❖ Obedience to the Messenger ﷺ: The True Standard of Faith
Originally written by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri (ḥafiẓahullāh), this article has been refined with structured headings for clarity and ease of reading.✿ Following the Messenger ﷺ is an Obligation
Obedience to the Messenger ﷺ is mandatory upon us, for his statements and actions constitute the very essence of Allah’s religion.✿ The Farewell Sermon of the Prophet ﷺ
During the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared:❝إِنِّي قَدْ تَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ مَا إِنِ اعْتَصَمْتُمْ بِهِ فَلَنْ تَضِلُّوا أَبَدًا: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّهِ❞
“I have left among you two things, if you hold fast to them, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet.”
(Al-Mustadrak ʿala al-Ṣaḥīḥayn by al-Ḥākim: 1/93 – chain ḥasan)
✔ Authenticity of the Narration
The narrator, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Uways ibn Mālik, has been declared ḥasan al-ḥadīth by the majority of scholars. Al-Nawawī (raḥimahullāh) states:❝وَثَّقَهُ الْأَكْثَرُونَ، وَاحْتَجُّوا بِهِ❞
“Most scholars have declared him trustworthy and used his narration as evidence.”
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2/197)
Likewise, Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Uways is also considered trustworthy by the majority.
✿ Divine Statement: Obeying the Messenger is Obeying Allah
"مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ"“He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah.”
(al-Nisāʾ: 4/80)
✿ The Messenger ﷺ as the Criterion of Truth and Falsehood
Imām Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah (raḥimahullāh) said:❝إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ هُوَ الْمِيزَانُ الْأَكْبَرُ...❞
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the ultimate scale; everything must be measured against his character, biography, and guidance. What aligns with it is truth, and what contradicts it is falsehood.”
(al-Jāmiʿ li Akhlāq al-Rāwī by al-Khaṭīb: p. 8 – chain ṣaḥīḥ)
✿ The Conduct of Believers According to the Qur'an
"إِنَّمَا كَانَ قَوْلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ... سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا"“When believers are called to Allah and His Messenger for judgment, their only response is: We hear and we obey. They are the successful.”
(al-Nūr: 24/51)
✿ Warning Against Disobeying the Messenger ﷺ
"فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ..."“Let those who oppose the Messenger’s command beware, lest a trial or a painful punishment afflicts them.”
(al-Nūr: 24/63)
Ibn Kathīr (raḥimahullāh) wrote in commentary:
“This refers to the Prophet’s commands—his path, methodology, and law. Every statement or action must be measured by his; only that which conforms shall be accepted, and all else rejected—regardless of the source.”
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 5/578)
✿ Acceptance of the Prophet’s Judgement is a Condition of Faith
"فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ..."“By your Lord, they do not believe until they accept your judgment without hesitation and fully submit.”
(al-Nisāʾ: 4/65)
Ibn Ḥazm (raḥimahullāh) explained:
“This verse is sufficient for any intelligent, alert believer in Allah and the Last Day. It is a binding covenant upon him from his Lord.”
(al-Aḥkām by Ibn Ḥazm: 1/111)
✿ Resolving Disputes Through Qur’an and Sunnah
"فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ..."“If you differ in anything, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and yields the best outcome.”
(al-Nisāʾ: 59)
✿ Foundation of Knowledge: Qur’an and Sunnah
Ibn Taymiyyah (raḥimahullāh) said:“These verses prove the deviation and hypocrisy of anyone who seeks judgment outside the Qur’an and Sunnah.”
(Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa al-Naql: 1/58)
✿ Absolute Obedience to the Messenger ﷺ
Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz al-Ḥanafī (raḥimahullāh) stated:“Complete submission and obedience to the Prophet ﷺ is obligatory without prioritizing personal opinions or societal views.”
(Sharḥ al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah: p. 160)
✿ Prophetic Guidance in Collective Matters
"إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ..."“True believers are those who do not depart from collective affairs involving the Messenger without his permission.”
(al-Nūr: 24/62)
Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh) elaborated:
“If believers must not act collectively without the Prophet’s permission, then intellectual or theoretical matters should also not proceed without it. This permission is derived from his Shariah.”
(Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 1/51-52)
✿ Command to Follow the Shariah
"ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَىٰ شَرِيعَةٍ..."“We have set you on a clear path in religion; follow it, and do not follow the desires of the ignorant.”
(al-Jāthiyah: 45/18)
✿ The Importance of Hadith
Imām al-Awzāʿī (raḥimahullāh) said:“O Abū Muḥammad! When you receive a hadith from the Prophet ﷺ, do not entertain any other opinion. For Muḥammad ﷺ conveyed it from his Lord.”
(al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih: 1/149)
✿ Differing from the Sunnah Leads to Misguidance
When ʿUrwah objected to Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā) for allowing ʿUmrah during the ten days of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, Ibn ʿAbbās responded:“Woe to you! I convey the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ and you bring before me the statements of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar?”
ʿUrwah replied, “They were more knowledgeable of the Sunnah and more obedient to it.”
(al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih: 1/145)
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī concluded:
“Though their practice may have been valid, it is impermissible to abandon an established Sunnah due to the action of any individual.”
✿ Following Sunnah Over Opinions
Imām ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (raḥimahullāh) declared:“In the presence of the Messenger’s ﷺ method, no opinion holds weight.”
(al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr by Ibn Abī Khaythamah: 9335)
✿ Imām Mālik’s Emphasis
Imām Mālik (raḥimahullāh) said:“Every time a quarrelsome person comes, he wants us to abandon what Jibrīl (ʿalayhi al-salām) brought to the Prophet ﷺ.”
(Sharaf Aṣḥāb al-Ḥadīth: p. 1)
✿ Reason Cannot Override Revelation
Imām al-Shāfiʿī (raḥimahullāh) stated:“Any opinion contrary to the Prophet’s ﷺ command is false. No analogy or reasoning is acceptable against his hadith.”
(al-Umm by al-Shāfiʿī: 2/193)
✿ Attitude of Those Who Reject Qur’an and Sunnah
Ibn Taymiyyah (raḥimahullāh) remarked:“You will not find anyone who rejects the clear texts of Qur’an and Sunnah except that he resents their content and wishes they never existed.”
(Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa al-Naql: 5/217)
✿ Scholars' Statements Must Align with the Texts
Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh) stated:“He who evaluates scholars' statements in light of the sacred texts, accepting what aligns and rejecting what contradicts them, truly follows those scholars—for this is what they themselves taught.”
(al-Rūḥ: p. 264)
