Publicly Reprimanding the Rulers: Is It Part of Advising?

Question:
A large number of questions have come in, which has kept us busy. I hope that, if Allah wills, we will address most of them, if not all of them, if Allah wills. Most of the questions began with supplication and praise, and with saying that you love me for the sake of Allah. There is no need to repeat such things; I am content to include them in the first question. This questioner says: Your Eminence the Shaykh, your fatwa was published yesterday regarding the danger of publicly reprimanding the rulers and the harms that result from it. But some people say that this is part of advising (nasihah) and is a necessary consequence of enjoining good and forbidding evil. What is your response? May Allah bless you.

Answer:
This is not advising; this is exposing people. We have clarified this. This is not advising. Insulting the rulers, reprimanding them in front of people, and mentioning their faults is not advising. Advising is conveying it to them in secret, between the advisor and the one being advised. That is advising. As for displaying this to the people, that is deception, not advising. And deception is the opposite of advising. But is this a deception of the people, or is it ignorance of the meaning of advising?
So the one who says this is either someone driven by desire or an ignorant person who does not know the meaning of advising. He says this is forbidding evil. Forbidding evil is not like this. Forbidding evil is done with wisdom, good admonition, and arguing in the best manner. With the tongue, with the hand if one is able, with the tongue if one is not able, and with the heart. That is the last resort. And forbidding evil may itself be an evil. If it necessitates the occurrence of a greater evil, then it is an evil in itself and is not part of forbidding evil.
The scholars divided this into three categories. First, a reprimand that results in the removal of the evil; this is what is required. Second, a reprimand that results in another evil like the one you reprimanded; this one is removed and another evil comes in its place. This is also not acceptable because we have not benefited from anything. Third, that a greater evil follows it. This is corruption, so it is absolutely not permissible. Publicly reprimanding the rulers necessitates a greater evil. It necessitates chaos, it necessitates destruction, it necessitates the disintegration of society, and it necessitates the division of the Muslim community. These are greater evils, and I seek refuge in Allah.
My brother, Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said to Moses and Aaron when He sent them to Pharaoh, who said, "I am your supreme lord." He did not say to them to stand in the streets or on the pulpits or in the gatherings of the people and say, "Pharaoh did such and such," "Pharaoh is a tyrant," and "Pharaoh is a tyrant," right? But Allah did not say to them that. He said, "Go to him." Go to him and say to him: This is the divine guidance with the most disbelieving of people and the most rebellious. So the Shari'ah method is to convey the advice to the ruler.
A man came to one of the caliphs and said, "I am..." He said, "I am your admonisher and I am harsh with you," seeking his permission to do so. He said, "No, and no honor in that." Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said to one better than you, regarding one more disbelieving than me and stronger than me, Pharaoh, to Moses and Aaron, "Go to him" So when you mention the faults of the Muslim ruler, we are not free from observations; a human being is a human being. If you stand and mention the faults of the Muslim ruler to the people, this results in harms. You claim that you are forbidding an evil, but it is not this evil. You are not with the ruler; you are with the people, perhaps even the enemies, the enemies of the ruler and the enemies of the Muslims. Then they rejoice in this to break the stick of obedience and divide the Muslims. So this is absolutely not permissible, and it is not part of advising, nor part of enjoining good and forbidding evil. Yes.