True faith must have precedence over anything and anyone that could cause one to deviate from the straight path 58:22,64:14. That is why Jesus stated he came to severe kinship ties Matt10:34,Lk14:26. See also Micah7:6,Matt30:21-36 for the severing of family ties when they become disbelievers and opponents of the faith. The following Quranic statement follows the same principle
33:6"The Prophet has a greater claim on the faithful than they have on themselves, and his wives are (as) their mothers".
It is the prophet that provides the perfect example to follow
33:21"for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much".
It is thus logical that love of God and the one representing His will must take precedence over any other emotional attachment 9:24. Loving God and His messenger of course does not entail loving them both equally. Muslims love their prophet because he is God's foremost representative. They love him because of their love for Allah
3:31"Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful".
This is captured through the typical Quranic use of elliptical sentence structure in (word for word)
9:62"They swear by Allah to you to please you. And Allah and His Messenger has more right that they should please Him, if they are believers".
Here the love for Allah eclipses the love for the messenger, which is implicit. The full rendition of the verse without the ellipsis would be
9:62"They swear to you (plur.) by Allah that they might please you (plur.) and, Allah has a greater right that they should please Him, and His Messenger has a greater right too that they should please him, if they are believers".
The essence of the religion of Islam is one where there is reciprocal love between Allah and His devoted servants 5:54. It is the driving force that pushes one to be compassionate towards one's fellow human being 76:27. Allah in fact is the source of love, whether it is the spiritual love among brethren in faith 19:96 or the instinctive, natural love between a man and a woman 30:21.
There is no ambiguity that the object of worship is Allah, Who makes His will known through His prophet.
Among the major tenets that came with every prophet was unconditional obedience to them in the sphere of the religion. God's infaillible representatives, who selflessly spend every drop of their energy, night and day, for the purpose of causing spiritual awakening in their nation, are to be obeyed
5:12,3:50,71:3,26:106-108,124-126,142-144,161-163,177-179,4:64"And We did not send any messenger but that he should be obeyed by Allah's permission".
This obedience must be without hesitation 4:65 because their qualities of wisdom and authority were granted by God
6:84-90"These are they whom Allah guided, therefore follow their guidance".
The most glaring example of retribution and evil to befall a people who are hesitant to obey their prophet is that of the Israelites who were sent to wander 40 years in the desert and prevented entry to the promised land for having shown distrust in their prophet. Obeying the prophets in the sphere of religion and divine instructions is therefore tantamount to obeying the One who sent them
3:31,4:80"Whoever obeys the Messenger, he indeed obeys Allah, and whoever turns back, so We have not sent you as a keeper over them".
In that area, a prophet's will is one that stems from God's will 53:3-4. It is natural then that it overrules someone's own will whether public or private 33:6. We thus find that the closest followers of the prophets, the most sincere and devout, were ready to give up everything, including their lives as instructed by these messengers of God
"Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah said, “The wealth of no one has benefited me as much as the wealth of Abu Bakr.” Abu Bakr wept and he said, “My life and my wealth are only for you, O Messenger of Allah.""
These followers understood very well that the will of a prophet stems directly from Allah's will and thus sacrificing their lives as commanded by these prophets was synonymous to laying down their lives to the One that sent them
6:162"Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds".
As Jesus said
Jn14:6"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".
This obedience to prophets is reflected in the Torah that lists among the 613 commandements revealed at Sinai, the obligation to obey the prophet's instructions, and not doubt or test his promises and warnings Deut6:16,18:15. Belief in God and His prophets are inseparable the fulfill the conditions of correct faith. Here in the words of the righteous king Jehoshaphat
2Chr20:20"Hear me, O Judeans and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be believed; believe in His prophets, and you will prosper".Rejecting any of God's messengers is equal to rejecting God
6:33,2:98,59:4"they acted in opposition to Allah and His Messenger, and whoever acts in opposition to Allah, then surely Allah is severe in retributing (evil)".
See the Hebrew Bible in Ps2:12 speaking of accepting David with sincerity of heart as God's anointed or incur God's anger. Obedience is the one and only area in which God and His prophets are one in principle. It just is a practical reality, which is why we have many verses speaking in one breath of obedience to Allah and His messengers. Allah is the issuing Authority and the messenger is the means by which divine authority is implemented. There are no ambiguities between the role and position of each, just as no confusion exists when verses lump in one group God, the messenger and the believers
63:8"And to Allah belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know".
This required obedience is why prophets and messengers, even prior to their calling, had to be unique examples of moral qualities and worthiness, virtue among their nations 3:161,164,33:21,68:4,21:51,74-90 recognized as such and chosen for that 6:87. They already possess a heightened sensitivity to spirituality. During their mission, their high morality became a means by which their addressees were purified
3:164"Certainly Allah conferred a benefit upon the believers when He raised among them a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His communications and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error".
This is reflected in the rabbinical writings on Prov13:17 which they believe is in reference to Moses
"A wicked messenger falls into evil, but a faithful emissary brings healing".
Muhammad for example was notoriously known as al-amin (the trustworthy). He carried that principle so firmly in his life that later on during prophethood someone asked him,
‘Is it possible that a Muslim may be a coward?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ They asked, ‘Is it possible that a Muslim may commit adultery?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ They asked him, ‘What is it that a Muslim cannot possibly do?’ He replied, ‘A Muslim cannot tell a lie".
When the Meccan pagans were busy renovating the Kaaba, the black stone had to be removed from its socle and when the work was finished each tribe and clan wanted the exclusive privilege of placing it back on its socle. The verbal dispute almost turned to a civil war until Muhammad, prior to his prophetic call, intervened and was directly accepted as mediator and was unanimously given the much sought after responsibility to place the black stone in its place. His integrity was such that when he migrated from Mecca, and because even at that advanced stage of antagonism between him and the polytheists he was still trusted with his own persecutors’ belongings with him for safekeeping, he instructed Ali to stay behind in Mecca, in order to return all these people's trusts. Ali stayed back for three days and three nights to complete his task and then migrated in turn.
Contrast this behavior with the supposed divine order to the Israelites, according to the Biblical narrative, to take all of their previous masters' belongings in their escape.
The prophet Muhammad had a pattern of high conduct which he maintained throughout his life, especially in regards to trusts. When he was asked about the picking up of a "Luqata" (fallen lost thing) he replied,
"Recognize and remember its tying material and its container, and make public announcement (about it) for one year, then utilize it but give it to its owner if he comes".
The Quran, which the messenger embodied, stresses the importance of maintaining justice indiscriminately, upholding covenants and trusts, respecting one's word.
Further reading answering Sam Shamoun "Session on the Deification of Muhammad Pt. 2"
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