Between the mid-nineteenth century and the beginning of the colonial rule in 1912, Moroccan sovereignty was challenged at an increasingly accelerated pace with unceasing pressure from the European powers. At the same time, the Makhzan and political elite initiated a reform effort that was directed toward centralization of the state apparatus and represented a significant transformation of the Moroccan state and society. Many of the changes and reform were viewed as illegitimate by certain segments of the Moroccan society and were met with local resistance and social unrest. In important ways, the protégés system (himaya) symbolizes the changing power relationship between Morocco and Europe. Himaya refers to the practice whereby, especially from 1860 onwards, foreign residents granted extraterritorial rights to their local employees and business agents. These rights conferred legal and fiscal immunities under the protection of European consulates. Obviously, a system whereby Moroccan subjects became protégés of foreign powers considerably transformed relations between the Moroccan ruler and his subjects and directly challenged Moroccan authority and sovereignty. This presentation is part of my study of al-Mahdi al-Wazzani and his extensive compilation of fatwas, al-Mi‘yar al-jadid. Specifically, my proposed paper focuses on one fatwa issued by al-Wazzani on the practice of securing consular protection against the tyranny of a Muslim ruler. In analyzing this fatwa, I will address the following questions: how did a leading jurist in the period under discussion interpret the protégés system? What meaning did he assign to it? How did he view the sultan’s governance and relationship with society? I argue that in his fatwa, al-Wazzani expresses unconditional support for the ruler, however insufferable, tyrannical, and despotic he might be. Al-Wazzani demands that subjects manifest absolute and unlimited obedience to the sovereign; criticism, opposition and rebellion against the sultan are illegitimate. It appears that al-Wazzani’s aim in writing his fatwa was not only to prohibit the practice of himaya but also to justify the contentious politics of the day.