focusing attention onthe practices that obtained in the early state of Medina under the leadership of the Prophet(SAW) and the Rashidun Caliphs, it is pointed that public administration, in that period,was not only effective, efficient, and responsive, but was also cost-effective and anchored onthe principles of new-managerialism which many states in modern times are presently

attempting to adopt. Consequently, modern societies have a lot to learn from the lessons ofthat period.

Keywords: Islam, Prophet Muhammad, Rashidun Caliphs, Medina, PublicAdministration, Accountability, Public duties.

INTRODUCTION

This article reconstructs the conception and

practice of public administration in Islam. Toachieve this objective, I draw examples from thestate of Medina during the time of ProphetMuhammad and the Rashidun Caliphs. Thepurpose is to show that the Islamic state had inthat period developed what approximated to anefficient, effective, and performance driven publicadministration system (Von Grunebaum, 2013).This system, the article argues, was not only anexcellent response to the needs of the emergingIslamic state, but was also cost effective,

competent, responsive, and accountable. These

elements today form the bedrock of the concept ofnew managerialism being espoused by publicadministration theorists as an effective alternativeto the traditional public administration which isencumbered by red-tapism, excessive legality, andoverbearing centralization (Moynihan & Herd,2010). The article focuses on investigating Islamicconception of public duty as trust amana, as wellas the practice and management of publicresponsibility. In so doing, emphasis is given to theexamination of core principles and values such as
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recruitment, accountability, performance, andcompetence which have today become thehallmark of an effective and efficientadministrative system.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A CONCEPTUALCLARIFICATION

When talking about public administration inmodern times, both as a practice and as anacademic discipline, it is possible to make fewgeneralized statements (Zaman, Afridi, & Saleem,2013). First, public administration as conceivedtoday to mean a professionalized, apolitical andhierarchically structured organization responsible

for translating public policy into tangible reality isa new development evolving out of the desire toensure that governmental responsibilities areefficiently discharged (Olowu, 2010). Second, thisemphasis on the values of professionalism,hierarchy, and neutrality combined to give publicadministration a near-universal identity that madeits conceptualization practically common across allpolitical systems (Naqvi, 2013). This character thatdeveloped out of the bureaucratic modeldeveloped by Max Weber, a German sociologist,

was to have a very extensive influence upon theconception and practice of public administration inmodern period, especially in the newlydecolonized states of Asia and Africa. Thisremained the case until the beginning of thiscentury when other theorists and students begunadvocating for a more responsive and competitivemodel of public management (Lane, 2000). Third,notwithstanding this ongoing debate on reform,public administration and the new publicmanagement at the highest level are essentially

concerned with public policy implementation(Berkley & John, 2004).

It is therefore easy to say that the idea of publicadministration is basically one in which bestpractices are devised (Gibb, 2013), effectivemechanisms institutionalized, and efficiency inperformance assured in discharging publicresponsibilities by the government (Cooper, et. al.,1998). Robert Laporte (in Abdul Hye, 2006) definespublic administration as the entire processes,

organizations, and individuals acting in officialpositions associated with carrying out laws andother rules related to the general performance of

the political system. In essence, publicadministration can be described as the muscle-manof the state with the responsibility to ensure that itswill is done within the society. As a distinct

organization separate from the policy making arm,but dependent on it, values of neutrality,permanence, equality, merit, professionalism,hierarchy, accountability and internal regulationsguide the activities of public administration indischarging its public functions and obligations(Moten & Islam, 2011).

One important point that needs clarification here isthat as an organization, the idea of publicadministration is predicated uponinstitutionalizing principles, values and practices

which make it distinct organization within thestate. As a result, this has now come to be seen as ameasure of its development as an institution.Institutionalization however has led to what manystudents of public administration consider itsgrowing unaccountability, excessive legality,inefficiency and under-performance (Moten &Islam, 2011). One seemingly reformative responseto this state of modern public administration is theidea of adhocracy. Adhocracy is a newadministrative structure that seeks a break from

the traditional practice of public administration byde-emphasizing the value of strict adherence toformalized rules and regulations. This system isunderlined by its temporality, flexibility, absenceof formal procedures and organization andemphasis on efficiency and performance. EvanSycramnias (2008) defines adhocracy as astructural system that breaks from the traditionalways of bureaucracy by not holding formal rulesor regulations, [and] is usually void of hierarchies,has no standardized procedures for dealing withroutine problems, is low in formalization and isorganized for a temporary life. The major highlightof this system is its flexibility and responsivenessin dealing with all sorts of situations quickly andefficiently, particularly in dynamic environments.I consider it possible, when examining the waystate affairs and policies were pursued in theProphetic era and in the succeeding decades underthe Caliphs, to draw parallels with this adhocraticstructure and principles. Elements of its emphasis

on efficiency, competence, and results weremanifest in various decisions and actions taken inthat period. This also appeared in the way concern


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with excessive formality, procedure, and hierarchywere relegated in the background for the greaterobjectives of performance and achievingorganizational goals.

NATURE OF THE ISLAMIC STATE

Although opinion differs among scholars on thenecessity of state in Islam, the focus of this debateis more on the justification for its existence ratherthan its essence. Scholars such as Ibn Khaldun(2005) argued that state is necessary because of theneeds for human security and interdependence.Others such as al-Mawardi (1996) and ibn Taymiya(1982) maintained that the state is necessitated by

the dictates of divine law. From whichever angleone chooses to view the justification for state inIslam, we should do well to recall that the first actof the Prophet after his Hijra to Medina was todraw the first fundamental principles, albeit inrudimentary form which established the state ofMedina. In contradistinction (Visser, 2013), non-Islamic conception of the state and its essenceveers outwardly in divergent angles. For instance,for Marxists the idea of a state is in itself a negationof human freedom and equality (Adebayo &

Hassan, 2013). It entrenches an exploitative systemwhere one social class the bourgeoisie dominates the other class the proletariat. Theessence of the state is simply to exploit, often byforce, the masses (Curtis, 1981; Moten, 1996).

In order to best understand the importance of thestate as well as its functions from Islamic juridicalperspective, there is the need to first understandIslamic conception of politics. Islam is not areligion in the minimalist sense of the term where

religion is narrowly defined in terms of rites andrituals between a person and his lord. ForMuslims, Islam is a way of life, a socio-politicalideology complete with prescriptions on all formsof social, political, economic, and culturalinteractions (Lambton, 1981, p. 13). This ideologyhas no clearly defined boundary between what isreligious and sacral and what is temporal andmundane (Kirabaev, 2009). The religious and thesecular are united in seeking to create a society onearth in conformity with Islams distinctive

ontology based on the revealed laws contained inthe Holy Quran and prophetic traditions.

Evidently, therefore, any form of organizationwhich emerges from this conception is bound to besufficiently encompassing and would essentiallystrive towards the realization of its ideological

principles and values. Islamic conception ofpolitics is a negation of the instrumentalistconception as well as the rejection of thesecularism that characterizes politics in modernstates. State in Islam has as its basis security of itsmembers, defence of the faith, promotion of social

justice and equality, and forbidding evil in all itsmanifestations. Abdul Rashid Moten (1996) liststen values and principles that undergird Islamicculture generally and determine the disposition ofMuslims to public responsibilities particularly.

These values are tawhid, khilafah, ibadah, ilm,halal, haram, adl, zulm, istislah, and daya.

THE PRACTICE OF PUBLICADMINISTRATION IN MEDINA

The Prophets Hijra from Mecca to Medina (622CE) is significant in Islam not only because itprovides the basis for calculating the Muslimcalendar, but because it marked a watershed indefining the place of politics in Islam. In Medina, a

bevy of challenges confronted the Prophet. Themost daunting concerned the new responsibilitieswhich he had to assume as the chief of a distinctivecommunity Ummah. In Mecca, the Prophetsresponsibility was limited to propagating hismessage to the unbelievers. In Medina, additionalresponsibilities developed with his Hijra. Therewere the responsibilities of designing a strong,solid and united community capable of defendingits faith. There were the responsibilities of evolvinga distinctive code of interaction, a sort of an

Islamic foreign policy, for dealing with non-Muslim communities within and without Medina.And even within the Ummah, there were the needsfor outlining in a comprehensive way a system ofinter-personal relations and obligations. In essence,Muhammad had to shoulder differentresponsibilities and assume different public offices.Effectively, in addition to being a prophet, amessenger, and a teacher, Muhammad alsobecame a judge, a diplomat, a statesman, a warcommander, and above all, a lawgiver and a leader(Feldman, 2008).


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Each of these responsibilities and role marchedperfectly the personality and disposition of theProphet and nothing supports this view more thanthe near-universal consensus of historians that this

period witnessed the best example of humanleadership and social organization thatapproximated the ideal state (Moten, 1996). Thisstate developed by the Prophet and which came tobe known as the Medina polity, was a simplepolitical structure devoid of the latter daycomplexities that attended modern nation states.Perhaps, the greatest distinction that can be madeconcerning this structure is the issue of roledifferentiation. Modern political systems andorganizations are characterized by role

differentiation, itself a function ofprofessionalization, in which personnel performedspecific jobs in an organization. The Islamic state ofMedina was dramatically different in this regard.This difference was indicative of its nature andprocess of evolution which although rudimentary,was nonetheless effective and efficient.

It was not until later when Islamic civilizationreached an advanced stage under the Abbasidsthat a more sophisticated system of administrationwith all the trappings which this institution is

associated with in modern period developed. Forinstance, the office of Muhtasib as a separateorganization detached from the Caliphsresponsibility was established during the Abbasidreign of Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur in 157AH(Ibn Taymiya, 1982). In the early days of the stateunder the Prophet and Caliphs, recruitment intoadministrative roles followed the exigencies of thetime religious, political, economic or military.Thus, a diplomat in one occasion may find himselfleading troop contingents in another occasion.Similarly a commander in one military expeditionmay find himself in another expedition fighting inthe ranks.

But because the underlying principle of the state,which constituted its political and administrativephilosophy was service for the pleasure of Allah,every person strove to discharge his assigned rolediligently. In fact, the entire community under theProphet and the Caliphs was a one big reservoir ofrecruits from which the political leadership drew

its staff when there was the need. Modernprinciples of neutrality, hierarchy and permanencewere unknown in that period. For in subscribing to

the Islamic faith, a person is not only entering areligion, but was essentially and more importantlydeclaring his socio-political commitment, hisvalues, and his partisanship to the Ummah

(Moten, 1996, pp. 63-76). He cannot be aloof to itsfate and destiny but must take proactive interest inits security and well-being. Another distinctionthat can be made with regards to the early Islamicconception and practice of administration relatesto permanence of the public employees.

Although appointments into public offices were bythe discretion of the caliph, yet it can be said thatsecurity of tenure was entirely dependent on thegood conduct of the appointee(DenBoer, 2013).Good conduct here refers to personal and moral

integrity, suitability to the office in question, piety,and human relation. At no time were thesestandards brought to bear more heavily thanduring the administration of Umar ibn Khattab.History books are rich with anecdotes of howCaliph Umar exerted a near unbearable pressureon public officials and expected a practicallyimpossible conduct from them. One of suchremarkable cases where Umar relieved a stateofficial of his appointment pertained to thedismissal of Khalid bin Walid from the command

of the Islamic Army of Syria (Akram, 2011). Thisdemonstrates the fact that permanence or securityof job was not dependent on the politicalleadership that made the appointment as isobtained in most countries today.

Hierarchy and internal regulations are two otherprinciples that need elaboration here. Islamic legalsystem is such that all sources of law derivedwholly from the Quran, the traditions of theProphet, independent reasoning of scholars

Qiyas, and consensus of the scholars Ijma(Lambton, 1981). Thus, at different times, codes ofconduct were drawn by the Prophet and by theCaliphs to guide the behavior of state functionariesin their relations with Muslims and non-Muslimsalike. For example, it is known that the Prophethad drawn a code of conduct for his armies.Similarly, Caliph Abubakar had also issued a codeof conduct for the army to serve as a guide in itsmarches and operations against the disbelievers(Al-Zuhli, 2005). Thus, while the army was not

institutionalized until very much later, its code orinternal regulations for the officers as well as the


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rank and file were very much developed andcodified (Khadduri, 1965).

Hierarchy in Islam is an interesting case study.Basically, Islam is an egalitarian ideology that

recognizes the equality of all believers. Thehierarchical structure was loosely defined suchthat there was no rigid enforcement. However, inmatters related to management of public affairsprecedence is given to those that are competent.There are two explanations for this situation. First,as we said, Islam is inherently egalitarian. Two, theprinciple of consultation practically makes all stateaffairs a matter of public interests and thus dilutedthe issue of hierarchical structure. Nevertheless, inmatters related to specialized assignments such as

leading delegations, war, and supervision, whenleaders were appointed all others were dutybound to obey. Again, it is interesting to remarkthat precedence is not often given to status ornobility. For instance before his death, the Prophethad commissioned an army under Usama binZayd in which among the rank and file soldierswere such notable companions like Umar (Akram,2011, p. 143). This was indicative of howhierarchical structure was basically tied to theexigencies of any particular period of time.

Sources of Law, Authority and Power

It should be clear from our discussion of internalregulations that unlike most modern governmentsthat derive laws, power, authority and byimplication their legitimacy from the people,government in Islamic derives its laws from theQuran whose divine origin is never questioned bythe Muslims. The holy Quran provides in broad,particular, and universalistic terms the outline of

the legal and legitimate basis of law, order, powerand authority in an Islamic state (Lambton, 1981).And it was upon this fundamental principle thatthe first state of Medina was established by theProphet (Rosenthal, 1968). In his life time, theProphet was the sole recipient of this law in theform of revelation. After his death this revelationwas compiled in a single book as the Quran andtogether with traditions and precedents, in theform of the Prophets examples, actions, andspeeches generally constituted the main canons of

Islamic law (Rosenthal, 1968). It was these sourcesthat legitimate power and authority of thegovernment and state in Islamic.

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OFADMINISTRATION

Having seen the general conception and practice ofpublic administration in Islam based on what

obtained in Medina under the Prophet and thefour rightly guided Caliphs, in what follows thisarticle focuses on discussing the fundamentalprinciples and values of governance andadministration that guided the practice in Medinapolity. These values could, in fact, be described asconstituting the bulk of the values and principlesthat determined organizational efficiency andperformance at present. Accountability, equality,and competence are the major principles discussedin the succeeding pages. Each of these principles is

important if an organization is to discharge itsfunctions optimally. Taken together they basicallydefine the character and stability of anorganization over a longer period of time.

Accountability

The notion of accountability in public service isone that interests students of political science andpublic administration generally. Withoutaccountability, it will be impossible to measureperformance in an organization, evaluate success,or hold someone responsible for failure to attainorganizational goals and objectives (Martinsen &

Jorgenses, 2010). Accountability impliesresponsibility over a particular assignment, area or

jurisdiction in which public personnel is heldresponsible for any act of omission or commissionnot in tune with stated down regulations andorganizational expectations. In Islam, the life of abeliever is a one big responsibility which he will becalled to account for in the hereafter. Since Islam

makes no distinction between what is personal andwhat is public, just as it does not make any withregards to sacral from the temporal, publicresponsibility is defined as a trust in which theperson entrusted with it is expected to account forhis action. From this perspective, publicresponsibility is actually ensured by two types ofaccountability. The first being accountable to thesociety, while the second implies beingaccountable to Allah (SWT) in the Day of

Judgment (Moten, 1996, pp. 107-125). In a Hadith,

the Prophet said every believer will be called toaccount for his actions. Consequently, the notion of


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accountability makes no distinction betweenpublic and private.

Administrators are accountable at two levels. Thefirst being their mundane responsibilities in which

they account for their actions to the Ummah. Al-Mawardi (1996, p. 17) holds that leaders whocommit immoral acts, are suspected of unbelief, orfall prey to the pursuit of pleasure to the detrimentof public responsibilities should be disqualifiedfrom positions of authority. The second level ofaccountability may be termed spiritual and relatesto the accounting which every being will renderbefore his Creator in the Day of Judgment. Rootedin Islamic theology, Muslims hold the belief thatevery being will be called to render account of his

worldly life before Allah, the Almighty, on the Dayof Judgment. Those that have lived their lives inaccordance with the divine dictates would berewarded with eternal bliss, while those whorebelled against the laws of their Lord would becondemned to eternal torment.

Equality

For Muslims, the idea of social inequality isantithetical to the teachings of the Holy Quran

and those of the Prophet (Watt, 2013). The view isuniversally shared by all sources of Islamic lawthat Muslims are equal irrespective of social status.In the polity of Medina, this view was givenpractical demonstration through the actions of theProphet himself as well as those of his Caliphs. Theentire structure and machinery of governmentrevolved around the concept of social equality inwhich, legally speaking, members are treatedequally. Beside the Quranic injunctions thatenjoined equality among all believers, it is

instructive to note that the first Constitution ofMedina adopted by the Holy Prophet upon hisarrival after the Hijra recognized the principle ofequality among all the believers irrespective ofsocial status or race. In fact, the idea of the Ummahexcludes all form of inequality among believers(Moten, 1996, pp. 90-91).

So pervasive was this notion of equality in thatperiod that in all religious matters, sanctions andedicts never distinguished men from women, orrich from poor. This was indeed one of the

excellent qualities upon which the social structureof the state was conceived and built by the HolyProphet and later consolidated by his four

righteously guided successors (Bannerman, 2013).In matters of the state, precedence was alwaysgiven to competence, skills, and commitmentrather than appointment by selection based on

social status, family lineage, or kinship. This wasbased on established practices of the Prophet andthose of the Rashidun Caliphs in selecting andmaking appointments to all positions of trusts,authority, and responsibility within the state.

There were innumerable cases were freed-slavesrose to the highest positions of authority in thoseearly days of the Islamic state through dint of hardwork, skills, courage, and faith. Even today, thecase of Bilal ibn Rabah, a freed-slave, who held theoffice of the chief Muazzen of the Prophet, is truly

remarkable. Another remarkable case was that ofSalman, the Persian, who came to Medina as aslave but eventually died as its governor duringthe Rashidun Caliphate. There were other equallyastonishing cases were persons of lower socialstatus in the pre-Islamic Arabia rose to higherpositions in the Islamic state on account of theirpiety and commitment to their faith. In fact,nothing underscores this point succinctly than theProphets admonishment in his farewell sermondelivered in the Urana Valley in the field of Arafat

during his last pilgrimage. In what could beconsidered as the final attempt to lay down thefundamental principles of the state in Islam, theProphet pointed that all believers are equal, andthat positions of authority should only be decidedon merit not racial and social status of individuals.

Competency

The third important value of public administrationwhich this paper examines is that of competence.

Together with the values of accountability andequality, this is part of the dominant features thatdetermine the character, principle and level ofefficiency of any particular public organization. Tosay that the early state of Medina valuedcompetency is indeed to undertake an extensivereview of the history of its formation andtransformation (Heper, 2013). For it can be saidthat the entire political edifice and other structuresof governance, ranging from the appointment ofscribes, diplomatic missions, ambassadors,

teachers, judges, to generals and othercommanders of war, were exclusively based onmerit, ability, and competence(Laxman, Ansari, &


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