Duties of the Imam

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) says in this Hadīth that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) promised to give him a plentiful amount of the money that would come from Bahrain. The money came during the caliphate of Abu Bakr, after the Prophet had passed away. Abu Bakr asked those whom the Prophet had promised to give gifts or to whom he owed things to come over. Indeed, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) might have purchased something from someone and owed him the price, or promised to give someone a certain grant. Jābir went to Abu Bakr and told him that the Prophet said that he would give him a certain amount when revenues came from Bahrain. Abu Bakr told him: 'Take.' So he scooped from the money with both hands and counted it, finding it to be five hundred. So Abu Bakr told him: "Take twice as much," because the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This much and this much and this much", meaning three times. Thus Abu Bakr fulfilled the Prophet's promise to Jābir.

صحيح البخاري، للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم، للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب، الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - كنوز رياض الصالحين، لحمد بن ناصر العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا- الطبعة الأولى 1430ه - شرح رياض الصالحين، للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ. - بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، سليم الهلالي دار ابن الجوزي، الطبعة الأولى 1418ه. - دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين, محمد علي بن محمد البكري, اعتنى بها: خليل مأمون شيحا, الناشر: دار المعرفة, بيروت، لبنان، الطبعة: الرابعة، 1425هـ - 2004م. - نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين, مصطفى سعيد الخن، مصطفى البغا، محي الدين مستو، علي الشربجي، محمد أمين لطفي, مؤسسة الرسالة، ط14, سنة النشر: 1407ه – 1987م.

The noble Companion ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) informs us what happened to the Commander of the Believers ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) when ‘Uyaynah ibn Hisn, of high status among his people, came to see him in Madīnah. ‘Uyaynah began his speech in a disrespectful manner and then criticized and rebuked ‘Umar, saying: “You neither bestow much on us nor deal with us justly.” As a result, ‘Umar became so furious that he was about to beat him; however, some of the Qur’anic reciters, including ‘Uyaynah’s nephew, Al-Hurr ibn Qays, stood up and addressed the rightly guided caliph ‘Umar, saying: “O Commander of the Believers! Allah said to His Prophet: {Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorants} [Al-A‘rāf: 199]. This one is from the ignorants.” ‘Umar stood committed to that verse and suppressed his anger, as he always adhered strictly to the Book of Allah. So, he refrained from beating this man in compliance with the verse that was recited to him. This is how the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to show politeness and respect towards the Book of Allah. They would not violate its commands and teachings. Whenever it was said to them, “this is the word of Allah,” they would submit to it, no matter what.

بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي، ط1، دار ابن الجوزي، الدمام، 1415هـ. تطريز رياض الصالحين، للشيخ فيصل المبارك، ط1، تحقيق: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل حمد، دار العاصمة، الرياض، 1423هـ. رياض الصالحين للنووي، ط1، تحقيق: ماهر ياسين الفحل، دار ابن كثير، دمشق، بيروت، 1428هـ. رياض الصالحين، ط4، تحقيق: عصام هادي، وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية القطرية، دار الريان، بيروت، 1428هـ. كنوز رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين برئاسة حمد بن ناصر العمار، ط1، كنوز إشبيليا، الرياض، 1430هـ. شرح رياض الصالحين، للشيخ ابن عثيمين، دار الوطن للنشر، الرياض، 1426هـ. صحيح البخاري، تحقيق: محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر، ط1، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، 1422هـ. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين لمجموعة من الباحثين، ط14، مؤسسة الرسالة، 1407هـ. تاج العروس من جواهر القاموس، لمحمّد بن محمّد بن عبد الرزّاق الحسيني، الملقّب بمرتضى، الزَّبيدي، تحقيق مجموعة من المحققين، دار الهداية. الدلائل في غريب الحديث، لقاسم بن ثابت بن حزم العوفي السرقسطي، تحقيق: د. محمد بن عبد الله القناص، الناشر: مكتبة العبيكان، الرياض، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ - 2001م.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that there will be rulers assigned to be in charge of Muslims and they will monopolize the Muslims' wealth and spend it as they wish, depriving the Muslims of their rights thereof. These rulers will also do things, related to the religion, that are disapproved by the Shariah. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked about what they should do in such a case. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told them not to let these rulers' monopoly of wealth prevent them from fulfilling their duty towards them, including listening and obeying. Rather, they should have patience, listen and obey them without disputing their authority. Moreover, they should ask Allah for their rights and ask Him to guide these rulers and ward off their evil and oppression.

1. This Hadīth is one of the proofs of Muhammad's prophethood, as he foretold what would happen in his Ummah and it happened just as he said.
2. It is permissible to inform a person of an affliction that will likely befall him so as to be prepared, show patience, and seek Allah's reward when it actually occurs.
3. Holding onto the Qur’an and Sunnah ensures safety from trials and dissension.
4. The Hadīth urges Muslims to listen and obey their rulers in what is good and not to rebel against them even if they commit oppression.
5. Adopting wisdom and following the Sunnah during the times of trials.
6. One must fulfill his duties even if he is wronged in one way or another.
7. The Hadīth proves the rule that states: We should opt for the lesser of the two evils or the lesser of the two harms.

صحيح البخاري (4/ 199) (3603). صحيح مسلم (3/ 1472) (1843). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (1/ 720). تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل آل مبارك (ص52). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (9/ 402). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (1/ 280). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (1/ 554).

Uqbah ibn al-Hārith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he prayed the ‘Asr prayer with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) one day, and the Prophet hurriedly left by crossing the rows of people to one of the rooms of his wives. The people were astonished at his haste. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came back and saw the people wondering about his haste, so he wanted to clarify it, and told them that he remembered a gold nugget in his house of Zakah which was supposed to be distributed, and he did not want his thinking about it to prevent and distract him from contemplating and devoting himself completely to Allah while in the prayer.

بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، سليم بن عيد الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي، الدمام، الطبعة: الأولى 1415هـ. رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين، أبو زكريا محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير، دمشق، بيروت، الطبعة: الأولى 1428هـ. كنوز رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين برئاسة حمد بن ناصر العمار، كنوز إشبيليا، الرياض، الطبعة: الأولى1430هـ. شرح رياض الصالحين للشيخ ابن عثيمين، دار الوطن للنشر، الرياض، الطبعة: 1426هـ. صحيح البخاري، محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين، مؤسسة الرسالة، بيروت، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر 1407هـ.

The Hadīth contains a prohibition of giving authority to whoever seeks it or has greed for it. When the two men asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to appoint them rulers over some of what Allah entrusted him with, he said: "By Allah! We do not entrust this affair to anyone who seeks it or is keen to attain it." i.e. we do not give authority to anyone who asks for it or is keen to have it. That is because perhaps the one who seeks it or has greed for it aims at giving himself authority, not at bringing reform. Since such a person could be liable to such an accusation, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade giving authority to the one who seeks it, saying: "By Allah! We do not entrust this post to anyone who seeks it or is keen to attain it." The subject matter of this Hadīth was confirmed by the Hadīth of ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not ask for a position of authority, for if you are granted this position without having asked for it, you will be helped in it, and if you are granted it as a result of your asking for it, you will be left alone to handle it." So, it is not befitting for a ruler to fulfill the request of someone who seeks authority over an area of land even if he is qualified for it. Likewise, if someone asks to be appointed a judge, saying for example to the person in charge of judiciary, like the minister of justice, for example: "Make me a judge over such-and-such land," he should not to be given such an authority. As for the case where someone asks to be moved from authority over one land to another, then it is not included in this Hadīth, because he has already been in a position of authority, but is asking to be moved to another location. This applies unless it is known that his intention and aim is to gain authority over the people of that land, in which case, he should be prevented, since actions are to be judged according to intentions. One may wonder about the statement of Yūsuf (peace be upon him) to the ruler: {Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge} [Sūrat Yūsuf: 55]. The answer to that is one of two things: 1. If the legislation of those who came before us contradict our own legislation, we should act upon our legislation, based on the well-known principle among the scholars of Islamic fundamentals: "We hold the legislation of those before us as our legislation, as long as there is nothing reported in our legislation that runs counter to it." In fact, there is something reported in our legislation that disagrees with that, namely the Hadīth that reads: "We do not give authority to anyone who seeks to be given authority." 2. It could be said that Yūsuf (peace be upon him) saw that the wealth was being wasted, squandered, and tampered with, so he wished to save the country from this manipulation. In a situation like that, the aim is to remove the mismanagement and poor administration, so there is nothing wrong here. For example, if there is a commander over a section (of a land), who neglects the duties entailed by that authority and causes corruption, then the one suitable for this job – if he cannot find other than himself – must ask the ruler to give him authority over that section, saying to him: "Give me authority over this land in order to rid it of the bad state it is in," and this is alright, and is in accordance with the rules. There is also a Hadīth where ‘Uthmān ibn Abi al-‘Ās said to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): "Make me a leader of my people." i.e. in prayer. So he said: "You are their leader." Based upon this, some scholars said: “The Hadīth indicates the permissibility of seeking leadership in what is good.” In the supplication of the slaves of the Most Merciful – a description which Allah gave them – they say: {And make us leaders for the pious} [Sūrat al-Furqān: 74]. This is not included in the disliked pursuit of leadership which pertains to worldly leadership, whose seeker is not helped, nor does he deserve to be granted such leadership.

بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، سليم بن عيد الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي، الدمام، الطبعة: الأولى 1415هـ. رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين، أبو زكريا محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير، دمشق، بيروت، الطبعة: الأولى 1428هـ، 2007م. رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين، أبو زكريا محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق: عصام هادي، وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية القطرية، دار الريان، بيروت، الطبعة: الرابعة 1428هـ. شرح رياض الصالحين، محمد بن صالح العثيمين، دار الوطن، الرياض، الطبعة: 1426هـ. صحيح البخاري، محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري، تحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: 1423هـ. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين، مؤسسة الرسالة، بيروت، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر 1407هـ، 1987م.

‘Ā'idh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) visited ‘Ubaydullāh ibn Ziyād, who was the ruler of the Iraqis after his father, and said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The worst of shepherds is the harsh one'", i.e. the one who is harsh in looking after camels while herding them, bringing them in and taking them out, shoving them into one another, and overburdening them. He was giving an example of the evil ruler, and the meaning intended here is the harsh ruler who oppresses people and is neither gentle nor merciful with them. The statement: "Beware of being one of them" is from the speech of ‘Ā'idh as an advice to Ibn Ziyād. Thereupon, Ibn Ziyād gave the following reply: "You are nothing but the chaff of them", i.e. you are not from the virtuous and knowledgeable Companions of the Prophet, or those with high status among them; rather, you are from the worthless among them. The word "chaff" here is a metaphor used to indicate meanness and worthlessness. So the noble Companion (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "Was there worthless chaff among them? Such worthless chaff only appeared after them and among those other than them." This is the eloquence and veracity of speech that every Muslim believes in. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) were all the cream of the crop, the masters of the Muslim nation, and more virtuous than those who came after them. All of them were upright role models and there is no worthless chaff among them. The chaff only came from and among those after them.

بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، سليم بن عيد الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي، الدمام، الطبعة: الأولى 1415هـ. تطريز رياض الصالحين، فيصل بن عبد العزيز المبارك، تحقيق: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل حمد، دار العاصمة للنشر والتوزيع، الرياض، الطبعة: الأولى 1423هـ، 2002م. دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، محمد علي بن البكري بن علان، اعتنى بها: خليل مأمون شيحا، دار المعرفة، بيروت، الطبعة: الرابعة 1425هـ. رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين، أبو زكريا محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير، دمشق، بيروت، الطبعة: الأولى 1428هـ، 2007م. رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين، أبو زكريا محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق: عصام هادي، وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية القطرية، دار الريان، بيروت، الطبعة: الرابعة 1428هـ. صحيح مسلم، مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري، تحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: 1423هـ. كنوز رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين برئاسة حمد بن ناصر العمار، كنوز إشبيليا، الرياض، الطبعة: الأولى1430هـ، 2009م. المنهاج شرح صحيح مسلم بن الحجاج، أبو زكريا محيي الدين النووي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: الثانية 1392هـ. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين، مؤسسة الرسالة، بيروت، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر 1407هـ، 1987م.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke about the one who concealed evil intentions at the time of divine revelation, and how that was made known to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) through the revelation. During the time of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) some people were hypocrites, pretending to be good while concealing evil. However, Allah, the Exalted, exposed them through the revelation to His Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When the revelation ceased, people were incapable of knowing the hypocrites, because hypocrisy is in the heart. He thus said that they started judging people by what appears to them. So whoever appeared to be good, they dealt with him according to what he showed, even if he had evil intentions. Whoever appeared to be evil, they dealt with him according to the evil he showed, and they were not responsible for his intention. The intention is entrusted to the Lord of the Worlds, Exalted and Glorified, who knows what one's inner self whispers to him.

- صحيح البخاري -للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - نزهة المتقين بشرح رياض الصالحين/ تأليف مصطفى سعيد الخن-مصطفى البغا-محي الدين مستو-علي الشربجي-محمد أمين لطفي-مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت –لبنان-الطبعة الرابعة عشرة1407. - بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين – سليم بن عيد الهلالي دار ابن الجوزي –الطبعة الأولى 1418. - دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين - محمد علي بن محمد بن علان الصديقي-اعتنى بها: خليل مأمون شيحا-دار المعرفة للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع، بيروت – لبنان-الطبعة: الرابعة، 1425 هـ - 2004 م.

This Hadīth stresses the immense importance of sovereignty. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated to Allah to treat harshly those who acquire a status of sovereignty over Muslims and treat them harshly. In contrast, he supplicated to Allah to treat gently those who treat their Muslim subjects justly, gently, and mercifully. In short, actions have consequences.

صحيح مسلم, ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي, دار إحياء التراث العربي, بيروت. شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين, دار مدار الوطن للنشر، الرياض, الطبعة، 1426هـ. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي, دار ابن الجوزي. تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل بن عبد العزيز المبارك النجدي, تحقيق: عبد العزيز آل حمد, دار العاصمة, الطبعة الأولى، 1423هـ. كنوز رياض الصالحين، بإشراف حمد العمار, دار كنوز إشبيليا, الطبعة الأولى, 1430ه. دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، لمحمد بن علان الصديقي, دار الكتاب العربي. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين, مؤسسة الرسالة, الطبعة الرابعة عشر, 1407ه. فيض القدير شرح الجامع الصغير، للمناوي، دار الكتب العلمية، بيروت - لبنان، الطبعة الاولى، 1415ه - 1994م.