Lesson three

Lesson three:
The necessity of being obedient to Allah and His Messenger.
Being obedient to Allah and His Messenger is one of the basic principles of religion [Islam]. A person cannot be a Muslim until he complies with the directives of Allah and His Messenger, and believes in the obligation to obeying Allah and His Messenger, and that he who obeys Allah and His Messenger has gained the blessings of Allah, His mercy and His great bounties.
For Allah the Exalted has indeed said:
﴿وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤۡمِنٖ وَلَا مُؤۡمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ أَمۡرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ ٱلۡخِيَرَةُ مِنۡ أَمۡرِهِمۡۗ وَمَن يَعۡصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ ضَلَٰلٗا مُّبِينٗا ٣٦﴾ [الأحزاب: 36].
Meaning: "And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error". Q33:V 36.
And He the Exalted said:
﴿۞يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبۡطِلُوٓاْ أَعۡمَٰلَكُمۡ ٣٣﴾ [محمد: 33].
Meaning: "O you, who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds".  Q 47: V 33
And He (the Most high)said:
﴿وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُرۡحَمُونَ ١٣٢﴾ [آل عمران: 132].
Meaning:" And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy". Q3: V132
And He (the most high) said:
﴿وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ يُدۡخِلۡهُ جَنَّٰتٖ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَاۚ وَذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ ١٣ وَمَن يَعۡصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَهُۥ يُدۡخِلۡهُ نَارًا خَٰلِدٗا فِيهَا وَلَهُۥ عَذَابٞ مُّهِينٞ ١٤﴾ [النساء: 13-14].
Meaning:" And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to the garden [of paradise] under which river flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits He [Allah] will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment". Q4: V13 and 13
And He (the Exalted) said:
﴿وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيۡهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّ‍ۧنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَۚ وَحَسُنَ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقٗا ٦٩ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡفَضۡلُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ عَلِيمٗا ٧٠﴾ [النساء: 69-70].
Meaning:" And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor from the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. That is the bounty from Allah, and sufficient is Allah as knower". Q 4: V 69 and 70
And He (the Exalted) said:
﴿وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدۡ فَازَ فَوۡزًا عَظِيمًا ٧١﴾ [الأحزاب: 71].
Meaning: "And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment". Q33:V71.
And He (the exalted) said:
﴿وَمَن يَعۡصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ٢٣﴾ [الجن: 23].
Meaning: "… And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger- then indeed, for him is the fire of hell; they will abide therein forever". Q 72:V23
And He (the Most high) said:
﴿مَّن يُطِعِ ٱلرَّسُولَ فَقَدۡ أَطَاعَ ٱللَّهَ﴾ [النساء: 80].
Meaning:" He who obeyed the Messenger has obeyed Allah…" Q4:V80
And He said:
﴿وَمَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَىٰكُمۡ عَنۡهُ فَٱنتَهُواْ﴾ [الحشر: 7].
Meaning:" And whatever the Messenger gives you take; and whatever he forbids you refrain from…" Q 59: V7.
So, these verses indicate that obedience to Allah and His Messenger is obligatory, and that Allah (the most high) has promised great bounties for he who obeys Him and His Messenger in this world and in the hereafter. And He has promised a painful doom for he who disobeys Him and His Messenger.
And this obedience is achieved by carrying out the commands and abstaining from the forbidden, and this is the essential nature of religion i.e, worshiping Allah by performing what He has ordained and abstaining from what He has made forbidden. For Allah has simplified the religion for us and has not charged us with what is beyond our ability. He (the Exalted) said:
﴿فَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا ٱسۡتَطَعۡتُمۡ﴾ [التغابن: 16].
Meaning: " So fear Allah as much as you are able…" Q64: V16.
And Allah (the Exalted) said:
﴿وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ فِي ٱلدِّينِ مِنۡ حَرَجٖ﴾ [الحج: 78].
Meaning: "… and [Allah] has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty". Q22:V78. And [Allah] (The Exalted) said:
﴿لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَا﴾ [البقرة: 286].
Meaning: "And Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity Q 2: V 286.
Abu huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said;
«إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ وَلَنْ يُشَادَّ الدِّينَ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ غَلَبَهُ» [رواه البخاري].
Meaning: "verily, religion is easy, and none will be overburden the religion except that it defeats him". Reported by Al Bukhari.
Abu huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) also narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
«إِذَا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ، وَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِأَمْرٍ فَأْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ» [متفق‌عليه].
Meaning: " What I forbid you to do, just refrain from it, and what I command you to do, do it as much as you can afford". Agreed upon.
And the commands with which Allah and His Messenger ordered are of three levels.
The first level: That, with which Islamic religion is necessarily retained. Such as obeying him [the prophet] in the tauhid of Allah (the exalted) [i.e, the Islamic monotheism], disbelieving in Attaghut [false deities] and avoiding things that nullify Islam. Whoever contradicts in this level and commit shirk [associate partner] with Allah (the exalted) or commit any act from the nullifiers of Islam such as disproving Allah and His Messenger or mocks any aspect of the religion of Allah (the Great and Almighty) or does anything of this kind has become a disbeliever.
Second level: That, with which a person will be saved from punishment. This has to do with carrying out obligations, and abstaining from the unlawful. For whoever fulfill this level will be saved from punishment by the will of Allah [and he] is promised a great reward because of his obedience. This is the level of the pious servants of Allah.
The third level: Performing obligatory and recommendable [acts] and abstaining from the unlawful and the unpleasant. This is the most perfect level regarding the servants of Allah, and its companions are among the people of Ihsan [i.e, those who worship Allah in the most perfect manner as if they are seeing Him] and [they have been] promised the highest ranks, we pray for Allah's favor.
Allah (the exalted) has perfected for us the religion, and completed for us the favor of Islam as He said:
﴿ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ وَأَتۡمَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ نِعۡمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡإِسۡلَٰمَ دِينٗا﴾ [المائدة: 3].
Meaning: "This day I have perfected your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion". Q4: V3
So, the religion of Islam is complete, and the laws of sharia are inclusive of all our affairs. Thus, there is no deficiency in it, neither contradictions nor decrement. Rather, it is a law that is perfect, complete, simplified and suited for every time and place. And it is dominant on all the conditions of the slaves [of Allah].
Therefore, whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger is rightly guided to the best in every aspect of his affairs. For Allah (the Exalted) has said:
﴿إِنَّ هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ يَهۡدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقۡوَمُ﴾ [الإسراء: 9].
Meaning: "Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most suitable". Q17:V9.
Therefore, it cannot be possible for a person to acquire the best [in his affairs] by offending Allah and contradicting His book (Quran).
The prophet of Allah said:
«أَحْسَنَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ-صلى الله عليه وسلم-».
Meaning: "Indeed the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (S.A.W)"
Thus, there is no guidance better than his guidance, and it is not possible for a servant to achieve the optimum for himself by violating the prophet's teachings. Rather, the integrity of a servant, his success, his happiness and the extent of his guidance depends on his degree of imitation of the prophet (S.A.W).
Allah (the Exalted) said:
﴿قُلۡ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيۡكُمۡ جَمِيعًا ٱلَّذِي لَهُۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحۡيِۦ وَيُمِيتُۖ فَ‍َٔامِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ٱلنَّبِيِّ ٱلۡأُمِّيِّ ٱلَّذِي يُؤۡمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَكَلِمَٰتِهِۦ وَٱتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَهۡتَدُونَ ١٥٨﴾ [الأعراف: 158].
Meaning: "Say, (O Muhammad), "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity worthy of worship except Him; He gives life and causes death, so believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided". Q7: V158.
Hence, whoever follow [the teachings of] the prophet (S.A.W) is guided, and whoever disobeys him has gone astray. Allah (the Exalted) said:
﴿وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ ٱلۡهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعۡ غَيۡرَ سَبِيلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِۦ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصۡلِهِۦ جَهَنَّمَۖ وَسَآءَتۡ مَصِيرًا ١١٥﴾ [النساء: 115].
Meaning: "And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers – We will give him what he has taken and drive him into the hell". Q4:V115.
Therefore, whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger in any aspect of life, is an immoral person, lost in that matter, even if he claims to achieve any benefit, or parrying from blight, because benefits cannot be materialized with disobedience to Allah and blights cannot be parried by confronting the anger of Allah.
And whoever ordered disobedience to Allah and His Messenger and decorate it for people, is a shaitan [i.e, Devil] be it the shaitan of Jinn or Mankind all the same. Ali bin Abitalib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the prophet of Allah (S.A.W) said:
«لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَخْلُوقٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ» [رواه أحمد ومسلم].
Meaning: "No obedience to a creature while being  disobedient to Allah". Reported by Ahmad and Muslim.
And this will include whoever ordered any kind of offence, be it in Al'aqeedah [the creed] or Al'ibaadaats [adorations] or Almu'aamalaat [transactions] and the like of that from the affairs of the slaves [of Allah].
And whoever calls to an innovation and an approach different from the approach of the prophet (S.A.W), is indeed lost and misguided. For Allah the Exalted has said:
﴿وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطِي مُسۡتَقِيمٗا فَٱتَّبِعُوهُۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلسُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمۡ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ ١٥٣﴾ [الأنعام: 153].
Meaning:" And, [moreover], this is my path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This, has He instructed you that you may become righteous". Q6:V153.