The Ruling on Publicly Denouncing the Rulers and Calling for Demonstrations
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Mansur from al-Kharma is with us on the line, please go ahead, Mansur. Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. And upon you be peace. May you be safe. I have two questions, Shaykh, please go ahead. Go ahead. Shaykh, what is the ruling on one who stirs up fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) in this country and exposes the faults of the rulers and ministers to the people? He publicly denounces the princes and ministers and calls for collective denunciation. Is this the way of the people of the Sunnah and the community, or the way of the Khawarij (an early sect that declared sinners disbelievers)? May Allah bless you. Thank you.
Answer:
This is an error, and this is the way of the Khawarij who want to break the unity of obedience, divide the community, and stir up fitnah in society. These people are sinful. It is obligatory for the Muslim to be a listener and obedient to the one in authority in matters other than disobedience to Allah, and not to stir up fitnah, criticize the rulers of the Muslims in front of people, or call for demonstrations.
These demonstrations lead to corruption and the destruction of wealth, and may result in the loss of lives and killing. Therefore, they are not among the manifestations of the Muslims, nor are they part of the actions of the Muslims; rather, they have come to us from others.
As for the Muslim, he listens and obeys in matters other than disobedience to Allah, and does not stir up fitnah. Rather, he commands the unification of words and obedience, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 2:38 and the way of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me.
And before that, before this, he said:Sunan al-Bayhaqi 17:1232. So what is obligatory here is obedience to the rulers of the Muslims; this is the first point.
The second point is that the disagreement among us is to be presented to the Book and the Sunnah, so we take from the Book and the Sunnah what is in accordance with the truth, and we leave what contradicts them. Yes.
Mansur from al-Kharma is with us on the line, please go ahead, Mansur. Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. And upon you be peace. May you be safe. I have two questions, Shaykh, please go ahead. Go ahead. Shaykh, what is the ruling on one who stirs up fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) in this country and exposes the faults of the rulers and ministers to the people? He publicly denounces the princes and ministers and calls for collective denunciation. Is this the way of the people of the Sunnah and the community, or the way of the Khawarij (an early sect that declared sinners disbelievers)? May Allah bless you. Thank you.
Answer:
This is an error, and this is the way of the Khawarij who want to break the unity of obedience, divide the community, and stir up fitnah in society. These people are sinful. It is obligatory for the Muslim to be a listener and obedient to the one in authority in matters other than disobedience to Allah, and not to stir up fitnah, criticize the rulers of the Muslims in front of people, or call for demonstrations.
These demonstrations lead to corruption and the destruction of wealth, and may result in the loss of lives and killing. Therefore, they are not among the manifestations of the Muslims, nor are they part of the actions of the Muslims; rather, they have come to us from others.
As for the Muslim, he listens and obeys in matters other than disobedience to Allah, and does not stir up fitnah. Rather, he commands the unification of words and obedience, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
For whoever among you lives will see much disagreement, so hold fast to
فإنه من يعش منكم فسيرى اختلافا كثيرا فعليكمAnd before that, before this, he said:
I advise you to have taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and to listen and obey, even if a slave is appointed over you. And indeed, whoever among you lives will see much disagreement, so hold fast to my Sunnah
أُوصِيكُمْ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَالسَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِ وَإِنْ تَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَبْدٌ وَإِنَّهُ مَنْ يَعِشْ مِنْكُمْ فَسَيَرَى اخْتِلافًا كَثِيرًا فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِيThe second point is that the disagreement among us is to be presented to the Book and the Sunnah, so we take from the Book and the Sunnah what is in accordance with the truth, and we leave what contradicts them. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 2363 - حكم الإنكار العلني على ولاة الأمور والدعوة للمظاهرات - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.