HE WHO FOLLOWS AL-QUR’AN MUST FOLLOW AS-SUNNAH
All that the believers say, when they are called to Allâh and His Messenger that he may judge between them, is that they say, “We hear and we obey”: it is these who are successful. Whoever obeys Allâh and His Messenger and fears Allâh and has awe of Him: it is these who are the winners. (24:52)
And whoever obeys Allâh and His Messenger, he has won a great success. (33:71)
And the believers, men and women, are friends of each other; they bid the fair and forbid the unfair; they establish sAllâh and pay zakaah and they obey Allâh and His Messenger. These are those upon whom Allâh shall have mercy; Allâh is All-Mighty, All-Wise. (9:71)
If you obey Allâh and His Messenger, He will not diminish you anything of your deeds. (49:14)
The Holy Qur’ân has also made it clear that “the obedience of the prophet” is not a new principle, nor is it limited to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The same principle applied to all the former prophets who came before him:
And we sent no messenger, but that he should be obeyed by the leave of Allâh. (4:64)
It is also clarified by the Holy Qur’ân that the prophets are the spokesmen of Allâh’s pleasure. Hence, the obedience of the prophet is actually obedience of Allâh Himself.
And whoever obeys the Messenger, thereby obeys Allâh. (4:80)
As the obedience of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has been stressed by the Holy Qur’ân and has been combined with the “obedience of Allâh,” in the same way “disobedience” of him has been warned against and is combined with the “disobedience of Allâh:”
And whoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He shall admit him to Fire where he shall remain forever. (4:14)
And whoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger has gone astray into manifest error. (33:36)
And whoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger, for him there is the fire of Jahannam. There they shall remain forever. (72:23)
And whoever makes a breach with Allâh and His Messenger, then Allâh is severe in punishment. (8:13)
Did they not come to know that whoever opposes Allâh and His Messenger, for him there is the fire of Jahannam? (9:63)
Thus, both positive and negative aspects of the obedience have been dealt with in the Holy Qur’ân and the “obedience of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)” in each one of these verses has been mentioned separately, alongwith the obedience of Allâh.
It is noteworthy that whenever the “obedience of Allâh” is mentioned in the Holy Qur’ân, it is always followed by the “obedience of the Prophet” which has never been missed even in a single verse. There is no verse in the entire Book where the “obedience of Allâh” has been mentioned alone with no reference to the “obedience of the Messenger.”
On the contrary, there are some verses where only the “obedience of the Messenger” has been mentioned, and there is no reference to the obedience of Allâh:
And establish salaah and pay zakaah and obey the Prophet so that you may be blessed. (24:56)
And if you obey him (the Prophet), you shall find the right path. (24:54)
On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth might be levelled with them. (4:42)
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 let him own what he chose and shall admit him in the Jahannam, and it is evil as a returning place. (4:115)
The reason for so much stress upon the “obedience of the Prophet” is that the obedience of Allâh cannot be carried out except through the obedience of the Prophet. Allâh does not address each and every individual to tell him what He requires from him, as the Holy Qur’ân puts it:
And it is not possible for a human being that Allâh should speak to him, except by revelation, or from behind a curtain or that He should send a messenger and reveal by His leave what He wills. (42:51)
Therefore Allâh conveys His injunctions only through His prophets and His obedience cannot be carried out except by the obedience of the messengers. So, when a prophet bids something or forbids something, he does not do it in his private capacity, rather he does so in the capacity of a messenger of Allâh. When Allâh Himself has given an express command to “obey the Messenger,” the obedience of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is actually the “obedience of Allâh,” though in an indirect manner. This point has been clearly established by the Holy Qur’ân in the following words:
And whoever obeys the Messenger, thereby obeys Allâh. (4:80)
So, whenever only the “obedience of the Messenger” has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’ân, it includes, without saying, the “obedience of Allâh” because the Messenger does not say anything in the capacity of a Messenger unless he is guided by a revelation from Allâh:
And he (the Prophet (peace be upon him) does not speak out of his own desire. It is not but a revelation revealed (to him). (53:3-4)
Looked at from this angle, the obedience of the Prophet (peace be upon him) represents the obedience of Allâh and the reference to the former always includes the latter. That is why the Holy Qur’ân in some verses deemed it sufficient to refer to the obedience of the Messenger only, for the practical way to obey Allâh is only to obey the prophet.
On the contrary, the Holy Qur’ân did not deem it sufficient to refer to the “obedience of Allâh” without referring to the “obedience of the Messenger,” to remove even the remotest excuse for ignoring the “obedience of the Prophet” and to leave no doubt whatsoever in the fact that the obedience of Allâh is not complete unless the obedience of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is fully observed with all its implications.
Ittibaa’ (Following) of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
The second term used by the Holy Qur’ân in respect of the prophets is the ittibaa’, i.e. to follow:
Say, if you love Allâh, follow me and Allâh will love you and forgive you your sins. (3:31)
Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Injeel… (7:157)
Believe, then, in Allâh and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who believes in Allâh and His words, and follow him so that you may be on the right path. (7:158)
Allâh has surely relented towards the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Helpers who followed him in an hour of difficulty. (9:117)
O Prophet, sufficient for you is Allâh and those who followed you of the believers. (8:64)
(The believers say:) Our Lord, we have come to believe in what You revealed and followed the Messenger. So write us among those who bear witness. (3:53)
Say: This is my way. I call to Allâh with sure knowledge, I and whoever follows me. (12:108)
