What is the Muslim's position regarding elections?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Another question, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : In the midst of the upcoming elections, what should the Muslim do?
The Shaykh : He should advise every Muslim who nominates himself not to burn himself with his own fire. Did you understand the answer?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, but there is a continuation, and perhaps you will be patient with me. Of course, not everyone who gives advice seeks advice, right?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, some may respond to such advice, and some may not, and the latter are the majority.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, the voter should choose what I call the greater good, or rather, I say, the lesser evil.
The questioner : The lesser evil.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : To vote for him or advise him.
The Shaykh : First, advise him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : That he should not nominate himself, because he will not be able to do anything in these parliaments that are based on a contradiction of the Shari'ah of Allah.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But if he does not seek advice and does not accept the advice, then from the perspective of choosing the lesser of two evils and the lighter of two harms, we choose the believer.
The questioner : That we nominate the Islamic movement, for example.
The Shaykh : By saying the believer, and this has details. If we have two candidates, one is a Salafi, and this does not exist even today, and I hope it will not exist.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : One is a Salafi and the other is a Khalafi, and you want to vote based on the method I mentioned to you earlier: you advised him, but he did not seek advice, so you vote for the Salafi over the Khalafi. Then you go down a level: one of the Muslim Brotherhood and one of the Ba'athists or communists. It is obligatory for you to choose the Muslim over the communist Ba'athist, and so on. These levels cannot be enumerated in such a hasty answer, but the jurisprudential rule is that if a Muslim falls between two evils, he chooses the one with the lesser harm.
The questioner : I mean, but if we bring them to parliament, am I a partner in their sin?
The Shaykh : No, no. After you have given the advice, you are not a partner.
The questioner : But should I not completely withdraw from the matter, so that I do not vote or...?
The Shaykh : And what do you do with the rule? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : The rule of the lighter of two harms.
The Shaykh : Yes, what do you do with it?
The questioner : Fine, we do not want the Islamists to reach parliament either.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. You are now doubling up. You did not understand that we do not want this either. Why do you not speak?
The questioner : Because I did not hear your question.
The Shaykh : Strange. You do not know that we also do not want the Islamists to enter parliament.
The questioner : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : Did you understand or not?
The questioner : I understood.
The Shaykh : Then why do you say about yourself what I told you about myself, as if I am asking, "What is your opinion?" We agree on this, but it seems we are not in agreement on adopting the rule of the lighter of two harms.
The questioner : May Allah make us in agreement.
The Shaykh : May Allah make us in agreement!
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : In the midst of the upcoming elections, what should the Muslim do?
The Shaykh : He should advise every Muslim who nominates himself not to burn himself with his own fire. Did you understand the answer?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, but there is a continuation, and perhaps you will be patient with me. Of course, not everyone who gives advice seeks advice, right?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, some may respond to such advice, and some may not, and the latter are the majority.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, the voter should choose what I call the greater good, or rather, I say, the lesser evil.
The questioner : The lesser evil.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : To vote for him or advise him.
The Shaykh : First, advise him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : That he should not nominate himself, because he will not be able to do anything in these parliaments that are based on a contradiction of the Shari'ah of Allah.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But if he does not seek advice and does not accept the advice, then from the perspective of choosing the lesser of two evils and the lighter of two harms, we choose the believer.
The questioner : That we nominate the Islamic movement, for example.
The Shaykh : By saying the believer, and this has details. If we have two candidates, one is a Salafi, and this does not exist even today, and I hope it will not exist.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : One is a Salafi and the other is a Khalafi, and you want to vote based on the method I mentioned to you earlier: you advised him, but he did not seek advice, so you vote for the Salafi over the Khalafi. Then you go down a level: one of the Muslim Brotherhood and one of the Ba'athists or communists. It is obligatory for you to choose the Muslim over the communist Ba'athist, and so on. These levels cannot be enumerated in such a hasty answer, but the jurisprudential rule is that if a Muslim falls between two evils, he chooses the one with the lesser harm.
The questioner : I mean, but if we bring them to parliament, am I a partner in their sin?
The Shaykh : No, no. After you have given the advice, you are not a partner.
The questioner : But should I not completely withdraw from the matter, so that I do not vote or...?
The Shaykh : And what do you do with the rule? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : The rule of the lighter of two harms.
The Shaykh : Yes, what do you do with it?
The questioner : Fine, we do not want the Islamists to reach parliament either.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. You are now doubling up. You did not understand that we do not want this either. Why do you not speak?
The questioner : Because I did not hear your question.
The Shaykh : Strange. You do not know that we also do not want the Islamists to enter parliament.
The questioner : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : Did you understand or not?
The questioner : I understood.
The Shaykh : Then why do you say about yourself what I told you about myself, as if I am asking, "What is your opinion?" We agree on this, but it seems we are not in agreement on adopting the rule of the lighter of two harms.
The questioner : May Allah make us in agreement.
The Shaykh : May Allah make us in agreement!
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.