Discussion on the issue of entering parliaments before reforming the people. (Discussion)

The Shaykh : The one who wants to enter parliament first, right now, I ask you: since you are keen on entering parliament.
The student : No, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Or a license, excuse me, I made a mistake and I withdraw my words. Since you are keen on saying that entering parliament is permissible, is this expression correct? If it is a mistake, I will also retract it.
The student : I am keen to hear your opinion, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Politics, politics. Did you work in politics in your time?
The student : I am a graduate from America, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : A graduate from America.

The Shaykh : Like this, my brother. You are keen, do you think well of me or ill? You are not as keen as you are. What do you say? I am as keen as you.
The student : ... Your laughter, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : ... From your laughter in the answer.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. I am as keen as you, meaning, just as you want to hear from me, I want to hear from you. So why do you withhold from me?
The student : This talk is politics.

The Shaykh : How? But we do not deny all politics. We said, and it was taken against us that we said: "Of politics is abandoning politics." Is that correct or not?
The student : With the addition of the word "now," my Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student : With the addition of the word "now."

The Shaykh : That is, of course, and therefore I say I do not deny politics.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : So if you now ask, is this from politics? Yes, there is Shari'ah politics, there is non-Shari'ah politics, and so on. So my being polite with the manners of the Qur'an , you want to hear good from me, so what is my position toward you? Do I not want to hear good from you? Say it is politics.
The student: Of course.

The Shaykh : I will say Shari'ah politics. May Allah bless you. The scholar...
The student : Shaykh, regarding that, please go ahead.

The Shaykh : The Muslim world today is living in a wave of serious ideological misguidance, and not just the common people, but the elite. And from the elite is our brother 'Abd al-Rahman and his like in many Islamic countries. Here now in Yemen, there is a huge, huge movement—you know this Arabic language which we acquired from you and learned from you—huge and intense in entering parliament. My brother, my research just now, and I have returned to it, those who want to enter parliament first: one is not enough, two, three, five is not enough. Second: this number must have the strength in parliament and be able to influence it, so it must be a large number. And this large number must be a knowledgeable number regarding what is permissible in Islam and what is not permissible. As for following the rulings by launching from the premise that we think many Islamic callers are falling into, whether they like it or not, which is: "The end justifies the means." The end justifies the means! We enter parliament, we walk ten so that one walks, ten from the misguided so that we save one from misguidance and walk him on the line. Until when? The parliament disperses, and the premise, as it was said, "Can the shadow be straight while the pole is crooked?" Many sects from parliamentary parties entered and returned with empty hands, or rather, they did not even return with empty hands. Why? Because the large number of disbelievers and the system based on the majority of votes does not help the Muslims to succeed. When will they succeed? When they establish the premise, when they raise the people on Islam. This people, then, if there is something in Islam called a parliament, this people is the one who will establish the Majlis al-Shura, which is known in Islam from the people of knowledge, virtue, and righteousness. As for... by Allah, I am in the greatest wonder. If we leave the scientific research aside for now, if the success of the candidate himself to be a member of parliament is based on the number of votes, and if the majority of the people is corruption and not righteousness, who will succeed? Tell me, in the agreed-upon manner, who will succeed?
The student : There is no doubt, my Shaykh, meaning, the Islamic direction may succeed.

The Shaykh : Political talk.
The student : No, my Shaykh, allow me.

The Shaykh : Political talk.
The student : No, my Shaykh, but allow me.

The Shaykh : Political talk.
The student : Wait for me a little. I derived it from your words when you spoke to me about the screening. The common people may know these are people of right, but they are not raised, meaning they do not care. They are righteous in this concept, but they know these are on good and these are on misguidance. They may choose from the people of righteousness. My Shaykh, even from the open sinners and...

The Shaykh : Did you understand from me, when I said "political talk," what I mean? I tell you in advance, no. And if my answer was correct, you should have asked "Why?" But even so, I did not understand what I mean by saying you are speaking political talk. You continued in your talk. Do you know why I said your talk is political?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Political talk repeats, it shortens the talk, it shortens it, it stretches it a little, it stretches it more and more, and so on. You say "may be, may be," this is met with its sister. Do you understand my talk now?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, what is the benefit of this talk? My question was: the current Kuwaiti society, the Algerian society, where people were found supporting the entry of Muslims into parliament. This society, the society in which the candidate succeeds by a large number of votes, is this society dominated by righteousness or corruption? That was my question. You started saying "may be, may be." What is this? Is it dominated by righteousness or corruption?
The student : It is not dominated by righteousness, but its nature...

The Shaykh : Look, it is not dominated by righteousness. Why do you not say, my brother, it is dominated by corruption? May Allah guide you.
The student : ...

The Shaykh : And you tell me later "wait," and until when do I wait?
The student : ...

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : In both cases, Algeria once...

The Shaykh : The research is not here.
The student : ...

The Shaykh : No, the research is not here.
The student : ... So he is from the people of corruption.

The Shaykh : No problem, my brother, because this has consequences, but when my friend puts a stick in the wheel, the wheel does not move.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : The majority now, in any country, is it righteousness in the people or corruption?
The student : Corruption.

The Shaykh : Do you have any doubt about this?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Since you said regarding Algeria this... Okay, now, what is the Prophetic methodology? Is it attempting to reform this society and turn it until it is called a righteous society? The bitter truth turns into the sweet truth. The bitter truth is that the small or large or great society, and so on. The bitter truth is that this society is corrupt. The Syrian society is corrupt, the Egyptian society is corrupt, the Kuwaiti society is corrupt, the Algerian society is corrupt. Count as many societies as you wish, even the holiest country where the hadith came: Did you hear this hadith?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : This hadith is invalid, it has no basis, but... the fools of Makkah, heh heh. May Allah bless you. The research now: any society where some of its elite say that it is prescribed, or obligatory, or that the Muslim state cannot stand unless the Muslim elite enter these parliaments. These people first are not nominated by the people, because the people are corrupt. And this corrupt people, as we return to your words, may nominate people who support his idea, his idea that it remains like this, living the life of animals, freedom, they call it democracy and the like. But when they know that there are young men who want to impose hijab on women, who want to impose the banning of bars and pubs, and open sinfulness in the apparent and the hidden, and so on. Yes, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Now we say this is what responds to the nomination of righteous people for themselves. They may succeed and they may not succeed. But if they continue in calling the people of the society to Islam, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did, is their continuation in this calling in accordance with the methodology of the Messenger in his calling, or in opposition to it?
The student : In accordance.

The Shaykh : In accordance. Is their entering parliament in accordance?
The student : This is the point of the question.

The Shaykh : Yes, but I ask because I know the point of disagreement. Is entering a parliament that declares that it rules based on a constitution not established on Islam... very difficult.
The student : ... .

The Shaykh : The entry of righteous Muslims and sincere scholars into parliaments is, in my view, entirely similar to if the Messenger (peace be upon him) had entered the clubs of the polytheists and accommodated them in some of their acts of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and misguidance. This is what Allah refuted in the previous verse: ; whereas experience has proven that when Islamists enter parliaments, they do not benefit at all, because as it was said: Can the shadow be straight while the stick is crooked? We now reject entering parliaments for two reasons: First, it is contrary to the methodology of the Prophethood and the Message. The Messenger did not begin by reforming society by accommodating the rulers who rule by other than what Allah has revealed; rather, he began by calling to the worship of Allah alone, having no partner, in the broad sense known to every Muslim monotheist, which includes tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). And naturally, this includes . Therefore, entering parliament before reforming the society in which the true Muslim caller lives is premature. And so, the Messenger remained steadfast in the call in Makkah, as you know, for thirteen years, then he migrated to al-Madinah, where he found the core upon which he built their upbringing, teaching them their religion and nurturing them in the rulings of that Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) that had been revealed up to that day.