Advice to the Persecuted Preachers in All Lands

Question:
It is not hidden from your eminence what the callers to Allah in all Islamic lands are subjected to, in terms of harm, affliction, and persecution regarding their wealth and honor, by some governments that claim to be Islamic, yet they carry disbelief and atheism. What is our duty toward these Zindiqs and Christians? And what is our position toward our brother preachers there?

Answer:
The obligatory duty, as mentioned previously, is for a person to call to Allah according to his capacity, and not to engage in matters that cause his failure. He should not target kings and presidents; he should leave them aside, teach people good, and guide them to good. When people understand the good, they will fulfill their duty thereafter. However, if he targets the governments, curses them, and keeps talking about them, they will not leave him alone.
He should turn away from these matters concerning the rulers and their actions, but he should call to Allah, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong. He should advise people to uphold the oneness of Allah, be sincere to Him, and abandon attachment to the dead, calling for aid from the dead, and circumambulating their graves. He should advise them to pray, be steadfast in it, and perform it in the mosques. He should advise them to call to Allah, pay the obligatory alms, fast, perform the obligatory pilgrimage, be dutiful to their parents, maintain family ties, and be cautious of sins, specifically unlawful sexual intercourse, consuming intoxicants, sodomy, gambling, and all other sins. This is the affair of the one who calls to Allah in any place.
If the one who calls to Allah confronts the rulers, they will not leave him alone; they only target him when he says that this disbelieving, oppressive ruler has such and such faults. Consequently, the benefit is lost to the people, and he deprives himself of calling to Allah and exposes himself to imprisonment, beating, or killing. Thus, he deprives the people of his benefit and his knowledge because of his poor conduct. This is not what should be done; rather, he should focus on calling to Allah as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did in Makkah. He did not confront the people; he called to Allah, taught the people what is right, and guided them to obey Allah and His Messenger. If he had confronted them, they would have harmed him even more severely than what already occurred. The situation today, for most of the world, resembles the situation of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with the people of Makkah before the migration.
So the obligatory duty is to focus on calling regarding the negligence and waste in which people have fallen. He should call them to the oneness of Allah, to the obedience of Allah, to noble character, and to good deeds. He should warn them of bad character and evil deeds. He should leave the presidents and those whose evil he fears aside, not speaking about them, neither good nor bad. Rather, he should turn away from them, except if there is good. If he sees good from the presidents, he should thank them for it. We heard that such-and-such a president did such-and-such, and this is good. May Allah reward him with good, guide him, and grant him success; there is no harm in that.
As for targeting them, saying that they did this, that they did that, that they oppressed the people, and that they did this and that, this means it disables him from calling, and exposes him to imprisonment, harm, and killing.