Are elections permissible?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : May Allah accept your obedience, O our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : You are welcome.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, there is a question and a problem, please. The first question is about elections: are these permissible?
The Shaykh : If you elect the one whose evil is less than that of the others, it is permissible, provided that you have not eaten a mouthful.
The questioner : What is the meaning of "a mouthful"?
The Shaykh : What is the meaning?
The questioner : No, I mean the meaning, I mean the meaning.
The Shaykh : The meaning is that you did not, for example, call for a claim, because they say in the common proverbs, "Feed the mouth and the eye will be ashamed." Perhaps you understood me?
The questioner : The evidence is more than that, meaning.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you, do you want evidence?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Evidence for what? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : That it is permissible, meaning this thing is more than that.
The Shaykh : The evidence is a legal maxim: "When a Muslim falls between two evils, he chooses the lesser of the two."
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is the evidence clear?
The questioner : The evidence is clear.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : The problem is that I asked him... our uncle came to us today and said to them, meaning if you want to vote, there is one who said if... he said the vote is fifty dinars.
The Shaykh: How?
The questioner : Fifty dinars, he said for the vote, so the people of the house said, take these, our votes... the money. So the problem is, I tell them, this thing is not permissible, it is forbidden.
The Shaykh : And we answered you, may Allah guide you.
The questioner : I mean, our Shaykh, the people of the house, meaning our uncle came and said to them, take this vote for fifty dinars.
The Shaykh : My brother, it is not permissible, it is not permissible.
The questioner : ... I mean, how can I convince them more than this, and they are not convinced, I mean, even my mother, my only one, says, I mean, I want to give my vote...
The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah bless you, do not waste my time, it is not permissible. As for how, I am not living with you, how do you convince them, I am not living with you. The important thing is that votes are not bought with money. This is a trust. One chooses the candidate for himself if, I mean, good is expected from him. But as for the one who gives money for the vote, more, and as for us, we will choose him, this is not permissible by the Shari'ah.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Peace be upon you.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The questioner : May Allah accept your obedience, O our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : You are welcome.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, there is a question and a problem, please. The first question is about elections: are these permissible?
The Shaykh : If you elect the one whose evil is less than that of the others, it is permissible, provided that you have not eaten a mouthful.
The questioner : What is the meaning of "a mouthful"?
The Shaykh : What is the meaning?
The questioner : No, I mean the meaning, I mean the meaning.
The Shaykh : The meaning is that you did not, for example, call for a claim, because they say in the common proverbs, "Feed the mouth and the eye will be ashamed." Perhaps you understood me?
The questioner : The evidence is more than that, meaning.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you, do you want evidence?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Evidence for what? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : That it is permissible, meaning this thing is more than that.
The Shaykh : The evidence is a legal maxim: "When a Muslim falls between two evils, he chooses the lesser of the two."
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is the evidence clear?
The questioner : The evidence is clear.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : The problem is that I asked him... our uncle came to us today and said to them, meaning if you want to vote, there is one who said if... he said the vote is fifty dinars.
The Shaykh: How?
The questioner : Fifty dinars, he said for the vote, so the people of the house said, take these, our votes... the money. So the problem is, I tell them, this thing is not permissible, it is forbidden.
The Shaykh : And we answered you, may Allah guide you.
The questioner : I mean, our Shaykh, the people of the house, meaning our uncle came and said to them, take this vote for fifty dinars.
The Shaykh : My brother, it is not permissible, it is not permissible.
The questioner : ... I mean, how can I convince them more than this, and they are not convinced, I mean, even my mother, my only one, says, I mean, I want to give my vote...
The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah bless you, do not waste my time, it is not permissible. As for how, I am not living with you, how do you convince them, I am not living with you. The important thing is that votes are not bought with money. This is a trust. One chooses the candidate for himself if, I mean, good is expected from him. But as for the one who gives money for the vote, more, and as for us, we will choose him, this is not permissible by the Shari'ah.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Peace be upon you.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.