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excuse without taking permission to leave, from the Messenger). And let those who oppose the Messenger's commandment (Sunnah, orders, statements, etc.) beware, lest some Fitnah (trials, calamities, disbelief, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted o*!n them. [24:63].

9 -- O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life, and know that Allah comes in between a person and his heart (i.e. He prevents an evil person to decide anything). And verily to Him you shall (all) be gathered. [8:24].

10 -- And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein, and that will be the great success. And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, and transgress His Limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment. [4:13-14].

11 -- Have you not seen those (hypocrites) who claim that they believe in that which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down before you, and they wish to go for judgment (in their disputes) to the Taghut (false hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much. [33:21].

15 -- By the Star when it goes down (or vanishes). Your companion (Mohammad) has neither gone astray nor erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is o*!nly an Inspiration that is inspired. [53:1-4].

16 -- And We have also sent down unto you the Reminder and the Advice, that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought. [16:44].

Hadiths that Call upon Muslims to Obey the Prophet in All Matters

As for the Sunnah, it contains numerous evidences, that clearly attest the obligation of following the Messenger in all matters of religion. The following are some of them:

1 -- Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, what translated means: "All of my Ummah (nation) will enter Paradise, except whoever refuses (to enter Paradise)." They said: "And who will refuse?" He said: "Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me will have refused." [Al-Bukhari].

2 -- Jabir ibn Abdillah said: "Angles came to the Prophet while he was sleeping. Some of them said: lHe is asleep.' Others said: 'The eye is asleep, but the heart is awake.' They said: 'There is an example to this friend of yours, therefore say your example.' Some of them said: 'He is asleep.' And others said:' The eye is asleep, but the heart is awake.' They said: 'His example is like the example of a man who built a house, threw a feast and sent a caller (inviting to the feast). Whoever accepts the invitation, will enter the house and will eat from the feast Whoever does not accept the invitation, will not enter the house and will not eat from the feast' They said: 'Clarify it (this example) so that he understands it' Some of them said: 'He is asleep.' And others said: ' The eye is asleep, but the heart is awake.' They said: 'The house is Paradise and the caller is Mohammad, Whoever obeys Mohammad, obeys Allah. Whoever disobeys Mohammad, disobeys Allah. Mohammad divides between people (between those who believe and obey him and those who disbelieve and disobey him)."' [Al-Bukhari].

3 -- Abu Moosa narrated that the Prophet said, what translated means: "The example of me and what Allah has sent me with, is like the example of a man who came to a people, saying: 'O my people! I saw the army (of the enemy) with my own eyes. I am the naked warner (the habit of Arabs before Islam was that when o*!ne wants to warn his people of an invading army, he does so while naked to be more dramatic). Therefore, escape escape.' Some of his people obeyed him and left at night, traveling at ease, and they were safe. Others disbelieved and in the morning they were still in their places. The army attacked them in the morning, destroyed and overwhelmed them. This is the example of whoever obeys me and follows what I was sent with, and the example of whoever disobeys me and disbelieves in what I was sent with of truth" [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].

4 -- Abu Rafi' said that the Messenger of Allah said, what translated means: "Let me not find any of you, and while resting o*!n his couch, that if an order of mine is mentioned in front of him, either a command of mine or a prohibition, he says: 'I do not know! Whatever we find in the Book of Allah (the Quran) we follow (otherwise we do not!)."' [Ahmad, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmithi, ibn Majah, At-Tahawi & others].

5 -- Al-Miqdam narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, what translated means: "Verily! I was given the Quran and its equal with it (the Sunnah). There may be a man, his stomach is full and he is (laying) o*!n his couch, and saying: 'Hold fast to this Quran. Whatever you find of 'permissible matters, take it as permissible, and whatever you find in it of prohibitions, consider it prohibited,' However, whatever the Messenger of Allah renders impermissible is equal to what Allah renders impermissible. Verily, (the meat of) domestic donkeys is impermissible, also all carnivores which have fangs, also all what o*!ne finds that belongs to a Mu 'aahid (people of the Scripture who live under Muslim rule) unless its owner gives it away. And whoever stays with a people (as a guest), then they must be generous to him, if they do not, then he can take from them what he needs (of sustenance)." [Abu Dawood, At-Tirmithi, Al-Hakim & Ahmad].

6 -- Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, what translated means: "I have left with you two things, that (if you hold fast to them) you will never be misled after them (as long as you hold fast to them): The Book of Allah and my Sunnah. They will not separate from each other till they meet me o*!n the Hawdh (the pool of Paradise river water that flows outside the gates of Paradise o*!n the Hereafter)." [Malik & Al-Hakim].

The Meaning of the Above Evidences

The above Ayat and Hadiths have benefits of very crucial importance, mentioned as follows:

1 -- There is no difference between Allah's Decrees and the decrees of the Messenger. Believers are not given any choice to disobey them. Disobedience of the Prophet is the same as disobeying Allah, both are utter misguidance.

2 -- No o*!ne has the right to introduce his preference between the hands of the Prophet (after his Sunnah has been decreed or mentioned), exactly as no o*!ne has any preference between Allah's Hands (after His order has been decreed). It is impermissible to defy the Sunnah of the Messenger. IbnAl- Qayyim said in his book Flam Al-Muwaqqi'in: "This means the following: Do not say until he (the Messenger) says, do not order until he orders, do not issue a Fatwa (legislative opinion) until he says his Fatwa, and do not decide in any matter until he issues his decision concerning it and until his order is established."

3 -- Whoever obeys the Messenger obeys Allah, the Praised o*!ne.

4 -- To shun the obedience of the Messenger is a Kufr.

5 -- The necessity of referring to Allah and His Messenger when divisions and