Abu Taymiyyah – Is Voting Halal or HaramShirk
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So I wanted to start Insha'Allah our hot
topics with a question related with the UK
elections coming up. What's the ruling on voting?
Is it Haram?
Is it shirk? Is it kuf? Is it
permissible?
First and foremost, Jazakam Alakher, Masir Farhan.
They're always kind and generous in inviting me
over,
for these discussions.
And also, Alhamdulillah, today we went through
a very important poem that covers the best
of etiquettes.
So with regards to this question,
this is an issue that has already been
spoken about time and time again
by the scholars,
right? They've dealt with this contemporary issue.
However, it's a question that pops up every
single time when there is
an election is taking place.
So to break the question down, 1st and
foremost, why do people associate the topic of
elections with shirk and kufr?
I think it's important that we understand that
and then Insha'Allah Ta'ala we can perhaps
cite some of the reasonings and the effective
causes
that the ulema have mentioned, when they said
it is permissible in certain circumstances.
But firstly, where did this whole shirk and
kufr come from?
Right? And I think it's only fair to
touch on this.
Think about it my brothers and my sisters,
when you are now voting someone into power
and he is now going to be adhering
to man made laws,
right.
As a Muslim,
which laws should we be adhering to?
The laws of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, right?
We know that sovereignty,
right?
Law making, governance
belongs to who? None other than Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
Sovereignty, law making,
right? Governance
it belongs to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, it
is He
who puts down rules and regulations,
laws
that are in the best interest
of the Muslims and society as a whole.
Agreed?
Likewise, the messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam or should
I say Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala he mentioned
in the Quran,
do they wish for the Hukum of Jahiliya,
right? Also Allah says in the Quran
Whoever does not rule by what Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala sent down, he is indeed from
the kafirun.
So as we mentioned, we can agree that
law making belongs to who? Belongs to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. However, we need to understand
the following my brothers and my sisters, the
Sharia is fixed. However
we have a flexible
framework within our Sharia that adjust the variables,
due to the changes
that happens within this very
quickly changing
reality on the ground that we have to
deal with.
Circumstances
change, isn't that so?
Right? So there is a level of flexibility
and adaptability within our Sharia.
When we have these changes that take place,
the fitwa may change, this is why
when you study fiqh, you may come across
a legal maxim,
Where a fatwa changes because of the time
and place.
Are you brothers and sisters with me?
Like
This is why perhaps
many of the ulama
whether they are in Saudi Arabia or outside
of Saudi Arabia,
Sheikh ibn Uthayim, Shailahir Nasir Barak,
Sheikh ibn Jibreel,
right?
And many other scholars, these are some of
the household names, I'm mentioning them because many
of our brothers who may follow a certain
persuasion or leaning, they take from these scholars.
They mentioned
certain
circumstances
such as,
if this
candidate
is going to
serve the Muslims,
or he is a better option for the
Muslims,
or he is the best
of the 2 evils that you have
or he is able to lessen
the evil.
Right? You can vote for that individual.
Are you brothers and sisters with me? Like
I mentioned our sharia is fixed, however,
due to the flexible framework that we have
within our sharia,
it adjust the variables due to the change
of circumstance.
Right? We have different leading legal maxims within
our sharia,
the Sharia is fixed, however
because of these occurrences and changes,
and these situations that we find ourselves in,
it would fall under one of these
leading leading legal maxims,
we've heard of it, right? You have the
cupra, the 5 leading legal maxims, and then
you have so many other
legalities,
right? Legal maxims
that
the scholars have mentioned over time.
Okay. So what are some of these legal
maxims?
You have
this legal Maxim called
weighing between the pros and the cons.
Have we heard of this before?
You can say
but many say there's more correct
When you are in a predicament and you
have 1 of 2 options,
there isn't a 3rd option, if we had
the best of options we would have to
take that, but you only have these 2
and both of them are bad, but one
is a lot better than the other because
of his track record. However, if both of
them
are really no different to one another, in
that case
you wouldn't.
Does that make sense? But you have a
candidate, I'll give you guys an example now,
let's start, we have a candidate,
right? Over 95% of the Muslims,
right? And even the Masajid
are all standing behind him.
It's I've never seen anything like this, Right?
Them uniting behind a certain candidate,
far better,
right? Then
whatever else that you currently have on the
menu.
So in that case, what does the sharia
say to you? And by the way this
principle of weighing between the pros and the
if you're in a predicament and you have
2 evils, you take the less of the
2 evils. This legal maxim, it doesn't
only apply to 1 or 2 things in
our sharia, no it extends
to all aspects of our deen, this is
why he said,
The whole religion
is
built on weighing between the pros and the
cons.
Did everyone get that? I know it's a
bit of a controversial
topic,
but
this is why many of the ulama,
even though the asl,
the base origin,
they say that you shouldn't.
But
when we have a change of circumstance,
right?
The Sharia,
right? Because of
quickly changing reality on the ground.
Right? And we will continue having
modern day occurrences
and things that unfold within our reality,
that we have to deal with.
Right?
And fiqh is required,
right? More than day fiqh is required
in order to be able to deal with
it, even though our Sharia is fixed. It
tells you halal and haram,
while at the same time you have what?
Legal maxims that adjust the different circumstances
that the Sharia itself propagates.
Did everyone get that?
Am I calling the Kufar and Sheikh now?
No, I'm not.
It's important that I make you all understand
why
many of the ulema would take a position
And it's not just specific to ulama
in a certain locality, laha, I've looked at
countless fatawa.
Just the other day when we're having the
discussion in a WhatsApp group, I was sitting
in front of 30 fatawa.
But then you have
individuals that may come along and just give
a blanket statement without really
oh by the way passed away in 728,
I'm Abu Taymiyyah, he's Ibn Taymiyyah
over 700 years ago so it's not me,
right? He doesn't have a horse in the
race, he has Fatawa,
right from over 700 years ago, where he's
asked about someone taking up a position,
right? Where he's able to establish justice
even if it's not all but some,
or he's able to lessen.
Right?
Right? The evils that will come out of
this situation, he gives the Fattu at times
it may even be Wajib upon him to
be in that position.
Like I'll give you guys an example, me
right, just take me for an ex if
there is an institution and I'm able to
go in there and lessen the evil,
and these people my brothers and my sisters
they're in la la land or in no
man's land,
right? And I believe that I can make
significant change,
right?
Should I now withhold from it?
And this institution now is extremely well known
and they're having a big impact
but they still require,
right, guidance in
making things better. Now I'm not running for
presidency,
I'm not gonna do anything like I'm talking
about just generally,
right? This is when these principles will come
in handy, may Allah a zawalay protect me
from that.
Let us Olu Imara, the messenger Sallallahu Alaihi
wa said to
Abu Dharr, don't ask for Imara leadership,
It comes with a lot of headache.
Yesterday as we were walking out the Masjid,
right, as soon as I reached the outside
doors,
there was a guy holding a camera in
my face.
Right? One thing for me to advocate or
to promote or to propagate his party.
Right? And I spoke about it very very
generate. Those who attended the hot topics discussion
yesterday,
remember the answer that I gave. Did I
mention anyone's name?
All I done was
we have witnesses.
All I did was
teach the people
how some of the scholars
would reach a certain conclusion.
Because a lot of the time the Amatunas,
the common folk they're in the dark with
regards to how,
right, verdicts are issued
and how the scholars they reach those conclusions.
But because we don't have the tools and
we lack the knowledge, sometimes we look at
the fitwa
and we think to ourselves how can the
shaykh allow such shirk and kufr?
That's due to our shallow understanding.
And I talked about how our Sharia is
fixed. This is exactly what Imam Shati bihamatullah
alaihi mentioned, so he doesn't have a horse
in the race.
Right?
In his kitab al Muwaffakat,
how our sharia is fixed.
But we have a flexible framework within our
sharia
that adjust the variables
due to the changes
in our circumstances. We have this very quick
changing reality on the ground.
Right? We have modern day fiqh that deals
with these modern day problems.
Right?
Our Sharia is fixed but
there is room for adaptability
within our Sharia
due to the many qawadilfakih
that we have.
And we talked about al Masalihu al Mafasir
which is a very important legal maxim,
weighing between the pros and the cons. And
why some of the ulama,
they mentioned
that you may partake in voting
if certain conditions are met. Did I mention
anyone's name? I didn't. I gave you all
principles,
right? I gave you all a framework
and the scholars, they are the ones, people
of knowledge that determine
when it should and when it shouldn't.
Right?
For allamistan, he brought this to my attention.
And I explained why some may say that
the concept
of man made laws is a shirki practice
and you now voting someone into power, you
may well be assisting
someone
in,
right, applying some of these man made laws
and how? Sovereignty,
nor did I do that anywhere else.
But it's important,
right, that I enlighten the community as to
how these are ulama. And I quote the
many of the ulama yesterday.
Right?
Across the spectrum, it's not just specific to
a certain locality,
whether it may be Saudi, whether it may
be Egypt, whether it may be Kuwait, others,
they may have insert certain circumstances,
given the fatwa,
that you can participate even though the asr
is that they believe it to be haram
but they gave the fitwa, likewise Al Majma
Al Fiqhi,
right?
Lesser the 2 evils or he is lessening
the evil that's going to come out of
this situation,
right, or this particular candidate, he will be
a lot more softer on the Muslims
or he will serve the interests a lot
better than the other candidate in cases like
that.
Right? For
bringing it to my attention.