Attending Voting Election Booths ???

It’s strictly harām to attend voting election booths, even if you put a blank paper or simply sign your name off.

The reason being is because this election takes the ruling of events and festivals. This election/event is founded upon the idea where the opinion of people becomes the law of the land, and this was the only reason why it was established & enforced by super-powers.

This is very foreign to Islām which the disbelievers came up with, as we don’t go by the opinion of majority nor minority, we go by a single Āyah or Hadīth in matters of legislation.

Therefore, we come to learn that this election/event specifically belongs to the disbelievers, and whoever attends their gathering on this day of theirs is like the one who attends a church gathering during christmas (as some do under the pretext of interfaith).

To show how serious this is, there are 3 opinions concerning the ruling on participating and attending gatherings of the disbelievers during their events, with some saying it’s a major sin and others saying it’s disbelief, and others tying the disbelief if he does an action which is specific to them.

Imām Ibn Farhūn al-Mālikī mentioned in Tabsirat al-Hukkām (5/243): “Ibn Rushd said; As for actions which necessitate disbelief, then it is like going to churches and wearing a belt (specifically worn by disbelievers) during their events.”

Imām Burhān ad-Dīn Ibn Sadr ash-Sharī’ah said: “Whoever goes out to the suddah (gathering of people of Kuffr), then he has become a kāfir, since it involves publicly displaying kuffr, so it’s as if he has aided them in that. Moreover, what can be derived as an analogy on the issue of the suddah (attending the gatherings of people of Kuffr), is going to “Nayrūz” of the majūs (zoroastrian festival).
Whoever among the muslims conforms with what they do during that day is compelled with Kuffr (i.e. must be called a kāfir).
And most of those who do this are those who have reverted into Islām from amongst them, so then he would go towards them during that day and conforms with them, so he would become a kāfir without even realizing!”
[al-Muhīt al Burhānī Fil-Fiqh an-Nu’mānī (7/427) under the section of Imitating the kuffār. Also Majma’ al-Anhar sharh Multaqah al-Abhar (1/698), and Al-Bahr ar-Rā’iq sharh Kunz ad-Daqā’iq (5/133)]

A similar example is going out with some friends on Halloween just for fun. According to several Imāms, simply participating in that takes you out of Islām, even if you reverted to Islām on that same day.

Furthermore, I have been passed these voting booths, and it’s a gathering with so many images of leaders of disbelief, and promoting these idols as lords besides Allāh, and that’s what they are as Allāh has told us in the Qur’ān concerning those who make halāl what Allāh made harām whilst criminalizing what Allāh declared an obligation.

Simply being in such a gathering without rebuking them also has 2 opinions amongst the scholars, with the majority of Mufassirīn saying it’s disbelief and others saying it’s a major sin.

Allāh says in the Qur’ān: “And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah (recited), they are denied (by them) and ridiculed; so do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them. Indeed Allah will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers in Hell all together.” [4:140]

Makkī Ibn Abī Tālib said: “You have been informed in the Qur’ān O hypocrites, “that when you hear the verses of Allah (being disbelieved in and mocked)”, and then you take them as allies, “Indeed, you would then be like them”, you’re kuffār if you sit with them in such a situation, because the one who doesn’t avoid them is considered pleased with their actions, and being pleased with Kuffr is disbelief.” [Tafsīr al-Hidāyah (2/1501-1502)]

Al-Qurtubī mentioned in his book Al-Jāmi’ (5/418): “(Concerning the verse) ‘You are therefore like them’; Whoever doesn’t avoid them, then he is pleased with their actions, and being pleased with Kuffr is disbelief.
So everyone who sits in a gathering of disobedience and didn’t rebuke them, he would be tagged along with them in that sin equally. If he’s unable to rebuke them, then it’s necessary that he stands and leaves them so that he doesn’t become among those included within this Āyah (of being a kāfir).”

Shaykh Sulaymān Ibn ‘Abdillāh Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhāb mentioned: “The Āyah is upon its apparent meaning, which is that if a man hears the verses of Allāh being disbelieved in and mocked, while he still sicks amongst the disbelievers who are mocking without being forced nor rebuke nor getting up and leaving them until they change topic, then he is a kāfir like them, even if he doesn’t perform their actions, since that necessitates being pleased with kuffr, and being pleased with kuffr is kuffr.
And from this verse and what’s similar to its meaning, the scholars have used it as proof that the one being pleased with a sin committed infront of him is like the one doing it. If he claims that he hates it with his heart, it wouldn’t be accepted from him, since rulings are judged by the apparent, and he has displayed kuffr (by remaining silent on kuffr), therefore he would become a kāfir.”
[Majmū’at at-Tawhīd (page 48)]

Ask yourself this question, if you were in a gathering where they insulted you or your parents, would you get up and leave or stay? Ofcourse you would leave or rebuke them, so why don’t we do the same when disbelief is spoken?

Furthermore, even greater than this is being a security guard outside a place of disbelief. Imām al-Winshirīsī al-Mālikī mentioned two opinions on the kuffr of building churches, helping them in that, or even defending it.

Imām Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Ghaznawī al-Hanafī mentioned in al-Hāwī al-Qudsī (2/429): “If someone said, I guard the church and mosque, and love the monk and shaykh, he would become a kāfir. He would also become a kāfir if he doesn’t say that on his tongue, but simply guards it via his actions.”

This example is great to give, as building and voting are similar in nature.

Building something by default is permissible as the scholars mention, however if you build a place for sins, then you become a fāsiq, and if you build a church, according to many scholars of every Madhab, you become a kāfir, even if you reject the disbelief of christians.

Likewise with voting, by default it’s permissible to gather and vote for worldly things, and at the same time it’s harām to vote on going to a music festival and that would make you a fāsiq, so likewise, voting for a legislator to gain victory through a system of disbelief makes you leave Islām.

And when you aid in building a church, even through money, you can’t claim I’m doing this because of the maslaha of disbelievers building more mosques in the west, infact many of these mosques are built upon personal benefit and even disbelief (masjid ad-Dirār).

So likewise, when you vote for a legislator, your intention doesn’t make a difference, as intending the cause of something necessitates intending the outcome which is giving this legislator the “authority” of governance rivaling Allāh in His judgement.

Imām ash-Shātibī mentions in Al-Muwāfaqāt (1/338); “The one who participates in the sabab, he only participates due to it necessitating its outcome — So if he does so, then he has participated based upon a condition that he will bring an outcome of benefit or harm through this sabab, and he isn’t excluded from that due to not knowing about the benefit or harm or weighing between the two — So the doer adheres to all of what results from that sabab from the harms and benefits, even if he was ignorant about the details of all that.”

Moreover, this is a specific benefit for the Hanafī’s and Shāfi’ī’s. According to the Hanafī madhab, it’s completely harām to attend a place of kuffr, such as a church, even if it has no images.
And according to the Shāfi’ī madhab, if a church has images, it’s harām to enter that place of kuffr, and this also applies to voting elections!

This should suffice for any open minded person to avoid such places during these elections, without even needing to mention that giving the judgement to other than Allāh through this means is directing a ‘Ibādah to other than Allāh.

And finally, even those who permit voting know that there’s no confirmed maslaha in participating, and even if there was a necessity, it would still be harām to perform kuffr, as the people of Shu’ayb gave Shu’ayb two options:
You either return back to our Millah or we will forcefully drive you out of your land, and the scholars state that this necessity never permits prophet Shu’ayb to perform kuffr to stay.
Let alone for refusing to vote, where is the necessity, let alone Ikrāh.

This is what I have to say in short, and Allāh knows best!

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