The Book of Jihad, Military Expeditions, and Authority-09a
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reciter: And Sa'id ibn Mansur and Qutaybah ibn Sa'id narrated to us, both from Ya'qub. Sa'id said: Ya'qub ibn 'Abd al-Rahman narrated to us from Abu Hazim from Abu al-Salam al-Samman from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1836.
The Shaykh :: Its apparent meaning is obligation, like the saying of the Exalted: [Al-Ma'idah 5:23], "Obedience is required of you," meaning it is obligatory for you to listen and obey in hardship and ease, meaning whether there is hardship for you in that or not, and in enthusiasm and reluctance. Enthusiasm means eagerness, and reluctance means laziness.
And "when you are disadvantaged" means if the one in authority takes for himself something from the wealth, lands, or other things, you must still listen and obey even if he takes for himself. Even if it were imposed on you that the public treasury is less than your needs, and he takes from the public treasury whatever he wishes, here there is no doubt that he is taking for himself, yet you must listen and obey. Do not say, "Why do you not give me what you take?" But we say: You must listen and obey, even if you find that you are disadvantaged. And this is, in reality, what regulates the community, because if the community remained in a state where this one accepts and complies, and that one does not accept and rebels, chaos would ensue, and evil and corruption would spread.
So it is obligatory to listen and obey in all circumstances, as long as they do not order disobedience to Allah.
It is obligatory for you to listen to the ruler and obey him in adversity and prosperity, in pleasure and displeasure, and even when another person is given (rather undue) preference over you.
عَلَيْكَ السَّمْعَ وَالطَّاعَةَ فِي عُسْرِكَ وَيُسْرِكَ، وَمَنْشَطِكَ وَمَكْرَهِكَ، وَأَثَرَةٍ عَلَيْكَThe Shaykh :
Obedience is required of you.
عليك السمع والطاعةToward...
علىAnd upon Allah rely
وعلى الله فتوكلواAnd "when you are disadvantaged" means if the one in authority takes for himself something from the wealth, lands, or other things, you must still listen and obey even if he takes for himself. Even if it were imposed on you that the public treasury is less than your needs, and he takes from the public treasury whatever he wishes, here there is no doubt that he is taking for himself, yet you must listen and obey. Do not say, "Why do you not give me what you take?" But we say: You must listen and obey, even if you find that you are disadvantaged. And this is, in reality, what regulates the community, because if the community remained in a state where this one accepts and complies, and that one does not accept and rebels, chaos would ensue, and evil and corruption would spread.
So it is obligatory to listen and obey in all circumstances, as long as they do not order disobedience to Allah.