Every member of the Council of the Ummah has the right to speak and voice an opinion as He wishes without any pressure and within the limits allowed by Shari’ah. The member would be a representative of the Muslims with responsibility for voicing opinions and in holding the rulers accountable. His job would be to study closely the activities of the Khaleefah or any ruler in the State or any civil servant in any of the State’s departments and offices. He holds all of them accountable, giving them advice, voicing opinions and presenting suggestions, and entering into debates with them, together with objecting to all the wrong actions performed by the State. He would do all this on behalf of the Muslims who are obliged to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and to hold the rulers accountable, giving them advice and suggestions, because this is the duty upon the Muslims. Allah (swt) says;

“You are the best of peoples, raised up for mankind, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.” [TMQ Al-’Imran: 110] And He (swt) says;

“They are those who, if we establish them in the land, establish regular prayers and give Zakat, enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.” [TMQ Al-Hajj: 41] Allah (swt) also says;

“And let there arise from amongst you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.” [TMQ Al-Imran: 104]

Many Ahadith have been reported that indicate the obligation of enjoining the Ma’ruf and forbidding the Munkar, such as Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) saying;

“By He Who owns my soul, you must enjoin the Ma’ruf and forbid the Munkar, or Allah may inflict upon you a punishment from Him, you would then supplicate to Him and your supplication would go unanswered.” [Narrated by Ahmad on the authority of Huzayfah] He (pbuh) also said;

“If anyone among you sees a Munkar, let Him change it with his hand; if He could not, let Him then change it with his tongue; and if He could not, then with his heart, and that is the least of Iman.” [Narrated by Muslim on the authority of Abu Sa’id] These Ayaat (verses) and Ahadith command the Muslims to enjoin the Ma’ruf and forbid the Munkar. Holding the rulers accountable is part of enjoining of the Ma’ruf and forbidding of the Munkar. Some Ahadith in fact specifically order the holding of the rulers accountable, this highlights the importance of such a duty. Umm ‘Atyya reported on the authority of Abu Sa’id that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said;

“The best of Jihad is a word of truth before a tyrant ruler.” This is a text regarding the censure of the ruler and the obligation of uttering the word of truth in his face, considering it as the best form of Jihad. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) exhorted this type of Jihad and made it very desirable even if it led to the loss of life, as mentioned in the sound (Sahih) Hadith, where He (pbuh) said;

“The master of martyrs is Hamza, and a man who stood up to a tyrant ruler to advise him, and was killed.”

The Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them, did hold the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) accountable, and they held the Khulafaa’ Ar-Rashidoon accountable too. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not censure them for holding Him accountable nor did the Khulafaa’ Ar-Rashidoon. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) took the advice of Al-Habab bin Al-Munthir in the battle of Badr. At Uhud, He (pbuh) went along with the opinion of the majority who suggested that they should confront Qur’aysh outside Madinah, despite the fact that He (pbuh) saw otherwise. On the day of Hudaybiyah, the Muslims objected strongly, especially ‘Umar, and at Hunayn, where the Ansar were angered by the fact that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) handed out the booties to the new Muslims whom He wanted to win over their hearts to Islam, without allocating a share for them.

The Sahabah held ‘Umar accountable while He was standing on the pulpit because of the way He divided the Yemeni cloaks. A woman challenged Him when He tried to fix the doweries and the Sahabah also objected to his refusal to divide the lands of ‘Iraq, Ash-Sham and Egypt after they had been conquered. Bilal and Az-Zubayr where among the main objectors and ‘Umar debated with them and consulted other Sahabah until they were convinced.

Any member of the Council of the Ummah, as a representative of the Muslims at large, has the right to speak in the Council as He pleases, and to voice his opinion as He wishes, without any hindrance or pressure. He has the right to hold the Khaleefah accountable, as well as the Mu’awin, the Waali and any civil servant. They are obliged to answer Him as long as He is abiding by the rules of Shar’a in his role of holding the rulers accountable and of voicing his opinion.