Obedience to the Prophet

Obedience to the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
Say: Obey Allah and theMessenger, but if you turn away, Allah loves
not the disbelievers. (Surat Ali Imraan 3:32)
The Quran commands obedience to the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam). Whenever the obedience of Allah is ordered, the obedienceof
the Final Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) is also mentioned
alongside. Here are some examples:
And obey Allah and theMessenger so that you may be blessed. (Surat Ali
Imraan 3:132)
And obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware. (Suratul Maaidah 5:92)
So fear Allah and set things right between you, and obey Allah and His
Messenger if you are (in truth) believers. (Suratul Anfaal 8:1)
O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not make
your deeds vain. (Surat Muhammad 47:33)
There are many more verses that command the obedience of both, Allah
and His Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam). On the contrary,
there are verses that command the obedience of the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam), but does not mention the obedience of Allah
alongside it:
And if you obey him (the Prophet, sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam),
youshall find the right path. (Suratun-Nur 54)
And establish regular prayer and pay the poor-due and obey the Prophet
so that you may be blessed. (Suratun-Nur 24:56)
On that day, those whodisbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will
wish that the earth might beleveled with them. (Suratun-Nisaa 4:42)
The reason that the obedience of the Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam) is not always mentioned with Allahs obedience is given in the
Quran, itself:
And whoever obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah. (Suratun-Nisaa 4:80)
Obedience to the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) does not mean
that thepeople who were present at the time of the prophethood of
Allahs Final Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) were to obey him
only, but the obedience of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
is a commandment for all of mankind and for all times. The Quran and
Islam are for all peopleof all times and if obedience to the Messenger
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) was meant for only his time, then it
would mean that the Quran and Islam were also only meant for one time.
But the Quran refutes this idea:
Say: O mankind! Indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you allso
believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read
nor write and who believes in Allah and in His Words and follow him so
that you may be led aright. (Suratul Araaf 7:158)
Obeying the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) is obeying Allah as
stated in verse4:80 of the Quran. The Quran states:
Nor does he (the Prophet, sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) speak of (his
own) desire. It is naught but an inspiration that is inspired, which
one of mighty powers has taught him. (Suratun-Najm 53:3-5)
The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) received two types of
revelation from Allah. The first type is called al wahy al matluw,
which means the recited revelation and this refers to the Holy Quran,
which is the Speech of Allah.
The second type of revelation is not a part of the Quran, but the
Quran refers to it often.It is called al wahy ghayr al matluw, meaning
the unrecitedrevelation, which did not form any part of the Quran.
This is the revelation given to the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam) and is seen in his sayings (hadith) and his actions. Verses
3-5 of Surah 53, above, tell usthat the everything that the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said was inspired to him by Allah and
he never spoke out of his own desire. This type of inspiration is al
wahy ghayr al matluw and is proven in the Quran and examples of this
type of unrecited revelation will be produced below, insha Allah:
The Quran repeatedly orders the believers to establish the salah andto
perform them regularly. In verses 239and 240 of Suratul Baqarah, Allah
tells theMuslims that they can pray their salah in more convenient
ways,such as by riding whenthey are in a state of war, but they must
go back to their normal way of praying once they are in safety from
the enemies. Many points can be derived from the following ayah in
defense of al wahy ghayr al matluw:
Take due care of all theprayers and the middlemost prayer and stand
before Allah in total devotion. But if you arein fear then (pray) on
foot or riding, but when you are in safety,then recite the name
ofAllah in the way He taught you.
Firstly, the verse mentions taking care of all the prayers, which
means that there is more than one obligatory prayer for the believers
to perform. Yet, nowhere in the Quran will we find the exact number of
obligatory prayers. Only in the ahaadith of the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam), does it mention that five obligatory prayers have
been prescribed for the believers. So, it is proof that the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) received another type of revelation
telling him how many prayerswere prescribed, but this revelation was
notincluded in the Quran itself.
Secondly, the verse emphasizes the importance of taking care of the
middle prayer, but no definition of the middle prayer has been given.
The definition had been left up to the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam).
Thirdly, the verse says, recite the name of Allah in the way He taught
you, which means, perform your prayer in the way He taught you, since
this whole verse is talking about prayer. So, Allah is saying that
when one is in safety and is away from the harm ofthe enemy, then they
must go back to praying their salah the regular way, the way Allah had
taught them. Now, the following question arises: Whereare the
instructions on how to pray? It is found nowhere in the al wahy al
matluw, the recited revelation i.e., the Quran. The instructions on
how to pray was given to us by the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam), but Allah doesnt say, pray the way the Prophet taught you.
Allah says, the way He taught you.This means that the instructions of
the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) on how to perform the salah
were actually theinstructions of Allah, which He inspired to the
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) through al wahy ghayr al
matluw. Subhannallah.
In verses 16-19 of Surah Qiyamah, we will find some more evidence al
wahy ghayr al matluw and that it is a revelation from Allah:
Move not your tongue with it in order to hasten it. It is on Us to
gather (in your heart) and to recite it. So, when We read it, follow
its reading. Then it is on Us to explain it.
In the underlined verse, Allah says that He will explain the
revelation to the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) and it is
evident that its explanation will be a separate revelation from the
Quran, itself. Otherwise there wouldbe no need to say that He will
explain it if it was to be included in the Quran anyway. The
explanation of the Quran is found in the ahaadith of the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), which he received from an unrecited
revelation.
There are many more examples in the Quran of al wahy ghayr al matluw,
but we will not mention all of them in this paper.
Another issue that needs attention is the role that the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) was sent to play. Was he sent to merely
deliver the Quran to the people without explaining or teaching them
anything about it? Washis only job to hand over the Book and let the
people do whatever they wanted with it? Was his role like that of a
mailman?The answer is clearly a no and this answer is supported with
Allahs Words. In fact, Ibrahim (alaiyhis-salaam) prayed:
Our Lord! Raise in theirmidst a messenger from among themselves who
recites to them Your verses and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom
and purifies them. (Suratul Baqarah2:129)
Allah answered his prayer and He says in His Book about the Final
Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam):
Allah has surely blessed the believers with His favor when Heraised in
their midst a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them the
Book and the wisdom, while they were, before, in plain error. (Surat
Ali Imraan3:164)
He is the One Who raised up, among the unlettered, a Messenger from
among themselves who recites the verses of Allah and makes them pure
and teachesthem the Book and the Wisdom. (Suratul Jumuah 62:2)
In these verses, Allah describes the role of the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) and why he was sent and what he is to accomplish.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) was given the following
responsibilities:
1. To recite the verses of Allah.
2. To teach the Book of Allah.
3. To teach the Wisdom.
4. To make the people pure.
So the Quran clearly tells us that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam) is not to merely recite and hand over the Quran to the people
without helping them gain its benefits and without helping them
understand it. He is required to recite the Book, teach it, explain
its wisdom, and through it, make the people pure by teaching them how
to apply it. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) is the
authorityon how the Quran is recited. He is the only one who can
interpret it. He is the only one who can provide the wisdom of the
Quran to the people through divine guidance and heis entrusted with
the training of the people to bring his teachings into practice.
Say: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; then if you turn away, upon
him rests what islaid on him and upon you rests what is laid on you.
If you obey him, you will be guided. (Suratun-Nur 24:54)
And we sent no messenger, but that heshould be obeyed by the leave of
Allah. (Suratun-Nisaa 4:64)
Verse 64 of Suratun-Nisaa, above, proves furthermore that the Final
Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) must be obeyed because every
prophet was sent to guide their people and it was required upon the
people to follow and obey him by the will of Allah. Messengers are the
spokesmen of Allah. People cannot obey Allah until they obey the
prophets. And when they obey the prophet, they must also follow him
and put into action the obedience:
Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you and
forgive you your sins. (Surat Ali Imraan 3:31)
Believe then, in Allah and His Messenger, theunlettered Prophet, who
believes in Allah and His words, and follow him so that you may be on
the right path. (Suratul Araaf 7:157)
There is indeed a good example for you in the Messenger of Allah for
the one who hopes (to meet) Allah and the Hereafter, and remembers
Allah much. (Suratul Ahzaab 33:21)
If it was not required for the people to follow the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) then it would have been an impossible
task for him to reform and purify them. If someone studies a certain
subject such as medicine, but they dont do any hands-on work to gain
experience, he cannot start working as a doctor immediately with no
supervision, risking the lives of his patients. He must be working
under the supervision of experienced doctors. In the same way, the
people cannot be giventhe Book of Allah only. Along with it, they must
be given a teacher to teach them the Books instructions and duties.
They must have a teacher to teachthem and set an example for them on
how to apply the Quran.
The Arabs were much more familiar with the language of the Quran as
well as its eloquent style than us. They received the verses of the
Quran directly fromthe Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) and
witnessed its revelation. Yet, even they needed the explanation of the
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) in regard to understanding the
meanings of the Quran.For example, Allah states in Suratul Ahzaab,
verse 59:
Oh Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the
believers that they should cast their outer jalabib (plural of jilbab)
over them; so that they may be known (for piety) and not harmed; and
Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
The companions (radiyyallahu anhum) did not know what the jalabib was
referring to. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) explained
that it was one sheet that was used to cover the entire body, from
headto toe, leaving only the left eye to see and this was narrated by
Ibn Abbas (radiyyallahu anhu).
It does not make sensefor the Muslims of today to say, The Quranis
enough. We do not need the Sunnah. Arentwe more in need of theSunnah
than the companions and those who were actually present with the
Beloved Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)? The Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) stated: Very soon a tradition of mine
will be related to a person lying on his couch who will say, The Book
of Allah (i.e., Quran) is enough between you and us. Whatever we find
in it as halal (lawful and permissible), we accept it as halal and
whatever we find in it as haram (unlawful and prohibited), we take
that as haram. Behold, whatever Allahs Messenger has declared as haram
is just like that which Allah has declared as haram.
It is ridiculous to claim that all the ahaadith are unreliable and
were not preserved. Allah has stated, in His Book:
Indeed, (it is) We who have revealed the Remembrance and indeed We
will guard it (from corruption). (Suratul Hijr 15:9)
The Remembrance, referred to in this verse, is the Quran and its
explanation and wisdom. There is no way we can obey the Quran without
obeyingthe Sunnah. If Allah didnot protect the Sunnahand the ahaadith,
then how can we act upon the Quran? The Quran tells us to pray. But if
the Sunnah is corrupt, then how do we pray? The Quran does not tellus.
The Quran commands believers topay zakah, but how much do we pay and
how often? The Quran does not say it, but the Sunnah does. The
companions of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) went through
so much pains and sacrifice to preserve the Sunnah ofthe Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam). They knew every detailof when he would
say what he said, why hed say it, where hed say it,etc.
We see a good example of this in Abu Hurairah (radiyyallahu anhu), who
narrated: I have divided my night into three parts. In onethird of the
night, I perform salah. In one third, I sleep. And in one third, I
memorize the ahaadith of the Prophet of Allah (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam). Abu Hurairah (radiyyallahu anhu) reported more ahaadith than
any other companion.
One time Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to test Abu Hurairah's
(radiyyallahu anhu) power of memory. He sat with him in one room and
behind a curtain he placed a scribe, unknown to Abu Hurairah, and
ordered him to write down whatever Abu Hurairah said. A year later,
Marwan called Abu Hurairah again and asked him to recallthe same
ahaadith, which the scribe had recorded. It was found that he had not
forgotten or left out even a single word.
The companions (radiyyallahu anhum) of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi
wa sallam) used to do their best to memorizethe ahaadith of the
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam). Their encouragement and zeal
of preserving it came from the words of the Messenger (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) when he said: May Allah bestow vigor to aperson who
hears my saying and learns it by heart and then conveysit to others
exactly as he hearts it. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
also stated: Those present should convey (my sunnah) to those absent.
So, they also used to sit in groups together and discuss and share,
with each other, whatever ahaadith they knew. Another method of
preserving the Sunnah was by practicing it and in this way, they would
also be gaining personal benefit. Anas (radiyyallahu anhu) reported
that the Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said: Preserve
knowledge by writing.
The famous collector ofahaadith, Imam Bukhari, who was among the
tabieen, traveled through so many cities and countries to collect the
authentic ahaadith of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam). He
would not include any ahaadith who had unreliable narrators orchains
or any ahaadith that was not sahih. His book is referred most commonly
as As-Sahih Al-Bukhari.
The Quran proves to usthat obedience of the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) is incumbent and required upon the believers and no
believer has any excuse not to obey andfollow the Messenger. Allah
describes those who are the true believers and only these will be
successfulin both worlds:
All that the believers say, when they are called to Allah and His
Messenger that they may judge between them, is that they say: We hear
and we obey. It is these who are successful. Whoever obeys Allah and
His Messenger and fears Allah and has awe of Himit is these who are
the winners. (Suratun-Nur 24:52)
But those who reject the authority of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi
wa sallam) and disobey him, are warned of a Allahs wrath, disapproval,
and punishment:
And whoever makes a breach with the Messenger after the right path has
become clear to him, and follows a way other than that of the
believers, We shall leave him in the path he chose and shall admit him
into the Hellfire; what an evil refuge! (Suratun-Nisaa 4:115)
(Mine is) but conveyance (of the truth) from Allah, and His messages;
and whoso disobeys Allah and His Messenger, lo! his is the fire of
hell, wherein such dwell forever. (Suratul Jinn 72:23)
On that day, those whodisbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will
wish that they were level with the ground, and they can hide no fact
from Allah. (Suratun-Nisaa 4:42)
The disobedience of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) a very
big mistake and his obedience is a very significant matter. As stated
before, the obedience of the Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
is, in fact, the obedience of Allah. Everything theProphet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) did and said was revealed and inspired to him by
Allah. He never did anything out of his own desire. No one feared
Allah more thanthe Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) and no one
was more lovedto Allah than His Beloved Final Messenger (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him the best. Prophet Muhammad
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) is the best guidance for mankind
especially in the present day where we see Jahiliyyah appearing from
all corners of the world. Only with his guidance and authority will
mankind prosper in this world and the next, which is why it is
compulsory for every believer to obey the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi
wa sallam).
La ilaaha illallahu Muhammadur-rasoolullah!