Does Islamic law require unconditional obedience to political leaders? Is there an obligation to revolt against despotic oppressors? By following the historical development of the right to rebel in Islamic law, this paper attempts to answer these questions while serving as a corrective for binary thinking. It explores the spectrum of views on this topic and rejects the proposition that the Islamic law of rebellion is either pro or anti revolution, and it examines how the traditional principles can be applied to a modern context.