Sovereignty

SOVEREIGNTY
 Sovereignty is the full right and power of a governing
body over itself, without any interference from outside
sources or bodies. In political theory, sovereignty is a
supreme authority over some polity. It is a basic
principle underlying the dominant Westphalian model
of state foundation
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 the quality or state of being sovereign, or
of having supreme power or authority.
 the status, dominion, power, or authority of

a sovereign; royal rank or position; royalty.
 supreme and independent power or authority in govern

ment as possessed or claimed by a state or community.

absolute sovereignty
 Permanence. Sovereignty is permanent and it
continues uninterrupted as long as the State
exists
 Exclusiveness. The sovereign power is

exclusive and there is none to compete with it

 All-comprehensiveness. Sovereignty is

universal in character and it extends to all

persons and associations within its territorial
limits
Popular Sovereignty
 A doctrine in political theory that government is
created by and subject to the will of the people.
Devine Sovereignty
 Sovereignty of God is the Christian teaching that God
is the supreme authority and all things are under His
control. ... Easton's Bible Dictionary defines God's
Sovereignty as His "absolute right to do all things
according to his own good pleasure.“
Devine Sovereignty in Islam
 Sovereignty of Allah is the Islamic teaching that Allah
is the supreme authority and all things are under His
control.
 there is a general consensus among Islamic scholars

that Islam places sovereignty in Allah. The Holy Quran

explicitly describes Allah as Al-Malik meaning
Sovereign and Malik-ul-Mulk - the eternal possessor of
sovereignty.
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 The basic distinction between Western polity and
Islamic polity is that while the former places
sovereignty in either the state or in the in charge
through the notion of popular sovereignty, the latter
places it absolutely in Allah. Thus the simple
explanation of Islamic polity is that God is sovereign
and He is the source of all legislation in the form of
Quran.
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 The sovereign by definition is universal as a Muslim
community is seen as one Ummah (people), which are,
united under one Sovereign by virtue of their faith and
submission to the will of God. The word Islam means
complete submission to God in the similar sense that
the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes visualised the
complete surrender of power by the individual to the
state. The Islamic concept of submission is more
powerful in that it subordinates human will to the will
and law of God unconditionally.
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 According to Islam, sovereignty belongs to Allah. He
alone is the Law Giver and believers could neither
resort to totally independent legislation nor could they
modify any law laid down by God. Islamic state is a
political agency set up to enforce the laws of God.
Herein lie the cardinal differences between the modern
and Islamic conceptions. While modernity makes the
state an agency of the sovereignty, in Islam the state is
a repository of the Sovereign. Thus the Islamic state is
conceptually stronger than the modern state.