It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: {وَمَنْ یَتَّقِ اللّٰہَ یَجْعَلْ لَہُ مَخْرَجًا} … Whoever fears Allah, Allah will make a way out for him. After this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“O Abu Dharr! If all people act upon this verse, it will be sufficient for all of them.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept reciting this verse and repeating it before me until I began to doze off. After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“O Abu Dharr! If you are expelled from Madinah, what will you do?”He said:“I will go to a place where there is spaciousness and abundance; I will go to Makkah and become like one of its pigeons.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“If you are expelled from Makkah, then what will you do?”Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“I will go towards Shaam, a place of spaciousness and abundance, for it is the sacred land.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“If you are expelled from Shaam as well, then what will you do?”He said:“By the One Who has sent you with the truth! Then I will place my sword upon my shoulder.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Shall I not tell you something better than that?”He said:“Is there any deed better than this?”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“You should listen to the ruler and obey him, even if he is an Abyssinian slave.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Abu Dharr! When such rulers come who will prefer others over you regarding wealth, what will you do? He said: By the One Who has sent you with the truth! I will place my sword on my shoulder and then start fighting with it until I meet you. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Shall I not tell you something better than that? It is that you remain patient in those circumstances until you meet me.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whether it is hardship or ease, happiness or sorrow, and even if others are given preference over you, it is obligatory upon you to listen to the ruler and accept him, and do not dispute with those in authority regarding the government, and obey them as long as they do not command you to commit an open sin.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Whether it is hardship or ease, happiness or displeasure, and even if others are given preference over you, still you must listen to the ruler and obey him.

It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Husayn Ahmasiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivering a sermon at Arafat: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If a slave is appointed as your ruler and he leads and guides you according to the Book of Allah, then listen to him and obey him. Abdullah bin Imam Ahmad says: My father said: I believe that whether it is difficult or easy, in happiness or compulsion, in every situation, one must listen to the ruler and obey him.

(Second Chain) It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Husayn (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage, that he was seated on the pulpit and he had a cloak on, which he had wrapped by bringing it out from under his arm. I saw that the muscle of his arm was moving. While addressing, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O people! Fear Allah, and even if a slave with a cut nose from Abyssinia is appointed as your leader, you must listen to him and obey him, as long as he establishes the Book of Allah among you.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Rulers will come over you under whose rule your hearts will be content and your skin will be soft in obedience to them, but after them there will also come rulers whom your hearts will hate and the hair on your bodies will stand on end out of fear of them. A man said: O Messenger of Allah! Shall we fight against such rulers? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: As long as they establish prayer, you are not permitted to fight them.

It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Soon there will be rulers over you, some of whose actions you will like and some you will dislike. Whoever rejects their wrong actions, he is absolved (i.e., he has fulfilled his responsibility); whoever dislikes their wrong actions, he too is saved (from the displeasure of Allah); but the one who is pleased with their wrong actions and follows them, (he will not be saved from the displeasure of Allah). The Companions said: O Messenger of Allah! Should we not fight against such rulers? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No, not as long as they establish prayer (i.e., perform the five prayers) among you.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Listen to the ruler and obey him, even if a ruler is appointed over you who is an Abyssinian whose head is like a raisin.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The tribe of Quraysh will destroy my Ummah. The Companions asked: O Messenger of Allah! In such circumstances, what do you command us to do? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: If people keep themselves apart from them, (then they will remain safe from their evil). Imam Ahmad said during his final illness: Erase this hadith, because this hadith is contrary to those ahadith in which you, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Listen to the rulers, obey them, and be patient.