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Making decisions based on the views of the majority

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by TheMufti.com

Q. In the constitution of our institute, the decisions and views of the majority of board members are taken into consideration as final even if the chairman holds a different view. Some are saying that this is un-Islamic and that the chairman’s view must be taken as final. Is this Islamically correct?


A. If a board/committee have undertaken to base their final decisions on the views of majority of the board/committee member’s views, or have included the same in their constitution, then this is not un-Islamic.

On his death bed, Umar ibn al-Khattab Radhiyallahu Anhu nominated a six-member board/committee who were required to elect one person amongst themselves as the next Khalifah/ruler.

Umar Radhiyallahu Anhu stipulated that they should elect the next Khalifah/ruler based on the views of the majority. The board/committee consisted of great Sahaabah, the likes of Uthmaan Bin Affaan, Ali Ibn Abi Taalib, Abdur Rahman Bin Awf, Sa’d Bin Abi Waqqas, Zubayr Bin Awwam and Talha Bin Ubaidullah Radhiyallau Anhum. (Fataawa Darul Uloom Zakariyya8/187)

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

This answer was collected from TheMufti.com, which is a fatwa portal managed by Mufti Ismaeel Bassa from South Africa.

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