Muslim Participation in Kufr Politics

Voting in a general election (which is the subject matter of our discussion) is actually the process of electing a government. And this is by no means new to Islam, as any student of Deen will testify. The process of electing a leader has been very clearly defined and expounded by The Shariah. Whereas in Shariah the bay ‘at or pledge of allegiance is offered verbally and practically by the clasping of the hands, in the method invented by the West this pledge is expressed through the ballot.

The votes in an election process represent the approval and consent of people to have the candidate as their leader, and by placing a cross next to his or her party’s name they are actually indicating their full support and allegiance to that leader. The ballot has come to be used as a means of expressing approval and allegiance to a particular party or candidate. In short, voting is merely an innovative way introduced by non-Muslims, of electing the head of state.

Once this fact has been established, it is quite obvious that Islam has devised its own method of electing a leader, a method which can be proven from categoric proof (nusoos) and which has been employed by all our great pious predecessors (salf-e-saaliheen). Since Islam has its own alternative to the practice of the ballot it goes without saying that Muslims are bound by the Shariah to adopt the methodology and system of Islam. If Muslims are in a position to implement the Islamic electoral procedure, it becomes wajib upon them to do so. Where only the system of the kuffaar exists and no need or exigency exists to indulge in such a process, it devolves upon them to abstain therefrom.

(Muslim Participation in Kufr Politics)