The ruling on one who replaces the rulings of the Shari'ah with democracy
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Question:
We conclude with this question. The questioner says: It is known that one who replaces the rulings of the Shari'ah entirely with democracy commits disbelief in general, but in the case of specific designation, does he need to consider this democracy lawful, or does he commit disbelief merely by the replacement?
Answer:
The scholars mentioned[Al-Ma'idah 5:44] [Al-Hujurat 49:11] [An-Nur 24:55] and they said: If one rules by other than what Allah has revealed while believing that it is better than what Allah has revealed, then he is a disbeliever, committing major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels him from the religion. Or if he believes he has the choice to rule by what Allah has revealed or by other than it, then he is also a disbeliever, committing major shirk that expels him from the religion. If he believes that the law (man-made legislation) is better than the Shari'ah, he is a disbeliever by consensus. If he believes that the two are equal, he is also a disbeliever by consensus. As for the one who rules by other than what Allah has revealed out of desire (hawa), he knows that what Allah has revealed is the truth and he believes in it, but his desire leads him to rule by other than what Allah has revealed, or his love of money leads him to take a bribe and rule by other than what Allah has revealed for the sake of the bribe, while he believes that what Allah has revealed is the truth; then this is minor shirk. His disbelief is minor shirk, and he is a committer of a major sin among the major sins, but he is not declared a disbeliever. This is practical fisq (open sinfulness) and practical kufr (disbelief). It is kufr below kufr, as Ibn 'Abbas said. It is obligatory for the Muslim to understand these matters. One should not take matters in a general sense and say that everyone who rules by other than what Allah has revealed is a disbeliever without distinction. No, that is not acceptable. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, bless you, and make Islam and the Muslims benefit from you.
We conclude with this question. The questioner says: It is known that one who replaces the rulings of the Shari'ah entirely with democracy commits disbelief in general, but in the case of specific designation, does he need to consider this democracy lawful, or does he commit disbelief merely by the replacement?
Answer:
The scholars mentioned
And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers.
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَthen it is those who are the wrongdoers.
فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَthen those are the defiantly disobedient.
فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَThe presenter:
May Allah reward you, bless you, and make Islam and the Muslims benefit from you.
Source
شرح أحاديث في الفتن والحوادث، باب بدأ الإسلام غريبًا وسيعود غريبًا — islamhouse.com (42:43)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.