Sunday 13 May 2012

The obligation of following the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Q;A friend of mine wants to know that in Quran it is said that you have to follow Sunnah of Prophet SAWW. Why is that and is it Fard upon us to follow it?? A;All--Praise is due to Allah, There are many verses that Allah states in the Quran about the obligation of folloing the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and amongst those verses are as follows: Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)” [al-Hashr 59:7] “And obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad), and beware (of even coming near to drinking or gambling or Al‑Ansaab, or Al‑Azlaam) and fear Allaah. Then if you turn away, you should know that it is Our Messenger’s duty to convey (the Message) in the clearest way” [al-Maa’idah 5:92] “O you who believe! Obey Allaah and His Messenger, and turn not away from him (i.e. Messenger Muhammad) while you are hearing” [al-Anfaal 8:20] The Sunnah is the wisdom (al-hikmah) that is mentioned in the Book of Allaah in many verses, such as the following (interpretation of the meaning): “Similarly (to complete My Blessings on you), We have sent among you a Messenger (Muhammad) of your own, reciting to you Our Verses (the Qur’aan) and purifying you, and teaching you the Book (the Qur’aan) and the Hikmah (i.e. Sunnah, Islamic laws and Fiqh — jurisprudence), and teaching you that which you used not to know” [al-Baqarah 2:151] “And treat not the Verses (Laws) of Allaah as a jest, but remember Allaah’s Favours on you (i.e. Islam), and that which He has sent down to you of the Book (i.e. the Qur’aan) and Al-Hikmah (the Prophet’s Sunnah — legal ways — Islamic jurisprudence) whereby He instructs you. And fear Allaah, and know that Allaah is All-Aware of everything” [al-Baqarah 2:231] The Qur’aan and Sunnah both come from the same source, both are Revelation (wahy) from Allaah. Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted says (interpretation of the meaning): “Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. 4. It is only a Revelation revealed. 5. He has been taught (this Qur’aan) by one mighty in power [Jibreel (Gabriel)]” [al-Najm 53:3-5] This and many other verses proves one must follow the Sunnah of Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Without the Sunnah we would not have anything that explains the Quranic Verses. Such as Allah says in the Quran: "And establish the Prayer." This verse is repeated many times through out the Quran, but with out the Sunnah we would not know how this Prayer is established from its characteristics of actions and sayings. This example and many others are all been described through the Sunnah, so it is essential as a Muslim that we turn to both sources (Quran & Sunnah) for information in regards to legislation in Islam. And Allah knows best...

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