4/662 – ʿIyāḍ ibn Ḥimār (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) say, “The people of Paradise fall into three groups: a ruler who is just and whom Allah enables to act rightly; a man who is gentle and merciful, soft-hearted toward every relative and toward every Muslim; and a modest, self-restrained man who supports a family.” Related by Muslim.

[Explanation]

Al-Nawawī (d. 676 AH) says in his Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, in the chapter on the virtue of the just leader: ʿAwf ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said, “The best of your leaders are those whom you love and who love you, for whom you pray and who pray for you; and the worst of your leaders are those whom you hate and they hate you, whom you curse and they curse you.”

The term “leaders” here refers to those in authority—whether the supreme ruler of a country or anyone below him.

Such leaders are of two types. The first are those whom we love and who love us. You will find us giving them sincere advice, and they in turn give us sincere advice. We love them because they discharge the duty Allah has laid on them: to offer sincere counsel to those over whom He has placed them. It is well known that whoever fulfils this duty becomes beloved to Allah, and then beloved to the people on earth as well.

These leaders who meet their obligations are therefore loved by their subjects.

As for his words, “they pray for you and you pray for them,” the word “pray” here means supplicate: you supplicate for them, and they supplicate for you—you ask Allah to guide them and to set