What do we do if the one in authority orders a sin?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
I hold that it is obligatory to obey the rulers of the Muslims, whether they are righteous or sinful, as long as they do not order disobedience to Allah.
The Shaykh:
The mention of "sinful" here is a disagreement with the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah, who rebel against sinful rulers. By "sinful" here, it is meant those who commit sins. The sinfulness referred to is not disbelief. Yes.
The questioner:
The rulers of the Muslims, whether they are righteous or sinful, as long as they do not order disobedience to Allah.
The Shaykh:
They are to be obeyed; their obedience is obligatory, except when they order a sin. There is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. However, their pledge of allegiance is not broken if they order a sin. For example, if they order the shaving of beards, or order that people do not pray in congregation in the mosque, this is a sin. We do not obey them in that; we do not shave our beards, nor do we abandon the congregational prayer. But their obedience remains in what is right. In what is right and does not involve a sin, we oppose them in the sin and obey them in what is not a sin. Yes.
I hold that it is obligatory to obey the rulers of the Muslims, whether they are righteous or sinful, as long as they do not order disobedience to Allah.
The Shaykh:
The mention of "sinful" here is a disagreement with the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah, who rebel against sinful rulers. By "sinful" here, it is meant those who commit sins. The sinfulness referred to is not disbelief. Yes.
The questioner:
The rulers of the Muslims, whether they are righteous or sinful, as long as they do not order disobedience to Allah.
The Shaykh:
They are to be obeyed; their obedience is obligatory, except when they order a sin. There is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. However, their pledge of allegiance is not broken if they order a sin. For example, if they order the shaving of beards, or order that people do not pray in congregation in the mosque, this is a sin. We do not obey them in that; we do not shave our beards, nor do we abandon the congregational prayer. But their obedience remains in what is right. In what is right and does not involve a sin, we oppose them in the sin and obey them in what is not a sin. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 457 - ماذا نفعل إذا أمر ولي الأمر بمعصية؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.