abu'muhammad
Junior Member
Concerning the Duty to Follow the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
Imam Ash-Shaafi`ee
Ar-Risaalah Fee Usool al-Fiqh
© Islamic Texts Society
"A Declaration Concerning the Duty Imposed by God, as Laid Down in His Book, [Ordering Men] To Follow the Prophet's Sunna"
From "Chapter 5 - On the Obligation of Man to Accept the Authority of the Prophet"
- Shaafi`ee said: God has placed his Apostle - [in relation to] His religion, His commands and His Book - in the position made clear by Him as a distinguishing standard of His religion by imposing the duty of obedience to Him as well as prohibiting disobedience to Him. He has made His merits evident by associating belief in His Apostle with the Belief in Him.
And He said:
"The believers are only those who have believed in God and His apostle, and who when they are with him on some common affair do not go away until they ask his permission." [24:62]
- Shaafi`ee said: God has imposed the duty of obedience to His Apostle, and imposed on men the obligation to obey his orders. So it is not permissible to regard anything as a duty save that set forth in the Qur'aan and the sunna of the Apostle. For [God], as we have just stated, prescribed that the belief in His Apostle shall be associated with the belief in Him.
"Those who obey God and the Apostle are with the prophets and the veracious and the martyrs and the upright upon whom God has bestowed favor. Good company are these." [4:71]
"O you who have believed, obey God and His Apostle." [8:20]
And He said:
"When they are called to God and to His Apostle that he may judge between them, lo, a party of them avert themselves. But if they are in the right, they will come to him in submission. Is there sickness in their hearts, or are they in doubt, or do they fear that God and His Apostle may act unjustly towards them. Nay, but they are evildoers.
All that the believers said when they were called to God and His Apostle that he might judge between them was: 'We hear and we obey'. These are the ones who prosper.
Whoever obeys God and His Apostle, and fears God and shows piety - these are the ones who attain felicity." [24:47-51]
[Shaafi`ee said:] Through this communication, God instructed men that their recourse to the Apostle to judge among them is a recourse to God's judgement, for the Apostle to judge among them is a recourse to God's judgement, for the Apostle is the judge among them, and when they accept his judgement they do so only because of an obligation imposed by God.
And He instructed them that the [Prophet's] judgement is His judgement, for his judgement is imposed by Him and by His established knowledge - rendering him a man of destiny and assisting him by preserving him from error and [worldly] success - and by testifiying that He guides him and causes him to obey His order.
So God imposed the obligation upon His creatures to obey His Apostle, and He instructed them that [obedience] to him is obedience to Him.
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- Shaafi`ee said: Among the things with which [the Prophet] was inspired is his sunna. This [sunna] is the Wisdom which God mentioned [in His Book], and whatever He sent down to him is a Book - the Book of God - all of these have been given to him as favors from God and by His will. These favors are either embodied in one Favor [i.e. the Message] or take different forms. We pray God for protection from error and success.
In whatever form it may take, God made it clear that He imposed the duty of obedience to His Apostle, and has given none of mankind an excuse to reject any order he knows to be the order of the Apostle of God. God has rather made men have need for him in [all matters of] religion and He has given the proof for it by providing that the sunnah of the Apostle make clear the meanings of the duties laid down in His Book, so that it might be known that the sunna - whether in the form specifying the meaning of God's commands as provided in the text of the Book which they can read or in the form of legislation in the absence of such a text - in either form represents God's command and is in [full] agreement with that of His Apostle; both are equally binding in all circumstances. This has been confirmed by the Apostle in the tradition of Aboo Raafi' which has already been cited.
("Let me find no one of you reclining on his couch, and when confronted with an order or permission or prohibition from me, say: 'I do not know [whether it is obligatory or not]; we will follow only what we find in the Book of God.'")
Allah knows best.
Imam Ash-Shaafi`ee
Ar-Risaalah Fee Usool al-Fiqh
© Islamic Texts Society
"A Declaration Concerning the Duty Imposed by God, as Laid Down in His Book, [Ordering Men] To Follow the Prophet's Sunna"
From "Chapter 5 - On the Obligation of Man to Accept the Authority of the Prophet"
- Shaafi`ee said: God has placed his Apostle - [in relation to] His religion, His commands and His Book - in the position made clear by Him as a distinguishing standard of His religion by imposing the duty of obedience to Him as well as prohibiting disobedience to Him. He has made His merits evident by associating belief in His Apostle with the Belief in Him.
And He said:
"The believers are only those who have believed in God and His apostle, and who when they are with him on some common affair do not go away until they ask his permission." [24:62]
- Shaafi`ee said: God has imposed the duty of obedience to His Apostle, and imposed on men the obligation to obey his orders. So it is not permissible to regard anything as a duty save that set forth in the Qur'aan and the sunna of the Apostle. For [God], as we have just stated, prescribed that the belief in His Apostle shall be associated with the belief in Him.
"Those who obey God and the Apostle are with the prophets and the veracious and the martyrs and the upright upon whom God has bestowed favor. Good company are these." [4:71]
"O you who have believed, obey God and His Apostle." [8:20]
And He said:
"When they are called to God and to His Apostle that he may judge between them, lo, a party of them avert themselves. But if they are in the right, they will come to him in submission. Is there sickness in their hearts, or are they in doubt, or do they fear that God and His Apostle may act unjustly towards them. Nay, but they are evildoers.
All that the believers said when they were called to God and His Apostle that he might judge between them was: 'We hear and we obey'. These are the ones who prosper.
Whoever obeys God and His Apostle, and fears God and shows piety - these are the ones who attain felicity." [24:47-51]
[Shaafi`ee said:] Through this communication, God instructed men that their recourse to the Apostle to judge among them is a recourse to God's judgement, for the Apostle to judge among them is a recourse to God's judgement, for the Apostle is the judge among them, and when they accept his judgement they do so only because of an obligation imposed by God.
And He instructed them that the [Prophet's] judgement is His judgement, for his judgement is imposed by Him and by His established knowledge - rendering him a man of destiny and assisting him by preserving him from error and [worldly] success - and by testifiying that He guides him and causes him to obey His order.
So God imposed the obligation upon His creatures to obey His Apostle, and He instructed them that [obedience] to him is obedience to Him.
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- Shaafi`ee said: Among the things with which [the Prophet] was inspired is his sunna. This [sunna] is the Wisdom which God mentioned [in His Book], and whatever He sent down to him is a Book - the Book of God - all of these have been given to him as favors from God and by His will. These favors are either embodied in one Favor [i.e. the Message] or take different forms. We pray God for protection from error and success.
In whatever form it may take, God made it clear that He imposed the duty of obedience to His Apostle, and has given none of mankind an excuse to reject any order he knows to be the order of the Apostle of God. God has rather made men have need for him in [all matters of] religion and He has given the proof for it by providing that the sunnah of the Apostle make clear the meanings of the duties laid down in His Book, so that it might be known that the sunna - whether in the form specifying the meaning of God's commands as provided in the text of the Book which they can read or in the form of legislation in the absence of such a text - in either form represents God's command and is in [full] agreement with that of His Apostle; both are equally binding in all circumstances. This has been confirmed by the Apostle in the tradition of Aboo Raafi' which has already been cited.
("Let me find no one of you reclining on his couch, and when confronted with an order or permission or prohibition from me, say: 'I do not know [whether it is obligatory or not]; we will follow only what we find in the Book of God.'")
Allah knows best.
