Then know that rebellion is divided into two types:

Dissent by Speech

This refers to publicly mentioning flaws and shortcomings in gatherings and from atop pulpits. This is considered disobedience to them, rebellion against them, incitement to rise against them, sowing distrust in them, and agitating the people against them. It serves as the foundation and cause for actual, physical rebellion.

Allah has forbidden—upon the tongue of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him—rebellion against Muslim rulers because it leads to immense, innumerable harms, among the most important of which are:

• The shedding of innocent Muslim lives.
• The spilling of protected blood.
• The violation of forbidden sanctuaries and chastity (lit. the desecration of forbidden private parts).
• The looting of wealth.
• The terrorizing of roads (highway robbery).
• The spread of hunger instead of abundant living.
• Fear instead of security.
• Anxiety instead of tranquility.

All of this pertains to the worldly life.

As for the Hereafter, none knows except Allah what will be met by the one who was the cause of instigating turmoil (fitnah). For to overthrow a state and establish another in its place is no trivial matter; rather, it is exceedingly difficult. Because of this, the Lawgiver, peace and blessings be upon him, issued severe warnings against it, even if the ruler is unjust and corrupt (transgressing). Below are some of the texts that indicate, command, and urge patience, while warning and prohibiting against rebellion.

For instance, in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Nafi’, he said: Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) came to Abdullah ibn Muti’ at the time of the events of Al-Harrah during the reign of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah. Muti’ said, “Place a cushion for Abu Abd al-Rahman.” Ibn Umar replied, “I did not come to you to sit; I came to relate to you a hadith I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

“Whoever withdraws a hand from obedience will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection with no argument [excuse] for himself, and whoever dies while there is no pledge of allegiance on his neck dies the death of the Jahiliyyah [pre-Islamic ignorance].”

On the authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

“Whoever dislikes something from his ruler, let him endure it with patience, for no one departs a hand’s span from the authority and dies in that state, except that he dies the death of the Jahiliyyah.”

And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

“Whoever departs from obedience and separates from the community [jama’ah] and dies, dies the death of the Jahiliyyah. Whoever fights under a blind banner—becoming angry for the sake of tribalism/partisanship, calling to tribalism, or supporting tribalism—and is killed, his death is a death of Jahiliyyah. And whoever rebels against my nation, striking indiscriminately at its righteous and its wicked, showing no regard for its believers, and fulfilling no covenant made with a covenant-holder, then he is not of me, and I am not of him.”

Also in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Abu Idris al-Khawlani, he said: I heard Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) say:

“The people used to ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about good, but I used to ask him about evil out of fear that it might overtake me. So I said: “O Messenger of Allah, we were in a state of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) and evil, and Allah brought us this good; will there be evil after this good?” He said: “Yes.” I said: “Will there be good after that evil?” He said: “Yes, but it will have a *dukhn [cloudiness/flaw].” I said: “And what is its flaw?” He said: “People who follow other than my tradition and guide by other than my guidance. You will recognize them and disapprove of them.” I said: “Will there be evil after that good?” He said: “Yes; callers at the gates of Hell—whoever responds to them, they hurl him into it.” I said: “O Messenger of Allah, describe them to us.” He said: “Yes; they are from our own people and speak our languages.” I said: “O Messenger of Allah, what do you command me to do if I witness that?” He said: “Adhere to the community of Muslims and their Imam.” I said: “If they have neither a community nor an Imam?” He said: “Then withdraw from all those sects, even if you have to bite onto the root of a tree until death overtakes you while you are in that state.””*

And in the narration of Abu Salam, also in his collection—meaning Sahih Muslim—he said:

“I said: “O Messenger of Allah, we were in evil, and Allah brought us good, and we are living in it. Is there any evil after this good?” He said: “Yes.” I said: “Is there any evil after that good?” He said: “Yes.” I said: “How will that be?” He said: “There will be Imams after me who do not follow my guidance and do not adopt my tradition. Among them will arise men whose hearts are the hearts of devils in the bodies of humans.” I said: “What should I do, O Messenger of Allah, if I witness that?” He said: “Listen and obey the ruler, even if your back is beaten and your wealth is taken; listen and obey.”” (Sahih Muslim)

And in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Arfajah, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

“There will be successive trials and tribulations. Whoever intends to divide the affairs of this nation while it is united, strike him with the sword, whoever he may be.”

And in another narration on his authority—meaning Arfajah:

“Whoever comes to you while your affair is united under a single man, intending to split your staff and divide your community, kill him.”

And in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“If the oath of allegiance is given to two caliphs, kill the latter of the two.”

And on the authority of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“There will be rulers, and you will recognize [some of their actions] and disapprove [of others]. Whoever recognizes [and rejects them in his heart] is absolved, and whoever disapproves [dislikes them] is safe. But [the sin falls upon] the one who is pleased [with their evil] and follows them.” They said: “Shall we not fight them?” He said: “No, as long as they establish prayer.””

And in a narration:

“Whoever disapproves is absolved, and whoever detests [it] is safe.”

And on the authority of ‘Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

“The best of your Imams are those whom you love and who love you, whom you invoke blessings upon and who invoke blessings upon you. And the worst of your Imams are those whom you hate and who hate you, whom you curse and who curse you.” He said: We asked, “O Messenger of Allah, shall we not rise against them with the sword upon that?” He said: “No, as long as they establish prayer among you. No, as long as they establish prayer among you. Beware, if anyone has a ruler set over him and sees him committing an act of disobedience to Allah, let him detest the act of disobedience to Allah that he commits, but let him not withdraw a hand from obedience.””

And in the hadith of Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called upon us and we gave him the pledge of allegiance. Among the things he exacted from us was that we pledged to listen and obey, in times of ease and hardship, in our difficulty and our comfort, even when others are preferred over us, and that we would not dispute the authority with those entitled to it.” He added: “‘Except if you see open disbelief concerning which you have proof from Allah.’”

And in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet (marfu’):

“The Children of Israel were governed by prophets; whenever a prophet passed away, another succeeded him. Indeed, there is no prophet after me. There will be caliphs, and they will be many.” They said: “What do you command us to do?” He said: “Fulfill the pledge of allegiance to the first, then the next, and give them their rights, for Allah will question them about what He entrusted to them.””

And in the lengthy hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, attributed to the Prophet (marfu’):

“Whoever pledges allegiance to an Imam, giving him the handshake of his hand and the fruit of his heart, let him obey him as much as he is able. If another comes to dispute him, strike the neck of the latter.”

These are eleven hadiths that I have compiled from Sahih Muslim alone, and they are as follows:

1. The hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both).
2. The hadith on the authority of Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both).
3. The hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).
4. The hadith on the authority of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with them).
5. The hadith on the authority of Arfajah al-Kilabi (may Allah be pleased with him).
6. The hadith on the authority of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him).
7. The hadith on the authority of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) (may Allah be pleased with her).
8. The hadith on the authority of ‘Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja’i (may Allah be pleased with him).
9. The hadith on the authority of Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him).
10. The hadith also on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).
11. The hadith on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both).

All of these hadiths are authentic and taken from Sahih Muslim, which the Muslim nation has received with acceptance and judged to be the most authentic book of hadith after Sahih al-Bukhari. All of these hadiths convey rulings pertaining to the rights of rulers over their subjects, and they all agree upon a single ruling: the prohibition of rebelling against the Muslim rulers, even if they are unjust and tyrannical.

Thus, we say: Several rulings are derived from these hadiths:

First Ruling: The prohibition of rebelling against the Muslim rulers of affairs even if they are corrupt transgressors or unjust tyrants, the obligation to obey them in matters that do not involve disobedience to Allah the Exalted, and the principle that whatever a mandatory duty depends upon is itself mandatory; whatever serves as a means to a mandatory act is mandatory; whatever serves as a means to a forbidden act is forbidden. Therefore, speaking about rulers and publicly disparaging them is forbidden because it is a means to rebelling against them, and thus it is forbidden.

Second Ruling: The prohibition of disputing or contesting authority with them, which takes several forms, including:

• A. Displaying contempt for them and belittling their status.
• B. Exposing their flaws in public gatherings and from the pulpits.
• C. Fabricating flaws and defects for them in order to plant hatred of them in the hearts of the general public and young students of knowledge.
• D. Disparaging scholars and accusing them of compromise and selling their consciences.
• E. Employing anything that serves to agitate people against them and stir up opposition. All of these are forms of contesting the rulers which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited, as mentioned in the hadith of Ubadah ibn al-Samit cited earlier with the wording: “We pledged to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to listen and obey in hardship and ease, in our difficulty and our comfort, and that we would not dispute the authority with those entitled to it—except if you see open disbelief concerning which you have proof from Allah.”

Third Ruling: It is derived from the hadiths of Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, and Abu Hurayrah that whoever dies without a pledge of allegiance (bay’ah) on his neck dies the death of the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance).

Fourth Ruling: It is derived from these hadiths that the recognized and valid pledge of allegiance is the first one—that is, the pledge to the visible Imam who is known to the people—due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): “Fulfill the pledge of allegiance to the first, then the next.”

Fifth Ruling: It is derived from these hadiths that the second pledge of allegiance—which is a clandestine or secret pledge—is null and void. If some partisan individual says, “I have not given a pledge of allegiance,” he is told: “Verily, the pledge of your chieftain or tribal elder is a pledge on your behalf, and you are bound by it legally before Allah the Exalted, and then before His creation.”

Sixth Ruling: It is derived from these hadiths that whoever takes a pledge of allegiance for himself behind the back of the Imam and without his permission must be killed if he is apprehended, and it is obligatory to fight him alongside the Imam if he is not apprehended and he goes out in actual rebellion, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever comes to you while your affair is united under a single man, intending to split your staff and divide your community, strike his neck, whoever he may be.”

Seventh Ruling: It is derived from these hadiths that it is obligatory to have patience with the tyranny of rulers as long as they are Muslims, and not to rebel against them. This is based on the Prophet’s saying (peace and blessings be upon him) to his companions: “Indeed, you will see after me self-preference [favoritism], so be patient until you meet me at the Pond”, and his saying: “Whoever sees something from his Imam [ruler], let him be patient and not withdraw a hand from obedience, for whoever departs a hand’s span from the authority and dies, dies the death of the Jahiliyyah.”

Eighth Ruling: That whoever sees an act of disobedience from his commander or Imam must offer him ‘sincere advice’ (naseehah) according to its proper conditions. If [the ruler] does not accept and persists in his disobedience, [the subject] must detest the act of disobedience to Allah that he commits, but must not withdraw a hand from obedience. Likewise, if one is unable to give advice, the obligation upon him is to detest it, due to the Prophet’s saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Umm Salamah: (Whoever disapproves is absolved, and whoever detests [it] is safe, but [the sin falls upon] the one who is pleased and follows).

Ninth Ruling: The subjects must fulfill the rights owed to the rulers and entrust their affair to Allah if [the rulers] fall short in their rights, for Allah will question them about what He entrusted to them, and it is not permissible [for the subjects] to rebel against them.

Tenth Ruling: That if an Imam exhibits shortcomings regarding the rights of the subjects, it is not permissible for them to retaliate by withholding his right to obedience. Rather, they must fulfill his right and be patient with whatever shortcomings occur from the Imam, if any.

The meaning of patience is: they do not speak ill of him in public forums, gatherings, and from atop the pulpits; rather, it is permissible for them to write to him privately with admonition and reminders. If no reversal or change occurs, they are obligated to remain patient, and it is not permissible for them to withdraw a hand from obedience.