<P> Islamic lawyers commented that when the rulers refuse to step down after being impeached through the Majlis, becoming dictators through the support of a corrupt army, if the majority is in agreement they have the option to launch a revolution . Many noted that this option is to be exercised only after factoring in the potential cost of life . </P> <P> The following hadith establishes the principle of rule of law in relation to nepotism and accountability </P> <P> Narrated' Aisha: The people of Quraish worried about the lady from Bani Makhzum who had committed theft . They asked, "Who will intercede for her with Allah's Apostle?" Some said, "No one dare to do so except Usama bin Zaid the beloved one to Allah's Apostle ." When Usama spoke about that to Allah's Apostle; Allah's Apostle said: "Do you try to intercede for somebody in a case connected with Allah's Prescribed Punishments?" Then he got up and delivered a sermon saying, "What destroyed the nations preceding you, was that if a noble amongst them stole, they would forgive him, and if a poor person amongst them stole, they would inflict Allah's Legal punishment on him . By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad (my daughter) stole, I would cut off her hand ." </P> <P> Various Islamic lawyers, however, place multiple conditions and stipulations on the execution of such a law, making it difficult to implement . For example, the poor cannot be penalised for stealing out of poverty, and during a time of drought in the Rashidun caliphate, capital punishment was suspended until the effects of the drought passed . </P>

What religious duties did the sultans have in their role as caliphs