224. They do not have the entire hadith but it is the hadith ofWaabisah. (cont.)

. " In one of the narrations recorded by Ahmad and ibn Maajah, there is the following important additional wording, tP J "" J ,,,. ,,. J "" :!.DI.A II 0 r:.1;._ · .' I I.A 1'.J ಋ "When he is asked to do something sinful, he should not hear nor obey." 1 Al-Tiraiqi, Taah, pp. 25-27. 2 lbn Abu al-Izz, vol. 2, pp. 542-543. Hadith #28: "I advise you to have taqwa . . . " In an important passage, ibn Taimiya also wrote, They [the ahl al-sunnah al-jamaah] do not allow the obedience to the ruler in everything he orders. They do not require obedience to him except in what the shareeah has made permissible for him to be obeyed in. It is not allowed to obey him in matters of disobedience to Allah, even if he is a just ruler. If he orders the people to obey Allah, they obey him. For example, if he orders them to establish the prayer, pay the zakah, be honest and just, make the hajj and jihad for the sake of Allah [they obey him]. In reality, they are obeying Allah. And if a disbeliever or an evil-doer orders what is an act of obedience to Allah, that does not make that act forbidden. Indeed, the obligation to fulfill that obligation is not dropped simply because the order came from an evildoer. In the same way, if [the evildoer] speaks the truth, it is not allowed to belie him. The obligation to follow the truth is not dropped simply because that truth has come from an evildoer.1 Al-Dumaiji points out that this means that this important act of obedience to the ruler is not one of blind obedience. It is not, he says, the kind of obedience that is taught in the military or among the Sufi groups.2 Instead, one must look to see what has been ordered. One must study it to see if it is an act of disobedience to Allah or not. If it is clearly an act of disobedience, then one has no option except to refuse such a command. If it is not a clear act of disobedience or if it is a matter of difference in ijtihaad, then the ruler has the right to be obeyed in what he has ordered. 3 Ibo Taimiya states that one must first have knowledge that what is being ordered is not an act of disobedience to Allah before he fulfills the commands of those in authority.4 Ibo Uthaimeen states that if a ruler orders people to do what is forbidden, they should openly disobey him and not be concerned with that matter. But, he points out, this does not mean that he is not to be obeyed in the other orders that he has commanded. If he is the rightful ruler, he is not to be obeyed in anything which is disobedience to Allah but he is to be obeyed in other matters. 5 1 Quoted in al-Dumaiji, p. 393. 2 Today, there are many who take baiah or the oath of allegiance from others. They think that this oath requires blind and unqestioned obedience from those who make that pledge. However, such is never the case in Islam. Obedience is always conditioned by the fact that the follower must know that the action he is told to do is sanctioned or permitted in the shareeah. 3 Al-Dumaiji, p. 390. 4 lbn Taimiya, Majmoo, vol. 10, p. 267. 5 lbn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh, vol. 3, p. 333. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "even if a slave is a leader over you." Many of the narrations of this hadith explicitly mention an "Abyssinian slave". This emphasizes not only that he is a slave but also that he is not from the tribe of the Quraish or an Arab. This must have had a strong impact upon the listeners at the time when the Prophet (peace be upon him) said this. This particular portion of the hadith has been interpreted in three different ways. There seems to be a widespread agreement that it is impermissible for a slave to be the ruler or leader. This is because a slave is not able to act freely but must obey his master. Hence, he is not qualified to be a leader and, in reality, he would not be the leader but his master would.1 For that reason, scholars have differed as to the exact meaning of this phrase. The first approach is that of al-Khattaabi. According to him, this phrase is meant only to emphasize the importance of obeying anyone that the ruler appoints in a position of authority, even if that person be an Abyssinian slave.2 It does not mean, he says, that it is permissible for the ruler to be a slave or that such would be the case.