Our Relationship with Our Rulers and Scholars

Allah (SWT) says: "They took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah, and Messiah, son of Mary, while they were commanded to worship none but one Allah. None is worthy of worship but He. Praise and glory be to Him, free is He from having the partners they associate. " (EMQ At-Tauba: 31)

Ibn Sa'd, At-Tirmithi, and Ibn Abi Hatim, among many others reported that, "Udai bin Hatim said that I came to the Messenger of Allah while he was reciting this verse, he then said, "they did not worship them. But if they made something Halal, the people make it Halal, and if they make it Haraam, the people make it Haraam " Meaning the rabbis and monks made lawful things unlawful and unlawful things lawful and the Christians and Jews obeyed them instead of Allah This Ayah shows us how the people of the book erred by obeying their monks and rabbis as if they were Allah.

Ayahs such as this, specifying people of the book or nations before us and not containing any Hukum (rules), teach us a lesson so that we learn from them and do not make the same mistakes. Unfortunately, some Muslims have fallen into the same trap by obeying the Imams and Sheikhs. Many Muslims are obeying the Imams without knowing if Islam gave the Imams the authority to issue directives and if it is lawful to obey the directives. How many Muslims question for example some of the practices their Imams do, such as, lashing and beating Muslims for sins they commit? When Islam was implemented under the Khilafah, it was understood by the Muslims that it was imperative to keep a check on the rulers. When the rulers made a decision, the scholars would make sure it was from Islam. So, even the Khalifah, Imam al-Mu'minun, was questioned for his decisions by the scholars. Today we have scholars sitting at the doors of the Presidents, Princes, and Kings knowing that they are ruling by Kufr and yet staying silent!! Even worse, they twist the shari'ah to fit the rules already imposed by the rulers. They would use a Hadith such as "Obey the ruler even if he whips your back and take your wealth," or Hadiths prohibiting rebelling against the ruler to make Muslims accept the status quo. They also use the ignorance of Muslims of Islam to convince them that they are forbidden to rebel against the ruler as long as they pray. They do not tell the people that the term 'Iqamat -us-Salat' used in the Hadith means ruling by Islam. This is a style used in the Qur'an where Allah (swt), would use part to denote the whole. For example, Allah (swt), says, "And set free a neck." This means to set free a man, not just a neck.

This deliberate twisting of the Islamic texts is done to pacify the Muslim Ummah. Keeping them from understanding that illegitimate rulers in the Muslim countries must be removed. More catastrophic is the fact that Muslims still follow them and take their statements even above the texts of Islam. How many times did the Muslims say after being provided with a Daleel, but the Sheikh said or do you know more than the Sheikh or the Imam?

Another sign of the Muslims falling into the same trap of the Christians and Jews is the way they treat today's scholars of Islam. In the past when the scholars taught the rules of Islam it was expected and thought of as noble to ask, " Where is your evidence?" It was also thought of as healthy when the students debated with the scholar. Now a days in the absence of a Khalifah, you find the scholars getting away with statements such as, "Riba is Halal in a small quantity..." or foolish statements such as, "We must establish the Khilafah in ourselves..." and we stay silent. And if someone asks the scholars, "Where is your evidence?", we condemn them and say, "You have no respect for scholars!"; as if questioning the scholars is disrespectful. How is making sure the scholar's statement consistent with Islam disrespectful? The questioning of scholars should not even be an issue.

So brothers and sisters in Islam, it has to be clear that our relationship with our leaders and scholars must be based on Islam.

We must also be more stems on our scholars and be more careful in accepting anything and everything they tell us. We should get the evidence and question them when needed, until the proof is clear. Let the Hadith of the Prophet, "Let any scholar who is at the doorstep of the ruler, know that he is a hypocrite!" ring in the ear of each and every scholar. We must let it be understood that our loyalty is to Allah! Our allegiance is to Allah!! Our purpose for living is to please Allah and Allah only!! Our striving, our living and our dying is only for Allah!

"None is worthy of worship but He. Praise and glory be to Him, free from having the partners they associate!" (EMQ 9:3 1)