It has been reported on the authority of Abu Musa who said: I went to the Prophet ﷺ and with me were two men from the Ash'ari tribe. One of them was on my right hand and the other on my left. Both of them made a request for a position (of authority) while the Prophet ﷺ was brushing his teeth with a tooth-stick. He said (to me): Abu Musa (or 'Abdullah b. Qais), what do you say (about the request they have made)? I said: By God Who sent thee on thy mission with truth, they did not disclose to me what they had in their minds, and I did not know that they would ask for a position. The narrator says : I visualize as if I were looking at the miswak of the Prophet ﷺ between his lips. He (the Holy Prophet) said: We shall not or shall never appoint to the public offices (in our State) those who with to have them, but you may go, Abu Musa (or Abdullah b. Qais) (to take up your assignment). He sent him to Yemen as governor. then he sent Mu'adh b. jabal in his wake (to help him in the discharge of duties). When Mu'adh reached the camp of Abu Musa, the latter (received him and) said: Please get yourself down; and he spread for him a mattress, while there was a man bound hand and foot as a prisoner. Mu'adh said: Who is this? Abu Musa said: He was a Jew. He embraced Islam. Then he reverted to his false religion and became a Jew. Mu'adh said: I won't sit until he is killed according to the decree of Allah and His Apostle ﷺ (in this case). Abu Musa said: Be seated. It will be done. He said: I won't sit unless he is killed in accordance with the decree of Allah and His Apostle ﷺ. He repeated these words thrice. Then Abu Musa ordered him (to be killed) and he was killed. Then the two talked of standing in prayer at night. One of them, i. e. Mu'adh, said: I sleep (for a part of the night) and stand in prayer (for a part) and I hope that I shall get the same reward for steeping as I shall get for standing (in prayer).
This hadith teaches us that we should always follow Allah's decrees no matter how difficult it may seem or how much we may disagree with it because He knows best what is right for us even if we don't understand why something has been decreed by Him at first glance or why something has been forbidden by Him when it seems harmless or beneficial on its own surface level. It also teaches us that those who are appointed into positions of authority should be chosen based on merit rather than simply wanting power or influence over others; this can be seen through how neither Abu Musa nor Mu'adh were aware of each other’s intentions when asking for these positions yet were still chosen due to their merits alone without any bias towards either one of them from the prophet himself despite knowing both parties personally beforehand .
