Leadership, obedience to rulers, and the responsibilities of authority.
237 · Hadith
Adi b. 'Amira al-Kindi heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying (as) was narrated in the (above-mentioned) hadith
It has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Juraij that the Qur'anic injunction:" 0 you who believe, obey Allah, His Apostle and those in authority from amongst You" (iv. 59) -was revealed in respect of 'Abdullah b. Hudhafa b. Qais b. Adi al-Sahmi who was despatched by the Prophet (ﷺ) as leader of a military campaign. The narrator said: He was informed of this fact by Ya'la b. Muslim who was informed by Sa'id b. Jubair who in turn was informed by Ibn Abbas
It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:Whoso obeys me obeys God; and whose disobeys me disobeys God. Whoso obeys my commander obeys me, and whoso disobeys my commander disobeys me
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira through another chain of transmitters
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira by more than one chain of transmitters
Hammam b. Munabbih has transmitted this hadith on the authority of Abu Huraira
According to one version of the tradition, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:Whoso obeys the commander. He did not say:" My commander
It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:It is obligatory for you to listen to the ruler and obey him in adversity and prosperity, in pleasure and displeasure, and even when another person is given (rather undue) preference over you
It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr who said:My friend (i. e. the Holy Prophet) advised me to listen (to the man in position of authority) and obey (him) even if he were a slave maimed (and disabled)
In another version of the tradition, we have the wording:" An Abyssinian slave maimed and disabled
Abu 'Imran narrated this hadith with a slight change of wording
It has been narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Husain who learnt the tradition from his grandmother. She said that she heard the Prophet (ﷺ) delivering his sermon on the occasion of the Last Pilgrimage. He was saying:If a slave is appointed over you and he conducts your affairs according to the Book of Allah, you should listen to him and obeey (his orders)
This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters, and he said:"An Abyssinian slave
In other versions of the above tradition, the wordings are" an Abyssinian slave." and" a maimed Abyssinian slave
Another version of the tradition does not qualify the slave with the epithets" maimed,"" an Abyssinian" but makes the addition:" I have heard the Prophet (ﷺ) (say this) at Mina or 'Arafat
It has been narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Husain who learnt the tradition from his grandmother. Umm Husain. He said':I heard her say: I performed Hajjat-ul-Wada' in the company of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said a lot of things (on this occasion). Then I heard him say: If a maimed slave is appointed a commander over you the narrator says: I think she said:" a black stave" who leads you according to the Book of Allah, then listen to him and obey him
It has been narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:It is obligatory upon a Muslim that he should listen (to the ruler appointed over him) and obey him whether he likes it or not, except that he is ordered to do a sinful thing. If he is ordered to do a sinful act, a Muslim should neither listen to him nor should he obey his orders
It has been narrated on the authority of Abu 'Abd al-Rahman from 'Ali that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent a force (on a mission) and appointed over them a man. He kindled a fire and said:Enter it. Some people made up their minds to enter it (the fire), (carrying out the order of their commander), but the others said: We fled from the fire (that's why we have come into the fold of Islam). The matter was reported to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said to those who Contemplated entering (the fire at the order of their commander): If you had entered it, you would have remained there until the Day of Judgment. He commanded the act of the latter group and said: There is no submission in matters involving God's disobedience or displeasure. Submission is obligatory only in what is good (and reasonable)
It has been narrated on the authority of 'All who said:The Mersenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent an expeditionand appointed over the Mujahids a man from the Ansar. (While making the appointment), he ordered that his work should be listened to and obeyed. They made him angry in a matter. He said: Collect for me dry wood. They collected it for him. Then he said: Kindle a fire. They kindled (the fire). Then he said: Didn't the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) order you to listen to me and obey (my orders)? They said: Yes. He said: Enter the fire. The narrator says: (At this), they began to look at one another and said: We fled from the fire to (find refuge with) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (and now you order us to enter it). They stood quiet until his anger cooled down and the fire went out. When they returned, they related the incident to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: If they had entered it, they would not have come out. Obedience (to the commander) is obligatory only in what is good
It has been narrated on the authority of" Ubida who learnt the tradition from his father who, in turn, learnt it from his own father. 'Ubada's grandfather said:The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took an oath of allegiance from us on our listening to and obeying the orders of our commander in adversity and prosperity, in pleasure and displeasure (and even) when somebody is given preference over us, on our avoiding to dispute the delegation of powers to a person deemed to be a fit recipient thereof (in the eye of one who delegates it) and on our telling the truth in whatever position we be without fearing in the matter ef Allah the reproach of the reproacher