relief and a way out. Do not incite turmoil against the ruler; rather, listen and obey, and do not break the pledge of allegiance. Whoever does so is an innovator, contradicting and splitting from the community. Should the ruler command you to do something that constitutes disobedience to Allah, you must never obey him in that, yet you are not permitted to rise against him or withhold his due.1

Imam al-Bukhari—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “I met more than one thousand scholars from the Hijaz, Mecca, Medina, Kufa, Basra, Wasit, Baghdad, Syria, and Egypt… After listing a number of them, he continued: I did not see a single one of them differ concerning these matters… He then enumerated several points, among them:

that we are not to contest authority with those who possess it, in light of the Prophet’s words: ‘Three things against which the heart of a Muslim will not harbor malice: sincerity in one’s deeds for Allah, obedience to the rulers, and adherence to their community—for their supplication encompasses all who are behind them.’2 He then reinforced this with Allah’s statement: “Obey Allah and obey…"