Scholars Working With Rulers

Can Scholars get close to Tyrannical Rulers? – الإمام الشوكاني

Yes – if they command good [أمر بمعروف] and forbid evil [نهي عن منكر].

Imam Al-Shawkani has written a golden Risalah on this topic, in which he writes:

فإن قلت: قد يكون من الملوك من هو ظالم جائر، قلت نعم، ولكن هذا المتصل بهم لم يتصل بهم ليعينهم على ظلمهم وجورهم، بل ليقضي بين الناس بحكم الله
ولا يخفى على ذي عقل، أنه لو امتنع أهل العلم والفضل والدين عن مداخلة الملوك، لتعطلّت الشريعة المطهرة، لعدم وجود من يقوم بها
ولم يُعنه على ظلمه، ولا سعى في تقرير ما هو عليه، أو تحسينه، أو إيراد الشبه في تجويزه، فإن أدخل نفسه في شيء من هذه الأمور، فهو في عداد الظلمة، وفريق الجورة، ومن جملة الخونة
“If someone objects, saying:
There were some oppressive and tyrannical rulers!
I say: Yes indeed – but this connection with the rulers which we are proposing is not to support them in their tyranny and oppression. It’s actually so that they are (diverted back) to God’s command.
It is not hidden from a sensible person that if the people of knowledge, goodness and religion were to totally abstain from cooperating with rulers, then the Islamic law will vanish, due to the absence of people who can uphold it.
He should not support the ruler in his tyranny, condone what he is doing wrong, or make his evil look good and legal.
However, if he does get involved in any of these things, then he himself is to be counted as one of the oppressors, evil-doers and traitors.”

(“Raf’ al-Asatin fi Hukm al-Ittisal bil-Salatin”).

End Quote.

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There are two extreme opinions when it comes to scholars dealing with tyrannical rulers:
One group is totally opposed to any form of cooperation between scholars and tyrannical rulers. They consider any scholar who works with tyrannical ruler as sell-outs, traitors and even apostates, i.e. “guilty by association”.
The other group completely supports the oppressive rulers in their tyranny and they become their puppets. They make excuses for them, justify their oppression and do not oppose their evil.
Both extremes are wrong – the truth is in between.
It is permissible for scholars to work closely with evil rulers – not to support them in their evil, but to reduce their evil.
There is a lot of reward in this.
If all scholars had abstained from engaging with the rulers, there would be no trace of Islamic law left in our lands!