to the first, then the next, and that they be given (1) their due.
In the two Sahīh collections, [Abd Allah] (2) ibn Masūd said: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said to us:
“You will witness self-serving favoritism after me, as well as matters you will condemn.”
They asked, “What do you command us to do, O Messenger of Allah?”
He replied:
“Give them their due, and ask Allah for what is due to you.”
Another wording states:
“There will be self-serving favoritism, as well as matters you will condemn.”
They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what do you command us to do?”
He replied:
“Fulfill the duty incumbent upon you, and ask Allah for what is due to you.” (3)
In the two Sahīh collections, Ubāda ibn al-Sāmit said:
“We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—promising to hear and obey in ease and hardship (4), in what we liked and disliked, even when others were favored over us; not to contest authority with those to whom it belonged; and to speak the truth wherever we might be, fearing no reproach from any critic for Allah’s sake.” (5)
(1) N reads: “that you give them [their due].”
(2) “Abd Allāh” is an addition in A and B.
(3) The hadith narrated by Abd Allāh ibn Masūd—may Allah be pleased with him—is found in al-Bukhārī, 9/47 (Book of Tribulations, chapter on the Prophet’s statement—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“After me, you will witness matters that you condemn”); Muslim, 3/1472 (Book of Leadership, chapter on the obligation to honor pledges of allegiance to successive caliphs); Sunan al-Tirmidhī (Medina ed.), 3/327 (Book of Tribulations, chapter on reports concerning self-serving favoritism); and al-Musnad (al-Maārif ed.), 5/231–232, 242; 6/64.
(4) N and M read: “in hardship and ease.”
(5) The hadith narrated by Ubāda ibn al-Sāmit—may Allah be pleased with him—is found in al-Bukhārī, 9/47 (Book of Tribulations, chapter on the Prophet’s statement—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“After me, you will witness matters that you condemn”); Muslim, 3/1470–1471 (Book of Leadership, chapter on the obligation to obey rulers in matters that do not entail disobedience); Sunan al-Nasāī, 7/124–126 (Book of the Pledge of Allegiance: chapters on pledging to hear and obey, pledging not to contest authority with those to whom it belongs, pledging to speak the truth, pledging to speak with justice, and pledging allegiance despite self-serving favoritism); Sunan Ibn Mājah, 2/957 (Book of Jihad, chapter on the pledge of allegiance); al-Muwatta, 2/445–446 (Book of Jihad, chapter on encouragement to jihad); and al-Musnad (al-Halabī ed.), 3/441; 5/314, 316. The hadith also appears elsewhere in al-Musnad.