even if he is otherwise qualified for it. For the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as reported in the hadith of Abu Musa just cited by the author, when the two men asked him to appoint them over some part of what Allah had placed under his authority, replied, “By Allah, we do not entrust this office to anyone who asks for it or shows eagerness for it.” That is, we do not grant authority to anyone who petitions to take command of something or displays keenness for it. The reason is that the person who seeks or covets such a post may well be aiming to secure power for himself rather than to set affairs right for the people. Since this suspicion exists, the Prophet ﷺ forbade appointing anyone who requests the governorship, saying, “By Allah, we do not entrust this office to anyone who asks for it or is eager for it.”

The same applies if someone were to ask for a judgeship, saying to the authority in charge of the judiciary—such as the minister of justice—“Appoint me judge in such-and-such city.” He should not be appointed. As for one who merely asks to be transferred from one locality to another, or something similar, this hadith does not apply to him, because he has already been appointed and is only requesting assignment to a different place—unless we know that his real intention is to hold sway over the inhabitants of that particular town. In that case he should be prevented, for actions are judged by intentions.

If someone were to object, “How do you reconcile this with Joseph’s (peace be upon him) words to the king, ‘Appoint me over the storehouses of the land; I am trustworthy and knowledgeable’?”—we reply in one of two ways.