✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
As previously mentioned in the discussion on “Fighting against rebels (Baghiyīn)”, rebellion against rulers is not permissible unless they abandon the establishment of prayer or openly commit disbelief (kufr bawāḥ).
The scholars are in unanimous agreement on this principle.
[Al-Sayl al-Jarrār, 4/556]
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“There will be rulers appointed over you; some of their actions you will approve of, and some you will disapprove of.
Whoever disapproves of their evil deeds will be free (of sin), and whoever dislikes their wrong acts will be safe, but whoever approves of them and follows them (in their wrongdoing) will be ruined.”
The Companions asked:
“O Messenger of Allah, should we not fight them?”
He ﷺ said:
لا، ما صلوا، ما صلوا
“No, not as long as they establish prayer.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1854, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: Obligation to Denounce the Evil Acts of the Rulers]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Your best rulers are those whom you love and who love you; you pray for them, and they pray for you.
Your worst rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you; you curse them, and they curse you.”
They asked:
“O Messenger of Allah, shall we not depose them?”
He ﷺ said:
لا، ما أقاموا فيكم الصلاة، لا، ما أقاموا فيكم الصلاة
“No, not as long as they establish prayer among you. No, not as long as they maintain the establishment of prayer among you.”
Then he ﷺ added:
“Know that whoever has an Amīr appointed over him and sees him committing an act of disobedience to Allah, let him dislike that act of disobedience, but let him not withdraw his hand from obedience.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1855, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: The Best and Worst of the Rulers]
He said:
“We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that we would listen and obey in times of ease and hardship, in things we liked and disliked, and that we would not dispute the authority of those in power, and that we would speak the truth wherever we were, fearing none regarding the command of Allah.”
In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said:
وعلي أن لا تنازع الأمر أهله إلا أن تروا كفرا بواحا عندكم من الله فيه برهان
“And that we would not dispute the rule of those in authority unless we see open disbelief (kufr bawāḥ) concerning which we have clear proof from Allah.”
[Al-Bukhārī: 7055, 7056; Muslim: 1709]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
ومن رأى من أميره شيئا يكرهه فليصبر فإنه ليس أحد يفارق الجماعة شبرا فيموت إلا مات ميتة جاهلية
“Whoever sees from his ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient.
For whoever separates himself from the Jama‘ah even a hand-span and dies in that state, dies the death of Jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance).”
[Al-Bukhārī: 7053; Muslim: 1849]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever withdraws his hand from obedience (to the ruler) will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection having no proof (to justify himself).”
And he ﷺ said:
ومن مات وليس فى عنقه بيعة مات ميتة جاهلية
“Whoever dies without having the pledge of allegiance (bay‘ah) around his neck dies the death of Jāhiliyyah.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1851, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: The Obligation to Remain with the Muslim Community in Times of Trials]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
أنه سيكون هنات وهنات فمن أراد أن يفرق أمر هذه الأمة وهي جميع فاضربوه بالسيف كائنا من كان
“There will be disputes and differences in the future.
Whoever seeks to divide the unity of this Ummah while it is united, strike him with the sword, whoever he may be.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1852, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: The Ruling on One Who Divides the Muslims’ Unity]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
من حمل علينا السلاح فليس منا
“Whoever raises a weapon against us is not one of us.”
[Al-Bukhārī: 7070, Kitāb al-Fitan; Muslim: 98]
The “Imāmah” mentioned in these ḥadīths does not refer to linguistic or general leadership, which could include any local ruler or leader.
Rather, it refers to the specific Shar‘ī Imāmah — the Caliphate of the Muslims (Khilāfah) encompassing Arabs and non-Arabs under one legitimate leader.
[Al-Sayl al-Jarrār, 4/506]
The majority (jumhūr) of scholars hold that rebellion against unjust rulers is not permissible as long as they establish prayer and do not commit clear disbelief.
Some scholars, however, permitted rebellion based on general texts about amr bil-ma‘rūf wa-nahy ‘anil-munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil).
But those texts are general, while the rulings concerning Imāmah and governance are specific — and in Islamic jurisprudence, specific rulings take precedence over general ones.
[Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah, 2/778]
✿ Rebellion Against Rulers is Forbidden as Long as They Establish Ṣalāh and Do Not Commit Open Kufr
As previously mentioned in the discussion on “Fighting against rebels (Baghiyīn)”, rebellion against rulers is not permissible unless they abandon the establishment of prayer or openly commit disbelief (kufr bawāḥ).
The scholars are in unanimous agreement on this principle.
[Al-Sayl al-Jarrār, 4/556]◈ ① Ḥadīth of Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“There will be rulers appointed over you; some of their actions you will approve of, and some you will disapprove of.
Whoever disapproves of their evil deeds will be free (of sin), and whoever dislikes their wrong acts will be safe, but whoever approves of them and follows them (in their wrongdoing) will be ruined.”
The Companions asked:
“O Messenger of Allah, should we not fight them?”
He ﷺ said:
لا، ما صلوا، ما صلوا
“No, not as long as they establish prayer.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1854, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: Obligation to Denounce the Evil Acts of the Rulers]◈ ② Ḥadīth of ʿAwf bin Mālik al-Ashjaʿī رضي الله عنه
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Your best rulers are those whom you love and who love you; you pray for them, and they pray for you.
Your worst rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you; you curse them, and they curse you.”
They asked:
“O Messenger of Allah, shall we not depose them?”
He ﷺ said:
لا، ما أقاموا فيكم الصلاة، لا، ما أقاموا فيكم الصلاة
“No, not as long as they establish prayer among you. No, not as long as they maintain the establishment of prayer among you.”
Then he ﷺ added:
“Know that whoever has an Amīr appointed over him and sees him committing an act of disobedience to Allah, let him dislike that act of disobedience, but let him not withdraw his hand from obedience.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1855, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: The Best and Worst of the Rulers]◈ ③ Ḥadīth of ʿUbādah bin al-Ṣāmit رضي الله عنه
He said:
“We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that we would listen and obey in times of ease and hardship, in things we liked and disliked, and that we would not dispute the authority of those in power, and that we would speak the truth wherever we were, fearing none regarding the command of Allah.”
In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said:
وعلي أن لا تنازع الأمر أهله إلا أن تروا كفرا بواحا عندكم من الله فيه برهان
“And that we would not dispute the rule of those in authority unless we see open disbelief (kufr bawāḥ) concerning which we have clear proof from Allah.”
[Al-Bukhārī: 7055, 7056; Muslim: 1709]◈ ④ Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما
The Prophet ﷺ said:
ومن رأى من أميره شيئا يكرهه فليصبر فإنه ليس أحد يفارق الجماعة شبرا فيموت إلا مات ميتة جاهلية
“Whoever sees from his ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient.
For whoever separates himself from the Jama‘ah even a hand-span and dies in that state, dies the death of Jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance).”
[Al-Bukhārī: 7053; Muslim: 1849]◈ ⑤ Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever withdraws his hand from obedience (to the ruler) will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection having no proof (to justify himself).”
And he ﷺ said:
ومن مات وليس فى عنقه بيعة مات ميتة جاهلية
“Whoever dies without having the pledge of allegiance (bay‘ah) around his neck dies the death of Jāhiliyyah.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1851, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: The Obligation to Remain with the Muslim Community in Times of Trials]◈ ⑥ Ḥadīth of ʿArfajah رضي الله عنه
The Prophet ﷺ said:
أنه سيكون هنات وهنات فمن أراد أن يفرق أمر هذه الأمة وهي جميع فاضربوه بالسيف كائنا من كان
“There will be disputes and differences in the future.
Whoever seeks to divide the unity of this Ummah while it is united, strike him with the sword, whoever he may be.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1852, Kitāb al-Imārah, Bāb: The Ruling on One Who Divides the Muslims’ Unity]◈ ⑦ Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
The Prophet ﷺ said:
من حمل علينا السلاح فليس منا
“Whoever raises a weapon against us is not one of us.”
[Al-Bukhārī: 7070, Kitāb al-Fitan; Muslim: 98]✿ Explanation of the Term
The “Imāmah” mentioned in these ḥadīths does not refer to linguistic or general leadership, which could include any local ruler or leader.
Rather, it refers to the specific Shar‘ī Imāmah — the Caliphate of the Muslims (Khilāfah) encompassing Arabs and non-Arabs under one legitimate leader.
[Al-Sayl al-Jarrār, 4/506]✿ Scholarly Clarification
The majority (jumhūr) of scholars hold that rebellion against unjust rulers is not permissible as long as they establish prayer and do not commit clear disbelief.
Some scholars, however, permitted rebellion based on general texts about amr bil-ma‘rūf wa-nahy ‘anil-munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil).
But those texts are general, while the rulings concerning Imāmah and governance are specific — and in Islamic jurisprudence, specific rulings take precedence over general ones.
[Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah, 2/778]
Conclusion
- Rebellion (khurūj) against rulers is strictly prohibited unless they commit open kufr bawāḥ and abandon the establishment of prayer.
- As long as the ruler maintains prayer and governs within the bounds of Islam, Muslims must obey him and avoid division.
- Patience, unity, and adherence to the Jama‘ah are the means of preserving the Ummah’s strength and preventing bloodshed.
