In Islam, rebellion against an established government is strictly prohibited. Islam wants to create an atmosphere of peace in the complete sense of the word. So that everyone can live without fear. And the rebellion is against it. The Prophet provided a model and an ideology of peace. He established some very important principles to maintain peace, two of which are mentioned here. One relates to internal revolt or khuruj, rebellion against an established government. The Prophet declared this to be haram or unlawful in Islam. He laid down that once a government is established in a country, one must accept it.

This was not meant to encourage a passive attitude. If you do not rebel against a government, you will engage in peaceful work, such as inviting people to God, promoting education, running businesses, etc. The political field is just one of hundred fields, and you still have opportunities to work in the remaining ninety-nine. But if instead, you involve yourself in that one political field; all work in the remaining fields comes to a complete halt. That is why the Prophet declared a revolt against an established government to be unlawful.

This issue is so important that in his commentary on the Sahih Muslim (a collection of traditions attributed to the Prophet), the 13th century Islamic scholar Imam al-Nawawi, while asserting revolt (khuruj) as unlawful, says that if you have differences with the ruler, then you should personally communicate with him. That is, take an appointment with the ruler and engage in a one-to-one conversation with him. He adds that as far as khuruj against the ruler is concerned, it is haram or unlawful according to the consensus of the religious scholars. Even if the ruler is corrupt or oppressive.

The Prophet has clearly laid down the principle regarding internal politics of a country that once a government is established, it is wrong to engage in the politics of opposition. Instead, one must engage in the politics of construction in other fields while avoiding political confrontation. The Prophet affirms another principle for relations with other countries. He declared aggressive war against other countries or states unlawful. No Muslim has the right to attack another country and invade it. However if another country attacks a Muslim country, the Muslim government can fight in self-defence. Islam permits only defensive war. Even in defensive war it should be understood that one should not rush to fight as soon as one hears news of war. A Muslim state should first resort to peaceful negotiation and try to understand the motives for the aggression. These methods aim to avoid or to minimize war. Should all such efforts fail and the other country attacks, then only a limited defensive war is permissible, and nothing more than that. A limited armed action is allowed only to put an end to aggression. This again has conditions. A Muslim force can only fight with the members of the attacking army or combatants and not non-combatants.

To understand the implications of this today, you must keep in mind today’s context, which is very different from 7th century Arabia. We live in an age of weapons of mass destruction. In this age, no war can be fought in which non-combatants are not killed. This, therefore, means that according to Islam, today war is not possible at all.

So, at the internal level, the Prophet declared political revolt unlawful and stressed that Muslims should focus only on constructive activities. On the external front, he allowed only for a defensive war in the face of clear aggression. He specified that even in this case, it is not permissible to kill non-combatants. Since in today’s age of weapons of mass destruction, it is not possible that non-combatants will not be killed during a war, there is only one option for Muslims now—and that is peaceful settlement of disputes. The option of war has ended.

Source: Spirit of Islam August 2015