What is the correct stance toward what is happening in elections, whether at the state level or at a smaller level, such as university unions and the like?

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
This is also related to the Sudanese questions. The first question asks: What is the correct stance toward what is happening in elections, whether at the state level or at a smaller level, such as university unions and the like?

The Shaykh : If participating in elections, and you have heard of the various types of them, necessitates violating the Shari'ah and being swept along with the current that deviates from the Book and the Sunnah, then the answer is self-evident: it is not permissible to participate in such elections. Personally, I can say that state elections are something in which many young Muslims get involved, thinking that by doing so they are doing good. They may even frankly admit that those who enter these avenues may fall into violating the Shari'ah, but they justify it by saying it is necessary, as if they are saying: "the end justifies the means". There is certainly no such principle in our Islamic religion. Furthermore, this participation anticipates results that we want to be the effect of the da'wah, whose path is what we referred to earlier, which we alluded to as "purification and education". However, if the participation is in elections in some universities or the like, and I do not know what happens among people there, if no Shari'ah violation results from it, we see no harm in it. These are newly introduced means, and these newly introduced means, as long as they have no connection to acts of worship, meaning: adding to the religion, we see no barrier to them, because in this case they fall under the category of unrestricted public interests. So, if the participation of young Muslims in such elections in universities and the like, which I do not know to have violations unlike state elections, if no harm results from it, then I see no barrier to participating in these elections if they achieve a Shari'ah benefit, because they are not from the devotional acts, but from the customary acts, and the original ruling for customary acts is permissibility, unless they violate a Shari'ah ruling.

The questioner : Okay, Shaykh, if participating in these unions, the university unions, if it results in the same union having systems where they discuss whoever comes to them, whether it is a woman or a man, and this is from

The Shaykh : What do they discuss?

The questioner : They discuss the principles of the union and their work, so there is a general committee, and an uncovered, naked woman comes out.

The Shaykh : You did not take the answer from my words. May Allah forgive you, I am saying it with such and such a condition.

The questioner : To clarify, I am saying this because you do not know about the unions, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : That is true, but as for me, I have given the answer. But if you see a person who wants, for example, to join, tell him such and such, considering that you know. But if I were to issue a general ruling of permissibility, may Allah reward you with good for alerting me. But I have set a restriction and a condition. So in the case you are describing, participating in these elections is like participating in the first type of elections.

The questioner : Does it not also result in harm, Shaykh, like these things, where the members of the union themselves are forced, they tell you: what is in it? When you spread your da'wah to this uncovered woman and call her and explain to her, meaning, your methodology and show her things, and she is, may Allah protect us, an uncovered, fallen woman, meaning, just talking to her is a fitnah.

The Shaykh : And from this door, some people permit entering mixed universities.

The questioner : Yes, I do.

The Shaykh : Okay, and in that case, we say: these people who permit these things are as if they have taken a guarantee from Allah that, in terms of not being affected by mixing with girls and women, they are in a guarantee and in safety. So we say to these people: O brothers, save yourselves, take care of yourselves before you try to benefit other people. Take care of yourselves. And how is the taking care of oneself done?
It is as they say in some colloquial proverbs: "stay away from evil and sing to it". And this is not a colloquial meaning; it is taken from the Shari'ah of Allah. From that is His saying, peace and blessings be upon him: And in another narration: . There is no doubt that this young man is dragging in evil, as this great authentic hadith chains together. And evidence of that is that those who say it is permissible to reform these disbelieving, sinful women will fall into another predicament, and that he permits himself to shake hands with the woman, he shakes her hand so that the woman does not say these are reactionaries and harsh people, and so on. So if they must be soft with the fairer sex, what must they do? They permit themselves to shake hands, and this is a reality, because evil, O brothers, does not come in a sudden burst. Satan, in his cunning toward the children of Adam, brings the small evil, as the poet said in some of his poems:
"And most of the fire is from the small sparks"
A small spark can burn a country, from its beginning to its end. The hadith says: In some narrations, outside the authentic collections with an authentic chain: . So when the Muslim, or some young Muslim, opens the door of evil for himself from the door of "the end justifies the means", the doors of evil are opened upon him in a way that they cannot be closed afterwards, like a flood that was contained by a solid dam, so when this dam is removed, it sweeps away everything in front of it completely. A poet of Egypt in his time, the famous Shawqi, took from this authentic hadith and expressed the meaning of this great hadith in verse:
"A glance, then a smile, then a greeting *** Then a word, then an appointment, then a meeting"
The greater evil came! Therefore, I believe that it is obligatory for us to hold fast to the firm rope that has no break, to hold fast to our Shari'ah in its entirety, from its beginning to its end, and not to justify violations for ourselves on the pretext that we are presenting good to others at our expense, meaning: making ourselves the scapegoat. And this has many types. For example, some young Muslims in many countries, in Jordan, in Syria, and elsewhere, as we know, permit the woman to study medicine mixed with young men and with the professors of medicine, and so on. When it is said that this is not permissible, this is ikhtilat, and especially since this woman or the student who wants to seek knowledge may have her head stuck to the head of what? The doctor, the teacher, the professor, the trainer, and the like, they say we must bear these problems in order to get rid of a greater problem, which is that today we need female doctors. This is a valid claim, because we are often forced to expose our women and daughters to whom? To men. And this is not permissible Islamically.
So, in order to save ourselves from this Shari'ah violation, we must produce and graduate female Muslim doctors. We say this is obligatory, and "what is not completed without is obligatory". But what is not completed without, even if it is haram? The answer is no. What is not completed by the means that are permissible by Shari'ah, then performing it is obligatory.
A man who is unable to walk to perform Hajj is excused from the individual obligation of Hajj. However, we look to see if he is able to perform Hajj using one of the means of transport that Allah has created, whether old or new, such as riding an animal, a car, or an airplane. If he is able, and the obligatory act cannot be performed except by using these means, then it becomes obligatory for him to do so, because using these means does not contradict the Shari'ah. As for sending Muslim female doctors using forbidden means, we may expose our daughters, our wives, or our female relatives to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) in order to fulfill an obligation through an unlawful path. This is not permissible. I continue to say, in accordance with the first opinion, that there must be Muslim female doctors. However, the difference is that I say it is a reality, and there is absolutely no disagreement on the fact that the mukallafin (those accountable for religious duties), both men and women, are not all on the same level in their taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and in their adherence to the rulings of Allah's Shari'ah. Some are resolute and strive to ensure that no religious ruling is missed as much as they are able. Others are less so. And some do not care about any of the rulings of the Shari'ah, except that he is a Muslim or she is a Muslim. We should make room for this last group, because they do not prohibit what is forbidden or permit what is unlawful. So let them be the sacrificial lambs, not our women and daughters. We do not sacrifice our women and daughters to fulfill that obligation at the expense of our religion, our creed, and our Shari'ah. We make room for them, contrary to what some people say. For example, we need goldsmiths to work with gold, and in this profession there are many violations of the Shari'ah. For some reason, you find that in most Islamic countries, the goldsmiths are Christians or Jews. Why? Because the Muslims were adhering to the rulings of their Shari'ah, so they made room for some professions that involve committing violations of the Shari'ah for those who do not prohibit [what is forbidden], as Allah the Exalted said: . Some people who claim to be reformers say: No, economically it is not permissible to make room for some professions to be controlled by non-Muslims. They also say this regarding medicine, for example, that non-Muslim women [should be used]. We say: Non-Muslim women are exactly like men regarding the treatment of patients. That is, a Muslim woman presents herself to a Muslim man such that she is forced to expose her 'awrah (the part of the body that must be covered), just as if she presented herself to a Christian female doctor. This confirms that we are in need of Muslim female doctors. But the question is about the means: Is it permissible for the means to involve committing what Allah has forbidden? We say: No. So how is the problem solved, since you agree with us on the necessity of having Muslim female doctors? We say: The field is open for those who do not prohibit or permit [what is forbidden]. Then comes the role of the woman who graduated as a doctor; she learns and graduates alongside our Muslim women and daughters without exposing them to falling into problems, what is called today "sex." Perhaps I have strayed far from the question. The point is: Elections are, in their essence, non-Islamic means. But we do not reject these means completely and absolutely, just as we do not accept them completely and absolutely. Rather, we say: Whatever among these means achieves a legitimate Shari'ah benefit or a permissible personal purpose, we adopt it. But if it leads to what is contrary to the Shari'ah, we reject it completely and absolutely.
Other than that?