---
layout: post
published: true
publisher: alsalafiyyah@icloud.com
title: "The Condition of Proximity in Advising Rulers"
hijri: "Muharram 27, 1446 AH"
date: 2024-08-02
active: videos
videoURL: "https://youtu.be/JJakiOP-YYk"
videoID: "JJakiOP-YYk"
category: [fatwas,videos,rulership,hadiths]
summary: "This Hadith does not mean that he should criticizes the ruler openly on the mimbars and on the streets, it says in his presence."
muftis:
  shaykh: 
    - name: Shaykh Salih Al-Fawzan
      url: /biography/fawzan/
--- 

### Question: 

Does the hadith, **"The best Jihad is a word of truth spoken in the presence of a tyrannical ruler,"** apply to someone who publicly criticizes the ruler through the media?

### ​Answer: 

No. The hadith specifies **"in the presence of"** ('inda) a tyrannical ruler. This means speaking to him directly (face-to-face). It does not say that one should criticize him from the pulpits (minbars) or in the streets. It says **"in his presence."**

Allah (Almighty and Majestic) said to Moses and Aaron regarding Pharaoh: **"So go you both to him,"** [^1] **"And speak to him mildly"** [^2].

[^1]: al-Quran, Ta Ha (20):47
[^2]: al-Quran, Ta Ha (20): 44