Thus, what Ahl al-Sunnah say is a truthful account and a wise judgment, whereas what the Rāfidah say is a false account and a foolish judgment (1).

Ahl al-Sunnah say:

The ruler, imam, and caliph is the person who actually holds authority and is capable of fulfilling the purpose of governance, just as the imam in prayer is the one [who] (2) leads the people in prayer and whom they follow. An imam in prayer is not someone who deserves to be the imam while leading no one in prayer; rather, [such a person] (3) is merely someone who ought to be the imam. The distinction between the imam and the person who ought to be the imam is apparent to all but the ignorant rabble.

They also say:

He is to be supported in righteousness and piety, but not in sin and transgression. He is to be obeyed insofar as that constitutes obedience to Allah, but not where it entails disobedience to Him, and no armed rebellion is to be launched against him. The hadiths of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—indicate precisely this. Thus, it is related in the two Sahih collections from Ibn Abbās [may Allah be pleased with them both] (4), that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Whoever sees something in his ruler that he dislikes must bear it patiently, for no person withdraws from (5) the ruler’s authority by so much as a handspan and then dies [in that state] (6) without dying a death of the Age of Ignorance.” (7 In another wording: “Whoever separates from the united Muslim community by so much as a handspan and then dies while in that state (7) dies only a death of the Age of Ignorance.” 7) (8)

He thus identified the prohibited act as withdrawing from the ruler’s authority and separating from the united Muslim community, and he commanded patience with whatever one dislikes in the ruler. He did not restrict this to any particular sovereign, ruler, or community.