The Methodology of the People of the Sunnah in Dealing with the Rulers

As you know, among the blessings of Allah the Exalted upon this land is that it is upon the methodology of the Book and the Sunnah. However, there are those who insert certain methodologies or calls, and perhaps some misguided schools of thought, such as the school of the Khawarij. Do you see any justification for this, or does it divide the Ummah and scatter the ranks?
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified in his Friday sermons and on other occasions that the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and that the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). When we look at the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), we find that he wanted the Ummah to be one Ummah, not divided, not differing, and not having in the hearts of some anything against the others. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) even left what was his choice in order to avert fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). He even (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded patience with the rulers despite their oppression, their injustice, their arrogance, and their tyranny. He informed that this would happen and said to the Ansar (may Allah be pleased with them): (You will encounter after me arrogance—Meaning: taking precedence over you—so be patient until you meet me at the Pond),And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever sees from his ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient),And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When a man asked him about some rulers who demand their rights and prevent the rights of the subjects, he said: (Listen and obey; for they have what they are burdened with, and you have what you are burdened with).
There is no doubt that what contradicts the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is harboring resentment in the hearts against the rulers, and speaking in a way that necessitates their hatred and aversion. This is because the Islamic Ummah is established upon two types of people: the scholars and the rulers, who are the people of authority about whom Allah Mighty and Majestic said: [Al-Nisa: 59].

The exegetes and others from the people of knowledge said: The people of authority among us are the scholars and the rulers. The scholars are the leaders of the Ummah by the Shari'ah of Allah, and the rulers are the leaders of the Ummah by the authority of Allah Mighty and Majestic. Were it not for the scholars and the rulers, the Ummah would not be upright; because the scholars lead the people by the Shari'ah, and the rulers lead the people by power and execution.
If someone speaks about the rulers, or speaks about the scholars in a way that necessitates their enmity and belittling their status, then the Ummah is lost; because it will not have scholars whose words it trusts, and the Shari'ah will be lost, and it will not have rulers whose actions it trusts, and security will be lost. For this reason, we see that it is a grave error what some people do in speaking about the scholars or the rulers, filling the hearts of people with hatred and resentment toward them. If one sees something from these people that he considers wrong, it is obligatory upon him to give advice, and it is not obligatory upon him to disclose this wrong or this deviation. We do not doubt that there is error from the scholars, and there is error from the rulers; whether it is intentional or unintentional. But the cure for a disease is not to create a greater disease than it, and the removal of evil is never by an evil greater than it. Nothing has harmed the Islamic Ummah except its speech about its scholars and its rulers. Otherwise, what necessitated the killing of Uthman? It was the speech about him; they spoke about him, saying he favors his relatives, and that he does such and such, and such and such. This loaded the hearts of people against him, and from this burden grew hatred, aversion, desires, and enmity; until the matter reached the point that they killed him in his house, and the Ummah was scattered thereafter.
And what necessitated the killing of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, except this?They rose up against him and said: He contradicted the Shari'ah and they declared him a disbeliever, and they declared the Muslims disbelievers with him, and the evil that occurred occurred.
So it is obligatory upon us, O brothers! And we are in this land—praise be to Allah—as the questioner said, a safe and secure land, its provision comes to it abundantly from every place, and it is among the best we know in the lands of the Muslims in applying the Shari'ah. This is an observed matter,And we do not say: that it is complete, one hundred percent. In fact, they have many shortcomings, and there is oppression, and there is taking precedence, but when you compare the oppression to the justice, you find that it is nothing. And among the oppression is for a person to look at the error and close his eyes to the correctness. If that is the case, then it is obligatory that a person judge with justice, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Nisa: 135] And He the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah: 8] And shan'an means: hatred, and yajrim means: causes—Meaning: let not your hatred of a people cause you not to act justly [Al-Ma'idah: 8].

So I say: We are—praise be to Allah—in a safe land, praise be to Allah and His grace, and it is the best we know in the lands of the Muslims in applying the Shari'ah. So it is obligatory upon us to strive to unify the word as much as we can, and to make the disagreement that is between us from the category of rewarded ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) with good intention; either two rewards if he is correct, or one reward if he is wrong. And we should discuss among ourselves—what some of us thinks is wrong—until we all reach the truth. And if Allah knows from our intention that we want the truth, He will make it easy for us, and make it easy for us to agree upon it. This is what I wanted to say regarding this topic. And I see that it is obligatory to refrain from spreading the faults of people, especially the scholars and the rulers. And it is obligatory to correct the error as much as possible, but in the way that achieves the objective and in which we are safe from the prohibited.