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.

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 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 the leader appointed by me has disobeyed me.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said: Whoever obeys the leader appointed by me, has obeyed me. And whoever obeys me, has in fact obeyed Allah Almighty.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever worships Allah, does not associate anyone with Him, establishes prayer, pays zakat, listens to the ruler and obeys him, Allah will admit him into Paradise through whichever of the eight gates of Paradise he wishes. And whoever worships Allah, does not associate anything with Him, establishes prayer, pays zakat, listens to the ruler but does not obey him, then his matter is with Allah; if He wills, He will forgive him, and if He wills, He will punish him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When it comes to disobedience to Allah Almighty, no human being is to be obeyed.

(Second chain) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When there is disobedience to Allah, then obedience to the creation is not permissible.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out a military expedition and appointed a Christian as their commander. He became angry with his army over some matter and said to them: "Did not the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) command you to obey me?" The companions replied: "Yes, he did." Then he said: "Gather firewood." Then he had a fire lit and said: "I give you a strict order to jump into this fire." Some people actually intended to enter the fire, but then a young man among them said: "You came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to save yourselves from the fire, so do not be hasty. First, meet the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If he commands you to enter the fire, then do so." So when they returned to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and related the whole incident to him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "If you had entered the fire, you would never have come out of it. Obedience is only in what is permissible."