It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Make me the leader of some place. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You are weak (in this matter), and it is a trust, and on the Day of Resurrection it will be a cause of disgrace and regret." This hadith is sahih al-isnad (authentic in its chain), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. It has also been said that Yahya bin Sa'id narrated this from Abu Dharr through Sa'id bin al-Musayyab.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: O Messenger of Allah! Put me in charge (make me a leader) of some task. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leadership is a trust, and on the Day of Resurrection it is a cause of disgrace and regret, except for the one who commanded with truth and fulfilled his responsibilities in it with truth."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that al-Hajjaj (bin Yusuf) intended to appoint him as judge of Basrah, so Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever seeks the office of judge and seeks others' help to obtain it is left to himself, and whoever does not seek it and does not seek help to obtain it, an angel from Allah is appointed for him who guides him to the correct judgement." This hadith is sahih al-isnad (authentic in its chain), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The knots ('urwah) of Islam will be undone one by one; each time a knot is undone, people will cling firmly to the one that follows it. The first of them to be undone will be ruling (hukm), and the last will be the prayer." Imam al-Hakim says: In this chain, Abd al-Aziz is Abd al-Aziz bin Ubaydullah bin Hamzah bin Suhayb, and Isma'il is Isma'il bin Ubaydullah bin Abi al-Muhajir. This entire chain is sahih, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever appoints a man as an official over a group or party while in that party there is someone else who is more pleasing to Allah (and more qualified) than him, then he (the one who appointed him) has certainly betrayed Allah, His Messenger and all the believers." This hadith is sahih al-isnad (authentic in its chain), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) that when Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) sent me to Syria, he said to me: O Yazid! You have some relatives, and perhaps you will give them preference (favouritism) in positions of authority. That is the greatest thing I fear for you, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is made responsible for any affair of the Muslims, and then appoints someone as their leader merely out of partiality and favouritism (muhabatan), upon him is the curse of Allah; Allah will accept from him neither any voluntary deed (sarf) nor any obligatory deed ('adl), until He admits him into Hell." This hadith is sahih al-isnad (authentic in its chain), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.