Ebrahim Bham – Guidelines on Voting
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of community responsibilities, including sharing community interests and playing a role in making the community more safe. They also highlight historical examples of Muslims going to different countries to change their communities and society, including the historical precedent of American military and national security laws. The importance of protecting oneself from demon and acknowledging the negative consequences of not voting for a particular party. The speakers also emphasize the need to educate people on the negative consequences of not voting for a particular party and to ensure their rights and responsibilities are respected.AI: Transcript ©
Rights.
One of the rights that Allah
calls upon us to fulfill
is the rights to our neighbors,
our neighborhood,
and the community which in which you and
I reside in.
That is an important consideration,
and a great emphasis has been placed upon
it in our sharia. Also from a logical
point of view, when you are living in
a community, there are many aspects that are
societal related
that are related to the community
across the faith spectrum.
One of our great scholars, Hazrat Mufti Mahmut
Sabrahutul Ali, has written, if there is a
fire in the in the vicinity,
if there is a fire in the neighborhood,
then everyone in the neighborhood, irrespective
of the faith that you belong in,
they all get together with the intention of
saving themselves from the harm of that fire.
Now fire is something that is physical.
There are many such aspects in our community
that go
across the page spectrum. Crime, for example,
drugs,
crime,
and,
the situation not being clean.
These are aspects that have got to do
with the community.
And it is if we are part of
that community,
it is our responsibility
to play our role with regard to making
the community more safe, safe from crime, safe
from drugs,
safe from,
immorality,
safe from different types of fitness.
And this we learn from our beloved Nabiya
Karim
and from our history.
Muslims had always played a role with regard
to the betterment of the society in which
they lived in. When our beloved Nabiya Karim
salallahu alaihi wa sallam came to Madinah,
he set up a path known as mithat
e Madinah.
The path of Madinah
in which there are 47
clauses in that path, which spokes about
how different communities from different backgrounds.
In that particular attack were the Ansar tribes
of host and Hazrat
and the different
Jewish tribes
that we saw also made a death. How
are we going to live together in that
particular community?
Which tells us that if we are in
a
community, we have a responsibility
with regard to seeing that that community
is safe, prosperous,
safe from all different types of fitna and
different types of immorality.
So much so has been nabiqar in salasiram's
Emphasis
that Abdullah ibn Amrud will ask the about
under the famous sahabi.
One day there was an animal that was
been slaughtered
in his house.
He told the people who were slaughtering,
the moment the meat is slaughtered and it
is ready for distribution,
see to it that you give the non
Muslim neighbor
first a portion of the meat before you
give anyone else.
This is what al Sahabi
Abdullah ibn al-'Azadi
Allahu Ta'ala made mention. He made mention this
was his end. Nabi Karim salal salam
took part
before Islam on a path known as Halful
Fuhlul.
And what was that? There was a person
who came to Makkah,
and,
he had a business transaction with a prominent
person from Makkah, who did not pay him
on time, who usurp his right and usurp
his wealth.
So he went to the prominent, righteous people
of Makkah, who got together in the house
of Abdullah ibn Jidhami.
And they had a pact and said,
in future in Makkah,
if anyone is oppressed,
if anyone's right is not fulfilled,
we as the rightiest people of Mecca,
we make the spec that we will get
together
to see to it that the oppressed person
gets his right. Nabiya Karim
was part of that agreement.
And Nabiya
Karim later on, when he was a prophet,
Nabi'at Karim salawahu alaihi wa sallam said, I
witnessed
a pet in the house of Abdullah ibn
al Jullan
that is more beloved to me than a
herd of expensive red camels.
And even today in Islam,
if I'm called upon
that I must be part of such an
agreement
to help the oppressed people across the faith
spectrum, I will be part of that particular
type of agreement. This is what our beloved
Nabiya Karim saur sallam had said. In a
hadith in sunanay Kubra, Nabiya Karim saur sallam
said, make such agreements
that restore the rights of their owners
such that no oppressor
has strength over the oppressed.
Make such facts in your community, in your
society.
The people who are oppressed, they gather together
to turn over the tables against the people
who are oppressors.
These are just some examples that I've given
from the examples of the sahabah, and our
beloved Nabiya Kareem
And when we look at our history, we
find an amazing thing. We find wherever Muslims
went,
throughout history,
they made such an impact upon the societies
and communities that they stayed in, with which
they were part of, that they changed their
entire communities and societies for the better.
Many of them became Muslims,
not by conquering,
but by dilt
of the contribution to the society and the
community that they stayed in. Muslims went to
North Africa. The Berbers the local indigenous people
became Muslims. Up till today,
since the beginning of Islam, where was the
still Muslims? They went to West Africa. Muslims,
they went and they traded with people. The
people there became Muslims. They went to Indonesia.
Go and look at the whole history of
Islam. Today, Indonesia is the country with the
highest
amount of Muslims in one country.
No conquering army went there. Muslims went to
go and trade. They trade in such a
fair, honest
manner that the people there were so impressed
by the honesty that they became Muslims.
During the course of this week, I was
reading how Maldives became Muslim. There was Arab
traders that used to come to Maldives.
So one person went there, his name was
Yusuf Al Babar.
So there, there was
there there was a situation where every month,
there was a a demon, call it a
jinnat or whatever,
who used to come and attack the people.
So somehow the other, they came into
a situation where they used to sacrifice 1
virgin woman
every month for the sake of this demon.
For the sake of this demon to protect
themselves from the arms of the demon. Reminds
me of Umar
where the people there in Egypt used to
sacrifice
one woman
for the sake of the Nile, so the
Nile could give them water. And Umar Radhi
Allahu Alaihi wa Thiru put a stop to
that particular
type of, you know,
action of ignorance. So this person when he
came there, he was, you know, hosted by
someone whose daughter had been handpicked
to be able to be sacrificed
for the sake of this demon. And he
said, you are not going to go there.
I will go there.
I will go there. And whatever he did,
he went and he go and read Quran.
They said he was a person of Quran.
He read the Quran, that demon did not
come near. The sultan of the place got
so impressed.
He said, What did you do that you
changed this whole situation of the country that
we were held ransom by a demon? Whether
it be a jinnat or whatever it is,
And you, because of your Quran, you saved
us from this. Today, Maldives is a situation
in a country which has over 90% Muslims.
I ask you the question, my dear respected
brothers,
something that you and I have to constantly
ask which we are not asking.
What have we done for the country and
society that
we are living in? When we look at
our history, what our forefathers did, what are
we doing for the sake of this country
and the society that we are living in?
I thank Allah
that the people who came, not all of
us, but many of us come from the
Indo Parc subcontinent.
I thank Allah
that the people who came to that particular
part of the world, the Arab traders, they
didn't have an insula mindset the way you
and I have.
Otherwise, if they had the insular mindset that
you and I have, perhaps you would not
have become Muslims.
They came there, they showed us the beauty
of Islam, Our forefathers became Muslims.
Why is it that today when we talk
about interaction with people of other faiths, we
only talk about it in a negative sense?
We always say, don't don't interact. You are
going to become you are going to become
changed.
You are going to become compromised.
You Allah, what is gone wrong with our
confidence?
What is wrong with our confidence? You are
50 60 years as a Muslim, By your
interaction with your colleagues in the workplace,
are you so lacking in confidence that you
feel you are going to become? You're gonna
compromise on your deal after being 50 years
as a Muslim.
What about the interaction that is positive?
Why do you look at it as a
negative sense? Why don't you look at it
in a positive sense that we've got a
value system, we've got a deal that we
want to share with other people?
Why do you only look at it in
a negative mindset that we will we will
be changed, we will be compromised? What about
the beauty of our deen?
It is because of that mindset that we
became Muslims, although our forefathers were not.
Why have we forsaken that particular way of
the Sahaba iqram, and our pious predecessors, and
our wonderful legacy?
And part of that particular situation is as
part of our responsibility to our community and
our society is the coming elections that will
be held next week. Now we all know
that there are difference of opinion with regard
to this particular matter. As I was walking
in, the person who we know normally is
where you give money for the maintenance said
one amazing thing. He said there's a difference
of opinion with regard to the elections and
casting your ballot. There's no difference of opinion
in casting your cash in that particular box
for the maintenance of the masjid.
There's no there's no difference of opinion. But
let me give you some of the ulama
who have spoken in favor with regard to
voting and the reasons why we should consider
this. One of them is Muftima Muttaba'am Abdul
Ali who is buried in this particular region.
Muftima Muttaba'am Abdul Ali had said, if by
voting there is benefit to the community, to
the society, to the Muslims where there will
be people who will uphold the rights of
Muslims to worship, and there will be there
will be benefit with regard to someone who
will be doing things in a just manner,
then you should vote if he's committed to
vote. Hazrat Mufti Tutu Usmani has written a
whole article with regard to voting and why
you should vote. And he makes mention of
this in a very amazing thing. You see,
one of the reasons why people stay away
from voting
is because of the
incorrect understanding of Islam. They said that they
have only regarded Islam to be only in
the masjid.
They have not regarded to be Islam. Islam
has got firm guidelines with regard to justice,
with regard to, you know, service delivery, with
regard to seeing that the roads that you
are living in is is clean.
I mean, nabiyaqirim on what occasion told us
sahaba,
I saw a person
enjoying himself in jannah
because something was
dirty in the road,
and he cleaned it and he left it
clean for the people to walk on to
be able to have a carefree
type of environment to be able to walk.
I ask you the question, does anyone of
you and anyone of us, because of our
limited understanding of Deen,
regard it that a person who cleaned the
road
and made it safe, removed offensive items
has become worthy of Jannah. Have we ever
looked upon that action action as worthy of
Jannah? But our beloved, Nabi al Karim salallahu
alaihi wa sallam has made mention. Prominent scholars
in India recently,
they called upon the Muslims of India to
vote, saying it is a civic responsibility.
It's a responsibility that you owe to the
country. And if you don't do so, then
the wrong people will come which can't have
an adverse
and a negative consequences with regard to your
practicing religion and other matters. Already, we are
seeing the type of noises that have been
made and the type of statements that have
been made in this particular political arena. So
one of the things that we have got
and there are many examples that I can
quote from ulama who have said that this
I'm giving you examples of ulama who are
regarded to be well respected and
great in their own field. One of the
questions that come is that will I be
supporting a party that does not is not
altogether Islamic, or will I be supporting a
system that is un Islamic? Now we need
to understand this very carefully. We are fully
aware
that there is inconsistencies
in the system whether the democracy, the democratic
system, or the system that you are living
in, is not an Islamic system. It is
it has its flaws.
But we
why not regarding it as an ideal?
We should consider
this Islamic
maxim,
which is a principle of our fiqh.
That that desperate for qahai have written, if
you cannot change a situation in its entirety,
then you should not leave it in its
entirety.
Doesn't mean that you cannot change a situation
in its entirety. You cannot change a democratic
system. You you must leave it in its
entirety.
Whatever is within your grasp, whatever is within
your control, you try and achieve that. That's
an Islamic
theological principle which have been written by the
fuqaha,
and they have made it as one of
the jurisprudence,
principles which our fuqaa had made mentioned. So
what is beyond our control should not prevent
us of doing what is our control. Has
written,
due to the fact
that a religiously inclined person
votes for a party
because of some benefit,
it will not be assumed that he agrees
fully and wholly
on the beliefs and the ideologies of the
party. Now let me give you an example.
If you vote for a party because it
is giving you religious freedom, it doesn't mean
that you believe and you accept or you
affirm every aspect of that party. You are
only voting for that particular aspect, that one
particular benefit.
And it is perfectly permissible for you to
do so that you are only voting for
that one particular aspect. 1 of our ulama
who passed away recently, Mufti Ibrahim Desai, Rahm
Tull Ali, has written in one of his
fatwas, if we go by that rationale,
that if you vote for 1 party that
you are voting for everything that that party
stands for, then you see if you go
by that rational,
then your living
in a non Muslim
society
would also mean that you support the evil
of that country and that party because you
are paying tax.
And if you are paying tax, that tax
goes with regard to the ruling party, you
know,
doing rules or in a system that goes
against Islam. So in that particular way, according
to that argument, we should not be living
in a non Muslim society. The rise of
Ibrahim Desai.
I'm just giving an example. What I'm saying
is you can vote for a party for
a specific reason, and that doesn't
mean that you agree with every aspect of
that particular party. There are examples in our
history. Like, for example, we find that in
our history, the Muslims stayed under a non
Muslim rule.
Muslims went to Abyssinia. When they went to
Abyssinia, Najashi was not a Muslim, but he
was just. He gave them refuge. He gave
them stability.
He gave them refuge from the oppression of
the people of Makkah and the Quraysh. They
wanted
them they wanted him to turn the Muslims
back and he said, no. I will not
turn. I will give him refuge.
Muslims stayed there for over a decade.
Even when Muslims migrated to Madinah they still
stayed there for over 6 years
and there is a recorded incident
that when Najashi was beaten, he had a
fight there was someone who was fighting against
him there was a threat to his authority
Muslims who were there, they prayed, and they
made du'a for his success,
because he was good to them.
So you can you can, for example,
vote for a party that is comparatively good
for you.
None you know, there is a statement with
regard to ibn
Ammutullahi as Rick mentioned. And he said,
He say a government can remain with justice
even if it's a disbelieving government.
But the government will not remain with injustice
even if it's a Muslim government.
So sometimes you can fight for the sake
of a certain degree of justice
to a certain degree. Let me give you
an example. For example, in India, for example,
our ulama
have always called for
Muslims to vote for secular debt democracy.
And the reason why they have done so,
that if India becomes
a Hindustah
state, it will have major repercussions and consequences
upon the masajid
and the religious practices of Muslims.
So there, they call upon Muslims to vote
for secular democracy.
So in that particular situation, I'm just giving
you examples with regard to it. Many times,
people say, what does voting how does it
help the situation?
Well, I can ask you another counter situation.
How does not voting help the situation?
Many times, say, you're voting, how does it
help the situation?
Well, how does your not voting helping the
situation?
In fact, by you not voting, you are
voting in favor of the status quo. That
means you are happy with the status quo,
therefore you're not voting. So when you are
not voting, the status code become more entrenched.
And when we look at our situation and
the examples I have given, you cannot
change things by being in isolation.
You cannot change things by being in isolation.
You can only change things when you are
on the table. You can only change things
when you are active. We have to become
an active citizen to be able to make
a change. Therefore, one of our great scholars,
Hazrat Munan Abu Hasan Nabi'uamtulare,
in one of the opening of one of
the big masajid
in UK when he was called upon to
give a talk, he gave a talk. And
one of his statements is something that should
be as an eye opener for us when
he said, if you continue living an insular
life,
you stay away from the problems of the
people. You don't take an active part with
regard to the situation of the country, with
regard to inequality,
with regard to unemployment,
with regard to lack of safety, with regard
to crime, and you don't make an effort
to put your shoulder to the wheel to
try and change the situation for the better,
And if you sh fail to show the
people the beauty of Islam,
then you face real dangers.
Then I'm afraid
that you will not be safe and content
in your own country if you remain in
isolation
and you do not make an attempt to
become part and parcel of the community that
you are living in and put your shoulder
to the wheel to be able to make
a difference with regards to what is happening
in the country. And I don't need to
go into a great amount of detail with
regard to some of the challenges that are
facing us in our country, high levels of
unemployment. Nadal Fakhruh ayakoona Kufra. Nabiya Kering's also
said,
poverty leads to disbelief.
So is it not our responsibility
to play a role with regard to unemployment?
Nabiya Karim allatala in the Quran says,
Wealth must not be concentrated only in the
health of the wealthy people.
Just as Allah tells us to establish salat,
this is also an ayat of the Holy
Quran. What are we doing with regard to
realizing that particular objective? The high incidence of
crime with regard and also with regard to
service delivery, and I can go on making
mention. Let me just come come to the
conclusion. Many years ago, Maran Abdullah Qapadri, one
of our great scholars, came to the Jamiat
office, and he said a very amazing thing.
He said
democracy, which might not be the the ideal,
and we believe that Islamic system is ideal,
works
on the basis of you being on the
table and making your voices heard.
He said not every time your voices will
be heard and not every time you will
gain success, but if you are not on
the table, and if you are not part
of the solution,
and if you are not making your voices
heard, you are not gonna get anywhere.
So we need to be making our voices
heard. We know that this particular election
is build as one of the most important
since the dawn of the current dispensation.
For the first time, it is it is
suggested
that the ruling party might not get a
a majority. This has tremendous impact and consequences.
I, from this particular member, cannot be telling
you who you must be voting for. But
what we can be able to tell you
is look at what is happening.
More crucially,
the implication on national policies
that impact upon manifestes of our life that
has the potential of changing our condition for
better or
worse. We are seeing situations have been calling
upon Islam of 4 weeks statements.
And here one thing we must be very
clear, that any one of the things that
is a litmus test,
any party that has been complicit,
that has been silent
with regard to the genocide that is happening
against our brothers
and sisters in genocide,
anyone
who has been silent and complicit, and has
been saying statements in favor of the oppressor,
we cannot vote for such a party.
I'm not saying you must vote for the
other party, but you cannot vote with a
clear conscience
against a party that is supporting genocide of
our Muslim brothers and sisters.
Obviously, you can have look in various things.
I'm not again once again saying you can
look for example
that one party has been weak in in
service delivery.
And we all have to acknowledge it, that
the ruling party has made a mess of
the country as far as it's fulfilling its
obligations,
as far as bringing unemployment to an end,
with regard to corruption, with regard to service
delivery. It has
received worldwide acclaim from muslims and non muslims
with regard to its standards of Palestine. Do
you make that the sole criteria for making
it a vote? It is something that you
should consider. I'm not saying that it is
a sole criteria. Perhaps you could also look
at that is there a party that can
hold
any governing party to accountability
to see that it does not become corrupt,
and it fulfill its mandate of doing something
for the betterment of
the community and the society that you are
living in? You know, we have such a
limited time. I'll try to cover as next
many things as possible. But one thing I
would just like to add that, you know,
we need to understand we need to become
active citizens.
You cannot sit in your isolation and say
that this is happening bad, this is happening
bad, and you make no effort with regard
to it. Once in a time of our
beloved, Nabiya Karim SAW, and I will conclude
with this example, there was a loud noise
you know, with fear, with trepidation,
with apprehensiveness,
what greeted them?
The beloved of
Our beloved Nabiya Karim was on horseback,
and he told the people of Madinah who
remain in your homes, I went to go
and see the source of the noise. There
is nothing to be a fear about.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
Are we as active
with regard to the situation of our community?
They were our beloved Nabi al Khareem SAW
was? When we talk about the sunnah, is
this not the sunnah of our beloved Nabi
al Khareem SAW? There was a noise. There
was something that was of apprehensiveness.
There was something of fear, whether it be
cry or whatever. Nabi Ibrahim was first to
go and see what it is. May Allah
give us the understanding with regard to our
rights and responsibility
to the community
that you and I and the society you
and I are living in.
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