the school; a teacher who is in charge of his classroom; and even an imam who is in charge of the mosque.
Hence the Prophet said, “Whoever is put in charge of any matter of my ummah….” The word “any matter”—shayʾan—is an indefinite noun in a conditional clause, and the scholars of legal theory state that an indefinite noun in such a context conveys universality: whatever the matter may be. He then said, “…and is gentle with them, be gentle with him.” But what exactly is gentleness?
Some people imagine that gentleness means giving people whatever they crave and desire. That is not the case. Genuine gentleness is to lead people according to what Allah and His Messenger have commanded, while choosing the easiest and kindest path for them and never burdening them with anything that Allah and His Messenger did not impose. If you burden them with something for which Allah and His Messenger gave no warrant, you fall into the second category mentioned in the hadith—namely the supplication that Allah make things hard for you, may Allah protect us.
Hardship may befall such a person through afflictions in his body, his heart, his chest, his family, or otherwise, because the wording of the hadith is unrestricted: “so make things hard for him,” in whatever form that hardship takes. It may not even be apparent to people; a fire could be raging in his heart while those around him are unaware. What we do know is that anyone who imposes hardship on the ummah in matters for which Allah has sent down no authority deserves this supplication from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for the second hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that the Children of Israel were governed by their prophets: prophets would be sent to them and would set their affairs aright. He then said, “and there will be no prophet after me,” for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets by explicit text and by unanimous agreement, as Allah the Exalted says, “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets” (al-Ahzab 33:40).