Does the appointment of some of the righteous to authority diminish their rank compared to those who are righteous but do not take on governance?
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Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner asks: Does the appointment of some of the righteous to the caliphate or authority diminish their rank compared to those who are righteous but do not take on governance, by analogy with the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them)?
Answer:
If one takes on governance and reforms it, that is a great deed. But if one takes on governance for the sake of arrogance, pride, and oppression, there is no doubt that he is deficient in rank, a wrongdoer against himself, and a wrongdoer against the people. So let the one who takes on governance do so with the intention that he will establish the limits of Allah, uphold the Shari'ah, enjoin good, and forbid evil. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hajj 22:40-41] If We have established them in the land, look: [Al-Hajj 22:41] Yes.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner asks: Does the appointment of some of the righteous to the caliphate or authority diminish their rank compared to those who are righteous but do not take on governance, by analogy with the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them)?
Answer:
If one takes on governance and reforms it, that is a great deed. But if one takes on governance for the sake of arrogance, pride, and oppression, there is no doubt that he is deficient in rank, a wrongdoer against himself, and a wrongdoer against the people. So let the one who takes on governance do so with the intention that he will establish the limits of Allah, uphold the Shari'ah, enjoin good, and forbid evil. Allah the Exalted said:
And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.
وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ الَّذِينَ[And they are] those who, if We give them authority in the land, establish prayer and give zakah and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. And to Allah belongs the outcome of [all] matters.
إِن مَّكَّنَّاهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَمَرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [161 -858] هل تولي بعض الصالحين للإمارة ينقص مرتبتهم عمن لم يتولّ الحكم وهو من الصالحين؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.