What is your opinion on participating in elections and parliaments for the sake of reform, taking an interest in politics, and knowing the schemes and tricks of the enemies?

The questioner : The questioner says here: “O our Shaykh, if you please, we hear that you do not support da'wah workers engaging in politics. Is the intention behind this: electoral issues, entering parliaments, and attempting reform through this path? And does everyone who takes an interest in politics, knowing its tricks, schemes, and the enemies' plots, fall into this category that you do not favor? Or is taking an interest in this type of politics a collective obligation (fard kifayah)?"

The Shaykh : It is the latter, without a doubt. Knowing the conditions of the Muslims, the conditions of the Muslims' enemies, and so on, is without a doubt a collective obligation (fard kifayah). If some people fulfill it, it drops off the rest. This is done by some people, just like all other sciences. Naturally, it is known that the obligatory sciences are many, and very many. And no single individual, no matter how high he rises, how much knowledge, intelligence, and acumen he is given, can gather all the sciences in his mind, in his time, and in his lifespan, no matter how long it is. Until the Syrian proverb applies to him, in which some people exaggerate when describing some scholars: “So-and-so is a scholar like a Chinese plate; from wherever you hit it, it rings.” This is nonsense! Rather, knowledge is specialization. So there are religious sciences, and there are other sciences. Of these religious sciences, some are only an individual obligation (fard 'ayn), which is what relates to people who are obligated with some duties but not others. For example, every Muslim who has reached the age of maturity is obligated to pray, so he must know how to pray, and he must know what relates to the conditions and pillars of prayer. But if he is a poor man, he is not obligated to pay zakah, nor is he obligated to perform Hajj; it is not an obligation for him to learn the rulings of zakah and the rulings of Hajj. But he is obligated to fast, which is like prayer; he must know the rulings of fasting, what breaks the fast and what does not, when it begins and when it ends, and so on. Leave aside the other sciences, among which is politics. What relates to knowing the reality of the Islamic world and the Western world that opposes Islam is an obligation of a collective nature (fard kifayah). But entering parliaments and forming parties, we certainly do not support this. Rather, we mean the last word in politics, except that we see that no.
The student : ... .

The Shaykh : We see that those who work in politics should not independently understand the religious rulings that relate to politics, except by seeking the help of those who have knowledge of fiqh and knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah. And for that reason, I believe, and I do not think anyone would disagree with this if he distances himself from following his desires, that the scholars of the Muslims, in their totality, are the ones who fulfill the performance of these obligations. But the Islamic benefit for the general Muslims is not realized except by the cooperation of these people with different specializations in the sciences. As for if, for example, a doctor in his medicine does not ask, for example, whether the test-tube baby is forbidden or not, he does not ask whether population control is permissible or not, and so on. This is his seeking of knowledge not for the sake of religion and fulfilling a collective obligation as we said, but rather... to make a living. All professions are from the collective obligations (fard kifayah) as long as they are permissible, but with this condition of cooperation with the people of knowledge.
The student : ... .

The Shaykh : With the people of knowledge.
This is all I have.