Explanation of the Book of Fitnahs and Rulings-05a

The reciter: Abdan narrated to us, Abdullah informed us, from Yunus, from al-Zuhri, who informed me that Abu Salama ibn Abd al-Rahman heard Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The Book of Rulings: "Al-Ahkam" is the plural of "hukm" (ruling), which means establishing something for another. It has known technical terms in the principles of jurisprudence, such as the ruling of obligation and the ruling of establishment. What is meant here is the rulings of the Imamate, what is obligatory upon the Imam, and what is obligatory for him. This is a very important chapter that a student of knowledge should pay attention to so that he does not fall into the pitfalls of the Khawarij and those who branched off from them, who corrupted religion and worldly affairs. We seek refuge in Allah. When a person knows what is due to the ruler and what is due from him, the truth becomes clear to him, and he does not speak except with insight. Then, if the ruler does not fulfill what is required of him, it is obligatory for the one being ruled to fulfill what is required of him, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This book, which al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) titled, is important, especially in this time when evil has increased and those who rebel against the rulers have increased. We see that when they take over after the rulers, they become worse and more vile than them. Therefore, it is obligatory for us to pay attention to it and clarify its rulings so that we do not perish. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, or rather al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said, we begin with the verse, the saying of Allah the Exalted: . Before it is . What comes after it is . And by this, we know that the correct verse is , or it is brought with its beginning . As for this wording mentioned in what is found in Sahih al-Bukhari , it is not so. Obedience is compliance with the command. If you wish, express it with what is more important and say that obedience is compliance with the ruling. The reason this is broader is that if you say compliance with the command, the prohibition is excluded. But if you say compliance with the ruling, both the command and the prohibition are included. So this is obedience. And His saying, the Exalted: , He singled out the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with obedience, saying , and did not make it a conjunction to His saying . This indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has an independent obedience. The verb was omitted from it to make it dependent on what came before it. He did not say "Obey the ones in authority." He said , because their obedience is dependent on the obedience of Allah and His Messenger. In fact, their obedience is not obligatory except because it is obedience to Allah and His Messenger, not because he is so-and-so, son of so-and-so, but because it is obedience to Allah and His Messenger. For this reason, a person should, when he obeys the one in authority in a matter he has commanded, intend by that to worship Allah and that he is obeying Allah. He obeyed the one in authority as obedience to Allah, because this is the principle. And His saying includes two types of those in authority: the first are the scholars, and the second are the rulers. Because it is upon the scholars to explain, and upon the rulers to execute. And in this, the rulers are followers of the scholars, because they are the executors of what the scholars say. They are the people of concern in this matter. Even though each of them is a one in authority, the scholars are the foundation. When they explain the Shari'ah, it is binding upon the rulers to act upon it. If they do not act upon it, they are not obedient to Allah and His Messenger. Then, if they command contrary to it, disobeying them is obligatory. If they command leaving an obligatory act or doing a forbidden act, the result is that those in authority are the scholars and the rulers. What is the duty of the scholars? Explanation, guidance, and indication. And the duty of the rulers is execution, executing the rulings of Allah upon His servants until the earth is rectified. This supports that the status of the scholars here is earlier and stronger than the status of the rulers. Because disputes, when they occur between scholars and jurists, and even though they occur between rulers, are more frequent between scholars and jurists. This is a condition from the chapter of omission and implication, meaning if you are truthful in faith, your reference should be only to Allah and the Messenger. To Allah, to His Book, and to the Messenger, to his Sunnah, alive and dead. The saying of some scholars that it is to his person in his life and to his Sunnah after his death is from the chapter of clarification. Otherwise, even our return to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in his life is a return to his Sunnah. It is better in the present and better in interpretation in the future, because "ta'wil" here means outcome and result. And returning to Allah and the Messenger is better for people in their livelihood and better for people in their hereafter, in the present and in the future. Some ignorant people may think that holding fast to the religion is a return to the past. And some atheists may explicitly say that it is not possible to return to a methodology that is fourteen centuries old, whose people have perished and did not live this present life and the civilization we call, if it contradicts the Shari'ah, is lowliness and not civilization. They say that the religion cannot be applied now. Things have changed. The religion between you and your Lord is fine, walk as the Messenger and his Companions did. But the vital, economic, and social methodology is subject to time and place and nations, and it is not possible to return the nation to what was before fourteen centuries. But by Allah, if they returned to what was before fourteen centuries, they would surpass the nations existing now, and they would not have owned their necks, their lands, and their wealth. But you are only addressed with such words by people who do not believe. If they believed, returning would be easy for them. Even between you and your children, do not think that we are addressing this or speaking about the great rulers who hold the reins of leadership in the nation. Even you yourself, apply what you direct your family to, as it came from the Salaf, for this is better and better in interpretation. And in His saying, the Exalted: , there is an indication that the criterion is not the number. The criterion is what agrees with what came in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger, even if it were twenty.