Corrupt
Leaders
According to Quran and Sunnah
About corruption and
what to do about Muslim leaders whose
methodology or teaching is to commit the haram (prohibited)
The Prophet saaws said: "Allah does not punish the
individuals for the sins of the community until they see the evil spreading
among themselves, and while they have the power to stop it, do not do so."
(Ahmad)
Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said:
"This
is why those who are in authority are of two groups: the scholars and the
rulers. If they are upright, the people will be upright; if they are corrupt,
the people will be corrupt."
The Noble Qur'an - Hud
11:85
"And O my people! Give full measure and weight in
justice and reduce not the things that are due to the people, and do not commit
mischief in the land, causing corruption.
The Noble Qur'an - Hud
11:113
And
incline not toward those who do wrong, lest the Fire should touch you, and you
have no protectors other than Allâh, nor you would
then be helped
Do
not split from the Jamaa'ah
as a result of a corrupt leader
Hadith - Al-Bukhari
and Muslim, and other narration by at-Tirmidhee (no.
2867) and Ahmad (4/130).
Allaah’s Messenger (SAAWS) said, "He who sees from his
ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient with him, for he who splits
away from the Jamaa’ah by a handspan
and then dies, dies a death of Jaahiliyyah" and
in a narration, "then he has thrown off the yoke of Islaam
from his neck."
Be
Firm yet Just with a Corrupt Muslim
The Noble Qur'an - Al-Ma'idah 5:8
O
you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allâh and be
just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice.
Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allâh.
Verily, Allâh is WellAcquainted
with what you do.
Shaykh Abdul-Azeez ibn Baaz, hafidahullah
was asked, "Is it from the manhaj (methodology)
of the Salaf to criticise
the Rulers from the minbar (the pulpit)? And what is
the manhaj of the Salaf
with respect to advising the Rulers?" He responded:
It
is not from the manhaj of the Salaf
to publicise the faults of the Rulers and to mention
such things from the pulpit because that leads to confusion/disorder and the
absence of hearing and obeying the ruler in what is good. it
also results in (the people) becoming engrossed (with these matters, arguing
and debating) which causes harm and produces no benefit. The followed path with
the Salaf, however is to give naseehah
(advice) with respect to the matters which are between themselves and the
leader, writing to him or by reaching him through the scholars who keep in
touch with him (to advise him) until the ruler is directed towards the good.
Repelling the evil occurs without mentioning the doer of the evil. So
fornication, drinking of intoxicants and the taking of usury are curbed without
mentioning the one who does such things. Warding off the evil and warning and
the people against it is sufficient without it being mentioned that such and
such a person does it, whether he is a ruler or other than the ruler.
And
when the fitnah occurred in the time of 'Uthmaan , some of the people said
to Usaamah ibn Zaid , "Will you not speak to "'Uthmaan?" So he replied, "You think that I will
not talk to him without letting you know about it (also). Indeed, I will
certainly talk to him regarding that which concerns me and him without
initiating a matter which I do not love to be the first to initiate."
Hadith - Reported by Ahmad (3/403) and
Ibn Abee 'Aasim (2/521) with a saheeh isnaad.
It
is authentically reported from the Messenger in the hadeeth
of 'Iyaad ibn Ghunum who said, "The Messenger of Allaah
(saaws) said, 'Whoever
desires to advise the one with authority then he should not do so openly,
rather he should take him by the hand and take him into seclusion (and then
advise him). And if he accepts (the advice) from him then (he has achieved his
objective) and if not, then he has fulfilled that which was a duty upon him.' "
Sexual
Corruption
The Noble Qur'an 24:30
Tell
the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and
protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for
them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.
Hadith - Sahih
Bukhari Book 25, No. 5403
Some
persons from Banu Hisham
entered the house of Asma' daughter of Umays when AbuBakr also entered
(and she was at that time his wife). He (AbuBakr) saw
it and disapproved of it and he made a mention of that to Allah's Messenger saaws and said: I did not see but good only (in my wife).
Thereupon
Allah's Messenger saaws said: Verily Allah has made her immune from all this. Then Allah's
Messenger saaws stood on the pulpit and said: After this day no man should enter the house of another
person in his absence, but only when he is accompanied by one person or two
persons.
Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi
3118, Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab ,
Tirmidhi transmitted it
The
Prophet saaws said, "Whenever a man is alone with a woman the Devil makes a
third."
In
order to Lead the People,
You Must Qualify to be a Wali
Hadith - Dawud
2078, Narrated 'Aisha r.a. [also related by Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and
others. Tirmidhi said, this is a hasan
Hadith]
"If
they dispute, then the sultan (man in authority) is the wali
of those who have no wali."
The
Duty of the Muslim to Give Sincere Advice to the Corrupt Ruler
"The
master of martyrs (sayyid al-shuhada)
is Hamza, and a man who stands up to a tyrant ruler
and gives him nasiha (advice). And so the ruler kills
him"
The
Prophet (SAW) continued to say : 'By Allah you have to
enjoin good (Maroof) and forbid evil (Munkar), and hold against the hand of the unjust ruler (Zalim), and force him on the truth strongly, or you have to
limit him to the truth'. By this evidence, which is the hadith
commenting on the verse, Allah (SWT) has prohibited us from remaining silent
against the evil (Munkar), and He commanded us to
remove it. Allah (SWT) commanded the Muslims to enjoin Maroof
and deny Munkar, and made it a duty upon them to do
so. Allah (SWT) said; 'Let it be from among you a group who call to the good,
enjoin Maroof and deny Munkar'.
Allah (SWT) also said: 'You have been the best nation (Ummah)
brought to the people, because you enjoin Maroof and
deny Munkar'. [Musnad
of Ahmad]
Saying of the
Salaf
'Abdullah
ibn Mas'ood (radiallaahu 'anhu) used to say:
"Whoever
aids an oppressor or taught him an argument to nullify the right of an ordinary
Muslims, has drawn upon himself the anger of Allaah".
The Noble Qur'an 33:60-61
If
the HYPOCRITES, and those in whose hearts is a disease (evil desire for
ADULTERY, etc.), and those who spread FALSE NEWS among the people in AlMadinah, cease not, We shall
certainly let you OVERPOWER them, then they will not be able to stay in it as
your neighbours but a little while. Accursed,
wherever found, they shall be seized and killed with a (terrible) slaughter.
Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi
3741, Narrated Abdullah ibn Abu Awfa
Allah's
Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah is with the qadi
as long as he is not tyrannical, but when he is, He departs from him and the
Devil attaches himself to him." [Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.]
Fighting
a corrupt muslim ruler
If
an Imam (leader) or Amir (ruler) becomes corrupt he
should first be given a call to Islam (submission) in private, or possibly in
public if his evil deeds were done in public. If he does not turn away from his
evil deeds, he should be overthrown or removed from position. However, in the
process of removing him from position, he should not be physically fought, such
as waging war with weapons. This is because the ruler is still muslim, and the muslims are not to attack or kill another muslim. If, however, the Muslim leader or ruler abandons
his salat, he nullifies his Islam and can be fought
if necessary.
Hadith - Sahih
Muslim 4569, Narrated Umm Salamah, r.a.
The
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: In the
near future there will be Amirs (rulers) and
you will like their good deeds and dislike their bad deeds. One who sees
through their bad deeds (and tries to prevent their repetition by his hand or
through his speech), is absolved from blame, but one who hates their bad deeds
(in the heart of his heart, being unable to prevent their recurrence by his
hand or his tongue), is (also) safe (so far as God"s wrath is concerned). But one who approves
of their bad deeds and imitates them is spiritually ruined. People asked (the
Prophet): Shouldn't we fight against them? He replied: No, as long as they say
their prayers.
Hadith - Related by Ahmad, Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, anNasa'i and Ibn Majah
Buraidah reported that the Prophet 
said, "The
pact between us and them is prayer. Whoever abandons it is a disbeliever."
Rulers
will be held accountable to Allah
Hadith - Al-Bukhari
4.661, Narrated Abu Huraira, r.a.
The
Prophet (saaws) said, "The Israelis used to be
ruled and guided by prophets: Whenever a prophet died, another would take over
his place. There will be no prophet after me, but there will be Caliphs who
will increase in number." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What
do you order us (to do)?" He said, "Obey the one who will be given
the pledge of allegiance first. Fulfil their (i.e.
the Caliphs) rights, for Allah will ask them about (any shortcoming) in ruling
those Allah has put under their guardianship."
Hadith - Sahih
Al-Bukhari 9:265
Allah's
Messenger SAW said, "If any ruler having the
authority to rule Muslim subjects dies while he is deceiving them, Allah will
forbid
The Noble Qur'an - 4:111
And
whoever earns sin, he earns it only against himself. And Allah is Ever AllKnowing, AllWise
Sahih Muslim - Volume 9, Book 89,
Number 264, Narrated Ma'qil
I
heard the Prophet (saaws) saying, "Any man whom Allah has given the authority of ruling
some people and he does not look after them in an honest manner, will never
feel even the smell of Paradise."
The Noble Qur'an 4:79
Whatever
of good reaches you, is from Allah, but whatever of evil befalls you, is from yourself.
The Noble Qur'an 22:54
And
that those who have been given knowledge may know that it (this Qur'an) is the truth from your Lord, and that they may
believe therein, and their hearts may SUBMIT TO IT WITH HUMILITY. And verily,
Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Path.
Action Items for the 
uttaqun:
- Stand up to a
corrupt leader by first calling him to Islam in hopes that he will repent
and correct any haram (Islamically forbidden) behavior or teaching. If
this does not work, consider it the collective jihad of the community to
address the problem.
- An Imam of a Masjid can be replaced, but a governmental leader
cannot be overthrown as long as he is Muslim. In both cases, sincere
advice based on Quran and Sunnah (not feelings)
should be given to the Imam or Sultan.
- An Imam who is
sexually immoral or otherwise a proven fasiq,
does not qualify to be a wali to sisters and
therefore does not qualify to be an Imam or ruler over the people.
- Enjoin the good
and forbid the evil.
Remember... Allah, subhana watala, sees everything we do !
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