Advice
To British Muslims Regarding The Coming Elections
By
Shaykh Haitham Al-Haddad
With
the Name of Allâh, and in Him we seek assistance,
and the praise is due to Allâh, Lord of the
Worlds. I testify that there is no deity worthy
of worship besides Allâh alone, without any
associate, and there is nothing comparable to Him.
And I testify that Muhammad is His servant and final
Messenger.
In the
current climate, many brothers and sisters in Britain
have become preoccupied with the issue of the coming
elections and debating the question of whether Muslims
are allowed to vote and which party is most deserving
of our vote. In reply, I would like to present the
following clarification and advice.
It is
clearly evident to any Muslim who possesses a basic
understanding of Islâm that the greatest and
most important aim of Islamic law is the deterrence
of evil or the reduction of harm, and the attainment
of good or its increase. The establishment of a
harmonious and successful way of life depends upon
this principle. This is why the Islamic law - that
is, the law of Allâh - is never contrary to
the basic needs of humanity, or establishes anything
in contradiction to sound logic.
Subsequently,
it is an obligation upon every Muslim to achieve
this aim, whether in part or in its totality. However,
it is apparent that it is virtually impossible to
attain this objective in its absolute sense, in
the majority of cases; yet, in spite of this, the
Muslims must endeavour to carry out the necessary
means that enable them to achieve this objective.
Based
on this, it is obligatory for those Muslims living
under the shadow of man-made law to take all the
necessary steps and means to make the law of Allâh
, the Creator and the One who sustains, supreme
and manifest in all aspects of life. If they are
unable to do so, then it becomes obligatory for
them to strive to minimise the evil and maximise
the good.
In democratic
countries which are ruled by man-made law, candidates
from the various parties compete to attain power.
Some of these parties or candidates are working
against the benefit of humanity (i.e. against the
law of the Creator), while the policies of others
are less detrimental. Therefore, it is obligatory
on the Muslims to utilise all means to promote the
candidate who will best ensure the welfare of the
people according to Islâm, the law of their
Creator, to be elected to the decision-making posts.
With
regard to the upcoming elections in the UK, the
Muslims are recommended or even obliged to vote
for the party who will be of most benefit on a national
and international level, who will increase upon
that which is good, or at the least, lessen the
extent of the current evil prevalent in the world
today. At the same time, the Muslims should exert
the utmost effort to oppose those whose policies
are against the welfare of humanity.
Allâh,
the Exalted, says:
"Help
you one another in virtue, righteousness and piety;
but do not help one another in sin and transgression."
[Al-Qur’ân 5:3]
The final
Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him, said "Whoever
sees an evil, he should change it by his hands;
if he could not do so, then he should change it
by his tongue; if he could not do so, then he should
do that by his heart, which is the least of faith."
[Muslim]. The Prophet, in this hadîth (saying),
did not allow the Muslim to remain idle and incapacitated
when witnessing injustices while he is able to change
them.
It
is by the grace of Allâh that British Muslims
demonstrated a keener interest this year (2004)
to participate in the elections, which reflects
an improvement in their state, namely a more acute
understanding and greater awareness amongst them.
Is
it true that voting is an act of Kufr (disbelief)?
On the
other hand, those who consider such participation
to be an act of kufr reached their conclusion based
on two factors:
First:
The inability to distinguish between establishing
a democratic system in which people vote for one
of a number of systems, and voting to select the
best individual amongst a number of candidates within
an already-established system imposed upon them
and which they are unable to change within the immediate
future. There is no doubt that the first type is
an act of kufr, as Allâh says:
"Legislation
is for none but Allâh. He has commanded that
you worship none but Him." [Al-Qur’ân
12:41]
And He
says:
"And
whosoever does not judge by what Allâh has
revealed, such are the kâfirûn (disbelievers)."
[Al-Qur’ân 5:44]
Secondly:
Not realising that voting for a candidate or party
who rules according to man-made law does not necessitate
approval or acceptance for his method; this is a
crucial point. It is clearly apparent that individuals
are sometimes placed in a situation in which they
are compelled to make decisions which may normally
be deemed unacceptable or which may be far from
their liking, due to the fact that it is the best
available option open to them. For example, a sick
person might be forced to do many things that he
dislikes, such as taking particular kinds of medication
or treatment, or even giving his consent for one
of his limbs to be amputated – not because
this is to his liking or acceptable to him, but
because he simply does not have any other choice,
or since it is by far the best alternative available
for him at that time.
The
Shar'îah allowed, or even obliged, the starving
person, fearing death to eat un-slaughtered meat
in order to preserve his life. No one can argue
that he would customarily deem it acceptable or
that he inclines towards that. For this reason,
we caution our brothers and sisters from hastily
passing judgements on such complicated issues based
on the apparent situation, without possessing the
deep understanding and powers of analysis that they
require.
It
is also pertinent at this point to remind my brothers
and sisters here that we should participate in voting,
believing that we are doing so in an attempt to
minimise the evil, while at the same time maintaining
that the best system is the Shar'îah, which
is the law of Allâh.
Which
party deserve our votes?
Finally,
to address the most pressing question which remains
outstanding: which party deserves our support in
order to attain the aforementioned objectives?
The answer
to such a question requires a deep and meticulous
understanding of the political arena. Consequently,
I believe that individuals should avoid involving
themselves in this process and rather should entrust
this responsibility to the prominent Muslim organisations
that have sufficient experience and ability to determine
the issue according to the interests of the Muslims.
Meanwhile,
such organisations should agree upon a certain policy
with regards to voting. For example, they can agree
to vote for one or more parties or individuals.
It is
upon the remainder of the Muslims therefore to accept
and follow the decisions of these organisations.
The basis for my statement is that:
1
- Unity among Muslims is obligatory. Among the many
evidences for this is what Allâh says in the
Qur’ân [3:103]:
"And
hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh
(i.e. this Qur’ân or the guidance of
Allâh), and be not divided among yourselves
... "
And the
statement of the Prophet, peace be upon him, “Adhere
to the jama’ah (community), and avoid division,
for the Satan is closer to the lone individual and
is far from a group. Whoever seeks the expanse of
Paradise should stick to the jama’ah.”
[at-Tirmidhî].
This
unity in light of the current situation is a cohesion
based upon ‘strategic decision making’
in order to have the greatest impact for the community
of the Muslims. Such a uniform opinion regarding
the elections cannot be attained unless the Muslims
follow the conclusions, arrived at by the leading,
experienced Muslim organisations, as described previously.
This is the sole means to avoid disagreement, since
the opinion of Muslims in this ijtihâd matter
differs widely and thus they will be in great opposition
to one another. The impact and influence of our
vote will be greatly diminished if we fail to vote
as one voice, and instead each opts to follow our
personal judgement.
2- Voting
itself is not obligatory or recommended according
Islamic law, rather the aim behind it is to achieve
the greatest benefit for Muslims or avoiding evil.
This cannot be achieved unless the Muslims agree
on one voice or one strategy by which they can influence
other parties. If this is missing, then they will
have no weight and no such influence. So if this
is the case, the whole objective in voting is lost
and there is then no benefit in participating in
voting.
Based
on this, I advise my brothers and sisters to forsake
their individual opinions in favour of the opinion
of the collective.
Final
comments
Before
I conclude, I would like to mention some related
advice:
1)
Some Muslims might come to the conclusion that abstention
from the electoral process is better for Islâm
and the Muslims. If this is what an individual believes,
then he should not impose his opinion upon other
Muslims, by preventing them from voting or insisting
that they abandon voting by arguing that it is an
act of kufr. This would be tantamount to injustice
and oppression.
2)
Muslims should not turn their mosques into forums
for political campaigns. This act may reach the
level of prohibition if it leads to disagreement,
dispute, and aggression. Allâh, the Exalted,
forbade the latter when it came to religious matters,
so consider then the prohibition of this in anything
other than religion. Allâh, the Exalted, said:
"And
be not of al-Mushrikûn (disbelievers in the
Oneness of Allâh, polytheists, idolaters,
etc.); of those who split up their religion (i.e.
who left the true Islamic Monotheism), and became
sects." [30: 31-32]
Once
the Muslims have agreed on a particular candidate
or party, then they should vote for him without
becoming preoccupied with this issue to the extent
that they leave their primary obligation in the
West as a result, and abandon calling people to
Islâm and clarifying the widespread misconceptions
about the religion, for Allâh says,
"And
who is better in speech than he who says: 'My Lord
is Allâh (believes in His Oneness),' and then
stands straight (acts upon His Order), and invites
(men) to Allâh's (Monotheism), and does righteous
deeds, and says: 'I am one of the Muslims.' "
[41:33]
3)
Muslims should not rely heavily upon elections and
voting to expedite major changes, particularly with
respect to foreign policy. The wider political game
is beyond the direct influence of political parties
or politicians. Muslims are participating endeavouring
to minimise the evil, at least in terms of the internal
policy.
In closing,
I have come to the conclusion that the major Muslim
organisation concerned about politics in UK so far
is the Muslim Association of Britain. They have
done a great service by preparing a list of candidates
whom they believe will best represent the interests
of Muslims in the event they are elected. For example,
they recommend that Muslims in London should vote
for the Respect party, led by George Galloway. For
those living in the South-East, they recommend that
they vote for the Green Party, led by Caroline Lucas.
As for the position of the Mayor of London, they
advise Muslims to vote for Ken Livingstone. Therefore,
we advise our brothers and sisters to visit their
website (http://www.mabonline.net/) for more information
on which candidates are being forwarded in their
respective localities.
We ask
Allâh to guide us to the right path and to
grant victory for law of our Lord, Allâh in
the UK and in other parts of the world.
Haitham
Al-Haddad
Return
to Articles
|