we would pay it. But if they instruct us to do something for which there is no specific religious command, obedience is not obligatory, for were it binding upon us to obey them in such matters they would, in effect, become legislators. This is a flawed notion that contradicts the Qur’an and the Sunnah. If we were to say, “We will obey them only in what Allah has enjoined,” they would be no different from anyone else: every person who bids good and forbids evil would then have to be obeyed.

Rather, we have been commanded to obey them even in matters about which Allah has issued no direct ruling, provided the matter is neither forbidden nor reprehensible. We must obey them even in administrative regulations; whenever they organize some aspect of public affairs, compliance is incumbent upon us. Through obeying them we fulfill the command of Allah and the command of His Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him), preserve security, avoid rebellion against the rulers, and prevent division. Saying, “We will obey them only in what Allah has enjoined,” would effectively negate any obedience to them at all.

Consider certain regulations: the government may institute a system that in no way conflicts with the Sharia, though the Sharia has not specified it verbatim. Some people say, “We will not obey in this.” They should be told, “You must obey; if you refuse, you are sinful, liable to Allah’s punishment and to that of the rulers.”

It is likewise the duty of the rulers to discipline those who defy orders that the subjects are obliged to carry out. When they disobey the rulers—after Allah has commanded obedience to them in such matters—they are disobeying Allah, and anyone who disobeys Allah deserves disciplinary action, that is, whatever corrective measure the ruler deems appropriate.

Among such regulations are the traffic laws, for instance; these traffic laws have been instituted by the ruler—