OBEDIENCE IS LIFE
“0 People of Imaan! Answer Allah and His Rasool when they call you towards that which will instill life into you. Know, that verily Allah forms a barrier between man and his heart. And (know) that verily, unto Him will (all of) you be gathered (in Qiyaamah).”
(Ayat 24, Surah Anfaal)
Answering the Call of Allah and His Rasool is waajib (obligatorily) at all times. The meaning here is both literal and figurative. Literally it applied to the Sahaabah when Nabi-e-Kareem (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) despatched a messenger to call anyone. Once Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) sent someone to call Ubay Bin Ka’b (radhiallahu anhu) who was at that time engaged in Salaat.
He quickly completed his Salaat and went in answer of the summons of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Although he had made haste with his Salaat, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) regarded the delay as inordinate and unbecoming, hence he asked: “Why did you delay in answering my call?” Ubay Bin Ka’b (adhiallahu anhu) replied: that he was performing Salaat. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “Did you not hear Allah Ta’ala, proclaiming:
‘Answer the (call) of Allah and His Rasool when they call you……… “
Hadhrat Ubay (radhiallahu anhu) apologised and promised that in future even if he was in Salaat, he would immediately respond to the call of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
On the basis of this aayat and explanatory hadith, the Fuqaha have ruled the incumbency of terminating Salaat when the Rasool called. The Call of the Rasool was a greater act of ibaadat for the Ummati (follow of the Rasool) than his personal act of Salaat.
In relation to all Muslims after the era of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), the command of the aayat will mean to answer the Message of Islam by means of obedience. The aayat informs us that ‘answering the Call of Allah and His Rasool’, i.e. to submit in obedience to the Shariah, instils life into the Mu’mineen.
The life stated in this aayat is the life of Imaan. Without Imaan, man is a dead kaafir. Kufr is death while Imaan is life. From this it is clear that disobedience which is tantamount to rejecting the Call of Allah and His Rasool is the destruction of the life of Imaan. The greater the degree of disobedience and transgression, the faster will be the process of-spiritual death setting in and engulfing Imaan.
All acts of transgression are branches of kufr which result in spiritual destruction.
The aayat further tells us that Allah Ta’ala is a barrier between man and his heart. Allah Ta’ala is the closest to man. He is nearer to a man than the man himself. Another verse explains this Divine Proximity to man in the following terms’
“We are closer to man than his jugular vein.”
Whether man is alone in the darkness of the night, he should remember that Allah Ta’ala is watching his every act and thought. His heart’s condition is not hidden from Allah Ta’ala.
When alone, in the darkness of night, and the thought of evil and sin occurs, the Mu’min should immediately reflect on this verse and remind himself that Allah Ta’ala is watching him. This reflecting will create spiritual alertness in the heart and the Divine Presence will become a vivid reality. The perception of Allah’s Presence is the strongest deterrent against the commission of sin. In order to ingrain this perception in the heart, it is necessary to always ruminate on this and similar other verses. Meditation is an essential exercise in the spiritual program of the Mu’min. Without reflection, spiritual alertness is not possible.
Initially it will be an onerous task to reflect. But by repeated attempts, the soul will achieve mastery over the nafs and the life mentioned in the aayat be infused into the heart.
Finally it is most important to remember that the resurrection and gathering of all men will take place and everyone will have to account for the miserable ‘pleasures’ he had wrongfully appropriated in this short life.
by Majlisul Ulama
