A Fatwa On The General Elections To Choose The National Assembly In Iraq In 2005

On January 30, 2005, the first ballot was held in the Iraqi elections to elect the Transitional National Assembly, which is also called the interim parliament or the interim Iraqi parliament. It is worth noting that, in addition to the election of the provisional parliament, in these elections, the municipal councils of the 18 governorates of Iraq were elected.

The fatwa of Sheikh Abdul Karim Zidan published below was issued based on the situation that Iraq was going through at that time, and therefore it is not permissible to generalize it to every electoral process taking place in Iraq, because it is known that the fatwa varies and changes according to the difference and the change of what it is based on.

Note: The translation below may need revision... We welcome any correction by emailing us.

Question:   To what extent is the legitimacy of Muslim participation in Iraq in the upcoming general elections to elect the National Assembly that elects the government?

Answer:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his family and companions, and after ...

Yes, it is permissible to participate in the elections that will be held this year 2005 AD, given the interests that it may achieve and warding off evils, on the grounds that these elections lead to the election of people who defend people’s interests and pay off harm and injustice, such as raiding homes and taking safe people under the pretext of investigating them without legal basis because the elected representative of The people gather in a legal position that enables them to demand the necessary measures to remove this harm and injustice from the people.  And the election of righteous people is a legitimate matter because it leads to a legitimate end, which is to remove harm and injustice from people.

No  It is said that this desired result of the elections will not be achieved due to reasons, including the lack of legal evidence that justifies its action, and that fraud exists and is possible. The goal that we referred to in terms of clinging to conjecture and conjecture is of no use to the truth in terms of delusion and illusion, and it is not valid as evidence for the legal ruling. It is acceptable and such suspicion is preponderant, and the legal rule (preponderate suspicion takes the place of certainty in the necessity of working with it and adopting according to it) and for this reason the judge sentences to death the accused of premeditated murder by the testimony of two just witnesses with the possibility that justice will not be achieved in them because of error or lie, but as the most likely thought was their honesty and fairness, it must judgmentaccording to their testimony, because the suspicion of their truthfulness is the most correct, so what we say is not a matter of illusion and delusion, or of suspicion that does not avail anything of the truth. Its occurrence does not prevent the attainment of the interests as much as possible and the minimization of the harms as much as possible, and one of the legal rules is that the responsibility falls on the Muslim to the extent that he falls short of what is required of him according to his ability, the Almighty said ( فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ ) (So fear Allah as much as you are able).

For the sake of all that we have presented, we see that participation in the next general elections to elect the National Assembly from which the government will emerge is a matter delegated to him. Rather, it amounts to an obligation because its benefit extends to everyone as much as possible. Hence, calling for it and participating in it is one of the required legitimate matters, but it needs coordination and people’s understanding of its evidence. Legitimacy, including what we mentioned first in achieving some interests and warding off some evils, and this legal permissibility is based on what we inferred from the honorable practical Sunnah of the Prophet based on the taking of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in part from the system of the polytheists, the holders of power in Mecca at the beginning of the noble prophethood, and this part is what we call the (neighborhood) system What it means is that a man from among the polytheists who has prestige, status and influence in the polytheistic society will rise and declare that (he rented so-and-so, so they hire him) so the polytheists will refrain from harming this neighbor, even if he is a Muslim, then there is no objection to taking part in the holding of elections authorized by the foreigner occupying Iraq to achieve the interests that we mentioned becauseparticipation in the elections. And this is our opinion according to what we understand from the rules, principles and provisions of Islamic Sharia ( وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ ) (over every possessor of knowledge is one [more] knowing).

And may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his family and companions, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Dr. Abdul Karim Zidan

19 Dhul Qi'dah 1425 AH  corresponding to December 30,  2004 AD