Appointing the wrong people to positions of power accelerates the signs of the Day of Judgement
The loss of amanah is one of the signs of the Hour
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ، قَالَ : بَيْنَمَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي مَجْلِسٍ يُحَدِّثُ الْقَوْمَ، جَاءَهُ أَعْرَابِيٌّ فَقَالَ : مَتَى السَّاعَةُ ؟ فَمَضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُحَدِّثُ، فَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ : سَمِعَ مَا قَالَ فَكَرِهَ مَا قَالَ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ : بَلْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ حَتَّى إِذَا قَضَى حَدِيثَهُ، قَالَ : ” أَيْنَ أُرَاهُ السَّائِلُ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ ؟ ” قَالَ : هَا أَنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ. قَالَ : ” فَإِذَا ضُيِّعَتِ الْأَمَانَةُ فَانْتَظِرِ السَّاعَةَ “. قَالَ : كَيْفَ إِضَاعَتُهَا ؟ قَالَ : ” إِذَا وُسِّدَ الْأَمْرُ إِلَى غَيْرِ أَهْلِهِ فَانْتَظِرِ السَّاعَةَ “. البخاري.
From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him):
While the Prophet ﷺ was in a gathering speaking to the people, a Bedouin came and said: “When will the Hour be?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ continued speaking. Some people said: “He heard what he said but disliked it.” Others said: “Rather, he did not hear him.” When the Prophet ﷺ finished his speech, he said: “Where is the one who was asking about the Hour?” The man said: “Here I am, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “When trust (amanah) is lost, then wait for the Hour.” The man asked: “How will it be lost?” He said: “When authority is given to those who are not qualified for it, then wait for the Hour.” (Bukhari)
In this hadith, the Prophet ﷺ is addressing the signs of the Day of Judgement. We have many signs, and the scholars divided them into major, middle, and minor signs. There are ten major signs, and one of the middle signs is the loss of trust.
Trust is a big word. It includes all our obligations as well as leadership. In any community, leaders are created by their followers. If you appoint someone who is not qualified or suitable for the position, then you have betrayed the trust of the people. This is where the problem begins. Once amanah is lost, the consequences are the spread of evil instead of goodness, the spread of injustice instead of justice, and the spread of war instead of safety and security for people.
This is how the Prophet ﷺ predicted the future. His statement, “When trust is lost, then wait for the Hour,” means that this is one of the signs of the Day of Judgement. He then explained how this loss happens: when you appoint someone who is not qualified. We can see this prophecy in practice. Unqualified people in positions of authority spread corruption wherever they are, whether at a local, national, or international level.
The Prophet’s ﷺ description of unqualified leaders
How do we recognise such people? The Prophet ﷺ gave their description in different narrations. He used the word al-ruwaybidah for those who would be appointed to lead. The people asked what this word meant, and on different occasions he gave different explanations.
أعطانا مثالاً وبين لنا صفات غير الكفء الذي يتولى القيادة
The Prophet ﷺ gave us an example and explained to us the characteristics of an incompetent person who takes on a leadership role.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله تعالى عنه، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” سَيَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ سَنَوَاتٌ خَدَّاعَاتٌ يُصَدَّقُ فِيهَا الْكَاذِبُ وَيُكَذَّبُ فِيهَا الصَّادِقُ وَيُؤْتَمَنُ فِيهَا الْخَائِنُ وَيُخَوَّنُ فِيهَا الأَمِينُ وَيَنْطِقُ فِيهَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ قِيلَ وَمَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ قَالَ الرَّجُلُ التَّافِهُ فِي أَمْرِ الْعَامَّةِ ”. رواه ابن ماجه.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“There will come upon the people years of deception, in which the liar will be believed and the truthful one will be disbelieved; the treacherous will be trusted and the trustworthy will be accused of treachery; and the ruwaybidah will speak.” It was said: “Who are the ruwaybidah?” He said: “The insignificant man who speaks about public affairs.” (Ibn Majah)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله تعالى عنه، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” إِنَّهَا سَتَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ سِنُونَ خَدَّاعَةٌ، يُصَدَّقُ فِيهَا الْكَاذِبُ وَيُكَذَّبُ فِيهَا الصَّادِقُ، وَيُؤْتَمَنُ فِيهَا الْخَائِنُ وَيُخَوَّنُ فِيهَا الْأَمِينُ، وَيَنْطِقُ فِيهَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ “. قِيلَ : وَمَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ ؟ قَالَ : ” السَّفِيهُ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي أَمْرِ الْعَامَّةِ “. مسند أحمد.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Indeed, there will come upon the people deceptive years, in which the liar will be believed and the truthful one will be disbelieved; the treacherous will be trusted and the trustworthy will be accused of treachery; and the ruwaybidah will speak.” It was said: “Who are the ruwaybidah?” He said: “A foolish person speaking about public matters.” (Musnad Ahmad)
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله تعالى عنه، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” إِنَّ أَمَامَ الدَّجَّالِ سِنِينَ خَدَّاعَةً، يُكَذَّبُ فِيهَا الصَّادِقُ وَيُصَدَّقُ فِيهَا الْكَاذِبُ، وَيُخَوَّنُ فِيهَا الْأَمِينُ وَيُؤْتَمَنُ فِيهَا الْخَائِنُ، وَيَتَكَلَّمُ فِيهَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ “. قِيلَ : وَمَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ ؟ قَالَ : ” الْفُوَيْسِقُ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي أَمْرِ الْعَامَّةِ “. مسند أحمد.
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Before the Dajjal, there will be deceptive years in which the truthful will be denied and the liar will be believed; the trustworthy will be accused of treachery and the treacherous will be trusted; and the ruwaybidah will speak.” It was said: “Who are the ruwaybidah?” He said: “A wicked person speaking about public affairs.” (Musnad Ahmad)
On one occasion, the Prophet ﷺ said that the insignificant person would lead the crowd. On another, he said that the foolish person would speak in the affairs of the public. On another occasion, he said that the wicked person would speak in public matters. On another, he referred to the trivial person. These are the descriptions of the wrong leaders.
If you do not want to lose amanah, then do not appoint insignificant, foolish, wicked, immoral, trivial, or unqualified people. Otherwise, you are speeding up the signs of the Day of Judgement. If trust is lost, the consequences are not just personal. They can be local, national, or international, depending on the leader.
The consequences of appointing the wrong people
The Prophet ﷺ warned us against appointing the wrong people under any circumstances. The consequences are huge, and everyone will pay for this wrong appointment a heavy price. This is what we see in our reality.
When authority is placed in the hands of those who are not qualified, corruption spreads, people are harmed, justice is weakened, truth is pushed aside. The liar is believed and the truthful person is rejected. The treacherous person is trusted and the trustworthy person is accused. Public affairs fall into the hands of those who are not fit to carry them. This is not a small matter. It is betrayal of amanah, and it affects society at every level.
What should we do in these circumstances?
The third question here is: what do we do if this happens? The most important thing is not to give up.
عن أنس رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إن قامت الساعة وبيد أحدكم فسيلة، فإن استطاع أن لا يقوم حتى يغرسها فليفعل. رواه أحمد والبخاري في “الأدب المفرد”.
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“If the Hour is about to be established and one of you has a small palm shoot in his hand, then if he is able to plant it before the Hour is established, let him do so.” (Musnad Ahmad and Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)
The Prophet ﷺ summarised this in a very beautiful hadith. If qiyamah has started, and you have a palm shoot in your hand, he did not say, “Throw it away.” He said that if you can plant it, then do so. Do not give up. Even if you see the signs that qiyamah is starting, do the right thing – spread goodness, look after people, look after the environment.
Most of all – do not surrender, even if evil is creeping in from every corner. Push back against wickedness and evil, and gain the reward of Allah. Do not be lazy. It is not about sitting and waiting for al-Mahdi to come and save us.
This is why the Prophet ﷺ repeatedly made the dua:
اللهم إني أعوذ بك من الهم والحزن، والعجز والكسل، والبخل والجبن، وضلع الدين وغلبة الرجال
“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from anxiety and grief, weakness and laziness, cowardice and miserliness, debt and being overpowered by men.” (Bukhari)
Ajz is when a person lacks the ability to do something, while kasal is when a person has the ability but lacks the will to act. This is a common disease, and the Prophet ﷺ taught us to seek refuge in Allah from both.
This is why the Prophet ﷺ repeatedly made the dua:
Our duty at every level
We need to do what is required on a local, national, and international basis. We have no excuse. The Prophet ﷺ taught us not to give up. We should always be at the forefront of spreading goodness, justice, safety, and security.
We should not allow the whispers of shaytan and wicked people to deliver the narrative. We should deliver the narrative and own our own narrative. We must continue to do what is right, continue to act, continue to work for the good, and continue to seek the reward from Allah, even if the environment around us is difficult and even if corruption is spreading.
Qualities of a good leader
By contrast, a good leader should be truthful, sincere, trustworthy, righteous, competent, strong, and just.
People must not appoint the foolish, immoral, trivial-minded, or wicked to positions of responsibility.
The role of both the individual and society is to encourage righteous and beneficial actions until the very last moment. We should act upon the means and not rush the results. We should seek reward from Allah even if we do not see the fruit of our efforts. We should remain optimistic, hopeful, and not fall into despair. We should value time and invest it in beneficial speech and action. We should work to build and develop the earth, and stay away from idleness, laziness, and inactivity.
May Allah always enable us to be ambassadors of goodness. Ameen.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim o 27th March 2026
Related posts