His words, “each one will make the next gentle,” mean that every tribulation renders the one before it seem mild—light in weight compared with the enormity of what follows it; thus the second trial softens the first. Some scholars said it means that each trial makes the next seem desirable by painting it in attractive colors and tempting people toward it, while others said it signifies that they will resemble one another.

674 – Abu Hunaydah Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Salamah ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “O Prophet of Allah, what do you command us to do if rulers are placed over us who demand their rights from us yet withhold our rights from them?” The Prophet turned away from him; when he repeated the question, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Listen and obey, for they are responsible for what has been laid upon them and you are responsible for what has been laid upon you.” Reported by Muslim.

675 – ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “After me you will see favouritism and matters you will disapprove of.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what do you command the one among us who encounters that?” He replied, “Fulfil the rights that are due from you and ask Allah for the rights that are due to you.” Agreed upon.

676 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah, and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allah; whoever obeys the ruler has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys the ruler has disobeyed me.” Agreed upon.

677 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever finds something he dislikes from his leader should remain patient, for whoever parts from the authority even a handspan (1) will die the death of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.” Agreed upon.

678 – Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “Whoever…"