Hunger For Power and Wealth

Power is bad, more power is worse, and of course, absolute power is immensely perilous both for the authority hungrily usurps the power and also for the people on whom it is wildly exercised. We are not going to recollect the kingdoms and sheikhdoms in Middle East. History of around last 75 years bears the horridness of despotic and authoritative rule in a number of countries from South America to Europe and Arab countries to South Asia. Fascist rule of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler in Italy and  Germany, dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile, brutal period of Gamal Abdul Nasser, Sadat and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, ruthlessness of Colonel Qaddafi in Libya, inhumanity of Saddam Hussain in Iraq, heavy-handedness of Hafiz Al-Asad and Bashar Al-Asad in Syria and last but not least, we should not forget the indiscrete and arbitrary tenure of Parvez Musharaf in Pakistan. All were the rancorous examples of absolute power in one hand.

Our Holy Prophet, be peace and blessings upon him, had long ago (about 1500 years) prophesied about how the people hungry for power would acquire authority to remorselessly rule the people. سيأ تى على الناس زمان لا ينا ل الملك فيه الا با لقتل و التجبر و لا الغنى الا با لغصب والبخل و لا المحبة الا باستخراج الدين و اتباع االهوى.... A bit free translation of this Hadith is that the time is to come when murder, tyranny and haughtiness would be the means to usurp the power, getting at the riches would be through extortion and stinginess. Winning over the love (support of some particular person or popularity in the masses by the politicians) would be at the cost of religious doctrines and tenets and by following the temptations and lures.

What we see mud-slinging, pulling each other’s legs and false propaganda a part of this ugly political game which is for power, power and nothing else than elbowing others away to make their own way to the power. Sole purpose of whole of struggle is foxily taking mastery over heads of simple people. Amiability, sweetness of tongue and perfidious promises of the politicians are tricks of aggrandizement and coaxing the people in election season. A Hadith tells us that (خادمهم القوم سيد) “leader of the community is actually servant of the people.” But here in the Muslim World the leaders arise only to serve their own objectives.

There is a historical formula: Absolute and unchecked authority, amassing of the wealth and voluptuousness are inseparable parts of each other. Reliance of a man leading voluptuous life is mostly on absolute power and huge wealth. So both, power and wealth, need to be protected from getting lost. That is why the leaders enjoying absolute power have hardly any other concern than protection of their power and wealth.

Democracy, in its basic norms and principles, is not getting the others calmed down with aggressive attitude. Argument is the only and most effective weapon to defeat the opponents. Silencing someone by force and winning over him through unfair means is undemocratic attitude.

 It is appalling that the players in political arena arising from Oxford and Cambridge seem much more in hunger for power. Instead they could come up with their well-grounded and reasonable talks in their election campaign their foul play is evident. The moral standards unveiled in their gestures and wordings of their public speeches indicate a mentality entirely unlike those who have a mission to serve their people and any noble cause. They are in try to browbeat their adversaries with their arrogance and artifices and often labeling them cowardly, dishonest and inefficient. Their narcissism and rhetoric shows they may not bear out much different from the despotic rulers mentioned in the beginning lines of this writing. This is a way of تجبر  (overbearing and haughtiness) applied as a tool to win out over the opponents.

Hunger for power and wealth are twins causing the evil of corruption. An empty bellied poor man, if goes to steal, would steal only a few morsels of bread while the one whose lust for power is tied up with his self-conceitedness and selfishness pilfers heavily precious things. He makes theft of national dignity and integrity and a lot of material resources of the country. The lesson given in above mentioned Hadith that سيد القوم خادمهم (leader of the community is its servant) is worthless for the men of this nature. For rising to the power military coups with spilling of blood, remained a resort for a long time. In the Hadith referred the word الا بالقتل (killing) hints to the same. But since democracy became a popular political system some fascist minded leaders appear in democratic disguise and after sometime their authoritarian nature manifests itself. They start running over all the moral and democratic values of truth, modesty, tolerance, indulgence, justice and freedom. Pakistan has seen a leader of this type in past.