The participation of Prophet Yūsuf, upon whom be peace, as a minister in the government of the King of Egypt used as an excuse for participating in the elections debunked. Allāh, the Most High, said: “And the king said: “Bring him to me that I may attach him to my person.” Then, when he spoke to him, he said: “Verily, this day, you are with us high in rank and fully trusted.” [Yūsuf] said: “Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge.” Thus did We give full authority to Yūsuf in the land, to take possession therein, as when or where he likes.” (Yūsuf, 54-56) So those who use the example of Yūsuf, upon whom be peace, use this to show that he became established in the government of the King and they conclude on the basis of this that if it is permissible to become a minister in a non-Muslim government, then surely it is permissible to vote for the least harmful candidate who will become a Member of Parliament to act on our behalf. And those who use this as evidence must have missed what Yūsuf, upon whom be peace, said to his two companions of the prison prior to his taking this position: “The Hukm (i.e. judgment) is for none but Allāh. He has commanded that you worship none but Him, that is the (true) straight religion, but most men know not.” (Yūsuf, 40) So how could we say about Yūsuf, upon whom be peace, that he would compromise and cooperate in a government with those who legislate man-made laws, while he was the very one who admonished others about this issue, saying: “The Hukm (i.e. judgment) is for none but Allāh?!” Firstly, those who use this example are in need of evidence to substantiate their claim that the law of this government was not in accordance with the Sharīah of Yūsuf, upon whom be peace. And there is nothing to indicate this within the example itself. Rather, it was narrated that the King whose Kingdom Yūsuf became a minister within became a Muslim. Ibn Jarīr At-Tabarī narrated that Mujāhid said, “The King whom Yūsuf was with entered Islām.”( Jāmi’ Al-Bayān ‘An Ta’wīl Āy Al-Qur’ān, Vol. 9/217) And Al-Baghawī said, “Mujāhid and others said, ‘Yūsuf, upon whom be peace, did not stop calling the King to Islām while being kind to him, until he and many of the people entered Islām.” Also, it is narrated that Yūsuf, upon whom be peace, was the ruler himself and his duties as Minister also was to govern Egypt. Ibn Jarīr At-Tabarī narrated from As-Suddī that he said, “The King employed Yūsuf over Egypt and he was the person in authority and he (also) used to supervise the buying and the trade and all of its matters. So that was His saying: “Thus did We give full authority to Yūsuf (Joseph) in the land, to take possession therein, as when or where he likes.” Also, he narrated from Ibn Zayd concerning His saying: “…to take possession therein, as when or where he likes…” He said, “We put him in authority over whatever was in it (i.e. Egypt), wherever he willed from that place. He did in it whatever he willed. It was granted to him.” And Al-Qurtubī narrated that Ibn ‘Abbās said about Yūsuf, “So he sat upon his bed and the Kings approached him. And the King entered his home with his women and the authority of Egypt was granted to him.” Al-Qurtubī said, “And when the King gave the authority of Egypt to Yūsuf, he was generous to the people and called them to Islām until they believed in him and he established the justice amongst them. So the men and the women loved him. And from what has come from Wahb and As-Suddī and Ibn ‘Abbās and others is the saying of the King to Yūsuf, when he saw his complete wisdom in implementing the ruling and spreading the justice: “I give you the authority, so do whatever you will. And we are merely your followers and I am not one to refuse being your subject and obeying you and I am no more than one of your subjects.”(Al-Jāmi’ Li-Ah’kām Al-Qur’aan, Vol 9./215) If this is a possibility – that the King entered Islām - and quoting it as evidence becomes questionable, then it would be incorrect to use it, due to the principle: ‘If possibility arises, the usage of it as evidence drops’ (Ithā Waradal-Ihtimāl, Batula Bihil-Istidlāl). Furthermore, the legislation of those before us, is a legislation for us – according to the majority of Usūlīūn - only if it does not contradict our legislation, and if one were to hypothesize, for sake of argument, that Yūsuf had not followed his own Sharīah, then we say, had he been alive today, he would have not had a choice but to follow what has been revealed upon Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 18:24:05 +0000
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