*Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rahim*
*Election and the Responsibility of a Muslim*
*Hazrat Abu Umama (Razi Allahu Anhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:*
*On the Day of Judgment, the worst person in terms of rank and position will be the one who ruins his afterlife to build someone else's world.*
This hadith compels us to think a lot during the election season. When elections come, the atmosphere changes, the tone changes, and the opposition becomes so intense that even if the person in front is a Muslim, no care is taken. Allegations are made against him, his intentions are attacked, his faults are sought out. The purpose of gatherings becomes to say as much bad as possible about the opponent. All this is open backbiting, and in many places, it is outright slander, and we all know how severe the warnings are in Sharia about backbiting and slander.
*Another major flaw that becomes common in the election environment* is that Allah's creation is mentioned a lot: so-and-so will do this, so-and-so will do that, everything is in so-and-so's hands. In the course of conversation, the belief that benefit and loss, honor and disgrace, are only in the hands of Allah leaves the hearts. This style of speaking and thinking causes the displeasure of Allah Almighty, and a Muslim should fear it greatly.
Now the question is, *what role should we play in the election as Muslims?* The answer is very simple: we should vote for the person who is *least harmful* in the current situation. I am not saying that he will only benefit us, but only that there will be less harm from him. We all know which direction today's politics is heading, so deciding with reason is the right path.
One more thing is very important, and that is *do not spoil your relationships because of politics.* Today, the people who are political rivals to each other will be sitting at the same table tomorrow, eating and smiling at each other, but the relationships that we have broken off by fighting for them will not come back easily. Politics is for a few days, but relationships are for a lifetime.
Often, political people play with the emotions of Muslims. Slogans are raised in the name of religion and in the name of faith, and the surprising thing is that often those people do all this who themselves cannot tolerate even a single hair of the *Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)'s* Sunnah, that is, the beard. If even a small hair of the beard comes out, they immediately clean it. They love English clothes and use religion only to gather votes. If we become blind by coming into such slogans, then remember that we will be building someone else's world, but we will be putting our afterlife in danger.
That is why, keeping this hadith in mind, we should repeatedly ask ourselves whether it is happening that we are ruining our afterlife for the world of others. Have differences, have opinions, vote, but not at the cost of sacrificing relationships. May Allah grant us the ability to make the right decision with reason, Amen.
*✍🏻From the pen of Aaqib Shaikh Ghulam Muhammad Dholiya Maharashtra*