If the ruler forbids discussing a specific legal issue, is he to be obeyed?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, the ruler has the authority to restrain a scholar, but if the scholar was in an ignorant village where they did not know their religion,
The Shaykh : by Allah, in any matter, may Allah bless you, this is if a ruler like 'Umar is found. But there is a tyrannical ruler who hates the Shari'ah, who hates Islam, and says: Beware of saying, "Our Lord is Allah, and we obey Him."
The questioner : Why did he give him the platform?
The Shaykh : Because, may Allah bless you, it is not intended that they are all the same. For this reason, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) prevented him, and he was scrupulous about preventing him. He said: "Do not speak; I have taken on what I have taken on."
For example, if the ruler prevents us from speaking about something in the affairs of religion that has no connection to politics and does not lead to corrupting the minds and hearts of the people against the rulers?
A purely religious issue. For example, if we say to you, O Sultan, if you prevent us, we will comply. Can he say as 'Umar said? Yes? No, not in all cases, not in all cases. For this reason, Imam Ahmad was asked about a matter close to this. A questioner asked him and said: "My father orders me to divorce my wife." He said: "Do not do it. If she is desirous of him, do not do it." He said: "What do you say about the statement of 'Umar?"
When he ordered 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar to divorce his wife, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Ibn 'Umar to divorce her. He said to him a word that broke his back: "And is your father 'Umar?" 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) could not say to his son, "Divorce your wife," except for a legal reason. Perhaps if the wife defied him in a simple matter, he said, "Bring the breakfast," and she said, "It is finished," and he said, "Come on, son, divorce her." Can some people be so foolish as to divorce her in this situation? No, he does not divorce her.
The Shaykh : by Allah, in any matter, may Allah bless you, this is if a ruler like 'Umar is found. But there is a tyrannical ruler who hates the Shari'ah, who hates Islam, and says: Beware of saying, "Our Lord is Allah, and we obey Him."
The questioner : Why did he give him the platform?
The Shaykh : Because, may Allah bless you, it is not intended that they are all the same. For this reason, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) prevented him, and he was scrupulous about preventing him. He said: "Do not speak; I have taken on what I have taken on."
For example, if the ruler prevents us from speaking about something in the affairs of religion that has no connection to politics and does not lead to corrupting the minds and hearts of the people against the rulers?
A purely religious issue. For example, if we say to you, O Sultan, if you prevent us, we will comply. Can he say as 'Umar said? Yes? No, not in all cases, not in all cases. For this reason, Imam Ahmad was asked about a matter close to this. A questioner asked him and said: "My father orders me to divorce my wife." He said: "Do not do it. If she is desirous of him, do not do it." He said: "What do you say about the statement of 'Umar?"
When he ordered 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar to divorce his wife, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Ibn 'Umar to divorce her. He said to him a word that broke his back: "And is your father 'Umar?" 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) could not say to his son, "Divorce your wife," except for a legal reason. Perhaps if the wife defied him in a simple matter, he said, "Bring the breakfast," and she said, "It is finished," and he said, "Come on, son, divorce her." Can some people be so foolish as to divorce her in this situation? No, he does not divorce her.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 483 - 4600 هل إذا منع ولي الأمر الحديث عن مسألة شرعية يطاع؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.