Assim Al Hakeem Refuted By Sheikh Saleh Al Fawzan

Hasan al-Basrī (died 110H) was a great scholar of the first Islamic century and there is no dispute regarding his credentials and immense knowledge. Ibn Saʿd relates:

"A group of Muslims came to al-Hasan al-Basrī seeking a verdict to rebel against al-Hajjāj [13] (a tyrannical and despotic general). So they said, "O Abu Saʿīd! What do you say about fighting this oppressor who has unlawfully spilt blood and unlawfully taken wealth and has done this and done that?" So al-Hasan said, "I hold that he should not be fought. If this is a punishment from Allāh, then you will not be able to remove it with your swords. If this is a trial from Allāh, then be patient until Allāh's judgement comes, and He is the best of judges." So they left al-Hasan, disagreed with him and rebelled against al-Hajjāj – so al-Hajjāj killed them all. Al-Hasan used to say, "If the people had patience when they are being tested by their unjust ruler, it will not be long before Allāh will give them a way out. However, they always rush for their swords, so they are left with their swords. By Allāh! Not even for a single day did they bring about any good." [Tabaqāt al-Kubrā (7/163-165)]

The great eighth century scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (died 752H) said:
"The Prophet (salallaahu 'alaihi wassallam) legislated for this nation the obligation of rejecting the evil so that by its rejection, the goodness that Allāh and His Messenger love is obtained. And when rejecting evil leads to what is more evil and more hated by Allāh and His Messenger then it is not allowed to reject it – even if Allāh hates the evil and detests those who perform it. And this is like censuring [the transgressions] of the kings and the ones in authority by coming out to fight against them for verily that is the basis and foundation of every evil and every tribulation till the end of time. And the Companions asked permission from Allāh's Messenger to kill the leaders who delay the prayer from its correct time saying, 'Shall we not kill them?' He replied, 'No, so long as they establish the prayer.' And he also said, 'Whoever sees something from his Ruler that he dislikes, then let him be patient and let him not remove his hand from the Ruler's obedience.'

And whoever reflects upon the greatest and smallest trials that have befallen Islām, then he will see that that they are due to the negligence and wastage of this principle and the lack of patience when witnessing evil. So one seeks to bring about an end to evil and as a result of this, instead a greater evil is brought about. And the Messenger saw the greatest of evils in Mecca and yet he was not able to change them. In fact even when Allāh opened up Mecca for the Muslims and it became a land of Islām, he was resolved to changing the Kaʿbah and returning it to the foundations that Ibrāhīm had built it upon, but even though he had the capacity to do that, he was prevented from it by the fear that something greater would occur due to the lack of tolerance of the [tribe of] Quraish, since they were new to Islām and had recently left unbelief.

For this reason he did not grant permission for rebelling against the leaders with the use of one's hand due to the greatness of what results afterwards on account of it." [ Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn ʿan Rabb il-ʿĀlameen]

Imām Ahmad bin Hanbal (died 241H) was beaten and jailed by four consecutive kings. Despite that, he viewed revolt to be unlawful against those who violated the Islamic belief and punished him for not agreeing with them. Hanbal bin Ishāq said:

"During the rule of Wāthiq, the jurists of Baghdad gathered in front of Ahmad bin Hanbal. They included Abu Bakr bin ʿUbaid, Ibrāhīm bin ʿAlī al-Matbakhī and Fadl bin ʿĀsim. So they came to Ahmad bin Hanbal so I gave them permission. They said to him, 'This affair (i.e. the inquisition) has become aggravated and elevated.' They were referring to the ruler making manifest the issue of the Qurān being created and other than that. So Ahmad bin Hanbal said to them, 'So what is it that you want?' They said: 'We want you to join us in saying that we are not pleased with his rule and leadership.' So Ahmad bin Hanbal debated with them for an hour and he said to them: 'Keep opposing [the false belief itself] with your statements but do not remove your hands from obedience and do not encourage the Muslims to rebel and do not spill your blood and the blood of the Muslims along with you. Look to the results of your actions. And remain patient until you are content with a righteous or sinful rule.'' [Mihnatul-Imām Ahmad (p. 70-72); al-Khallāl in as-Sunnah (no. 90) with an authentic chain of narration]

[Assim Al Hakeem Exposed]