rather, that should be grounds for refusing him; for it is reported in the Sahīh that some people came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked him for public office. He said:

“We do not entrust this authority of ours to anyone who asks for it.”

He also said to ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Samurah:

“O ‘Abd al-Rahmān, do not ask for authority. If you are given it without asking, you will be helped in discharging it; but if you are given it after asking, you will be left to manage it on your own.”

Both compilers recorded it in the two Sahīhs. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, also said:

“Whoever seeks judicial office and enlists help to obtain it will be left to manage it on his own. But whoever neither seeks judicial office nor enlists help to obtain it, Allah will send down an angel to guide him aright.”

It was reported by the compilers of the Sunan.

If he passes over the most deserving and suitable candidate in favor of another because of kinship, a bond arising from manumission, friendship, or shared ties of locality, school of thought, religious path, or ethnic origin—such as Arab, Persian, Turkish, or Roman—or because of a bribe he receives from him, whether money or some benefit, or for any other such reason; or because he harbors resentment toward the more deserving candidate, or because of enmity between them, then he has betrayed Allah, His Messenger, and the believers. He has committed what Allah Most High forbade in His words:

“O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, or knowingly betray your trusts.”

Then He said:

“And know that your wealth and your children are but a trial, and that with Allah is a great reward.”

For a man’s love for his child or his freed slave may lead him to favor that person in certain appointments or give him what he does not deserve, thereby betraying his trust. Likewise, he may favor him for the sake of an increase in