Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that the verse, "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) and those in authority among you." (An-Nisa: 50) was revealed regarding Abdullah bin Hudhafah bin Qais bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him). When the Messenger of Allah ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) sent him as a commander on an expedition.

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah, and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allah. And whoever obeys the leader appointed by me has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys my appointed leader has disobeyed me. (But if the leader's command is against the Qur'an and Hadith, then it should be abandoned and the Qur'an and Hadith should be followed.)

Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is obligatory for a Muslim to listen to and obey the leader, in matters that he likes and also in matters that he dislikes, as long as he is not commanded to commit a sin. But when he is commanded to commit a sin, then listening and obeying are no longer required.

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a detachment and appointed a man from the Ansar as their leader, and ordered the people to obey him. Then the leader became angry with the people and said, "Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not order you to obey me?" The people replied, "Indeed, he did." Upon this, he said, "I order you to gather wood and light a fire with it, and then jump into it." The people gathered wood and lit the fire. When they were about to jump in, they began to look at one another, and some among them said, "We followed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only to save ourselves from the fire. Should we then enter it ourselves?" Meanwhile, the fire cooled down and the leader's anger subsided. Later, when this was mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said, "If they had jumped into it, they would never have come out of it. Obedience is only in good matters."

Junadah bin Abi Umayyah says that we went to Hazrat Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him), he was ill. We said: May Allah grant you health, please narrate a hadith from which Allah may benefit you. (He narrated that) I heard from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the night of Aqabah, that he called us and we pledged allegiance to him. Among the things that the Prophet (peace be upon him) took a covenant from us was that we would obey and follow in happiness and displeasure, in hardship and ease, and even when our rights are denied, and also that we would not dispute with the rulers regarding authority unless we see open disbelief from them; if they commit open disbelief, then you will have a proof with Allah.

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The prophets of Bani Israel used to also provide political leadership to them. Whenever a prophet passed away, another would take his place. But remember, there will be no prophet after me. Yes, there will be my deputies, and there will be many of them. The companions asked, "What do you command us regarding them?" He said: Fulfill your pledge of allegiance to the first one you give it to, and remain loyal to him. Do not fall short in giving them their due rights, because Allah Almighty will question them about their subjects on the Day of Resurrection.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (After me) a time will come upon you in which others will be given preference over you and such things will appear before you which you will dislike. The people asked: O Messenger of Allah! What do you command us to do at that time? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Continue to fulfill the rights that are due from you to others, and ask your own rights from Allah alone.

Hazrat Usaid bin Hudair (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that an Ansari companion said: O Messenger of Allah! Appoint me as a governor just as you have appointed such-and-such person. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: After me, others will be given preference over you in worldly matters, so be patient until you meet me at the Pond.

Abu Idris Khawlani narrated, he heard from Sayyiduna Hudhaifah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), who used to say that while the other companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about good, I would ask about evil out of fear that I might fall into it. So once I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "O Messenger of Allah! We were in a time of ignorance and evil. Then Allah Almighty bestowed upon us this goodness (of Islam). Will there be any evil after this goodness?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Yes." I asked, "And after that evil, will there be any goodness?" He said, "Yes, but there will be some smoke with that goodness." I asked, "What will that smoke be?" He replied, "There will be people who will adopt ways other than my Sunnah and my path. Among them, some things will be good and some will be bad." I asked, "Will there be evil after that goodness as well?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Yes, there will be callers at the gates of Hell; whoever accepts their call, they will throw him into Hell." I said, "O Messenger of Allah! Please describe them for us." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "They will be from our own people and religion, and they will speak our language." I asked, "What do you command me to do if I reach that time?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Stay with the group of Muslims and their Imam." I asked, "And if there is no group of Muslims and no Imam?" He said, "Then keep yourself away from all those sects, even if you have to bite the root of a tree, until death comes to you while you are in that state. (That will be better for you than being in their company.)"

Narrated Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Whoever sees something in his leader that he dislikes, let him be patient, for whoever separates himself from obedience (to the ruler) even a handspan and dies, his death will be a death of ignorance (Jahiliyyah).