YOUR vote is very important. Voting is one of the most powerful tools in a democratic society; through voting, you can create a sense of ownership over your government. Voting allows people to express their views about the country, constituency or candidate.Your vote is such a great power. Think about who will work for the betterment of you and your children. Give your opinion about it without any pressure.
Well, many people think what will happen if we don’t vote; it’s not only illiterates, very educated people also have opinions. Giving will harm not only you but also a person who can play an important role in legislation but if you don’t cast one vote, he will not reach the assembly it will cause the loss of the entire state.
According to Islamic status, our vote has two statuses: testimony, recommendation. In these cases, just as voting for a competent and trustworthy person is a source of great reward and its fruits are to be enjoyed by all, in the same way, voting for an incompetent and treacherous person is also false testimony, bad advice and illegal advocacy. Its destructive consequences will also be written in its deeds.
The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) said: Shall I not inform you of major sins? He repeated these words three times; his companions said: O Messenger of Allah, Be sure to tell. The Prophet said: Associating partners with Allah, disobeying parents (still you were reclining, then straighten up) and sat down) and said: Listen!! Speaking falsely and bearing false witness, then you kept repeating the same thing until we wished you would be silent.
In the same way, vote is a recommendation and advice which is called trust in the Hadith. The requirement of this trust is to exercise the right to vote without considering any personal interest or kinship and relationships, keeping the collective benefit in front. More often than not, we get fooled by flatterers, bribers and green gardeners and unthinkingly stake our bright future with our own hands.
The vote you cast isn’t just a slip; it’s a trust bestowed upon you, to be given to an eligible candidate. In Islamic perspective, voting holds the status of testimony, making it forbidden to hide or lie about it. It’s a mistake to view it merely as a political game. When we vote, we understand that the elected individual’s actions reflect back on us. Good deeds are rewarded, while wrongdoing brings punishment, recorded in our deeds
If you build a mosque in a street and entrust it to a drunkard and an incompetent person, will the objectives for which the mosque was built be fulfilled? Visually, voting for a candidate who has an anti-Islamic credentials is a false witness, which is a great sin. Not wise. Rather, if it is called a rebellion, it will not be out of place.
It is sad to say that we do not realize the power of our vote and we do not know its value. If you knew the value of a vote, you would have voted for 500, 1000. Before, they could not give anything to this state, but they have taken blood from its veins and pulp from its bones. Every time the old people come to your door with new promises, ask some questions. When will the people, whose votes have given you respect, start working with respect for the people? Why is the state of law and order so bad? No one is safe.
Persistent inflation floods occur as governments implement policies, and during elections, candidates capitalize on catchy slogans to sway voters. Loans taken in the people’s name burden future generations without apparent benefits. Reflecting on the past five years, amid challenges such as floods and disasters, who genuinely supported the people in their time of need
This time on 8 February, you are going to give your power to someone else. This time, put everything aside and decide who you consider worthy of your trust. Keep your children in mind while voting for thieves and incompetents. Your votes can make or break their future. Don’t come this time in the midst of deceptive promises. This time, give the power of your vote to the one you trust when you give your money.
Voting is a very responsible act, vote is the trust of the country and the nation and betrayal of trust is undoubtedly a serious crime whether that betrayal is done by not voting or by misusing it. Who is actually entitled to vote is decided by an individual and his conscience. A better decision for the future in the larger national interest is the only wisdom, leaving behind political negative motives and partisanship.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
Email: ghulamyaseen15@gmail.com
views expressed are writer’s own.
