The Stairway Of The Sunnah

The Fifth Point

Say: ‘Allah is sufficient for me.’ Since He exists, everything truly exists. Those who depart from you and appear to pass into non-existence have not vanished; they have merely journeyed to another of His realms. The Owner of the Mighty Throne sends others in their place from among His countless creatures and servants. Those who have entered the grave have not perished; they have journeyed to another world. He can bring others into this world in their stead. And in place of those who fall into misguidance, He can raise up obedient servants who follow the Straight Path. Since this is the reality, He alone is sufficient for everything, while nothing can take the place of His favour.’”

Thus, through the allusive meaning of the verse

فَاِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِىَ اللّٰهُ لاَ اِلٰهَ اِلاَّ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

the three terrifying corpses that had filled me with dread assumed an entirely different appearance. They became a wisdom-filled passage, an instructive journey, a voyage undertaken in fulfilment of appointed duties, and a continual discharge from one service followed by appointment to another, through which the universe is set in motion in its unceasing cycle of departures and arrivals.

 

The Fifth Point

قُلْ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّٰهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّٰهُ

This noble verse emphatically proclaims how important and indispensable it is to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). Indeed, among the forms of reasoning found in traditional logic, it presents one of the strongest types of conditional argument, in which either the affirmation or the negation of the conclusion follows directly from the stated condition.

For example, the following proposition is often used to illustrate this form of reasoning:

“If the sun rises, then it is daytime.”

From this proposition, both affirmative and negative conclusions may be drawn with certainty.

Affirmative conclusion: The sun has risen; therefore, it is daytime.

Negative conclusion: It is not daytime; therefore, the sun has not risen.

In the same way, the noble verse declares: “If you truly love Allah, then follow Habībullāh (saw), the Beloved of Allah. If you do not follow him (saw), this indicates that you do not truly love Allah.” In other words, genuine love for Allah necessarily requires following the Sunnah of Habībullāh.

Indeed, whoever believes in Allah will certainly obey Him. And among all the paths of obedience, the most acceptable, the most upright, and the shortest is undoubtedly the path shown and followed by Habībullāh.