rulers act unjustly by reserving privileges for themselves (1), and people cannot patiently endure their injustice; nor can they put an end to it except by means that produce even greater corruption. Yet because a person longs to secure his rights and ward off injustice from himself, he does not consider the widespread corruption his actions will engender.
For this reason, the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said: “After I am gone, you will encounter favoritism. So remain patient until you meet me at the Cistern.” (2)
The Sahih also relates in the hadith of Anas ibn Mālik and Usayd ibn Hudayr—may Allah be pleased with them both—that “a man from the Ansar said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, will you not appoint me as you appointed so-and-so?’ He replied, ‘After I am gone, you will encounter favoritism. So remain patient until you meet me at the Cistern.’” (3)
In another version [recorded by al-Bukhārī] (4), Yahyā ibn Saīd al-Ansārī heard Anas ibn Mālik say, when he accompanied him to al-Walīd: “The Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—summoned the Ansar to grant them portions of Bahrain. They said, ‘No—not unless you also grant our brothers among the
(1) That is, by reserving privileges for himself.
(2) This hadith appeared previously in abridged form in this volume, p. 240. It is recorded with this wording in al-Bukhārī, 5/33, and Muslim, 3/1474. See the preceding discussion.
(3) This hadith appeared previously in abridged form in this volume, p. 240, and is repeated with this wording on p. 257. Al-Bukhārī, 5/33, records it from Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—with the wording, “Indeed, after I am gone, you will encounter…,” and from Anas ibn Mālik, from Usayd ibn Hudayr—may Allah be pleased with them both—with the wording, “After I am gone, you will encounter…” (*The Book of the Merits of the Ansar*, chapter: “The Prophet’s statement to the Ansar: ‘Remain patient until you meet me at the Cistern’”—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The first version is also narrated from Usayd ibn Hudayr in Muslim, 3/1474 (*The Book of Governance*, chapter: “The command to remain patient in the face of rulers’ injustice and their reserving privileges for themselves”). The hadith is also narrated from Anas ibn Mālik with similar wording in *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 3/166, 171.
(4) “Recorded by al-Bukhārī” is omitted from N, M, and W.