Bismillaah Al-Hamdulillaah wa
salatu wa salaamu ‘ala
rasulullaah
Amma ba’d
The Precedence and Priority
that obedience to Allaah has
over the obedience to the
creation
To reinforce the precedence and
priority that obedience to Allaah
(subhanahu wa ta’aala) has over
the obedience to the creation,
ponder upon the following
ahadeeth of the Prophet
(salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam):
La ta’aata lil makhluk fi
ma’seeyit al-Khaaliq (which
means “there is no
obedience to the creation
in disobedience to The
Creator.”)
“Inna ma ta’aa fil
ma’roof.” (Obedience is
only in the matters
ordained by Allaah).
The righteous scholars have
explained that the right of The
Creator takes precedence over
the rights of the creation.
So when any one from the
creation enjoins on you to commit
an act of disobedience, then
obedience to them in that specific
matter is actually disobedience to
Allaah, whereas disobedience to
them in that specific matter is
obedience to Allaah. Allaah
(subhanahu wa ta’aala) says:
…Help you one another in Al-Birr
and At-Taqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do
not help one another in sin and
transgression… (Al-Ma`idah 5:2)
Regarding the parents, Allaah
(subhanahu wa ta’aala) says:
And We have enjoined on man
(to be dutiful and good) to his
parents. His mother bore him in
weakness and hardship upon
weakness and hardship, and his
weaning is in two years. Give
thanks to Me and to your parents;
unto Me is the final destination.
(Luqman 31:14)
A man once asked the Prophet
(salallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam):
“O Messenger of Allaah, who has
the most right amongst people to
my good companionship?” He
(salallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
replied: “Your mother.” The man
said: “Then who?” He replied:
“Your mother.” The man said:
“Then who?” He replied: “Your
mother.” The man said: “Then
who?” He replied: “Your father.”
[Al-Bukhaaree (no. 5971), Muslim
(no. 201) and Ibn Maajah (no.
2706)] The right of the parents upon
their children is so great that
Allaah often mentions
obedience to parents
immediately after
worshipping Allaah alone.
Yet even if your mother or
father enjoins on you to
commit an act of
disobedience, then
obedience to them in that
specific matter is actually
disobedience to Allaah,
whereas disobedience to
them in that specific matter is
obedience to Allaah. So if
your parents command you
to worship other than Allaah,
or to attend the gatherings of
the people of bid’ah (Sufis,
Shee’a, Tableeghis,
Ikhwanul Muslimeen,
Khawarij, Hizb Tahreer,
etc…), or to sing anasheed,
or to hand them a can of
beer or a pack of cigarettes,
then there is no obedience to
them in these matters.
Allaah says: But if they strive with
you to make you join in worship
with Me others that of which you
have no knowledge, then obey
them not. (Luqman 31:15)
La ta’aata lil makhluk fi ma’seeyit
al-Khaaliq (which means “there is
no obedience to the creation in
disobedience to The Creator.”)
This also includes the wife in
relation to her husband. The
husband’s right over his wife is so
great that the Prophet (salallaahu
‘alaihi wa sallam) said,
“It is not right that any human
being should prostrate to another
being. And if it were right for a
human being to prostrate to
another human being, I would
have ordered the woman to
prostrate to her husband due to
the greatness of his right upon
her.”
Yet if the husband
commands the wife to
disobey Allaah, such as the
husband’s command to his
wife to break her obligatory
fast in Ramadan to have
sexual relations with him,* or
to remove her hijaab, or to
engage in haram acts or
speech, then in these
particular cases obedience to
him is disobedience to
Allaah, as the scholars have
explained.
La ta’aata lil makhluk fi ma’seeyit
al-Khaaliq (which means “there is
no obedience to the creation in
disobedience to The Creator.”)
If a “scholar” (or imam of
your masjid) advises you to
disobey Allaah and His
Messenger (salallaahu ‘alaihi
wa sallam) by telling you or
giving you “permission” to
call on other than Allaah, or
say that Allaah in His Self is
“everywhere,” or rebel/speak
ill of the Muslim ruler, or
celebrate the Prophet’s
birthday, or engage in ribaa
(interest, usury), then in
these particular cases
obedience to that “scholar” is
disobedience to Allaah.
Allaah says: They (Jews and
Christians) took their rabbis and
their monks to be their lords
besides Allaah… (At-Tawbah
9:31)
The Prophet (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam) explained:
They (rabbis and monks)
prohibited the allowed for them
(Christians and Jews) and
allowed the prohibited, and they
(Christians and Jews) obeyed
them. This is how they
worshipped them.
[Calling on other than Allaah is
Kufr, knowingly denying Allaah’s
‘Uluw is kufr, rebelling against/
speaking ill of the Muslim ruler is
the bid’ah of the Khawaarij and
Ikhwanul Muslimeen and Hizb at-
Tahreer, celebrating the Prophet’s
birthday is bid’ah that sometimes
is accompanied by kufr as the
‘ulamma have explained, and
ribaa is from the seven
destructive Kabaair, while
declaring ribaa “halal” upon
knowledge of its prohibition in the
Qur`an and Sunnah is Kufr.
Aoodhoobillaah!] La ta’aata lil makhluk fi ma’seeyit
al-Khaaliq (which means “there is
no obedience to the creation in
disobedience to The Creator.”)
Likewise, with the Muslim
ruler, the only time you may
not obey the Muslim ruler is if
he orders disobedience. As
we learned from Kitab at-
Tawheed class – chapter of
Ruling by other than Allaah –
regarding Allaah’s ayah: O
you who believe! Obey
Allaah and obey the
Messenger (Muhammad,
salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam),
and those of you (Muslims)
who are in authority… (An-
Nisa 4:59) The word atee’u
(obey) precedes “Allaah” and
“the Messenger,” but not
“those in authority”, because
the Prophet (salallaahu
‘alaihi wa sallam) could not
order to do haram, whereas
it’s possible that a ruler
could. So although it is
obligatory to obey the Muslim
ruler, you may not obey him
in that particular matter in
which he orders
disobedience.
La ta’aata lil makhluk fi ma’seeyit
al-Khaaliq (which means “there is
no obedience to the creation in
disobedience to The Creator.”)
May Allaah grant us akhlaaq
pleasing to Him.