Because the Prophet (S) has said...

Because the Prophet (S) has said, ‘Listen to and obey your ruler, even if he is a slave with a flat nose or an Ethiopian. Also, pray behind every person, virtuous or perverted.’ He also said, ‘Follow and obey your rulers, even if they loot your property and break your backs’.”[^3] However, some Sunni scholars have opposed this point of view, and instead believe that a corrupt ruler should not be obeyed.

Some of those who have opposed obeying the corrupt ruler are Mawardi in his book “ Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah ”[^4], ‘Abd al-Qahir Baghdadi in his book “ Usul al-Din ”[^5], Ibn Hazm Zahiri in his book “ Al-Fisal fi al-Millal wa al-Ahwa’ wa al-Nihal ”[^6], and Jurjani in his book “ Sharh al-Mawaqif ”.[^7] Edicts regarding illegality of rising up against a tyrant Many Sunni scholars [‘ ulama’ ] have agreed that rising up against a corrupt ‘ imam ’ or caliph who is an oppressor is not permissible.

Among those of old, ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar and Ahmad ibn Hanbal are some of the most headstrong opposers of rising up against the Muslim caliph even if he is an oppressor and a perverted man. Abu Bakr Marwazi narrates that Ahmad ibn Hanbal used to advocate preventing bloodshed and strongly denied the legitimacy of uprising against the Muslim caliph.[^8] Dr.

‘Atiah al-Zahrani adds a footnote at the bottom of Abu Bakr Marwazi’s narration saying, “The chain of transmission of this narration is correct.

This is the true belief of the Salafi sect.”[^9] Imam Nuwi, while expounding on the agreement of the Sunni scholars on this issue, says, “According to the consensus of the scholars, rising up against the Muslim caliph is forbidden [ haram ], even though he is corrupt and oppressive.”[^10] However, this claim is not correct and, as we will explain later, the Imamate Shi‘ahs oppose it and believe that not only is obeying a corrupt and oppressive ruler not permissible, but it is also obligatory [ wajib ] to rise up against him under certain circumstances.

Dr. Muhammad Faruq Nahban attributes the edict [ fatwa ] which forbids rising up against a corrupt and oppressive caliph to the majority of Sunni scholars and says, “Sunni scholars have two opinions regarding revolution and rising up against a tyrannical and perverted ruler: The first opinion is that rising up against the ruler and dismissing him from power is permissible. This opinion is held by the Mu‘tazilites, the Khawarij, the Zaydis, and a number of sects.