Riyad as-Salihin
Riyad as-Salihin 675
Undesirability of Aspiring for Office
Arabic hadith text
وعنه قال: قلت يا رسول الله ألا تستعملني؟ فضرب بيده على منكبي ثم قال: “يا أبا ذر إنك ضعيف، وإنها أمانة، وإنها يوم القيامة خزي وندامة، إلا من أخذها بحقها، وأدى الذى عليه فيها” ((رواه مسلم)).
Translation
Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported
I said to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Why do you not appoint me to an (official) position?" He (ﷺ) patted me on the shoulder with his hand and said, "O Abu Dharr, you are a weak man and it is a trust and it will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection except for the one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfills what is entrusted to him (discharges its obligations efficiently)."[Muslim].