Is the command for obligation in His saying, the Exalted: “And consult them in the matter,” and is it in its generality for every jihad and in all matters?

The questioner : Our Shaykh, His saying, the Exalted: , is the command for obligation, and is it in its generality for every jihad and in all matters?

The Shaykh : First, the command is for obligation without doubt or ambiguity, based on the well-known jurisprudential principle that “the default for every command is obligation unless there is an indicator that shifts the command from obligation to recommendation.” As for whether it means it is general for all people, naturally, that is not the case. Before I explain why it is not the case, I want to draw your attention to a point of correct jurisprudence that one should be mindful of and not get entangled in some principles that are not in their generality and comprehensiveness. Among these is that any command, indeed any text in the Book of Allah or in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), must be interpreted in light of the application of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of this text. Just as the Messenger applied it, we must apply it. It is not permissible for us to bring new concepts to old texts, knowing that these new concepts have not been practiced by the Muslims. Now, the example in the verse you asked about: . This is an absolute text, and it is possible for the people of parliaments and those who get entangled in and claim affiliation with them—and they may call the Islam they use as evidence for parliament with such a verse “democratic Islam”—and the greatest proof is that He said to the Messenger: . Is the intended meaning here in His saying, the Exalted: , every individual of the Ummah? This, first of all, is something that does not occur to the mind of a sane Muslim who imagines the impossibility of applying this text with such broad comprehensiveness: every individual, meaning whether male or female, whether knowledgeable or ignorant. I do not want to say whether Muslim or dhimmi, because ; meaning, this Islamic society in which this noble Prophet lived, who was directly addressed by this text, no one comes to mind with this broad, comprehensive meaning with the detail I mentioned earlier. So, we must lower ourselves a bit from this expansion and comprehensiveness we mentioned to what is narrower than what can be applied practically. At that point, the text must be interpreted , meaning some of them, not all of them, because all of them is not possible as you imagined earlier. Then also—and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah—then this “some” must be halved or filtered from us, also, a portion of it, and that is by saying, naturally, I am now studying theoretically, and finally, I will connect you to the reality that the Messenger (peace be upon him) lived with his Companions in the scope of his application of this noble verse. We said, then, “some” and not “all,” because “all” is practically impossible. Second: We say this “some” must be halved or filtered from it, so we say, for example: the scholars and people of opinion, and not the general “some” who have no knowledge and no opinion. Obviously, we must understand this meaning, because it is not reasonable that the Messenger (peace be upon him) is commanded to consult the foolish people who have no minds and no opinion. Notice how we are now moving from the imagination to what? To reality. So we say, then, it must be that the intended command in this verse is specific to a group of people who are from the people of knowledge and opinion, from whom benefit is derived from their consultation. Now, the same previous question we raised earlier, which was very obvious that it was theoretical and not practical: all people, Muslims or disbelievers? No, Muslims only. All Muslims, women and men? No. Now we have reached the people of knowledge and opinion. Is it possible to consult all the people of knowledge and opinion? There are Muslims in Madinah, there are Muslims in Makkah, there are Muslims in Ta’if, there, there, and so on. Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), whenever a matter arose, gather the people of knowledge and people of consultation from different lands? This also requires what? We must remove it from our minds, because this is not practical. And we always and forever take pride in the fact that Islam, in its perfection and virtues, is practical, not theoretical, not imaginary, and not idealistic, as they say today that idealism is not applied. So, within the limits of this possibility, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) consulted his noble Companions. Did he even include his wives, who are his wives, and is it sufficient that he took their opinion in matters concerning the Muslims? Or did he suffice with consulting the men around him, such as the four Caliphs and the rest of the ten promised Paradise, and similar Companions who had a firm standing in Islam and in defending Islam? He did not consult his wives (peace be upon him), but nevertheless, he accepted their opinion in some cases without directing himself to consult them or it occurring to his mind (peace be upon him) to consult them.

The questioner: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy and blessings of Allah. So, we have removed many broad, imaginary meanings, and the intended meaning has descended to: “Consult the people of opinion and the people of knowledge who are around you.” This verse means this meaning. And if we know this meaning that the Messenger (peace be upon him) applied practically, then it is not permissible for us at that point to take from this verse that Islam approves of democracy, approves of the system of general elections, takes the opinion of men and women, takes the opinion of the righteous and the wicked, but takes the opinion of the believer and the disbeliever. This is the farthest from understanding this verse in light of the application of the Messenger (peace be upon him) of it. And I hope you pay serious attention to this observation: that every text that came in the Book or in the Sunnah must be interpreted in light of the application of the Messenger of it, otherwise you will bring a new religion that no one, even the innovators, can say with this religion, even though it is based on Sharia texts.