Obedience to and following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a central issue in the Holy Quran. Allah commanded obedience to him, ordered that he be followed, and warned against disobeying his command. The command for following the Prophet appears in approximately thirty-two places in the Quran.
The repetition of this command establishes a binding legislative matter and a fundamental principle of the religion. This is because obedience to the Prophet is intrinsic to obedience to Allah the Almighty. Coupling obedience to him with obedience to Allah, along with the threat of punishment for disobedience, serves as strong evidence for the authority (Hujjah) of the Sunnah, contrary to those who reject it based on personal caprice.
There is no doubt that following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) protects one from falling into innovation (Bid’ah).
- The more a servant commits to following the Prophet and his Sunnah, the further they are from novelties.
- Conversely, the less they know and the more they fall short in following, the closer they are to committing innovations.
In this article, we emphasize this principle by clarifying pivotal issues in the “Jurisprudence of Following” (Fiqh al-Ittiba’), which are essential to the Muslim’s creed.
1. True Following the Prophet (Ittiba’) vs. Mere Agreement (Muwafaqah)
It is vital to distinguish between genuinely following the Prophet and merely doing what he did by coincidence.
What is Agreement (Muwafaqah)?
Agreement is doing what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, whether with the intention of imitating him or not. If a person does what the Prophet did, but their motivation is personal desire or habit rather than worship, this is Muwafaqah, not true following.
- Example: A man grows his beard. If asked, “Why did you grow it?” and he replies, “I did it because I like the style,” he receives no reward for following the Prophet. It is permissible to say this is merely a resemblance in action only.
What is True Following (Ittiba’)?
Following the Prophet means agreeing with him in the form of the action while having knowledge of the Sunnah and the intention of worship. If asked, “Why did you do this?” the answer would be: “Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did it.” This is the reality of rewarded following.
Evidence from Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA): It is confirmed that when Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) kissed the Black Stone, he said:
“I know that you are a stone that neither harms nor benefits, and had I not seen the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) kiss you, I would not have kissed you.” (Agreed upon)
Umar abandoned his own logic for one specific reason: the intention of following the Prophet. This teaches us that the Stone is not intended for itself, but rather the act of following is the intent.
2. Is Knowing the Wisdom (Hikmah) a Condition for Following the Prophet?
Does a Muslim need to understand the logical rationale (‘Illah) behind a ruling to commit to following the Prophet?
The answer is no.Following the Prophet does not depend on grasping the rationale; it is realized by the intention of worship.
- If the rationale is known, compliance is bound by it, achieving “following with understanding.”
- If the rationale is unknown, the legally responsible person (Mukallaf) is still required to follow.
If following the Prophet were conditional upon knowing the “why” behind every ruling, the obligation for many laws would collapse, and the religion would become confused. This distinction separates the Follower (Muttabi’) from the Innovator (Mubtadi’), who suspends action until their intellect is satisfied.
Al-Khattabi said regarding Umar’s stance on the Black Stone:
“The meaning is submission to the ruling in matters of religion… Matters of Sharia are of two types: One where the cause is revealed, and another where it is not. For the latter, there is nothing but submission and abandoning opposition via analogy or reason.”
3. The Golden Rule of Following: Form and Intent
The Rule: You must do what the Prophet did, in the manner he did it, because he did it.
This means agreeing with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the form of the action and his intent.
- Obligatory Acts: Must be performed as obligations.
- Recommended Acts: Must be performed as recommendations.
- Permissible Acts: Must be performed as permissible.
It is impermissible to mix these categories. For example, treating a recommended act with such strictness that one believes leaving it is a sin elevates the recommended to the obligatory, which is an innovation and contradicts the correct method of following the Prophet.
The Six Categories of Following
To ensure true Ittiba’, one must agree with the Sunnah in six aspects:
- Cause: Inventing a new reason for worship (e.g., a specific prayer for the Prophet’s Birthday) is an innovation.
- Time: Deviating from the Sharia-designated time (e.g., standing at Arafat a day early) is invalid.
- Manner: Changing the method (e.g., prostrating before bowing in prayer) is rejected.
- Quantity: Changing the number (e.g., adding a rak’ah to Dhuhr prayer) is an innovation.
- Place: Performing worship outside its designated location (e.g., I’tikaf at home instead of the Mosque).
- Type/Gender: Changing the species of sacrifice (e.g., sacrificing a horse instead of livestock for Eid).
Ibn Taymiyyah regarding Intent:
“The People of the Book were only destroyed because they followed the traces of their prophets and took them as churches… Whoever is overtaken by prayer [at a spot the Prophet camped], let him pray, otherwise let him move on.” (This indicates that seeking blessings from a place the Prophet visited coincidentally, without him intending it for worship, is not true following of the Prophet).
4. Worship vs. Customs: Understanding the Distinction
The Principle: Islam came to initiate Acts of Worship and reform Customs.
- Worship (‘Ibadat): The origin is Restriction (Tawqif). Acts of worship are the exclusive right of the Lawgiver (Allah). Humans cannot invent new forms of worship. We stop where the text stops.
- Customs (‘Adat): The origin is Permissibility. Customs like marriage, trade, and dress existed before Islam. The Sharia did not abolish them entirely but came to reform what was corrupt and approve what was good.
- Prophetic Hadith: “I was sent only to perfect righteous morals.”
5. The Ruling on Following Fabricated Hadith
Every act of worship based on a Fabricated (Mawdu’) Hadith is a Bid’ah (Innovation).
A fabricated Hadith is a lie against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Since the foundation of worship is divine instruction (Tawqif), a lie cannot serve as a legal basis for following the Prophet.
- It is forbidden to narrate or act upon fabricated reports.
- Muslims must verify the authenticity of Hadith, as many innovations have spread because people practiced worship based on false attributions to the Messenger of Allah.
6. The Sunnah of Abandonment: Following by Leaving
Rule: If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left an action despite the existence of a motive and the absence of a barrier, then leaving it is the Sunnah.
If there was a reason to do an act in the Prophet’s time, and nothing prevented him, yet he did not do it, doing it now contradicts following the Prophet.
- Example: The Adhan for Eid prayers. The motive (gathering people) existed, but the Prophet did not call Adhan. Thus, introducing Adhan for Eid is a Bid’ah.
The Exception (If a Barrier Existed): If the Prophet left an action due to a barrier (fear or inability), and that barrier is later removed, acting upon it is not an innovation.
- Example: Taraweeh Prayers. The Prophet prayed them but stopped due to the barrier of fearing they would become obligatory. After his passing, this barrier vanished. Thus, Umar (RA) reviving the congregation for Taraweeh was a return to following the Prophet, not an innovation.
By Hamid Qoufi
