CRITIQUE OF THE KINGS- EXTRACTED FROM THE MAJLIS - VOL 2 ISSUE 1 [Muharram 1397/December 1976]
VALUBLE GEMS EXTRACTED FROM
THE MAJLIS - VOL 2 no 1
[Muharram 1397/ Decemebr 1976 ]
CRITIQUE OF THE KINGS
Abdul Qadir did not sermonize and admonish the populace alone; he fearlessly performed the duty made incumbent by the Shariah i.e. of enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong; and, whenever he considered it necessary, he publicly denounced the actions and policies of the kings, nobles, and officials he bitterly criticized the faults of the great ones without the slightest consideration of their power or position. Hafiz ‘Imad ud-din ibn Kathir, a historian of his time, has made a mention of it in these words:
“He admonished all the caliphs, viziers, kings, jurists, elite and the laity- to adopt the righteous course and to forsake the things forbidden. He openly criticized, unsparingly, everyone to his face in his discourses.
He used to denounce the authorities sternly if any tyrant was appointed to a public office by them. He never cared for anyone if he saw the commands of God being overstepped.” Ibn Kathir writes that when caliph al-Muqtafil’Amr Illah Appointed Abdul Wafa’ Yahya, a man notorious for his cruelty, as a Cadi, ‘Aabdul Qadir admonished the caliph in these words:
“You have appointed a man notorious as the ‘Most Tyrant’ to rule over the Muslims. What would your answer be tomorrow on the day of judgment, before the Lord of the Worlds, the Most Merciful?”
Ibn Kathir further says that when the caliph came to know of the admonishment of ‘Abdul Qadir he burst into tears and immediately dismissed Abdul Wafa’ Yahya from the office.
