وُجُوبِ الإِنْكَارِ عَلَى الأُمَرَاءِ فِيمَا يُخَالِفُ الشَّرْعَ وَتَرْكِ قِتَالِهِمْ مَا صَلَّوْا وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ

The obligation to denounce the rulers when they contradict the Sharia and to avoid fighting them as long as they pray and so on.

يَكُونُ بَعْدِي أَئِمَّةٌ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ بِهُدَايَ وَلَا يَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَّتِي وَسَيَقُومُ فِيهِمْ رِجَالٌ قُلُوبُهُمْ قُلُوبُ الشَّيَاطِينِ فِي جُثْمَانِ إِنْسٍ

Rulers after me will come who do not follow my guidance and my Sunnah. Some of their men will have the hearts of devils in a human body.

I said, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, what should I do if I live to see that time?” The Prophet said:

تَسْمَعُ وَتُطِيعُ لِلْأَمِيرِ وَإِنْ ضُرِبَ ظَهْرُكَ وَأُخِذَ مَالُكَ فَاسْمَعْ وَأَطِعْ

You should listen and obey them even if the ruler strikes your back and takes your wealth, even still listen and obey.     Sahih Muslim 1847

Awf ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

خِيَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمْ الَّذِينَ تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَكُمْ وَيُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَتُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَشِرَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمْ الَّذِينَ تُبْغِضُونَهُمْ وَيُبْغِضُونَكُمْ وَتَلْعَنُونَهُمْ وَيَلْعَنُونَكُمْ

The best of your rulers are those whom you love and they love you, who pray for you and you pray for them. The worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and they hate you, whom you curse and they curse you.

It was said, “Shall we confront them with swords?” The Prophet ﷺ said:

لَا مَا أَقَامُوا فِيكُمْ الصَّلَاةَ وَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ مِنْ وُلَاتِكُمْ شَيْئًا تَكْرَهُونَهُ فَاكْرَهُوا عَمَلَهُ وَلَا تَنْزِعُوا يَدًا مِنْ طَاعَةٍ

No, as long as they establish prayer among you. If you find something hateful from them, you should hate their actions but not withdraw your hand from obedience. Sahih Muslim 1855

Umm Salamah reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

سَتَكُونُ أُمَرَاءُ فَتَعْرِفُونَ وَتُنْكِرُونَ فَمَنْ عَرَفَ بَرِئَ وَمَنْ أَنْكَرَ سَلِمَ وَلَكِنْ مَنْ رَضِيَ وَتَابَعَ

There will be rulers from whom you will see both goodness and corruption. One who recognizes their evil and hates it will maintain his innocence, but one who is pleased with it and follows them will be sinful.

It was said, “Shall we not fight them?” The Prophet ﷺ said:                    لَا مَا صَلَّوْا

No, as long as they pray. Sahih Muslim 1854

Al-Nawawi commented on these Hadeeth 

وَأَمَّا الْخُرُوجُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَقِتَالُهُمْ فَحَرَامٌ بِإِجْمَاعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا فَسَقَةً ظَالِمِينَ وَقَدْ تَظَاهَرَتِ الْأَحَادِيثُ بِمَعْنَى مَا ذَكَرْتُهُ وَأَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ أَنَّهُ لَا يَنْعَزِلُ السُّلْطَانُ بِالْفِسْقِ … وَسَبَبُ عَدَمِ انْعِزَالِهِ وَتَحْرِيمِ الْخُرُوجِ عَلَيْهِ مَا يَتَرَتَّبُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْفِتَنِ وَإِرَاقَةِ الدِّمَاءِ وَفَسَادِ ذَاتِ الْبَيْنِ فَتَكُونُ الْمَفْسَدَةُ فِي عَزْلِهِ أَكْثَرَ مِنْهَا فِي بَقَائِهِ

As for rebelling against the ruler and fighting him, it is forbidden by consensus of the Muslims, even if he is sinful and oppressive. I have mentioned the traditions that demonstrate this meaning. The people of the Sunnah have agreed that the ruler should not be removed due to his sinfulness… The reason his removal and rebellion against him is forbidden is because of what that entails of tribulations, bloodshed, and corruption, for the harm in removing the ruler is greater than letting him remain. Sharh Sahih Muslim 1840

عَنْ كَعْبِ بْنِ عُجْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَيَكُونُ بَعْدِي أُمَرَاءُ فَمَنْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَصَدَّقَهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَأَعَانَهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ وَلَيْسَ بِوَارِدٍ عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَدْخُلْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَمْ يُعِنْهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُصَدِّقْهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ فَهُوَ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْهُ وَهُوَ وَارِدٌ عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ

2190 سنن الترمذي كتاب الفتن باب ما جاء في النهي عن سب الرياح

2190 المحدث الترمذي خلاصة حكم المحدث حسن صحيح في سنن الترمذي

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Verily, tyrannical rulers will come after me and whoever affirms their lies and supports their oppression has nothing to do with me and I have nothing to do with him, and he will not drink with me at the fountain in Paradise.”

Sunan Al-Tirmidhi  2190

عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ يَا كَعْبُ بْنَ عُجْرَةَ أُعِيذُكَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ إِمَارَةِ السُّفَهَاءِ إِنَّهَا سَتَكُونُ أُمَرَاءُ مَنْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَأَعَانَهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ وَصَدَّقَهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ وَلَنْ يَرِدَ عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَدْخُلْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَمْ يُعِنْهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُصَدِّقْهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ فَهُوَ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْهُ وَسَيَرِدُ عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ يَا كَعْبُ بْنَ عُجْرَةَ الصَّلَاةُ قُرْبَانٌ وَالصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ وَالصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيَّةَ كَمَا يُطْفِئُ الْمَاءُ النَّارَ

1723 المحدث شعيب الأرناؤوط خلاصة حكم المحدث إسناده صحيح على شرط مسلم في تخريج صحيح ابن حبان

Jabir ibn Abdullah reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “O Ka’b ibn ‘Ujrah, I seek refuge in Allah on your behalf from the leadership of fools, for they will become rulers. Whoever is admitted before them, supports them in their wrongdoing, and affirms their lies, then he is not part of me and I am not part of him. He will never meet me at the Fountain. Whoever is not admitted before them, does not support them in their wrongdoing, and does not affirm their lies, then he is part of me and I am part of him. He will meet me at the Fountain. Oh Ka’b ibn ‘Urjah, prayer brings one closer to Allah, fasting is a shield, and charity extinguishes sins just as water extinguishes fire.”

Sahih Ibn Ḥibban 1723 – Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Arna’ut

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

مَنْ خَرَجَ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ وَفَارَقَ الْجَمَاعَةَ فَمَاتَ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً وَمَنْ قَاتَلَ تَحْتَ رَايَةٍ عُمِّيَّةٍ يَغْضَبُ لِعَصَبَةٍ أَوْ يَدْعُو إِلَى عَصَبَةٍ أَوْ يَنْصُرُ عَصَبَةً فَقُتِلَ فَقِتْلَةٌ جَاهِلِيَّةٌ وَمَنْ خَرَجَ عَلَى أُمَّتِي يَضْرِبُ بَرَّهَا وَفَاجِرَهَا وَلاَ يَتَحَاشَ مِنْ مُؤْمِنِهَا وَلاَ يَفِي لِذِي عَهْدٍ عَهْدَهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ

Whoever rejects obedience to the ruler and divides the community and dies will have died upon ignorance. Whoever fights under the banner of one who is blind, raging for the sake of tribalism, or calling to tribalism, or supporting tribalism, and is killed will have died upon ignorance. Whoever rebels against my nation, striking the righteous and wicked alike and sparing not even the believers and does not fulfil the pledge of security, then he has nothing to do with me and I have nothing to do with him.

Sahih Muslim 1848

Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

لَوْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ إِذَا ابْتُلُوا مِنْ قِبَلِ سُلْطَانِهِمْ صَبَرُوا مَا لَبِثُوا أَنْ يُفْرَجَ عَنْهُمْ وَلَكِنَّهُمْ يَجْزَعُونَ إِلَى السَّيْفِ فَيُوَكَّلُونَ إِلَيْهِ فَوَاللَّهِ مَا جَاءُوا بِيَوْمِ خَيْرٍ قَطُّ

If the people had patience when they are being tested by their unjust ruler, it will not be long before Allah will give them a way out. However, they always rush to their swords, so they are left with their swords. By Allah, not even for a single day did they bring about any good. Al-Tabaqat Al Kubra 8789

How to advise Rulers

Iyad ibn Ghanam reported: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said:

مَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَنْصَحَ لِسُلْطَانٍ بِأَمْرٍ فَلَا يُبْدِ لَهُ عَلَانِيَةً وَلَكِنْ لِيَأْخُذْ بِيَدِهِ فَيَخْلُوَ بِهِ فَإِنْ قَبِلَ مِنْهُ فَذَاكَ وَإِلَّا كَانَ قَدْ أَدَّى الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ لَهُ

Whoever intends to advise one with authority, then he should not do so publicly. Rather, he should take him by the hand and advise him in seclusion. If he accepts the advice, then all is well. If he does not accept it, then he has fulfilled his duty.

Musnad Aḥmad 14909

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said:

إِنَّ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْجِهَادِ كَلِمَةَ عَدْلٍ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ

Verily, among the greatest Jihad is a word of justice in front of a tyrannical ruler.

Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2174

 عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَخْرُجُ يَوْمَ الْفِطْرِ وَالأَضْحَى إِلَى الْمُصَلَّى، فَأَوَّلُ شَىْءٍ يَبْدَأُ بِهِ الصَّلاَةُ ثُمَّ يَنْصَرِفُ، فَيَقُومُ مُقَابِلَ النَّاسِ، وَالنَّاسُ جُلُوسٌ عَلَى صُفُوفِهِمْ، فَيَعِظُهُمْ وَيُوصِيهِمْ وَيَأْمُرُهُمْ، فَإِنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَقْطَعَ بَعْثًا قَطَعَهُ، أَوْ يَأْمُرَ بِشَىْءٍ أَمَرَ بِهِ، ثُمَّ يَنْصَرِفُ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ فَلَمْ يَزَلِ النَّاسُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ حَتَّى خَرَجْتُ مَعَ مَرْوَانَ وَهْوَ أَمِيرُ الْمَدِينَةِ فِي أَضْحًى أَوْ فِطْرٍ، فَلَمَّا أَتَيْنَا الْمُصَلَّى إِذَا مِنْبَرٌ بَنَاهُ كَثِيرُ بْنُ الصَّلْتِ، فَإِذَا مَرْوَانُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَرْتَقِيَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ، فَجَبَذْتُ بِثَوْبِهِ فَجَبَذَنِي فَارْتَفَعَ، فَخَطَبَ قَبْلَ الصَّلاَةِ، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ غَيَّرْتُمْ وَاللَّهِ‏.‏ فَقَالَ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ، قَدْ ذَهَبَ مَا تَعْلَمُ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ مَا أَعْلَمُ وَاللَّهِ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا لاَ أَعْلَمُ‏.‏ فَقَالَ إِنَّ النَّاسَ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَجْلِسُونَ لَنَا بَعْدَ الصَّلاَةِ فَجَعَلْتُهَا قَبْلَ الصَّلاَةِ‏.‏

The Prophet used to proceed to the Musalla on the days of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha; the first thing to begin with was the prayer and after that he would stand in front of the people and the people would keep sitting in their rows. Then he would preach to them, advise them and give them orders, (i.e. Khutbah). And after that if he wished to send an army for an expedition, he would do so; or if he wanted to give an order, he would do so, and then depart. The people followed this tradition till I went out with Marwan, the Governor of Madinah, for the prayer of Eid-ul-Adha or Eid-ul-Fitr. When we reached the Musalla, there was a pulpit made by Kathir bin As-Salt. Marwan wanted to get up on that pulpit before the prayer. I got hold of his clothes but he pulled them and ascended the pulpit and delivered the Khutbah before the prayer. I said to him, “By Allah, you have changed (the Prophet’s tradition).” He replied, “O Abu Saeed! Gone is that which you know.” I said, “By Allah! What I know is better than what I do not know.” Marwan said, “People do not sit to listen to our Khutbah after the prayer, so I delivered the Khutbah before the prayer.”

Authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri – Sahih Al-Bukhari. Chapter 15,

عَنْ كَعْبِ بْنِ عُجْرَةَ، قَالَ دَخَلَ الْمَسْجِدَ وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ أُمِّ الْحَكَمِ يَخْطُبُ قَاعِدًا فَقَالَ انْظُرُوا إِلَى هَذَا الْخَبِيثِ يَخْطُبُ قَاعِدًا وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ‏{‏ وَإِذَا رَأَوْا تِجَارَةً أَوْ لَهْوًا انْفَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا وَتَرَكُوكَ قَائِمًا‏}‏

Ka’b b. ‘Ujra reported that he entered the mosque and saw Abd al-Rahman b. Umm Hakam delivered the sermon in a sitting posture. Upon this he said:

Look at this wretched person; he delivers the sermon while sitting, whereas Allah said:” And when they see merchandise or sport, they break away to it and leave thee standing.”

Sahih Muslim 864

Two extremist groups 

Khawaarij (الخوارج)

Historically, the Khawaarij are those who rebelled against ‘Ali ibn Abee Taalib (رضي االله عنه) in the 37th year of Hijrah (657 C.E.) and imputed kufr upon ‘Ali (رضي االله عنه) upon the arbitration that followed the Battle of Siffeen. They hated ‘Ali’s decision to end the fitnah which occurred with Mu’aawiyah (رضي االله عنه), calling ‘Ali’s acceptance of the arbitration a compromise. They also imputed kufr upon many of the sahaabah who accepted the arbitration. They did not even accept the whole of ‘Uthman’s (رضي االله عنه) Caliphate. This position stems from their misunderstanding of the Qur’aan. They deduced, wrongly, that major sins are kufr and thus forfeit salvation. Sin is a contradiction that nullifies faith! ‘Ali and the other sahaabah sinned in the eyes of the Khawaarij and that sufficed to nullify their state of belief! Their doctrine became famous in their rebellions against any Muslim leader who, in their eyes, committed a sin or a mistake. – [Dr. Saleh as-Saleh)

Al-Murji’ah (المرجئة)

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen (rahimahullaah) said:

“They believe that actions are deferred from Eemaan (Al-Irjaa). Thus actions, according to them, are not part of it. Eemaan is simply the complying of the heart. Thus the sinner, according to them, is a believer with complete Eemaan, even if he does what he does from the disobedient acts or he abandons what he abandons from the obedient acts. And if we ruled that someone that abandoned one of the commandments of the Religion is a disbeliever, then that would be due to the absence of the complying in his heart not due to his abandonment of that deed. These are the views of the Jahmiyyah. And it, along with the views of the Khawaarij, are the two opposite extremities.”

And as for the Murjiah, then they are upon the religion of the kings. (i.e they appease the kings and appeal to the sinful ones from them, due to the fact that they hold that sins do not affect one’s Iman.) Al-Ibanah As-Sughra by Imam Ibn Battah Al-Ukbari

(To this day we still have people that belong to the above two ideologies even though they claim otherwise. Material is available in abundance in refutation of the Khawareej and their ideology. As for material more specifically targeting the deviant practices and beliefs of the Murjiah then this is less readily available in English or is tainted due to the writers being affected by the ideology of the Khawareej. May Allah protect us from both the deviant ideologies. 

Murjiah of the age come quickly to the defence of sinful practices of the rulers and label anyone that speaks of them as belonging to the Khawareej sect. Even though there is evidence from the Sunnah to prove that not every speech mentioning mistakes of the ruler is sinful or renders the doer a deviant. There are examples from the Salaf as well as reputable scholars of this time mentioning clear mistakes of rulers and no one balanced from Ahlus-Sunnah declares them to have deviated or belonging to the ideology of the Khawareej. From the scholars of our times there are examples of Shaikh Nasir Ud-Deen Albani, Shaikh Badee Ud-Deen Shah Rashidi, Shaikh Ehsan Elahi Zaheer, Sheikh Muqbil Ibn Hadi and numerous other scholars highlighting sinful acts of the rulers. Point to highlight is that these scholars are clear in the censoring of rebellion against the sinful rulers. Other scholars hold the view that the first stage of rebellion is the actual speaking of sinful acts of the rulers. There is more detail to the matter that can be elaborated on in a future article Allah willing.)

Compiler Notes