our rites and subdue our enemy, yet we failed to perceive what the Prophet ﷺ had already seen concerning the consequences.

The finest example I have come across in the lives of his Companions ﷺ that shows how they preferred obeying him even when it ran counter to their own wishes and personal interests is the statement of Zuhayr ibn Rāfiʿ, who said:

“It is authentic: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us something that had been beneficial to us, but obedience to Allah and His Messenger is even more beneficial. He forbade us to engage in muḥāqala with the land—leasing it for one-third or one-quarter of the yield, or for a fixed amount of grain.”

Narrated by Muslim and others, and cited in Irwāʾ 5/299.

This spirit of obedience reminds me of the compliance that amazed the believing jinn when they came to the Prophet ﷺ and listened to his recitation during the dawn prayer, as mentioned at the beginning of Sūrah al-Jinn: “Say, It has been revealed to me that a company of the jinn listened and said, ‘We have heard a wondrous Quran; it guides to what is right, so we have believed in it, and we will never associate anyone with our Lord’.” They saw his Companions praying as he prayed—bowing when he bowed and prostrating when he prostrated. Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “They marveled at the obedience of his Companions to him.”

Reported by Aḥmad 1/270 and others with a sound chain.

The point is that such obedience must be firmly established in every Muslim, both outwardly and inwardly, whether it accords with his inclination or conflicts with it. One of the necessary implications of this is that no one should draw analogies for Allah or for His rulings—for example, likening the human voice in melodious singing to the song of the nightingale and other birds, and then saying, “If it is permissible to recite poetry without melody, it should likewise be permissible to recite it with …”