Is Voting Really Haram?
Is Voting Really Haram?
Participation in a kufr system does not necessarily mean participation in kufr itself. It depends on the nature of such participation.
Let us commence by considering the following scenario: There is, in a faraway land a ruler who lives alongside his subjects. The ruler, in formulating his governance, leaves the matter to the people offering them two choices: they may choose either the law of God or secular law. This situation involves the following three parties:
Firstly, the ruler himself who offers the implementation of the law of the Creator (Shari’ah h) to question or debate between people; there is no doubt that this ruler committed an act of kufr (disbelief) for he is obliged to rule by the law of the Creator. Allah says, “Legislation is for none but Allah. He has commanded that you worship none but Him.”[1] To him this ayah is addressed, “And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the Kafirun (disbelievers).”2]
Secondly, the subjects who are requested to select between the Shari’ah and secular law; of course, it is incumbent upon them to opt for the Shari’ah. The mechanism of choosing the Shari’ah may take various forms such as voting, demonstrations, or lobbying through correspondence. No doubt, people must do their best in order to bring about the implementation of Islamic law, and thus, can anyone argue that it is impermissible for people to vote to choose the Shari’ah since voting is an essential part of democracy which in turn is kufr? If such a claim were to be posited then it becomes evident that we have proved unable to conceptualise the issue at hand. To claim voting is an act of kufr is extremely inaccurate and as a point in case take the situation where a person is consulted (as happens in some countries including the UK) as to whether he would opt for a Shari’ah court or a court that will rule on the basis of secular law. Should this person, in view of the aforementioned erroneous argument, declare that he refuses to choose since choosing is voting which in turn is part of democracy, a system of kufr?! What should such an individual do? Should he abstain from doing anything? What if the constitution states that the judicial system is to remain secular unless the person opts for the Shari’ah? Can we say in this case that this person is obliged to vote or choose the Shari’ah court? Can we also say that abstention from voting means that the person has implicitly accepted secular law as the basis of the judicial system which is an act of kufr?
From this discussion we can conclude three important points:
Another important scenario which must be highlighted is when the inhabitants of a country who have the Shari’ah as the dominant system want to choose a leader - they employ elections as a mechanism selection; can we say this is democracy and thus an act of kufr?
From the above discussion we may conclude that it is absolutely wrong to generalise the ruling by saying that democracy is an act of kufr. Instead we should say things that makes sense to people and reflects our correct understandings. We should be extremely careful in accusing individuals of kufr; the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The one who accuses his brother of kufr then surely one of them is as has been claimed.”
The word democracy was originally coined to mean the rule of the people, however, these days it has various connotations where it can be used to merely mean a selection mechanism. That is why we see the introduction of the term liberal democracy. Some observers believe that this new term was introduced in order to emphasise that Muslim countries should be democratic in their selecting rulers as well as constitution. So from this perspective, a liberal democracy entails that the constitution itself has to be subject to selection through a democratic mechanism.
Muslims living under a Kufr system
Here I would like to respond to the various arguments posited by those brothers who are against selection through voting. What is important is that we identify why we are against voting, is it because it is an act of kufr or because it is harmful and damaging for Muslims? Having responded to the first claim let us now focus on the second. It may be argued that:
Selecting one of these parties ultimately endorse their policies that are based on man-made laws (kufr law).
Imagine that 6 people were to vote for two parties named A and B. A states in his manifesto that he will legalise pornography, ban faith-schools, kill 1000 Muslims, and prevent Muslims from adorning the hijab. B states that he will legalise pornography but allow faith schools and kill 500 Muslims. 3 of us vote for A and 2 votes for B and I, in believing that voting is kufr, abstain from doing so. What will happen?
Conclusion
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