The Concepts of Rebellion and Rebel and How the Islamic State Can Put the Rebels Down from the Jurisprudential Viewpoint

From the fiqhi (Islamic legal) perspective, rebels are said to be those who rise against a just Muslim leader (ruler) or enter wars against the Islamic state or resort to violence against it. The Islamic state is meant any form of sovereignty over Islamic societies which is exercised by a just ruler, whether be the infallible Imam or anyone else. Although the transmitted reports (traditions) from the Prophet Muhammad and Infallible Imams regarding the subject in question and certain statements by faqihs apparently indicate that rebellion is to be restricted to the Infallible Imam, the rulings regarding the rebellious groups can also be extended to include rebels against a Muslim jurist, drawing upon a number of arguments and certain evidence. The Islamic state, prior to any military operations against rebels, must take steps in making them follow the Islamic state and present them with an ultimatum. However, in case these acts prove to be ineffective, having resort to the military and the police to suppress them is not only allowed but also obligatory. The rebels are not taken to be disbelievers and hence when they are killed, the same funeral ceremonies are held for them as are done for Muslims, and their wives and children are not taken captive. The present article has used an analytic-descriptive method in dealing with the subjects in question.