3:32 Aal-i-Imraan (The Family of Imraan)

وهذا أمر من الله تعالى لعباده بأعم الأوامر، وهو طاعته وطاعة رسوله التي يدخل بها الإيمان والتوحيد، وما هو من فروع ذلك من الأعمال والأقوال الظاهرة والباطنة، بل يدخل في طاعته وطاعة رسوله اجتناب ما نهى عنه، لأن اجتنابه امتثالا لأمر الله هو من طاعته، فمن أطاع الله ورسوله، فأولئك هم المفلحون { فإن تولوا } أي: أعرضوا عن طاعة الله ورسوله فليس ثم أمر يرجعون إليه إلا الكفر وطاعة كل شيطان مريد { كتب عليه أنه من تولاه فأنه يضله ويهديه إلى عذاب السعير } فلهذا قال: { فإن تولوا فإن الله لا يحب الكافرين } بل يبغضهم ويمقتهم ويعاقبهم أشد العقوبة، وكأن في هذه الآية الكريمة بيانا وتفسيرا لاتباع رسوله، وأن ذلك بطاعة الله وطاعة رسوله، هذا هو الاتباع الحقيقي، ثم قال تعالى:

ثم قال تعالى آمرا لكل أحد من خاص وعام "قل أطيعوا الله والرسول فإن تولوا" أي تخالفوا عن أمره "فإن الله لا يحب الكافرين" فدل على أن مخالفته في الطريقة كفر والله لا يحب من اتصف بذلك وإن ادعى وزعم في نفسه أنه محب لله ويتقرب إليه حتى يتابع الرسول النبي الأمي خاتم الرسل ورسول الله إلى جميع الثقلين الجن والإنس الذي لو كان الأنبياء بل المرسلون بل أولو العزم منهم في زمانه ما وسعهم إلا اتباعه والدخول في طاعته واتباع شريعته كما سيأتي تقريره عند قوله تعالى "وإذا أخذ الله ميثاق النبيين" الآية إن شاء الله تعالى.

Allah's Love is Attained by Following the Messenger

This honorable Ayah judges against those who claim to love Allah, yet do not follow the way of Muhammad . Such people are not true in their claim until they follow the Shari`ah (Law) of Muhammad and his religion in all his statements, actions and conditions. It is recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُنَا فَهُوَ رَد»

(Whoever commits an act that does not conform with our matter (religion), then it will be rejected of him.)

This is why Allah said here,

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ

(Say (O Muhammad to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you...") meaning, what you will earn is much more than what you sought in loving Him, for Allah will love you. Al-Hasan Al-Basri and several scholars among the Salaf commented, "Some people claimed that they love Allah. So Allah tested them with this Ayah;

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ

(Say (O Muhammad to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you..."). "

Allah then said,

وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

("And forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.") meaning, by your following the Messenger , you will earn all this with the blessing of his mission. Allah next commands everyone,

قُلْ أَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ

(Say: "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away) by defying the Prophet)

فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْكَـفِرِينَ

(then Allah does not like the disbelievers.) thus, testifying that defiance of the Messenger's way constitutes Kufr. Indeed, Allah does not like whoever does this, even if he claims that he loves Allah and seeks a means of approach to Him, unless, and until, he follows the unlettered Prophet, the Final Messenger from Allah to the two creations: mankind and the Jinn. This is the Prophet who, if the previous Prophets and mighty Messengers were to have been alive during his time, they would have no choice but to follow, obey him, and to abide by his Law. We will mention this fact when we explain the Ayah,

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَـقَ النَّبِيِّيْنَ

(And (remember) when Allah took the Covenant of the Prophets) 3:81, Allah willing.

Say to them ‘Obey God and the Messenger’ as regards the belief in the Oneness of God which he enjoins upon you. But if they turn their backs if they object to obedience God loves not the disbelievers meaning that He will chastise them the third person pronominalisation ‘they’ is replaced by the overt noun ‘the disbelievers’.

Sequence

In previous verses, there was affirmation of Allah's Oneness and the condemnation of disbelief in it. Affirmed now is the belief in prophethood as well as the necessity of following the Messenger so that we stand informed that the rejection of prophethood or refusal to obey the Prophet ﷺ is also an act of disbelief (kufr) like the rejection of the Oneness of Allah.

Commentary

Love is something secret. Whether or not a person loves another person, or loves less or more, are questions which cannot be answered precisely. There is no measure or yard-stick to determine the truth of the matter except that one makes an educated guess based on visible conditions and dealings, for love leaves traces and signs which could help in recognizing it as such. Now, in these verses, Allah Almighty tells those who claimed that they loved Allah and hoped to be loved by Him above the real criterion of His love. In other words, if a person living in the world of today claims that he loves his Creator and Master, then, he must test it on the touch-stone of his obedience to the Messenger, that is, match it against the frequency and quality of where and how he has been following him. Once this is done, the genuine and the fake of it will be exposed right there. How much true a person turns out to be in his claim will be visible from how much he makes it a point to follow the noble prophet (علیہ السلام) ، using the guidance brought by him as the guiding force in his life. The same test will show that the weaker a person is in his claim, so equally weak he shall be in his obedience to the Prophet ﷺ .

The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said:

He who obeyed Muhammad ﷺ obeyed Allah and he who disobeyed Muhammad ﷺ disobeyed Allah. (Tafsir Mazhari)