How to Advise the Muslim Rulers & How Not To Advise the Muslim Rulers According to the Quran & Sunnah (Part 11)

3. Advising the leader in a private manner – which is between the leader and the adviser – then the adviser goes out and spreads what took place amongst the people.

As for the third manner, it is to advise the leader privately in that which is between the adviser and the leader then the adviser goes and spread that which took place amongst the people. This is prohibited based upon the following points:    

1. It opposes the hadeeth of I’yaad bin Ghanam.

(In that hadeeth the Prophet said, “Whoever wants to advise a sultan (leader/ruler) with a matter, do not do it outwardly but let him take him by the hand and go into seclusion with him. If he accepts it from him then that (is good) and if not then he (the adviser) has fulfilled that which was upon him (to do).” Musnad of Ahmad, as-Sunnah of Ibn Abee Aa’sim, authenticated by al-Albaanee.)

That is because the intent is to not allow the people to be aware of that which has taken place, as (the) evil (that has) taken place can/will be the result of that.

2. It is subjected to ar-Riyaa (showing off) and it is a sign of the weakness of one’s sincerity.  

(Riyaa is minor shirk thus it weakness a person sincerity. Sincerity to Allah while doing an act of worship means to do that act of worship only for the sake of Allah.

But riyaa contradicts sincerity to Allah as it involves someone doing an act of worship with the intention that people may see them and praise them for doing this act of worship.

Riyaa also includes doing an act of worship sincerely for Allah and then realising some people are watching, so the doer then tries to make the act of worship even better to impress the on lookers.

The Messenger of Allah said, “Indeed the thing that I fear most for you is the minor shirk.” The companions asked, “And what is minor shirk, Oh Messenger of Allah?” He said, “It is Ar-Riyaa. Allah will say to the people of riyaa on the Day of Judgement – when the people are being re-payed for their deeds – ‘Go to those who you showed off your deeds to in the worldly life then see if you can find any reward with them!’”  Reported by Imam Ahmad and Authenticated by Shaykh Al-Albani)

3. It leads to turmoil, chaos, and separation of the Muslim jamaah.

(The jamaah shaykh Bazmool was referring to his the main body of Muslims that are either united behind one caliph due to their bay’ah (pledge of allegiance) to him  if that exist or those united by the Muslim ruler due to their bay’ah (pledge of allegiance), who rules an individual state if no caliph exist like in our times.

Shaykh As-San’aani explained the in the first hadeeth below from Saheeh Muslim that separated from the jamaah (main body) means “split off from the Jamaah (main body) who agreed upon an imam (a Muslim ruler), under whom their body and affairs are organized, their word is united, and their protection from their enemy is achieved.”

The prophet said, “One who defected from obedience (to the ruler) andseparated from the jamaah (the main body) of the Muslims, if he died in that state he would die the death of one belonging to the days of Jaahiliyyah. Saheeh Muslim

The Prophet said, “Whosoever sees something from his leader of sin, then let him hate whatever occurs from sin.  And let him not remove his hand from obedience, since whoever removes his hand from disobedience and splits off from the Jamaah (united body), then he dies the death of Jaahiliyyah.’’ Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim

The Prophet said: “… and whoever dies split off from the Muslims (jamaah/main body) will die the death of Jaahiliyyah!” Recorded by Muslim 

Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said:   “Anyone who removes his hand from obedience (to the Muslim ruler) will meet Allah on the Day of Rising with no proof. Anyone who dies without having given the oath of allegiancewill die the death of the Jaahiliyyah“. Recorded by Muslim

Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah said:   “Anyone who dislikes something from his leader should be patient. Anyone who abandons obedience to the Emir (leader/ruler) for even a short time dies the death of the Jaahiliyyah“. Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim

The prophet said, “…one who dies without having bound himself by an oath of allegiance (to a Muslim ruler) will die the death of one belonging to the days of Jaahiliyyah.” Saheeh Muslim

Therefore it is clear that those who publicly speak about the ruler are those who causes a split among the Muslims who where originally united in their obedience to the Muslim ruler of an individual state or the caliph (if it exists).

However when a person or in our times groups of people go around talking about the Muslim ruler behind his back then some people take back their bay’ah or with hold it altogether from the ruler.

These Muslims then become their own jamaah which is one that is in oppositions to the rulers as they are a jamaah of Muslims who refuse to hear and obey the ruler.

These Muslims are threatened in all of the above hadeeth based on their not hearing and obeying the ruler and their splitting from the jamaah of the Muslims. They are threatened by the prophet Mohammed that they will die a death of Jaahiliyyah.

The reason why they are threatened with this is because Jaahiliyyah specifically refers to the period before the coming of the Prophet.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-Uthaymeen said:  What is meant by Jaahiliyyah is the time before the Prophet was sent…” Al-Qawl al-Mufeed ‘ala Kitaab al-Tawheed (2/146); Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (10/ p. 601).

However Jaahiliyyah in a general sense Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said it refers to, “everything that was contrary to the message brought by the Messengers, namely Judaism and Christianity, was Jaahiliyyah. That was Jaahiliyyah in the general sense… although the word Jaahiliyyah is usually used to refer to the Arabs and their former ways, the meaning is still the same.” Iqtida’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem

In this time there was much ignorance this is also it was called Jaahiliyyah as it refers to two things that where combined in this period: jahl (ignorance) and jahaalah (foolishness).

In al-Mu’jam al-Waseet (1/300) it says, “Jaahiliyyah refers to the ways of the Arabs before Islam, namely foolishness and misguidance”

Al-Mannaawi said, “Jaahiliyyah refers to the time before the Prophet was sent; they called it that because of the extent of their ignorance.” Fayd al-Qadeer (1/462). 

Due to the Arabs ignorance in this time they never used to hear and obey their rulers and they use to die in this state hence the prophet referred to the Muslims who do not hear and obey their ruler and therefore spilt off from the jamaah and die in this state as people who died in the state of Jaahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance). The reason for this description was because this sort of behavior just described was a characteristic of the Arabs in Jaahiliyyah and is not a characteristic of a Muslim.

Imam Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahhab said in Jaahiliyyah the people “They held the acts of opposing the figure of authority and failing to comply with him as being something virtuous. And they saw the acts of hearing and obeying as being humiliating and degrading. So Allaah’s Messenger, sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, opposed them and commanded that patience be observed when facing the oppression of the rulers. And he commanded with hearing and obeying them,3 as well as advising (them). And he, sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, spoke extensively in regards to that and he constantly brought it up and repeated it. Taken from his book Aspects of the Days of Ignorance (Masaa’il-ul-Jaahiliyyah))

4. It is from disgracing the leader, therefore opposing the statement of the Prophet which was mentioned previously.

(The statement is “Whoever disgraced the ruler of Allah (by backbiting, slandering (lying) or twisting the truth about him) in the earth, Allah will disgrace him.” at-Tirmidhee, authenticated by Imaam al-Albaanee)

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