Medieval Islamic Discourse on 

Legitimate Leadership and Its 

Modern Implications 

Asma Afsaruddin 

Abstract 

Although the Qur'an does not mandate a specific form of gov­

ernment, it provides broad moral directives for sound pol itical 

governance. The Qur'an further refers to two specific traits in 

the legitimate leaders of the Muslim (and any other righteous) 

polity: precedence and moral excellence, two concepts which 

were understood to have considerable socio-political implica ­

tions as wel I. .In the secondary, extra-Qur'anic I iterature, there is 

extensive commentary on these two traits and their significance 

for defining legitimate leadership. This article traces the broad 

contours of this extended discussion and refers to its continuing 

relevance in our own times. lt further indicates points of simi­

larity between this discursive treatment of leadership and some 

aspects of the modern electoral system. 

History, they say, should be studied so that one may not be condemned to 

repeat it. In the Islamic context, there is a great deal of justification to 
state the opposite: "History," we may say, "should be studied so that one 

may repeat it" - or at least selective parts of it. This injunction may well 
apply when scouring the early Islamic landscape for pointers on how to gov­

ern the polity, a topic that has been the subject of much debate in recent 

history and even earlier debate among Muslims of the first and subse­

quent generations. 

Asma Afsaruddin is associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of 
Notre Dame. Sbe is the author of Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse 
on Legitimate Leadership (Leid en, 2002) and the forthcoming The First Muslims: A Short 

History (Oxford, 2004).