The authenticity of the attribution of Imam Ahmad’s supplication for the ruler
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : Your Eminence the Shaykh! There is a phrase attributed to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) during the time of the fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), which is his saying: “If I knew that I had a supplication that would be answered, I would make it for the ruler.” What is the authenticity of attributing this phrase to Imam Ahmad?
Answer : This phrase is famous, transmitted by mass transmission (mutawatir) from Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is also narrated from al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him). Imam Ahmad explained this by saying that the well-being of the Muslim community (ummah) depends on the well-being of the ruler, and he was truthful. But what do we say about the ignorant ones if the prince makes a mistake and we curse him? People, say, “May Allah guide him.” They say, “No,” as if guidance is in their hands. We do not say, “May Allah guide him,” but rather we say, “He does this and that.” These people do not know that they have deviated from the path of the Salaf (the earliest generations) in one respect, and in another respect, suppose this man perishes and dies. Is it not possible that the one after him will be worse than him? Strange, my brothers, by Allah.
And if you wish, look at the countries around us; how the second one succeeds the first and becomes worse than him, even if he remains.
And if I curse him, perhaps it will be answered and a great fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) will occur, a great fitnah that neither you nor anyone else can repel. So our duty and our obligation, we and our rulers, the scholars and the princes, is to ask Allah for their guidance. This is our duty and our obligation. Last question, Shaykh. Our turn. The iqamah (the second call, immediately before prayer) was not present. No, either I establish it or I establish it. If Allah wills, on Tuesday, if Allah wills. Tuesday. Adnan Dimu. I have my appointment. He dies.
Answer : This phrase is famous, transmitted by mass transmission (mutawatir) from Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is also narrated from al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him). Imam Ahmad explained this by saying that the well-being of the Muslim community (ummah) depends on the well-being of the ruler, and he was truthful. But what do we say about the ignorant ones if the prince makes a mistake and we curse him? People, say, “May Allah guide him.” They say, “No,” as if guidance is in their hands. We do not say, “May Allah guide him,” but rather we say, “He does this and that.” These people do not know that they have deviated from the path of the Salaf (the earliest generations) in one respect, and in another respect, suppose this man perishes and dies. Is it not possible that the one after him will be worse than him? Strange, my brothers, by Allah.
And if you wish, look at the countries around us; how the second one succeeds the first and becomes worse than him, even if he remains.
And if I curse him, perhaps it will be answered and a great fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) will occur, a great fitnah that neither you nor anyone else can repel. So our duty and our obligation, we and our rulers, the scholars and the princes, is to ask Allah for their guidance. This is our duty and our obligation. Last question, Shaykh. Our turn. The iqamah (the second call, immediately before prayer) was not present. No, either I establish it or I establish it. If Allah wills, on Tuesday, if Allah wills. Tuesday. Adnan Dimu. I have my appointment. He dies.
Source
لقاء مع طلاب جامعة الإمام بمسجد الإسكان — archive.org (31:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.