What form of government does the Holy Qur’an prescribe?

None in particular. The Holy Qur’an does not lay down how a government comes to power, but how every government must fulfil its duties: with justice and for the good of the people.

Today there is much talk of an Islamic state and an Islamic government. But anyone looking for a prescribed form of government in the Holy Qur’an will not find one. There is no command that a country must be a monarchy, a republic or a particular kind of democracy.

This is not a gap but wisdom. The Holy Qur’an speaks to people of all times and all lands. Nations have different histories, traditions and ways of life. A single form for all would have been neither reasonable nor fair. We can see this today. A form of government that works well in one country can fail in another, or even produce the opposite result. Dictatorships, too, have arisen in the name of democracy.

What the Holy Qur’an does discuss in detail is how every government must act. Responsibility should be placed in the hands of those who are worthy of it. Those who govern must judge justly, including towards people of another religion and even towards enemies. Important matters should be decided by consultation. The rights of the people must be protected.

One could say that the Holy Qur’an does not ask so much who governs or how he was chosen. It asks whether a government truly serves the people. A government that acts justly and fairly fulfils what Islam requires, whatever its form. And a government that does wrong does not become Islamic by calling itself so.