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Concerning the rights which people owe the Profet,
salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam
Chapter I Obligation to believe in him, obey him and
follow his sunna, salla-Allahu `alehi wa sallam
Section I: Obligation to believe in him,
salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam:
Allah ta`ala says, "Believe in
Allah and His Messenger and the light which He sent down" (64:8) He Says,
"We sent you as a witness and a bringer of good news and a warner so that
they might believe in Allah and His Messenger" (48:8-9) He says, "Believe
in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Profet" (7:158).
Belief in the Profet Muhammad, salla-Allahu
`aleyhi wa sallam, is therefore a necessary obligation for every individual.
Belief is not complete without it and Islam is only valid with it.
Section II: Obligation to obey him,
salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam
As for the obligation to obey the prophet salla-Allahu
`aleyhi wa sallam, belief in him demands it. Confirming of what he brought
requires obedience to him because that is part of what he brought.
Allah ta`ala says, "O you who believe, obey Allah
and His Messenger" (8:20)
"Say: obey Allah and obey the Messenger" (24:54)
He says, "Obey Allah and the Messenger and perhaps you will be shown mercy"
(3:132) "If you obey him, you will be guided" (24:54) "Whoever obeys the
Messenger has obeyed Allah" (4:79) "Take what the Messenger brings you and
leave what he forbids you" (59:7) "Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger
is with those whom Allah has blessed" (4:68) "We did not sent any Messneger
but for him to be obeyed by the permission of Allah" (4:63)
He made obeying His Messenger tantamount to obeying
Himself, and He placed obedience to himself alongside obedience to His Messenger.
Allah promises that doing this will result in an abundant reward and threatens
a severe punishement for opposing it. He made it obligatory to obey the
things that the Prophet commanded and to avoid those he prohibited.
The Prophet, salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam, said,
"When I forbid you to do something, avoid it. When I command you somehting,
then do it as much as you are able."
In the hadith of Abu Hurayra we find that the Prophet
salla-Allahu `aleyhi sallam said, "All of my community will enter the Garden
except for those who refuse to." They asked, "Messenger of Allah, who will
refuse?" He replied, "Whoever obeys me will enter the Garden. Whoever rebels
against me has refused."
Section III: Obligation to follow him and to obey his
Sunna,
salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam:
As for the obligation to follow him and obey his
sunna and follow his guidance, Allah ta`ala says, "Say: if you love Allah,
follow me and He will love you and forgive you your wrong actions." (3:31)
"Believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet who believes
in Allah and His words. Follow him, perhaps you will be guided." (7:157)
"No, by your Lord, they will not believe until they ask you to judge between
them in what they disagree about and then they shall find in themselves no
impediment touching your verdict, but shall surrender in full submission."
(4:64) i.e. obey your judgement. Allah ta`ala also says, "You have a good
model in the Messenger of Allah for one who hopes for Allah and the Last
Day." (33:21)
Muhammad ibn `Ali at-Tirmidhi said, "To take the Messenger as a model
means to emulate him, follow his sunna and abandon opposition to him in
either word or action.
In the first ayat mentioned, Allah ta`ala promises His love and forgiveness
to those who follow the Prophet, salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam, and prefer
him to their own passions and inclinations. Soundness of belief is based
on submission to the Prophet, salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam, and satisfaction
with his judgement and abandoning opposition to him.
Az-Zajjaj says that the meaning of, "Say: if you love Allah", is if you
desire to obey Him, then do what He has commanded you to do since the love
of the slave for Allah ta`ala and the Messenger, salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa
sallam, lies in obeying both of them and being happy with what [Allah ta`ala
and His Messenger salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam] command. It is said that
love from Allah ta`ala manifests itself in protection and success. Love on
the part of the slaves manifests itself in obedience. It is said that the
slave's love for Allah ta`ala is to exalt Him and be in awe of Him, and the
love of Allah ta`ala for him is His mercy to him and His beautiful concern
for him. It can also mean praise.
It is related that the Prophet, salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam, said,
"The Qur´an is hard and difficult for anyone who hates it. It is judgement.
Whoever clings to what I say and understands it and retains it, then it will
be like the Qur´an for him. Whoever considers the Qur´an and
what I say unimportant and neglects it loses this world and the Next. My
community is commanded to take my words and obey my command and follow my
sunna. Whoever is pleased with my words is pleased the Qur´an. Allah
ta`ala says, "Take what the Messenger brings you" (59:7)
The Prophet, salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam, said, "Whoever follows me
is of me and whoever wants to abandon my sunna is not of me."
The Prophet, salla-Allahu `aleyhi wa sallam, said, "Allah will bring a
man into the Garden by the fact that he clings to my sunna."
Anas reported, "Whoever brings the sunna to life has brought me to life.
Whoever brings me to life will be with me in the Garden"
Section IV: On what is related from the salaf and
the Imams about following his sunna, taking his guidance and sira
As-Shafi`i said, "The sunna of
the Messenger of Allah consists only in following it."
When `Umar looked at the Black Stone, he said, "You are a stone and can
neither help nor harm. If I had not seen the Messenger of Allah kiss you,
I would not have kissed you." Then he kissed it.
`Abdulah ibn `Umar was seen making his she-camel turn round in a particular
place and was asked why. He said, "I don't know. I once saw the Messenger
of Allah doing it, so I do it."
Abu `Uthman al-Hiri said, "Whoever gives the sunna authority over himself
in word and deed speaks with wisdom. Whoever gives passion authority over
himself speaks by innovation."
It is related that Ahmad bin Hanbal said, "One day
I was with a group who stripped off all their clothes and went into the water.
I applied the hadith, 'Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should
only enter the baths with a wrapper.' I did not strip. That night I dreamt
that someone said to me, 'O Ahmad, Allah has forgiven you because of your
application of sunna and He has made you an Imam who will be followed.' I
said, 'Who are you?' He replied, 'Jibril.'
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