Some people praise some of the rulers with good and truth always. Is this correct, because this falls under the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever does not thank people does not thank Allah”?
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The questioner : ...praising some of the rulers with good and truth always. Is this correct? And the one I praised and eulogized, I did so in the context of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1954Sahih (Darussalam), which explains the virtue of these people... There is much good in them... It is merely advice and enjoining good and forbidding evil.
The Shaykh : Al-Bukhari intended [to refer to] the one who praises the ruler in his presence, but when he leaves, he says something else; or the one who praises the ruler in the presence of someone who will convey the praise to the ruler, but when he leaves, he says something else. As for the one who speaks about the ruler in a place other than his presence, it is obligatory to defend the ruler’s honor, because just as it is obligatory for us to defend the honor of our general brothers, so it is obligatory for us to defend the honor of the ruler, a fortiori. This is because people attacking the ruler’s honor leads to hatred for them, non-compliance with their orders, and opposing them, which is a great harm. However, if a questioner asks you seeking the truth, then it is obligatory for you to clarify what good is in the ruler and what evil is in him. Or if you wish to speak about what is in the ruler regarding matters he should not do, to a person you are confident will benefit the ruler, then there is no harm in limiting yourself to what is in the ruler of deviation, without mentioning the [good] things. The categories are three; we will mention them after the adhan, if Allah wills.
Whoever is not grateful to the people, he is not grateful to Allah.
من لا يشكر الناس لا يشكر اللهThe Shaykh : Al-Bukhari intended [to refer to] the one who praises the ruler in his presence, but when he leaves, he says something else; or the one who praises the ruler in the presence of someone who will convey the praise to the ruler, but when he leaves, he says something else. As for the one who speaks about the ruler in a place other than his presence, it is obligatory to defend the ruler’s honor, because just as it is obligatory for us to defend the honor of our general brothers, so it is obligatory for us to defend the honor of the ruler, a fortiori. This is because people attacking the ruler’s honor leads to hatred for them, non-compliance with their orders, and opposing them, which is a great harm. However, if a questioner asks you seeking the truth, then it is obligatory for you to clarify what good is in the ruler and what evil is in him. Or if you wish to speak about what is in the ruler regarding matters he should not do, to a person you are confident will benefit the ruler, then there is no harm in limiting yourself to what is in the ruler of deviation, without mentioning the [good] things. The categories are three; we will mention them after the adhan, if Allah wills.