FreedomTechArchitect on Nostr: When political elites become also financial elites, that's a sign of corruption. ...

When political elites become also financial elites, that's a sign of corruption. Because these two don't necessarily belong together.

ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb's (رضي الله عنه) principles when he hired people in public office (mayor, governor etc.) were:

He would do an audit at the moment the person got hired. He asked "What are your assets right now?", "What do you own? You own a house?", "How many outfits do you have, how many clothes do you have, how many shoes?". A full audit.

Then the guy serves 10 years. And after that he's leaving office. And ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb says "Let's do an audit again."

And when the guy owned 8 pairs of shoes when he came into office and after that he owned 10 pairs of shoes, then he would say "Those 2 pairs belong to the people. Give them back."

You should leave office with the same things you came with. Because you're in public service, which means you can't be in self service. You can't go into public office looking for contracts on the side and then become a consultant afterwards. That's going to be a lobbyist, because you know how lobbying works and then you're going to make millions and millions on top ... that's not how it's supposed to work. You can't build your own assets when you're in public service. It's a sacrifice.

That's when political elites also become financial elites and vice versa. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb saw that coming. He was a genius.

- from tafseer lesson Surah Al Muminoon