CLAIM: Muslims are religiously obligated to vote only for Muslim candidates or support Muslim-Muslim tickets because of their religion. A cleric even cited Qur’anic injunctions.
As 2027 election approaches, proponents of Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) where President Bola Tinubu and his Vice President Kashim Shettima are seeking reelection, are making religious argument to influence voting behavior of Muslims. Some clerics and politicians fall under this fold.
Claim 1: Kabir Masari says supporting Muslim-Muslim ticket is an act for which Allah will reward Muslims
Alhaji Kabir Ibrahim Masari, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, in a video reportedly addressing Women Islamic cleric said that “those who supported a Muslim-Muslim ticket without expecting compensation did so for the sake of Allah and He would reward you on the day of reckoning.” And would be able to give that reason if questioned by God on the Day of Judgment.
Verification: Masari did not provide any proof from the Qu’ran, Sunnah, Ijma or Qiyas that Muslims are religiously required to vote for Muslims alone or how they would obtain the reward.
The claim is political no evidence of an Islamic obligation applicable to Muslim voters.
Claim 2: Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir cites Qur’an 3:102 and 49:10 in support of Muslim-Muslim politics
Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, Chairman of the Council of Ulama of JIBWIS, Jos Headquarters, is quoted as saying in an RFI Hausa interview:
“I insist on Muslim-Muslim because Allah SWT says in the Quran: …wa la tamutunna illa wa antum muslimun.” Do not die except as Muslims…”
He made the statement while explaining his position on Muslim-Muslim political ticket, adding that the Constitution gives him the right to observe and promote his religion.
In another video, Jingir called on Muslims across ethnic groups to unite and support Muslim-Muslim ticket, citing the Qur’an, “Innamal mu’minuna ikhwatun…”— “The believers are but brothers.”
Verification: The first statement corresponds to Qur’an 3:102, which contains the injunction not to die except in a state of Islam. The second phrase is from Qur’an 49:10, which states that believers are brothers and calls for reconciliation among them.
No clerical interpretations of Qur’an 3:102 and Qur’an 49:10 support the context in which Sheikh Jingir promote his Muslim-Muslim ticket argument as neither verse expressly says that Muslims must vote for Muslim candidates, vote for a Muslim-Muslim ticket, or reject candidates on the basis of religion.
The connection between the verses and electoral voting is therefore an interpretation made by Jingir, rather than an explicit electoral instruction contained in the cited verses.
This distinction is important because Jingir is also quoted in the video as saying: “I am not promoting Tinubu with Muslim-Muslim. I am promoting Islam.”
Claim 3: Sheikh Alburhan Jos prefers a Muslim leader regardless of economic benefits
Sheikh Musa Salihu Alburhan, in a video clip monitored on social media is quoted as saying:
“I would rather eat herbs under a Muslim leader than eat chicken every day under a Christian leader.”
Verification: The statement clearly expresses a preference for Muslim political leadership over Christian leadership. However, no Qur’anic verse is cited in the statement to establish that such a preference is a religious obligation on Muslim voters.
Consequently, the statement has no proof that Islam requires all Muslims to vote only for Muslims.
What do other clerics say?
Other Muslim clerics countered the claims.
The Chief Missioner of Ansaruddeen Society of Nigeria, Imam Abdurrahman Ahmad, is quoted as saying that voters should choose people who are honest, God-fearing and credible, irrespective of their age or religion.
Similarly, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa argues that the central question should be what a candidate would do after receiving the mandate. He distinguishes democracy from theocracy and says the Constitution does not establish religious political leadership. According to him, whether a ticket is Muslim-Muslim, Muslim-Christian or Christian-Christian is a political matter, and Nigerians are free to choose candidates irrespective of their religious affiliation.
In a Friday sermon, Imam Murtadha Gusau, chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, describes elections as a legitimate form of Shura (consultation) in Islam and a heavy Amanah (trust) for both candidates and voters. He says candidates must not buy votes with money, or gifts, as bribery is cursed in Islam, and voters must treat their vote as a testimony for which Allah will question them – “Their testimony will be recorded and they will be questioned” [43:19]. To fulfill this trust, voters must (1) choose the fittest and most trustworthy candidate for the job, not the one who pays, and (2) vote freely according to religion and conscience without selling their vote, as money-for-votes is Haram and a loss of trust that leads to unqualified leaders.
Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil, a Kano-based cleric who contested the 2023 governorship election on the platform of the ADC, also argued that voters should support whoever they believe would work for the greater majority of the people, irrespective of the candidate’s religious persuasion.
Sheikh Ismail of Maiduguri similarly described the Muslim-Muslim ticket as a political rather than religious matter. He rejected the argument that criticism of such a ticket amounts to criticism of Islam and said Muslims are free to make their own political choices.
Verdict
The no evidence established an Islamic obligation requiring Muslims to vote only for Muslim candidates or Muslim-Muslim tickets.
Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir has invoked the verses for Muslim-Muslim political support but the verses cited do not expressly mention elections, voting, political parties or Muslim-Muslim tickets.
Similarly, the statements attributed to Kabir Masari and Sheikh Alburhan Jos do not themselves establish a religious obligation.
The central claim that Muslims are under an Islamic obligation to vote only Muslims is not established by the verses cited. There are also no proofs from other sources of Shariah.
