Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 108

(Ayah 108) ➊ {وَ لَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُوْنَ مِنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ …:} This verse is evidence for blocking the means, meaning that if a permissible act becomes a means to a greater harm, then it is necessary to abandon even that permissible act. That is, if you insult the deities of the polytheists, they will, out of ignorance, insult Allah, and you will be the cause of it. Whereas the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade insulting anyone's parents, as in this way you yourself become the cause of your own parents being insulted. [ بخاری، الأدب، باب لا یسب الرجل والدیہ : ۵۹۷۳ ]
➋ {كَذٰلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ اُمَّةٍ … :} That is, it is human nature that he considers every action of his, whether in reality it is good or bad, to be good, that is: «كُلُّ حِزْبٍۭ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُوْنَ» [ المؤمنون : ۵۳ ] "Every group of people is pleased with what they have." But man has also been given the ability to reflect, so that he can freely abandon bad deeds and choose the right path. Every action in the world happens by Allah's will; if He does not will, it does not happen. Granting humans the choice between good and bad deeds for the purpose of testing is also by His will and wisdom, but He does not like disbelief and bad deeds for His servants. See Surah Az-Zumar (7).

18. 1. This is based on the principle of Sadd al-Dharā'i' (blocking the means), that if a correct action leads to an even greater harm, then abandoning that correct action is preferable and better. Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ said that you should not curse anyone's parents, for in this way you yourself will become the cause of curses for your own parents (Sahih Muslim).

108. (O Muslims!) Do not insult those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they insult Allah in hostility without knowledge [109]. Thus We have made the deeds of every group seem fair to them. Then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them of what they used to do [110].

[109]
Leaving a Good Deed or Enduring a Lesser Trial to Avoid a Greater Trial:

Act with patience and restraint, and do not, in anger, revile their deities, otherwise, as a reaction, they will begin to abuse your true deity, Allah, and indirectly, you yourselves will become the cause of Allah being abused. Although there is no doubt about the evilness of their deities and there is no harm in calling them bad—in fact, it is a good thing—this verse establishes the principle that if performing a good deed is likely to result in a greater trial as a reaction, then that good deed should be abandoned. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that if, in order to avoid a lesser trial, there is a risk of a greater trial arising, then the lesser trial should be tolerated. A clear example of this is that in Makkah, some Muslims, due to weakness of faith, were not migrating and had taken refuge with the polytheists of Makkah. When these polytheists fought against the Muslims, they would put those who had not migrated at the front of their army. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير۔ سورة توبه]
Now, if the Muslim army kills these Muslims, it becomes guilty of their killing, and if it does not kill them, then all the Muslims are killed. In such a situation, killing those Muslims is the correct course of action, and Allah has severely reprimanded those Muslims who did not migrate.

Commentary on the Democratic System and the Status of Voting:

In the present era, an example of this is the issue of voting during elections in a democratic political system. And it is clear that the democratic system is the very antithesis of Islam and the Islamic system of Khilafah. In a democratic system, the supreme authority can only be a human or an institution, whereas from the Islamic point of view, no human can be the supreme authority. Rather, the supreme authority is only the Being of Allah Almighty. This is the fundamental difference on the basis of which we can assert that compromise between Islam and democracy is impossible, even though the constitution of Pakistan states that "the supreme authority is Allah Almighty," but its implementation is impossible. The reason is that if, in reality, Allah Almighty is accepted as the supreme authority, then the current democratic system automatically comes to an end. Furthermore, there are five things in the democratic system, without any one of which democracy cannot function, and these things are religiously impermissible, and they are:
1. The existence of political parties being necessary.
2. Seeking leadership, i.e., applying to become a member of the assembly oneself, and then striving for it by all lawful and unlawful means.
3. Considering the majority opinion as the criterion of truth.
4. Universal adult suffrage, i.e., giving the right to vote to everyone, including women.
5. Considering the value of every person's vote as equal. In this situation, it seems appropriate that one should not encourage this system at all by voting, but even then, sometimes there arises the danger that an element averse to religion may come to power. Therefore, it becomes necessary to cooperate with the party that is relatively better from a religious perspective, and its justification is only to the extent that, to prevent a greater trial, a lesser trial is tolerated. This is only a temporary remedy, and the real remedy is to adopt the path that was the way of the noble Prophets in order to change this infidel political system.

[110]
Why Does Every Sect Remain Content with Its Own Beliefs and Actions?

Since this world is a place of trial, We have established its system in such a way and gathered such means that here every nation remains proud of its own actions and ways. Allah has not created the human mind in such a way that it is compelled only to accept and like the truth, with no possibility of turning towards error. However, when one goes to Allah and the realities become manifest, then everyone will know what kind of deeds he was doing in the world. In this world, even if a sect is actively opposing the truth, it thinks that it is doing a very good deed.