The Importance of Following The Sunnah

2 Aug

﷽

All praises are due to Allâh (ﷻ) alone, we praise Him, and we seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allâh from the evil of our own souls and from our evil actions. Whomsoever Allâh guides will not be led astray and whomsoever He misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allâh, alone without partner or associate, and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His slave and His Messenger. To proceed:

Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى) has told us He created us for no other reason than to worship Him, and He sent to us a messenger, Muhammad bin Abdillâh, to teach us how He (سبحانه وتعالى) wants to be worshipped.

‎وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).
[adh-Dhâriyyât 51:56]

Allâh then promises forgiveness and His love for those that follow His Messenger (ﷺ) ;

‎قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
Say (O Muhammad ‎ﷺ to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Quran and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[Âl-ʿImrân 3:31]

And Allâh the Mighty and Majestic made obedience to this Messenger, equal to obedience to Him,

‎مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ ۖ وَمَنْ تَوَلَّىٰ فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا
He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad ‎ﷺ ), has indeed obeyed Allah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad ‎ﷺ ) as a watcher over them.
[an-Nisâʾ 4:80]

Anyone that opposes the Messenger (ﷺ) has been threatened with the Hellfire in the next life, we know this from Allâh’s statement:

وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا
And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad ‎ﷺ) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers' way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination.
[an-Nisâʾ 4:115]

Rather even in this life, Allâh might punish a person due to his opposition to the Messenger (i.e. his turning away from implementing/ acting upon the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ):

فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad ‎ﷺ) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.
[an-Nûr 24:63]

So, What Is The Sunnah?

The Sunnah of Muhammad bin Abdillâh, (which includes his statements actions and tacit approvals) have been carried by the Companions (May Allâh be pleased with them all), which is why it is essential to return to their understanding of the Qurʾân and the Sunnah; as they lived with Him, learnt from him, and were present when the revelation was descending.

So whoever opposes their way has in essence opposed the way of the Messenger of Allâh (ﷺ), and has ultimately opposed Allâh. This has been mentioned clearly by Allâh in the verse from Surah an-Nisâʾ : 115.

In the Sunnah, we see severe warnings against innovations in the religion (Bidʾah; which is the opposite of Sunnah). Rasûlullâh ‎(ﷺ) used to say in the majority of his sermons;

Indeed the best of speech is the speech of Allâh. The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The worst of all matters are the newly invented ones. Every newly invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance”
[Collected by Muslim, The book of the Friday prayer hadîth no (897)]

This Hadîth clearly indicates that there is no such thing as a good innovation in the religion as the messenger of Allâh said:

Every innovation (in the religion) is misguidance

The Messenger of Allâh (ﷺ) is the guide to the path of Allâh, as Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us:

وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ
And verily, you (O Muhammad ‎ﷺ ) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allah's religion of Islamic Monotheism).
[ ash-Shûrâ 42:52 ]

The straight path that no one leaves except that he is destroyed.

The Messenger of Allâh ‎(ﷺ) drew a straight line and said :

〝This is the way of Allâh〞 and he drew lines on the right and left of this straight upright line and said 〝these are paths at the head of each of them is a Shaytān (devil) calling to it.〞
[Musnad Ahmad 4143 from narrations of ibn Masʾûd (رضي الله عنه) - Shaykh Ahmad Shakir graded its chain of narrated Authentic]

Know, may Allâh guide you to His obedience, that from following the Sunnah is to hold on to what the Companions of the Messenger of Allâh (ﷺ) were upon as they were the ones upon pure guidance about whom he ‎(ﷺ) said:

It is upon you to stick to my way and the way of the rightly guided successor after me, bite down on it with your molar teeth, and beware of the newly invented matters”
[atTirmidhi - The Book of Knowledge 2676 Hasan Sahîh| Abû Dâwûd The Book of Sunnah Hadîth no. 4607]

So whoever wants safety and security in this life and the next should hold on to the Sunnah of Muhammad (‎ﷺ) upon the Understanding of the Companions (May Allâh be pleased with them all).