Question: It
is said that in Islam, collective affairs are to be decided through the
principle of consultation and the majority opinion is to be imposed and
accepted. My question is: What guarantee do we have that the majority has
taken the correct decision?
Answer: When
it is said that all differences of opinion in an Islamic state shall be
settled by a majority vote, it does not mean at all that the opinion which
is ultimately accepted shall necessarily be correct. It only means that
just to run the affairs an opinion has been enforced until the time a stronger
opinion emerges to take its place. This is only a way of settling differences
of opinions and is no criterion for the correctness of a viewpoint. Only
reasons and arguments decide what is right or wrong, and a majority or
a minority opinion has no say in this regard.
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