💡 DEMONSTRATIONS ARE NOT AN ISLAMIC TRADITION 💡
Shaykh Al-Albani رحمه الله was asked:
The Ruling on Demonstrations and Marches
Question: Is it permissible to hold peaceful demonstrations and marches to express the demands of the Muslim people? If the answer is no, then please mention the evidence. Because holding such marches is considered among the unrestricted interests (maṣāliḥ mursalah). From one angle, since an obligation cannot be fulfilled except through it, then it becomes obligatory, just as the principle regarding means is that they are permissible until there is a text prohibiting them. Likewise, holding these demonstrations or marches agrees with the guidelines mentioned by Shaykh ʿAbdur-Rahman ʿAbdul Khaliq in his treatise “Muslims and Political Work.”
Answer: It is true that means, if they do not contradict the Sharīʿah, are in principle permissible. There is no dispute about this. However, if the means are essentially an imitation of non-Islamic methods, then these means become unlawful. Demonstrations, whether to express dissatisfaction or approval, or to announce support or opposition to certain decisions or laws—this is a system that coincides with the principle that “authority belongs to the people, from the people, and for the people.”
But when the society is Islamic, there is no need for demonstrations. What is required is to establish the proof against the ruler who opposes the law of Allah. As it has been narrated (and I mention this with the note that the narration is weak, but nonetheless it indicates a well-known historical reality), that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, when he delivered a sermon encouraging people not to exaggerate in dowries—up to this point, the ruling is correct and the narration authentic.
However, the point of reference is in another narration whose chain is weak: that a woman said, “O ʿUmar, this matter is not in your hands. Indeed, Allah عز وجل has mentioned in the Qur’an: ‘And if you have given one of them a qinṭār (a great amount) do not take back anything from it’ [al-Nisāʾ: 20]. How can you then say that it is not permissible to give more than four hundred dirhams as dowry for your daughters?”
The reply of ʿUmar—if the narration is authentic—was: “ʿUmar was wrong and the woman was right.”
Thus, an Islamic society does not need such systems (like demonstrations) and the means derived from them. When the Islamic society is established, a person can convey his opinion and proof directly to the one in authority, or at least to his representative.
Therefore, there is no need for demonstrations of this type, which we have taken from the customs and systems of the West. Just as nowadays we imitate the West in many of their customs and traditions, there must be distinction between what we may take from them and what we may not. For example, we adopt from them some means: if these means lead to a legitimate or at least permissible objective, and do not revive the meaning of tashabbuh (imitation of the disbelievers), then such is permissible.
An example of this can be found in two cases: one authentic and the other weak.
The authentic one is what is reported in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from the story of al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah رضي الله عنه when he traveled with the Prophet ﷺ. When morning came, the Prophet ﷺ went out to relieve himself. Al-Mughīrah wanted to pour water for his wuḍūʾ, so he poured it until the Messenger ﷺ came to the part of raising his sleeves.
Al-Mughīrah said: “He was wearing a Roman cloak with narrow sleeves, so he could not roll up his arms due to their tightness. He then removed it and placed the cloak on his shoulders until he performed wuḍūʾ and washed his arms.”
The point here is that the Messenger ﷺ wore a Roman cloak. This shows that if there is a garment of the disbelievers attributed to them, but it does not entail evident imitation of their ways, then it is permissible, due to the benefit of warmth and the like.
The second example, which I mention due to its fame in the Sīrah though not authentic in hadith terms, is that the Messenger ﷺ commanded them to camp in a certain place during the Battle of the Trench when al-Mundhir ibn Hubab said: “Is this revelation or is it opinion and strategy of war?” He replied: “Rather, it is opinion.” So he said: “Then we should camp elsewhere.”
Now, I correct myself to say: this narration is from the Sīrah and not authentic. But it is of no relevance to our example. The true example is the digging of the trench, when Salmān (al-Fārisī) reported that they (the Persians) used to dig trenches around cities when under siege. And our Messenger ﷺ agreed to that, due to the clear benefit it contained, free from any harm.
By this standard, we should adopt customs from the West.
Now, let us consider another example: there are people who wear different jackets—there is no objection. But what is the meaning of wearing trousers? What is the meaning of wearing a tie? There is no benefit in that except imitating the customs and being influenced by the traditions of the West. Therefore, we must distinguish between what agrees with Islam, its principles, and its rules, and what opposes and repels it.
Thus, these demonstrations are not an Islamic means of expressing approval or disapproval from Muslim societies, because they have other ways they can pursue within their ability.
What comes to my mind is that when we approve of such demonstrations, it is as if we imagine that an Islamic society—after it truly becomes Islamic—will still continue upon the habits and traditions of the West. But everything will change, and the Islamic social order will be independent and free of such demonstrations.
Finally, is it true that these demonstrations change the system of governance if those in authority insist on their position? How many demonstrations have taken place, where very many were killed, yet the situation remained as it was before?
So, we do not see these as a means that fall under the principle that the basis of things is permissibility, because they are among the traditions of the West.
(Al-Hudā wa al-Nūr, Tape 210, 39:33:00)
[Naṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī, Jāmiʿ Turāth al-ʿAllāmah al-Albānī fī al-Manhaj wa al-Aḥdāth al-Kubrá, vol. 3, pp. 340–343]
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