The Pharaonic Policy (Al-Siyasah Al-Fir’auniyyah) Of “Starve Your Dog, And It Will Follow You”!
By Imam Murtadha Gusau
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Just, the Provider, who has forbidden oppression for Himself and made it forbidden among His creation.
Dear brothers and sisters! We often hear worldly aphorisms born of human arrogance. We hear the toxic philosophy of ‘Starve your dog, and it will follow you’. Fir’aun (Pharaoh) used it. The tyrants of old used it. Today, exploitative corporate systems and corrupt leaders use economic anxiety and systematic deprivation to enforce obedience.
But Allah the Almighty tells us a different law of the universe. In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah the Most High says:
“O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden among you, so do not oppress one another.”
Islam completely flips this toxic paradigm. In the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, we do not rule hearts by starving them; we win souls by nourishing them. And true strength and power is not breaking the wills of others to make them follow you—it is conquering your own ego to follow Allah.
Depriving those under your care—whether they are your employees, your family, or your community—does not yield loyalty. It breeds resentment and revolution. True leadership is rooted in enrichment and generosity. When the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) built his Ummah, he did not rule by withholding; he gave until he had nothing left for himself, earning an unbreakable loyalty born of love, not fear.
Respected servants of Allah! Look at the fate of those who practice this proverb. The king who said it was destroyed by the very hunger he manufactured.
Islam teaches us that loyalty cannot be bought with desperation. If you are an employer, pay your workers before their sweat dries. If you are a parent or spouse, do not withhold emotional or financial sustenance to assert control. Let us remember that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) warned us against the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah the Almighty.
Dear servants of Allah! The Jahiliyyah period, the age of ignorance, taught a brutal philosophy of leadership: “Starve your dog, and it will follow you.” It tells us that if you want loyalty, you must keep people vulnerable. If you want obedience, you must withhold. This is the methodology of Fir’aun (Pharaoh). Fir’aun (Pharaoh) kept his people weak, terrified, and desperate so that they would look to him as a god.
But what happens when you starve a creature? You erase its dignity. You build a relationship based on desperation, not devotion. And the moment that creature finds a hand that feeds it better, it will turn around and bite the hand that starved it. Worldly control built on fear is a ticking time bomb.
Look instead, O Muslim believers, to the Master of Humanity, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). He did not come to starve humanity; he came to feed their souls, their minds, and their bodies.
Allah the Most High says in the noble Qur’an about the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him):
“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” [Qur’an, 21:107]
When the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) conquered Makkah—the very city that starved his companions, boycotted his family, and persecuted his followers—he did not starve them in return. He did not humiliate them to force their loyalty. He stood before them and said, “Go, for you are free.”
He fed their dignity, and what was the result? They didn’t just follow him; they were ready to lay down their lives for him. Hearts are opened by Ihsan, excellence and kindness, not by oppression.
If there is anything in this life you should starve, my dear brothers and sisters, it is not the people around you. It is not your spouse, your children, or your employees. Starve your lower self, the Nafs!
Your Nafs al-Ammarah, the soul that commands evil, is like a wild beast. If you feed it every desire, every luxury, every glance, and every whim, it will master you. It will lead you to destruction. But if you starve it through fasting, through discipline, through lowering your gaze, and through standing in the night prayer—it will finally submit. It will follow you in obedience to Allah.
May Allah purify our hearts, break our egos, and make us leaders of mercy, not masters of oppression. Ameen!
Dear brothers and sisters! In human relationships, this proverb “Starve your dog, and it will follow you” represents a dark psychological truth: manipulation. We see it in toxic marriages where one partner withholds affection to gain power. We see it in corporate environments where managers keep employees insecure to ensure compliance.
But Islamic psychology teaches us that a loyalty born of starvation is artificial.
Contrast the harsh Arabic proverb with one of the most emotional traditions in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) told us of a man walking through the desert. He was parched with thirst. He found a well, climbed down, drank his fill, and climbed back out.
Upon reaching the top, he saw a dog panting heavily, licking the moist earth out of extreme thirst. The man looked at the dog and didn’t think, “Let me leverage this animal’s weakness.” Instead, his heart melted with empathy. He climbed back down into the well, filled his leather sock with water, held it in his teeth as he climbed out, and gave the dog a drink.
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) concluded:
“Allah thanked him for his deed and forgave his sins.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]
The world tells you to exploit weakness to gain followers. Islam tells you to alleviate weakness to gain the pleasure of the King of Kings, Allah the Almighty!
When you treat people with the philosophy of “starvation,” you are acting out of your own deep insecurity. You fear that if they are strong, free, and self-sufficient, they will leave you. But true leadership—good leadership—is about empowering others so much so that they choose to stand by you out of genuine love and respect.
Don’t starve the world around you to make it bend to your will. Feed it with mercy, and watch how Allah the Almighty elevates your status in this life and the next.
The Arabic proverb “Starve your dog, and it will follow you” (جَوِّعْ كَلْبَكَ يَتْبَعْكَ) carries a raw, historical realism about power, control, and the darker side of human politics. However, when viewed through the profound lens of Islamic spirituality, psychology, and Prophetic wisdom, this proverb serves as a powerful mirror—not for how we should treat others, but for how we must discipline our own inner selves.
The historical proverb “Starve your dog, and it will follow you” represents the ultimate form of tyrannical control, psychological manipulation, and the deliberate crushing of human dignity. In Islamic history and theology, this approach is famously known as the Pharaonic Policy, Al-Siyasah al-Fir’auniyyah.
Fir’aun (Pharaoh) did not just rule through physical chains; he ruled by engineered dependency, breaking the spirit of his people until they viewed their oppressor as their sole provider.
Dear servants of Allah! Tyrants throughout history have never ruled by strength alone; they rule by weaponising artificial scarcity. When the Fir’aun (Pharaoh) of Egypt looked at the Children of Israel, he did not just see a minority to oppress—he saw a population that needed to be kept weak, hungry, and desperate.
To make people break their own backs chasing a loaf of bread, and they will never have the energy to look up and demand their freedom. Keep them terrified of losing their sustenance, and they will bow to the one holding the grain.
But the great religion of Islam came to shatter this illusion. Islam arrived to scream into the hearts of humanity: Your boss is not your provider. Your leader is not your provider. The market is not your provider. Ar-Razzaq, The Ultimate Provider, is Allah the Almighty!
When Fir’aun (Pharaoh) claimed, “I am your lord, most high,” he was attempting to centralise all dependency onto himself. He wanted the people to believe that if they disobeyed him, they would starve.
But look at how Allah the Almighty refutes this psychological warfare in the noble Qur’an. Allah the Most High says:
“And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision…” [Qur’an, 11:6]
When you realise that your life, your breath, and your wealth are written by the King of Kings, the Pharaonic policy, the Siyasah Al-Fir’auniyyah loses all its power over you. They can restrict the earth, but they cannot close the gates of heaven.
Remember, when the Muslim army faced the superpower of their time—the Persian Empire—the Persian general Rustam asked to speak to an emissary. The Muslims sent Rib’iyyu Ibn Amir, a man wearing simple, patched clothes, riding a small horse, carrying a basic spear.
Rustam sat in a courtyard filled with gold-woven carpets, silk cushions, and glittering wealth. He expected this simple Arab man from the desert to be blinded by the wealth, to crawl and beg for food and treaties—to follow the “crumbs” like a starved dog. Instead, Rib’iyyu rode his horse right onto the luxurious carpets. He drove his spear into the expensive rugs, tearing them up as he walked forward with his head held high.
Rustam asked him: “What brought you here?”
Rib’iyyu delivered words that should be carved into the heart of every sincere Muslim believer today. He said:
“Allah has sent us to deliver whomsoever He wills from the worship of creation to the worship of the Creator alone, from the narrowness of this world to its vastness, and from the tyranny of false religions to the justice of Islam.”
Rib’iyyu could not be starved, because his soul was already full. He could not be bribed, because he knew that the Persian Empire’s wealth belonged to Allah anyway.
Respected brothers and sisters! The policy of “Starve your dog, and it will follow you” has not faded into history; it has merely modernised.
Today, economic systems and corporate structures often thrive on keeping people in a state of perpetual survival anxiety. When people are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and terrified of losing their healthcare or shelter, they become compliant. They tolerate toxic environments, sacrifice their morals, and remain silent in the face of injustice because they fear their “provider” will cut them off.
Pharaoh’s greatest victory was not building the pyramids; it was convincing the people that without him, they would perish. When Prophet Musa came with clear signs, Pharaoh’s response was to attack their livelihood and security:
● He doubled their workload.
● He threatened their survival.
● He forced them into a state of pure panic.
The psychological trap is making the victim believe they are a “dog” that needs the master to survive.
The great religion of Islam breaks this cycle through three foundational psychological shifts:
- True Tawhid (Monotheism)
Believing that provision is fixed. No human being can give you a single penny that Allah did not decree for you, and no human can take away a single crumb that Allah wrote in your destiny.
- The Honour of Bani Adam
Allah the Most High says:
“And We have certainly honoured the children of Adam…” [Qur’an, 17:70]
A Muslim believer is a servant to Allah, but a noble leader on this earth. You are not a creature to be starved and commanded.
- Contentment
When you train yourself to be content with less, you become unbribable. If a tyrant cannot tempt you with luxury, and cannot scare you with poverty, they lose all leverage over you.
And if you are currently feeling trapped in a situation where someone is using your livelihood, your job, your emotions, or your security to control you—remember the parting of the Red Sea.
The Children of Israel stood with the roaring sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s marching army behind them. They panicked and cried out:
“We are surely overtaken!”
But Prophet Musa (Peace be upon him), whose heart was entirely detached from Pharaonic fear, replied with absolute certainty:
“No! Indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me.” [Qur’an, 26:62]
So the sea split. The oppressor drowned. The provision came from where they least expected it.
Never let anyone starve your soul to command your body. Turn away from the hand holding the false crumbs, look up to the Heavens, and realise that you are free.
Respected brothers and sisters! The proverb “Starve your dog, and it will follow you” جوع كلبك يعطيك or جوع كلبك يتبعك is historically attributed to Amr Ibn Hind, a powerful and tyrannical 6th-century king of Al-Hirah, the modern-day Iraq.
According to historical Arabic literature, the king used this phrase to describe how he ruled over the Arab tribes. He believed that if his subjects became wealthy, prosperous, and self-sufficient, they would rebel against his rule. Therefore, he kept them economically strained and dependent on his royal favours to ensure their absolute submission.
Ironically, the proverb is often cited alongside its historical undoing: Amr Ibn Hind was eventually assassinated by the famous poet and warrior Amr Ibn Kulthum because of the king’s extreme arrogance. This birthed a counter-proverb:
“Perhaps your dog will bite you when it grows hungry.”
Today, this proverb is never used as positive advice. Instead, it is used critically to describe machiavellian tactics, political tyranny, or toxic manipulation.
It is frequently invoked in political discourse to criticise corrupt governments or leaders who intentionally plunge their populations into economic hardship. By keeping citizens preoccupied with basic survival: bread, water, fuel, etc, the leaders ensure the public has no time or energy to demand political freedom or reforms.
It can also describe an abusive employer who keeps employees underpaid and insecure so they won’t leave, or describe a toxic relationship where one partner emotionally starves the other to maintain control.
In modern commentary, whenever this proverb is quoted, it serves as a warning to oppressors. Just as a starved animal may eventually turn on its owner out of sheer desperation, an oppressed group will eventually revolt when they have nothing left to lose.
In the Machiavellian corridors of worldly politics, the phrase “Starve your dog, and it will follow you” has long been used to justify oppression. Tyrants throughout history have known that a population preoccupied with basic survival has no energy to revolt. They control by restriction.
But when we pull this proverb out of the political mud and wash it in the ocean of Tazkiyyah, it transforms into an explosive psychological truth.
Ya Allah, do not leave us in charge of our own souls even for the blinking of an eye. Quiet our egos, feed our hearts with Your love, and make our desires subservient to Your guidance, ameen Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyum.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761 or +2348024192217.