6/286 — Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Any woman who dies while her husband is pleased with her will enter Paradise.” Related by al-Tirmidhi, who said, “A sound ḥadīth.”

[Explanation]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—quoted the statement transmitted from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you will be questioned about his flock.”

This address is directed to the entire community, in which the Messenger, peace be upon him, makes clear that every person is a shepherd and accountable for his flock. A shepherd is the one who oversees something: he seeks its benefits and secures them, and he perceives its harms and keeps it away from them—just as the shepherd of sheep looks for fertile pasture and drives the flock to it while avoiding barren ground and refusing to leave them there.

In the same way, all human beings: every individual is a shepherd and every individual is responsible for his flock. A ruler is a shepherd and answerable for his subjects, yet rulers differ in the extent of their authority and the regions they govern. One may be the ruler of a small village, so his responsibility is limited; another may govern a large city, so his responsibility is greater; and another may be in charge of an entire nation—such as a sovereign who has no superior in his domain: the king in our land, the presidents in other countries, or the Commanders of the Faithful in the times of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan, ʿAli ibn Abi Talib, and the caliphs of the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, and others besides them.

Thus shepherds differ, and so do their flocks—or, rather, the scope of their guardianship—ranging from broad and weighty responsibilities