It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Whoever dies without having an Imam and ruler, dies the death of ignorance.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amir bin Rabi’ah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever dies in such a state that he did not consider obedience to any Imam obligatory upon himself, that is, he did not accept anyone as his Imam, he died the death of ignorance. And whoever removes the necklace of obedience to an Imam from his neck, he will meet Allah in such a state that he will have no argument to present before Allah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The leadership of the Children of Israel used to be conducted by their prophets; whenever a prophet passed away, another would succeed him. Now, there will be no prophet after me, but there will be many caliphs. The Companions asked: So what do you command us regarding them? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Fulfill the pledge of allegiance to the first caliph, then to the one after him, and fulfill the rights that Allah has prescribed for them. As for your rights, Allah Almighty will question them regarding their subjects.

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: Whoever withdraws from obedience to the Imam and the ruler, and separates from the community of Muslims, and dies in that state, he dies the death of ignorance. Whoever fights under a blind banner, becoming angry due to tribalism and supporting others due to tribalism, and is killed in that state, his killing is also like that of the days of ignorance. And whoever comes out in rebellion against my Ummah, striking the righteous and the wicked alike, not sparing the believers nor fulfilling the covenant with those he has a covenant with, then he has nothing to do with me and I have nothing to do with him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever sees something from his leader that he dislikes, let him be patient, for whoever separates himself from the congregation of the Muslims even a handspan and dies in that state, dies the death of ignorance.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The best rulers are those whom you love and they love you, and you pray for mercy for them and they pray for mercy for you. And your worst rulers are those whom you hate and they hate you, and you curse them and they curse you. We said: O Messenger of Allah! Should we not separate ourselves from them in such a situation? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No, as long as they establish prayer, you cannot separate from them. Beware! If any man among you is made a leader and ruler over you, and he sees his leader committing an act of disobedience to Allah, then he should reject that act of disobedience to Allah, but he should not withdraw his hand from obedience.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever dies upon anything other than obedience to Allah will die in such a state that he will have no proof in his favor, and whoever dies having withdrawn his hand from allegiance, his death will be a death of misguidance.

Zaid bin Aslam narrates from his father, who said: I went in the company of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to Abdullah bin Muti’. He said: Welcome to Abu Abdur Rahman, place a cushion for him. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I have come to narrate to you a hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever withdraws his hand from obedience to Allah will come on the Day of Resurrection in such a state that he will have no proof for himself, and whoever dies in a state separated from the congregation of Muslims, he dies the death of ignorance.

It is narrated from Abdur Rahman bin Abd Rabb al-Ka'bah, he says: I presented myself before Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), who was sitting in the shade of the Ka'bah at that time. I heard him saying: Once we were on a journey in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then he narrated a long hadith, an excerpt of which was: Whoever gives allegiance to a ruler and makes a covenant with him and gives him the fruit of his heart, then he should obey him as much as he can. If another man comes and disputes with the first ruler, then strike the neck of the latter. Abdur Rahman says: Upon hearing this, I put my head among the people and said: I ask you by Allah, did you yourself hear this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He pointed towards his ears with his hands and said: My ears have heard this hadith and my heart has preserved it. Abdur Rahman said: Your cousin, Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), commands us to consume each other's wealth through false and unlawful means and to kill one another, while Allah the Exalted has said: {یَا أَیُّہَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوْا لَا تَأْکُلُوْا أَمْوَالَکُمْ بَیْنَکُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ} ... O you who believe! Do not consume your wealth among yourselves by false means. Upon hearing this, he joined both his hands and placed them on his forehead, then sat for a while with his head bowed, then after some time raised his head and said: If it is a matter of obedience to Allah, then obey them, and if it is a matter of disobedience and sin against Allah, then do not obey them.