The Ruling on Cursing Rulers, Declaring Them Disbelievers, and Inciting People Against Them

Question:
What is the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding a group whose approach in da'wah is this: they declare rulers to be disbelievers, they belittle them, they treat them as ignorant, and they incite people against them from atop their chairs and pulpits. They have exerted effort in many issues that resulted in the spilling of blood, and they did not refer to the scholars of knowledge in this matter?

Answer:
This method is not of wisdom in any way; rather, this is an error. The path of da'wah is to supplicate for the rulers for guidance, to make things clear to them, and to advise them, so that perhaps they will accept the truth, so that perhaps they will not reject the truth, and so that perhaps they will not support falsehood.
So the callers to Allah guide people to good, teach them, direct them, and supplicate to Allah for the rulers for guidance and success. As for cursing them and urging people to resist them and rebel against them, its meaning is corruption on earth. It means empowering them against the callers, and suppressing the da'wah, and destroying it and its callers, and harming the believers, among other things. This is an error.
It is obligatory for the believer in such matters to be wise, to follow the paths that help in achieving good and leaving evil, that help in establishing the truth and extinguishing falsehood, and that help in making those in authority a support for you, not against you.
Yes, if the power is in your hand, and you are able to remove this ruler and place a righteous ruler in his stead, because he has openly displayed disbelief before you, with clear proof from Allah regarding it, that is a different matter, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained. The Prophet took the pledge of the Companions that they would not contest the matter with its rightful people. He said: .
As for you, you are not able to remove this, nor to establish that, but rather with your actions you corrupt the da'wah, destroy it, harm the callers, and empower the rulers against them. This is not of wisdom in any way. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the matter not be contested with its rightful people. When the Companions said to him: "Shall we not fight them?" he said: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So the point is that the callers to Allah, and those who enjoin good and forbid evil, look at the public benefit, in what establishes the da'wah, activates it, encourages it, and supports its people, not in what kills it and destroys it. And Allah is the One to be asked for help.