The Prophet (ﷺ) and Power

Zafar Bangash

Safar 07, 1447 2025-08-01

Opinion

by Zafar Bangash (Opinion, Crescent International Vol. 55, No. 6, Safar, 1447)

Almost all books on the Seerah (life-history) of the Prophet (ﷺ), follow a chronological order. Further, there is little or no mention of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) acquisition of power to implement the injunctions of Islam in society. This is all the more surprising since the earliest books on the Seerah were titled Maghazi (battles of the Prophet (ﷺ)).

One explanation could be that when the Seerah books were written, Muslims already had power. They did not feel the need to discuss the aspect of the acquisition of power. Perhaps. But today, the situation is very different. Muslims are not in power in any meaningful way, notwithstanding the existence of 57 Muslim nation-states. They reflect the impotence of the Muslim world.

It is important to analyze the Prophet’s acquisition of power and how it was exercised to implement Islam’s injunctions at the collective level to create a just society. Power must be exercised in an organized framework. This means, the Islamic State.

The collective west, of course, is opposed to the emergence of an Islamic State anywhere in the Muslim world. This explains why there is so much western propaganda against the concept of the Islamic state. They do not mind phoney Islamic states like Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. They fear a genuine Islamic State, like Iran, to emerge anywhere, hence their extreme opposition to it.

It does not stop there. The west has also created and propped up groups with such titles as al Qaeda and ISIS whose ostensible aim is to establish the ‘Islamic state’. They indulge in horrific crimes that are meant to put Muslims off the notion of the Islamic state. After all, who would want to live in a state run by head-choppers and organ eaters.

Committed Muslims must reject such groups and strive for the establishment of a genuine Islamic state based on the principles of the Qur’an and the Seerah of the Prophet (ﷺ). The study of the Seerah, especially his quest to acquire power, therefore, becomes imperative.

Unfortunately, the quest for power has been so corrupted by western experience that most people recoil in horror at the very mention of the word. This need not be the case. It is not power per se that is bad; its abuse is what should concern us all.

Allah has not created everyone identical. Islam recognizes power differentiation in society. Some are rich, others—the vast majority—are poor. Islam regulates the use of power. The rich and powerful are not permitted to abuse their power to exploit those that are weak. In real life, unfortunately, exploitation and abuse of power are rampant.

This makes it all the more imperative that we present a model where the use of power is based on justice and equity. The Prophet’s Seerah offers the most principled example. In the noble Qur’an, Allah reminds us: “It is He [Allah] who sent to the unscriptured people an apostle from among them [vocally and practically] arranging for them His illustrations of power and raising them [in significance] and imparting to them the Scripture and wisdom—even though they had been in times past [living] in manifest incongruity—” ((The Ascendant Qur’an, Surat al-Jumuah, ayat 2).

We also need to define power more precisely. Two kinds can be identified: soft power and hard (or coercive) power. Both have distinct roles that complement each other.

Soft power can be defined as the power of appeal, reason, persuasion, attraction, influence and moral authority. There is generally little or no coercion involved in appealing to others in order to attract them to a particular point of view.

Soft power, however, is more than influence. It is the ability to entice, attract and persuade, which leads to a break with past habits and traditions and the formation of new ones. Soft power has the ability to motivate an individual to break even with family and friends if they adhere to an ideology that is at odds with what has been ordained by Allah.

Hard (or coercive) power, on the other hand, can be described as the ability to force people to modify their behaviour in order to obey certain rules even though they may not agree with them. This comes from having the power to enforce such rules, punish law-breakers, and the threat or use of military force against those who oppose the interests of such a power.

Economic and political power are part of the function of hard power. The preponderance of military power also generates the feeling in some people that they can subjugate and dominate others, directly or indirectly. Hard power without a corresponding legitimizing soft power, however, does not last long. It invariably leads to tyranny and oppression, and people rise up against it.

Soft power without hard power is also not enough, even if it is based on sound principles. The examples of almost all the Prophets provide evidence of this. They had “soft power,” that is their message was divinely-inspired; it was legitimate and presented in a clear and concise manner, but most people did not accept it or were prevented from doing so. Most Prophets delivered their message and left the world. Their “soft power” was not translated into “hard power”.

Only in a few cases did the “soft power” of the Prophets translate into “hard power” i.e., they acquired authority to enforce the laws of Allah on earth. This was most clearly demonstrated by the last and final Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He had soft power in Makkah that was only translated into hard power when he migrated to Madinah.

It had enormous implications for the spread of the message of Islam. For 13 years in Makkah, the Prophet (ﷺ) delivered the message among people who knew him well. Yet, barely 200 people accepted Islam. In Madinah, on the other hand, in a period of less than 10 years, more than 100,000 people had entered the fold of Islam.

What accounts for this phenomenol growth in numbers in Madinah? The Prophet (ﷺ) acquired hard power through the establishment of the Islamic State in Madinah.

Islam cannot function or operate in a subservient role; it must create its own system based on the principles outlined in the Qur’an and as exemplified by the Prophet (ﷺ). This is what emerges from this Qur’anic ayah: “He [Allah] it is Who has sent His Apostle [Muhammad] with the [task of spreading] guidance and the deen of Truth, to the end that He may cause it to prevail over all false deen—however hateful this may be to those who ascribe divinity to anyone/anything beside Allah” (9:33; 61:09). This is also what we learn from the Seerah of the noble Messenger of Allah.

In a few weeks’ time, it will be the 1500^th birth anniversary of the Prophet (ﷺ). Will Muslims celebrate it in the traditional manner by singing nasheeds, light candles and follow this by a sumptuous meal before going home feeling good? It is time for Muslims to make a determined effort to honour the Prophet (ﷺ) by understanding his struggle for justice, equity and fairness in society.