The Correct Stance Toward What Is Happening in Elections; Whether at the State Level or at a Lower Level Such as Unions and Universities.

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 unions and universities and the like?

The Shaykh : If participating in elections—and you have heard of 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 in my opinion, many young Muslims get involved in state elections, thinking that by doing so they are doing good. They may even openly 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 matters that we want to be the result of the da'wah, whose path is what we mentioned earlier regarding "purification and education." However, if participating in elections in some universities or the like—and I do not know what benefits people from this—if it does not result in a Shari'ah violation, we see no harm in it, because these are newly introduced means. As long as these newly introduced means have no connection to acts of worship—meaning, adding to the religion—we see no obstacle in them, because in this case, they fall under the category of unrestricted public interests. If young Muslims participating in such university elections and the like, which I do not know have violations unlike state elections, if no harm results from it, then I see no obstacle to participating in these elections if they achieve a Shari'ah benefit, because they are not acts of worship but rather customary matters. The default ruling for customary matters is permissibility, unless they violate a Shari'ah ruling.

The questioner : ... resulting from entering these elections, an incident occurred in the university. If it results in the union's regulations stating that they discuss whoever comes to them, whether a woman or a man, and this...

The Shaykh : ... discuss what?

The questioner : ... in the union's principles and their work. It becomes a public committee; so an uncovered, bare woman comes out.

The Shaykh : ... in your speech, may Allah forgive you; I am saying this on the condition of such and such.

The questioner : ... a permissible image, I am saying this because you do not know the unions, O Shaykh.

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

Another questioner : ... Does it not also result in harm, O Shaykh, like these things, where a member—one of the union members themselves—says to you: What is in it? When you spread your da'wah to this uncovered woman and call her and explain to her the methodology of submission, and she is—may Allah protect us—a fallen, uncovered woman, meaning merely speaking with her is open sinfulness.

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

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : ... So, in that case, we say: These people who permit these matters 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 safety. We say to these people: O brothers, save yourselves, preserve yourselves before you try to benefit other people. Preserve yourselves. And how is the preservation of selves achieved?
It is, as is said in some common proverbs: "Stay away from evil and sing to it," and this is not a common 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 drags in evil, as this great authentic hadith chains. 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, to shake her hand until the woman says these are... reactionaries and so on. So they must be smooth with the fairer sex , so what must they do? They must 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 mankind, brings the small evil, as the poet said in some poetry:
"And most of the fire is from the small sparks that are considered insignificant."
A small spark can burn a country, from its beginning to its end. The hadith says: In some narrations outside "Sahih" with a sound chain: , so when the Muslim or some young Muslim opens the door of evil for themselves from the door of "the end justifies the means," the doors of evil are opened upon them in a way that they cannot close afterwards, like a flood that was contained by a solid dam, so when this dam is removed, it sweeps away everything before 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 speech, 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 own expense; that is, 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 women to study medicine mixed with young men and with male professors, and so on. When it is said that this is not permissible, this is mixing, especially since this woman or...The student : ... the one who wants to seek knowledge may have her head stuck to the head of what? The treating doctor, the teaching professor, and the like. They say it is necessary to 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, to save ourselves from this Shari'ah violation, we must produce and graduate Muslim female doctors. We say this is obligatory, and "what is necessary for the completion of an obligation is itself obligatory." But what is necessary for the completion of an obligation, even if it is forbidden? The answer is no. What is necessary for the completion of an obligation from the causes that are permissible by Shari'ah, then performing it is obligatory.
A man who cannot walk to Hajj; the obligation of Hajj is dropped from him. But we look: can he perform Hajj on one of the means that Allah created, old or new—on a mount, for example, or on a car or airplane? Can he? Then what is necessary for the completion of the obligation is itself obligatory, because riding these means is not a violation of the Shari'ah. But to graduate Muslim female doctors by forbidden means, we may expose our daughter or our wives or our relatives, we may expose them
The fitnah (trial) in seeking to fulfill an obligatory duty through an unlegitimate means; this is not permissible. It is necessary— I am still saying this in accordance with the first opinion— that we have female doctors. However, the difference— I am saying this— is a reality, and there is absolutely no disagreement on this: the mukallafin (those accountable to the law), both women and men, are not all on the same level in their taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and in their adherence to the rulings of the Shari'ah. Some are resolute and strive to ensure that no ruling of the Shari'ah is missed as long as they are able to do so. Some are less so. Some do not heed any of the rulings of the Shari'ah at all; they are just Muslim, or she is just Muslim. So, we open the door for this last type, because this does not prohibit or permit anything. So let it be left to them... It is not our women and daughters; we do not sacrifice our women and daughters to achieve that obligatory duty at the expense of our religion, our creed, and our Shari'ah. We open the door contrary to what some people say: "We need, for example, 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 opened the door for some professions that involve committing violations of the Shari'ah to those who do not prohibit [what is forbidden], as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: . So some people— those who claim to be reformers— say: "Economically, it is not permissible to open the door for some professions to be controlled by non-Muslims." And they say the same about medicine, for example, regarding disbelieving women. We say: Disbelieving women are exactly like men in treating patients; that is, the Muslim woman presents herself to a Muslim man such that she is forced to expose her 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), just as if she presented herself to a Christian female doctor. And this confirms that we need 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 do we solve the problem, 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 this woman who graduated as a doctor; she learns and graduates alongside our Muslim women and daughters without exposing them to falling into problems, which is called today...
So perhaps I have strayed far from the question. The point is: these 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. Rather, we say: whatever among these means achieves a legitimate Shari'ah benefit or a permissible psychological purpose, we adopt it. But if it leads to what is contrary to the Shari'ah, we reject it absolutely.
Other than that?