What is the ruling on some of the brothers entering politics in Algeria? Is this action wrong?

The questioner : I mean, the brothers in Algeria, their work, and their entry into the political arena, is this a mistake?

The Shaykh : We do not advise, we do not advise working in politics in these days in any of the lands of Islam, because those who want to engage in political work must have been raised on Islam with a correct upbringing. And just now, in the brief answer, I said that the foundation is purification and upbringing. Have you found a group—let us say twelve thousand, or rather, let us be satisfied initially with one thousand—who were taught the correct Islamic education, i.e., the purified one, whether it relates to creed, worship, or conduct, and were raised on it for a long period of time, and gathered until they were on the heart of one man? In my knowledge, I do not find these people on the face of the earth today. If they enter into political work, politics will drag them into personal ambitions, and that will be a cause and reason for being preoccupied with the da'wah, which is first the correct education, and then the correct upbringing. So we do not find today a town or a village in which there are a thousand men who have spent many years with scholars—not just one scholar, but scholars—and who are engaged in both purification and upbringing. And so I said in some of the answers directed to me, and I repeat it: I see today that leaving politics is the way to go. I do not mean that there is no politics in Islam, and how so, when Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah composed his famous and well-known treatise known as *Al-Siyasah al-Shar'iyyah* (The Political System in Islam). But I want from this that we not anticipate the results before we achieve the prerequisites. Otherwise, the wisdom that some people say applies exactly today: "Whoever hastens a thing before its time is afflicted with its deprivation." Then, we, especially we Salafis, always dwell on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) engage in politics at the beginning of his mission, or in the da'wah? The agreed-upon answer is the da'wah. But the thing that many Islamic preachers overlook, let alone others, is that they do not observe the difference between the knowledge that was revealed immediately from the sky to the heart of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) directly, and then he would transfer it from his mouth to the ears of the Companions, and then raise them on it for many long years. The Islamic preachers today do not observe the difference between that time and our present time. We have inherited, with great regret, an Islam that is not the Islam that was revealed to the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather we inherited a mixed Islam, blended with things from which Islam disavows itself. And I think that you and all the attendees are in no need of elaboration and giving examples, especially in what relates to creed, then worship, then conduct. So today, if we want to do political work as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) began it in the Medinan period, we must achieve the first step, which is obligatory upon us today, without which it is impossible, and that is purification. Islam at that time was purified; today it is not purified. So if we want to purify Islam, and for it to bear its first fruit, it must return to its original state in its purity and cleanness. This is from the perspective of knowledge. Then, this knowledge must be coupled with the upbringing of those to whom it is called, an upbringing that may take many long years. In my opinion, all the Islamic groups today that strive for political work and political organization overlook or are ignorant of this, and as they say, the bitterer of the two is bitter. So, the day when thousands of Muslims gather on this purified Islam, which has not yet been presented to any group, and the day when they raise this group on this purified Islam, then we will have begun the nucleus for political work. Yes.