may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“When three people set out on a journey, let them appoint one of them as their leader.”

Abū Dāwūd also relates the same in his Sunan from Abū Hurayrah.

In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“It is not lawful for three people to be in an open wilderness without appointing one of them as their leader.”

Since he made it obligatory to appoint one of their number as leader even in the smallest groups and the briefest gatherings, this indicates that doing so is obligatory in larger gatherings. Thus, holding authority—for someone who undertakes it as an act of devotion through which he draws near to Allah and fulfills its duties to the best of his ability—is among the finest righteous deeds. Indeed, Imam Ahmad relates in his Musnad that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The most beloved of creation to Allah is a just ruler, and the most hated of creation to Allah is an unjust ruler.”

Section

Since the essence of religion and of all offices of authority lies in commanding and forbidding, the commanding with which Allah sent His Messenger is enjoining what is right, and the forbidding with which He sent him is forbidding what is wrong. This is a characteristic of the Prophet and the believers, as Allah Most High says:

“The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.”

This is obligatory upon every Muslim who is able. It is a collective obligation, and it becomes