Avoid Seeking Authority for Personal Gain

📖Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1324
Anas reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever seeks to be a judge and asks others to intercede so he can have it, he will be left to himself. Whoever is forced into it, Allah will send down an angel to direct him.”

This hadith emphasizes the ethics of seeking leadership in Islam. Authority, especially as a judge, is a trust (amanah) and not a privilege to pursue for personal gain, status, or power. The Prophet ﷺ distinguishes between:

• Ambition through intercession: Asking others to help you gain a position for personal benefit leads to being abandoned by Allah’s guidance.
• Forced leadership: If appointed unwillingly, the responsibility is guided and protected by Allah through angelic assistance.

Practical Lessons:

1. Avoid self-promotion for leadership: Seek positions to serve justice, not to elevate your status.
2. Humility in responsibility: True leaders often gain authority because of their integrity, not ambition.
3. Trust in Allah’s guidance: If compelled to lead, rely on divine help to act justly.
4. Leadership as a test: Positions of power are trials, not rewards for ambition.
5. Prioritize service over desire: Your goal should be fairness, protection, and upholding justice.

Key List – Do’s and Don’ts for Leadership:

• Do: Accept leadership when it benefits others and you are qualified.
• Do: Seek Allah’s guidance and maintain justice.
• Don’t: Ask or manipulate others to secure a position.
• Don’t: Let ambition outweigh responsibility and integrity.

Quranic Context:

📖Quran 4:58
Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and when you judge between people to judge with justice. Excellent is that which Allah instructs you. Indeed, Allah is ever Hearing and Seeing.

📖Quran 3:159
So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter.

📖Quran 6:116
And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah. They follow not except assumption, and they are not but falsifying.

📖Quran 8:12
“When your Lord inspired to the angels: ‘Indeed, I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed.'”

• Here, Allah commands the angels to support the believers, ensuring their steadfastness,

While the specific hadith about Allah sending an angel to guide a forced judge does not have a direct counterpart in the Quran, the concept of Allah sending angels to assist and guide believers in various situations is well-supported in the Quran. These instances demonstrate Allah’s mercy and support for those who are in positions of responsibility, ensuring they are not left to their own devices but are aided in fulfilling their duties justly

1. Reinforcement for Human Effort

• Humans are weak and prone to mistakes. Divine guidance through angels acts as support and reinforcement, helping the person remain steadfast in fulfilling responsibilities.
• Example: In the hadith about a forced judge, the angel’s guidance ensures the judge maintains justice and does not falter due to fear or uncertainty.

2. Teaching and Experience

• Angels can serve as a means of instruction or support, showing how divine guidance works in a way humans can interact with and learn from.
• It’s a method to test human sincerity, patience, and reliance on Allah while still providing support.

3. Balance Between Free Will and Guidance

• Allah does not force people to act; He allows free will.
• Sending an angel provides guidance without removing human choice, helping them act rightly while still exercising their responsibility.

4. Strengthening Faith

• When believers experience angelic support, it increases faith, humility, and trust in Allah, showing that divine help comes in tangible ways.

Quranic Examples of Angels Guiding or Assisting Humans:

• 📖Al-Imran 3:124 – Allah sent angels to support the believers at the Battle of Uhud.

• 📖Al-Anfal 8:12 – Allah inspired angels to strengthen those who believed.

• 📖Fussilat 41:30-32 – Angels descend upon steadfast believers to comfort and guide them.

Even though Allah could simply command “Be” and all guidance would occur, sending angels reinforces human effort, preserves free will, strengthens faith, and provides practical support in critical moments. It shows divine mercy in a form humans can perceive and benefit from.