Pak Warriors

Some people in Pakistan and in other countries say that women have not given the right of voting. some religious scholars in Pakistan also say it. i have an answer from islamonline website which is as follows;

(In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we hope our efforts, which are purely for Allah's Sake, meet your expectations.

In Islam, women are the counterparts of men. Every law addressed to men is also addressed to women. Thus, there is no room in Islam for such discrimination referred to in the above question, and the imam who issued such a baseless decree is following his own culture, and not his own religion.

In an attempt to furnish you with answer to your question, we would like to cite for you the following fatwa issued by Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi, Imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston’s Southeast Mosque, states the following:

"In Islam, there is nothing to prove that women should or should not vote to choose a leader. This matter has to be analyzed based upon the circumstances of a certain time and a certain place.

I should affirm here that the imam who denied women the right to vote is following his culture and not his religion, and such things have to stop sooner than later because they are harming Islam and the Muslims.
More than a half of the world population are females, and if we ignore this big number, then we are condemning ourselves. The fact that there is a whole Surah of the Qur'an about women (i.e. Surah No. 4) means something, and there is no Surah by the title of Men.

Moreover, there are women who make sense when they speak and act more than some men. So what does that mean? I wish Muslim Women all the best." )

well thats the answer

MANIAC24

we r all equal

psyah

Peace

This topic is an oddity as is the reply given above. Voting (for all subjects and citizens) is undertaken in a democratic framework that which did not exist in the time of the Salaf.

To argue that voting for women is or is not Islamic one must first define whether voting per se is Islamic or not. And if it is not Islamic is it at least Islamically compatible. I think it can be compatible.

In Islam people did not appoint a leader as such when it came to The Prophet of Islam (SAW) he was chosen by Allah (SWT). So instead they offered their allegience by giving bayah. This is like a vote. You can read in history that both men and women gave the prophet (SAW) bayah.

When and after the demise of Muhammad (SAW) what happened next was that:

1) Abu Bakr (RA) was selected amongst his peers to lead as Khaliph
2) He (RA) approached systematically all the leaders of the families and regions and confirmed their pledge to him as leader and that they would follow him so long as he would remain on Islam.

What can be seen here is that again women gave bayah in addition to men but it was only the leaders who were consulted to finalise support and when the established leader did so then by default all those alleged to him would automatically be alledged to the Khaliph.

In todays climate it is far more important to work for the communities in welfare jobs and civic too rather than just vote and sit down expecting ones obligations have been fulfilled. Voting is not where our burden of reposibility ends it is really where it starts.

NewHere

All people have a right to vote

USResident

Brother, not sure if I understood your reply. I agree with the historical content but I could make out your stance on voting as the subject. Voting is one's approval or disapproval for anothers intended actions or something proposed to which the voter will be subject to. Bayah would an approval of an event in the past so to speak whereas voting would be a right to event in the future.

psyah

The way I have understood voting is so

"a person can demonstrate that the masses are in support of his/her leadership"

whereas bayah is when

"the masses pledge their support to the person who has been selected to uphold the Rulership of Allah"

When we vote we do so as though we empower the person, but when we give bayah we empower the accountability that the people can exercise over the amir.

Both of these are fundamentally similar in that people are required to make a choice. However, they are different in the way described above. My post was that if we stuck to the historical methods men and women had equal RIGHTS to give bayah ... so in principle if it could be possible to take this edict it can be applied on the question whether women or men are allowed to vote.

The question is not directed properly however ... We are not Islamically allowed to vote for an ideology that will put wordly laws above those of sacred laws, because it means that we have chosen other than Islam for our framework in life. However, where needs are must some sort of extrapolation could be taken from this bayah principle.

Voting Islamically needs to be undertaken for selecting the Amir prior to opening the gates for bayah as you mentioned. However that selecting is to be done under the strict wisdom of those with intimate knowledge of the possible candidates and the ones least wanting to lead are the best ones for the role. However in voting those who campaign the most effectively are the ones deemed most worthy for the role.

USResident

Nice explanation, I agree.

Yes there is no voting for displacing Islamic rule by another system different in principle or ideology. The extrapolation can occur on how to best implement the sacred laws and how to construct the fabric of society as best in accordance with Islam.

It would be very difficult to find a circle of trust adept for the task nowadays but primarily that is how it has worked in our early historical years until the dynasties were established. In a bipartisan (or more) system this cannot work, which has lead to widespread public voting because there are so many competing ideologies and agenda's. In Islamic countries there should not be political parties but only individuals capable of statesmanship. However much to our detriment humans are self-centered and ambitious and this ideal could not last more than 3 decades after the Prophet SAW demise. Though it is a true ideal.

I do understand your poit though. Voting on what matters for it to be Islamically justified.

PyariCgudia

Great. Do not come to America, then.

X2

he is in UK

firenze

psyah ... seriously bro you are sick, are you a sleeper cell in uk ?