Regarding the Ruling on Public Denunciation of Those in Authority– by Shaikh Abu Abd Al-Mu’iz Muhammad Ali Ferkous[1]
Fatwa Number: 1260, Category: Methodological Fatawa
Question:
A group of students of knowledge believes that public denunciation of those in authority is absolutely impermissible. They have attributed this ruling to the entire methodology (Madhhab) of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors), citing texts that command advising them secretly. They have accused those who differ with them in this ruling of being ignorant of the foundational principles (Usul) of the methodology of Ahl As-Sunnah wa Al-Jama’ah in dealing with rulers.
We request our Shaykh – may Allah preserve him (hafidhahullah) – to clarify this issue, which has taken up a significant amount of debate and discussion among students of knowledge currently, with supporters and opponents, especially on social media platforms on the internet. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the one whom Allah sent as a mercy to the worlds, and upon his family, his Companions, and his brothers until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
Know – may Allah have mercy upon you (rahimakallah) – that among the ways of giving sincere advice (Nasiha) to the leaders of the Muslims is to remind them of the responsibility placed upon their shoulders, and to inform them of the errors and contraventions they have fallen into with gentleness, wisdom, and kindness.
The general principle (Asl) in admonishing them is that it should be done secretly whenever possible, without exposing, rebuking, or defaming them.
Ash-Shafi’i (rahimahullah) said: “Whoever admonishes his brother secretly has advised him and adorned him, and whoever admonishes him publicly has exposed him and shamed him.”[2]
Ibn Rajab (rahimahullah) said: “The Salaf, when they intended to advise someone, would admonish him secretly, to the extent that some of them said: ‘Whoever admonishes his brother between himself and him, it is sincere advice. And whoever admonishes him before a gathering of people, he has only rebuked him.’ Al-Fudhayl (rahimahullah) said: ‘The believer conceals and advises, while the evildoer exposes and reviles.’ And ‘Abdul-‘Aziz ibn Abi Rawwad (rahimahullah) said: ‘Those who came before you, if a man saw something from his brother, he would enjoin him with gentleness, and he would be rewarded for his enjoining and forbidding. But one of these (contemporaries) harshly confronts his companion, thereby angering his brother and exposing his faults.’ Ibn ‘Abbas (radhiAllahu ‘anhuma) was asked about enjoining good upon the ruler and forbidding him from evil, and he said: ‘If you must do it, then let it be between you and him.'”[3]
Yahya ibn Ma’in said: “I never saw a fault in a man except that I concealed it and wished to rectify his affair. I never confronted a man to his face with a matter he disliked, but I would clarify his error to him between myself and him. If he accepted it, then [good]; otherwise, I would leave him.”[4]
Admonishing those in authority is done secretly, either through a confidential letter sent to them via private or electronic mail, or by delivering it to them by hand through a trustworthy person, or by requesting a brotherly meeting in which advice is conveyed to them secretly, and similar means of ensuring the advice is beneficial in the fields of Da’wah (calling to Islam), education, and information dissemination. The Hadith is interpreted in this light: “Whoever wishes to advise one in authority, let him not do so publicly, but let him take him by the hand and be alone with him. If he accepts it from him, then that is [good], and if not, he has fulfilled what was upon him.”[5]
However, if it is not possible to admonish them secretly to remove a reprehensible act (Munkar) they have committed publicly, and it is highly probable that good will be achieved by public denunciation without any resulting negative consequences (Mafsadah), then it is permissible – in this situation – to advise them and denounce [their actions] publicly, without vilification, reviling, or defamation. This is what wisdom dictates for denouncing the Munkar, establishing the truth, and achieving good.
Indeed, the noble Companion Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) publicly denounced Marwan ibn Al-Hakam for delivering the Khutbah (sermon) before the Eid prayer, without public shaming or incitement, but it was done openly in the sight and hearing of the Companions and others, without anyone objecting.[6]
This is supported by what Abu Qilabah said: “I was in Ash-Sham in a circle wherein was Muslim ibn Yasar. Then Abu Al-Ash’ath came. They said: ‘Abu Al-Ash’ath, Abu Al-Ash’ath!’ So he sat down. I said to him: ‘Narrate to our brother the Hadith of ‘Ubadah ibn As-Samit.’ He said: ‘Yes. We went on a military expedition, and Mu’awiyah was in charge of the people. We acquired much booty, and among what we acquired were silver vessels. Mu’awiyah ordered a man to sell them for the people’s stipends. The people rushed into that. This reached ‘Ubadah ibn As-Samit, so he stood up and said: ‘Indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) forbidding the sale of gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt, except like for like, hand to hand. Whoever gives more or takes more has engaged in Riba (usury).’ So the people returned what they had taken. This reached Mu’awiyah, so he stood up and delivered a sermon, saying: ‘What is the matter with men who narrate Ahadith from the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) which we witnessed him and accompanied him, yet we did not hear them from him!’ So ‘Ubadah ibn As-Samit stood up and repeated the story, then said: ‘We shall indeed narrate what we heard from the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), even if Mu’awiyah dislikes it – or he said: even if he is averse to it. I do not care if I do not accompany him in his army for a single dark night.'”[7]
This is but a drop in the ocean of the Companions (radhiAllahu ‘anhum) denouncing [wrongdoing] by emirs and governors. In this context, Ibn Al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said: “What ‘Ubadah ibn As-Samit and others said: ‘We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to speak the truth wherever we were, and not to fear in Allah the blame of any blamer.’ And we bear witness [by Allah] that they fulfilled this pledge, spoke the truth, and proclaimed it openly, and the blame of any blamer did not deter them in [their duty to] Allah. They did not conceal any of it for fear of a whip, a stick, an emir, or a governor, as is known to anyone who reflects on their guidance and biography. Indeed, Abu Sa’id denounced Marwan when he was the emir of Madinah, and ‘Ubadah ibn As-Samit denounced Mu’awiyah when he was the Caliph, and Ibn ‘Umar denounced Al-Hajjaj despite his power and might, and he denounced ‘Amr ibn Sa’id when he was the emir of Madinah. This is very abundant from their denunciation of emirs and governors when they deviated from justice; they did not fear their whips or their punishment. Those who came after them did not possess this status; rather, they would abandon much of the truth out of fear of oppressive rulers and tyrannical emirs. So, it is impossible that these [later ones] would be guided to what is correct while the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) were deprived of it.”[8]
It should be known that public advice is to be delivered without vilification, reviling, or defamation, as these contradict moral conduct, and without rebellion in word or deed, as this contravenes the methodology of Islam in governance and politics. This is even more so if they themselves permit advice to be given to them publicly, and they open the door for expressing opinions and criticism and allow it. This is implied in the statement of As-Siddiq (radhiAllahu ‘anhu): “And if you see me upon falsehood, then correct me,” and in another wording: “And if I deviate, then straighten me.”[9]
An-Nawawi (rahimahullah) said: “And in this is [guidance on] etiquette with rulers, being kind to them, admonishing them secretly, and conveying to them what people say about them so that they may desist from it. All of this is if it is possible. If secret admonishment and denunciation are not possible, then let him do it publicly, so that the foundation of truth is not lost.”[10]
And he (rahimahullah) said in another place: “The scholars have said: Enjoining good and forbidding evil is not exclusive to those in positions of authority; rather, it is permissible for individual Muslims. Imam Al-Haramayn said: ‘The proof for this is the consensus (Ijma’) of the Muslims, for indeed, those not in authority in the first generation and the era that followed it used to enjoin the rulers with good and forbid them from evil, with the Muslims affirming their actions and refraining from rebuking them for engaging in enjoining good and forbidding evil without [holding] a position of authority.'”[11]
It should be known that the word of truth is above the position of leadership, and the awe of the ruler does not prevent responding to him and denouncing his statements with gentleness and leniency, according to the established guidelines and conditions for advice, out of a desire for good for him and a dislike of evil for him. This is from the right of the Imam upon the Ummah, and in it is a revival for him and a rescue for him from rushing into the Fire.
This is attested to by what At-Tabarani narrated in Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabir[12] and Al-Awsat[13], and Abu Ya’la in his Musnad[14], and Ibn ‘Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq[15], from the Hadith of Mu’awiyah (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saying: “There will be leaders after me who will speak, and their speech will not be refuted to them; they will rush into the Fire just as monkeys rush.”[16]
As-San’ani (rahimahullah), explaining the meaning of the Hadith, said: “«There will be leaders after me who will speak» meaning, reprehensible speech, as indicated by his statement: «and their speech will not be refuted to them» out of awe for them and fear of their oppression, «they will rush into the Fire», meaning, they will fall into it just as a person rushes into a grave matter and throws himself into it without deliberation, «just as monkeys rush» i.e., into the matter upon which this [analogy] is based. And it is possible that the pronoun «they will rush» refers to the leaders and to those who did not refute them out of flattery and laxity in the Deen.”[17]
It is worth noting that if it is highly probable that the Mafsadah (negative consequence) and the Munkar (reprehensible act) will not be removed by public admonishment, but rather it may lead to adverse outcomes detrimental to the Da’wah to Allah and to those who advise publicly, then what Maslahah (public interest/benefit) dictates – in this situation – is to avoid public denunciation and suffice with admonishing them secretly when possible. Ibn Al-‘Uthaymin (rahimahullah) said: “So if we see that public denunciation will remove the Munkar and achieve good, then let us denounce publicly. And if we see that public denunciation will not remove the evil, nor achieve good, but rather will increase the pressure of those in authority on those who denounce and on the people of good, then what is good is that we denounce secretly. By this, the evidences are reconciled. Thus, the evidences indicating that denunciation should be public are for when we anticipate benefit in it, which is the achievement of good and the removal of evil. And the texts indicating that denunciation should be secret are for when publicizing the denunciation would increase the evil and not achieve good.”[18]
And Allah Ta’ala knows best. Our final supplication is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send blessings and abundant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions, and his brothers until the Day of Judgment.
Algeria on: 17 Shawwal 1442 H
Corresponding to: 29 May 2021 CE[19]
[1] Shaikh Abu Abd al-Mu’iz Muhammad Ali Ferkous is a prominent Algerian scholar and professor at the Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Algiers. Born in 1954, he pursued his religious education at the Islamic University of Madinah, studying under esteemed scholars like Attiya Muhammad Salim, Abd al-Qadir Shaiba al-Hamd, Abu Bakr al-Jazairi, and Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Shinqiti, and benefiting from lectures by Shaikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz. Shaikh Ferkous is renowned for his rigorous academic methodology in authorship and verification, with numerous works in Usul al-Fiqh, Fiqh, and Hadith. He is known for advocating Tawhid and Sunnah and defending the Salafi creed, serving as a significant reference for students of knowledge in Algeria and beyond.
[2] Hilyat Al-Awliya’ by Abu Nu’aym (9/140), Sharh Muslim by An-Nawawi (2/24).
[3] Jami’ Al-‘Ulum wa Al-Hikam (77).
[4] See: Siyar A’lam An-Nubala’ by Adh-Dhahabi (11/83).
[5] Narrated by Ibn Abi ‘Asim in As-Sunnah (2/521), from the Hadith of ‘Iyad ibn Ghanm (radhiAllahu ‘anhu), and authenticated by Al-Albani in Dhilal Al-Jannah (1096).
[6] Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Abwab Al-‘Idayn (2/17) chapter on going out to the Musalla without a Minbar, and Muslim in Salat Al-‘Idayn (1/69) chapter on the fact that forbidding evil is part of faith, from the Hadith of Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (radhiAllahu ‘anhu).
[7] Narrated by Muslim in Al-Musaqah (11/13), chapter on currency exchange and selling gold for silver on the spot.
[8] I’lam Al-Muwaqqi’in by Ibn Al-Qayyim (4/110).
[9] Narrated by Ibn Jarir in At-Tarikh (2/237), and Ibn Hisham in As-Sirah An-Nabawiyyah from the chain of Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar from Az-Zuhri from Anas ibn Malik (radhiAllahu ‘anhu). Ibn Kathir said [in Al-Bidayah wa An-Nihayah (5/248, 6/301)]: “And this chain of narration is authentic (Sahih).”
[10] Sharh Muslim (18/118).
[11] Ibid. (2/23).
[12] (19/393).
[13] (5/279).
[14] (13/373).
[15] (59/168).
[16] The Hadith was authenticated by Al-Albani in As-Silsilah As-Sahihah (4/398), and Husayn Asad, the verifier of Musnad Abi Ya’la (13/373).
[17] At-Tanwir Sharh Al-Jami’ As-Saghir (6/390).
[18] Liqa’ Al-Bab Al-Maftuh (62/10).
Saheehus-Seerah 