The position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam – 3

Fajr Reminders - Mahmood Habib Masjid and Islamic Center

All knowledge begins with Adab – an attitude of respect for knowledge and everything and everyone related to it. Adab is like the preparation of the soil for planting. Without preparation the best seed will perish. So also with knowledge, especially the knowledge of Islam. Without Adab we may get the words, but never the Noor, the meaning, or the transformation. Allahﷻ set the rules of behavior with Rasoolullahﷺ very strictly and said: يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُقَدِّمُوا۟ بَيْنَ يَدَىِ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ - يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَرْفَعُوٓا۟ أَصْوَٰتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ ٱلنَّبِىِّ وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا۟ لَهُۥ بِٱلْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَن تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَـٰلُكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ Hujuraat 49: 1-2 O believers! Do not proceed ˹in any matter˺ before ˹a decree from˺ Allah and His Messenger. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O believers! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak loudly to him as you do to one another, or your deeds will become void while you are unaware. In our context since Rasoolullahﷺ is not with us, this means that in any matter we refer to the Qur’an and Sunnah for a ruling. And when we come across a text, we don’t contradict it with our opinions but accept the text with submission. It means that we don’t disregard or ignore what Rasoolullahﷺ may have decreed and don’t use our selfish desires to contradict that. That is the meaning of raising your voice over the voice of the Rasool and putting yourself ahead of Allahﷻ and His Rasool. The punishment for that is complete wiping out of all deeds. Imagine how terrible it would be that we spend our whole life doing all kinds of good deeds and acts of worship and charity but because of loose talk and disrespect towards Rasoolullahﷺ it is all wiped out and we have nothing when we meet Allahﷻ. That is why the Persian poet said: با خدا دیوانہ باش و با محمدﷺ ہوشیار In our so-called worldly matters where we feel free to decide whichever way it suits us, Allahﷻ specifically commands us to obey the Qur’an and Sunnah. يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ فَإِن تَنَـٰزَعْتُمْ فِى شَىْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا Nisa 4: 59 O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Should you disagree on anything, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you ˹truly˺ believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is the best and fairest resolution. This is one of the many Ayaat which remind us that this life is the preparation for the Aakhira. It shows that no aspect of our lives is outside the purview of Islam and that everything that we say or do has the potential to take us to Jannah provided we do it as Rasoolullahﷺ did it. Study Seerah. The big danger is when we are tempted to say, ‘In my opinion’, when we are faced with an Ayat of the Qur’an or a Sahih Hadith of Rasoolullahﷺ. Make Istighfaar and seek Allahﷻ’s protection from Shaytaan when such a thought comes, because ‘In my opinion’, is the door to disaster. There is no place for any contradictory personal opinion when we have a text – the Qur’an and Sunnah. That is the fundamental rule in Islam. I advise myself and you to be very careful with our language. We enter this Deen by saying some words. It is equally easy to leave the religion if we say the wrong words. So, let’s think and weigh our words before we speak. Ask yourself why Allahﷻ emphasized the Messengership of Rasoolullahﷺ so much and so many times if he was merely a ‘postman’ as some people like to say. Let me assure you that to show the slightest disrespect to Rasoolullahﷺ by using terms that are not suitable to his exalted rank,