Obey God and the Prophet and those of you who are in authority,
and if you disagree among yourselves in any matter, refer it to God and
the Prophet if you are believers in Allah and the Last Day. This is better
and more seemly as regards the consequences. (4:59)
This directive was given to the Muslims
when the Qur’an was being revealed and the Prophet (sws) himself
was present among them. Consequently, they had the opportunity to refer
back all their disagreements to the Prophet (sws). Obviously, since the
authority of Allah and His Prophet (sws) are eternal, therefore in all
affairs in which an eternal directive has been given by them, it is incumbent
upon those in authority whether they are the rulers or members of the parliament
to forever submit to these directives. The orders and directives of those
in authority can only be obeyed after obeying Allah and His Prophet (sws),
and only if they do not overrule or exceed the limits adjudicated by these
two authorities. Therefore, in an Islamic State no law can be enacted contrary
to the Qur’an and Sunnah or one which does not take into
consideration the guidance provided by them. The believers indeed have
a right to disagree with those in authority, but they can have no disagreement
with Allah and His Prophet (sws). In fact, if such a situation arises with
those in authority, decisions must be made in the light of the Qur’an
and
Sunnah.
However, there are certain stipulations
regarding obeying those in authority which have been explained by the Prophet
(sws)
Firstly, Muslims must cling to state authority in all
circumstances. The Prophet (sws) has termed stated authority as (al-jama‘ah)
and ‘’ (al-sultan) and directed every Muslim to never disassociate
himself from it. If anyone does dissociate himself from state authority,
it is as if he has left Islam and a Muslim who dies in this state it is
as if he died the death of Jahiliyyah (the days of the age of ignorance
that prevailed in Arabia at the advent of Islam). The Prophet (sws) is
reported to have said:
He who sees something despicable in his ruler should bear
it, for he who even slightly disassociates himself from the state system
and dies in this condition shall die the death of ignorance. (Bukhari:
No. 7054)
Another text of this Hadith reads:
He who sees something despicable in his ruler should bear
it for he who even slightly disassociates himself from the obedience of
the sovereign crown and dies in this condition shall die the death of ignorance.
(Bukhari: No. 7053)
In times of political anarchy and chaos,
the Prophet (sws) has directed Muslims not only to refrain from participating
in any activity against the state, but also to obey state authority with
complete faithfulness and sincerity. On one occasion, on these very grounds,
he is reported to have told H~udhayfah (rta): ‘’ (talzimu jama‘ata’l-muslimin
wa imamahum: [In such a state of chaos], remain attached to the state
system and to the ruler of the Muslims.)*
Secondly, Muslims should be law abiding
citizens of their country. Whatever laws are enacted should be obeyed in
letter and spirit by them and in no way should they evade the law. Any
disagreement, personal dislike, communal support or religious reservation
should never lead them to breech the law, except if some law is enacted
in open disobedience to the Almighty. The Prophet (sws) is reported to
have said:
It is your duty to listen and obey your rulers whether you
are in difficulty or at ease, whether willingly or unwillingly and even
when you do not receive what is your right. (Muslim: No. 1836)
Whether they like it or not, it is obligatory on the faithful
to listen and to obey their rulers except when they be ordered to commit
a sin. If they are ordered so, they should neither listen nor obey. (Muslim:
No. 1839)
Listen and obey even if an Abyssinian slave whose head is
like a raisin is made your ruler. (Bukhari: No. 7142)
This directive of obeying those in authority
obviously relates to Muslim rulers only. This is indicated by the word
‘’ (minkum: among you) which qualifies the word ‘’ (ulu’l-amr:
those in authority) in 4:59, the verse under discussion. The Prophet (sws)
while explaining this has stated that once a ruler does not fulfill the
conditions stated in the Qur’an that make him a Muslim, he is not
to be obeyed. ’Ubadah Ibn Samit reports:
The Prophet called us to pledge allegiance to him which we
did. We had been asked to pledge to the following: We shall listen and
obey whether willingly or unwillingly whether we are in difficulty or at
ease, and even when we do not receive what is our right and that we shall
not contest the authority of our rulers. The Prophet of God said: You can
only refuse their submission if you witness outright Kufr in any matter
from them, in which you have a clear evidence from God. (Muslim: No. 1709)
Similarly, some Ahadith say:
Soon you will find people ruling you some of whose
habits you would like and others you would dislike. He who disliked their
bad habits has no blame on him and he who refuted them also remained safe.
However, he who was pleased with them and followed them would be called
to account. The Companions asked: Should not then we wage war against them.
The Prophet (sws) replied: No as long as they keep offering the prayer.
(Muslim: No. 1854)
The worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who
hate you; you curse them and they curse you. It was asked: O Prophet of
Allah, should we not lift arms against them. The Prophet (sws) replied:
No, as long as they establish the prayer among you. (Muslim: No. 1855)
However, even in these circumstances, no one
Muslim citizen has been given the permission to revolt against the government
unless he has the backing of a clear majority behind him. The reason for
this is that if the majority does not support him then such a revolt would
not be against the government; on the contrary, it would be against other
Muslim citizens, which according to the Shari‘ah is ‘’ (fasad
fi’l-ard: spreading disorder in the society) -- an offence punishable
by death.
The Prophet (sws) is reported to have
said:
You are organized under the rule of a person and someone
tries to break your collectivity apart or disrupt your government, kill
him. (Muslim: No. 1852)
Moreover, it should also remain clear
that if this revolt takes the shape of an armed uprising, then is should
be subject to all the conditions of Jihad imposed by the Shari’ah.
Consequently, no one is allowed to take up arms in rebellion against the
government unless he fulfills these conditions.
(Translated by Shehzad Saleem)
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