How do we reconcile your ruling forbidding entry into parliament with your ruling permitting the election of those who run for office?

The questioner : A question was asked regarding your ruling that it is not permissible to enter parliament, and then they ask about your statement that it is permissible to elect those who run for office in parliament?

The Shaykh : First, we do not simply state that it is permissible to elect those who run for office. There are two errors here, and glory be to Allah, "The defect of news lies in its narrators." We have been asked this often, and recently, just after we prayed in the mosque, this question was raised. My brother, we are speaking about two categories of people: The first category is the candidates themselves for the deputyship. We advise them not to do so, because first, they cannot change the existing system, and second, they may change within themselves and not respond to the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith: "The example of a bad companion is like the owner of a bellows or a blacksmith; either he burns your clothes or you smell a bad odor from him." Parliament...
The student : ...is foul.

The Shaykh : Foul, I apologize. Most of those present in parliament, we can say, are sorry, in their own selves, they do not see ruling by what Allah has revealed, and in their own selves, they do not proceed according to the Shari'ah of Allah. So, these one, two, five, or ten Muslims who were afflicted by becoming deputies in parliament, do you not see that they are influenced by this society which is not an Islamic society? Either they say yes, in response to the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ; therefore, we do not advise a Muslim to run for office in parliament. But if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): , and if you wish, I say: , and He said: , and we know for certain that this kind of advice we give to these people, many of them consider it words of no value, having no validity, and they enter parliament with their heads held high like this, thinking or acting as the common Syrian proverb says, "O earth, be firm, no one is above you." They will enter parliament and they will change things, but they will not be able to change anything. They look at this fatwa with a view that is at least described as: "This is the Shaykh's opinion," and many say: "He does not know the time he is living in," and so on. So, if we assume the best of some of them, they will enter for the sake of reform. But we are certain that they cannot reform. The reality, since about half a century ago in Egypt and Syria, and as they say, the reality is that they cannot do anything and they do not manage well. So, as long as there are people who adopt the opinion that they want to enter parliament and reform within the limits of possible reform, based on the fact that there are candidates now in a certain land, among them are Muslims and among them are non-Muslims, the second party, the voters, is necessary. We have something to say to them. The first point you know relates to the candidates themselves. To these, we say: There is a principle in the Shari'ah: If a Muslim is placed between two evils with no way out, he must choose the lesser of the two evils. Now, hundreds of people have put themselves forward in the election arena, and among them, as you mentioned, is the one who takes a title that does not honor him, and there are many like him, and very many indeed. And there are people we know of their religion, righteousness, and knowledge, but it is not necessary that they agree with us in every opinion we have. These are Muslims; I do not want to say they are from such-and-such party or such-and-such party, or that he is not a partisan, and so on. The important thing is that they are Muslims. In that case, the voters are told: Choose from these deputies, and you must choose. I say: Choose the one with the least evil. I do not say the one with the most good, because I believe that good in such an existing system is very rare to obtain, and if it is found, praise be to Allah. So, choose the one with the least evil or the one with the most good. There is no contradiction between what we say to the voters and what we say regarding the candidates themselves. People, as they say, "Take this big thing and throw it in, not knowing what is in it." This distinction is necessary. We have an opinion regarding the voter, and we have an opinion regarding the candidate himself. We tell him: Stay away, stay away . But you, O voter, you are now compelled. In the arena before you are Muslims and non-Muslims. You are not permitted to elect these non-Muslims. From these Muslims, choose the most knowledgeable, the most righteous, the strongest in his religion, in... and so on. This is the answer to the previous question.