How should the hadith "A person who does not follow (obey) the imam of his time dies the death of Jahiliyyah”? What is the source of this hadith and is it reliable?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The main target of every Muslim is to worship Allah sincerely and to pass the test. It is necessary for Muslims to become a congregation in order to lead an Islamic life. It is known that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) indicated this subtlety by stating the following:

"It is not permissible for three Muslims to live without appointing one of them as their leader even if they are in a very distant part of the world." (Musnad, İst. 1401, II/177)

It is not possible for the people who oppose the desires of their souls and who surrender to Allah to regard Islamic congregation unnecessary. Hz. Umar stated the importance of the issue by saying,

"Islam cannot be Islam unless there is congregation (jama’ah). Congregation cannot be congregation unless they have a leader. A leader cannot be a leader unless he is obeyed. If a person is appointed as the leader by their nation due to his fiqh (ilm), it will be life for this person and his nation. If a person is appointed as the leader by their nation not because of his fiqh (ilm), it will be a cause of destruction for this person and his nation."(Darimi, Muqaddama, 16.)

"A person who dies without paying allegiance to the imam of his time dies the death of Jahiliyyah."

The hadith above is mursal. That is, there is a break in the chain of narrators. However, the following hadith is regarded as sound by hadith scholars:

"If a person withdraws his obedience from the leader even to the extent of a hand span, he will attain Allah without having any evidence in favor of him on the Day of Judgment. A person who dies without having allegiance dies the death of Jahiliyyah." (Sahihi Muslim, 1851.)

There is also the following hadith regarding the issue:

"One who found in his amir (leader) something which he disliked should hold his patience; for, one who separated from the authority of his amir even to the extent of a hand span and then died would die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyya." (Muslim, Imara 13 H. No: 1849/56)

While explaining this hadith, Imam Nawawi mentioned "those who do not pay allegiance without any excuse when there is a caliph of the believers".

It means a person who does not know the scholar of his time will die as an ignorant person who is deprived of a lot of knowledge and unaware of religious issues. It does not mean that a person who does not recognize the mujaddid or the imam that comes in every century dies as an unbeliever.

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