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differences arise in matters of religion. Ibn Al-Qayyim said: "The Praised o*!ne decreed that He and His Messenger must be obeyed. He repeated the order (saying [4:59]: 'And obey the Messenger') informing us that his (the Messenger's) obedience must be established without comparing his order with the Quran. If he decrees a matter, then his decree must be adhered to without hesitation, whether his decree can be found in the Quran or not. He was given the Quran "and its equal with it." Allah did not command that o*!ne must obey people of authority as an independent authority (saying: "And obey Muslim rulers, scholars"). Rather, He included their obedience in the obedience of the Messenger." [I'lam Al-Muwaqqi'in]. It is well-known to the scholars that referring to Allah means referring to His Book, and that referring to the Messenger means referring to him during his lifetime, and to his Sunnah after his death. They consider this a condition of Iman.

6 -- In the sight of the Shari'ah (Islamic Law), accepting divisions, by not referring to the Sunnah to end this division, is a major cause for the failure of Muslims in all their matters and the cause for their losing their strength and effectiveness.

7 -- Warning against disobeying the Messenger because of what this disobedience leads to of an evil end in this life and in the Hereafter.

8 -- Those who defy the order of the Messenger deserve to fall in calamities in this life, and face the painful torment in the Hereafter.

9 -- The necessity of accepting the Message of the Messenger and his decrees. This acceptance is the cause for the good life and happiness in this life and in the Life After.

10 -- Obeying the Prophet leads to entering Paradise and reaching the ultimate success. Disobeying the Prophet and ignoring his commandments is cause for entering Hellfire and facing humiliating torment.

11 -- o*!ne of the characteristic of the hypocrites, who show Islam and conceal Kufr, is that if they are called to refer to the Messenger and his Sunnah as a judge, they refuse and hinder from this path.

12 -- Mu'mins (believers) are different from the hypocrites. If they are called to the Messenger to judge between them, they hurry to this path with full acceptance, as if saying: "We hear and we obey." Therefore, they are the successful o*!nes and the ultimate winners of Paradise for following this path.

13 -- Whatever the Prophet has ordered us, must be followed and obeyed, and we must shun all that he has prohibited us from doing.

14 -- The Messenger is our example and leader in all matters of religion, that is if we seek the pleasure of Allah and the best of the Hereafter.

15 -- All the Prophet has uttered, in matters of religion or the unseen, that cannot be comprehended with our limited minds or proved with experimentation, are a revelation from Allah to him. Misguidance can never touch this revelation.

16 -- The Sunnah of the Messenger clarifies whatever is revealed in the Quran.

17 -- The Quran cannot be a substitute for the Sunnah. o*!n the contrary, the Sunnah is equal to the Quran in terms of the necessity of adherence and implementation. Whoever substitutes the Quran for the Sunnah defies and disobeys the Messenger, consequently committing disobedience of the Ayat mentioned above.

18 -- Whatever the Prophet has prohibited is equal to whatever Allah has prohibited. All decrees of the Messenger, that cannot be found in the Quran, are considered as if they were in the Quran. The Messenger said, what translated means:

"Verily! I was given the Quran and its equal with it." [Abu Dawood, At-Tirmithi, Al-Hakim & Ahmad].

19 -- Immunity from error and misguidance is o*!nly attained through adherence to both the Quran and the Sunnah. This rule is valid till the Day of Judgment. Therefore, it is impermissible to differentiate between the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet.

The Necessity of Adhering to the Sunnah in Matters of Belief and Laws

The above evidences from the Quran and the Sunnah clearly attest that adhering to the Sunnah, and all what the Prophet has decreed, is absolutely necessary. Whoever refuses to refer to the Sunnah for judgment and does not accept whatever the Sunnah decrees, is not a believer. I would also like to point out that there are two important matters that these evidences clarify:

First: These evidences provide general guidance to whoever hears about this religion, till the Day of Judgment. This is clearly stated in the Ayah: that I may warn therewith you and whosoever it may reach. [6:19] and, And We have not sent you (O Mohammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to mankind. [34:28].

This was further explained by the Prophet himself in the Hadith: "And Prophets were o*!nly sent to their own people. However, I was sent to all mankind." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim], and, "By Whom my soul is in His Hand, no man of this nation hears of me, also no Jew or Christian, and then does not believe in me, but will be of the people of Hell" [Muslim, ibn Mandah & others].

Second: This rule (that the Sunnah must always be obeyed) includes all matters of religion, let it be matters of belief, Laws, etc. Every companion was obligated to believe in all of this (matters of belief and Laws) whenever he heard a decree of the Prophet, or was informed about it by another companion. It was not permissible for any companion to reject the Hadith of the Prophet if it was an Ahad Hadith by another companion, even in matters of 'Aqidah (belief). Likewise, whoever comes after the companions, has no right to reject the Hadith using the same excuse (that it is an Ahad Hadith), as long as whoever is narrating the Hadith is truthful himself. This must be the case till Allah inherits the earth and all that is o*!n it. This was the case during the time of the Tabi'in (the second generation of Islam) and the Mujtahid Imams (who perform Ijtihad which is trying o*!ne's best to reach a decision concerning a matter of religion, depending o*!n the Quran and the Sunnah), as we will narrate of Imam Ash-Shaffi later o*!n in this book.

Al-Khalaf (Later Generations) Judged the Sunnah Instead of Judging With the Sunnah

After the righteous generations, came generations that ignored the Sunnah of the Prophet and lost their grip o*!n it. This happened because the later generations adopted rules and basics that some people of Al-Kalam (philosophers), and some scholars of Fiqh and Usul (those who establish general rules comprised of numerous minor rules) adopted. As a result of these adopted rules, the Sunnah, or at least a major part of it, was ignored and doubted. A part of the Sunnah was even rejected because this part was in opposition to the general rules that Al-Khalaf established!! The Ayah was changed: Instead of referring to the Sunnah for judgment, they did the opposite. They referred the Sunnah to their own rules and regulations for judgment!! Whenever their rules agreed, they accepted the Sunnah Otherwise, the Sunnah was rejected!! As a result, the strong ties between Muslims, from among Al-Khalaf, and the Sunnah, were severed. Muslims of Al-Khalaf have become ignorant