The Book on Government

كتاب الإمارة

Chapter 28: The virtue of Jihad and going out (to fight) in the cause of Allah

It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira who said

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: I would not stay behind (when) an expedition (for Jihad was being mobilised) if it were going to be too hard upon the believers.... This is followed by the same words as have appeared in the previous tradition, but this tradition has the same ending as the previous hadith with a slight difference in the wording:" By the Being in Whose Hand is my life, I love that I should be killed in the way of Allah; then I should be brought back to life and be killed again in His way...."

Chapter 29: The virtue of Martyrdom in the cause of Allah

It has been narrated on the authority of Nu'man b. Bashir who said

As I was (sitting) near the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), a man said: I do not care if, after embracing Islam, I do not do any good deed (except) distributing drinking water among the pilgrims. Another said: I do not care if, after embracing Islam, I do not do any good deed beyond maintenance service to the Sacred Mosque. Another said: Jihad in the way of Allah is better than what you have said. 'Umar reprimanded them and said: Don't raise your voices near the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on Friday. When prayer was over, I entered (the apartment of the Holy Prophet) and asked his verdict about the matter in which they had differed. (It was upon this that) Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, revealed the Qur'anic verse:" Do you make the giving of drinking water to the pilgrims and the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque equal to (the service of those) who believe in Allah and the Last Day and strive hard in the cause of Allah. They are not equal in the sight of God. And Allah guides not the wrongdoing people" (ix. 20).

Chapter 30: The virtue of going out in the morning or the evening in the cause of Allah

It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

If some persons of my Umma (were not to undertake the hardships of Jihad), and he (Abu Huraira) then narrated the rest of the hadith and then said: A journey undertaken for jihad in the evening or morning merits a reward better than the world and all that is in it.

Chapter 31: The High Positions that Allah has prepared for the Mujahid in Paradise

It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Sa`id al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said (to him)

Abu Sa`id, whoever cheerfully accepts Allah as his Lord, Islam as his religion and Muhammad as his Apostle is necessarily entitled to enter Paradise. He (Abu Sa`id) wondered at it and said: Messenger of Allah, repeat it for me. He (the Messenger of Allah) did that and said: There is another act which elevates the position of a man in Paradise to a grade one hundred (higher), and the elevation between one grade and the other is equal to the height of the heaven from the earth. He (Abu Sa`id) said: What is that act? He replied: Jihad in the way of Allah! Jihad in the way of Allah!

Chapter 32: If a person is killed in the cause of Allah, all his sins will be expiated except debt

Another version of the tradition differently transmitted begins with the words

" A man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he was sitting on the pulpit.... He said: What do you find if I strike with the sword?" (The rest of the tradition is the same as the previous one.)

Chapter 35: Two Men, one of whom kills the other, and both will enter Paradise

It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

God laughs at the two men both of whom will enter Paradise (though) one of them kills the other. They said: Messenger of Allah, how is it? He said: One of them fights in the way of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted. and dies a martyr. Then God turns in mercy to the murderer who embraces Islam, fights in the way of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, and dies a martyr.

Chapter 37: The virtue of Charity in the Cause of Allah, and its Manifold reward

It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari who said A man brought a muzzled she-camel and said

It is (offered) in the way of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: For this you will have seven hundred she-camels on the Day of Judgment all of which will be muzzled.

A similar tradition has been narrated on the authority of al-A'mash.

Chapter 38: The virtue of helping the warrior who is fighting in the cause of Allah with mounts etc., and looking after his family in his absence

It has been narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that a young man from Aslam tribe said

Messenger of Allah, I wish to fight (in the way of Allah) but I don't have anything to equip myself with for fighting. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Go to so and so, for he had equipped himself (for fighting) but he fell ill. So, he (the young man) went to him and said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sends you his greetings and says that you should give me the equipage that you have provided yourself with. The man said (to his wife or maidservant): So and so, give him the equipage I have collected for myself and do not withhold anything from him. Do not withhold anything from him so that you may be blessed therein.

Chapter 1: The people follow the Quraish and the Caliphate belongs to the Quraish

It has been narrarted on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

People are subservient to the Quraish: the Muslims among them being subservient to the Muslims among them, and the disbelievers among the people being subservient to the disbelievers among them.

It has been narrated on the authority of Hammam b. Munabbih who said

This is one of the traditions narrated by Abu Huraira from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said: People are subservient to the Quraish: the Muslims among them being subservient to the Muslims among them, and the disbelievers among them being subservient to the disbelievers among them.

It has been reported on the authority of Jabir b. Samura who said

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The affairs of the people will continue to be conducted (well) as long as they are governed by twelve men. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said words which were obscure to me. I asked my father: What did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say? He said: All of the (twelve men) will be from the Quraish.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura through another chain of transmitters.

It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura who said

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Islam will continue to be triumphant until there have been twelve Caliphs. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said something which I could not understand. I asked my father: What did he say? He said: He has said that all of them (twelve Caliphs) will be from the Quraish.

It has been narrated on the authority of Amir b. Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas who said

I wrote (a letter) to Jabir b. Samura and sent it to him through my servant Nafi', asking him to inform me of something he had heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He wrote to me (in reply): I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say on Friday evening, the day on which al-Aslami was stoned to death (for committing adultery): The Islamic religion will continue until the Hour has been established, or you have been ruled over by twelve Caliphs, all of them being from the Quraish. also heard him say: A small force of the Muslims will capture the white palace, the police of the Persian Emperor or his descendants. I also heard him say: Before the Day of Judgment there will appear (a number of) impostors. You are to guard against them. I also heard him say: When God grants wealth to any one of you, he should first spend it on himself and his family (and then give it in charity to the poor). I heard him (also) say: I will be your forerunner at the Cistern (expecting your arrival).

Ibn Samura al-'Adawi reported

I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say, and he then narrated (the above-mentioned hadith).

Chapter 2: Appointing a successor or not doing so

It has been narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah b. 'Umar who said

I was present with my father when he was wounded. People praised him and said: May God give you a noble recompense! He said: I am hopeful (of God's mercy) as well as afraid (of His wrath) People said: Appoint anyone as your successor. He said: Should I carry the burden of conducting your affairs in my life as well as in my death? (So far as Caliphate is concerned) I wish I could acquit myself (before the Almighty) in a way that there is neither anything to my credit nor anything to my discredit. If I would appoint my successor, (I would because) one better than me did so. (He meant Abu Bakr.) If I would leave You alone, (I would do so because) one better than me, i. e. the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), did so. 'Abdullah says: When he mentioned the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) I understood that he would not appoint anyone as Caliph.

It has been reported on the authority of Ibn 'Umar who said

I entered the apartment of (my sister) Hafsa. She said: Do yoa know that your father is not going to nominate his successor? I said: He won't do that (i. e. he would nominate). She said: He is going to do that. The narrator said: I took an oath that I will talk to him about the matter. I kept quiet until the next morning, still I did not talk to him, and I felt as if I were carryint, a mountain on my right hand. At last I came to him and entered his apartment. (Seeing me) he began to ask me about the condition of the people, and I informed him (about them). Then I said to him: I heard something from the people and took an oath that I will communicate it to you. They presume that you are not going to nominate a successor. If a grazer of camels and sheep that you had appointed comes back to you leaving the cattle, you will (certainly) think that the cattle are lost. To look after the people is more serious and grave. (The dying Caliph) was moved at my words. He bent his head in a thoughtful mood for some time and raised it to me and said: God will doubtlessly protect His religion. If I do not nominate a successor (I have a precedent before me), for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not nominate his successor. And if I nominate one (I have a precedent), for Abu Bakr did nominate. The narrator (Ibn Umar) said: By God. when he mentioned the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr, I (at once) understood that he would not place anyone at a par with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and would not nominate anyone.

Chapter 3: The prohibition of seeking or desiring a position of authority

It has been reported on the authority of 'Abd al-Rahman b. Samura who said

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: 'Abd al-Rahman, do not ask for a position of authority, for if you are granted this position as a result of your asking for it, you will be left alone (without God's help to discharge the responsibilities attendant thereon), and it you are granted it without making any request for it, you will be helped (by God in the discharge of your duties).

It has been narrated by Abu Musa who said

Two of my cousins and I entered the apartment of the Prophet (ﷺ). One of them said: Messenger of Allah, appoint us rulers of some lands that the Almighty and Glorious God has entrusted to thy care. The other also said something similar. He said: We do not appoint to this position one who asks for it nor anyone who is covetous for the same.