Written by: Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amaanpuri
It is obligatory for us to follow Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). His sayings and actions constitute the religion of Allah. During the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) addressed the people, saying:"Indeed, I have left among you that which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet."[Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihain al-Hakim: 93/1, Hasan Isnad]
↰ The narrator, Abdullah bin Owais bin Malik, is considered "Hasan al-Hadith" by the majority.
◈ Hafiz Nawawi writes regarding this:"Most scholars have declared him reliable and have used his narrations as evidence."[Sharh Sahih Muslim: 197/1, under Hadith: 2094]
↰ The second narrator, Ismail bin Abi Owais, is also deemed "reliable" by the majority.
Divine Command
✿ Allah Almighty states:"Whoever obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah."
[4: An-Nisa: 80]
◈ Imam Sufyan bin Uyayna (d. 198 AH) used to say:
"Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is the greatest criterion; thus, everything should be presented in light of his character, conduct, and guidance. What aligns with it is truth, and what contradicts it is falsehood."[Al-Jami li Akhlaq al-Rawi lil-Khatib: 8, Sahih Isnad]
Commands of Allah
✿ Allah Almighty commands:"The only statement of the (true) believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, is that they say, 'We hear and we obey.' And those are the successful."
[24: An-Nur: 51]
✿ And also:
"So let those beware who dissent from his (the Prophet's) order, lest a trial befall them or a painful punishment be inflicted upon them."
[24: An-Nur: 63]
◈ Under this verse, Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:
"His (Allah's) statement: 'So let those beware who dissent from his order' means the order of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), which is his way, method, and Shariah. Therefore, sayings and actions are measured against his sayings and actions. Whatever aligns with them is accepted, and whatever contradicts them is rejected, regardless of the person who said or did it."[Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 578/5, authenticated by Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi]
Submission to the Prophet's Judgment
✿ Allah Almighty further states:"But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission."
[4: An-Nisa: 65]
◈ Allama Ibn Hazm writes:
"This verse is sufficient for anyone who is rational, cautious, and believes in Allah and the Last Day. One must examine oneself; if he finds discomfort with the judgment of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in any authentic narration he knows of, or if he finds himself not accepting what has reached him from the Prophet (peace be upon him), or if he finds himself inclined towards the sayings of certain people or his own opinions and analogies, he should know that Allah Almighty has sworn, and His word is true, that he is not a believer. And if he is not a believer, then he is a disbeliever, as there is no third way."
[Al-Ahkam by Ibn Hazm: 111/1]
✿ Allah Almighty commands:
"O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result."
[4: An-Nisa: 59]
◈ Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah writes under this verse:
"In these verses are various lessons indicating the deviation and hypocrisy of those who refer to other than the Book and Sunnah for judgment, even if they claim to reconcile between the Shari'ah and what they call rationalities derived from some tyrants among the polytheists and the People of the Book."
[Dar' Ta'arud al-Aql wal-Naql: 58/1]
◈ Allama Ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi (d. 792 AH) writes:"Complete submission to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and compliance with his command is obligatory. Accepting his news with belief and trust, without opposing it with false reasoning called rationality, suspicion, or preference of others' opinions, is necessary. This is because the essence of faith lies in submission and obedience to him, just as the essence of worship lies in worshiping and humbling oneself before Allah alone. These are two types of monotheism; salvation from Allah's punishment depends on both: monotheism in worship and monotheism in following the Messenger (peace be upon him)."[Sharh al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah: 160]
✿ Allah Almighty states:
"Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know."
[45: Al-Jathiya: 18]
◈ Imam Awza'i (d. 157 AH) said to Makhlad bin Hussain:"O Abu Muhammad! When a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) reaches you, do not think of anything else and do not say anything else. For Muhammad (peace be upon him) was only conveying from his Lord."
[Al-Fiqh wal-Mutafiqah lil-Khatib: 149/1, Hasan Isnad]
◈ Urwah bin Zubair said to Abdullah bin Abbas:
"You have misled the people!" Ibn Abbas replied, "O Urwah! What is this?" Urwah said, "You command people to perform Umrah in these ten days, but there is no Umrah in them." Ibn Abbas responded, "Ask your mother about that." Urwah said, "Abu Bakr and Umar did not do that." Ibn Abbas replied, "This is what destroyed you. By Allah, I see that Allah will punish you. I tell you about the Prophet (peace be upon him), and you tell me about Abu Bakr and Umar!" Urwah said, "By Allah, they were more knowledgeable about the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and more adherent to it than you."
[Al-Fiqh wal-Mutafiqah lil-Khatib: 145/1, Sahih Isnad]
◈ Imam Khatib Baghdadi, after quoting this, writes:
"Abu Bakr and Umar were as Urwah described, but it is not appropriate for anyone to imitate them in abandoning what the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has established."
Note:
It is not proven that Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) prohibited Umrah in these ten days. Not performing a non-obligatory act does not indicate it was deemed impermissible by them. If the Shaykhayn believed Umrah was not permissible during these days, it would not be considered opposition but rather a lack of knowledge because the Companions never opposed a hadith once it reached them.
◈ Imam Umar bin Abdul Aziz wrote to the people:
"There is no opinion for anyone when the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) exists."
[Al-Tarikh al-Kabir by Ibn Khaythama: 9335, Sahih Isnad]
◈ Imam Malik bin Anas said:
"Whenever a contentious person comes to us, he demands that we reject what Jibril brought to the Prophet (peace be upon him)."
[Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith lil-Khatib: 1, Sahih Isnad]
◈ Imam Shafi'i states:
"Anything that contradicts the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is invalid. No opinion or analogy can stand against it. For Allah has removed the excuse with the word of His Messenger, so no command or prohibition of anyone else is accepted along with his."
[Kitab al-Umm by Shafi'i: 193/2]
◈ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah states:
"You will not find anyone who rejects the texts of the Book and the Sunnah with his opinion except that he dislikes what contradicts his opinion. He wishes that the verse had not been revealed and that the hadith had not been narrated. If it were possible, he would erase it from the Mus'haf."
[Dar' Ta'arud al-Aql wal-Naql: 217/5]
◈ Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
"Whoever presents the sayings of the scholars to the texts and weighs them with it, opposing what contradicts the text, has not wasted their sayings nor diminished their status. Rather, he has followed them because they all commanded this. Therefore, their true follower is the one who complies with what they advised, not the one who opposes them. Opposing their sayings that contradict the texts is easier than opposing the principle they commanded and invited to, which is to prioritize the text over their sayings. This reveals the difference between blindly following every word of a scholar and using his understanding and the light of his knowledge to reach the Messenger (peace be upon him)."
[Al-Ruh by Ibn al-Qayyim: 264]