Seeratun Nabi (sa) Presentation 2017

Obeying Authority O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey His Messenger and those who are in authority among you. (4:60)

Please share your thoughts Question! What if those appointed in authority treat you unfairly? Should we still obey them? Does obedience mean that we cannot disagree with someone appointed in authority? What is the best way to express our disagreement? Please share your thoughts

Hadith Hadhrat Ibn Abbas (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said: If a person experiences something unpleasant at the hands of a ruler he should bear it with equanimity, for he who departs from obedience a hand’s breadth dies in error. (Bukhari and Muslim)

Promised Messiah (as) “If the ruler is a cruel person you should not go about talking ill of him; you should try to reform yourselves and make yourselves better in every way. God will remove him or make him a better man. Whatever hardship a man passes through, it is the outcome of his own evil deeds. Otherwise so far as a believer is concerned God is with him. God Himself provides him with everything. My advice to you is that you should become a model of every virtue.” (Malfoozat,Vol 2)

Question If you are placed in apposition of authority, how should you exercise your authority? Be strict and disciplined Be loving and prayerful Be self centered and self righteous Be hands off

Hadith Similarly, Hadhrat Auf bin Malik (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said: Your best rulers will be those whom you love and who love you, and for whom you pray and who pray for you; and your worst rulers will be those whom you hate and who hate you, and whom you curse and who curse you. (Muslim)

Please share your thoughts Real life A 35-year-old person has been elected as president of your Jama`at. He lacks experience as compared to older members of the community. What is the responsibility of older members and and what is the responsibility of the new young Sadr in your opinion? Please share your thoughts

Hear and Obey Hazrat Anas (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said: Hear and obey even if a Negro slave, whose head is like a grape, is placed in authority over you. (Bukhari)

Hear and Obey Similarly, Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said: You are obligated to hear and obey in prosperity and adversity, willingly or unwillingly, and even when you are treated unjustly. (Muslim)

Holy Prophet (sa) as a Model Citizen When the Prophet announced his mission to the people of Mecca, who had known him as an honest, upright, and faithful comrade, the announcement was received with incredulity. His persistence in the assertion of his claim and in calling men to the worship of One God, and to a moral and spiritual revolution in their lives, at first drew only ridicule. When here and there his call began to evoke a favorable response, the ridicule turned into harassment. During the ten long years the Prophet and his small but slowly increasing band of Companions were subjected to cruel and merciless persecution. They bore it all with patience and dignity under the most difficult conditions. Neither abuse nor persecution could provoke them into conduct unbecoming orderly, law-abiding citizens. Except for a vehement repudiation of idol-worship and persistence in proclaiming and upholding the unity of God, neither the Prophet (sa) himself nor any member of the small Muslim community in Mecca ever attempted to defy the authority of the Assembly of Elders, or the rules and conventions regulating the conduct and behavior of the citizens of Mecca. Continued on next slide:

The Prophet (sa): A Model When the persecution became unendable, the Prophet (sa), rather than risk a state of civil disorder in the town, counseled that such Muslims as could afford it should leave Mecca and seek asylum in the neighboring state of Abyssinia, across the Red Sea. Later, other Muslims, including the Prophet (sa) himself, migrated to Medina. The Meccan period of the Prophet's ministry is an outstanding example of the upholding of law and order by a hard-pressed and sorely persecuted group, whose membership was constantly growing and whose strength was progressively increasing. Review of religion, February 1993 by Sir Zafarullah Khan 28th September 1979at Zurich, Switzerland