93. Judgments

٩٣۔ كتاب الأحكام

93.4 To listen to and obey the Imam

٩٣۔٤ باب السَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِ لِلإِمَامِ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ مَعْصِيَةً

bukhari:7142Musaddad > Yaḥyá > Shuʿbah > Abū al-Tayyāḥ > Anas b. Mālik

Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin."  

البخاري:٧١٤٢حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى عَنْ شُعْبَةَ عَنْ أَبِي التَّيَّاحِ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ ؓ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ اسْمَعُوا وَأَطِيعُوا وَإِنِ اسْتُعْمِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَبْدٌ حَبَشِيٌّ كَأَنَّ رَأْسَهُ زَبِيبَةٌ  

bukhari:7143Sulaymān b. Ḥarb > Ḥammād > al-Jaʿd > Abū Rajāʾ > Ibn ʿAbbās Yarwīh

The Prophet ﷺ said, "If somebody sees his Muslim ruler doing something he disapproves of, he should be patient, for whoever becomes separate from the Muslim group even for a span and then dies, he will die as those who died in the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance (as rebellious sinners). (See Hadith No. 176 and 177)  

البخاري:٧١٤٣حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ عَنِ الْجَعْدِ عَنْ أَبِي رَجَاءٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ يَرْوِيهِ قَالَ

قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مَنْ رَأَى مِنْ أَمِيرِهِ شَيْئًا فَكَرِهَهُ فَلْيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ يُفَارِقُ الْجَمَاعَةَ شِبْرًا فَيَمُوتُ إِلاَّ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً  

bukhari:7144Musaddad > Yaḥyá b. Saʿīd > ʿUbaydullāh > Nāfiʿ > ʿAbdullāh

The Prophet ﷺ said, "A Muslim has to listen to and obey (the order of his ruler) whether he likes it or not, as long as his orders involve not one in disobedience (to Allah), but if an act of disobedience (to Allah) is imposed one should not listen to it or obey it. (See Hadith No. 203, Vol. 4)  

البخاري:٧١٤٤حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنِي نَافِعٌ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ؓ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ السَّمْعُ وَالطَّاعَةُ عَلَى الْمَرْءِ الْمُسْلِمِ فِيمَا أَحَبَّ وَكَرِهَ مَا لَمْ يُؤْمَرْ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَإِذَا أُمِرَ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَلاَ سَمْعَ وَلاَ طَاعَةَ  

bukhari:7145ʿUmar b. Ḥafṣ b. Ghiyāth from my father > al-Aʿmash > Saʿd b. ʿUbaydah > Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥman > ʿAlī

The Prophet ﷺ sent an army unit (for some campaign) and appointed a man from the Ansar as its commander and ordered them (the soldiers) to obey him. (During the campaign) he became angry with them and said, "Didn't the Prophet ﷺ order you to obey me?" They said, "Yes." He said, "I order you to collect wood and make a fire and then throw yourselves into it." So they collected wood and made a fire, but when they were about to throw themselves into, it they started looking at each other, and some of them said, "We followed the Prophet ﷺ to escape from the fire. How should we enter it now?" So while they were in that state, the fire extinguished and their commander's anger abated. The event was mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ and he said, "If they had entered it (the fire) they would never have come out of it, for obedience is required only in what is good." (See Hadith No. 629. Vol. 5)  

البخاري:٧١٤٥حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ حَفْصِ بْنِ غِيَاثٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ حَدَّثَنَا سَعْدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ؓ قَالَ

بَعَثَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ سَرِيَّةً وَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَجُلاً مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ وَأَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يُطِيعُوهُ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَقَالَ أَلَيْسَ قَدْ أَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ أَنَّ تُطِيعُونِي قَالُوا بَلَى قَالَ عَزَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمَا جَمَعْتُمْ حَطَبًا وَأَوْقَدْتُمْ نَارًا ثُمَّ دَخَلْتُمْ فِيهَا فَجَمَعُوا حَطَبًا فَأَوْقَدُوا فَلَمَّا هَمُّوا بِالدُّخُولِ فَقَامَ يَنْظُرُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِنَّمَا تَبِعْنَا النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فِرَارًا مِنَ النَّارِ أَفَنَدْخُلُهَا فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ خَمَدَتِ النَّارُ وَسَكَنَ غَضَبُهُ فَذُكِرَ لِلنَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَقَالَ لَوْ دَخَلُوهَا مَا خَرَجُوا مِنْهَا أَبَدًا إِنَّمَا الطَّاعَةُ فِي الْمَعْرُوفِ