The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.
حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ حَفْصِ بْنِ غِيَاثٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، حَدَّثَنَا سَعْدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ بَعَثَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم سَرِيَّةً، وَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَجُلاً مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ وَأَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يُطِيعُوهُ، فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَقَالَ أَلَيْسَ قَدْ أَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّ تُطِيعُونِي قَالُوا بَلَى. قَالَ عَزَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمَا جَمَعْتُمْ حَطَبًا وَأَوْقَدْتُمْ نَارًا، ثُمَّ دَخَلْتُمْ فِيهَا، فَجَمَعُوا حَطَبًا فَأَوْقَدُوا، فَلَمَّا هَمُّوا بِالدُّخُولِ فَقَامَ يَنْظُرُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ، قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِنَّمَا تَبِعْنَا النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِرَارًا مِنَ النَّارِ، أَفَنَدْخُلُهَا، فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ خَمَدَتِ النَّارُ، وَسَكَنَ غَضَبُهُ، فَذُكِرَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ
" لَوْ دَخَلُوهَا مَا خَرَجُوا مِنْهَا أَبَدًا، إِنَّمَا الطَّاعَةُ فِي الْمَعْرُوفِ ".
The Prophet (ﷺ) sent an army unit (for some campaign) and appointed a man from the Ansar as its
commander and ordered them (the soldiers) to obey him. (During the campaign) he became angry
with them and said, "Didn't the Prophet (ﷺ) order you to obey me?" They said, "Yes." He said, "I order
you to collect wood and make a fire and then throw yourselves into it." So they collected wood and
made a fire, but when they were about to throw themselves into, it they started looking at each other,
and some of them said, "We followed the Prophet (ﷺ) to escape from the fire. How should we enter it
now?" So while they were in that state, the fire extinguished and their commander's anger abated. The
event was mentioned to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said, "If they had entered it (the fire) they would never
have come out of it, for obedience is required only in what is good." (See Hadith No. 629. Vol. 5)
Narrated by Narrated `Ali:
Context
In this hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) sent a military unit and instructed them to obey their appointed leader. When the leader became angry and ordered them to throw themselves into a fire, the soldiers hesitated, questioning the wisdom of such an act. Upon learning of this, the Prophet (ﷺ) emphasized that obedience is only required in what is good, highlighting the importance of discernment in following authority.
Modern Application
In today's world, this principle reminds us to critically evaluate instructions from leaders and authorities. While obedience is important, it should not come at the cost of our well-being or ethical standards. Individuals should feel empowered to question directives that seem harmful or unreasonable.
Topics
This hadith is tagged with Leadership and Authority and Obedience to Allah because it illustrates the limits of obedience to authority, emphasizing that it should only be in matters that are good and just.
O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.
Say, "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away - then upon him is only that [duty] with which he has been charged, and upon you is that with which you have been charged. And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided. And there is not upon the Messenger except the [responsibility for] clear notification."
