Reinhard Luthin defined demagogue as "a politician skilled in oratory, flattery and invective; evasive in discussing vital issues; promising everything to everybody; appealing to the passions rather than the reason of the public; and arousing racial, religious, and class prejudices—a man whose lust for power without recourse to principle leads him to seek to become a master of the masses.
This has been the dilemma of mankind since time immemorial and continues even today and perhaps will continue to be so till the world comes to an end. While the unjust rulers will be shown the doors of hell, their blind followers who knew that the rulers they are supporting are not only liars and unjust but also usurpers of rights of everyone.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had strictly warned such people who back the tyrants and cautioned them the deprivation of their presence at the Cistern - the Pond of Abundance (حَوْضُ ٱلْكَوْثَرِ).
This Hadith is mentioned in Sunan an Nasa'i / Book 39 The Book of al-Bay'ah / باب البيعة) / Chapter 35: Mentioning The Warning To Those Who Help The Leader To Do Wrong. / باب ذِكْرِ الْوَعِيدِ لِمَنْ أَعَانَ أَمِيرًا عَلَى الظُّلْمِ / as Hadith number # 4207 under:
It was narrated that Kab bin Ujrah said:
"The Messenger of Allah came out to us, and there were nine of us. He said; 'After me there will be rulers, whoever believes in their lies and helps them in their wrongdoing is not of me, and I am not of him, and he will not come to me at the Cistern. Whoever does not believe their lies and does not help them in their wrongdoing, he is of me, and I am of hi, and he will come to me at the Cistern."'
Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)
Arabic Text:
أَخْبَرَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ، عَنْ أَبِي حَصِينٍ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ عَاصِمٍ الْعَدَوِيِّ، عَنْ كَعْبِ بْنِ عُجْرَةَ، قَالَ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَنَحْنُ تِسْعَةٌ فَقَالَ " إِنَّهُ سَتَكُونُ بَعْدِي أُمَرَاءُ مَنْ صَدَّقَهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَأَعَانَهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ وَلَيْسَ بِوَارِدٍ عَلَىَّ الْحَوْضَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يُصَدِّقْهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُعِنْهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَهُوَ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْهُ وَهُوَ وَارِدٌ عَلَىَّ الْحَوْضَ
It is but strange that despite many such warnings both in Qur'an and Hadiths, Muslims too continue to follow the tyrants, liars and the unjust rulers. When it comes to caste one's vote, we see people being sold for a few bucks and supporting their supported candidates despite knowing their bad character, ill reputation, and habit of turning away from their promises. Such acts are tantamount to being part of the evil machination of the people they are supporting and will be asked to explain the why on the Day of Judgement. And on that day, they will have no answer but shame of selling away the trust for their petty gains.
Beware of the lies, my sisters and brothers in Islam which is being unleashed everyday on the social and print media and fall out of ranks of such people before we too become the supporters of the liars for which we will be held equally responsible.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please refer to our reference page: Collection of Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about Warning and Cautions for more Hadiths on the subject
For more hadiths on varying subjects, refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about Hadiths and Sunnah of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
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