Obedience and disobedience to Allah

 Assalamu Alaikum brothers and sisters in Islam

I hope we are all fine

We are about starting tonight's discussion

All perfect praise be to Allah,The Lord of the Worlds.

I testify that there is non worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger.

In Shaa Allah tonight's topic is in twofolds.Obedience and disobedience to Allah.

Obedience has two definitions one linguistic and the other technical.

Linguistically, obedience means agreement and submission to comply with what someone in authority orders.

Technically, obedience is abiding by the orders of Allah and avoiding His prohibitions. Allah is The Creator, The Commander. So, all people should do what He orders. Allah says:

{ ………His is the Creation and Commandment. Blessed be Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!} [7:54]

As for the obedience of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) it means as Al-Qadi Eyadh said:

'The obedience of the Prophet means the adherence to his Sunnah and the full execution of what he established.' This obedience is compulsory on every Muslim just like the obedience of Allah. Allah says: {He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad SAW), has indeed obeyed Allâh, ……..} [4:80]

So, the obedience of the Prophet is part of the obedience of Allah as the Prophet is the reporter of what Allah revealed to him and all that he utters is but a revelation.

 

Allaah has encouraged us to obey Him and to avoid disobeying Him, by mentioning that reward in this world, which indicates that there is no blame on the believer if he seeks that.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If a person intends two good things by his action: the good of this world and the good of the Hereafter, there is nothing wrong with that [i.e., no blame and no sin on him]

Some benefits of Obedience to Allah.

1)One of the benefits of obedience and worship is that various forms of Barakah will descend from the sky and ground.

2) One is freed from all types of difficulties and worries and Allah Ta’aala grants salvation from every type of affliction.

2) Objectives are made easy. Allah Ta’aala eases all tasks and aspirations are realized.

3)Another  benefits of piety and obedience is that by the Barakah of piety, life becomes a joy. It is clearly seen that kings also do not have such a joyous life as the pious servants of Allah Ta’aala.

4) Obedience to Allah brings about rainfalls, wealth and  increase in children, trees bear fruit and the water in the rivers increases.

5)Obedience distances from the pious believers all evils and calamities.

 6)If a servant of Allah is obedient,even losses in wealth are replenished and greater recompense is received.

 7)By the obedience of Allah Ta’aala, the heart is filled with peace and serenity. In comparison with this, the contentment of the kingdom of the 7 continents is nothing.

Even one’s children reap the benefit of obedience and worship and such a person’s children are also protected from calamities.

Hidden glad tidings are given on obedience e.g. good dreams.

Take note! All these benefits has supporting verses in the Quran but time will not permit us to elaborate on them.

Disobedience simply means failure or deliberate refusal to follow a known layed down rules and regulations.

In the religious concept, it is going against the limit of Allah.

This action(s) of Muslims leads to what we considered to be Sin. Therefore to understand the meaning, emphasis should be laid on the meaning of Sin.

The Holy Last Messenger (s.a.s.) said:

“ Righteousness is good morality and sin is that which causes discomfort (or pinches) within your soul and which you dislike people to become informed of.” [Sahih Muslim]

 

Before you disobey Allah, remember that Allah Almighty sees you. He knows what you hide and what you show in public,by as {Allâh knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal.} [Surat Ghâfir 40:19]

} ﻳَﻌْﻠَﻢُ ﺧَﺎﺋِﻨَﺔَ ﺍﻟْﺄَﻋْﻴُﻦِ ﻭَﻣَﺎ ﺗُﺨْﻔِﻲ ﺍﻟﺼُّﺪُﻭﺭُ { ﻏﺎﻓﺮ : 19

Before you disobey Allah, remember when the sinner, on the Day of Resurrection, will say, {“Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to Allâh (i.e. I have not done what' Allâh has ordered me to do),} [Surat Az-Zumar 39:56]

} ﻳَﺎ ﺣَﺴْﺮَﺗَﻰٰ ﻋَﻠَﻰٰ ﻣَﺎ ﻓَﺮَّﻃﺖُ ﻓِﻲ ﺟَﻨﺐِ ﺍﻟﻠَّـﻪِ { ﺍﻟﺰﻣﺮ : 56

Before you disobey Allah, remember Hellfire, the remoteness of its deeps, the severity of its heat, and the torment of its people when they are pulled on their faces.

Before you disobey Allah, remember that you will cross the sirât (path), which is set up by Hellfire. According to your actions, either you will be saved or the clutches of Hellfire will get hold of you. We seek refuge with Allah. Allah Almighty says, {There is not one of you but will pass over it (Hell): this is with your Lord; a Decree which must be accomplished.} [Surat Maryam 19:71]

} ﻭَﺇِﻥ ﻣِّﻨﻜُﻢْ ﺇِﻟَّﺎ ﻭَﺍﺭِﺩُﻫَﺎ ۚ ﻛَﺎﻥَ ﻋَﻠَﻰٰ ﺭَﺑِّﻚَ ﺣَﺘْﻤًﺎ ﻣَّﻘْﻀِﻴًّﺎ { ﻣﺮﻳﻢ : 71

 

Before you disobey Allah, remember the day when people are resurrected; barefoot and naked.

- Before you disobey Allah, remember the day when the scrolls will fly. Some will take their books of deeds with their right hands, while the others will take them with their left hands.

- Before you disobey Allah, remember the day when the sun will draw so close to the heads that there will be left only a distance of one mile. The people will be submerged in perspiration according to their deeds, some up to their heels, some up to their knees, some up to the waist and some will be bridled by perspiration. We seek refuge in Allah.

Before you disobey Allah, remember that you will stand before the Hands of Allah, Glorified and Exalted. There will be no screen or an interpreter between you and Him. Moreover, He will remind you of every sin you have committed.

Now,we will mention some of the consequences of disobeying Allah as indicated by Imam Ibn Qayyim

1- The prevention of Knowledge. Knowledge is a light, which Allah throws into the heart, and disobedience extinguishes this light. Imam Al-Shaafi’e said,

“I complained to Wakee’ about the weakness of my memory, so he ordered me to abandon disobedience. And informed me that the knowledge is light. And that the light of Allah is not given to the disobedient.”

2- The prevention of Sustenance . Just as Taqwa brings about sustenance, the abandonment of Taqwa causes poverty. There is nothing that can bring about sustenance like the abandonment of disobedience.

3- The prevention of obedience (to Allah) . If there were no other punishment for sins other than that it prevents one from obeying Allah then this would be sufficient.

4- Disobedience weakens the heart and the body . Disobedience does not stop weakening the heart until its life ceases completely, rendering the body dead.

5- Disobedience reduces the lifespan and destroys any blessings . Just as righteousness increases the lifespan, sinning reduces it.

6- Disobedience sows its own seeds and gives birth by itself until separating from it and coming out of it becomes difficult for the servant.

7- Sins weaken the heart’s will and resolve so that the desire for disobedience becomes strong and the desire to repent becomes weak bit by bit until the desire to repent is removed from the heart completely.

8- Every type of disobedience is a legacy of a nation from among the nations which Allah (swt) destroyed. Sodomy is a legacy of the People of Lut, taking more than one’s due right and giving what is less is a legacy of the People of Shu’ayb, seeking greatness in the land and causing corruption is a legacy of the People of Pharaoh and pride/arrogance and tyranny is a legacy of the People of Hud. So the disobedient one is wearing the gown of some of these nations who were the enemies of Allah.

9- Disobedience is a cause of the servant being held in contempt by his Lord. Al-Hasan al-Basree said, “They became contemptible in (His sight) so they disobeyed Him. If they were honorable (in His sight) He would have protected them. Allah the Exalted said, “And whomsoever Allah lowers (humiliates) there is none to give honor.” (22:18).”

10- The servant continues to commit sins until they become very easy for him and seem insignificant in his heart and this is a sign of destruction. Every time a sin becomes insignificant in the sight of the servant it becomes great in the sight of Allah. Ibn Mas’ood (rAa) said, “Indeed, the believer sees his sins as if he was standing at the foot of a mountain fearing that it will fall upon him and the sinner sees his sins like a fly which passes by his nose so he tries to remove it by waving his hand around.”

11- Disobedience inherits humiliation and lowliness. Honor, all of it, lies in the obedience of Allah. Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak said, “I have seen sins kill the hearts. And humiliation is inherited by their continuity. The abandonment of sins gives life to the hearts. And the prevention of your soul is better for it.”

12- Disobedience corrupts the intellect. The intellect has light and disobedience extinguishes this light. When the light of the intellect is extinguished it becomes weak and deficient.

Alhamdulillah,we have come to the end of the discussion