Fleeing from the fitnah

From the first Hijri century, and the major political transformations that occurred during it; he knew the State of Prophethood, and knew the State of the Rashidun Caliphate during the days of the two Sheikhs Abu Bakr and Omar, and knew the state that wanted to be a caliphate and was intended to be a kingdom during Uthman, and knew the conflict between the Caliphate state and the kingdom state during the dispute between Imam Ali and Muawiya, then finally knew the victory of the kingdom state with Muawiya's victory in this dispute. And the focus of this book is on studying the political stances of this noble companion, which upon investigation were not merely individual inclinations linked to their owner and did not extend beyond him, but were part of a general trend that had a strong presence and overwhelming influence in the history of Islam from its dawn until today, and that trend prefers obedience to rulers over opposing or revolting against them, even if the reasons for opposition and conditions for revolution are present, and sees in this obedience a preference for the group's interest and safeguarding its unity. Abdullah bin Omar distanced himself from authority—like other symbols of the Mu'tazilite trend—so he did not support it, nor did he flatter it, nor did he aid it in oppression, nor did he carry his sword in fighting its opponents and critics. And even if he did not oppose it or raise a banner of war against it, nor did he adopt a harsh or violent approach in criticizing it; thus, his stance was the most vivid embodiment of the principle of "fleeing from fitnah (trial or sedition)." This necessarily raises the question of whether this stance can be invoked in the current era and whether it is legitimate to apply it to modern political realities. Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Ibrahim Egyptian academic, historian, and translator Professor of Islamic History at Dar Al-Ulum College, Cairo University His fields of interest include the history of ideas and Islamic doctrines His published works include: "The Rashidun Caliphate: The Birth of the State, Power Transformations, and Features of Civilizational Building," "Noah's Ark: Eastern Migrations to Egypt and the Levant during the Mamluk Sultans," "Establishing Parallel Islam: Popular Sufism in Anatolia." His translations include: "The Separation of Religion and State: From Early Islam to Modern Islam," "The History of Islam: Islamic Political Thought in the Middle Ages: A Preliminary View," "The Prophet Said: Explaining Hadith in a Thousand Years," "Jurisprudence, State, and Sultanate: The Ottoman State and the Making of Islamic Jurisprudence," "Islamic Sciences and the Building of Modern Egypt: Dar Al-Ulum between Heritage and Modernity," "Politics, Sharia, and the Nation in Islamic Thought: The Timiya Moment," "On Sharia, the State, and Critiquing Modernity: Reflections and Interventions."