The very concept of ‘good governance’ has become central to the phenomenon of ‘international development’ over a period of time. Presently the multifactorial international development is the basis for the classification of countries in the contemporary world- like developed country, developing country and least developed country. At the same time, the good governance is also an important yardstick to evaluate the performance of a government in any country. The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) has identified eight fundamental elements or characteristics of good governance- participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, equity, effectiveness and efficiency, and accountability.
After Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.) occupies the most distinguished and revered position in Islam on account of his knowledge, wisdom, eloquence and sagaciousness. The Nahj al-Balagha (peak of eloquence) is the most celebrated collection of sermons, letters and narrations attributed to Hazrat Ali. This book also includes a famous letter written by Hazart Ali to MaalikAshtar, his newly-appointed governor in Egypt. Containing a set of useful instructions, this letter was primarily aimed at ensuring the efficient and people-centric governance in the province of the Caliphate. In this letter, Hazrat Ali exhaustively elaborated and discussed some important aspects of public governance. Therefore, for all intent and purposes, this letter is a great charter of good governance.
Surely, the world leaders and rulers can usefully draw substantial instructions from this letter in order to efficiently discharge their entrusted public duties. Though Hazrat Ali addressed one of his governor through this letter, but we can conveniently discuss it in a generic manner. Owing to space constraints, here is only a summary of the main points elaborated in the letter:
The good deeds of a ruler is always his ‘richest treasure’ since it is the very touchstone whereby the people often judge their rulers. A ruler should by all means abstain from cruelty since nothing deprives him of divine blessings or incites divine wrath more easily than does the cruelty. The common people are the real strength of both the state and religion. Therefore, the ruler should seek the consent of the people, and prefer the collective welfare of the people over the sectional interests of the privileged few. Unlike the privileged few, the common people stand by the state and the ruler in hour of need.
A ruler should abstain from unjustified bloodshed. Nor should he build the strength of his state on blood. It is the unjustified bloodshed which weakens the rule of a ruler, and shortens the life of the state. A ruler’s goodwill alone will save him from troubles. Therefore, he should cultivate goodwill among the people. However, the mutual trust and goodwill between the ruler and the ruled are only bred through benevolence, justice and service. A ruler should not treat the good and the bad alike as it will deter the good from doing good and encourage the bad in their bad pursuit. Similarly, he should also not disregard or abandon the noble traditions established by his fore-bearers, which have promoted harmony and progress among the people.
In order to redress the grievances of the common people and the oppressed, a ruler should periodically hold the open public conferences. These types of conferences should be held in the absence of armed guards, civil officers, members of the police and intelligence department, so that people may state their grievances fearlessly and without reserve. Emphasizing this point, Hazrat Ali also stated, “I have heard the Prophet of the God say that no nation or society, in which the stronger does not discharge its duty to the weaker, will rise to high position.”
A ruler should exercise great care and caution while choosing his counsellors or advisors. He should never consult a counsellor who is known to be a miser, coward or greedy. A counsellor should be God-fearing, upright and a person of integrity. The worst of counsellors is one who has earlier served an unjust or tyrant ruler.
The army and the state are interdependent and complimentary to each other. The army is like a fortress to the people, and lends dignity to the state. A state cannot stand without it. Similarly, the army also can’t stand without the support of the state. The commander-in-chief of the army should be kind and a man of duty who is capable of keeping the army united in all circumstances.
The best person should be appointed as the chief justice. Such person who is impartial, who cannot be intimidated, who is not obsessed with the domestic worries, who is not self-centered, who doesn’t decide before knowing full facts, who pronounces verdict after taking everything into consideration, and who patiently hears everyone. Similarly, the subordinate judges should also be selected carefully, and later be confirmed after approved apprenticeship and probation. Their salaries should reasonably be high enough to enable them live a contended life.
Traders and businessmen should be treated well since the trade and industry are the real sources of profit to the state and suppliers of the consumer goods. However, the state should take stern action against the greedy traders and hoarders. It can also devise equitable price mechanism.
The rights of the poor and helpless should adequately be guarded. A portion of the state exchequer (Bayt al-Mal) should be assigned for their uplift. A ruler should also depute such honest and God-fearing officers who can keep him properly informed of the condition of the poor.
Peace is the greatest good. Therefore, peace treaties should be honoured, and the obligations under a peace treaty should be promptly discharged.
A ruler should always perform his day-to-day functions diligently and with greater sense of responsibility and priority. Observably, the very spirit of present-day elements of good governance can be traced back to this Seventh Century manuscript written in the Islamic Caliphate. In its 2002 Arab Human Development Report, distributed around the world, the UNDP listed six sayings of Hazrat Ali about the ideal governance. They include consultation between the ruler and the ruled, speaking out against corruption and other wrong doings, ensuring justice to all, and achieving domestic development. The UNDP said, “Most regional countries are still far behind other nations in democracy, wide political representation, women’s participation, development and knowledge.” Similarly, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also said, “The Caliph Ali Bin Abi Talib is considered the fairest governor who appeared during human history (After the Prophet Muhammad). So we advised Arab countries to take Imam Ali as example in establishing a regime based on Justice, democracy and encouraging knowledge.”
There would be a very disappointing conclusion if we analyze the state and quality of public governance in Pakistan in juxtaposition with the aforementioned characteristics of good governance described by Hazrat Ali, long ago. Obviously things are just the otherwise. In fact, there is no such thing as good governance in the current political discourse in the country. In the absence of vibrant democratic institutions, certain authoritarian and totalitarian tendencies have deeply penetrated the Muslim polity in the world. Ruled by autocratic dictators and hereditary monarchs, most of the Muslim countries are hardly familiar with the notions like good governance, public service, accountability, transparency etc. Even the democratic countries are also lagging far behind the democratic ideals. Nevertheless, the political thoughts of Hazrat Ali, the greatest Muslim ruler, administrator, jurist and statesman, continue to serve as the guiding beacon for the rulers and governors through the ages.