Page 26 - The Revolution of Imam Hussein
P. 26
The Revolution of Imam Hussein
verb (ati‘u) has been significantly omitted in the case
of (Ulu-al-amr) in order to make obedience conditional
on their own obedience to Allah and His Messenger.
So whenever men in authority command anything that
conflicts with the command of Allah and that of His
Apostle, Muslims should refuse to obey them.
The concept of conditional obedience to men in
authority is reinforced in (ahadith) (traditions) attributed
to the Prophet (p): “Do not obey a creature against his
creator.” “He who commands you in what is sinful in the
sight of Allah; you should neither pay heed to him nor
obey him” (12).
It is important to explore the extent to which these
principles were followed in early Islamic history (13),
and to what extent they were held by Imam Hussein (as)
during his revolution against the Umayyad ruler Yazid.
25