Obedience to Prophet Muhammad a Must for All
Before discussing how the laws of Islam are universal,
it is important to briefly discuss the issue of those who are following earlier
confirmed prophets of God. These people may argue that the Prophet Muhammad may
have been truthful, but that it is sufficient for them to follow the Prophet
that they have been following.
In reality, no one has the right to accept the other
prophets while rejecting the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of
God be upon him. No one has the right to say that Muhammad was truthful but,
“I chose to still follow Jesus or Moses instead.” Logically speaking, one
should not expect this to be acceptable to God. God has sent His final
messenger to be believed in and followed, superseding and canceling what is
left of the teachings of earlier prophets. In the Quran, God describes such an
attitude:
“And when it is said to them, ‘Believe in what God has sent
down,’ they say, ‘We believe in what was sent down to us.’ And they disbelieve
in that which came after it, while it is the truth confirming what is with them…”
(Quran 2:91)
God has further declared people of this nature to be
disbelievers. He has said:
“Verily, those who disbelieve in God and His Messengers and
wish to make distinction between God and His Messengers (by believing in God
and disbelieving in His Messengers) saying, ‘We believe in some but reject
others,’ and wish to adopt a way in between. They are in truth disbelievers. And
We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating torment. And those who
believe in God and His Messengers and make no distinction between any of them,
We shall give them their rewards, and God is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
(Quran 4:150-152)
The Prophet said:
“[I swear] by [God], the One in whose hand is my
soul, there will be none of my addressed people, be he Jew or Christian, who
hears of me and dies without believing in that with which I was sent except
that he will be from the inhabitants of the Hellfire.” (Saheeh Muslim)
The Prophet even told one of his companions:
“If my brother Moses were alive today, he would
have no option but to follow me.” (Ahmad and al-Daarimi)
Hence, the universality of Islam applies to all who were
following any of the previous prophets as well. They have no logical option
except to accept and follow Prophet Muhammad.
As noted above, Prophet Muhammad declared that he was
the final prophet sent for humankind. At the same time, it is inconceivable
knowing the mercy of the merciful that He would leave humans without any form
of clear guidance. In other words, what He gave this final messenger must be
suitable to guide all of humankind after him after him until the Day of
Judgment. In fact, the Prophet himself made this very same point in essence
when he said:
“I have left with you two things that if you cling
to them you will never be misguided after me: The Book of God and the Sunnah of
His Messenger.” (Saheeh Muslim)
God has also said:
“…This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed
My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion…” (Quran 5:3)
Thus, the religion is completed and perfected and there
is no need for any alteration or change. The message has come and shall
suffice until the Day of Judgment. The Prophet sent for all peoples has
already come.
This implies that the Prophet’s teachings are valid and
obligatory upon all of humankind. That is, his example and teaching was not
simply for the people of Arabia at his time. Rather, it is just as valid and
just as important for each and every Muslim today, whether he be in New York or Malaysia.
At this point, someone may logically ask: How is it that
this Law is able to fulfill the needs for all of mankind until the Day of
Judgment? Human society is changing day to day. How is it that one “law” can
provide guidance for everyone at all times? The answer to this question has to
do with the beauty of the Law. When one studies the law promulgated by Prophet
Muhammad, one finds that it has the needed elements of flexibility that allow
it to be just as practicable today as it was during time of the Prophet. In
essence, those issues that need to be fixed and permanent are made such by the
Islamic Law. Those that need to be flexible so that different peoples at different
times may apply them differently are left flexible in the Islamic Law. Hence,
it is a Divinely guided way of life that is suitable and practical for all
humans until the Day of Judgment.
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