When you stand to lead men in the canonical prayers...

When you stand to lead men in the canonical prayers, neither drive (them) away (by praying too lengthily) nor mar (the prayer by performing it too quickly or faultily), for among men there are some who are ill and others who are needy.

I asked the Messenger of God (may God bless him and his household) when he sent me to Yemen: “How shall I lead them in prayer?” He said: “Lead them in prayer as the weakest of them prays, and be merciful to the believers.” Furthermore, prolong not your seclusion (ihtijab) from your subjects, for rulers’ seclusion from subjects is a kind of constraint and (results in) a lack of knowledge of affairs. Seclusion from them cuts rulers off from the knowledge of that from which they have been secluded.

Then the great appears to them as small and the small as great. The beautiful appears as ugly and the ugly as beautiful. And the truth becomes stained with falsehood. The ruler is only a man. He does not know the affairs which men hide from him. There are no marks upon the truth by which the various kinds of veracity might be distinguished from falsehood.

Again, you are one of only two men: either you give generously in the way of the truth-then why seclude yourself from carrying out a valid obligation or performing a noble deed? Or else you are afflicted by niggardliness-then how quickly will men refrain from petitioning you when they despair of your generosity. Moreover, most requests men present to you are those which impose no burden upon you, such as a complaint against a wrong or the seeking of equity in a transaction.

Then surely the ruler has favorites and intimates, among whom there is a certain arrogation, transgression and lack of equity in transactions. Remove the substance of these (qualities) by cutting off the means of obtaining these situations.

Bestow no fiefs upon any of your entourage or relatives, nor let them covet from you the acquisition of a landed estate (4) which would bring loss to the people bordering upon it in (terms of) a water supply or a common undertaking, the burden of which would be imposed upon them (5). Its benefit would be for those (who acquired the fiefs) and not for you, and its fault would be upon you in this world and the next.

Impose the right (al-haqq) upon whomsoever it is incumbent, whether he be related to you or not (6). Be patient in this and look to your (ultimate) account (muhtasib) (7), however, this may affect your relatives and favourites.