Desire for Judiciary: Shar‘i Prohibition and the Exception of the Prophets
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
◈ Prohibition of Seeking Leadership and Judiciary
① ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed him:
لا تسأل الإمارة فإنك إن أعطيتها من غير مسألة أعنت عليها وإن أعطيتها عن مسألة وكلت إليها
“Do not ask for leadership. If you are given it without asking, you will be aided in it; but if you are given it upon asking, you will be left to yourself.”
[Bukhari: 6622, Kitab al-Ayman wal-Nudhur: Bab Qawl Allah Ta‘ala la yu’akhidhukum Allah bil-laghw; Muslim: 1652; Nasa’i: 8/225; Abu Dawud: 2929; Tirmidhi: 1529; Ahmad: 5/62; ‘Abd al-Razzaq: 20654; Abu Ya‘la: 1516; Tabarani al-Awsat: 1/37; Bayhaqi: 10/100; Hilyah by Abu Nu‘aym: 7/161; Darimi: 2/186; Ibn al-Jarud: 998]
② Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إنكم ستحرصون على الإمارة وستكون ندامة يوم القيامة فنعمت المرضعة و بئست الفاطمة
“You will surely desire leadership, but it will become regret on the Day of Resurrection. What a good wet nurse it is, and what a terrible weaning nurse it is.”
[Bukhari: 7148, Kitab al-Ahkam: Bab ma yukrahu min al-hirs ‘ala al-imarah]
Explanation:
- The “wet nurse” symbolizes the worldly gains of authority: wealth, position, honor, prestige, and influence over people.
- The “weaning nurse” symbolizes the severe accountability and burden on the Day of Resurrection.
[Nayl al-Awtar: 5/349]
The narration that states: “One who is forcibly given leadership without asking will be aided by an angel who guides him” is weak.[al-Da‘ifah: 3/296, 1154]
✔ Imam Shawkani (رحمه الله):
Another narration states:
لا تتمنين الإمارة
“Do not ever wish for leadership.”
[Nayl al-Awtar: 5/348]
✔ Ibn Hajar (رحمه الله):
The prohibition of wishing for leadership is more emphatic than the prohibition of asking for it.
[Fath al-Bari: 15/19]
◈ An Objection and Its Answer
If seeking leadership is prohibited, why did the Prophets ask for it?
① Yusuf (عليه السلام) said:
اجْعَلْنِي عَلَىٰ خَزَائِنِ الْأَرْضِ [يوسف: 55]
“Appoint me over the storehouses of the land.”
② Sulaiman (عليه السلام) said:
وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لَّا يَنبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِي [ص: 35]
“Grant me a kingdom that will not be for anyone after me.”
◈ The Scholarly Response
① The Prophets had absolute certainty that they would avoid sin.
② Rulings proven in our Shari‘ah do not necessarily apply to previous Shari‘ahs. It is possible that in the Shari‘ah of Yusuf (عليه السلام), seeking authority was permissible.
③ The case of Sulaiman (عليه السلام) is not problematic at all, because the prohibition applies to asking from creation, not from the Creator. Sulaiman (عليه السلام) asked Allah directly.
④ It is also possible that the prohibition of seeking leadership applies only to people other than the Prophets.
[Nayl al-Awtar: 5/348]
