The 365 · Tazkiyah · Day 339 · Heart
Ḥubb al-Riʾāsah · Love of Position
The disease
حُبُّ الرِّئَاسَة
Ḥubb al-Riʾāsah
The story
Abū Dharr asked the Prophet ﷺ for a leadership position. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'O Abū Dharr, you are weak, and it is a trust; on the Day, it will be a regret and a disgrace, except for the one who took it rightly and discharged what was upon him in it.' (Muslim 1825). The man who sought, the Prophet ﷺ redirected.
Why it's named first
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Two hungry wolves let loose among sheep are not more destructive than a man's eagerness for wealth and STATUS to his religion' (Tirmidhi 2376). Status (sharaf) is named alongside wealth as religion-destroying. The believer's heart that hunts position cannot simultaneously serve.
In the Qur'an
تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوّا فِي الأَرْضِ وَلا فَسَادًا (القصص 83). 'That Home of the Hereafter We assign to those who do not seek superiority on earth or corruption.' (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:83)
In the Sunnah
«إِنَّكُمْ سَتَحْرِصُونَ عَلَى الإِمَارَةِ، وَسَتَكُونُ نَدَامَةً يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ». 'You will be eager for leadership; it will be regret on the Day of Resurrection.' (Bukhari 7148)
The cure
Serve hidden roles. Wash someone else's dishes. Drive a brother to the airport without being asked. Fund a project without your name attached. Take the lowest seat in any gathering. The disease shrinks when the heart practices unseen service.
What is at stake
The leadership sought eagerly is rarely discharged faithfully. The Day will weigh the trust against the regret. Most who pursued positions will wish they had not.
A du'a for this day
«اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ حُبِّ الجَاهِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ سُوءِ الثَّنَاءِ».
The door of mercy
Al-Mutakabbir (the One who is rightfully Magnified). When His magnification is in view, our self-magnification shrinks.
A reflection to carry
Leadership is a trust and a test. The Sunnah names it as regret for those who hunted it.
Read the longer reflection
Riʾāsah is one of the heart's subtlest diseases. It hides behind 'I want to help,' 'I have skills to offer,' 'who else will do it?' All can be true; the disease is the desire underneath. The believer accepts leadership when called, never when craved. The Prophet ﷺ refused those who asked; he appointed those who did not. The cure is hidden service: do the small, the unseen, the credit-less, until the craving for visible position shrinks. May Allah save us from the regret of leadership eagerly sought, and may He elevate us through service we did not announce.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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