The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Power of Peace
~ 246 ~
POLITICAL INSURRECTION UNLAWFUL
After the period of the pious Caliphate, corruption
set in in the Muslim rulers. Still the religious
scholars did not rise in revolt against the rulers,
scrupulously avoiding any confrontation. They
continued to expend their efforts in non-political
fields. This was not simply a matter of chance but
the adoption of a policy based on the clear
injunctions of the
shariah.
As we know, books of
Hadith
record the traditions in detail under chapters
like
al-Fitan
(Trial).
The Prophet had clearly foretold that in later times
all kinds of rot would set in in the rulers. They
would become tyrants and unjust, but even then the
people should never take up arms against them.
Instead the Prophet advised that when the believers
found themselves being ruled by such tyrants, they
should take to the mountains with their ‘camels and
goats’ instead of launching campaigns against them.
‘Camels and goats’ signify those opportunities
which existed in non-political fields, and which will
always exist irrespective of the corruption of the
rulers. The Prophet’s injunction meant that at such
