وَعَنْ عَوْفِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ الْأَشْجَعِيِّ عَنْ
رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «خِيَارُ أئمتكم الَّذين يحبونهم وَيُحِبُّونَكُمْ وَتُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَيُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَشِرَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمُ الَّذِي تبغضونهم ويبغضونكم وتلعنوهم ويلعنوكم» قَالَ: قُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَفَلَا نُنَابِذُهُمْ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ؟
قَالَ: «لَا مَا أَقَامُوا فِيكُمُ الصَّلَاةَ لَا مَا أَقَامُوا فِيكُمُ الصَّلَاةَ أَلَا مَنْ وُلِّيَ عَلَيْهِ وَالٍ فَرَآهُ يَأْتِي شَيْئًا مِنْ مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ فَلْيَكْرَهْ مَا يَأْتِي مِنْ مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَنْزِعَنَّ يَدًا مِنْ طَاعَةٍ»
Auf ibn Malik al-Ashjai reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Your best imams are those whom you like and who like you, on whom you invoke blessings and who invoke blessings on you; and your worst imams are those whom you hate and who hate you, whom you curse and who curse you.”
They asked God’s Messenger whether in that event they should not depose them, but he replied, “No, as long as they observe the prayer among you; no, as long as they observe the prayer among you. If anyone has a governor whom he sees doing anything which is an act of disobedience to God, he must disapprove of the disobedience to God which he commits, but must never withdraw from obedience.”