Book introduction: The Book of Miscellany

'Iyad bin Himar (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The people of Jannah will be of three kinds: A just successful ruler, a man who shows mercy to his relatives, and a pious believer who has a large family and refrains from begging."

[Muslim].

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "It is obligatory upon a Muslim to listen (to the ruler) and obey whether he likes it or not, except when he is ordered to do a sinful thing; in such case, there is no obligation to listen or to obey."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Whenever we took a pledge of allegiance to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to hear and obey, he (ﷺ) would say to us, "As far as you are capable of."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "One who withdraws his hand from obedience (to the Amir) will find no argument (in his defense) when he stands before Allah on the Day of Resurrection; and one who dies without having sworn allegiance will die the death of one belonging to the Days of Ignorance."

[Muslim].

Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who dies having defected from obedience (to the Amir) and discards his association with the main body of the (Muslim) community, dies the death of one belonging to the Days of Jahiliyyah."

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Hear and obey even if an Abyssinian slave whose head is like a raisin is placed in authority over you."

[Al- Bukhari].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "It is obligatory upon you to listen and obey the orders of the ruler in prosperity and adversity, whether you are willing or unwilling, or when someone is given undue preference to you."

[Muslim].

'Abdullah bin 'Amr (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: We accompanied Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey. We halted at a place to take a rest. Some of us began to set right their tents, others began to graze their animals while others were engaged in competing with one another in archery when an announcer of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) announced that people should gather for Salat. We gathered around the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he ((ﷺ)) addressed us, saying, "Every Prophet before me was under obligation to guide his followers to what he knew was good for them and to warn the evil thing which he knew. As for this Ummah, it will have sound state and in its early stage of existence; but the last phase of its existence, will be faced with trials and with things you do not recognize. There will be tremendous trials, one after the other, and to each the believer will say, 'That is it'. Whenever a trial arrives the believer will say: 'This is going to bring about my destruction.' When this passes, another calamity will approach and he will say: 'This surely is going to be my end.' Whosoever wishes to be removed from the Fire (Hell) and admitted to Jannah should die with faith in Allah and the Last Day; and he should treat others as he wishes to be treated. He who swears allegiance to an Imam, he should give him the pledge in ratification and the sincerity of his heart. He should obey him to the best of his capacity. If another man comes forward as a claimant (when one has already been installed), behead the second."

[Muslim].

Wa'il bin Hujr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Salamah bin Yazid Al-Ju'f (May Allah be pleased with him) asked Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "O Prophet of Allah! Tell us, what you command us to do if there arises over us rulers who demand of us what is due to them and refuse us what is due to us." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turned away from him, but he repeated the same question. Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Listen to them and obey them. They are responsible for their obligations and you are accountable for yours."

[Muslim].

'Abdullah bin Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "There will be discrimination after my death and there will be other matters that you will disapprove." He was asked: "O Messenger of Allah! What do you command us to do when we are encountered with such happenings?" He answered, "Give what is due from you and supplicate to Allah for your rights."

[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Whosoever obeys me, obeys Allah; and he who disobeys me, disobeys Allah; and whosoever obeys the Amir (leader), in fact, obeys me; and he who disobeys the Amir, in fact, disobeys me."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If a person notices in his ruler what he dislikes, he should show patience because he who departs from the (Muslim) community a cubit, dies like those who died in the Days of Ignorance."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Bakrah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "He who insults the rulers Allah will insult him."

[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

'Abdur-Rahman bin Samurah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "Do not ask for position of authority. If you are granted this position without asking for it, you will be helped (by Allah) in discharging its responsibilities; but if you are given it as a result of your request, you will be left alone as its captive. If you take an oath to do something and then find a better alternative, you should adopt the latter and expiate for your oath."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "O Abu Dharr, I see that you are weak and I like for you what I like for myself. Do not rule over (even) two persons, and do not manage an orphan's property."

[Muslim].

Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I said to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Why do you not appoint me to an (official) position?" He (ﷺ) patted me on the shoulder with his hand and said, "O Abu Dharr, you are a weak man and it is a trust and it will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection except for the one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfills what is entrusted to him (discharges its obligations efficiently)."

[Muslim].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You will covet for getting a position of authority, but remember that it will be a cause of humiliation and remorse on the Day of Resurrection."

[Al- Bukhari]

Abu Sa'id and Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah neither raised up any Prophet nor did He authorize any person with ruling power but for whom there were two types of entourage: one enjoins upon him to do good and incites him to carry it out, and the other enjoins evil and goads him; and the protected (from the bad entourage) is the one whom Allah protects."

[Al-Bukhari].

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When Allah desires good for a ruler, He appoints for him a sincere adviser who will remind him if he forgets and helps him if he remembers. When Allah wishes for him the contrary, He appoints for him a bad adviser who will not remind him if he forgets, nor will he help him if he remembers."

[Abu-Dawud].

Abu Musa Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I called on the Prophet (ﷺ) with two of my cousins. One of them said to him: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), appoint me governor of some land over which Allah has given you authority." The other also requested for something of the same nature. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "By Allah we do not appoint someone to this post who seeks it or someone who contends for it."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].