Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them), who said: “Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock”

The Shaykh: Here is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: . Then he elaborates on this general statement: . This is a general text that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) detailed with some examples, saying: The intended meaning of "ruler" here is the one in authority over the people, either the general authority, which is the Caliph, or the specific authority, which is the one appointed by the Caliph, meaning the governor. So the ruler over the people can have two meanings: the general meaning, where there is no ruler above him, and he is the Caliph of the Muslims; this is naturally responsible for his flock. And it includes the ruler whom that first ruler and the Muslim Caliph appointed. This is the second meaning. This second meaning of the ruler, i.e., the governor whom the Caliph appointed, is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended in some authentic hadiths, such as the hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sari'ah, who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a sermon that caused our eyes to flow with tears and our hearts to tremble. So we said: O Messenger of Allah, give us advice. He said: . The point is: . This governor is not the Caliph, but rather the one whom the Caliph appointed over the people. . How do we know that the appointed one in this hadith is not the Caliph, but rather the one whom the Caliph appointed? We are now discussing the ruler over the people, clarifying it because it has two meanings: the first meaning is the absolute ruler, which means the Caliph, and the second meaning is the restricted ruler, the one appointed by the Caliph and entrusted by him with the governance of something or the command of something. This ruler, in the second meaning, whom the Caliph appoints, is the intended one in the hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sari'ah when he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . How do we know that this appointed one is a ruler appointed by the Caliph and not the Caliph himself? The answer is that we know this by recalling one of the conditions of the Caliph. One of the conditions of the Caliph is that he must be free, and not only that, but also that he must be an Arab Qurayshi. So when he said: , we understood that he does not mean the Caliph, because the Caliph is required to be free and to be an Arab Qurayshi. Therefore, his (peace and blessings be upon him) statement in this hadith, “The ruler over the people is a shepherd,” intends every ruler, whether his authority and governance is general, i.e., the Muslim ruler who is the Caliph with no ruler above him, or whether his authority and governance is specific, i.e., the one appointed by the first one, the Caliph. So both of them are shepherds, and each is responsible for his flock.
From this comes the fact that the judge, for example, the mu'adhdhin, the imam—these are shepherds. These are governors over the community. Who appointed them? Naturally, the Muslim Caliph, the Muslim ruler, appointed them. So their authority is specific, and the one who appointed them has general authority. Just as it is obligatory for the governor of the first category, i.e., general authority, to care for the affairs of the community and to give them sincere advice, including not appointing over them anyone except one he knows will give sincere advice to the community, so too these governors whom the Muslim ruler appointed over the people in any matter or any of the affairs of the Muslims—these too must give sincere advice in their governance to their community. The judge, for example, is appointed by the ruler, by the Muslim Caliph, because the Caliph usually cannot perform all the duties of the state. So in this situation, he must appoint someone to take charge of some of the affairs of the community. Among these, for example, is the judiciary, giving fatwas, leading prayers in mosques, delivering sermons on the minbars, and the like. Just as the first governor must care for the affairs of the community and give them sincere advice, so too these governors with specific authority from the holder of general authority must also give sincere advice to their community and care for their affairs, and not leave them neglected. And so, in reality, this hadith: is one of the comprehensive words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); because hardly any person of obligation is excluded from it, where he has a specific care and responsibility for some of the affairs of an individual or a group of individuals or a group of the community, even a slave. The slave is a shepherd over his master's wealth, and he is responsible for his master's wealth.
Likewise, and this is what concerns every one of us, whether a husband or a wife. The man is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock, and the woman is also a shepherd and is responsible for her flock, her husband and her children. What is the care of the man and what is the care of the woman? It is not hidden from the Muslim that the care of the man is to do everything that is obligatory upon him toward his wife and his children, in terms of spending, upbringing, and education with the obligatory Islamic culture that is necessary, i.e., the amount by which the child of that man knows how to worship Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and how to believe in Him with the faith by which he is saved with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So these various cares, the most important thing that concerns us as individuals is the man and the woman.