Pearls Of The Blessed Messenger (9)
Pearls from the blessed Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَعَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
قَالَ دَعُونِي مَا تَرَكْتُكُمْ إِنَّمَا هَلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ
قَبْلَكُمْ بِسُؤَالِهِمْ وَاخْتِلَافِهِمْ عَلَى أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ فَإِذَا
نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ وَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِأَمْرٍ
فَأْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ. (رواه البخاري)
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated from the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: “Leave off from me what I have left off for you. For certainly those nations who were before you were only destroyed on account of their many questions and disputing their Prophets. So whenever I prohibit you from something then stay away from it and whenever I command you with something then do it to the extent of your ability”.
Narrated by Imam Bukhari # 7288, page 2032, Publisher: Altaf and sons’.
This narration shows the importance of holding on to the commandments of Allah, His Messenger and staying away from the prohibitions. Certainly the destruction of Allah came down upon previous nations on account of their failure to fulfill the commandments of Allah and His messengers and their constant arguing and debating with their Prophets.
The believers are therefore required to obey and follow the instructions given by the Prophet (May peace and blessings be upon him). Whatever has been prohibited by the Prophet (May peace and blessings be upon him), one must stay away from and whatever he has ordered one to do, then one must do it to the extent of his ability. This means that a person must try his best to fulfill the orders given by the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him).
One should not display laziness or negligence in this matter. It is not sufficient for one to say that he/she cannot do what is required to be done without making an effort. Also, one must try to fulfil the complete ‘order’ of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) and should not do it partially, thinking that his partial compliance to the Prophet’s (May peace and blessings be upon him) orders is sufficient. Instead, the believers must make every effort to implement the teachings of the Prophet (May peace and blessings be upon him) in their lives, so that in this way their submission to the religion of Allah will be seen.