Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 32

(Ayah 32) ➊ {قُلْ اَطِيْعُوا اللّٰهَ وَ الرَّسُوْلَ:} In the previous verse, there was a command to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which means to walk in his footsteps, to emulate him. Although obedience is also included in following, in this verse, the obedience of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has been specifically mentioned separately, which means to obey the command. It is further stated that if they turn away, then Allah does not love such disbelievers. Here, it is clearly understood that the matter has been summarized, which was like this: if they turn away, then they are disbelievers, and Allah does not love such disbelievers. In { ”الْكٰفِرِيْنَ“ }, due to the definite article, the translation is "such disbelievers."
➋ In this verse, along with the obedience of Allah, the obedience of { ”الرَّسُوْلَ“ }, that is, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), has been commanded as an independent status, and after the passing of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the obedience of {”الرَّسُوْلَ“} can only be through following the Sunnah. Some people, due to misunderstanding, say that only that hadith will be authoritative which is in accordance with the Quran, whereas the Quran, on several occasions, has given hadith the status of an independent proof and source of Shariah. Therefore, the sources of law will be both the Quran and hadith. There can be additional rulings in hadith beyond the Quran, but no authentic hadith is against the Quran. If someone thinks so, it is due to the deficiency of his intellect and understanding, or the corruption of his intention. See also Surah Najm (4).
➌ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I should not find any of you reclining on his cushion, and when a command of mine comes to him, from among those things which I have commanded or forbidden, he says, 'We do not know; we will follow only what we find in the Book of Allah.'" [أبو داوٗد، السنۃ، باب فی لزوم السنۃ : ۴۶۰۵، عن أبی الدرداء رضی اللہ عنہ ]

32. 1. In this verse, after mentioning obedience to Allah, the obedience to the Messenger ﷺ is emphasized again, making it clear that now, if there is salvation, it is only in the obedience to Muhammad ﷺ, and turning away from this is disbelief, and such disbelievers are not liked by Allah, no matter how much they claim to love and be close to Allah. In this verse, there is a severe warning for those who avoid following the Messenger ﷺ, because both, in their own ways, adopt such an attitude which is described here as disbelief.

Say, "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers.

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Deniers of the Sunnah are Disbelievers:

From this verse, it is understood that those who claim to love Allah but do not obey His Messenger are all disbelievers. The addressees of this verse are not only the People of the Book, disbelievers, and polytheists, but also Muslims, because among Muslims, a sect has emerged that considers only the Quran sufficient for guidance. As for the method of practicing the Quran that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ demonstrated to his Ummah, these people consider themselves independent of it. Their claim is that the Quran should be acted upon according to the demands of every era, and that it can be done so. These people, according to this verse, are also disbelievers, no matter how much they insist on calling themselves Muslims. Similarly, those who, along with obedience to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, also consider obedience to a new prophet necessary, they too are disbelievers, no matter how much they insist on calling themselves Muslims, because he is the Seal of the Prophets.