MUSLIM Magazine
Jul 25, 2017 · 9 min read

WE HEAR AND WE OBEY:

A CASE STUDY OF THE COMPANIONS

In the name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

"Know that you will not love Allaah until you love to obey Him."
(Al-Hasan al-Basaree, Jaami-ul-Uloom wal Hikam pg180)

"Whoever reflects about this world and the evils happening in it will realize that the cause (of these evils) is going against the (teachings of the) prophet ( صلّي الله عليه وعلي آله وسلّم) and failure to obey him.” (Ibn Qayyim, Badaihu Tafseer 1/280)

All praise is due to Almighty Allaah, the Lord of the World. May His peace and blessings be upon the noble soul of the prophet ( صلّي الله عليه وعلي آله وسلّم), his household, companions and those who follow them with righteousness till the day of reckoning.

As to what follows;

Life is just like a moment and the wise spend it in obedience to Almighty Allaah, the Creator. There is nothing in the world that is worth disobeying Allaah for, only if we would reflect. All things have alternatives but there is none for Allaah. He is the only One who proves His Lordship over all that exist with flawless authority in his Divine Book, in which He challenged the self-conceited, yet weak humankind to prove otherwise. No one has ever made such claim with an authority that stands the test of time. Man who cannot bring forth water or air on which his survival depends, continues to get deluded from this truth though his mind finds it difficult to deny. If he truly understands the attributes of the Most High he would have never disobeyed Him. But man, is so rebellious that he ignorantly disobeys his Lord for trivial reasons and transient pleasure.


Although no guidance is worth cherishing when it contradicts the guidance of Islaam, permit the reference made to a common saying of a popular tribe in Nigeria, that can be approximately translated thus,

"If a child is fortunate to meet the relics of his mother’s fabrics, it is incumbent on him not to weave and knit wrongly."

Conversely, if a nation of people is fortunate to meet the history of their predecessors preserved, the onus lies on them not to deviate and derail. How much more when said predecessors have been described by Allaah in glorious terms, His pleasure in them has been affirmed and out of His infinite mercy, made open to others, the grace of such pleasure on the condition that they follow the predecessors (their way and methodology) with goodness.

These pioneers, or companions if you will, where those who bore the yoke of having to be the first generation of this ummah, they were commanded;

To shun idol worshiping and false beliefs into which they were fully steeped at the time.

To take to the six articles of faith, which are mostly matters of the unseen.

To refrain from the practices of the period of ignorance; tribal wars, fornication, adultery and so on.

To pray five times daily, an affair totally strange to them.

Their direction of worship was changed at a time, for which they were taunted by people.

Some were to leave their homes and sacrifice their cherished relations on the altar of faith.

Some were to shelter their brethren in faith and share with them their belongings.

When the threat to end the mission of the prophet came hard from the enemies, they stood firm; fought their brothers, fought their uncles, fought their close relations and some paid golden prices in the course.

Apart from the Messenger to whom the Qur'aan was revealed, they demonstrated the best human interpretation of the Qur'aan in life processes. In all, they had only one mantra which was not subject to change in their attitude to the injunctions of Allaah and His Messenger and that was:

"We hear and we obey."

Before we give excuses for disobeying Allaah and His messenger, we need to constantly remember those environmental and social factors that were prevalent at the dawn of Islaam. As opposed to the relatively easy life of the present century, the first generation Muslims were people whose dwellings were mountainous, cutting them off from other parts of the world, with an enthroned atmosphere of barbarity such as burying female daughters alive. Their climate was arid, typical of a desert setting that made them tough and hardened. Their language was so rich that they prided themselves on being great speakers, poets and orators. They were never colonized hence, would not give in to unwholesome slavery. They were a people of valour who could go to war for any perceived attack on their ancestry.

In spite of all these, when they realized the truth of Islaam, they submitted totally to the Will of Allaah and the teachings of the prophet. They never placed their opinion above the prophet's command nor leave his guidance for that of anyone. They became quintessence of the divine teachings from the hands of the Messenger of Allaah, leaving brilliant pages of unparalleled piety and righteousness in the history of mankind. They passed this teaching on to the generations after them and the general understanding was:

“For Allaah is to send a messenger, for the messenger is to convey the message and for us is total submission; in other words, 'we hear and we obey'."

They did not just utter this phrase, but truly obeyed Allaah and His messenger. Allaah reciprocated the companions love and devotion and therefore declared that He is pleased with them. He accepted their supplications, as contained in the last two verses of the second chapter of the Qur'aan, for the concession not to punish us if we forget or fall into error (i.e. if we forget an obligation or fall into a prohibition, or made an error while ignorant of its ruling) and not to lay on us a burden like that which He laid on those before us (Jews and Christians). This we benefit from, by the virtue of their obedience. Thus, signifying how potent obedience is, in earning the pleasure and favor of our Lord.

In a bid to depict true submission, some note-worthy incidents at the time of the companions are sited below;

  • The prohibition of alcohol:

Anas said: I used to offer alcoholic drinks to the people at the residence of Abu Talha. Then the order of prohibiting alcoholic drinks was revealed and the prophet ( صلّي الله عليه وعلي آله وسلّم) ordered someone to announce that. Abu Talha said to me, “go out and see what this voice (announcement is).” I went out and (on coming back said, “This is somebody announcing that alcoholic beverages have been prohibited.” Abu Talha said to me, Go and spill it (i.e. the wine). Then it (alcoholic drinks) was seen flowing through the streets of Madinah. (Muslim)

  • The legislation of Hijab:

It was narrated from safiyyah Bint Shaybah who said:

We mentioned the women of Quraysh and their virtues in the presence of Aisha (May Allaah be pleased with her) and she said: The women of Quraysh are good, but by Allaah I have never seen any better than the women of the Ansaar, or any who believed the Book of Allaah more strongly or had more faith in the revelation. When Suurah an-Nur was revealed; "and to draw their veils all over juyoobihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bossoms)", their menfolk came to them and recited to them what had been revealed, and there was not one women among them who did not go to her apron, and the following morning they prayed (behind the prophet) wrapped up as if there were crows on their head. (Sunan Abi Dawud)

How wonderful were those women of the companions in their obedience to Allaah and His messenger? The basis of comparison among them is in obedience to the Shariah. They heard only from their husbands and they ensured the prophet did not see them afterwards except that they had complied with the injunction of the revelation.

  • The promptness of a group of the Ansaar to turn their faces towards the Kaabah:

Al-Bara Bin Azib narrated:

Allaah's Messenger offered his prayers facing Bayt Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months, but he wished that he could pray facing the kaabah (at Makkah). The first prayer which he offered (facing the Kaabah) was the Asr prayer in the company of some people. Then one of those who had offered that prayer with him went out and passed by some people in a mosque who were in bowing position (ruku) during their prayer (facing Jerusalem). He addressed them saying, By Allaah, I bear witness that I have offered prayer with the prophet facing Makkah (Kaabah). Hearing that, those people immediately changed their direction towards the House (Kaabah) while still as they were (i.e. in the same bowing position). (Bukhari)

How swift they were in emulating the prophet and obeying the revelation from Allaah! Because they knew that for the prayer or other acts of worship to be accepted, one has to do it the way the prophet did it. And once an authentic report has come about the way the prophet used to do an act of worship one has to take to it immediately if one wishes it to be accepted, unlike some people of today who'd rather follow the sunnah of Imaam so and so.

  • Prohibition of the donkeys meat:

Anas Bin Malik narrated that;

Someone came to Allaah's Apostle and said, The donkeys have been (slaughtered and) eaten. Another man came and said, The donkeys have been destroyed (and exhausted). On that the prophet ordered a caller to announce to the people: Allaah and His Apostle forbid you to eat the meat of donkeys, for it is impure, Thus the pots were turned upside down while the donkeys meat was boiling in them. (Bukhari, Hunting and Slaughtering 436)

One cannot but be amazed with how the virtuous and exemplary companions would never think of playing tricks with the directives of the prophet. They mastered their impulse and had a great deal of discipline. The turned the pots upside down while the donkeys meat was still boiling in them.

  • Keeping close together when encamping on a journey:

Abu Dawud reported in his Sunan how the companions obeyed the instruction of the prophet strictly on the etiquette of encamping on a journey. Abu Thalabah Al-Khushani (May Allaah be pleased with him) related:

“Whenever the people encamped during the journey, they would disperse in the mountain passes and valleys. When the messenger of Allaah noticed this he said: your act of scattering in the mountain passes and valleys is from Satan.

Afterwards the companions kept closed together whenever they encamped to such extent it could be said that: If you spread a single cloth over them it would cover them all (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book of Jihad Hadith 2288)

Dr. Fadlu-l-Ilahiy remarked in his book, Hubbun-Nabiyy: The prophet did not condone the scattering of muslims while they encamped on journey. What is the matter with them today that they scatter and disperse in every matter except the one Allaah has bestowed His mercy on.

There is no doubt that that mercy of Allaah is in having the creed of the companions and following their methodology which they passed on to the generations after them because that was what united them. Hence, the prophet described those that would be safe as those who are upon that which he and his companions were upon.

  • Abu Ubaydah and his army refused to sit on the silken mat of Tadzariq:

One of the greatest conquests of the Muslims after the prophet was that of the Levant at the battle of Yarmuk. At-Tabariy reported the negotiation that took place before the battle.

Abu Ubaydah and Yazid Ibn Abi Sufyan went forward to the army of the Romans. Dhirar Ibn Al-Azur, Al-Harits Ibn Hisyam and Abu Jandal Ibn Suhail also went with them to see Tadzariq the leader of the Roman army who was inside his tent of about 30 rows of columns all made of silk. When they were asked to come in the companions said: silk is not permissible for us. Then a silken carpet was spread before them and they were welcomed to sit on it. The companions said: we are not allowed to sit on it. Finally, Tadzariq sat at the place that they approved.

The companions were never intimidated enough by the magnificence of Tadzariq's tent to forget the commandment of the prophet. The companions had heard the prophet say;

"Shame and worthless is the lot of anyone who disobeys my order." (Ahmad, authenticated by Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad Shaakir).

Unlike the people do today, holding the prophet's orders with levity, the companions heard and understood the import of such short and powerful speech.


These incidents should be enough for any one of sound mind, to understand the importance of such exemplary behavior and strive to imbibe this endearing (to Allaah) trait of unwavering obedience. We ask that Allaah makes us of those who earn His Pleasure through obedience to Him.

Ameen.

By Ahmed Kamal Ololade (Al-Mufti)

24th Shawwal, 1438 AH.

MUSLIM Magazine

Written by

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade