“O you who believe, Obey Allah, Obey His Messenger and those in authority from amongst you and if you differ then refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in Allah and the Last Day.” [An-Nisa: 59]

This noble verse in Surah an-Nisa comes after verse 58 which focused on the rulers when they were enjoined to rule by justice which is none other than what Allah (SWT) has revealed. In this verse the focus is on the Muslims under the authority of the rulers and their responsibility. In this respect the message of this ayah is addressed to the Ummah at large and we can learn from it the following matters:

The verse begins with the verb ‘atee’u’ (’obey’) in the imperative form and the object of obedience is Allah (swt).The verse then commands ‘Atee’u’ (obey) and this time it is referring to the Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam). The repetition of the word ‘obey’ and the order indicates the two basic reference points that Muslims have and they are the Qur’an and Sunnah. Therefore, anything in contravention of Qur’an and Sunnah must be disobeyed and anything from the Qur’an and Sunnah must be obeyed.This is the principle upon which Muslims are told to live by and this is the principle on which Muslims are instructed to view their rulers. Here the word for rulers or those in authority is ulul amr. It is not restricted to the Khaleefah, but also includes the walis, wazeers and all those who have authority, especially since the word has been used in the plural (ulul amr and not waliyul amr which is in the singular). It is interesting that the ayah does not repeat the verb ‘atee’u’ when it comes to the rulers as it did in respect to Allah and His Messenger, which is an additional indication alongside the clear verses and hadith which state that rulers must obey Allah and His Messenger in their ruling and exercise of authority. For example the Messenger (saw) said: ‘There is no obedience to the disobedience of the Creator.’ [Sahih Bukhari,Volume 9: Hadith 363] Here there is an absolute prohibition of following an order that goes against the order of Allah (swt), whoever makes that order.This hadith came specifically in the context of authority and ruling. Its mafhum or implied meaning indicates that just as the person cannot obey a ruler who disobeys Allah (swt) so in the same way, a ruler or amir cannot order, enact laws or rule by anything that is in violation of what Allah (swt) has ordered.

Consider for example the following hadith: It has been reported that Ali (ra) said, “The Messenger of Allah sent a troop under the command of a man from Al-Ansar.When they left, he became angry with them for some reason and said to them, `Has not the Messenger of Allah commanded you to obey me’ They said, `Yes.’ He said, `Collect some wood,’ and then he started a fire with the wood, saying, `I command you to enter the fire.’ The people almost entered the fire, but a young man among them said, `You ran away from the Fire to Allah’s Messenger.Therefore, do not rush until you go back to Allah’s Messenger, and if he commands you to enter it, then enter it.’ When they went back to Allah’s Messenger, they told him what had happened, and the Messenger said, Had you entered it, you would never have departed from it. Obedience is only in righteousness.” (Reported by Bukhari Volume 9, Book 91, Number 363:). Here the Messenger (saw) stated that obedience is only in the ‘maroof’ and not in the ‘munkar’. So the one in authority cannot command anything but ma’ruuf and people cannot obey anything but maroof.What is ‘ma’roof is what Islam has defined as good and munkar is what Islam has defined as evil. It is not left to the discretion of man to decide these matters.

The verse also obliges the obedience to the command of the Messenger (saw) and links that to the rulers.As long as the rulers or those in authority obey the Messenger then there is the obedience to him, otherwise there is no obedience. It is ludicrous after saying that there is no obedience in the disobedience to the Creator that there can be obedience in the disobedience to the Messenger as the Ayah obliges obedience to Allah and His Messenger.That is why the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in a hadith reported by Abu Hurairah, ‘Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allah. Whoever obeys the amir has obeyed me and whoever disobeys the amir has disobeyed me’” [Agreed upon] As for the statement ‘whoever obeys the amir has obeyed me and whoever disobeys the amir has disobeyed me’ in the above hadith or the following hadith: “Anyone who dislikes something from his amir should be patient. Anyone who abandons obedience to the amir for even a short time dies the death of the Jahiliyya (ignorance).” [Agreed upon] This does not mean their absolute obedience to the rulers.These hadiths are talking of not rebelling against the rulers due to their misappropriation of the people’s rights and not about obeying the rulers in the matters which are a clear violation of the Shariah. Rather, when the ruler commands a clear munkar the Muslim must disobey that command and cannot say he was following orders.

The verse then concludes that if there is a difference over a matter between the Muslims and their rulers then the final arbiter must be Allah and His Messenger ie the Qur’an and Sunnah. It states: “if you differ then refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in Allah and the Last Day.” Just as the young man in the above hadith disputed with his Amir when he commanded them to enter the fire and referred the matter to the Messenger, we are also obliged to refer to the Islamic reference point ie the Quran and Sunnah when there is a dispute.The last words of the ayah enjoin on the believers the importance of referring to Allah and His Messenger in ruling, by drawing attention to the fact that not to do so is a negation of iman and hence it says: ‘…if you believe in Allah and the Last Day.”

This is how the Sahabah (ra) understood this matter and nothing shows this more clearly than the speech of Abu Bakr as-Siddique when he assumed the post of Khaleefah, he said: “Help me, if I am in the right; set me right, if I am in the wrong.The weak among you shall be strong with me until,Allah willing, his rights have been vindicated.The strong among you shall be weak with me until, if Allah wills, I have taken what is due from him. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Prophet; when I disobey Him and his Prophet, obey me not.”

Thus, we can see from the above ayah the basis of ruling, ie the commanding the good and forbidding the evil by the rulers and obedience to them must be in obedience to Allah and His Messenger. This means that the basis of the Islamic State is Islam and none other.The state of the Muslims must be Islamic, ie where Allah and His Messenger are obeyed both by the rulers and by those who are ruled. It must be a state where the Muslims refer to Allah and His Messenger and this is a requirement of their belief in Allah and the Last Day.