The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) sent Abu Musa and Mu’adh ibn Jabal to Yaman, and he sent each of them to govern a part. Then he said: ‘Be gentle and do not be hard, and cause rejoicing and do not alienate.’
Governing Lessons from The Second Caliph
Markscheme Answers:
The Hadith specifically signifies the responsibilities of Muslim rulers and how they should work for the welfare and prosperity of their people. Leaders in the Prophet’s time also performed the duties of religious leaders and so the teaching in the Hadith has a broader meaning instructing that religious instruction should be given with gentleness in order to make people more inclined towards the faith.
This Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) signifies the responsibilities of Muslim rulers. Those in authority should devote their energies to the welfare and prosperity of the people they are governing over. It is with kindness and justice that all matters must be dealt with and the hearts of the people won. In this Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) is specifically giving instruction to two of his emissaries to cooperate with the populace and asking them to guide the people towards the path of righteousness.
Ultimate authority lies with God and is given to a ruler as a trust from him. The hadith focuses on Muslim leadership being helpful to those they are leading and that they should never lead by force but with kindness and encouragement.
The broader teaching of this Hadith is that ultimate authority lies with God, and is given to people in their various capacities as a trust from God. Muslims must therefore be gentle to others. The Hadith focuses on Muslim leadership being helpful to those who are being led and that it should never be by force. Some answers could go a bit further to add that Muslims must act fairly when they govern.
The Holy Prophet(s) commanded rulers to be just and rule according to Islamic laws. He told them to make the life of their people comfortable if they want to achieve the pleasure of Allah. “The best rulers are those whom you love and they love you”. The Holy Prophet(s) said “I have been sent to complete good manners”. Holy Prophet(s) said that Abu Musa & Muaz who were sent to govern Yemen were advised to be kind towards people and judge justly.
The best of your rulers are those whom you love and who love you, who invoke God's blessings upon you and you invoke His blessings upon them. And the worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you and whom you curse and who curse you. It was asked (by those present): Shouldn't we overthrow them with the help of the sword? He said: No, as long as they establish prayer among you. If you then find anything detestable in them. You should hate their administration, but do not withdraw yourselves from their obedience. [Muslim]
<aside> 📝 The Hadith specifically signifies the responsibilities of Muslim rulers and how they should work for the welfare and prosperity of their people. The Prophet (saw) said "The best of your rulers are those whom you love and who love you". The broader teaching of this Hadith is that ultimate authority lies with God, and is given to people in their various capacities as a trust from God, and that religious instruction should be given with gentleness in order to make people more inclined towards the faith.
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Markscheme Answers:
All those in a position of authority should know that ultimate authority lies with God. Muslim governments should be fair in their actions and should base their authority on Islamic principles. Examples will help substantiate the answer.
Muslim rulers should exercise their authority with justice and kindness and always work for the betterment of the society at large. They should treat all the people to whichever faith they may belong with fairness and practise religious tolerance. Even when implementing the Islamic way of life they should be moderate. An example that could be given here is that a man complained to the Prophet (pbuh) that Mu’adh recited very long Suras in prayer which caused this man hardship as he worked as a manual labourer and was tired by the time of the evening prayer. The Prophet (pbuh) instructed Mu’adh to recite smaller Suras saying, ‘O Mu’adh! You are putting the people to trial’. (Bukhari)
Candidates could say that the hadith is referring to all those who are in a position of authority and is asking them to lead positively and to be fair. Examples such as governments, school teachers, parents could be given to demonstrate the implementation of this hadith.
There is firstly a clear message to all Muslim governments to practice this Hadith be governing with consent and fairness. Everybody in a position of responsibility, be they parents, teachers, the police, etc. can practice this Hadith by exercising their authority honestly and with kindness. Examples can be given to develop the answer and should be taken into account when awarding marks.
It is about commanding the ones who are chosen to rule a group of people with justice. They should have good treatment with their subordinates. The Caliphs when ruled the people, they were kind. Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) had told the men that he was afraid of the poor in fulfilling their needs to the full. He said, “Do not follow me if I am not following Quran & Sunnah”. Hazrat Umar (RA) did not allow rulers to keep guards not to aleniate any one.