Does what al-Barbahari said—that praying for the ruler is a sign of Sunnah, and praying against him is a sign of whims and desires—align with the saying of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: "...And the worst of your imams are those whom you hate and who hate you, and whom you curse and who curse you..."?

If the Imam is just and follows the truth, then supplicating against him is an act of injustice and aggression. However, if he is unjust and wicked, then supplicating against him is permissible and legitimate. This is supported by the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: “The best of your Imams are those whom you love and who love you, and who supplicate for you and you supplicate for them. And the worst of your Imams are those whom you hate and who hate you...” Narrated by Muslim, and the meaning of “who supplicate for you” is that they pray for you. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also supplicated against rulers who caused hardship to the Ummah, as stated in Sahih Muslim: “O Allah, whoever is given charge of any affair of my Ummah and causes them hardship, then cause him hardship, and whoever is given charge of any affair of my Ummah and is kind to them, then be kind to him.” Thus, an unjust ruler may be supplicated against, just as other oppressors are supplicated against.