If elections are not permissible, how does one attain authority and establish the Islamic state?

The questioner : Why are elections not permissible? And how does one establish the Muslim state?

The Shaykh : This is a long topic. I will say briefly that elections are a European, polytheistic, and idolatrous method, because they are based on disagreement with the Islamic methodology in many matters. Among these is the fact that the saying of Allah the Exalted: does not include all Muslims, whether good or bad, knowledgeable or ignorant. Rather, it refers to the special ones among them in terms of faith, knowledge, understanding, and awareness of people's conditions and their needs. Furthermore, this noble verse, which is the basis for the council of consultation (shura), does not mean the believer and the disbeliever. As for the known elections, they do not distinguish first between a Muslim and a disbeliever, and second, a fortiori, they do not distinguish between the righteous believer and the wicked believer, or between the knowledgeable believer and the ignorant believer. This is a known and observed reality in all states that adopt the system of elections in the manner of parliaments. Therefore, we believe that it is not permissible for the Muslim state to follow the way of these polytheists, whom it is correct for us to address with the saying of the Lord of the Worlds: As for how Islamic life can be resumed and the Muslim state established, this is in fact one of the most important issues occupying the minds of Islamic preachers today. Unfortunately, they differ greatly in this matter. From our standpoint, based on the saying of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in all his sermons: we see that resuming Islamic life and establishing the Muslim state must be done in the same manner as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did, until Allah established him and his Companions on earth, established the state of Islam, and eliminated the state of disbelief. For us, this is summarized in two words, and explaining them requires many lectures. There are repeated recordings detailing these two words, which are purification and education. Purifying Islam from what has entered it in all aspects: what concerns beliefs, what concerns spiritual refinements, what concerns hadiths—distinguishing the authentic from the weak—and what concerns jurisprudence and the opinions that have entered it which contradict the explicit Sunnah. Finally, purifying Islam from Sufism, which contains many deviations, the most dangerous of which is the claim of the unity of existence. This claim is disbelief by the consensus of Muslim scholars, but unfortunately, it coincides with the view of some Islamic sects that still exist in our time. They are those who, when asked the Prophetic question say, "Allah is everywhere." This is the idea of the unity of existence. In that case, it is necessary to purify this religion from these foreign matters. This is a brief summary of the details I mentioned. The second thing I said was purification and education. Education: educating Muslims in this purified Islam. When Muslims proceed with this purification and educate themselves and their families accordingly, then the signs of realizing the Islamic society will begin to appear, followed by the establishment of the Muslim state. As for leaving everything as we have inherited it, containing both the chaff and the grain as they say, it is like a medicine in which the disease has been mixed. If it does not increase the patient's illness, it will not bring about a cure. This is like Islam if it is not purified from what has entered it, as I briefly mentioned earlier. Yes.