Therefore, maintaining their sovereignty, even without obedience to them in cases where they oppose the intellect and Sharia, means perpetuating their opposition to the intellect and Sharia, which is considered assisting in it and, accordingly, opposing the intellect and Sharia; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ﴾[1]; “And do not help one another in sin and transgression.” Therefore, it is fair to say that the prohibition of obeying oppressive rulers and maintaining their sovereignty is one of the self-evident principles of Islam, the conception of which is sufficient for its acceptance, to the extent that believing in the obligation of these two is equivalent to believing in the obligation of what is forbidden; just as the most knowledgeable, righteous, and advising Muslims in their time were aware of this ruling and did not believe in the obligation to obey oppressive rulers and maintain their sovereignty, such as Husain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, who, according to the mutawatir report of the Prophet [2], was the master of the youth of Heaven, and yet he sacrificed his life and that of his family in rising against the oppressive ruler to serve as an exemplary role model for Muslims, even though most Muslims who followed the Umayyads never accepted his belief in this regard.

[The Consequences of Obedience to Oppressive Rulers]

In any case, it is evident that the belief in the obligation to obey oppressive rulers and maintain them has been one of the most ominous beliefs prevalent among Muslims, which has led to the weakening of Islam, the fall of Islamic civilization, and the spread of the impediments to knowing among Muslims; because throughout many centuries, by exploiting this baseless belief promoted by fools affiliated with them,