SHIRK AND KUFR IN THE MODERN SECULAR STATE

Can Muslims Vote in Elections of the Modern Secular State?

THE WORLD-ORDER TODAY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MODERN SECULAR STATE

MERITS OF THE MODERN SECULAR STATE

SHIRK AND KUFR IN THE MODERN SECULAR STATE 

Euro-Christian and Euro-Jewish civilization used to be based on faith in God and in His Sovereignty and Supremacy. In Euro-Christianity this was done through the theory of the Divine Rights of Kings administered by ‘God’s representative on earth’ in the institution of the Church of Rome. But in consequence of revolutionary change, that civilization no longer recognized the God of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) as Sovereign, and no longer recognized His Authority and His Law as Supreme. 

The ‘modern secular state’ was now recognized as ‘sovereign’, and that was Shirk! (Shirk is the worship of any other than the God of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam). Any corruption of that worship of that one God is also Shirk. Kufr is the rejection of Truth.) The authority and law of the ‘modern secular state’ were now recognized as ‘supreme’, and that, also, was Shirk. The state had the authority to declare Halal (i.e. legal and permissible) that which the God of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) had declared to be Haram (illegal and prohibited) – and it proceeded to do so – and that, also, was Shirk. The Qur’an declared Shirk to be the only sin that Allah would never forgive.

The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) prophesied that Muslims would betray Islam by imitating and following the Jews and Christians (i.e., the Jewish-Christian alliance) to such an extent that even if they were to go down a lizard’s hole, Muslims would follow them down the hole:

“Narrated Abu Said al-Khudri: The Prophet said, You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you, span by span and cubit by cubit (i.e., inch by inch) so much so that even if they entered a lizard’s hole, you would follow them. We asked, O Messenger of Allah (Do you mean) the Jews and the Christians? He responded, Whom else?” (Sahih, Bukhari)

Then he warned that when Muslims would imitate the Jews and Christians (i.e., the Jewish-Christian alliance) there would be frightful consequences:

“Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr, Allah’s Messenger said: There will befall my Ummah exactly (all those) evils which befell the people of Isra’il, to the extent that if one amongst them openly committed fornication with his mother there will be among my Ummah one who will do so. And if the people of Isra’il were to fragment into seventy-two sects my Ummah would fragment into seventy-three. All of them will be in Hell Fire except one sect. They (the Companions) asked: Allah’s Messenger, which one is that? Whereupon he said: It is one to which I and my companions belong.” (Sunan, Tirmidhi)

Muslims who pledge allegiance to the modern secular state, or vote in the elections of that state, cannot expect to be recognized as belonging to the one group that would escape the hellfire! Shirk is a very great sin. Indeed it is the greatest of all sins. It is the one sin that Allah, Most High, does not forgive:
“Surely Allah does not (or will not) forgive Shirk. But He (can) forgive everything else to whomsoever He wishes. And whoever commits Shirk has committed an awesome sin.” (Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:48)

Whoever commits Shirk, and dies in that state, can never enter into heaven:
“… Allah has made it Haram for whoever commits Shirk to ever enter into heaven. Such (people) will dwell in hell.” (Qur’an, al-Maidah, 5:72)

The worship of idols is the most overt form of Shirk. This form of Shirk has largely disappeared from the world today. But the Hindu world has clung stubbornly to it. And so a believer can never be excused if he fails to recognize the Shirk of the Hindus! The Qur’an has clearly warned the believers that they would find, time and again, that Jews and those who commit Shirk (such as the worship of idols) would treat them with the greatest hatred and hostility:
“You will find Jews and those who commit Shirk to have the greatest hatred and enmity (time and again) for the believers . . .” (Qur’an, al-Maidah, 5:82)

But there are other forms of Shirk that are also described in the Qur’an. Pharaoh, for example, declared to Moses (‘alaihi al-Salam): “I am your Lord-God the Most High”, and he declared to the Chiefs of his people: “Oh Chiefs! No God do I know for you but myself . . .” That was Shirk. The worship of Pharaoh by the Egyptian people required them to submit to his authority as the supreme authority, and his law as the supreme law, in the land of Egypt.

The Qur’an has repeatedly admonished those who, like Pharaoh, establish Hukum, i.e., government, law and justice, on the basis of ‘other than’ or ‘contrary to’ Allah’s authority and Allah’s law. However, when the divine guidance reaches a people (such as Jews, Christians, Muslims), and they accept that guidance, then the situation is quite different. If such people have an opportunity to establish their control over territory, as the Muslims of India did when they established Pakistan, and they then fail to establish law and authority on the basis of the revealed Divine Law, then the Qur’an unequivocally condemns them and accuses them of Kufr (disbelief), Dhulm (injustice) and Fisq (enormous sin):

“ . . . And whoever fails to govern (judge, etc.) on the basis of that which Allah revealed has committed Kufr (disbelief).”

“ . . . And whoever fails to govern (judge, etc.) on the basis of that which Allah revealed has committed Dhulm (injustice and oppression).”

“. . . And whoever fails to govern (judge, etc.) on the basis of that which Allah has revealed, has committed Fisq (enormous sin).”

(Qur’an, al-Maidah, 5:44 – 47)

Since the declaration by Pharaoh and its concrete application in the land of Egypt were acts of Shirk, it follows that the same declaration by the modern secular state is also an act of Shirk. Since the God of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) declared that: “Whoever fails to judge on the basis of that which Allah revealed has committed Kufr (disbelief), Dhulm (injustice and oppression) and Fisq (enormous sin)”, and the modern secular state has done precisely that, it follows that Jews, Christians and Muslims who establish the secular state after having received the Divine Law through the Torah, Psalms, Gospel and Qur’an, would be guilty of having committed Kufr, Dhulm and Fisq!

If a Jew, Christian, or Muslim, were to cast a vote in a national election in a modern secular state, that vote would imply that he considered that party he voted for to be fit to govern over him. And if that party as government committed or commits Shirk, Kufr, Dhulm and Fisq, then the implication would be that the Jew, Christian, or Muslim, would follow his party and his government into Shirk, Kufr, Dhulm and Fisq! (The same would be true for Hindus, Buddhists, etc.) The Qur’an has also denounced as Shirk the act of making Halal whatever Allah had made Haram (and vice-versa). Thus revelation came down from the Allah, Most High, in which He denounced Jews and Christians of precisely such a sin:

“They took their Priests and Rabbis as Lord-Gods beside Allah; and (they did this in respect of) the Messiah, the son of Mary (as well). But they were not ordered other than to worship and serve one God. Glory is to Him. He is far and above the Shirk which they commit.” (Qur’an, al-Taubah, 9:31)

When this verse of the Qur’an was revealed a man came to the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and protested that the Jews and Christians did not worship their priests and rabbis. How then, he asked, could the Allah, Most High, accuse them of such? The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) responded by asking rhetorically: Did they not make Halal that which Allah had made Haram? That, he declared, was Shirk. Then he asked: Did the people (i.e. Jews and Christians) not follow them in it? That, he declared, was their Shirk! Among the Haram things which were declared to be Halal were gambling and lottery, the consumption of alcohol and the consumption of Riba (interest on loans). In some cases the Torah itself was rewritten in order to make them Halal. (See my books: ‘The Religion of Abraham and the State of Israel – A View from the Qur’an’, and ‘The Prohibition of Riba in the Qur’an and Sunnah’.) When the Jews acted in this way, David (‘alaihi al-Salam) and Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam) cursed them:

“Curses were pronounced on those among Banu Israil who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary, because they disobeyed and persisted in excesses. They did not enforce the prohibition of that which was sinful and evil which they committed: evil indeed were the deeds which they did.” (Qur’an, al-Maidah, 5:78-9)

Whoever dies with a curse of a Prophet upon them have no chance whatsoever of ever escaping from the burning flames of the hellfire! In fact, it is the height of hypocrisy for a people to declare that they worship the God of Abraham and to then proceed to legalize that which He had made illegal and to prohibit that which He had made permissible:

“The Hypocrites, men and women, (have an understanding) with each other: they enjoin evil, and forbid what is just, and they withhold their hands (from doing good). They have forgotten Allah; so He hath forgotten them. Verily the Hypocrites are rebellious and perverse.” (Qur’an, al-Taubah, 9:67)

If it was an act of Shirk when priests and rabbis made Halal that which Allah declared to be Haram, then it would also be an act of Shirk when a government does the same thing now. If it was an act of hypocrisy at that time, it would be the same now. And if it earned the curses of Prophets at that time, it would do the same now.

The usual method of approach for studying this subject is to weigh the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of participation by believers in the electoral politics of the modern secular state. The defenders of the secular state wax eloquent about its merits. They argue that it is the most advanced and progressive model of a ‘political order’ and of a ‘state’ ever to have emerged in history. Some argue: “If we do not participate in electoral politics then we will have no political representation, and no one to struggle for our rights.” At a more serious level of thought another argument is raised: “Participation in electoral politics is the necessary condition for any successful struggle to change the godless political system.” The matter of Shirk is addressed by way of a subterfuge (i.e., a deceptive stratagem or device): “We will participate in elections but will do so on the basis of a public stand that we do not accept the secular constitution and the secular state which it preserves. This escape clause will protect us from Shirk.”

Our response is to point out that participation in electoral politics in a secular state, ipso facto, signifies acceptance of the secular character of the state. The secular state makes the same declaration that Pharaoh made to Moses (‘alaihi al-Salam). That declaration is: The state is sovereign! Its authority is supreme! Its law is supreme! That is Shirk. When people vote in elections in a secular state they thereby accept the claim of the state to be sovereign, its authority to be supreme, and its law to be the highest law. When believers vote in such elections, therefore, they cannot escape from committing Shirk. Even if the above does not convince a Muslim reader there should at least be doubt in the heart that one might be committing Shirk.

Secondly, when believers vote in elections in a secular state they have to vote for a political party. If that party, as government, declared to be Halal what Allah, Most High, made Haram, or enforced laws as such, then that government committed Shirk. A few years ago right here in Trinidad an attempt was made by a Muslim Minister in the Hindu-dominated government to organize the Muslim youth of the country. Had the effort succeeded there would have been significant political benefit for the government and the ruling party. Some 600 Muslim youths were provided with free transportation to a convention center. They were also provided with free meals. It was later discovered that a grant for $25,000 from the National Lotteries Board was used to fund the meals provided for the Muslim youth at that Convention. Apparently, the Muslim Minister must have considered it Halal (legal and permissible) to use Lottery money to fund transportation costs and meals. If he did, and still does, then he in effect declared Halal (legal and permissible) that which Allah declared Haram (illegal and prohibited).

Around the world today governments and parliaments of secular states have already declared Halal nearly everything that Allah has declared to be Haram. When believers cast their votes for such political parties and governments that have already committed Shirk upon Shirk, such votes would imply acceptance of such people as fit to govern over them. Thus believers follow them into Shirk, Kufr, Dhulm and Fisq.

Thirdly, this method constitutes a violation and an abandonment of the Sunnah of the blessed Prophet of Islam (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).

Political parties and governments around the world today are comprised of those who disdainfully persist in declaring Halal that which Allah has declared to be Haram. This essay has provided numerous examples of such. When believers vote for such parties in national elections and then recognize such parties as fit to govern over them, believers should pause to consider the practical implication of such an act. When a people disdainfully persist in Haram they pay a dreadful price. It is as plain as daylight that the modern secular world is already paying precisely that price. What is it?

“ . . . and then, when they disdainfully persisted in doing what they had been forbidden to do, We said to them (i.e., We ordained for them) Be as apes despicable!” (What this implies is that they would now live like apes, so incapable of exercising any restraint over their gross appetites and passions that, by the ‘End Time’, they would be showing a distinct preference for sex in public.) (Qur’an, al’Araf, 7:166)

The modern secular state legalized the lending of money on interest (Riba). Around the world today an ever-increasing number of modern secular states have already legalized gambling (and lottery), the consumption and sale of intoxicants (e.g. alcohol) and pork and the use of paper money that constantly loses value. (When it does, the masses are ripped-off and are eventually imprisoned in ‘slave labor’.) Abortion, homosexuality, lesbianism, adultery and fornication are all legal today. There are businesses in USA that advertise to those willing to sell their babies. They even have mobile ‘condom delivery service’ for those who wish to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity, and condoms are available in High Schools in USA. School girls are increasingly becoming pregnant and having abortions which, by law, can be concealed from parents. Yet it is illegal for a girl less than 16 years of age to marry.

Around the world today most modern secular states no longer recognize Allah’s law that a son must inherit twice as much as a daughter. They declare such a law to be discriminatory against women, and they establish their own laws that, they claim, are more just than Allah’s laws. In fact their law is no law. A man can leave his entire estate to a pet and leave nothing for his wife and children! The modern secular state has prohibited a man from marrying more than one woman at a time since it claims that such would be discriminatory against women. Rather the state has made it mandatory for a man to have no more than one wife at a time, and such, it claims, removes the injustice against women that is present in Allah’s law. This strict monogamous alternative has resulted in a sexual revolution that is making a mockery of marriage itself since a man can have as many mistresses as he wants so long as he does not marry them. The secular state declares that a wife no longer has an obligation, legal or moral, to be obedient to her husband since such would discriminate against the equality of the male and female.

This writer warns that the sun has never risen on a stranger world than the modern, godless, and glamorous Euro-world. That is surely an ominous sign.

The defining characteristic of the religion of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) is that there is no place whatsoever for Kufr (disbelief) and Shirk (corruption of, or rejection of the worship of One True God) in it. Yet, the secular political system of the new essentially godless Euro-Christian civilization, now known as modern western civilization, is based on Kufr and Shirk. The United Nations Organization was founded on precisely the same Shirk. The UN Charter declared that Allah, Most High, is not al-Akbar (the Supreme)! Articles 24 and 25 of the Charter declared that the Security Council has supreme authority in the world in all matters pertaining to international peace and security. In other words, the authority of the Security Council is higher than the authority of Allah Most High and of His Messenger (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). That is Shirk.

How then do we explain the acceptance by Muslims around the world of the modern secular state, such as the Republic of Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Pakistan, State of Malaysia, etc., as a valid substitute for the Caliphate)? And how do we explain Indian Muslims in Trinidad consistently identifying themselves racially and politically with the Indian political party, and African Muslims doing likewise with the African political party? Perhaps this is the right moment for us to explain the political system of Islam and the Islamic conception of a state, i.e., the Caliphate, and then compare it with the modern secular state. The ignorance of the world today is such that even Muslims are unaware of the subject.

THE CALIPHATE AND THE MODERN SECULAR STATE

QUR’ANIC EXPLANATION FOR THE UNIVERSAL SHIRK OF THE MODERN SECULAR STATE 

ALTERNATIVE TO ELECTORAL POLITICS OF THE MODERN SECULAR STATE 

THE MUSLIM VILLAGE 

CONCLUSION 

Source: Sheikh Imran Hosein 
to be continued . . . .