71 — Abū Zakariyyā Yahyā ibn Muhammad al-Hinnāʾī also informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd ibn Hassāb narrated to us, saying: Hammād ibn Zayd narrated to us, saying: Layth narrated to us, from Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abd al-A‘lā, from Suwayd ibn Ghafala, who said: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—said to me: “I do not know; perhaps you will outlive me. Therefore, obey the ruler, even if a mutilated Abyssinian slave is appointed over you. If he wrongs you, be patient; if he deprives you, be patient; and if he summons you to something that causes you worldly loss, say: ‘I hear and obey. Let my blood be shed before my religion is compromised.’” ⦗381⦘

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn said: If someone asks, “How, in your view, should ‘Umar’s words be understood?” he should be told: They may mean—and Allah knows best—that whoever is appointed over you, whether Arab or otherwise, black or white, or non-Arab, you must obey him in all that does not involve disobedience to Allah. Even if he denies you a right that is yours, strikes you unjustly, violates your honor, or takes your property, do not let that drive you to take up your sword against him and fight him. Do not join ⦗382⦘ any rebel who fights him, and do not incite anyone else to rebel against him. Rather, bear his conduct patiently.

It is also possible that he may summon you to something that compromises your religion in a different way: he may order you to kill someone who does not deserve to be killed, sever the limb of someone who does not deserve that, strike someone whom it is unlawful to strike, take the property of someone whose property you have no right to take, or wrong someone whom neither he nor you is permitted to wrong. You are not permitted to obey him in any of this. If he says to you, “If you do not do as I command, I will kill you or beat you,” then say: “Let my blood be shed before my religion is compromised,” because the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “No creature may be obeyed in disobedience to the Creator, Mighty and Majestic,” and he—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “Obedience is only in what is right.”