Obligation of Muslims to Vote

Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on July 20, 2018*

Brothers and sisters! As you know, the current election season is very important to the condition of our communities. The first election is the primary on August 7, followed by the main election in November. Our Muslim community has the lowest voter turnout compared to Jews, Christians and Hindus, but we have the most at stake.

The attacks on immigrants and Muslim families, the attacks on sisters who wear hijab, the bullying of Muslim kids in school, and the widespread misconceptions and misinformation about Islam and Muslims are mainly due to two reasons: (1) Our lack of civic engagement, which has to do with individual and collective effort to identify and address community needs and issues of public concern, and (2) Our not fulfilling the obligation to vote. The topic of my khutba today is: “Obligation of Muslims to vote.” There is a verse in Surat Aal `Imran that says,

وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ 

"Let there be among you a community calling to the good, enjoining right, and forbidding wrong. It is they who shall prosper" (3: 104). And in a well-known hadith, the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have stated,

مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ، وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَانِ

"Whosoever of you sees wrong, then let him change it with his hand, and if he is not able to, then let him change it with his tongue, and if he is no able to, then let him change it with his heart, and that is the weakest of faith.”

We see from this verse in the Qur'an and from the hadith that calling to the good, enjoining right, and forbidding wrong are things that Allah has commanded us to do. It is not sufficient for us as a community to simply pray, fast, give alms to the poor and needy, perform hajj, and to concern ourselves only with ourselves while ignoring that which is around us. We have to be engaged, discussing issues of common concern, and calling to the good. We must enjoin that which is right, and we should not sit idly by when we see wrong, but rather we should be people, as individuals and as a community, that forbids wrong through the various means at our disposal. It is a responsibility of our community, both as individuals and collectively, to be engaged in the larger society around us, and to work to remove things that harm, and promote all that is good.

We should pay heed to what Allah (SWT) says about the last and final ummah,

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

“You are the best community (ummah) brought forth for (the good) of mankind” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:110). This clearly means that we have been chosen to be of benefit to humanity or to serve the community at large; Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Also, through a hadith we learn that “the best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind." 

We can be involved directly in charity work such as feeding the homeless and helping the poor, establishing and supporting shelters for victims of domestic violence, setting up scholarship funds so that students who have the intelligence and work ethic to learn can go to college without having to become heavily burdened with debt, founding and supporting civic organizations that support our rights and speak to those in power on behalf of our communities. We can and we should do all of these things and much more. However, our initiative and effort will have more effect if these kinds of things influence our political institutions that would help solve these kinds of problems more systematically.

There are many wrongs we might see in society that we cannot change with our own hands but we can change them with our tongue by voting for people who advocate for the issues, who campaign against the wrongs we see and are concerned about those wrongs. Voting with this intention, inshaAllah, will be rewarded by God as a part of fulfilling our moral obligation to enjoin right and forbid wrong. 

There is no single way to call to good. There are multiple avenues. We are challenged to be creative by using the means at our disposal to achieve the good. One of such ways is advised in a portion of the second verse of Surat al-Ma’idah.

وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ

"Help one another towards piety and righteousness; do not help one another towards sin and enmity.” (al-Ma’idah, 5: 2).

Ibn Taymiyyah mentions that this verse is the basis of politics. One of the many means that other communities are able to achieve their ends is by engagement in the political process. Muslims can learn from those experiences. And the most basic engagement in the political process that only takes little time once every several years is voting. We need not endorse any particular candidate, or any particular party. Rather we should educate ourselves about the issues, and discuss among ourselves in the community.

We often hear from people in our community saying, “What does it matter if I don’t vote; one vote doesn't matter.” This is not a valid argument. Muslims have swung elections in the past. The Muslims vote has mattered in the past, and can matter in the present national elections also. Your vote matters. Another objection to voting is, “What if the person I vote for turns out to be bad?” This too is not a suitable argument. We make the best rational decision we can using all information at our disposal at the time, and if we turn out to be wrong, we learn lessons from that for next time. Otherwise, it is not possible to engage in any public activity. 

There are also those who argue that voting is taking part in a democratic process that denies God's sovereign right as Lawgiver. This may be an iota of truth in it, but it is easy for some people to be fooled by this simplistic argument. The vast majority of laws that affect our daily lives do not encroach upon God’s sovereignty. There are numerous verses in the Qur’an that are very broad, and lay down general ideas. One of the things about these broad verses that we sometimes do not appreciate is that they are really mechanisms through which we can and we should unleash our creativity, our ingenuity, and our intelligence as a community to achieve the ends of those broad ideas.

Brothers and sisters! It is not shirk or kufr to recognize the U.S. Constitution as a valid social or political contract for one simple reason: The First Amendment protects our right to the free exercise of religion and protects our right to our conscience, and protects our right to speak freely about issues we are concerned about as a community, and as such, participation does not entail believing in anything or acting in any way that outwardly or inwardly violates any of the tenets of Islam. Old fatwas prohibiting allegiance to a non-Muslim ruler simply do not apply to our context, when we have constitutionally protected rights to exercise our faith in a constitutional democracy.

As we are custodians and responsible for our families; we are also responsible for the affairs of our city, our state, our country and our world as American Muslims. Voting is a civic responsibility for each eligible Muslim man and woman. No Muslims Americans should neglect this individual civic responsibility and moral duty. Voting and being involved in political process, as long as it is done properly, is in perfect harmony within the mainstream Islamic principles of justice, working for good and fulfilling our civic duties within the society that we live in.

Participating in elections may not yield immediate results. However, with a clear long term strategy and agenda, participating in elections may very well help Muslims overcome their anxiety and possibly defeat Islamophobia in the long run.

Participating in local politics is just as, if not more important than participating in national politics. Challenges such as zoning when building Islamic centers and schools may be eased up when Muslims are familiar and engaged with the State and local governments and politicians. Muslims must consider running for the school board, city council, and a host of other positions. Claiming our rightful place in American society through political engagement is one of the most effective ways of responding to the increasing hostility towards our communities.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Brothers and sisters! The current election is critical for Muslims, given that Islamophobia and other forms of racism and prejudice have been a central focus for many candidates and has served to mobilize those who support such views. Our vote for candidates who speak out against Islamophobia is a vote that challenges this racist rhetoric. There are many other important ethical and other issues at stake in this election, including income inequality, state violence against our black brothers and sisters, issues involving immigrants and minorities, health care and more.

There is a deep-seated and rising current of anti-Muslim prejudice in American society today. Claiming our rightful place in American society through political engagement and voting is one of the most effective ways of responding to this increasing hostility towards our communities. Allah has commanded Muslims to be firm in responding to injustice.  If we desire change, then we must listen to what Allah says in the eleventh verse of Surat Ar-Ra’d.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ

"Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves.”

As American Muslims, we cannot continue doing the same things and expect different results. The realities and challenges that we are facing force us to create more effective engagement strategies with our fellow Americans. Political engagement is one of the most efficient ways to demonstrate that Islam and Muslims are part and parcel of American social fabric and its civic space. There are American Muslims who complain the American political process has not yielded benefits to Muslims. The answer is not to withdraw but seek newer and better methods to engage. The American Muslim community needs to transcend their disappointments and look to the future and take into account the seriousness of the issues at stake: the rule of law, war and peace, economic justice, education, health care, and more.

As American Muslims, we have legitimate concerns, criticisms and frustrations of our own government over the impact and consequences of our foreign and economic policies to many Muslim majority societies all around the world. One of the best ways to help our brothers and sisters around the world is to engage and be a helpful influence over our political system and not to reject it or stay away from it. Let us not be defeated by indifference and negativity. Let us proudly fulfill our civic duties which are in no contradiction to our religious beliefs and convictions. Failing to fulfill these timely and urgently needed duties will have dire consequences for us, for our future generations to come, and for our country in general.

I am not endorsing, supporting, or opposing any specific candidate. I am just urging you to vote. As citizens of this country you pay taxes and contribute in other ways to the country and community you live in. When you vote, you make your voices heard.

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*The transcript was adapted from the thoughts and writings of Dr. Munes Tomeh of the Faculty of Law of Zaytuna College, Berkeley, California. A few thoughts of Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, founding Chairman of the Chicago based ‘Sound Vision Foundation’ have also been made use of. 

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