of the very name by which they were summoned and addressed (1), just as one may say, “O you whom Allah has favored and enriched out of His bounty, do good as Allah has done good to you;” or, “O scholar, teach the people what will benefit them;” or, “O judge, rule with justice,” and the like.

For this reason the Qur’anic injunctions dealing with the law are often introduced with the words: “O you who believe” (2):
“O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you” (3);
“O you who believe, when the call is proclaimed for the prayer on Friday…” (4);
“O you who believe, fulfil your covenants; lawful for you are…” (5), and similar verses (6).

In this (7) lies an implicit reminder that, if you are indeed believers, faith itself requires you to do such-and-such, for these duties are among the necessary implications and the completion of faith.

He then says, “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger,” thus distinguishing obedience to Him from obedience to His Messenger by repeating the verb. He did not let the first verb govern both, but instead said: “and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you” (8), thereby coupling obedience to the Messenger (9) with obedience to those vested with authority