Further proof supporting this
Assalamualaikum,
It is sad that the truth is so misunderstood or hidden and can be so hard to grasp or be accepted by the masses at large due to the times we face today where everyone is calling you to their way. Be it other ideologies or Islam being influenced by secularist tools such as politics. I thank the person who posted this original thread and would like to add a few more supporting quotes from sahaba and the pious, Quran ayahs, hadiths and lectures so that it can help create a broader spectrum in everyone's mind regarding this topic. I am a student of knowledge and Alhamdulillah, I have been learning this from sheikhs and teachers who are very clear about this issue.
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Following has been taken from a Letter by the Amir ul Mu’mineen, Umar ibn Al-Khattab (ra) to Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (ra) who was the commander of the Muslim Army. Umar advised his army to observe taqwa when setting out to fight the Romans and the Persians:
“ I order you and your army to observe righteousness which is the best preparation against an enemy and the strongest weapon of war.
I order you and your army to be more on guard against sins than your enemy because the sins of your army should be feared more then your enemy.
Indeed we Muslims only triumph by the sinning of our enemies against Allah, otherwise we would not have the strength and advantage over them.
Our numbers are not like theirs. The unbeliever will always outnumber us. Nor is our preparation like theirs.
If we equal them in sins then they will prevail over us. If we cannot defeat them through our piety, then we will not be able to defeat them with our strength"
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From al-Hasan al-Basree, as occurs in Adaab Hasan al-Basri, of Ibn al-Jawzee, (pp.119-120):
Know - may Allaah pardon you - that the tyranny of the kings is a retribution (niqmah) from among the retributions of Allaah the Most High. And Allaah's retributions are not to be faced with the sword, but they are to be faced with taqwaa and are repelled with supplication and repentance, remorse (inaabah) and abstention from sins. Verily, when the punishments of Allaah are met with the sword, are more severe. And Maalik bin Deenaar narrated to me that al-Hajjaaj (Ibn Yoosuf) used to say, "Know that every time you commit a sin Allaah will bring about a punishment from the direction of your ruler (sultaan)". And I have also been told that a person said to al-Hajjaaj, "Do you do such and such with the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam)?" So he replied, "For the reason that I am the punishment of Allaah upon the people of Iraaq, when they innovated into their religion whatever they innovated, and when they abandoned the commands of the their Prophet (alaihis salaam) whatever they abandoned."
It is narrated from al-Hasan al-Basree (d.110), as mentioned in Minhaj us-Sunnah of Shaikh ul-Islam (4/528),
Verily, al-Hajjaaj is the punishment of Allaah. So do not repel the punishment of Allaah with your own hands. But you must submit and show humility, for Allaah the Most High stated, "And indeed We seized them with punishment, but they humbled not themselves to their Lord, nor did they invoke (All?h) with submission to Him." (Al-Mu'minun 23:76).
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What the Quran says about this issue:
So, is it that when some calamity strikes you (in war), though you have previously inflicted a calamity twice it's magnitude, you ask: Why is this? Say: it is from your own selves. (Aali Imran 3:165)
And whatever calamity befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And Allah forgives much. (Ash-Shura 42:30)
Whatever of good reaches you, is from Allāh, but whatever of evil befalls you, is from yourself. (An-Nisa 4:79)
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What Hadiths have to say about Allah's punishments sent on earth:
Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar said, “The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, came to us and said, ‘O Muhaajiroon (emigrants from Makkah to al-Madinah), you may be afflicted by five things; God forbid that you should live to see them.
If fornication should become widespread, you should realize that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people which their forbears never suffered.
If people should begin to cheat in weighing out goods, you should realize that this has never happened without drought and famine befalling the people, and their rulers oppressing them.
If people should withhold Zakaat, you should realize that this has never happened without the rain being stopped from falling; and were it not for the animal’s sake, it would never rain again.
If people should break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, you should realize that this has never happened without Allah sending an enemy against them to take some of their possessions by force.
If the leaders do not govern according to the Book of Allah, you should realize that this has never happened without Allah making them into groups and making them fight one another.’“
(Ibn Maajah, Kitab al-Fitan (Hadith 4019), 2/1332. Saheeh, Silsilatul Ahadeeth as-Saheehah: 106-107)
This following hadith is about the punishments sent by Allah due to our disobedience:
Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “In this ummah there will be punishments of earthquakes, showers of stones and deformity (transformation into animals); that will be when the people drink khamr, listen to female singers and play musical instruments.” (See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2203; attributed to Ibn Abi’l-Dunyaa, Dhamm al-Malaahi; the hadeeth was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2212).
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Strong Words from Sheikhs and Dayees of today: (Please google the following video titles by cut and paste as I am yet not able to post with URL)
Enjoining the Good & Forbidding the Evil - Part 6 - Laila Nasheeba
Repentance: The way of our hardships - Sister Laila Nasheeba
The revival of the ummah - Br. Abu Mussab
Facing Trials And Tribulations - Sheikh Ibrahim Dremali
End of a Tyrant: Sheikh Abu Adnan
Strong home, strong nation - Sheikh Ibrahim Dremali
All of this should support the fact that the rulers are a reflection of the people they rule over and that all of this ultimately is due to what Allah has decreed. We as believing Muslims have to learn to accept His decree by baring His trials and hardships with patience so that we can pass the tests in order to draw closer to Him.
And Allah knows best.