Rebelling against the Muslim Ruler

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge of allegiance from the Companions over obedience to the rulers in what is easy and what is hard and in the state of richness and poverty, and whether they like or dislike their commands; even if the rulers prefer themselves over the subjects concerning the public funds, positions, and the like, they should listen and obey them in what is good and not revolt against them. This is because the strife and corruption that would result from fighting them are worse than the corruption caused by their oppression. Among the things they pledged allegiance to is to speak the truth wherever they may be, being sincere to Allah and not fearing those who reproach them.

1. The benefit resulting from listening and obeying the rulers is the unity of Muslims and renouncing dissension among them.
2. It is obligatory to listen and obey the rulers unless disobedience to Allah is involved, in what is easy and what is hard, and at times of energy and reluctance, and if they favor themselves regarding certain things.
3. It is obligatory to speak the truth wherever we may be without fearing the blame of anyone for the sake of Allah.

صحيح البخاري (9/ 47) (7055-7056)، (9/ 77) (7199، 7200). صحيح مسلم (3/ 1470) (1709). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (1/ 277). رياض الصالحين، للنووي (ص83) (186). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (2/ 419). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (1/ 202).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs us that rulers will be appointed to be in charge of us. We will approve some of their deeds for conforming with Shariah, and we will disapprove other deeds for contradicting Shariah. Whoever hates such evil deeds in his heart and is unable to forbid them is absolved of sin and hypocrisy. Whoever is able to forbid evil with his hand or tongue and does so is safe from bearing sin and from participating in it. However, those who are content with their evil deeds and follow them will be doomed just like them. Then, they asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): Shall we not fight against such rulers? He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them from that and said: No, as long as they establish the prayer amongst you.

1. Among the signs of the Prophet's prophethood is his foretelling about things of the Unseen that will take place in the same manner he foretold.
2. It is impermissible to approve of evil or participate in it and it must be forbidden.
3. If the rulers introduce something that contradicts Shariah, obeying them in this regard will be impermissible.
4. It is impermissible to rebel against the Muslim rulers given the harm, bloodshed, and loss of security that result therefrom; whereas, enduring the wrongdoing of sinful rulers and bearing their harm is the lesser of two evils.
5. The great significance of the prayer as it represents the difference between disbelief and Islam.

صحيح مسلم (3/ 1480) (1854). المفهم لما أشكل من تلخيص كتاب مسلم (4/ 64). البحر المحيط الثجاج في شرح صحيح الإمام مسلم بن الحجاج (32/ 206). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (1/ 279). تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل بن عبد العزيز المبارك (ص150). الشرح الممتع على زاد المستقنع، لابن عثيمين (11/ 323). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (2/ 435). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين (1/ 211).

Az-Zubayr ibn ‘Adiyy, along with a group of people, went to Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) who was the servant of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to complain to him about their suffering at the hands of Al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf Ath-Thaqafi. Al-Hajjāj was a governor appointed by the Caliphs of Banu Umayyah, and he was notorious for oppressing people and shedding their blood, as well as for being tyrannical and stubborn. So Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered them to be patient in the face of the oppression of those in authority, and informed them that no time would come upon them but the time following it would be worse until they meet their lord, and that he had heard this from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Evil is not always a general absolute evil; it could be evil in some situations and good in others.

- دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، لابن علان، نشر دار الكتاب العربي. - نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، نشر: مؤسسة الرسالة، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ - 1987م. - شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين، نشر: دار الوطن للنشر، الرياض، الطبعة: 1426هـ. - بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، للهلالي، نشر: دار ابن الجوزي. - صحيح البخاري، نشر: دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out that if anyone departs from obedience to the rulers and separates from the community of Muslims who agreed to pledge allegiance to the ruler and dies in this state of separation and disobedience, he has died like the death of the people of jāhiliyyah, who would not obey a leader or join one group; instead, they were different groups and tribes fighting one another. And the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that if anyone fights under a banner with which he cannot distinguish the truth from falsehood. He gets angry for the sole purpose of bias for his people or tribe, not for supporting the religion and the truth. He fights for fanaticism without insight or knowledge; his killing is like that of jāhiliyyah if he dies in this state. And that if anyone revolts against his Ummah, striking the righteous and the wicked of them and not caring about what he does or not fearing the punishment for killing the believers among them, and does not fulfill a covenant with those whom he has made covenants with from among the disbelievers or the rulers - rather, he violates them - this is a major sin and whoever commits it deserves this stern warning.

1. It is obligatory to obey the rulers in things that involve no disobedience to Allah Almighty.
2. It gives a stern warning about revolting against the ruler and departing from the Muslim community. Whoever dies in this state has died on the way of the people of jāhiliyyah.
3. The Hadīth forbids fighting for the sake of tribalism.
4. It is obligatory to fulfill covenants.
5. In obedience to the ruler and adhering to the community lie a lot of goodness, safety, tranquillity, and good conditions.
6. It is prohibited to emulate the way of the people of jāhiliyyah.
7. It enjoins adherence to the Muslim community.

صحيح مسلم. شرح النووي على مسلم (12/ 238). توضيح الأحكام من بلوغ المرام، للبسام (6/ 179). سبل السلام، لمحمد الصنعاني (2/ 374). منحة العلام شرح بلوغ المرام، لعبد الله الفوزان (8/ 338). مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح، لعلي القاري (6/ 2395).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) points out that if the Muslims agreed upon one ruler and one group, and then someone comes and wants to challenge his authority or cause disunity among the Muslims and disperse them into different groups, they are obligated to stop him and fight him to ward off his evil and prevent bloodshed among the Muslims.

1. It is obligatory to listen and obey the Muslim ruler unless disobedience to Allah is involved, and it is prohibited to revolt against him.
2. If anyone revolts against the ruler of the Muslims and their community, it is obligatory to fight him, regardless of his status and nobility.
3. The Muslims are urged to unite and keep away from disunity and disharmony.

صحيح مسلم (3/ 1480) (1852). منحة العلام في شرح بلوغ المرام، لعبد الله الفوزان (8/ 349). توضيح الأحكام شرح بلوغ المرام، للبسام (6/ 329). فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام بشرح بلوغ المرام، لابن عثيمين (5/ 302). المفاتيح في شرح المصابيح، الحسين المُظْهِري (4/ 295).

‘Uthmān ash-Shahhām and Farqad as-Sabakhi asked Muslim, the son of the noble Companion Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him): Had he heard a Hadīth from his father about the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) regarding trials and fighting among Muslims? He replied: Yes. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that there will be trials after his death. In these trials, the one who sits and remains uninvolved is better than the one who walks towards them without waiting for them or searching for them, and the one who walks is better than the one who hastens towards them, searching for them and participating in them. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then advised anyone living in a time or place where a trial happens or occurs, that if he can find a refuge to withdraw to, he should do so. Whoever has camels grazing should retreat to his camels, whoever has sheep grazing should retreat to his sheep, and whoever has land or a farm should retreat to his land. A man said: O Messenger of Allah, what about the one who has no refuge, neither camels, nor sheep, nor land? He said: Let him take his weapon, break it, and render it useless. Then let him flee to save himself and his children, if he can escape. Then he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) testified three times, saying: O Allah, have I conveyed (the message)? O Allah, have I conveyed (the message)? O Allah, have I conveyed (the message)? A man said: O Messenger of Allah, what if I am forced to join one of the two sides or groups, and a man strikes me with his sword, or an arrow comes and kills me? He said: He will bear his sin and the sin of the one he killed and, on the Day of Judgment, he will be from the dwellers of Hellfire.

1. Informing about the occurrence of trials is meant to warn against them, so that people may prepare themselves, avoid getting involved, and ask Allah for patience and safety from their evil.
2. An-Nawawi said: His statement (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): (The one sitting among them is better than the one standing) and so on, means to highlight the great danger of these trials, to encourage avoiding and fleeing from them, and that their harm and turmoil will be proportionate to one's involvement in them.
3. An-Nawawi said: The sin is lifted from the one who is coerced into being present there. However, killing is not permitted under coercion; rather, the one who is coerced to commit the act of killing bears the sin by the consensus of scholars.
4. Ibn Hajar said: Others said: If a group rebels against the ruler, refusing to fulfill their obligations and initiating war, then fighting them becomes obligatory. Similarly, if two groups of Muslims fight each other, it is incumbent upon anyone capable of restraining the wrongdoer and supporting the one on the right. This is the view of the majority of scholars. Others have provided an elaboration, stating: Any fighting between two groups of Muslims in the absence of a unified ruler for the community is prohibited. The Hadīths related to this matter and others should be applied in this context.
5. An-Nawawi said: Scholars have differed regarding fighting during times of trials. One group stated: One should not fight in such times when there are trials among Muslims, even if others enter his home and seek to kill him; defending oneself is not permissible because the aggressor might be acting based on an interpretation. This was the view of the Companion Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and others. Ibn ‘Umar, ‘Imrān ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them), and others said: One should not participate in the Fitnah (trial) but may defend himself if directly attacked. These two views agree on avoiding involvement in all the trials of Islam. However, the majority of the Companions, the Tābi‘is, and the majority of the Muslim scholars said: It is obligatory to support the one on the right during such trials and to fight against the aggressors, as Allah Almighty says: {Fight against the transgressing group until they submit to the rule of Allah}. This is the correct view. The Hadīths forbidding participation are understood to apply to those who are unclear about who is on the right, or to two unjust groups, with neither having a valid justification.

صحيح مسلم (4/ 2212) (2887). النهاية في غريب الحديث والأثر (91). شرح سنن أبي داود للعباد (478/ 3).