I therefore say: If someone as illustrious as Moses—the one to whom Allah spoke directly—was left with no choice but to follow the Prophet ﷺ alone, how could anyone else be granted such a license? This is a conclusive proof that the Messenger ﷺ must be singled out for exclusive imitation, which is one of the inevitable requirements of testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Hence, in the previously cited verse, Allah Most High made following His Messenger ﷺ—rather than anyone else—the sign of His love for a person.

There is no doubt that whoever is loved by Allah finds Allah with him in every affair, as stated in the authentic divine saying (ḥadīth qudsī):

“My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to Me through supererogatory works until I love him. Once I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask Me, I would surely give him; and were he to seek My protection, I would surely protect him…”

Reported by al-Bukhārī and authenticated in al-Ṣaḥīḥa 1640.

Since this divine care is reserved for the servant whom Allah loves, every Muslim is obliged to adopt the means that will make him beloved to Allah—namely, following the Messenger of Allah ﷺ alone, to the exclusion of all others. Only then will he obtain his Lord’s special favor. Do you not see that the only way to know the obligations and distinguish them from the supererogatory acts is by following him ﷺ exclusively?

Once this is understood, I deem it incumbent upon myself—drawing on the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “Religion is sincere counsel” 1—to address those of our Muslim brothers who have been tested, wherever they may be and whoever they may be