JIHAD SECTION · 96 – Obedience to Allah, His Messenger, and Those in Authority
According to the narration of Ibn Jurayj, he said:
“O you who believe, obey Allah, the Messenger, and those of authority among you.”
This verse was revealed concerning Abdullah ibn Kays bin Adiy. The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) had sent him on an expedition. Ya’la informed me about this, Said ibn Jubayr from him, and Ibn Abbas from him.
According to the narration of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) dispatched an army and appointed a commander over them. He ordered them to listen to his words and obey him. The commander then kindled a fire and commanded those under him to enter it. Some of the people refused to enter the fire, saying, “We avoided the fire.” Others wanted to enter the fire. This news reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him). He said, "If they had entered or were to enter it, they would remain in it perpetually. There is no obedience to a sin; obedience is only to that which is agreeable in religion."
From Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, has been narrated that:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “For a Muslim there is obedience and listening [to authority], in what he likes and dislikes, as long as one is not commanded to commit sin. But when one is commanded to commit sin, there is no obedience and no listening.”
Uqba ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had dispatched a raiding party. I gave a sword to one of the soldiers. When he returned from the campaign, he said to me, "You should have seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rebuking us." Indeed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to them, “Did you fail to relieve an appointed man among you from his command and replace him with someone obedient?”