An authoritative explanation of why supplicating for Muslim rulers is a hallmark of Sunnah, based on the teachings of the Pious Predecessors and the example of Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ.
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Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf al-Barbahārī (d. 329 AH / 941 CE):
Point No. 137 “If you see a man supplicating against the ruler, then know that he is certainly a person of desire. If you see a man supplicating for the ruler to be upright, then know that he is a person of Sunnah, if Allah ﷻ wills.
Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ (d. 187 AH / 803 CE) said: ‘If I had an invocation (duʿāʾ) that was to be answered, I would not make it except for the ruler.’
It was said to him, ‘O Abū ʿAlī, explain that to us.’ He replied: ‘If I made an invocation for myself, it would not go beyond me. Whereas, if I make it for the ruler, he is corrected and, through that, the servants and the land are set in order.’
We are ordered to make supplication for them (the rulers) to be upright. We have not been ordered to make supplication against them, even if they commit tyranny and oppression, since their tyranny and oppression reflect only upon themselves, but their rectitude is good for themselves and the Muslims.”
The Explanation
This statement has been transmitted from the Pious Predecessors (al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ): “If you see a man supplicating against the ruler, then know that he is a person of desire (innovation).”
This is a characteristic of the Khārijites and the Muʿtazilites, for it is they who supplicate against the Muslim rulers. The religious obligation, however, is the opposite: supplication should be made for them to be upright and successful.
This is because if the rulers are upright, then Islam and the Muslims will likewise be upright. When one supplicates for the ruler, one is, in reality, supplicating for the welfare of the Muslims. If the ruler is upright, his subjects will also be upright. This represents the established methodology (manḥāj) of the Pious Predecessors: to supplicate for the rectitude of Muslim rulers.
His statement, “If you see a man supplicating for the ruler to be upright, then know that he is a person of the Sunnah, if Allah ﷻ wills,” means that such a person is following the guidance of the Pious Predecessors regarding Muslim rulers. Supplicating for their guidance and reform is from the distinguishing characteristics of the people of Sunnah.
His statement, “Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ (d. 187 AH / 803 CE) said…”, refers to one of the major scholars, worshippers, and ascetics of the second Islamic century. He said: “If I had an invocation that was to be answered, I would not make it except for the ruler.”
This reflects sincere concern for the religion and the welfare of the Muslims. It is an application of the statement of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “The religion is sincerity.” We said, “To whom?” He said, “To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and their common folk.”
A form of sincerity towards Muslim rulers is to supplicate for their guidance and uprightness. Conversely, supplicating against them constitutes a form of betrayal and insincerity.
His statement, “We are ordered to make supplication for them (the rulers) to be upright. We have not been ordered to make supplication against them, even if they commit tyranny and oppression…”, highlights a fundamental principle: supplicating against rulers ultimately amounts to supplicating against the Muslims.
If authority collapses and the ruler is overthrown, bloodshed follows, security is undermined, corruption spreads, and borders become vulnerable. The harmful consequences of political chaos are well known and historically attested. For this reason, the Pious Predecessors regarded stability and reform through supplication as superior to agitation and rebellion through duʿāʾ against authority.
In our time, those who supplicate for the ruler’s guidance and uprightness are often accused by people of desires, including sectarian partisans (ḥizbiyyīn) and followers of Khārijite tendencies, of compromising the religion. Such accusations are false. In reality, those who oppose this methodology are the ones who contradict the Sunnah and follow personal inclinations and innovations. The statement of the author applies directly to them.
Therefore, caution is required, and Muslims must remain firm upon the way of the Pious Predecessors in this matter.
References
Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān (b. 1354 AH / 1933 CE), Itḥāf al-Qārī fī Sharḥ al-Sunnah al-Barbahārī, 2 vols, Dār al-Rushd, Riyadh, 2005, vol. 2, p. 193.
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