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Hadith #4 - To Seek or Not to Seek Leadership

March 2, 2017Dr. Omar Suleiman

There is an important distinction between leadership as a goal and leadership as a means to another goal. The messengers were all given leadership as a means of influencing people towards righteousness. A just ruler enables society to be filled with righteousness and justice.

Sh. Omar Suleiman describes the circumstances in which to seek positions of leadership. 

Transcript

This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu Today we're going to talk about manhaj and what it means to have a methodology of social justice. This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions, if not the most frequently asked question, that comes up. Should I pursue a form of leadership or should I pursue a position so that I can bring goodness to my society? Sometimes it's genuine and sincere and sometimes it's a trick of shaytan. And sometimes it's a mix of the both. But there are so many practical lessons that we can take from just this question. And there's something unique about this week, last week, and next week inshallah. That all three of the ahadith that we will be starting off with are narrated by the same person. Who remembers who narrated last week's hadith on the scrolls of Abraham? The scrolls of Ibrahim alayhi salam. And I said he's a companion that frequently asks the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam, meaning it frequently goes, Qultu ya Rasool Allah fa qala li katha wa katha. I asked the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam and he said to me this. Abu Dhar al-Ghifari radiallahu ta'ala anhu. So last week's hadith was narrated by Abu Dhar. This week's hadith is narrated by Abu Dhar. Next week's hadith is also narrated by Abu Dhar radiallahu ta'ala anhu. He's a very special companion. He comes from the tribe that was known to be a tribe of highway robbers, that was known to be one of the most difficult tribes in Arabia, which is the tribe of Ghifar. Ghifar literally were a group of thugs.
You didn't want to go through their neighborhood, you didn't want to get into it with them. And even though Abu Dhar radiallahu ta'ala anhu was a Muslim at the time of persecution, and he went out and announced his Islam at a time when it was dangerous to do so, when people started to beat on him for going out and reciting the Quran or announcing his Islam, al-Abbas radiallahu ta'ala anhu came out when they started hitting him and he said, you guys better watch out, woe to you, don't you know this is a man from Ghifar? And they all backed off. So he wasn't guarded or protected in Mecca when he came to accept Islam because he was from the nobles. He was guarded because people feared the man's tribe. So he came from a very rough background, entered into Islam, and his name was, actually many people don't know this, and sometimes it shows up in hadith literature and it catches you off guard, his name was actually Jundub. Abu Dhar is the kunya. Jundub al-Ghifari radiallahu ta'ala anhu. And I want to say something about Abu Dhar before we get into this discussion. Because I believe he's been mentioned in every class so far. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said about Abu Dhar radiallahu ta'ala anhu, maa aqallatil ghadra'u asdaqa min Abu Dhar. That the earth has not carried nor has the sky covered a man more trustworthy and truthful than Abu Dhar. Asdaqa min Abu Dhar. A man who has that much sincerity and truth. And sidq is an intensive form of sincerity. So there is no man more truthful and sincere than this man radiallahu ta'ala anhu. Which makes the hadith that we're going to narrate that much more peculiar. The title of this chapter is to seek or not to seek leadership. So here's the hadith. Abu Dhar radiallahu ta'ala anhu, he narrates,
qala qultu ya rasool Allah, he said, I said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, ala tasta'miluni, aren't you going to use me in any way? And what he means by that, aren't you going to appoint me as a leader in some form of public office? Aren't you going to give me a position? And Abu Dhar is not asking for his ego. He's asking, I mean, clearly the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam testified to his internal purity. That there is no man with more sidq, more truthfulness than this man inside of him. So he wants to be used. He is genuinely inquiring for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that he can be in a position to do more good for the sake of his religion. He says that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, fadharaba biyadihi ala man kibi thumma qal, that he put his hand on my shoulder. Like the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam put his hand on my shoulder to console me, to tell me something. And he said to me, ya Abu Dhar innaka da'if. He said, O Abu Dhar, listen, you are a weak man. Wa innaha amana. And this leadership position is a trust. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used the word trust, amana. Wa innaha yawma al qiyamati khizyun wa nadama. And on the day of judgment it will be disgrace and remorse. Now what have we been talking about? Imamun Adil, the man who is under, or the woman we said, because imam can be extended. The leader who is under the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The people that have the manabir, the pulpits of light. But those are the few that are able to make it with the test of leadership. Just as the majority of the people of hell are wealthy, and the majority of the people of heaven, the people of paradise, are poor. But those who are wealthy, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Al ghaniyu shakir, that the rich grateful man, or the rich grateful person, is just like bi manzilat as-salaat masabir. Just like the one who is patient and who fasts.
Meaning there will be wealthy, righteous people, but they are the minority of the people of paradise. Likewise with leadership, the minority of those who take a position, who end up in some form of position, will end up being incredibly honored, with intense honor on the day of judgment. An honor that would cause everyone to envy them. But at the same time, for the majority of people, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, it is a cause of disgrace and remorse. Wa innaha yawma al qiyamati khizyun wa nadama illa man akhazaha bihaqqiha wa adda allathee alayhi feeha. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Accept, except for the one who fulfills its obligations and properly discharges its duties attentively. So a person who observes its obligations and fulfills its obligations here, akhaza bihaqqiha, means that they didn't acquire the position in an unjust way. They acquired it the proper way. And so it really refers to the means by which a person ascends to that position, and then how they deal with that position. So they discharge their duties with attention. Another hadith which is in the same spirit, that one is narrated in Sahih Muslim, this one also is in Muslim by the way, in other collections. Abu Dharr radiallahu ta'ala said that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said to me, ya Abu Dharr, inni araaka dha'eefan. He said, O Abu Dharr, I see you to be a weak man. He says, wa inni uhibbu laka ma uhibbu li nafsi. He said, and I love for you what I love for myself. What's the effect of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam telling Abu Dharr that? Why do you think he's telling him that, after calling him weak? Why do you think he's telling him that? Like I'm not trying to insult you. This is not to put you down. It's because I love for you what I love for myself.
Meaning what? I want salvation for you, I want you to succeed in the akhirah, I want you to have jannah. So I'm not telling you this to put you down. I mean it hurts to be called weak by the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. That would hurt. Like imagine the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam stood in front of you and said, innaka dha'eef, you're a weak person. So that would hurt him. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has his hand on his shoulder and says, listen, you're weak. But I love for you what I love for myself. I'm not telling you this to put you down. And listen to what he said to Abu Dharr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. He says, la ta'maranna ala ithneen, wa la tawallayanna ala maali yateen. He said, don't ever find yourself in a position where you're in charge of two people. I'm not just talking about public office. Don't ever even be an ameer of two other people. Don't ever be in a leadership position. And don't ever be entrusted with the money of an orphan, with the wealth of an orphan. Like subhanAllah, the first one is like you can't be a governor. This time the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is telling him, don't even find yourself in charge of two people. If three of you go out on a journey and you appoint an ameer as per the sunnah, you appoint a leader amongst you, make sure you're not that one. Even though you are the most truthful man that's ever walked the face of the earth. SubhanAllah, this is seriously puzzling. All that taqwa, all that righteousness, all that piety, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam tells him, you are not qualified to ever be in a leadership position. And he says, I love you and that's why I'm trying to protect you. Interestingly enough, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sent Mu'adh radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu off for the last time to Yemen to be a leader, he said, ya Mu'adh, inni uhibbuk. He said, oh Mu'adh, I love you. So he loves one person, so he puts him in charge. He loves another person, so he withholds the leadership from him, alayhi salatu wasalam, and that's from his wisdom. And there's a lot of wisdom in this subject inshallah ta'ala. Hopefully it will be coherent as we try to go through all of the different ahadith and ayat about this
and the way that our scholars spoke about it. Number one, this tells us something very important that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, the first form of injustice you need to fight is the injustice of yourself. Meaning what? You need to protect yourself from being in a place of injustice. If by getting put in a position, you're going to solve other people's problems, but then you will become problematic, and you will start to fall into injustice, and you will start to ruin yourself, it's not worth it. It is not worth it. So it starts with yourself and making sure that you are not going to do something that's going to ruin your akhira. No glory in the world is worth the humiliation of the hereafter. Nothing is worth the disgrace of the hereafter. Number two, what did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mean when he called Abu Dharr weak? Was Abu Dharr weak, physically weak? Was that what he was talking about? No, that's not what he was talking about. What do you guys think? What does weak mean here? Did he have a weak personality? No, he actually had a very strong personality, radhiallahu ta'ala anhu, which would get him into arguments sometimes, because he had a strong personality. A lot of the ulama, they said that it's one of two things, and there are two explanations that I found prominent in the explanations, and it was really intriguing to me, so I kept looking, sharh after sharh after sharh, to see what does da'if mean here. So there are two explanations that were most prominent. One is that Abu Dharr did not belong to one of the powerful tribes. That's one explanation. He didn't belong to one of the powerful tribes, so he wouldn't be taken seriously by the companions, so he could not be in charge of them, because it was required. But that explanation is not satisfying, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam appointed people that did not come from powerful tribes over others. So to me, the explanation that made the most sense,
and Allah knows best that some of the ulama mentioned, they said that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was talking about his restraint, temper. And that's also from the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when he said, laysa shadeed bi sura'ad. That he said that the strong person is not the one who is able to overcome his opponents, but the strong person is the one aladhi yamniku nafsahu a'ndil ghadab, the one who controls himself in his time of anger. And so what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was referring to is that Abu Dharr radiallahu ta'ala anhu sometimes would get into arguments and confrontations, and maybe he didn't have the restraints that is required from a person that is in leadership. And the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was worried about him compromising his status in the hereafter. And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told him what? Oh Abu Dharr, you will live alone, you will die alone, and you will be raised up on the Day of Judgment alone. He's a fascinating companion. You will live alone, because Abu Dharr would not, he was such an ascetic, he was such a zahid, that he was tough on the people, including the sahaba. He saw them getting rich and he got upset, he got angry, and he said, why are you guys sullying yourself with this dunya? So Abu Dharr had a particular asceticism, a particular strictness to himself, a standard that he held himself to, that made it hard for him to really get along with people. And so he lived alone, and he died alone. He died alone, and that's a beautiful story in and of itself, but he died really alone, isolated from the people, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned he would be raised up alone, in a status of his own. So ya Abu Dharr, stick to yourself, keep away from it, do not let this position, this amanah, ruin you. You have enough with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this sort of sets the basis for the discussion that we have, inshallah ta'ala, where we'll try to reconcile these things.
Number one, most of the misfortunes of the ummah throughout history, and we said that the beauty of imamun adil, the reason why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam always mentions the first category of a just ruler, is because a just ruler enables society to be filled with righteousness and justice. So all the other categories of righteousness really become easy to attain under a just ruler. On the other hand, most of the problems that we have had throughout history as an ummah, is because of betrayal and the pursuit of power, and people trying to remove each other and take each other out, and people trying to claim authority over others, and people doing whatever they could to attain that power. That's our history. That's our history. One of my teachers, he said that Islamic history can be summed up in two words. He said, khiyanat wa futuhat, betrayal and conquest. It's always one of those two things going on throughout our Islamic history. We're either ruining each other, or we're spreading Islam to the world. It's always somewhere between the two. So he was saying, subhanallah, we're always stuck between these two. So most of what corrupts our ummah is this pursuit of power, right? This pursuit of leadership. I mean, masjid politics around the country. May Allah protect our masjids. And your masjid too, if you're watching at home. May Allah protect our masjid. But seriously, having to call the police to officiate masjid elections, and people beating each other in masajid. Like civilized human beings that are doctors and dentists and lawyers and engineers that are so civilized at work, but they will beat each other in masajid, and ruin each other's lives over position. So the pursuit of power ruins people. Within the scope of da'wah, the ego that would push some people. You know what? Ulama, mashayikh, and people that pose as ulama and mashayikh,
all are subject to their ego. And their nafus, and their pursuit of that prominence, causes them to envy, causes them to try to bring other people down, causes them to hate. And everyone suffers as a result of it. So when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is speaking to Abu Dharr, he's speaking because he knows what will happen to this ummah. What did the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam mention? He said, laa akhsha alaykum al-faqr. I'm not worried about poverty with you people. Your ummah, I'm not worried about poverty. Poverty won't ruin you. So what I'm worried about is what? That the dunya is open to you, and you start to kill each other and fight each other for it. More people will fight over power than wealth. And that prominence than wealth. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam left it open. He also said what? Allah would protect us from our external enemies. Allah would protect us from disease. But, alla yaj'ala ba'sahum baynahum. Their misfortune is between themselves. People betraying each other, people trying their best to attain power and prominence. And usually for most people, success entails the failure of someone else. So I need to make someone else fail, I need to do this, I need... And that's nothing but pride and ego and destructive behavior. It's destructive to our spirituality as individuals. It's destructive to our ummah collectively. So leadership is important here. And that's really why I put this very early on. So when we talk about what leadership is, first and foremost, what is leadership? The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was asked, when is the day of judgment? And what did he say? Itha dhuy'atil amana, than tadhirul sa'a. When trust is lost, than await the hour. And they said to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, what is, you know, how is amana, how is trust lost? He said, when authority is given to those who do not deserve it, than wait for the hour. When leadership is misplaced, wait for the hour. So it's a, you know, first of all the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam calls it an amana, he calls it a trust.
Secondly, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says that when leadership as a whole is taken away from those who deserve it, both in the realm of scholarship and in the realm of hukum, in the realm of judgment. So in the realm of scholarship, what did the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam say? Qabdil ulama, aw mawti ulama, the death of scholars. And people can't distinguish people of knowledge from people, you know, people of speech anymore. Fattakhidh al-nas ru'usan juhalaf aftagh bi ghayri'in fadallu wa adallu. So people take ignorant people to lead them. And they give fatwa, they speak on behalf of Allah, without any knowledge. Fadallu wa adallu. And they are astray and they lead others astray. Think about the garbage that we celebrate in our communities. Think about the people that are viewed sometimes as spokespeople for our communities. Think about that, right? So in the scholarly realm and in the realm of hukum, in the realm of authority. When these two are gone, then what happens to what we said about Sufyan al-Thawri rahimahullah, when he said that there are two people, if they are righteous, everyone is righteous, or everything is good, and if they are corrupt, then everything and everyone will be corrupt. Al-muluk wal-ilamah, the rulers and the scholars. So this realm is really broad and it includes these two categories of people. And it's an amanah, it's a trust from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The first question becomes pursuing leadership as a goal. What are the evidences when we're discussing this concept? Number one, distinguishing between pursuing leadership as a goal and as a means. When Allah mentions to us the anbiya, the prophets of Allah in the Quran, and obviously they were protected from their egos. They were protected from their egos. And they recognized that the most effective way to enact change in society is from the leadership level. So when Suleiman alayhi as-salam asks Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, habli mulkan la yanbaghi li ahad min ba'di, grant me a kingdom that you would not grant to anyone after me, grant me this amazing kingdom, it wasn't so Suleiman could enjoy this dunya.
Suleiman alayhi as-salam wanted it as a means to establish righteousness throughout the earth. And Allah gave it to him. And Suleiman died a zahid, he died an ascetic despite the great kingdom that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave to him. When Yusuf alayhi as-salam said to al-Aziz, he said to the ruler of Egypt, he said, aj'alli ala khaza'in al-ard inni hafidun alim, place me in charge of the interior ministry of the country. I know what I'm doing, I'm qualified. Yusuf alayhi as-salam saw it as a means to a greater goal. He wasn't pursuing it as a goal and he was protected from his ego. When Ibrahim alayhi as-salam taught us the da'a, Rabbana hablana min azwajina wa dhuryatina kurrat a'ayun wa ja'alna lilmuttaqina imama, that oh Allah, make from us, from our spouses and our offspring, make them the coolness of our eyes and make us collectively as imams, as people who lead the way. Now granted, the leadership here, the imama, according to many of the mufassireen, is imamun fil khair, people that lead and proceed in righteousness. He's really not talking about material leadership, so it seems. But some of the scholars say that is what he's talking about, so I'm not saying conclusively. I'm saying that it could be that Ibrahim alayhi as-salam means by that, leaders in khair. But the point is, he's not seeking position here. He's seeking the institution of righteousness throughout the earth. That's why when he's building the Ka'bah with his son, he's thinking about years and years and years later, thousands of years later when he's in this barren desert. He doesn't want the gratification of leadership in his lifetime. He could care less about that. But he wants his leadership to continue, or he wants that khair, the goodness that he brought to the world, to continue. So these people saw it as a means and not a goal. So we need to be very clear that leadership as a means is praiseworthy. Leadership as a goal is where the problem is.
And the big problem with that is, it goes back to the individual. How do you know if you're pursuing it for the sake of praise or for the sake of something worldly, or if you're pursuing it for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? We definitely don't know that about others. And sometimes we don't even know about ourselves. We're questioning ourselves whether or not we're doing it for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the first place. So it starts off with what? Number one, disconnecting yourself. So number one, disconnecting yourself from the desire for aloo to be elevated in this world. Where do we take this from? We say in the Quran, tilka al-daar al-akhira, naja'aluha lilladheena la yuriduna alooan fil-ardi wa la fasaada wa al-aqiba tul mutaqeen. That this is the home of the righteous. This is jannah. This is paradise. We grant it to those who don't seek power, aloo, elevation, status in this world, nor do they seek corruption. And victory belongs to those who are pious, those who fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the most. So not desiring aloo can go hand in hand with leadership. How is that possible? Umar ibn Abdulaziz rahimahullah was appointed khalifa without his knowledge. Meaning what? Sulaiman ibn Abdul Malik rahimahullah did a great favor to this ummah. He willed that Umar would be his successor, but he didn't tell Umar before he died because he knew that Umar would reject it. So he wrote it down, he had it witnessed, and after he passed away, they came to Umar ibn Abdulaziz and said, You're our khalifa now. And the man who delivered it is Raja'a ibn Haywa, a man rahimahullah from Gaza. He was scary. He was a big man, like, You're going to take this khalifa. You're going to do this. And Umar ibn Abdulaziz says, la hawla wa la quwata illa billah. And subhanallah, he starts to cry. And he says, Wallahi, I did not ask Allah for it.
Sirran aw alaniya. I didn't ask Allah for it privately or publicly. Wallahi, like he's swearing. Ya Allah, I didn't ask you for this, not privately or publicly. And he's so conflicted. How did this happen? You know, it was supposed to go, it was going according to the brothers. You know, Walid ibn Abdul Malik, Sulaiman ibn Abdul Malik, why did it come to me? What happened here? Right? So he's so, and he swears, he testifies, I didn't ask Allah for it privately or publicly. Do you think he's telling the truth? Of course he's telling the truth. So his inauguration speech on the manbar was what? His inauguration speech was his resignation. So, Bismillah, walhamdulillah, wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulillah. He said that I've been appointed as khalifa and I'm giving it up. So you guys choose amongst yourselves. And he gets off the manbar. And you know what the people do? They pick him up and they put him back on the manbar. And he literally, subhanallah, this is a thought, he literally tried to run away. And they kept picking him up and putting him back on the manbar and saying, we want you. That's someone that does not want leadership but is being forced into it. Right? That's the extreme. I'm not saying that you have to test it every time you get appointed as leader. Like, are you guys going to pick me up or not? You're going to put me back on the manbar or not? You know, I might test that this Juma and say, I'm not giving khutba this week. And see if you guys actually pick me up and put me back on the manbar. Right? You know, he really didn't want it. And subhanallah, eventually he just resigns. You know what? Fine. I'll be your khalifa. And he asks Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for protection and he tells the people to hold him accountable. And this man, subhanallah, when he passes, and this is very beautiful because he was only 37. He was 25 as the governor of Medina, 37 as the khalifa. I mean, he's a young man, subhanallah, he really, really could have been driven by his ego. And he comes from a family of rulers. You know? These are his cousins that were khalifa. These are his uncles that were khalifa.
He comes from that family. He's from the Umayyad dynasty. But he doesn't want it. And Allah grants him this at his death. When he's passing away, his face lights up and he says, marhaban bi hadhih wujuh alladhi laysa fi wujuhi insan wa la jaan. He says, welcome to these beautiful faces that don't belong to angels or jinn. I mean, I'm sorry, that don't belong to jinn or human beings. So he's seeing angels. His face starts to light up. He says, what are these beautiful faces that are entering upon me now? And he recites, tilka daarul akhira na ja'aluha lilladheena la yuriduna aloowan fil ardi wa la fasada wa la aqibatul mutaqeem. He recited that verse, that this jannah, this paradise is for people that don't seek status in this world. He had been khalifa for two and a half years. He could have used it and he could have been corrupted along the way. He didn't want it. He didn't want it before he started. He didn't want it while he was doing it. But he did an excellent job and there's a lesson in that. It's not like I don't want it so I'm going to sit at home and be horrible about it. He was so great as a khalifa that in two and a half years he rectified a mess. I mean, put the ummah in its golden age in a way that it would not see until the time Isa Isam comes back. He put it in its golden age. So he didn't want it spiritually, but he did his best. Akhatha bi haqqihah. He took it by its right and he discharged his duties properly. But even at his death, he says what? This is what he's reciting. He dies reciting this ayah. He dies reciting this ayah. So he never pursued aloo. He never pursued this sense of status in this world. And that's the lesson to take from that. That none of these people wanted it as a goal. Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu, the most qualified candidate for khalifa in history. And Abu Bakr tried to deflect. He said here is Umar, here is Abu Ubaidah, choose one of them.
He tried to deflect it. But he was the unquestioned khalifa at the time. So not wanting it, but being forced. And what does that mean? So this is the second thing. What's the difference between, or what does it mean when you don't want it but people are asking you to do it? This is where Uthman radiallahu anhu comes. Uthman radiallahu ta'ala anhu was told by the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam, there will come a time when people will ask you to resign from your position, and Allah gave you that position. He said, la tanzi' qameesan qamasakallahu biha. Do not take off a garment that Allah dressed you with. That's the wisdom of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam. Don't take off a garment that Allah put on you. So if you are put in a position rightfully, and people try to take it away from you wrongfully, the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam said, you got to keep it. You do what you have to do. Stick with it. Don't abandon your post. That's essentially what the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam is telling him. Don't abandon that post. So sometimes you don't want it, and it's forced on you. Anyway, now how do you protect yourself from this? It comes back to your own individual self, right? That's why when Umar ibn al-Khattab radiallahu anhu put Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas radiallahu anhu as the governor of Kufa in Iraq, the first advice he gave him was, Hafiz ala as-salah. Guard your prayers. Fa innaka in laya'taha fa anta lima siwaha adhya'an. If you lose your prayers, you will lose everything after your prayers. If you compromise your salah as a result of this leadership, you will lose everything. And one of the easiest, one of the excuses you give yourself when you're in a position of leadership, it's such a trick from shaytan, subhanallah, for the shaykh, for the da'ia, for the imam, for someone who's an activist. One of the greatest delusions of shaytan is that your public work
allows or makes you immune. You don't have to worry about the private stuff anymore. You're no longer accountable privately. You no longer have to keep up with your spiritual fuel. And Umar is telling Sa'ad, listen, I'm putting you in charge, and the first thing I'm telling you is you better guard your prayers. Because if you mess that up, you'll mess everything up. So your connection with Allah has to remain. If your connection with Allah remains, your leadership will continue to be for Allah. If your connection with Allah is severed, then your leadership will become about you. So guard your prayers. And subhanallah, look what happens to him. Very successful as a governor. And when turmoil broke out in the ummah, when things went bad, and when there was disputes and fitna, Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas did what? He shunned everything. He didn't want anything to do with it. He went out and he raised sheep in the mountains, went to China and did da'wah, built the first masjid in China. The uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas, went to China. He completely avoided, he wasn't going to compete for it at all. And his son was opposite. His son, he had a son named Umar, Umar ibn Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas, who wanted leadership. He wanted to use his dad's name for position. And he goes out to his dad one day and Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas was tending to his sheep. And Sa'ad looked at him and said, A'udhu billahi min sharri hadhil aad. I seek refuge in Allah from the evil of this one that's coming to me. He's his own son because he knows what he's coming to do. And Umar comes to him and tells him, why don't you take your rightful position? You could be a khalifa, you could be a governor, you could be all kinds of stuff. Why are you avoiding all of this? And he said to him, I heard the Prophet ﷺ say,
innallaha yuhibbul abd al-taqi al-ghafi al-ghani. I might be mixing up the order of the three. But he said, Allah loves a person who is taqi, he's pious, he fears Allah. He is khafi, he's hidden from public sight. And he is ghani, he's self-sufficient, he doesn't need anybody. So these three characteristics, the Prophet ﷺ said, Allah loves this person who is taqi, has piety, that personal connection with Allah. Khafi, hidden from public sight. And ghani, completely self-sufficient, doesn't need anybody. So subhanallah, these are beautiful words and he avoided it. Umar ibn Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas on the other hand, unfortunately, his pursuit for leadership led him to being with the army that killed al-Husayn. That's how badly he desired to be a general or be a governor or something. So it's a disaster. So the quest for leadership can literally ruin your spirituality. It can completely destroy you as a person. But when a person removes that and keeps their connection to Allah, then they will only accept a post if it is for the sake of Allah. So the reconciliation, how do we reconcile some of the ahadith from the seerah? In Sahih Muslim there are two chapters. One of them is, baab an-nahi an talab al-imara wal-hirsi alayha It is the chapter that prohibits desiring a position and actively seeking it. Again, it's baab an-nahi an talab al-imara wal-hirsi alayha. It's the chapter that prohibits a person from requesting leadership and being determined to achieve it, like actively seeking it.
And there is a hadith from Abdur-Rahman ibn Samura radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. He says that, I asked the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam to be in charge of my tribe or to be in charge of my area. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said to me, Ya Abdur-Rahman la tas'al al-imara Ya Abdur-Rahman never ask to be in a position of leadership. He says, and this is profound, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says, fa innaka in u'ti'taha If you are to be given it an mas'ala, because you were asked, u'kilta ilayha Allah would abandon you to that position of leadership. You would be entrusted to that position. Meaning you would not have the support of Allah. If you are given that position because you sought it, because you sought it out, then you would be given it, but you would, in the process, what? You would lose the support of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He says salallahu alayhi wa sallam, wa inn u'ti'taha an ghayri mas'ala And if you are given the position, without asking for it, u'inta ilayha Allah would support you in that position. So by asking, you forsake, what? The help, the support of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If you are asked to be in a position, and you take that position, then you would have the aid of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, it's very important to note from this hadith, the Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam made the help of Allah, the support of Allah, conditional upon what? Not requesting it. Not requesting that position. If you are given a position, and people find you qualified, and they put you in that position, and you take it with the fear of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah would aid you in that position. Allah would support you in that position. One of my teachers, he said, I believe it was Dr. Raghab Serjani, Hafidahullah, it was beautiful, he said that the most successful khalifa was Umar radiallahu anhu, because he despised the position the most. Like he hated being khalifa,
or he hated the idea of being in position, so Allah supported him the most. So all the success that came under Umar bin Khattab radiallahu anhu. And when his son, when people came to him and said, your son should be next, what did he say? He said, the khalifa, or only one person from this family, should have to go through this burden. Enough. Enough khalifa for the family of Al-Khattab. Like, we're done. I don't want my son on this. I don't want this to continue as a succession. Subhanallah. So he wanted it so little, that Allah helped him so much. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, if you look at this hadith, he conditioned the support of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, on the way that a person seeks that position, or does not seek that position, in the first place. Now, another hadith from Abu Musa radiallahu ta'ala anhu, no I'm sorry, I just read that hadith. Another hadith, this one is from Uthman ibn Abi al-As. Uthman ibn Abi al-As radiallahu anhu says, I asked the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, to make me the imam of my people, and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, anta imamahum, you are their imam, so consider the weakest amongst them. Isn't that a contradiction? This man asked the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, make me the imam of my people, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, you are their imam, and consider the weakest amongst them. Okay, so how do we reconcile the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam saying, we don't give this to people that ask for it, and that's another hadith by the way, where the Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, we don't give this affair to those that ask for it. Alright, the opposite of campaigning. And in this hadith, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, you are their imam. And imamahum know we put this under another chapter. And the name of this chapter is, baab kirahiyat al-imara bi ghayri dharura. Okay, the chapter of hating, or you know, hating to be in a position of leadership, unless it's a necessity. So Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimallah,
reconciles these ahadith in the following way. He says that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, the reason why the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam gave imarah, or he gave that leadership to one who asked, but told another we don't give it to those that ask for it, is that he recognized the sincerity and the position of Uthman ibn al-As. He looked at Uthman ibn al-As, and he saw that Uthman was not only the most sincere, and that he wanted it for Allah, but he was the most qualified. And he says Uthman was, Uthman ibn al-As, was the, already pretty much the leader of his people. So basically the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, it's after Islam, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was validating his leadership. So you understand, he was already the leader of his tribe, he was already respected, he was already being followed. Now Islam comes, now who's going to lead the salah, who's going to be their amir? The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam already intended to make him the imam, already intended to make him the leader, so he told him, you are their imam. And there's another situation that Imam al-Nawwi mentions, Ziyad ibn al-Harith radiallahu ta'ala anhu, that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam recognized that he was fit for it, and he recognized that he was already the leader of his people, so the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam validated that leadership that was already in place. Alright, it's getting late, so let me try to go through some points. Alright, so, seeking leadership. When does it become permissible? Number one, this is a rule, alright, number one, if people find you qualified, and people ask you to be in a position of authority, you should ask Allah for protection, and you should do it. Unless you know that there is something that really is stopping you from it, meaning, unless you really know that there is something hidden from the people, like, you know, may Allah protect us, you're guilty of a major sin, but you're keeping it to yourself, and you're trying to get over it, or there's some sort of corruption that people are not aware of, or you know that there is something in you that would stop you from being a good leader,
you know that, some obligations that you have, but if people push you to a position, you should ask Allah for protection, and you should take that position and do right by it, because this is the methodology that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam wanted to establish in this ummah, that people don't seek it, but instead it seeks them, because the people find them to be qualified, and they put them in that position. Number two, it's important for you to not only assess yourself, but to ask people that will be sincere in their advice to you, and that will not hold back in telling you whether or not you should do it. Meaning what? Look, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, out of love for Abu Dharr said, you're weak. If the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, you know, some of us would say, that's hurtful, why didn't the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam just say, Abu Dharr, you can be the leader, because he loved him, and he told him that, he put his hand on his shoulder and said, listen, I'm telling you this out of love for you, you're weak, you don't belong in a position of leadership. So a person should go and seek those type of advisors if they are approached, and they should be willing to hear the right answer, and don't go looking for people that are going to confirm what you're already doing, no, go to people that you really know will give you sound advice, and that will give you sincere advice, and tell them, look, don't hold back, and if they call you weak, don't punch them in the face, right? They're abiding by the sunnah, let them, hear it out from them, but seek that from people. And Imam al-Ghazali, he says that nothing should cause you to take a position except for the truth, and nothing should cause you to withhold yourself from a position except for the truth. So he says that it's the fear of Allah, that fear of Allah at the end of the day, that connection with Allah that Omar mentioned to Sa'ad that's so essential to a position of leadership,
he said the fear of Allah is what scares a person into refraining from leadership when they know that they're not the best for it, when they know that they're not the most qualified. So it's the fear of Allah that keeps them back, and it's also the fear of Allah that would make them take it when they see that the job is not being done, and the people are pushing them to it, and they know that they're qualified to do it. So that's also the fear of Allah. It's the haq that motivates them to hold back, and the haq that motivates them to go forward. It's the truth, it's not themselves. Well, how do I know? How do I know? There are two things, two questions now. Number one, you have to question yourself. Would you only do the work in a leadership role? Would you only do the work in a leadership role? Meaning what? If you're not committed to the cause without position, then the position is just for your ego. If it's really about the cause, if it's really about doing, then you're going to find a way to work and do things for the sake of Allah, whether you have a position or not. If you only show up to get to work, making the position conditional upon, like, I've got to be in a place of leadership or a place of position, or else I'm not going to do it, then that's problematic. You know, may Allah, and I have to be careful because I know the brother is watching. There's one brother, and he knows who he is, in Mazda-ul-Baqir, where I was imam in New Orleans. People didn't know when he was or wasn't on the board because he was always working his heart out. He was doing his best all the time. So people thought he was on the board even when he wasn't on the board. People didn't know when he was voted out, when he was voted in. People just assumed because he was, not because he was asserting himself, but because mashallah the brother is always working. Like, whether he had a position on the board or not, he was always in the masjid, always doing his thing. He could care less about it. And I used to laugh when people would think he's the president of the board and he's not even on the board. Subhanallah. And people put him on there and force him on there.
That's the spirit that we should have. I'm committed. I'm going to work. If the position comes, I'll do my best with it. If the position doesn't come, I'm still going to do my best. I will still be present and I will still do my best. Number two, and this is a question that's actually derived from a poem. It's a poem from Bilal ibn Abi Burda. Bilal ibn Abi Burda, radiyallahu anhu, says something beautiful about Umar ibn Abdul Aziz. He says, wa tazidanna atyabat tibi tiba, that you make the most beautiful perfume smell even better. And he says about the khilafah, an kanat laha sharaf faqad sharraftaha, if the khilafah has nobility to it, you just made it more noble. You made the khilafah noble. What does that mean? You have to ask yourself. Is the position beautifying you or are you beautifying the position? Is the position beautifying you or are you beautifying the position? Meaning what? And this again on a practical level, a very practical level. They have people that make these irrelevant titles relevant by the amount of work that they do and by the goodness that they bring forth. And they have people that make relevant titles irrelevant because of the lack of work that they do and the lack of goodness they bring to it. So are you beautifying the position or is the position beautifying you? Does the title make you or do you make the title? And that's a question that we have to ask ourselves. The last point that I'll make here, and this is one that we often forget in our sincerity. We often forget that sometimes the most qualified for a position isn't necessarily the most religious. Why? Because Abu Dharr had more taqwa and more sidq and truthfulness than anybody. But he was not qualified to even lead two people. And sometimes we make that mistake where we assume that just because a person has taqwa and just because a person has salah and righteousness that they belong in a leadership role. Some people have personality flaws or they have obligations or things that would stop them from being good leaders.
It's not just he's a good brother or she's a good sister. It goes beyond that. Do they have leadership qualities along with that? And this is where we see the wisdom of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam putting everyone in their place. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam didn't make Khalid a governor. Khalid belonged in the battlefield. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam knew who to send to Yemen, he knew who to send to Medina, he knew who to appoint in different places. He calculated these things thoroughly, not just on the basis of their righteousness. These are his companions, but on the basis of their qualifications and how well they would do in those positions. So he chose people perfectly, alayhi salatu wasalam. And the hadith that I'll use here to conclude, and it's a funny one, but subhanallah it has so much humility in it and so much wisdom. It's the hadith which is actually narrated in Bukhari. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam walked by some people and they were planting some trees. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam gave them a suggestion on how to plant their trees. And when they took the suggestion of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, you know what happened? The tree died, and the fruit stopped. It actually wasn't good advice from an agricultural perspective. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam passed by their garden and he said, what happened to your trees? They said, Ya Rasulallah, you said so and so. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, Antum a'lamu bi amri dunyakum. You are more knowledgeable in regards to your worldly affairs. Meaning I wasn't giving you this advice as a prophet, I was giving it to you as someone just in my own experience of zira'at, my own experience of planting. I thought maybe that's the best thing for you to do. But you should, you know, don't feel like you're compelled in this worldly affair. Antum a'lamu bi amri dunyakum. The most religious person in the world ever said you are more knowledgeable in regards to your worldly affairs. That's a great lesson for us. That we should know our capacities. Rahimallahu imran alima qudratu nafsi.
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said may Allah have mercy on a person who knows his limits, knows their bounds. Just because I'm qualified in this regard doesn't mean I'm qualified in that regard. So if people, sometimes people will think you're qualified for something by virtue of your greatness, and by virtue of your nobility, and by virtue of your taqwa, you have to be able to say actually I don't think I really fit that position. Okay, I don't think I actually should be leading that position. But you're this, and you're that. But I also don't have experience in this regard. I don't have knowledge in this regard. You do better giving it to so and so, who's also a good brother, a good sister, but maybe they might not be as good as that person is, but still, they have more experience in it, and they also have the qualifications of taqwa and righteousness. They're better in that position. So we need to also understand this when we're allotting positions, whether it's to others or to ourselves. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us to that which is best for us in our dunya, in our deen. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala always put us in the positions that are pleasing to Him. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not allow our nafus, our egos, to obstruct the truth in regards to our own affairs, in regards to the affairs of others. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to fulfill the trust that He has entrusted us with in any capacity. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us for any shortcomings, and not let us be deluded by any of the pleasures, or the titles, or the wealth of this world. Allahuma Ameen.
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