Manhaj Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jamaa fi al-Sam wa al-Taa
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah and Guidance - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Manhaj Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jamaa fi al-Sam wa al-Taa (The Methodology of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a Concerning Hearing and Obeying) is a short treatise by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE), expounding the Sunni doctrine on obedience to Muslim rulers and the impermissibility of armed rebellion against them .
Background and Context
The work was issued in connection with the Council of Senior Scholars' (Hay'at Kibar al-Ulama) official resolution regarding the Grand Mosque seizure in Mecca in 1400 AH (1979 CE) . It incorporates the council's declaration alongside a specialized ruling (fatwa) delivered by Ibn Baz regarding the prohibition of rebelling against a legitimate Muslim ruler . The text was published in the fifth issue of Majallat al-Buhuth al-Islamiyyah in 1400 AH and later compiled within Ibn Baz's collected writings, Majmu Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanawwiah .
Content and Scriptural Evidence
The text frames armed rebellion and the renunciation of allegiance (bay'ah) as severe transgressions against Islamic law that undermine the unity, stability, and mutual solidarity of the Muslim community . It grounds the obligation of obedience in the Quranic verse: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ ("O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you") .
To corroborate this position, the work cites several prophetic traditions recorded in the canonical collections:
- The narration of Ubadah ibn al-Samit regarding the pledge to hear and obey in hardship and ease, and not to dispute authority with its holders unless witnessing open disbelief: إلا أن تروا كفرا بواحا عندكم فيه من الله برهان ("unless you see clear, open disbelief regarding which you possess proof from Allah") .
- The narration of Abdullah ibn Umar in Sahih Muslim warning that whoever renounces obedience will meet Allah without an excuse, and whoever dies without a pledge of allegiance dies a death of the pre-Islamic era (jahiliyyah) .
- The narrations of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As and Arfajah ibn Shurayh on the strict prohibition against causing division or attempting to split the unified collective of Muslims under an established authority .
- The hadith of al-Harith al-Ash'ari concerning the five divine commands: jihad, obedience, emigration, and maintaining adherence to the community (jama'ah) .
In his analysis, Ibn Baz states that the Saudi state had committed nothing warranting rebellion against it, characterizing those who justify armed revolt over sins as following the doctrine of the Kharijites (al-Khawarij), who declare Muslims to be unbelievers on account of sins . He emphasizes the prophetic instruction that if a believer observes an act of disobedience from a ruler, he should detest the sin itself while maintaining obedience and refraining from breaking communal unity .
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