Is voting for the lesser of two evils halal or haram?

[Jaysh]

Shaykh al-Albani said:

If the Muslims do not choose between them, then their own people will choose. In either case, one of them is going to be elected. But as we said earlier there may be four or five candidates. The Muslims in that country must consider it like this: The first candidate is a Baathist and a non-Muslim, the second is a communist and a non-Muslim, the third is an atheist and a non-Muslim and so on. The last is a practicing Christian who does not harbor animosity towards the Muslims.

If there is no way around the fact that one or two of them are going to be elected, then what should the Muslims do? Should they say, "We are not going to get involved? They are Christians. Let them fight each other." No, this is not the case, because two of these candidates will be elected regardless".

[Silsilatul Hudaa wan-Noor, Tape #284]

[Jaysh]

Abdullah Azzam

'Abdullah 'Azzam allowed Muslims to enter Democratic Parliaments:

أما إذا كان دخولهم في البرلمان بنية معارضة القوانين الوضعية الكافرة والوقوف ضدها والوقوف في وجه الظلم، فهذا أمر ترجحه المصلحة العامة، والإسلام في مثل هذه الظروف ينظر إلى المصالح والمفاسد، فينظر أيهما أرجح في هذا الأمر المصلحة أم المفسده، ولكن بشرط أن لا يقعوا أو يتعرضوا للحرام

"But if they were to join the Parliament in order to oppose the kafir manmade laws and oppression, then this argument is supported by general maslaha. Islam, in such situation weighs out the Masalih and the Mafasid, to see which of the two is greater, Maslaha or Mafsada, with a condition that they do not fall into Haram."
لا بأس من الدخول في البرلمانات إن كنا نريد أن ننصر ديننا ودعوتنا من خلاله، بخلاف مجلس الوزراء، لأن مجلس الوزراء تنفيذي ولا يجوز الدخول فيه، بينما مجلس النواب هو عبارة عن مراقبة الدولة، وبإمكانك أن تقول فيه ما تشاء، فهذا لا بأس، بعكس مجلس الوزراء الذي ينفذ ما يؤمر به.
فإن قبلت الدولة أن يكون لنا مراقبون داخل مجلس النواب يعارضون ويفضحون الدولة بأنها سرقت وفعلت كذا، والوزير الفلاني فعل كذا وسرق كذا، ويفضح الخيانات والرشوة ويطالبون بتنفيذ الحكم بالمجرمين، فهذا لا بأس إن شاء الله.
وعلى كل حال فهذا رأيي، وقد أكون مخطئا في هذه الفتوى، وقد أكون مصيبا ، فإن أخطأت فمن الشيطان، وإن أصبت فمن الله، ونرجو الله أن يلهمنا الحق ويجن بنا الباطل

"There is nothing wrong with joining the Parliaments if we wanted to champion the cause of our religion and da'wah by doing so, as opposed to joining the council of ministers, because the role of this council is to enforce and hence it is not permissible to join it. Whereas a Parliament of representatives is a body that watches over the government where you may say what you like, unlike the council of ministers which enforces the law. Thus, if the government accepts to have some of us as members of the Parliament where they can oppose and expose the government, that it stole or did whatever, or that such and such minister did such and such or stole, and exposes treachery, bribery, and that they can demand that criminals be punished, then there is nothing wrong with that. Whatever the case, this is only my opinion, and I may be wrong in this fatwa or right. If I am wrong then it is from the devil, and if I am right then it is from Allah. We hope that Allah inspires us with the truth and protects us from falsehood."

[Jaysh]

Dr. ‘Abdullah ibn Ibrahim al-Turaiqi:أما المشاركة فيها بحسب الوضع الراهن في البلدان المسلمة التي تأخذ بها من قبل الإسلاميين, فذلك في تقديري موكول إليهم, فإذا رأوا في المشاركة مصلحة ظاهرة فلا بأس، لكن بشرط أن يتم ذلك عن طريق التشاور مع أهل العلم ورجالات الدعوة, وألا يكون اجتهاداً شخصياً. والله أعلم .

As for the participation in the Parliaments according to the status quo in various Muslim countries by the Islamists, then that in my opinion is their decision. So if they see a clear-cut Maslaha on their participation then there is nothing wrong, on the condition that their actions are based on consulting with the scholars and the people of Da’wah, and not just personal Ijtihad.

Comment: Hence, it is a Fiqhi issue where difference is permissible, and not an issue of Tawheed and Shirk as the ignorant ones claim.

Sh. Salman ibn Fahd al-‘Awdah:عن التصويت فإنني أضم صوتي إلى الشيخ الذي ذكرت فتواه بجواز التصويت بل بمشروعيته من باب تخفيف الضرر واختيار الأفضل، وإن كانت المسألة تتدخل فيها عوامل كثيرة كما ذكرت، إلا أنه يبقى أن للتصويت أثراً -ولو كان محدوداً- من باب تحجيم الشر وتقليله والرد على أهله وكشفهم، وطرح المبادرات والحلول الموافقة والمتمشية مع الشريعة وبيان أثرها في صلاح الناس وقبولهم لها، وأظهر مثال على ذلك ما يقدمه الإسلاميون في مجلس الأمة الكويتي، وكذا في مجلس النواب اليمني.ثم إن خلو هذه المجالس من الإسلاميين فرصة مواتية لغيرهم لطرح نظرياتهم ثم التصويت عليها دون اعتراض، ويمكّنهم من تقنين نظرياتهم وإلزام الأمة بها، وفي هذا من الخطورة ما لا يخفى؛ لأن الاعتراض على الشيء قبل الموافقة خير من السعي إلى إلغائه بعد تقنينه.فأميل إلى تصويت الإخوة إلى جانب المرشحين الأفضل والأقرب للخير، أو على الأقل: الأخف ضرراً والأهون شراً.والمسألة محل اجتهاد، اختلف فيها العلماء المعاصرون إلى فريقين مشهورين، والرأي الذي اخترته هو الذي اختاره الشيخ رشيد رضا، والشيخ عبد الرحمن السعدي، والشيخ ابن باز وجماعة من أكابر الفقهاء. والرأي الثاني له وجاهته واعتباره أيضا. والله أعلم

Comment: The Sheikh believes that it is not only permissible but sanctioned to enter the Parliaments if it means lessening the evil, or choosing the best available option. He gives examples of the Islamists participating in the Kuwaiti and the Yemeni Parliaments. He likewise permits voting for the best of candidates, or the least harmful of them. He further states that the matter is an issue of Ijtihad and that this opinion is in fact the opinion of al-Sheikh Rashid Ridha, Sh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di, Sh Ibn Baz and a host of great jurists! He also refers to a second opinion. However, it is clear-cut that the issue has nothing to do with Kufr and Shirk as the ignorant ones claim.

[Jaysh]

Sheikh Muhammad b ‘Abdullah al-Subail is an Imam and a Khateeb of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Qiblah for the Muslims around the world. He is also a member of the Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League.

The Sheikh gave a Fatwa which he called: A Muslim’s participation in elections along with non-Muslims: Its Shara’i conditions and regulations.

In the Fatwa he allows the Muslims to participate in these democratic elections and says towards the end: ‘It is not nice for anyone to assume that the one who allows a Muslim to participate in elections along with non-Muslims, provided that the Sharai conditions and regulations met, that he is aiding Kufr and its people. Rather, it is only for a Maslahah of the Muslims, and to avert the harms from them, not out of love, compassion for, or inclination towards the Kuffar. The meaning behind allowing such participation is to merely select those individuals who may be able to benefit Islam and Muslims by being in such positions (as MPs).

(Majallat al-Majma’ al-Fiqhi al-Islami – 2004/1425 – 12th issue, page 323-335)

[Jaysh]

Islam Question and Answer - Is it permissible for Muslims to vote for kaafirs who seem to be less evil?

The Verdict on Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils

Question:

Is it permissible for Muslims to vote for kaafirs who seem to be less evil?
Some Moslems in a non Islamic country are asking if it is OK to participate in the elections there and vote for non Moslem groups or parties. They claim that it would serve the Moslem community there if a certain group won the elections?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

This is a matter concerning which rulings may differ according to different circumstances in different times and places. There is no absolute ruling that covers all situations, both real and hypothetical.

In some cases it is wrong to vote, such as when the matter will have no effect on the Muslims, or when the Muslims have no effect on the outcome of the vote. In this case voting or not voting is all the same. The same applies in cases where all the candidates are equally evil or where they all have the same attitude towards Muslims…

It may be the case that the interests of Islam require Muslims to vote so as to ward off the greater evil and to reduce harmful effects, such as where two candidates may be non-Muslims but one of them is less hostile towards Muslims than the other, and Muslims’ votes will have an impact on the outcome of the election. In such cases there is nothing wrong with Muslims casting their votes in favour of the less evil candidate.

In any case, this is the matter of ijtihaad based on the principle of weighing up the pros and cons, what is in the interests of Islam and what is detrimental. With regard to this matter, we have to refer to the people of knowledge who understand this principle. We should put the question to them, explaining in detail the circumstances and laws in the country where the Muslim community is living, the state of the candidates, the importance of the vote, the likely benefits, and so on.

No one should imagine that anyone who says that it is OK to vote is thereby expressing approval or support for kufr. It is done in the interests of the Muslims, not out of love for kufr and its people. The Muslims rejoiced when the Romans defeated the Persians, as did the Muslims in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) when the Negus defeated those who had challenged his authority. This is well known from history. Whoever wants to be on the safe side and abstain from voting is allowed to do so. This response applies only to elections for influential positions. And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

[jinnzaman]

Awesome post.

This is what a Deobandi 'Alim taught me too.

[m_ali_qazi]

jinnzaman said

Awesome post.

This is what a Deobandi 'Alim taught me too.

so you guys agree huh

came in this thread for no reason :disappointed:

[jinnzaman]

m_ali_qazi said

so you guys agree huh

came in this thread for no reason :disappointed:

NO, WE DISAGREE VEHEMENTLY THAT WE DISAGREE ON THIS ISSUE.

[m_ali_qazi]

jinnzaman said

NO, WE DISAGREE VEHEMENTLY THAT WE DISAGREE ON THIS ISSUE.

oh here we go :gets popcorn:

can we see some more hadokens this time?

[jinnzaman]

m_ali_qazi said

oh here we go :gets popcorn:

can we see some more hadokens this time?

:jinnzaman drags one of those really long swords and then quickly decapitates m_ali_qazi:

[Abu_Hind]

jinnzaman said

Awesome post.

This is what a Deobandi 'Alim taught me too.

That's news for me to be honest, with jamia binoria supporting mqm and people like fazlur-rahman and stuff I didn't think deobandis were particularly concerned about this issue.

But masha Allah.

[LEGALEAGLE]

I always choose the lesser of two weevils...

[iliketofish]

There's always Nader/Gonzalez you know.

[frosama]

You can always write in Ron Paul...

I'd never vote for Obama or McCain.

[Salika]

I'm going to vote for myself.

Viva la Salika! Revolucion!