Questioner: What is the ruling of democracy in Islam and is democracy outrightly kufr(disbelief)?
Ibn Taofeeq Abdul Azeez: Democracy is not outrightly kufr; democracy is just like a transparent vessel that only reflects its content.
It is how you practice your democracy that makes it kufru or otherwise.
Democracy is not the same everywhere in the world; but the agreed upon definition is that the citizens choose their leader.
Democracy is just the opposite of Monarchy (i.e monocracy)
Demo – means people: many people.
Mono – one person.
In democracy, the citizens rule; while monacracy, one person rules.
Either of the two could become Kufru or Islamic; depending on the prevalent laws in both systems.
Questioner: Ustadh, but democracy does not involve ruling with that Allah sent down, it is government of the people by the people for the people.
Ibn Taofeeq Abdul Azeez: Democracy does not stop the majority Muslim countries from ruling with what Allah sent.
As for the definition of government of the people, for the people, by the people; that was just Abraham Lincoln’s definition lately.
Democracy is an old Greek system which predates America for thousands of years, it is just to oppose monocracy(monarchy) where one person rules, so the ruling will be given, based on the actual linguistic definition which in Greek means “demo” many while “mono” is one person.
So, if the many people of the majority Muslim countries want to rule by the laws of Allah, democracy will not prevent them, since it is the rule of the majority.
That is why the enemies of Islam always scuttle the will of the majority in the Muslim populated countries because they know they will rule by the law of Allah which is allowed by Democracy; but rather they finance monarchy, autocracy or dictatorial regime of one person they can easily control and impose their unislamic agenda in the majority Muslim countries.
So, these dictatorial and autocratic regimes contracted their gullible stooge Islamic scholars to advocate against democracy so that they can continue to impose their unilateral unislamic policies.
If it is claimed that democracy is alien, then monarchy is more alien to Islam; and it is the basis by which the four first caliph were Khilafatu Raashidah.
But as for the one who nominates himself or nominates others in this system in order to join the parliament and enjoin good and forbid evil, and establish proof against them, and reduce its evil and corruption as much as he can, so that people of corruption and disbelievers in Allaah will not have free reign to spread mischief in the land and spoil peoples’ worldly interests and religious commitment, this is a matter that is subjected to ijtihaad according to the interests that it is hoped will be served by that.
Some revered scholars are even of the view that getting involved in these elections is obligatory.
It is not democracy nor monarchy, rather: that which was sent by Allah.
2 Responses
What do you advise then as regards the democracy of countries such as Cameroon, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic. Do you advise we get involved in these types of democracy?
As for Nigeria and those African countries you mentioned, the concept of democracy is also the same way democracy is constructed all over the world. The citizen choose who rules. And there is no where in our constitution that rules against religious belief. Infact, it gives full consent to freedom of religion.
Nigerian politics is not perfect yet though. Religion, ethnicity, age and gender are still factors that overtly influence the way the electorate votes.
Governance is not yet where it should be. Still, with the Office of Citizen on the rise and an increasingly relevant civil society, Nigeria is getting there.
We all have been docile. We neglected politics all in the name of religion and let people who are not worthy of leading us to lead us in the senate and Presidency.
We have the likes of Hon. Abdul Hakeem Abdul Lateef, Dr Isa Pantami and other serious and conscious Muslim politicians. If we have all woke up long ago and give support hands to these Muslim politicians and also send capable brothers to politics, we would have been making better change.
Yet, we become docile and keep complaining about Nigeria’s politics and system while we keep our eyes open to corrupt minds leading us.
The only way to save a nation is through her leadership giving out good governance; and Allah will not descend down to change our affairs if we do not change ourselves.