Once the ruler and the subjects had changed, each person was obliged to fulfill whatever duties lay within his ability and refrain from what had been forbidden to him; what Allah had permitted him did not thereby become forbidden.

People may be afflicted by an official who refuses gifts and the like merely so that he can more effectively exact wrongful dues from them, yet neglects the duty Allah has imposed upon him to attend to their needs. They therefore prefer someone who accepts payment from them to shield them from injustice and fulfill a lawful need to an official of that kind. The first official has sold his Hereafter for someone else’s worldly gain—and no one makes a more ruinous bargain than one who sells his Hereafter for another’s worldly gain.

What is required, rather, is to shield them from injustice to the extent possible and to attend to those needs without which the people’s welfare cannot be secured. This includes conveying their needs to the ruler, informing him of their circumstances, directing him to what serves their interests, and turning him away from what harms them, using all manner of subtle and forthright means—just as secretaries and others with private aims do in pursuit of their own ends. In the hadith of Hind ibn Abī Hālah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would say: “Convey to me the need of anyone unable to convey it himself. Whoever conveys to a ruler the need of someone unable to convey it, Allah will make his feet firm upon the Bridge on the Day when feet will slip.” (1)