The Ruling on Giving the Pledge of Allegiance to the Leaders of Islamic Groups
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His Eminence the Shaykh: Looking at the Islamic world today, we find that there are many groups that call to Islam,And each of them says: I am upon the methodology of the Salaf, and I have the Book and the Sunnah with me, so what is our position toward these groups, and what is the ruling on giving the pledge of allegiance to a leader from among the leaders of these groups?
The ruling regarding these groups, where each sect claims to be upon the truth, is very easy.So we ask them: What is the truth? The truth is what the Book and the Sunnah indicate, and returning to the Book and the Sunnah settles the dispute for whoever is a believer, but as for whoever follows his desires, nothing will benefit him.Allah the Exalted said: [al-Nisa:59] .
So we say to these groups: Gather together, and let each of you remove the desire that is in his heart, and let him have the good intention that he will take what the Qur'an and the Sunnah indicate, based on being free from desire, not based on following a scholar without knowing his evidence or fanaticism; because a person's understanding of the Qur'an and the Sunnah according to what he has of creed and opinion does not benefit him; because he will return to his creed.
And for this reason, the scholars said a good word,They said: It is obligatory for a person to seek evidence and then build upon it, not to build and then seek evidence; because the evidence is the root and the ruling is the branch, so it is not possible to reverse the situation and make the ruling, which is the branch, the root, and the root, which is the evidence, the branch.
Then, if a person believes before seeking evidence and does not have the good intention, he will twist the necks of the texts from the Book and the Sunnah to what he believes, and thereby he remains upon his desires, and does not follow the guidance.
So we say to these sects, where each one claims to be upon the truth: Please.
Come with a good intention free from desire and fanaticism, and this is the Book of Allah and this is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and were it not that in them lies the resolution of disputes, Allah would not have referred to them, for Allah does not refer to anything except that there is benefit in it: [al-Nisa:59] But the affliction that occurs from not agreeing upon the Book and the Sunnah is due -only-The condition in the verse: [al-Nisa:59] For some people may return to the Book and the Sunnah not out of faith, but out of desire and fanaticism from which they do not move, so there is no benefit in that.
But as for those who are upon the Book and the Sunnah, they should seek help from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) against these sects, and the truth will become clear from the falsehood,Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has said: [al-Anbiya:18] .
As for giving the pledge of allegiance to a man, this is not permissible; because the pledge of allegiance is for the general ruler of the land,And if we want to say: If every person has a pledge, the community has become divided, and the land in which there are a hundred neighborhoods has a hundred imams and a hundred rulers, and this is division, so as long as there is a Shari'ah ruling in the land, it is not permissible to give the pledge of allegiance to any person.
But if the ruler does not rule with what Allah has revealed, then this has states; it may be disbelief, it may be oppression, and it may be open sinfulness, according to what the Shari'ah texts require, and it is upon us, if this ruler is persistent in open disbelief and we have from Allah a proof regarding him, to strive to remove him as much as we can, but it is not upon us to stand against him, and it does not mean exiting by force; because this is recklessness contrary to the Shari'ah and wisdom, and for this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not commanded to fight in Makkah; because he did not have the strength with which he could expel these people from Makkah or kill them, so the fact that this small group, who are unarmed, opposite the weapons of the government, rise up against the government, there is no doubt that this is recklessness contrary to wisdom.
If you see open disbelief and you have from Allah a proof regarding it, wait for the fifth condition, which is capability; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not permit exiting against the rulers except with conditions, which are: that we see open disbelief and we have from Allah a proof regarding it, so the condition of obligation is that we have the capability to remove this ruler and his government, but without capability, a person must wait for relief from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not oppose the one who rules over him and his sect and the others.
And his statement: (That you see) means: you yourselves, so transmission is not sufficient; because something may be transmitted in a way other than its reality,And his statement: (Disbelief) means: not open sinfulness, so it is not permissible to exit against a ruler if he commits open sinfulness, even the greatest open sinfulness, except for disbelief,Meaning: If he commits unlawful sexual intercourse or drinks intoxicants or kills without right, not by declaring it lawful but by oppression, then it is not permissible for us to exit against him,And his statement: (Openly) means: explicitly, not admitting of figurative interpretation, as for disbelief that admits of figurative interpretation, this ruler may be one who interprets it.
And his statement: (In which we have from Allah a proof) means: we have evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, not the analogies which may err and hit the mark.
These are four conditions,And the fifth condition for the obligation of exiting against him: Capability, and this condition -I mean capability- is a condition in every obligatory act;because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [al-Baqarah:286] And because of His saying: [al-Taghabun:16] .
So these brothers who want to form sects, where each sect has a leader, based on the fact that the ruler is not a Shari'ah ruler in their view,We say to them: It is not permissible for you to fragment the community by having a leader for each sect, this is a great error, and Allah informed His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he is not from among these people, but they should prepare themselves to remove this ruler upon whom the conditions for the permissibility of exiting against a ruler have been met, until He strengthens them and helps them to remove him.
The ruling regarding these groups, where each sect claims to be upon the truth, is very easy.So we ask them: What is the truth? The truth is what the Book and the Sunnah indicate, and returning to the Book and the Sunnah settles the dispute for whoever is a believer, but as for whoever follows his desires, nothing will benefit him.Allah the Exalted said:
And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.
فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاًSo we say to these groups: Gather together, and let each of you remove the desire that is in his heart, and let him have the good intention that he will take what the Qur'an and the Sunnah indicate, based on being free from desire, not based on following a scholar without knowing his evidence or fanaticism; because a person's understanding of the Qur'an and the Sunnah according to what he has of creed and opinion does not benefit him; because he will return to his creed.
And for this reason, the scholars said a good word,They said: It is obligatory for a person to seek evidence and then build upon it, not to build and then seek evidence; because the evidence is the root and the ruling is the branch, so it is not possible to reverse the situation and make the ruling, which is the branch, the root, and the root, which is the evidence, the branch.
Then, if a person believes before seeking evidence and does not have the good intention, he will twist the necks of the texts from the Book and the Sunnah to what he believes, and thereby he remains upon his desires, and does not follow the guidance.
So we say to these sects, where each one claims to be upon the truth: Please.
Come with a good intention free from desire and fanaticism, and this is the Book of Allah and this is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and were it not that in them lies the resolution of disputes, Allah would not have referred to them, for Allah does not refer to anything except that there is benefit in it:
refer it to Allah and the Messenger
فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِif you should believe in Allah and the Last Day
إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِBut as for those who are upon the Book and the Sunnah, they should seek help from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) against these sects, and the truth will become clear from the falsehood,Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has said:
Rather, We dash the truth upon falsehood, and it destroys it, and thereupon it departs. And for you is destruction from that which you describe.
بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ وَلَكُمُ الْوَيْلُ مِمَّا تَصِفُونَAs for giving the pledge of allegiance to a man, this is not permissible; because the pledge of allegiance is for the general ruler of the land,And if we want to say: If every person has a pledge, the community has become divided, and the land in which there are a hundred neighborhoods has a hundred imams and a hundred rulers, and this is division, so as long as there is a Shari'ah ruling in the land, it is not permissible to give the pledge of allegiance to any person.
But if the ruler does not rule with what Allah has revealed, then this has states; it may be disbelief, it may be oppression, and it may be open sinfulness, according to what the Shari'ah texts require, and it is upon us, if this ruler is persistent in open disbelief and we have from Allah a proof regarding him, to strive to remove him as much as we can, but it is not upon us to stand against him, and it does not mean exiting by force; because this is recklessness contrary to the Shari'ah and wisdom, and for this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not commanded to fight in Makkah; because he did not have the strength with which he could expel these people from Makkah or kill them, so the fact that this small group, who are unarmed, opposite the weapons of the government, rise up against the government, there is no doubt that this is recklessness contrary to wisdom.
If you see open disbelief and you have from Allah a proof regarding it, wait for the fifth condition, which is capability; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not permit exiting against the rulers except with conditions, which are: that we see open disbelief and we have from Allah a proof regarding it, so the condition of obligation is that we have the capability to remove this ruler and his government, but without capability, a person must wait for relief from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not oppose the one who rules over him and his sect and the others.
And his statement: (That you see) means: you yourselves, so transmission is not sufficient; because something may be transmitted in a way other than its reality,And his statement: (Disbelief) means: not open sinfulness, so it is not permissible to exit against a ruler if he commits open sinfulness, even the greatest open sinfulness, except for disbelief,Meaning: If he commits unlawful sexual intercourse or drinks intoxicants or kills without right, not by declaring it lawful but by oppression, then it is not permissible for us to exit against him,And his statement: (Openly) means: explicitly, not admitting of figurative interpretation, as for disbelief that admits of figurative interpretation, this ruler may be one who interprets it.
And his statement: (In which we have from Allah a proof) means: we have evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, not the analogies which may err and hit the mark.
These are four conditions,And the fifth condition for the obligation of exiting against him: Capability, and this condition -I mean capability- is a condition in every obligatory act;because of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْساً إِلَّا وُسْعَهَاSo fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْSo these brothers who want to form sects, where each sect has a leader, based on the fact that the ruler is not a Shari'ah ruler in their view,We say to them: It is not permissible for you to fragment the community by having a leader for each sect, this is a great error, and Allah informed His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he is not from among these people, but they should prepare themselves to remove this ruler upon whom the conditions for the permissibility of exiting against a ruler have been met, until He strengthens them and helps them to remove him.