we say: You have violated, you have sinned, and you have acted immorally, but we do not say: You have disbelieved and apostatized from your religion until something appears from you that gives us an excuse before Allāh to judge you as an apostate, and then the known ruling in Islam would apply to you, which is His saying: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him." Then I said—and I still say—to those who are fixated on declaring the rulers of Muslims as disbelievers: Suppose these rulers are apostates, and suppose also that there is a higher ruler over them, then it is obligatory—in this case—that this higher ruler applies the prescribed punishment to them. But now: What do you practically gain if we hypothetically concede that these rulers are apostates? What can you do and achieve? If they say: Loyalty and disavowal, we say: Loyalty and disavowal are connected to allegiance and enmity—both in heart and in action—and according to one's ability, so their existence does not require declaring disbelief and announcing apostasy. In fact, loyalty and disavowal can be towards an innovator, a sinner, or an oppressor. Then I say to them: Here are these disbelievers who have occupied several lands of Islam, and unfortunately, we have been afflicted by the occupation of Palestine by the Jews, so what can we and you do against them? Until you stand alone against those rulers whom you think are disbelievers? Why not set this issue aside and begin establishing the foundation upon which a Muslim government can rise, by following the sunnah of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), which he used to educate his Companions and raise them on its system and foundation. We mention this repeatedly and emphasize it continually: Every Muslim group must work sincerely to restore the rule of Islam, not only on the lands of Islam but on the entire earth, in fulfillment of His saying: "It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although those who associate others with Allāh dislike it" (Sūrah al-Ṣaff, 9). And it has come in some glad tidings of the prophetic ḥadīths that this verse will be realized in the future. So for Muslims to achieve this Qur'anic text and divine promise, there must be a clear path and a clear way. Is that path by declaring a revolution against these rulers whom they think are apostates? Then, with this assumption—which is a mistaken and erroneous assumption—they cannot do anything. So what is the methodology? And what is the path?