Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “It is incumbent upon the ruler to judge by what Allah has revealed and to discharge the trust. When he does so, it is incumbent upon the subjects to listen and obey.”
Abu Ali Hassan ibn Sa‘d al-Mani‘i informed us; Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmash al-Ziyadi narrated to us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Qattan narrated to us; Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Sulami narrated to us; Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Ma‘mar narrated to us, from Hammam ibn Munabbih, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah, and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allah. Whoever obeys the commander has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys the commander has disobeyed me.” (1)
Abd al-Wahid ibn Ahmad al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Nu‘aymi narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il narrated to us; Musaddad narrated to us; Yahya ibn Sa‘id narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah, who said: Nafi‘ related to me, from Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “Listening and obedience are required of a Muslim in what he likes and what he dislikes, so long as he is not commanded to commit a sin. If he is commanded to commit a sin, then there is no listening and no obedience.” (2)
[Abu al-Hasan Abd al-Rahman Muhammad al-Darawardi informed us] (3); Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Salt narrated to us; Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Samad al-Hashimi narrated to us; Abu Mus‘ab narrated to us, from Malik ibn Anas, from Yahya ibn Sa‘id, who informed us that Ubadah ibn al-Walid ibn Ubadah said that his father informed him, from Ubadah ibn al-Samit, who said: “We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, to listen and obey in ease and hardship, in what was pleasing and what was burdensome; even when others were given preference over us; not to contest the authority of those entrusted with it; and to speak the truth wherever we might be, fearing no blame from any blamer for the sake of Allah.” (4)
Abu Abdullah Abd al-Rahman ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Qaffal informed us; Abu Mansur Ahmad ibn al-Fadl al-Burujirdi narrated to us; Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Hamdan al-Sayrafi narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kudaymi narrated to us, who said: Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi informed us, from Shu‘bah, from Abu al-Tayyah, from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Abu Dharr: “Listen and obey, even if it be an Abyssinian slave whose head is like a raisin.” (5)