Addressing the Confusion Surrounding the Political Party System in Islam

The partisan approach is a method of contemporary politics. This approach was born from the electoral democracy system practised in most countries worldwide. The need to establish political parties in a democratic system becomes a priority when the system considers the number of majorities as a determinant of policy approval. In this regard, Malaysia is among the vast majority of Islamic countries that practice a parliamentary democracy system as an official political system. This reality has caused polemics and confusion regarding the necessity of practising partisan politics to often occur among Muslims, even to the point of causing criticism of Muslims involved in it. Among the main confusions is the claim that partisan politics is not a method of politics practised by the Prophet Muhammad SAW, without denying that he was a politician. Therefore, this study addresses this confusion based on the perspective of the Quran and Sunnah. For this purpose, this study analyses the words Hizbiyyah and Jama‘ah using the descriptive content analysis method. This qualitative study will also analyse the arguments to highlight the relationship between partisan politics and Islamic law. The study results found that the practice of partisan politics is part of the Islamic approach and carries the same maqasid as those practised by the Prophet Muhammad SAW. The conclusion is that Muslims need to get involved with political parties that conform to the concepts of Hizbiyyah Islamiyyah and Jamaah to ensure the sovereignty of Islam throughout the world.