Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
I don’t think Muslims are split over whether it’s halal to vote or not… but over the issue of voting in a democratic system. The democratic system such as the one that we have here in Britain , it recognises man as Al-Hakim (ruler) and it is man who governs himself. Surely this is verging on shirk where man does not recognise Allah swt as ruler and makes up rules for his own… i.e. he is “playing God”!
Just think of the sheer insult of this when Muslims support this system by voting. It’s as if we’re saying Allah swt’s rules aren’t good enough for us… we’ve rejected them and instead have followed our whims and desires to adopt a man made system. Whatever leads to a waajib is waajib, and hence in the absence of an Islamic rule it is an obligation upon a Muslim to establish such a system… not settle for the next best alternative.
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
I don’t see the logic in this thinking.
In traditional curriculums, both in the Islamic world and Europe, logic was
an important science taught to young adults, for the simple reason that they
be able to reason without falling into simple errors.
Without study of logic, or keeping the company of those who think according
to the dictates of Sacred Law and reason, arguments like, “We were told to eat
mangoes, so it is haram to eat oranges,” arise.
People have to wake up. If you are living in a non-Muslim country, you have
accepted the reality that you are not living in a land where the Shariah’s public
and political laws can be applied (unless, some time in the future, the population
chooses to enter Islam), at least at present.
In these situations, Muslims have 3 main duties:
a) fulfill their personal religious obligations;
b) as a community, fulfill their communal religious obligations; and
c) promote the general good.
Muslims dream of and work towards ideals but live realities. The only way
these 3 duties can be fulfilled now and in the future is for Muslims to be strong
at the individual and community levels, and have strong individual and community
presence in society at large, at every level.
As for sitting in London , and saying you are ‘working towards establishing
an Islamic state, this is folly. No Islamic state can exist without a state
of Islam; otherwise, more harm is done than good.
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani