Does Islam reject the monarchy? ( Part 2 )

Exploring Quran, the tales of monarchs could be divided into two which are the misguided monarch and the pious monarch.

The examples for the first would be Pharaoh and Namrood. They have been described as the astray and cruel king since they declared themselves as the god. Moreover, both refused to accept the prophets’ message even after had been shown the miracles. Their story ended with horrible death as Pharaoh and his armies were drowned when he tried to catch Moses while Namrood were killed by mosquitos. Another example of cruel king is the king that mentioned in Al-Kahfi chapter as he will seize the boat from the poor.

The Pharaoh civilization.

The example for the later ( pious monarchs )  would be King Solomon, who was rewarded by Allah the great power to rule not only human but also animal, genie, satan and wind. He used his given power to show the sign of Allah as he had been doing to Queen Balqis. Talut also a good example of pious king. He was appointed by Allah to become the Jewish king. With in-depth knowledge coupled with strong physical. Through his leadership, Bani Israel has defeated the Jalut and his army. 

Another example would be Dzulkarnain who has been expressly mentioned in Quran with great character and achievement. He was a believer and piety to Allah while his justice could be seen to the conquered people. Dzulkarain also was a wisdom engineer since he had built the iron barrier to local people in order to protect them from turbulent tribe. By far the most important character, Dzulkarnain showed his political integrity after he refused to accept the people treasure for constructing the barrier.

Does Monarchy promote the caste system?

Another reason why some Muslim say Islam reject the monarchy as they claimed it will lead to form caste system among people. The king will be the scared person and invulnerable from any mistake. They also could not be criticized as their level is higher than others. Thus, support the monarchy means to build caste system and it is against Islamic teaching which never distinguish among the people.

Actually, It is true that Allah does not judge the people based on their level, their wealth or their intellect or their power, but he will look up to their piety. However, it does not mean that Islam opposes these kind of achievements. By contrast, Islam acknowledges that people can be of different level of society as following versus:-

But those of [blood] relationship are more entitled [to inheritance] in the decree of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things. ( Al-Anfal : 85 )

Power is an award that is given by Allah. He may give it to bad people as the way to mislead them while if he grant it to good person, it is a reward to them. Like wealth, power also is a god’s test for humans to determine their faith level.