The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last prophet. Through
the verses that begin with “Say”, Allah conveyed to our Prophet (peace
be upon him) what needed to be said to people. Through these verses, our
Prophet (peace be upon him) communicated Allah’s message.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that those who fear Allah and seek to be forgiven, should follow him:
Say, “If you
love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive you for
your wrong actions. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” ( Al-`Imran 3:31)
This call of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) still applies
universally. Allah enjoined strict obedience on the messengers He sent,
and in many verses, states that obedience to the messengers is, in
actuality, obedience to Allah.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) also stressed the importance of
obedience in the hadith: “Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, and whoever
disobeys me, disobeys Allah, and whoever obeys the ruler I appoint,
obeys me, and whoever disobeys him, disobeys me.” (Al-Bukhari)
For this reason, obedience to the messenger is at the heart religion
and showing this obedience surely comes about through strict
submissiveness to the issues conveyed by messengers.
He Did Not Ask for any Wage in Return for His Services
As all other messengers, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),
stated first and foremost that he did not ask for any recompense in
return for his communicating Allah’s message. He stated that he did
everything to earn Allah’s approval and that he awaited his reward from
Allah alone. Some of the verses through which Allah commanded the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to tell people that he did not ask
for any rewards from them are as follows:
They were
the ones whom Allah guided, so follow their guidance. Say, “I do not ask
you for any recompense for this. It is simply a reminder to all
mankind.” (Al- An`am 6:90)
Say: “I have
not asked you for any recompense: Keep it for yourselves. My reward is
the responsibility of Allah alone. He is the witness of all things.” (Saba’ 34:47)
In another verse, on the other hand, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him), who told his people that he did not expect any rewards, made
his main goal clear, saying:
“I do not ask you for any recompense for it—only let anyone who will, take the right path to his Lord.” (Al-Furqan 25:57)
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Stated that those who wanted
to see miracles to believe would still fail to believe, even if they
did see miracles.
Although the signs of Allah’s existence are obvious, disbelievers
find pretexts not to believe and ask for miracles from Allah. The
Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) people also asked him to work
miracles in order not to adhere to him; the reason why such people asked
for miracles was not to have faith or to deepen their faith; it was
simply a pretext for their unwillingness to submit themselves to Allah.
Allah commanded the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to say the
following to these people:
They have
solemnly sworn by Allah that if a Sign be given them, they will believe
in it. Say: “The Signs are vouchsafed by Allah alone.” How can you tell
that even if a Sign be given them, they will indeed believe in it? (Al-An`am 6:109)
Every man is destined to die on a certain day, which is decided in
Allah’s sight. When that time comes, angels assigned by Allah descend on
man to take his soul. If it is the death of a faithful person, then
angels greet him, giving him the good news of Paradise and take his soul
with ease. If it is the death of a disbeliever, on the other hand, then
angels inform him that he will be exposed to a degrading torment. At
that very moment, seeing what should have been obvious to them, those
who disbelieve will submit themselves. However, after that point,
nothing, not even having faith, will avail the disbeliever, for the time
granted to him is already up. Allah conveyed this fact to those seeking
excuses for their disbelief and commanded the Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) to address the people as follows:
Are they
waiting for the angels to come to them or for your Lord Himself to come,
or for one of your Lord’s Signs to be given to them? On the day that
one of your Lord’s Signs does come, faith shall not avail the soul that
had no faith or did not put its faith to good uses. Say: “Wait, then if
you will; we too are waiting.” (Al- An`am 6:158)
He Was Only a Human Being
Out of pride, non-God fearing people decline to obey a human being or
accept that he could be superior to them, in spite of their own
certainty about him. As we have also seen in the case of the past
nations to whom messengers were sent, such people believe that
messengers should possess attributes beyond ordinary human ability and
power; in order not to obey them, they offer many excuses, saying that
he could not have been a Prophet, for he was an ordinary person “walking
in the market place.”
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told people who had such
expectations that he was only a human being and that those who had any
intention of attaining salvation should turn to Allah alone.
Say: “I am
only a human being like yourselves. It is revealed to me that your god
is One God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord act rightly and not
associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.” (Al-Kahf 18:110)
Again, in the face of such expectations on the part of his people,
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told them that he was only a
reminder, that he only fulfilled his Lord’s commands and that those
following him would find salvation:
Say: “Obey
Allah and obey the Messenger. Then if they turn away, he is responsible
only for what he is charged with just as you are responsible for what
you are charged with. If you obey him, you shall be rightly guided.” The
Messenger is responsible only for giving a clear warning. (An-Nur 24:54)
He Was Submissive To Allah
As with all disbelieving nations, the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be
upon him) people also attempted to argue about Allah. Against his nation
who assumed such an ugly attitude, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) communicated them that he submitted himself to Allah:
Say, “Do you
argue with us about Allah when He is our Lord and your Lord? We shall
both be judged by our actions. To Him alone we are devoted.” (Al-Baqarah 2:139)
He Had Faith in Allah Alone
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) explained his people that
Allah is the only god and summoned them to believe in Allah. He warned
against a grievous torment. Almighty Allah says:
Say: “This
is my path. With inner sight, I call on you to believe in Allah, I and
all who follow me. Glory be to Allah! I am not one of the idolaters!” (Yusuf 12:108)
Say: “I call
only upon my Lord and do not associate anyone else with Him.” Say: “I
have no control over any good or evil that befalls you.” Say: “No one
can protect me from Allah and I will never find any refuge apart from
Him. My mission is only to make known His Messages.” “As for one who
disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he shall abide in the Fire of Hell,
remaining in it timelessly, for ever and ever.” (Al-Jinn 72:20-23)
He Would Never Follow Disbelievers
To his people, who strove to divert him from the straight path,
slandered him, threatened him with murdering and exiled him, the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) conveyed the following message:
Say: “I am
forbidden to worship those you invoke besides Allah.” Say: “I will not
yield to your whims and desires. If I did, I would go astray and cease
to be on the right path.” Say: “I have received veritable proofs from my
Lord and yet you deny Him. I have no power to hasten that which you
challenge. Jurisdiction over this is Allah’s alone. He tells the truth
and He is the Best of Arbiters.” (Al-An`am 6:56-57)
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Source: Taken from the author’s book “Our Messengers Say.”
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