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A Statement on the Responsibility of both the Voter and the Candidate
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 21-02-2023

 

All perfect praise be to Allah The Lord of The Worlds. May Allah`s Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

Parliamentary elections are a legitimate means of selecting MPs who represent the nation, act on its behalf in overseeing the performance of the government, and enact laws to serve citizens and advance their interests hence represent one of the mechanisms of the Shura (Consultation) rule established by Sharia (Islamic Law).

 

The candidate's responsibility Before Allah is a great one, so he/she must sense its weight and realize its importance to be able to deliver it honestly and sincerely for the good of the country and nation. Allah The Almighty Says {What means}: "We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it;- He was indeed unjust and foolish." {Al-Ahzab/72}.

 

It is forbidden for a candidate to influence the will of the voters through money and bribes. Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-Aas (May Allah Be Pleased with him): "Allah's Messenger (PBUH) cursed the one who bribes and the one who takes bribes." [Reported by Abu Dawood].

 

Similarly, casting a vote is also a great responsibility, which a voter should deliver honestly and sincerely while realizing that he/she will be held accountable for it before Almighty Allah on the Day of Judgment. Allah The Almighty Says {What means}: "And they make into females angels who themselves serve God. Did they witness their creation? Their evidence will be recorded, and they will be called to account!" {Az-Zukhruf/23}.

In order for the voter to be cleared from liability before Allah and perform this great obligation (Voting) to the fullest, two things has to be done:

 

First: choosing the fittest candidate to deliver this great mission, namely the best in terms of knowledge and specialty and the most trusted over the interests of the country and citizens. Abu Dharr told that he asked Allah's Messenger to make him a governor, but he struck him on his shoulder with his hand and said: "You are weak, Abu Dharr, and it is a trust which will be a cause of shame and regret on the day of resurrection except for him who undertakes it as it ought to be undertaken and fulfils his duty in it." {Transmitted by Muslim}.

 

Second: the voter shall freely cast his/her vote, as dictated by his/her religion and conscience, without being influenced by gifts or donations because casting a vote is tantamount to casting a testimony. Therefore, this testimony isn`t for sale or bargain, and such money is unlawful and the voter who takes it will be held to account for it on the Day of Judgment. Allah The Almighty Says {What means}: "O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities." {An-Nisaa`/29}.

This is also dishonesty and mischief on the earth. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour." It was asked, "How will honesty be lost, O Allah's Messenger (PBUH?" He said: "When authority is given to those who do not deserve it, then wait for the Hour." {Transmitted by Bukhari}.

 

In addition, making the voter take an oath to cast his/her vote in favor of a certain candidate is impermissible for the former and the latter, and it isn`t allowed for anyone to force voters to do so, and oaths weren`t legislated for this in the first place. Allah The Almighty Says {What means}: "And make not God’s (name) an excuse in your oaths against doing good, or acting rightly, or making peace between persons; for God is One Who heareth and knoweth all things." {Al-Baqarah/224}.

 

One who has taken such an oath should atone it and elect the fittest for this life and the next. I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: "He who has taken an oath (to do something) but found something else better than that (which brings him closer to Allah), then he should do that which is better in piety (and he should expiate for the breaking an Oath)." [Muslim].

 

We ask Almighty Allah to Guide us to the straight path and Help us do what is good of our country and nation. Peace and blessings to you.

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on praying behind a disliked Imam?

 

 
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is mildly disliked (Makruh Tanzihan) for a man—other than the permanent designated Imam (Imam Ratib)—to lead people in prayer if the majority of them dislike him due to a religiously blameworthy reason (Amr Madhmum Shar‘an), such as associating with open sinners (Fussaq), for example. As for the followers who dislike him, the prayer behind him is not disliked for them. However, if less than the majority dislike him, or if the majority dislike him for a reason that is not religiously blameworthy, then his leading the prayer is not disliked. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is the ruling on combining more than one intention in the prayer, such as combining the *sunnah* of wuḍūʾ with the pre-Dhuhr *sunnah*, or combining the *sunnah* of greeting the mosque (*taḥiyyat al-masjid*) with the pre-Dhuhr *sunnah*?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Combining two intentions in a single act of worship, which some jurists call the “overlapping of acts of worship”, has several cases and precise rules. These can be consulted in the books of legal maxims, such as al-Manthūr fī al-Qawāʿid al-Fiqhiyyah by al-Zarkashī and al-Ashbāh wa’l-Naẓāʾir by al-Suyūṭī. Among the most important of these rules:
First: If all of the acts of worship that one wishes to combine under one intention are obligatory, the intentions do not overlap. An example is combining the intention of the obligatory ʿAṣr prayer with that of the obligatory Dhuhr prayer. The intentions do not overlap in this case.
Second: If the two acts are specified supererogatory prayers (nawāfil muqayyadah) that are aimed at in themselves because of a particular time, occasion, or cause, or if they are an obligatory prayer and a specified supererogatory prayer, the intentions again do not overlap. An example is the Duha prayer, which may not be combined with, for instance, the regular sunnah of Dhuhr.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm: “Whatever is not, in meaning, an absolute voluntary prayer, such as the Duha sunnah… is not subsumed under another. Rather, if he intends something else along with it… the prayer is not validly entered. This is because combining two obligations, two specified supererogatory prayers, or an obligation and a specified supererogatory prayer invalidates the prayer in cases not built upon overlapping, as ritual purification (ṭahārah) is.”
Third: If the two acts are absolute voluntary prayers (nawāfil muṭlaqah), or one of them is, where the texts of the Sharīʿah show that the aim of the voluntary act is to fill the time with worship, then overlapping of intentions is permissible. An example is the obligatory Dhuhr prayer together with the sunnah of greeting the mosque (taḥiyyat al-masjid). And Allah Almighty knows best.

A man led the people in prayer as imam, and at the end of the prayer he performed a prostration of forgetfulness (*sujūd al-sahw*) because he had omitted a short *sūrah* after al-Fātiḥah. What is the ruling on his prayer and that of those praying behind him?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to the Shāfiʿī school, it is sunnah to recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah in the prayer. One who omits it has a valid prayer, and no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is prescribed for omitting it. If someone performs sujūd al-sahw for its omission while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. But one who is ignorant of the ruling, or who did so out of forgetfulness, his prayer is not invalidated, because this is among the matters that are obscure to people, and ignorance of it is not restricted to those who recently entered Islam.
Shaykh al-Islām al-Shams al-Ramlī said in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Vol.2/p.70): “The remaining sunnahs are not compensated for by prostration, such as the remembrances (adhkār) of bowing and prostration, that is, the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-iftitāḥ) and the sūrah, in accordance with the base rule, because they are not of the same nature as what has been reported [as compensable]. If one prostrates for any of them deliberately, his prayer is invalidated, unless he is excused due to ignorance. As for the objection raised that the ignorant person does not know that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed, and whoever knows it knows its place, this is refuted by denying such a necessary connection, for the ignorant person may hear only that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed before the salām, and so assume that it applies to every sunnah and is not restricted to its prescribed place.”
This is among the matters that are obscure, in which the mukallaf is excused for ignorance, as stated by al-Shabrāmallisī in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.70).
However, if the imam prostrates, and the follower (maʾmūm) presumes that his imam’s prostration is for a reason for which one does not prostrate, it is not permissible to follow him in it, so long as the follower knows the ruling.
Accordingly, the prayer of one who did not recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah is valid, and sujūd al-sahw is not prescribed for it. Whoever prostrates out of ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer is valid, because this is among the issues hidden from the general public. But whoever prostrates while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on praying seated due to severe obesity, given that I experience hardship in performing the prayer — especially when rising from the ground after sujūd to perform the next rak‘ah?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Standing, when one is able to do so, is a pillar of the prayer. However, whoever would experience severe, intolerable hardship, or fears harm to himself or to a limb due to obesity, or finds that standing causes him to lose his khushū‘ (humble focus and concentration) in prayer, then there is no objection to his praying seated on a chair or on the ground, performing rukū‘ (bowing) and sujūd (prostration) through gesture — provided that the gesture for sujūd is made lower than that for rukū‘. Whoever is able, at any point, to properly perform any one of these pillars, is obligated to perform it in full; for omitting it is a concession that applies only in cases of genuine inability. The Prophet ﷺ said: "When I command you to do something, do of it whatever you are able." (Related by al-Bukhārī). As the scholars of fiqh have established: what remains possible is not waived on account of what is difficult.
The criterion for determining genuine inability, as chosen by Imam al-Ḥaramayn al-Juwaynī (raḥimahullāh), is that the worshipper experiences hardship that causes him to lose his khushū‘.
As for voluntary (nafl) prayer, there is no objection to performing it while seated, even if one is able to stand. However, rukū‘ and sujūd must still be performed [in their proper physical form] by anyone who is able to do so. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

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