ʿAbdullāh ibn Ḥudhāfah and the Fire

Then there is another sariyyah, and this is the sariyyah of ʿAbdullāh ibn Ḥudhāfah al-Sahmī. ʿAbdullāh ibn Ḥudhāfah, one of the Companions, was sent out in a sariyyah. The members of this sariyyah did something that angered him, so he was very upset. They had a fire, a bonfire, and he told them: jump into it. He told the members of the sariyyah to jump into the fire. He said: I am the amīr, and you know that the ṭāʿah of the amīr is wājib — following the amīr is mandatory — so jump into the fire. They refused; the Companions refused. And then he calmed down after that.

When they returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), they asked him about the situation. What did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say? He said: law dakhalūhā mā kharajū minhā, innamā al-ṭāʿatu fī al-maʿrūf — if they had entered that fire, they would never have left it; obedience is only in what is good. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is saying that if they had jumped into that fire, they would have remained in the hellfire, because one should only obey the amīr when he instructs one to do good; but if he orders one to do evil, then one does not follow him. And this hadith is muttafaq ʿalayh (al-Bukhārī 7145; Muslim 1840).

So the rule is: lā ṭāʿata li-makhlūqin fī maʿṣiyat al-Khāliq — the creation is not to be obeyed in disobedience to the Creator. As long as the amīr gives instructions that are ḥalāl and allowed, we follow; as soon as they tell us to do something that is ḥarām, we refuse. So if the ruler orders that the women should take off their hijab, then that order should be disobeyed. If the ruler orders the Muslims not to fast in Ramaḍān because it affects productivity, then we disobey. If the ruler bans jihād fī sabīl Allāh, then he should be disobeyed. If the ruler wants the Muslims to be loyal to the Yahūd and the Christians, and to be disloyal towards the ones who are practising the religion of Allah, he should be disobeyed. So the ruler is obeyed when he instructs good, and he is disobeyed when he instructs evil.