Obedience to the Prophet (S) - According to The Holy Quran

For the guidance of all mankind until doomsday, The Almighty Allah has given us The Holy Quran. He has chosen Islam as the lifestyle for mankind, and as a living example of the Islamic life, He has sent the Last Prophet Muhammad (S). We as Muslims believe in this and yet many of us have a wrong conception that following the orders of The Holy Quran is compulsory and following the ways of Muhammad (S) is optional is Islam and a totally separate thing. Well, this conception can only be the result of lack of knowledge about The Holy Quran. Because The Quran itself orders mankind to follow the Last Prophet (S).

In the character of Muhammad (S), Allah Subhanu Wata’ala has poured down all the properties of a perfect human being, a role model which should be followed by every person If he wants peace in this life and the next. In The Holy Quran, Allah says:

“There is indeed a good model for you in the Messenger of Allah – for the one who has hope in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah profusely.”

– Chapter 33- Surah Al-Ahzab:21.

According to the most accepted explanation (tafsir), Maariful Quran, this verse was initially revealed in context of the battle of Ahzab, to remind the hypocrites that they should have followed the example of the Holy Prophet (S) who stood firm in the battle, but by the unique style of The Holy Quran, the direction is given in generic terms to lay down a universal rule that Muslims should follow the ways of their Prophet (S) in all aspects of life.

Elsewhere in The Quran, The Almighty Allah describes the personality of Muhammad (S) as one who always wants only the good for mankind, and wants to save us from all sufferings:

“Surely, there has come to you a Messenger from amongst you, hard on whom is your suffering, for the good of you he craves and for believers he is kind, merciful.”

– Chapter 9 – Surah At-Tauba: 128.

So it is clear that Prophet Muhammad (S) is the role model for mankind.

Now, the following verses explain more clearly, that it is in fact not an option, but an order from Allah to follow Muhammad (S), to do what He tells us, to keep way from what He forbids. Allah Ta’ala says in The Quran :

“Say (O Prophet): “if you do love Allah, follow me; Allah shall love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.”

Say:”Obey Allah and the Messenger.” Then, should they turn back, Allah does not love the disbelievers.”

- Chapter 3 – Surah Al-Imran: 31, 32.

In the explanation of the above verses, it is stated in Tafsir Maariful Quran : “...In other words, if a person living in the world of today claims that he loves his Creator and Master, then, he must test it on the touch-stone of his obedience to the Messenger, that is, match it against the frequency and quality of where and how he has been following him. Once this is done, the genuine and the fake of it will be exposed right there. How much true a person turns out to be in his claim will be visible from how much he makes it a point to follow the noble Prophet (S), using the guidance brought by him as the guiding force in his life. The same test will show that the weaker a person is in his claim, so equally weak he shall be in his obedience to the Prophet (S).”

In another verse of The Holy Quran, The Almighty Creator states:

“Whoever obeys the Messenger obeys Allah and whoever turns away, then, We did not send you to stand guard over them.”

–Chapter 4 – Surah An-Nisaa: 80.

The meaning of the above verse is as clear as it gets, that following the Prophet (S) and obeying his commands is actually the same as obeying the commands of Allah. Again, turning to Maariful Quran for the explanation: “Here, the obedience to the Prophet (S) has been equated with the obedience to Allah. From this it follows that whoever disobeys the Prophet (S), invariably disobeys the command of Allah. Since, obedience to Allah is obligatory, even rationally – so, obedience to the Prophet (S) also turns out to be equally obligatory. “

In the light of the above stated verses from The Quran and the explanations, there needs to be no further proof for the fact that, it is indeed the command of Allah that we follow the Sunnah of the Messenger (S) of Allah. Our Creator knows best what is best for us, and He has sent the Last Prophet Muhammad (S) as the role model for the entire mankind. So it is nowhere else but in the ways of the Prophet (S) that we can find true success. Henceforth we shall try to renew our efforts to adopt The Sunnah in every aspect of our life. May Allah keep us in the Straight Path. Ameen.

On Allah's path, with my father

This day was pretty memorable. The Jamaat from our mosque are staying at a mosque in Kuril for three days, starting from Friday. Last night, by Allah's will, my dad suddenly decided to go there and join the great work for a day. I didn't expect him to make such a decision. But no one knows what Allah wishes. So today after lunch, me and my father went to that mosque and joined our Jamaat. After Asr we went out for Gasht (to invite people to the mosque), and my father was there with us. I did the part of inviting. After Maghrib we listened to the discussion. And then after Isha we came back home.
It might not sound much to you, but I know how big this is for me. It teaches me a lesson. We always think that we can predict everything. We judge the future with reference to the present situation, and we forget that Allah can do whatever He wants. He can bring about things we never even imagined, He can make changes to the world within a blink of an eye. All we have to do is have some faith, and never stop praying and trying. May Allah open up our eyes to the Truth. Ameen.

The Wonderful Gathering

From 31 January I had the privilege of being present at the second largest Muslim gathering after the Hajj. Yes, I'm talking about the Tongi Ijtema. I anticipated it since the last one. I didn't stay at night, but I regularly attended the lectures of the elders. The place is huge, infact, if you haven't been there yourself, you have no idea about the magnitude of the place. The huge space is actually not enough for the magnitude of people who stay there. When I look around there, I see people from all over the country, from all fields of work. I see people who work in huge multinational companies, who earn tens of thousands, at the same frame I see people who live from hand to mouth. I see students, doctors, engineers, politicians, beggars, businessmen. But they are all living in the same state there. They are having food from the same plate, drinking water from the same glass, standing in lines to get to the toilet. They are living the same life there. The rich have left their luxurious apartments, their multi-million taka bathrooms and have come here to live the same life as a begger who's sleeping right next to him. People speaking in their various dialects, but speaking the same things, speaking about Tawheed, Risaalat, Aakhirat, encouraging each other to go out in Allah's path. It is assumed that about 20 lakh people gathered there to stay, but there's no hassle, no quarrel, no mismanagement. Everyone has a tendency to listen to others. By being there one actually gets an idea about
how the Muslim brotherhood should've been like. Muslims from rest of the world also were there. Everyone was there sacrificing there time, their luxury, their money only to be there and listen to the advices of the elders and prepare themselves to dedicate their lives for the Deen. I look around, amazed, and feel that yes, this is where I belong, this is where Muslims belong.
Last month I also had the opportunity to work for the Ijtema. There is no particular leader in this massive task. Everybody is a leader, everybody is a worker. All working together, ordinary people, make this huge task possible without any hassle. It shows the power of unity that we lack in our everyday life, which makes our life harder. Listening to the bayaans of the elders of Tabligh is really an opportunity that I cannot afford to miss when it comes by. Their words inspire us to obey the Deen that Prophet Muhammad (S) has shown to us, the Deen which the Sahaabis (R) practiced perfectly. It's not like they tell us to leave everything worldly and only to pray and weep. They preach the actual Islam, which says that anything we do in our life, if we do it according to Quran and Sunnah, it will be counted as worship of Allah. It's about trying as hard as you can and depending only on Allah and not on your efforts. It's possible to write volumes on this issue so I'm not writing any more. These bayaans inspire us to stay on Allah's path 24x7. May Allah give Tawfiq to us all to stay on Allah's path till death.
Ameen.

Beautiful Advices

Hazrat Abu Zar (Radhiallahu anhu) related that Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) had said to him, "I advise you to fear Allah, as this is the root of all virtues; remain engaged in the recitation of Holy Qur'an and in Zikr of Almighty Allah, which will earn you an appreciation in the Heavens and serve you as a light in this world; keep silent for most of the time, so that you speak nothing but good, as this will keep the devil away from you and make it easy for you to perform your religious duties; abstain also from too much laughing, for laughing weakens the heart and deprives the face of its spiritual glow (radiance); always take part in Jihad as this is the sign of piety for my Ummah; like the poor and keep their company; compare your lot with persons lower than you, and never look up to those higher than you, otherwise you will forget the bounties of Almighty Allah and become ungrateful to Him; try to retain ties with your relatives though they may try to break them; do not hesitate to speak out the truth, though it may be bitter for others; always obey Almighty Allah in spite of adverse criticism; find fault with your own self, and never with others; do not criticize others for the shortcomings that you suffer from. O! Abuzar (Radhiallahu anhu), there is no wisdom better than farsightedness, abstinence from the unlawful is the best act of piety, and good manners constitute true nobility."

(From Fazail-e-A'mal)