(… يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ ) (O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger …): This is an order and an obligation from Allah (swt), the addressed here is the believer. Any canons issued in this world has reasons following or after the ruling. As for the divine ruling, the belief in Allah (swt) is the reason; as long as you believe in Allah, you are required to obey His commands. He (swt) did not say in this verse: O people, because the command to obey Allah (swt) and the Messenger (saws) and those in authority is directed to those who believe, who are bound by a covenant of faith with their Lord, we must obey whether we know the reason behind the order or not. This is for us is the faith of obedience. Likewise, we do not know what is the wisdom of the different number of rak’ahs of each prayer, there are many devotional acts that Allah (swt) has shown the wisdom of, and other ritual matters that have not been clarified so that their implementation is for the sake of worshipping Allah (swt), so I carry out the command in obedience to the one who commands, whether I know the wisdom or not.

To be noted that faith needs intellect; that is, it is the human intellect that deduces and considers the cosmic evidence that exists such as the heavens, the earth, the mountains, life, the universe, water and human beings… by which it is inferred that the Creator exists, so this Creator knows best the interests of the creature so the creature must obey him. Some people want to criticize the Islamic religion and other religions, claiming that a Muslim or believer obeys and implements orders without thinking, while we find that the Holy Qur’an asked us to act with reason in all matters:

لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

(perhaps you will use reason.)

 لَعَلَّهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

(perhaps they will know)

لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(perhaps they will give thought)

It is necessary to use the mind to reach the truth of faith, and after you believe, you must obey the command even if you do not know the wisdom of it, because the wisdom may be related to reasons the human mind can comprehend, for that Allah (swt) says:

 لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

(Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.) (Al-Baqara: 286)

As long as the reason behind commitment to orders is the faith, in this case we have to obey Allah (swt) whatever the command is and in all mentioned in the Holy Quran as Halal and Haram. Moreover, we have to obey the Prophet (saws), as well, in explaining Allah’s commands, for example, Allah (swt) says:

 وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ

(And establish prayer and give zakah)

But how do we know how to pray? This what the Prophet (saws) told us about; we learned from him (saws) that the prayer is five times and that the Fajr prayer is two rak’as and the Ishaa prayer is four and… and what are its pillars, duties and conditions. So that, a person cannot say that I read the Qur’an only and leave anything else, for how, in this case can we perform the Hajj according to Allah’s command:

 وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا

(And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House – for whoever is able to find thereto a way.) (Ali-Imran: 97)

Unless the Prophet (saws) had taught us about, Allah (swt) says:

 وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا

(And whatever the Messenger has given you – take; and what he has forbidden you – refrain from) (Al-Hashr: 7)

(… وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ …) (…and those in authority among you…): Those in authority refer to the people of competence. In the worldly field, we seek the help of those with scientific specializations, but in the religious field, I seek the help of specialists in the Qur’an and Sunnah. No human society will be stable unless there is obedience to Allah (swt) and the Messenger (saws) and those with competence in what they specialize in. It also includes those in authority with regard to politics and governance.

Islam established the rules of stability and security for societies in these great verses and did not leave them in chaos and disorder.

(… فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ …) (…. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. …): Some interpreters said that this verse indicates that there is a guardian with regard to the legal rulings, so if a dispute or conflict arises, then you must return the matter to its origin, and the origin is what was mentioned in the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saws). Allah (swt) did not set a political, economic, scientific or social instruction, but rather set general instructions for the benefit of humanity, as what was indicated in the previous verse :

 إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ

(Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and when you judge between people to judge with justice.)

 إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

(Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.) (An-Nahl: 90)

So we return the matter to Allah (swt) and to the details from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (swt), and we do not include personal interests in passing judgments as did the terrorist and political organizations that claimed that they are Islamic whereas Islam is innocent of them. Islam never sets rigid templates for people, no meaning of what a group may say: We represent and implement Islam, and we are the Caliphate Islam. This is a rejected statement in Islam, because Islam is general for all people and societies and is not restricted to a party or group, and we cannot limit Islam for a specific group.

Islam represents the relationship of believers with each other and with the homeland. It is a message of goodness, justice, love, charity, kindness to parents and kinship ties. It is good treatment, not lying, cheating, not monopolizing, and it is the fulfilling of trusts. This is required for all people. We have seen many groups that have exploited Islamic slogans, to commit their sins and crimes, while claiming that they apply the Holy Qur’an and rulings and follow the path and Sunnah of the Messenger (saws). But Allah (swt), His Messenger (saws) and the believers are innocent of them, their actions and crimes. In short, Islam is a general good for all people, Muslims and non-Muslims. The Prophet (saws) said:

“The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the people are safe, and the believer is the one from whom the people’s lives and wealth are safe and a Muhajir (Emigrant) is the one who refrains from what Allah has forbidden”.[1]

(… إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ…) (…if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day…): Accordingly, the one who refrain from referring to the Qur’an and Sunnah for judgment is not a believer.   

[1] Musnad Al-Bazaz, Musnad of Fudalah Ibn ‘obayd, Hadith No. 3752.