Obedience in the Army: Examples and Commands of the Prophet ﷺ
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
The Obligation of Obeying the Leader of the Army (Except in Disobedience to Allah)
❶ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ [النساء: 59]
“O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you.”
❷ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُم [آل عمران: 152]
“Until when you lost courage and fell into dispute concerning the command and disobeyed.”
❸ It is narrated from Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من أطاعني فقد أطاع الله ومن عصاني فقد عصى الله ومن يطع الأمير فقد أطاعنى ومن يعص الأمير فقد عصاني
“Whoever obeys me, indeed he has obeyed Allah. Whoever disobeys me, he has disobeyed Allah. Whoever obeys the leader, he has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys the leader, he has disobeyed me.”
[Al-Bukhari: 2957, Kitab al-Jihad wa al-Siyar: Bab Yuqatilu min Wara’ al-Imam wa Yuttaqa Bihi; Muslim: 1835; al-Nasa’i: 7/154; Ibn Majah: 2859; Ibn Hibban: 4556; al-Bayhaqi: 8/155; Abu ‘Awanah: 2/109; Ahmad: 2/244]
❹ Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنهما said regarding the verse:
أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ [النساء: 59]
“This verse was revealed concerning ‘Abdullah bin Hudhafah رضي الله عنه, whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed as the leader of a small detachment.”
[Al-Bukhari: 4584, Kitab Tafsir al-Qur’an: Bab Qawluhu Ati‘u al-Rasul; Muslim: 1834; Abu Dawud: 2624; al-Tirmidhi: 1762; al-Nasa’i: 7/155; Ahmad: 1/337]
❺ Ali رضي الله عنه said: The Prophet ﷺ sent a small army and appointed an Ansari Companion (Abdullah bin Hudhafah رضي الله عنه) as their leader:
و أمرهم أن يطيعونه
“And he commanded them to obey him.”
Later, the leader became angry for some reason and asked his soldiers: “Did not the Messenger of Allah ﷺ command you to obey me?” They replied: “Yes, indeed he commanded us.” He then ordered them: “Collect wood.” They gathered wood, and he commanded: “Light a fire.” They lit the fire. Then he ordered: “Enter into it.” The soldiers were about to enter, but some among them stopped the others, saying: “We only came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to escape from the Fire.” While they were debating, the fire was extinguished and the leader’s anger subsided.
When this incident was reported to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he said:
“If they had entered it, they would never have come out of it until the Day of Resurrection.” And he said:
لا طاعة فى معصية الله إنما الطاعة فى المعروف
“There is no obedience in disobedience to Allah. Obedience is only in what is right and good.”
[Al-Bukhari: 4340, 7145, Kitab al-Maghazi: Bab Sariyyah ‘Abdullah Hudhafah; Muslim: 1840; al-Nasa’i: 7/109; Abu Dawud: 2625; Ibn Hibban: 4567; Ahmad: 1/82–94–124]
