The Ruling on Obedience to the Ruler When He Prevents a Person from Da'wah
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The Ruling on Obedience to the Ruler When He Prevents a Person from Da'wah
Your Eminence! If Allah the Mighty and Majestic calls people to a matter of the Shari'ah with a general call, such as da'wah to Allah, for example, and the ruler prevents its implementation, should the ruler be obeyed in this, given the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): (Obedience is only in what is right) , provided the condition is met? May Allah reward you with good.
If the one in authority says to a person, for example: Do not call to Allah. If no one else is performing this duty, then the ruler is not to be obeyed in that; because it becomes an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) for this person, and there is no obedience to the ruler in abandoning an individual obligation.
As for if others are performing it in his place,We have looked into it: If the ruler forbade him because he dislikes people being called to Allah, then here the ruler must be advised regarding this,And it is said: Fear Allah, do not prevent the guidance of Allah's servants.
But if he forbade this person for another reason arising from this man's speech, and the ruler saw that the public benefit lies in stopping him, and others are fulfilling the obligation; then it is not permissible for him to oppose the ruler. 'Ammar ibn Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) was with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab on a journey, and 'Ammar became in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah) -Meaning: He was afflicted with major ritual impurity - so he began to roll in the dust as a beast rolls -Meaning: turning over on the ground so that the earth would cover his entire body - then he returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him,The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Amir: (It would have been sufficient for you to say with your hands like this) and he showed him dry ablution (tayammum).
Then the caliphate of 'Umar came [and 'Ammar began to narrate this, so 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) summoned him one day,And he said: saying: How do you narrate this hadith? Because 'Umar held that one in a state of major ritual impurity does not perform tayammum, and that tayammum is only for minor ritual impurity, and that one with major ritual impurity waits until he finds water, then performs the full ritual bath (ghusl) and prays. This was his view.
'Amir said to him: O Commander of the Faithful! Do you not remember that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said such and such? So it seemed that 'Umar had forgotten this,So he said to him: O Commander of the Faithful! If you wish, by the obedience Allah has placed for you over me, that I not narrate it, I will do so.
So 'Umar said to him: No.
We will give you what you have taken] meaning: So narrate it,And the point is that he did not object to his saying: [If you wish, by the obedience Allah has placed for you over me, that I not narrate it, I will do so] .
But if the one in authority were to say, for example: Do not perform the voluntary prayer.
So we say: Perform it, but without opposition. Perform it in your house; because opposing the ruler leads to many harms, not just for you, the one opposing; because you, the one opposing, may be taken and harmed, and you believe you were harmed for the sake of Allah, but others are also affected by this opposition. Perhaps others who do not know what you know will follow your example and oppose without knowledge. Perhaps news of those around you will be investigated, and everyone around you will be brought in and harmed without crime.
Furthermore, diminishing the status of the rulers, whether scholars or princes, in the eyes of the people has great harm; because if the status of the rulers falls in the eyes of the people, the people will rebel against the ruler and see no value in his command, and they will see him as like the rest of the people. And if the status of the scholars falls in the eyes of the people, what they say to the people from the Shari'ah of Allah will have no value, and the people will not trust their words, and the Shari'ah will be cast aside from this bridge; because their status was made light in the eyes of the people, so the people do not care about them, nor do they take their words, and they go to take from so-and-so and so-and-so who are below them in the jurisprudence of the Shari'ah of Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
So these matters are not something we should look at only on their surface; because they have a deep, far-reaching depth, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the rulers who demand their rights and neglect the right of Allah in their subjects, and he said (peace and blessings be upon him): (Give them what is their right and ask Allah for your right) even if they prevent us from our right, we give them what is their right over us, and we ask Allah the Exalted and Glorious for our right, and that is by guiding them so that they fulfill it.
So it is necessary for us, O brothers! not to look at matters only from their superficiality; but to look at the great harms that result from them; and security certainly has value, for the whole world is sacrificed for the sake of security, and a person sacrifices many things from himself for the sake of security, and one does not know the value of security except one who is tested with fear. Ask your forefathers about what this land was like in terms of fear in the past? People did not go from Buraydah to Unayzah, or from Unayzah to Buraydah, except armed, and in great fear;Rather, some of the great scholars said: We -by Allah we used to go out- in Ramadan from our houses after 'Isha', or even after Maghrib, carrying weapons.
They feared for their lives from an enemy entering the town or otherwise, so the blessing of security and prosperity is not matched by any blessing. And if security slips away, who will restore it? We must avoid everything that incites the people, and we do not exonerate the rulers from error. The rulers, among the scholars and princes, have much error,But it is reported in an athar (a report from a Companion or successor): (As you are, so will your rulers be) .
Look at the conditions of the people, and among the wisdom of Allah is that the ruler and the ruled are equal, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-An'am: 129] Thus Allah appoints the righteous over the righteous. And if we look at the conditions of the subjects, we find that we, the subjects, have negligence in obligations, neglect and laxity, and a rush into forbidden things. We find deception in transactions, lying and forgery, and false testimony, and many things. If a person delved and shone the light on the state of the Muslim society today, he would know the shortcoming and negligence. So the Muslim society is a society of truth, loyalty, and trust, and all of this is now missing except from whom Allah wills.
So if we neglect the trust in what we are trustees of - and we do not have a great authority - how about the one who has authority over us? He may be more negligent of the trust than we are, but if you are upright, Allah will appoint over you those who are upright.
Furthermore, it is more appropriate, indeed, if I do not say obligatory, that we call for the rulers in secret and in public, that we call for them for success, righteousness, and reform; because they are our rulers, we have given them the pledge of allegiance, so we must ask Allah for their righteousness so that Allah may reform through them,It is mentioned that Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: (If I knew that I had a supplication that would be answered, I would direct it to the ruler) because if the ruler is righteous, the nation is righteous, and this is true.
So it is obligatory upon us - O my brothers - not to despair, and to call for our rulers that Allah may reform their affairs, and help them with what they have been burdened with, and keep away from them every bad advisor; because the ruler is not alone, he has helpers, he has ministers, he has companions. You call upon Allah to make him successful with a righteous companion, a righteous helper, and a righteous minister, for that is from Allah's success for him and for the subjects. And if the matter is otherwise, it is from his misfortune and the misfortune of the subjects.
And for this reason, it is obligatory that we call upon Allah for our rulers to make them successful in righteousness and reform, and to make easy for them the righteous advisors, and we ask Allah for you and for us success.
The questioner: May Allah reward you: Has the collective obligation (fard kifayah) been fulfilled in calling people to Allah the Mighty and Majestic in the lands of Islam?The Shaykh: No.
It has not been fulfilled, but our land - and praise be to Allah - has those who perform this; most of those who take the minbars today - especially in the cities - are all students of knowledge, and all of them - and praise be to Allah - guide the people with a purposeful guidance by which the collective obligation is fulfilled. It is true that in the villages there are those by whom the collective obligation is not fulfilled, but fear Allah as much as you can. If every village had a student of knowledge who could be relied upon, to whom people would return for fatwas, preaching, and other matters of their religion and worldly affairs, it would be good, but the matter is not easy.
As for the other Islamic countries, tell me and there is no harm,There are many defects in it! Summary of the ruling: that it is obligatory for the one who is told: Do not speak, not to speak, except if the matter becomes necessary for him. If it becomes necessary, then it is obligatory for him to disobey the ruler; because there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator.
The questioner: May Allah reward you, O our Shaykh: You are now mentioning that the collective obligation has not been fulfilled in the lands of Islam.
And da'wah is not the exclusive right of a specific country or specific borders! The Shaykh: In any case, we do not see that a person should be prevented from traveling to another country if he wants to call to Allah, but if his method of calling to Allah there is the same as his method of calling to Allah in our country, such that he is not qualified in his knowledge and conduct, then the ruler has the right to prevent him; because the entire cause is a set of things that may cause the people and the subjects to dislike the rulers or the like of that.
Your Eminence! If Allah the Mighty and Majestic calls people to a matter of the Shari'ah with a general call, such as da'wah to Allah, for example, and the ruler prevents its implementation, should the ruler be obeyed in this, given the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): (Obedience is only in what is right) , provided the condition is met? May Allah reward you with good.
If the one in authority says to a person, for example: Do not call to Allah. If no one else is performing this duty, then the ruler is not to be obeyed in that; because it becomes an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) for this person, and there is no obedience to the ruler in abandoning an individual obligation.
As for if others are performing it in his place,We have looked into it: If the ruler forbade him because he dislikes people being called to Allah, then here the ruler must be advised regarding this,And it is said: Fear Allah, do not prevent the guidance of Allah's servants.
But if he forbade this person for another reason arising from this man's speech, and the ruler saw that the public benefit lies in stopping him, and others are fulfilling the obligation; then it is not permissible for him to oppose the ruler. 'Ammar ibn Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) was with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab on a journey, and 'Ammar became in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah) -Meaning: He was afflicted with major ritual impurity - so he began to roll in the dust as a beast rolls -Meaning: turning over on the ground so that the earth would cover his entire body - then he returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him,The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Amir: (It would have been sufficient for you to say with your hands like this) and he showed him dry ablution (tayammum).
Then the caliphate of 'Umar came [and 'Ammar began to narrate this, so 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) summoned him one day,And he said: saying: How do you narrate this hadith? Because 'Umar held that one in a state of major ritual impurity does not perform tayammum, and that tayammum is only for minor ritual impurity, and that one with major ritual impurity waits until he finds water, then performs the full ritual bath (ghusl) and prays. This was his view.
'Amir said to him: O Commander of the Faithful! Do you not remember that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said such and such? So it seemed that 'Umar had forgotten this,So he said to him: O Commander of the Faithful! If you wish, by the obedience Allah has placed for you over me, that I not narrate it, I will do so.
So 'Umar said to him: No.
We will give you what you have taken] meaning: So narrate it,And the point is that he did not object to his saying: [If you wish, by the obedience Allah has placed for you over me, that I not narrate it, I will do so] .
But if the one in authority were to say, for example: Do not perform the voluntary prayer.
So we say: Perform it, but without opposition. Perform it in your house; because opposing the ruler leads to many harms, not just for you, the one opposing; because you, the one opposing, may be taken and harmed, and you believe you were harmed for the sake of Allah, but others are also affected by this opposition. Perhaps others who do not know what you know will follow your example and oppose without knowledge. Perhaps news of those around you will be investigated, and everyone around you will be brought in and harmed without crime.
Furthermore, diminishing the status of the rulers, whether scholars or princes, in the eyes of the people has great harm; because if the status of the rulers falls in the eyes of the people, the people will rebel against the ruler and see no value in his command, and they will see him as like the rest of the people. And if the status of the scholars falls in the eyes of the people, what they say to the people from the Shari'ah of Allah will have no value, and the people will not trust their words, and the Shari'ah will be cast aside from this bridge; because their status was made light in the eyes of the people, so the people do not care about them, nor do they take their words, and they go to take from so-and-so and so-and-so who are below them in the jurisprudence of the Shari'ah of Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
So these matters are not something we should look at only on their surface; because they have a deep, far-reaching depth, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the rulers who demand their rights and neglect the right of Allah in their subjects, and he said (peace and blessings be upon him): (Give them what is their right and ask Allah for your right) even if they prevent us from our right, we give them what is their right over us, and we ask Allah the Exalted and Glorious for our right, and that is by guiding them so that they fulfill it.
So it is necessary for us, O brothers! not to look at matters only from their superficiality; but to look at the great harms that result from them; and security certainly has value, for the whole world is sacrificed for the sake of security, and a person sacrifices many things from himself for the sake of security, and one does not know the value of security except one who is tested with fear. Ask your forefathers about what this land was like in terms of fear in the past? People did not go from Buraydah to Unayzah, or from Unayzah to Buraydah, except armed, and in great fear;Rather, some of the great scholars said: We -by Allah we used to go out- in Ramadan from our houses after 'Isha', or even after Maghrib, carrying weapons.
They feared for their lives from an enemy entering the town or otherwise, so the blessing of security and prosperity is not matched by any blessing. And if security slips away, who will restore it? We must avoid everything that incites the people, and we do not exonerate the rulers from error. The rulers, among the scholars and princes, have much error,But it is reported in an athar (a report from a Companion or successor): (As you are, so will your rulers be) .
Look at the conditions of the people, and among the wisdom of Allah is that the ruler and the ruled are equal, as Allah the Exalted said:
And thus will We make some of the wrongdoers allies of others for what they used to earn.
وَكَذَلِكَ نُوَلِّي بَعْضَ الظَّالِمِينَ بَعْضاً بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَSo if we neglect the trust in what we are trustees of - and we do not have a great authority - how about the one who has authority over us? He may be more negligent of the trust than we are, but if you are upright, Allah will appoint over you those who are upright.
Furthermore, it is more appropriate, indeed, if I do not say obligatory, that we call for the rulers in secret and in public, that we call for them for success, righteousness, and reform; because they are our rulers, we have given them the pledge of allegiance, so we must ask Allah for their righteousness so that Allah may reform through them,It is mentioned that Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: (If I knew that I had a supplication that would be answered, I would direct it to the ruler) because if the ruler is righteous, the nation is righteous, and this is true.
So it is obligatory upon us - O my brothers - not to despair, and to call for our rulers that Allah may reform their affairs, and help them with what they have been burdened with, and keep away from them every bad advisor; because the ruler is not alone, he has helpers, he has ministers, he has companions. You call upon Allah to make him successful with a righteous companion, a righteous helper, and a righteous minister, for that is from Allah's success for him and for the subjects. And if the matter is otherwise, it is from his misfortune and the misfortune of the subjects.
And for this reason, it is obligatory that we call upon Allah for our rulers to make them successful in righteousness and reform, and to make easy for them the righteous advisors, and we ask Allah for you and for us success.
The questioner: May Allah reward you: Has the collective obligation (fard kifayah) been fulfilled in calling people to Allah the Mighty and Majestic in the lands of Islam?The Shaykh: No.
It has not been fulfilled, but our land - and praise be to Allah - has those who perform this; most of those who take the minbars today - especially in the cities - are all students of knowledge, and all of them - and praise be to Allah - guide the people with a purposeful guidance by which the collective obligation is fulfilled. It is true that in the villages there are those by whom the collective obligation is not fulfilled, but fear Allah as much as you can. If every village had a student of knowledge who could be relied upon, to whom people would return for fatwas, preaching, and other matters of their religion and worldly affairs, it would be good, but the matter is not easy.
As for the other Islamic countries, tell me and there is no harm,There are many defects in it! Summary of the ruling: that it is obligatory for the one who is told: Do not speak, not to speak, except if the matter becomes necessary for him. If it becomes necessary, then it is obligatory for him to disobey the ruler; because there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator.
The questioner: May Allah reward you, O our Shaykh: You are now mentioning that the collective obligation has not been fulfilled in the lands of Islam.
And da'wah is not the exclusive right of a specific country or specific borders! The Shaykh: In any case, we do not see that a person should be prevented from traveling to another country if he wants to call to Allah, but if his method of calling to Allah there is the same as his method of calling to Allah in our country, such that he is not qualified in his knowledge and conduct, then the ruler has the right to prevent him; because the entire cause is a set of things that may cause the people and the subjects to dislike the rulers or the like of that.