Summary of the Articles of Haatim al-Awnee / Shadeed Muhammad
In the screenshot of the article below Haatim al-Awnee says the following:
- He distinguishes between peaceful demonstrations and armed or violent revolt.
- Claims peaceful demonstrations are a means of expressing opinion and effecting change and putting pressure on the government.
- Claims that ruling on demonstrations is that of the ways and means (wasaa'il) and ways and means take rulings of the goals and ends (ghaayaat).
- That since the ways and means are from the masaalih mursalah (matters of broad public interest), then they are not dependent on a specific text, but upon the generality of the texts and the objectives (maqaasid) of the Shari'ah point to them.
- He claims that Aa'ishah, al-Zubayr and Talhah (radiyallaahu anhum) engaged in a "Salafi" demonstration when they came out after Uthmaan (radiyallaahu anhu) was killed and that Ali (radiyallaahu anhu) did not show any rejection against their action of protesting against him.
- That the fact that harm (killing) resulted from their action [in the Battle of the Jamal] cannot be used to deny the foundation of their action (of the alleged demonstration) because the fighting was not intended.
- That consideration of benefits and their harms varies from situation to situation and place to place and from one demonstration to another. And that the country which allows demonstrations is not like the one that does not allow demonstration.
- That every Muslim government should legislate laws allowing pressure to be put on the government by its people through protests so that their freedoms and liberties are not curtailed.
- That nations and states survive only on account of the justice that they abide by and justice is what makes nations last.
- That legislation which gives the subjects the right the correct the authority (in the said manner) is an Islamic legislation and rightly-guided methodology that was laid down by Abu Bakr who said to the Companions, "If I err (do wrong) then correct me".
- That in summary, demonstrations are permissible, they are not unlawful (haram), unless greater harm arises compared to their benefit, and in some cases they can be obligatory.
All of the above is reproduced entirely (with some reshuffling) by Shadeed Muhammad in his article on this subject.