 Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, in the name of Allah, the most compassionate, most merciful, respected viewers, brothers and sisters in Islam, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you. Hello and welcome to the eighth episode of the Treaties of Rights series with me or host Ali Jassim. Let us begin with the right of the possessor of authority. Regarding this, Imam Sajad Zain and Abideen, peace and blessings be upon him, has said, then the right of the possessor of authority is that you should know that God has established you as a trial for him. That is testing him through the authority he has given him over you, and you should sincerely provide him with your advice. And you should not quarrel with him while he has full dominance over you, for thereby you cause your own destruction and his too. And you should be humble and polite for his gifts to attain his satisfaction with you, so that he will not harm your religion, and you should seek God's help in this regard. Do not oppose his power and do not resist him. Should you do so, you would have disobeyed him and disobeyed yourself, thus exposing yourself to encounters evil and expose him to destruction by you. Thus you will deserve to be considered to be his assistant, acting against yourself and as a partner in what he does to you. And there is no power but in God. Everyone agrees that for every nation and for every group of people, without a doubt there must be a leader, or at least someone who guides the group and someone in order to run their affairs. One of the necessities of having a successful society or a successful community, there must be a mature leader that guides them. Social regulations and laws should be executed under his rule. Social security and peace should be established and chaos should be avoided, so that the people can continue their lives and struggle for further development. This leader that works tiredly to accomplish the goals of a specific group, does he not have any rights? With all the struggles that this leader may face, do they not deserve some sort of encouragement or support? A great example of a leader is Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him. But unfortunately, he was met by people who didn't know much of what he was worth in his rights. After the battle of Safin and after Obna Abna al-A'as raised the text of the Qulli Quran, the army of Imam Ali, peace be upon him, turned against the Imam and forced him to pull back and go for Ta'keem. Now after this incident, the group of the Khawaraj was formed. This group is known for going against the Imam of their time, which was Imam Ali, the commander of the faithful peace be upon him. When the Khawarajites objected to Imam Ali, peace be upon him about the issue of Ta'keem and claimed that the verdict lies but with God, Imam Ali said, the statement is right, but what they think it means is wrong. Yes, it is true that verdict lies but with God, but these people say that the function of the governance is only for God. The fact is that there is no escape for men from a ruler, whether good or bad. The faithful persons perform good acts in his rule, while the unfaithful ones enjoy worldly benefits in it. During the rule, God would carry everything to an end. Peace is collected by the ruler, enemies are fought with, roadways are protected and the right of the weak is taken from the strong till the virtuous enjoys peace and is allowed protection from the oppression of the wicked. Here we can see that Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him, stresses the importance of a ruler and a society and his points as well. He points out that a peaceful and strong society is one in which there is a strong rule based upon which security and order is established in the society. Here the Imam, peace be upon him, stressed the absolute necessity of a ruler and the society. All of the Imams agree with this fundamental concept. Regarding this, Mamrullah, peace and blessings be upon him has said, one reason to support this view is that there have been no groups or nations who have been able to continue living without a leader or a ruler, since people need a leader for their worldly and heavenly affairs. Therefore it is not wise for a sage to deprive the people of what they need to continue living. They fight their enemies under this rule. They divide the booties under his supervision. They establish their Friday congregations and other gatherings through him. They seek justice for the weak ones against the oppressors by him. The need for a ruler is clearly established from these words expressed by Mamrullah, peace and blessings be upon him. Let's go for a quick break. Don't go anywhere. Stay tuned. Welcome back, my dear viewers. Now let's take a look at the characteristics of a leader. If we were to split the leaders, some would be considered just leaders while others would be considered oppressive. Each one has certain characteristics. In the Holy Quran it says, and we made them leaders, guiding men by our command and we sent them inspiration to do good deeds, to establish regular prayers and to practice regular charity and they constantly served us and us only. The characteristics and duties expressed in this verse about leaders appointed by God are guiding men by God's command, receiving divine inspiration to do good deeds. Establish regular prayers, practice regular charity in order to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor and finally to constantly serve God i.e. they must have served God to attain the position of leadership of the society. Imam al-Sadaq, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, narrates a very beautiful narration. It states that Imam al-Husayn, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, told his companions, O people, God created the people only in order that they get to recognize him. When they recognize him, they worship him and when they worship him, they have no need of worshiping other than him. A man said, Oh, may my parents be your ransom. How do we get to recognize God? Imam al-Husayn said, For each era, the people should recognize their own leader whose obedience is mandatory for them. Thus, we see that the Imam considers getting to know the just leader is the proper way to recognize God. In the Holy Quran, there are many examples of leaders who have changed the lives of many and who have saved their societies from the brink of hell. Some examples of these leaders include Prophet Joseph or Alexander or We can clearly tell from their lives and their stories that without them, their societies would have never known who God really is. We read in the Holy Quran that when Joseph was released from jail and his talents became apparent to the ruler of Egypt, he was offered a high position in the government. Joseph, who was an honest man and knew economics well, thought that he could save the people of Egypt. He asked to be appointed as the treasurer. Consider the following verse of the Holy Quran. Joseph, peace be upon him, said, Set me over the storehouses of the land. I will indeed guard them as one that knows their importance. The Holy Quran, chapter 12, verse 55. Joseph ran the affairs of the country and safely led the Egyptian people through the years of famine in such a successful way that the Holy Quran considers him as one of the best human leaders. There are many traditions that stress the necessity of respecting a just ruler. We shall mention a few of them here. The prophet of God, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, his pure family, said, Respect and reverse the rulers since they are the glory of God and his shadow on earth if they are just. It has been narrated that Omar asked the prophet of God, Please inform me of a ruler to whom everyone bows in respect. The prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, his pure family, said, He is God's shadow on earth. Whenever he does some good act, there will be a reward for him and you must be grateful to him. Whenever he does an evil act, he is held responsible for it and you must be patient and persevering. We see that in this tradition, the prophet of God, peace and blessings be upon him, has stressed that we should be grateful to just rulers. It has been narrated that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him advised his followers as follows. Do not debase yourselves through disobedience to your rulers. If they are just rulers, ask for God for their prosperity and lasting rule. If they are oppressive rulers, ask God to guide them. Your righteousness depends on his righteousness. A just ruler is like a kind father. Like for him what you like for yourselves and dislike for him what you dislike for yourselves. We see that the Imam depicts a just ruler as a kind father. He can direct the society towards progress, development and perfection, just as a kind father raises a good child. The noble prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, God has adorned the heavens with three things, the sun, the moon and the stars. He has also adorned the earth with three things, scholars, reign and just rulers. In order for a just leader to be successful and accomplish their goals, they must be equipped with a group of characteristics. Some of these include being informed about governmental affairs. Now a leader who has this knowledge is like a lantern that lights up his way out of darkness. Some wise men have said that if a ruler lacks knowledge, he is like an elephant that runs over and destroys everything when it attacks, since it neither has knowledge nor intellect that are the means which hinder oppression. Other important characteristics include fear and piety. These characteristics are a source of good blessings. When a ruler has piety, his people live in security. Other good characteristics of a ruler are forgiving and overlooking people's minor faults as we read in the following verse. Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that God should forgive you? The Holy Quran chapter 24 verse 22. Regarding this, Mam Ali, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him has said, forgive your enemy once you have overcome him. So as to be grateful about the blessing of the victory which you have been granted. We have reached the end of this episode. Stay tuned for another episode of the Treaties of Rights series. May Allah hasten the reappearance of our beloved Mahdi, peace and blessings be upon him and peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.