Consensus of Ulama’a on rebellion (khuruj) against a leader

Ahlus Sunnah hold that in general it is haram to revolt against the leader of a Muslim country whether they are good or bad, fair or unjust as long as they are Muslim. Shaykh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in Minhaaj Al Sunnah (3/390), “and the well known in the Mathhaab of Ahlu Sunnah (that […]

Ahlus Sunnah hold that in general it is haram to revolt against the leader of a Muslim country whether they are good or bad, fair or unjust as long as they are Muslim.
Shaykh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in Minhaaj Al Sunnah (3/390), “and the well known in the Mathhaab of Ahlu Sunnah (that they believe that it’s not allowed to revolt against the leaders and fighting them with the sword, even if they transgress.”
Imam Al Tahhawi said in his famous book Aqeedah At Tahhawiyyah “and we (Ahlu  Sunnah Wal Jammah) don’t believe in revolting against our leaders and rulers even if they transgress…”. This ruling of Ahlu Sunnah is based on the numerous hadeeth which command the Muslims to hear and obey the ruler of the Muslim state whether he is a caliph (ruler of all the Muslim states), governor (appoint by caliph to oversee a certain area of the Muslim state), or ruler of a particular state.
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “Hear and obey (the ruler), for they will bear responsibility for that entrusted to them, and you for that entrusted to you”. -Muslim
He (pbuh) said, “You must hear and obey (the ruler) both in your hardship and your ease and with regard to what pleases you and what you dislike and even if you do not get your due”. – Muslim
The Prophet said, “Hear and obey even if a, Abyssinian slave with a head like a raisin is appointed over you”. – Bukhari
Therefore it is haram to revolt against a leader as Prophet Mohammed (saw)  has commanded this ummah to hear and obey the rulers.
However some claim these hadeeth only refer to a good ruler but what they may not know is there are hadeeths that indicate even if a tyrannical (sinful) Muslim ruler was in power the Muslims still have to hear and obey him, so they cannot revolt against him.
The Prophet (saw) said, “Whosoever sees something from his leader of sin, then let him hate whatever occurs from sin. And let him not remove his hand from obedience, since whoever removes his hand from disobedience and splits off from the jama’ah (united body), then he dies the death of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic times of ignorance).’’ – Bukhari and Muslim
The Prophet (saw) said “Listen and obey, even if the ruler seizes you and beats your back.” – Muslim
However this obedience is only in halal matters if the tyrannical ruler commands haram matters then he should not be obeyed in this.
Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said, “A Muslim must hear and obey both in respect of what he likes and dislikes, unless he is commanded to do a wrong action. If he is commanded to do a wrong action, he should not hear or obey.”  -Bukhari and Muslim
The Prophet  said, ‘‘The person must obey in whatever he loves, and in whatever he hates, in ease and in hardship, in willingness and unwillingness; except if he is commanded to disobey Allah.  So if he is commanded to disobey Allah, then he should not listen, not should he obey.’’  – Bukhari
But not obeying what the tyrannical ruler commands of haram matters does not mean Muslims can revolt against him. As he still has to be listened to and obeyed in what he commands from the halal matters. In fact the Sunnah of the prophet commands the Muslims to be patient with  things they dislike from the rulers (such as oppression, unfairness, abuse of his authority, commanding haram etc). This is the opposite of revolting as this shows impatience towards the things the Muslims dislike in there rulers.
– By Nazir Ladan

 Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah said, “Anyone who dislikes something from his leader should be patient. Anyone who abandons obedience to the leader for even a short time dies the death of the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islam)”. Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim
 In the commentary of Sahih Muslim, Imam an-Nawawi, commenting on the traditions in the chapter ‘Al-Imarah’ writes:
 “Do not adopt the way of confrontation with the rulers in the matter of their power. If you find them going against Islam, you should try to make the truth clear to them by sincere counseling. So far as launching campaigns and taking up arms against them to oust them from positions of power is concerned, that is unlawful by the consensus of Muslims, even if the ruler is evil and a tyrant. (Sahih Muslim bi Sharh an Nawawi 12/229)