The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 553
XII - First Era of Life in Madīnah Comes to an End and the Islāmic System of Government 553 that until then, obedience to Yazīd had not become obligatory upon them. In this instance, to stand up against Yazīd was equivalent to fighting him from outside his sovereignty. However, this struggle of Imām Ḥusain ra and ‘Abdullāh bin Zubair ra could not produce any lasting result, and the dictatorship of the Banū Umayyah took root. In any case, Islām has not approved of a person who stands up against an Amīr and strives to depose him whilst living under his rule. Instead, if a person finds the conduct of an Amīr to be in clear contradiction with rules of politics and considers his leadership to be so harmful that it becomes necessary to risk the peace of the country and unity of the community so that it may be overthrown, he should migrate from the sovereignty of such an Amīr , and then, work towards his deposition in an appropriate manner. At this instance, the natural question which arises is: what should be done if an Amīr forcefully prohibits people from migration? The response to this question is that Allāh the Exalted states in the Holy Qur’ān: “A person is only liable for as much as he can bear. ” 1 Furthermore, with reference to the incident of the Banī Isrā’īl, God states that it was unlawful, and equivalent to an act of rebellion against divine law that Pharaoh pursued the Banī Isrā’īl and attempted to forcefully prevent them from migrating. 2 In such a case, where an impediment is created by the Amīr himself, it shall be considered lawful to remain in the country and oppose a tyrannous ruler of this nature. . . . . . continued * Al-Kāmilu Fit-Tārīkh (Tārīkhu Ibnil-Athīr), By ‘Izzuddīn Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad Ibnul- Athīr, Volume 4, pp. 125-126, Thumma Dakhalat Sanatu Thalāthin Wa Sab‘īna 71, Dhikru Qatli ‘Abdillāhibniz-Zubairi, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2006) * Al-Kāmilu Fit-Tārīkh (Tārīkhu Ibnil-Athīr), By ‘Izzuddīn Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad Ibnul- Athīr, Volume 3, pp. 351-354, Thumma Dakhalat Sanatu Sittin Wa Khamsīna, Dhikrul-Bai‘ati Li-Yazīda Bi-Wilāyatil-‘Ahdi, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2006) 1 Al-Baqarah (2:287) 2 Y ū nus (10:91)