The Detail on Ruling by Other Than What Allah Has Revealed
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
If a ruler repeatedly rules by other than what Allah has revealed—meaning, frequently—while he believes in his heart that it is obligatory to refer to what Allah has revealed, what is the ruling in this matter?
This matter, my brother, is not a light one, and it is not possible to issue a general ruling on it, because if a general ruling were issued or a general fatwa given, some people would understand it in a way other than what was intended. If a ruler contradicts something that this man believes to be the law of Allah, he says: He is a disbeliever, and this is like what is found now in the groups that declare the rulers to be disbelievers and say: Because they ruled by other than what Allah has revealed, and they have not clarified the matter. Therefore, I see that blocking the door in this matter is better, so that people do not understand it other than the intent of the mufti, and so that a person does not take it as a means to rise up against the rulers in their lands. This is a major matter, as you know, and the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) spoke about this matter when interpreting the verses in Surat al-Ma'idah, so you can refer to what the scholars said in this regard.
This matter, my brother, is not a light one, and it is not possible to issue a general ruling on it, because if a general ruling were issued or a general fatwa given, some people would understand it in a way other than what was intended. If a ruler contradicts something that this man believes to be the law of Allah, he says: He is a disbeliever, and this is like what is found now in the groups that declare the rulers to be disbelievers and say: Because they ruled by other than what Allah has revealed, and they have not clarified the matter. Therefore, I see that blocking the door in this matter is better, so that people do not understand it other than the intent of the mufti, and so that a person does not take it as a means to rise up against the rulers in their lands. This is a major matter, as you know, and the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) spoke about this matter when interpreting the verses in Surat al-Ma'idah, so you can refer to what the scholars said in this regard.