—may Allah reward him on behalf of his community—: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak what is good or remain silent.”

It is astonishing that when you wish to speak about an ordinary person, some will say, “Do not backbite him; that is unlawful,” and they will not allow anyone’s honor to be violated in their presence. Yet if you speak about one of the rulers, they regard it as perfectly acceptable!

This attitude is, in truth, an illness that has afflicted many people—may Allah grant us and you well-being and protect us from what has befallen so many.

If people would only restrain their tongues and offer sincere advice to those in authority— and I am not saying that one should overlook mistakes—then write to the rulers; send them a letter. If it reaches them, that is what is required. If they benefit from it, all the better; if they do not, the sin rests with them, provided the error is real. And if the letter never reaches them, the sin is upon whoever prevented it from reaching them.

His words—may Allah be pleased with him—regarding what they pledged to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “and that we speak the truth wherever we are,” mean that we uphold the truth—the religion of Islam with its great statutes—wherever we may be: in the city or the countryside, on land or at sea, in Muslim lands or non-Muslim lands. We stand by the truth wherever we find ourselves.

His statement, “and that in the cause of Allah we fear no blame from any critic,” means that we do not care if someone reproaches us concerning Allah’s religion, for we stand upon the truth.

For example, if a person wishes to practice a sunnah that the common folk find objectionable, then this