The Obedience
The meanings of obedience in Iss-laam become clear by studying various verses of the Holy Qor-aan such as those below and reviewing Commentaries including the following.
The verse 003:033 exhorts people to obey Allah and the Messenger. The Holy Qor-aan repeats this Command several times in different words in various scenarios including the following.
a) Obey Allah and the Messenger – 003:033, 003:133, 004:060, 005:093, 047:034, 064:013;
a) Obey Allah and His Messenger – 058:014, 008:002, 008:047;
b) They obey Allah and His Messenger – 008:021, 009:071;
c) Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – 004:070;
d) Whoever obeys / obeyed Allah and His Messenger – 004:014, 033:072, 048:018;
e) Obey the Messenger – 024:057;
f) Whoever obeyed the Messenger – 004:081;
g) We have not sent any of the Messengers except that they be obeyed – 004:065.
Besides the above-mentioned commands of obedience to Allah and His Messenger s.a.w, that mandate has been emphasized repeatedly in different contexts and worships such as follows.
- Proclaiming the Unity of God declared in Soora 112 and the crux reiterated many times.
- Prayers and Zakat emphasized in the Verse 002:044 and several others.
- Proper Fasting elaborated in the verses 002:184 to 002:189.
- Pilgrimage detailed in 002:191 to 002:201.
So much emphasis on the obedience spurred Moslems to learn what everyone of them had to obey. They are repeatedly urged to acquire the required knowledge and each is responsible for his actions. Knowing the Commands and the obligation to obey enabled them to easily move in that direction. From the get go the word Islaam means peace producing peaceful situations which most Moslems do. The obedience pursuant to the above verses of the Holy Qor-aan is practiced by the great majority. Sadly it is also claimed by some loud-mouths whose actions loudly belie true teachings of Islaam. Their words may say they are trying to obey Allah and His Messenger as they perceive them to be. Yet their actions hardly differ from those of the Christian Crusades around Jerusalem for centuries. Their pursuits look like the invasions by generals like Alexander, Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, etc. Still their acts reflect several good characteristics of Islam and some of their own other practices.
But Islaam is now over 1400 years old religion and its history covers enormous geography. Moslems have marked about 50 countries Spain to the Far East in a nearly 12,000 miles long band. Moslem supremacy covered Chechnya, USSR on North, middle of Africa to southern tip of India. Moslems ruled off and on huge chunks of North-West to South-East12x8 thousand mile wide land. Moslem armies, caliphs, dictators, generals and kings established kingdoms in that huge territory. Moslem literature exists in dozens of languages which are spoken in hundreds of regional dialects. Moslem advances in medicine, sciences and math made permanent additions to man’s knowledge.
After the supremacy for such a long time, on such a vast land and in so many diverse people, the ugly side of human nature showed up Actions by some individuals are simply heinous crimes like the recent ones shown in Commentary Jihad Is Striving For The Good and Jihad – War Of Aggression Is No Isslaam.
The changed concept of obedience came in vogue. The Holy Qor-aan verse 004:060 laid down Moslems to obey ‘those in authority among you.’ Those words got expanded in the light of the Hadeeth, ‘Difference of opinion in my followers.’ The religious scholars interpreted the words ‘among you’ to mean contradictory extrapolations. They were clothed with the ‘Caliph’s whims’, ‘invaders appointees’ to ‘democratically elected.’ Even educated Moslems got indoctrinated with weird meanings of the straightforward words. The scholars justified waging wars on Moslems to enforce full obedience to what they opined. Isslaam required all people to learn and pursue what pleases God, but clergy ruled differently. The meanings of ‘Obedience’ to God’s word as done by the Best Exemplar s.a.w have changed. Moslems need to go back and learn what to bey is in Iss-laam.
The Holy Qor-aan mandated Obedience to God and His Messenger 18 times in as many verses. But the clergy zeroed-in on the one time the Book stated ‘those in authority among you’ (004:006). Their actions explained in our Commentary Difference of Opinion had essentially two purposes. It was used to demand and impose an absolute obedience to State by subjugating ordinary citizens. It was also used to instigate masses against any ruler dubbed as the one who was not among you. Earliest example of the second kind of use resulted in murdering the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Caliph, the Khaleefas.
Such use has continued to plague the Moslem community throughout history in many countries. The use in 19th century was against the British in India who being Non-Moslems were not among you. The use in 1974 was by Pakistan National Assembly that amended its own Constitution in September. Saudi Arabia and Iddi Amin’s dictatorship followed the suit and labeled Ahmadis as Non-Moslem. That wave to hold the Ahmadis as Non-Moslems has been used to debar them from holding top jobs in their own country’s administrations.
Moslems ignored that the Best Exemplar s.a.w had followed the local rules while he lived in Makkah. He and his followers had obeyed and lived by the rules of their domicile as long as they lived there. He entered the Ho-dai-be-yah Truce and respected Makkah rule when he had the power to trample it. He practiced to Live by Law of Land in Madinah where he and his followers had moved peacefully. He respected the laws and customs of the city and society (Note 002:190) to where he had migrated. Religious sanctification has proved to be a lead cause of disobedience that violates the Holy Qr-aan. Warriors obtained religious decrees to wage holy wars but Jihad is Prohibited as War in real Islam. All excuses fabricated for non-compliance to side-step that some don’t like are never ever justified. The dissensions have created many sects in Islam; see the Sect Formation and the Sect Recognition. Moslems must not be dazzled by the media covering their foreign invasions or territorial expansion. They must quit acquiring black-market arms to enrich the super-powers and deplete their sources. Time is now that Moslems rediscover what Islaam is and grow brilliantly in peace and obedience.
The Obedience
The Obedience
The meanings of obedience in Iss-laam become clear by studying various verses of the Holy Qor-aan such as those below and reviewing Commentaries including the following.
The verse 003:033 exhorts people to obey Allah and the Messenger. The Holy Qor-aan repeats this Command several times in different words in various scenarios including the following.
a) Obey Allah and the Messenger – 003:033, 003:133, 004:060, 005:093, 047:034, 064:013;
a) Obey Allah and His Messenger – 058:014, 008:002, 008:047;
b) They obey Allah and His Messenger – 008:021, 009:071;
c) Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – 004:070;
d) Whoever obeys / obeyed Allah and His Messenger – 004:014, 033:072, 048:018;
e) Obey the Messenger – 024:057;
f) Whoever obeyed the Messenger – 004:081;
g) We have not sent any of the Messengers except that they be obeyed – 004:065.
Besides the above-mentioned commands of obedience to Allah and His Messenger s.a.w, that mandate has been emphasized repeatedly in different contexts and worships such as follows.
So much emphasis on the obedience spurred Moslems to learn what everyone of them had to obey. They are repeatedly urged to acquire the required knowledge and each is responsible for his actions. Knowing the Commands and the obligation to obey enabled them to easily move in that direction. From the get go the word Islaam means peace producing peaceful situations which most Moslems do. The obedience pursuant to the above verses of the Holy Qor-aan is practiced by the great majority. Sadly it is also claimed by some loud-mouths whose actions loudly belie true teachings of Islaam. Their words may say they are trying to obey Allah and His Messenger as they perceive them to be. Yet their actions hardly differ from those of the Christian Crusades around Jerusalem for centuries. Their pursuits look like the invasions by generals like Alexander, Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, etc. Still their acts reflect several good characteristics of Islam and some of their own other practices.
But Islaam is now over 1400 years old religion and its history covers enormous geography. Moslems have marked about 50 countries Spain to the Far East in a nearly 12,000 miles long band. Moslem supremacy covered Chechnya, USSR on North, middle of Africa to southern tip of India. Moslems ruled off and on huge chunks of North-West to South-East12x8 thousand mile wide land. Moslem armies, caliphs, dictators, generals and kings established kingdoms in that huge territory. Moslem literature exists in dozens of languages which are spoken in hundreds of regional dialects. Moslem advances in medicine, sciences and math made permanent additions to man’s knowledge.
After the supremacy for such a long time, on such a vast land and in so many diverse people, the ugly side of human nature showed up Actions by some individuals are simply heinous crimes like the recent ones shown in Commentary Jihad Is Striving For The Good and Jihad – War Of Aggression Is No Isslaam.
The changed concept of obedience came in vogue. The Holy Qor-aan verse 004:060 laid down Moslems to obey ‘those in authority among you.’ Those words got expanded in the light of the Hadeeth, ‘Difference of opinion in my followers.’ The religious scholars interpreted the words ‘among you’ to mean contradictory extrapolations. They were clothed with the ‘Caliph’s whims’, ‘invaders appointees’ to ‘democratically elected.’ Even educated Moslems got indoctrinated with weird meanings of the straightforward words. The scholars justified waging wars on Moslems to enforce full obedience to what they opined. Isslaam required all people to learn and pursue what pleases God, but clergy ruled differently. The meanings of ‘Obedience’ to God’s word as done by the Best Exemplar s.a.w have changed. Moslems need to go back and learn what to bey is in Iss-laam.
The Holy Qor-aan mandated Obedience to God and His Messenger 18 times in as many verses. But the clergy zeroed-in on the one time the Book stated ‘those in authority among you’ (004:006). Their actions explained in our Commentary Difference of Opinion had essentially two purposes. It was used to demand and impose an absolute obedience to State by subjugating ordinary citizens. It was also used to instigate masses against any ruler dubbed as the one who was not among you. Earliest example of the second kind of use resulted in murdering the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Caliph, the Khaleefas.
Such use has continued to plague the Moslem community throughout history in many countries. The use in 19th century was against the British in India who being Non-Moslems were not among you. The use in 1974 was by Pakistan National Assembly that amended its own Constitution in September. Saudi Arabia and Iddi Amin’s dictatorship followed the suit and labeled Ahmadis as Non-Moslem. That wave to hold the Ahmadis as Non-Moslems has been used to debar them from holding top jobs in their own country’s administrations.
Moslems ignored that the Best Exemplar s.a.w had followed the local rules while he lived in Makkah. He and his followers had obeyed and lived by the rules of their domicile as long as they lived there. He entered the Ho-dai-be-yah Truce and respected Makkah rule when he had the power to trample it. He practiced to Live by Law of Land in Madinah where he and his followers had moved peacefully. He respected the laws and customs of the city and society (Note 002:190) to where he had migrated. Religious sanctification has proved to be a lead cause of disobedience that violates the Holy Qr-aan. Warriors obtained religious decrees to wage holy wars but Jihad is Prohibited as War in real Islam. All excuses fabricated for non-compliance to side-step that some don’t like are never ever justified. The dissensions have created many sects in Islam; see the Sect Formation and the Sect Recognition. Moslems must not be dazzled by the media covering their foreign invasions or territorial expansion. They must quit acquiring black-market arms to enrich the super-powers and deplete their sources. Time is now that Moslems rediscover what Islaam is and grow brilliantly in peace and obedience.
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