Shaykh ʿUbayd al-Jābirī: Advice to the People of Yemen Regarding the Khārijites and Rebels and the Obligation to Support The Leader Against Them
rulership rebellion kharijites
Shaykh ʿUbayd al-Jābirī (رحمه الله) explained the obligation to support the Muslim ruler in fighting the Khārijites (secessionists) and Bughāt (rebels) and the prohibition of abandoning or failing to support him, and the gravity of the sin committed by those who forsake or betray him.
In his explanation of Uṣūl al-Sunnah of Imām Aḥmad in al-Shiḥr (Haḍramaut), Yemen (1429/2008), regarding the following point:
And fighting (in expeditions) alongside the rulers remains operative until the Day of Resurrection, be they righteous or sinful, it is not abandoned, and the division of the booty.
Shaykh ʿUbayd (رحمه الله) stated:[1]
I would like to draw attention to an important point:
If anyone stands against the ruler, raises the sword against him, and declares war upon him, the Imām has the right to confront him, restrain him, and smash his power.
It is obligatory upon the people of the land to stand with the one whom Allāh has placed in authority over them and they must not undermine his strength nor abandon him.
Whoever weakens his position, forsakes him, or holds back from fighting an aggressor who seeks to sow division and spread chaos and anarchy is—regardless of his circumstances—in disobedience to Allāh and His Messenger, and has strayed from the path of the believers.
Therefore, I state without any hesitation that the Muslims in this land, Yemen—may Allāh unite its elite and its common folk upon what He loves and is pleased with of Islām and the Sunnah—they must stand with the one whom Allāh has placed in authority over them against those who have initiated war, raised the banner of rebellion and aggression, and drawn their swords against the authority.
They must support the ruler whom Allāh has appointed, and they must neither abandon him nor leave him vulnerable (to the aggressors).
Anyone who holds back, fails to provide support, withdraws, or discourages others from supporting the Muslims is a traitor.
This sin becomes even more grave and significant if such individuals belong to the military sectors—those whom the ruler trusted and entrusted with the responsibility of confronting the unjust, oppressive, ignorant, rebellious, and aggressive insurgent.
If these military personnel were to abandon what their commander, their legitimate ruler, has called them to do, they would be Khārijites alongside that same unjust, oppressive, and ignorant (insurgent).
What is intended here is, that you, O people of Islām in this land, when your legitimate ruler calls upon you, mobilise, then take up your positions, and seek the help of Allāh in carrying out the tasks entrusted to you by your ruler, the head of state.
Do not be deceived by the words of those who lack true understanding. Do not be deceived by someone who says, “We have no enmity toward this party, so we should not fight them!” Never, with a thousand nos! Such a person is either ignorant or unjust, like that unjust, oppressive, ignoramus.
Notes
The scholars are upon a united stance regarding the security and stability of Muslim nations, they enjoin the people—in this case, the people of Yemen—to aid and support their ruler against the Khārijites and rebels (of whatever orientation or persuasion) and not to forsake him when he mobilises them to fight against the aggressors.
Many foundations of the Sunnah come to play in such events and occurrences.
As for those who support the activities of rebellious, seditious and secessionist factions, giving them tactical support by way of fatāwā or by way of treachery and lying to senior scholars to justify rebellion against the state and its forces, while silencing and humiliating those who call to these foundations upon the way of the senior scholars, then in these affairs they are not upon the Salafiyyah that we know from the senior scholars such as Shaykh Rabīʿ bin Hādī, Shaykh ʿUbayd al-Jābirī and others.
This could not be more obvious and apparent to any Salafi with a basic amount of knowledge and a reading or two of Sharḥ al-Sunnah of al-Barbahārī or Uṣūl al-Sunnah of Imām Aḥmad.
An illustration of what Shaykh ʿUbayd mentioned is when the Houthīs rebelled against legitimate authority and split the country in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition strove to restore the original rule by fighting the Houthīs. Then later another faction rebelled against legitimate authority and strove to split the country once more (weakening it further), and they were led by the traitor Aidarous al-Zubaydī and the misguided Hānī Burayk. These are scenarios in which the people are obligated to support legitimate authority and not forsake him.
Another illustration of is when a subordinate military faction in Sudan known as the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) rebelled against the legitimate ruler’s army and tried to form a separate state, backed by foreign actors with their own agendas. They went on to cause corruption on earth by killing of tens of thousands and displacing millions from their homes. This is a scenario in which the people are obligated to aid and support the ruler and not forsake him, and the people of knowledge in that land called to that, in pursuit of Sharīʿah objectives, which are unity and stability, while warning against all contrary and subversive voices (naysayers, doubt mongers, propagandists, media outlets, foreign players).
These foundations of the Sunnah mentioned in the books of creed are not mere decorations and slogans for lectures, but provide practical guidance for real life events in order to protect the servant and the land, and they are to be advocated for in relation to those events, and not just left as theoretical affairs in the air, unhinged, detached and blown away by the wind. When Shaykh ʿUbayd gave that advice to the people of Yemen, he meant for it to be implemented.
May Allāh reward Shaykh ʿUbayd, and Shaykh Rabīʿ for their pertinent advices regarding Yemen, and likewise, all the mashāyikh of Ahl al-Sunnah who follow behind them, in that very same path, and from them today are Shaykh Nizār bin Hāshim in the matter of Sudan and Shaykh `Alī al-Ḥudhayfī in the matter of Yemen.
Here are some resources from Shaykh Nizār from 2023 regarding the issue of Sudan, and compare between his speech and the speech of Shaykh ʿUbayd, and also compare between his speech and that of his adversaries.
- Word of Advice Regarding the Sharīʿyy Position Regarding the Current Fitnah in the Land of Sudan: Audio (15/04/2023).
- Performing the Qunūṭ Supplication During a Crisis with the Permission of the Leader: Audio (18/04/2023).
- Warning the People of Islām in Sudan and Elsewhere Against al-Jazīrah, al-Ḥadath, al-ʿArabiyyah and Skynews: Audio (18/04/2023)
- A Word of Support for the Army of the Land of Sudan: Audio (18/04/2023).
- Emphasising the Obligation to Support the Sudanese Army and that Considering the Benefits and Harms in Making a Truce Returns to the Ruler: Audio (25/06/2023).
- Clarification Regarding the Types of the Fitnah and the Fitnah in Which the Truth Has Become Clear: Post (28/06/2023). English Translation.
- Encouragement to Respond to the Ruler’s Mobilisation to Fight the Obstinate, Transgressing Rebels: Post (29/06/2023). English translation.
- Commentary on the Speech of a Brother Who Spoke Without Knowledge or Insight into the Reality of the Current War in Sudan: Post (01/07/2023). English translation.
The above should be understood in the wider context of the emergence of claimants to Salafiyyah who are undermining these foundations, having polluted their Salafiyyah with political ambitions, resembling the way of those before them, and they have brought various doubts and false principles which pave the way for justifying revolutions in Muslim lands under various pretexts and undermining what Muslim rulers do of fighting Khārijites and rebels in preservation of unity, stability and the lives of their subjects.
Arabic text:
Footnotes
1. Explanation of Uṣul al-Sunnah by Imām Aḥmad, 4th lesson.