Hadith: We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to listen and obey at times of hardship and ease, energy and idleness, and to endure if prejudice is held against us, and not to fight for power those in authority

عن عبادة بن الصامت رضي الله عنه قال: بَايَعْنَا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على السَّمع والطَّاعَة في العُسْر واليُسْر، والمَنْشَطِ والمَكْرَه، وعلَى أَثَرَةٍ عَلَينا، وعلى أَن لاَ نُنَازِعَ الأَمْر أَهْلَه إِلاَّ أَن تَرَوْا كُفْراً بَوَاحاً عِندَكُم مِن الله تَعَالى فِيه بُرهَان، وعلى أن نقول بالحقِّ أينَما كُنَّا، لا نخافُ فِي الله لَوْمَةَ لاَئِمٍ.
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to listen and obey at times of hardship and ease, energy and coercion, and to endure if prejudice is held against us, and not to fight for power those in authority, unless you see blatant disbelief concerning which you have a clear proof from Allah, the Almighty, and to say the truth wherever we are without fearing anyone's reproach.
Sahih/Authentic. - [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Explanation

"We pledged allegiance" means that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) pledged to listen to and obey the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who was granted authority by Allah in that era as Allah, the Almighty, says: {O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you} [An-Nisā': 59]. After the Prophet's death, power devolved to two groups: scholars and rulers. Scholars are responsible for conveying knowledge and rulers for exercising government and authority. "We pledged allegiance to him to listen and obey at times of hardship and ease" means that regardless of being in good or bad economic conditions, all rich and poor people must obey and listen to their rulers. They have to obey them whether or not they like it. "And to endure if prejudice is held against us" means even if those in power favor themselves with public money, while deprive their people of such wealth, people would still have to listen to and obey them. "And not to fight for power those in authority" means that we should not seize power from those whom Allah has granted authority over us, because doing so has grave consequences. Nothing destroyed the Muslim Ummah since the time of ‘Uthmān (may Allah be pleased with him) until today more than disputing over power. "Unless you see blatant disbelief concerning which you have a clear proof from Allah, the Almighty.'' So, there are four conditions that justify removing the ruler from the authority: 1. "Seeing" here means having certain knowledge. Suspicion does not make rebellion against the rulers permissible. 2. To know there is disbelief. Immoralities such as drinking alcohol, committing fornication, and oppressing people do not make rebellion against them permissible. But we must see a blatant disbelief. 3. The act of disbelief must be indisputable. Anything that is debatable does not permit rebellion. For example, if rulers do something that we consider an act of disbelief, but is unlikely so, it is not permissible to take power out of their hand. However, if they legalize fornication, drinking alcohol, etc, then it is a blatant disbelief. 4. There must be irrefutable evidence that this act represents disbelief. If the evidence is weak in terms of its authenticity or in terms of its indication, it is impermissible to rebel against the rulers because this would lead to great evil and corruption. So, these conditions allow rebellion, only if people are capable of removing their rulers. Otherwise, rebellion might result in eliminating good citizens and letting rulers tighten their grip. These conditions render rebellion against the ruler permissible, or even obligatory, only if the ability is available; otherwise, rebellion against the ruler is impermissible since it will be useless and irrational to jeopardize people's lives.