We will not appoint for our affairs anyone who seeks that position. But O Abu Mūsa! You go to Yemen
Authentic hadithعن أبي موسى، قال: أقبلتُ إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ومعي رجلان من الأشعريين، أحدهما عن يميني والآخر عن يساري، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يَسْتَاكُ، فكلاهما سَأَلَ، فقال: "يا أبا موسى، أو: يا عبد الله بن قيس" قال: قلت: والذي بَعَثَكَ بالحق ما أطلعاني على ما في أنفسهما، وما شَعَرْتُ أنهما يطلبان العمل، فكأني أنظر إلى سِوَاكَهَ تَحْتَ شَفَتِهِ قَلَصَتْ، فقال: "لن، أو: لا نستعمل على عملنا من أراده، ولكن اذهب أنت يا أبا موسى، أو يا عبد الله بن قيس، إلى اليمن" ثم أَتْبَعَهُ معاذ بن جبل، فلما قدم عليه ألقَى له وَسَادَةً، قال: انزل، وإذا رجل عنده مُوثَقٌ، قال: ما هذا؟ قال: كان يهوديا فأسلم ثم تَهَوَّدَ، قال: اجلس، قال: لا أجلس حتى يقتل، قضاء الله ورسوله، ثلاث مرات. فأمر به فقتل، ثم تذاكرا قيام الليل، فقال أحدهما: أما أنا فأقوم وأنام، وأرجو في نومتي ما أرجو في قومتي.
Abu Mūsa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) along with two men (from the tribe) of Ash‘ariyyīn, one on my right and the other on my left, while the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was brushing his teeth (with a tooth-stick), and both men asked him for employment (as governors). The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Mūsa (or O ‘Abdullāh ibn Qays)!" I said: "By Him Who sent you with the truth, they did not tell me what was on their minds and I did not feel that they were seeking employment." As if I were looking now at his tooth-stick being drawn to a corner under his lips, and he said: "We will not (or, we do not) appoint for our affairs anyone who seeks that position. But O Abu Mūsa! (or O ‘Abdullāh ibn Qays!) You go to Yemen." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then sent Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal after him, and when Mu‘ādh reached him, he spread out a cushion for him and asked him to sit. There was a fettered man beside Abu Mūsa. Mu‘ādh asked: "Who is this (man)?" Abu Mūsa said: "He was a Jew and became a Muslim and then reverted back to Judaism." Then Abu Mūsa asked Mu‘ādh to sit down but Mu‘ādh said: "I will not sit down till he is killed. This is the judgment of Allah and His Messenger (for such cases)," and he repeated it thrice. Abu Mūsa ordered that the man be killed, and he was killed. Then they discussed the voluntary night prayers and one of them said: "I pray and sleep, and I hope that Allah will reward me for my sleep as He rewards me for my prayers."
Explanation
In this Hadīth, Abu Mūsa (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) with two men from his own tribe. The two men asked for employment as governors, so the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that he would not give a position of power to anyone who asks for it. When someone seeks a position, he is left to it and is not given support by Allah. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) rather, sent Abu Mūsa to govern Yemen and then asked Mu‘ādh to reach him there. Mu‘ādh found a fettered man in the presence of Abu Mūsa. This man converted from Judaism to Islam and then back to Judaism. So, Mu‘ādh said that the due punishment must be inflicted on him, i.e., the punishment for apostasy which is capital punishment. Thus the man was killed. Both Abu Mūsa and Mu‘ādh then talked about voluntary night prayer. One of them said that he sleeps and prays, and hopes that he would receive reward for his sleep just as he receives reward for his prayer.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).