Ibn Kathīr (d. 774 AH), may Allah have mercy on him, said: “This noble verse is a great foundational proof that one must model oneself after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in his words, deeds, and states. On the Day of the Confederates, Allah commanded people to follow the Prophet ﷺ in his patience, perseverance, steadfastness at the front lines, striving, and in his awaiting relief from his Lord. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him always, until the Day of Judgment.

Allah has reiterated the obligation to obey and follow the Messenger in nearly forty places in the Quran. People’s souls are more in need of knowing what he brought and following him than they are of food and drink: if a person is deprived of food and drink, he dies only in this world, but if he is deprived of obedience to and following the Messenger, he faces everlasting torment and misery.

The Prophet ﷺ also commanded that he be emulated in the performance of acts of worship and that they be carried out exactly as he performed them. He said, “Pray as you have seen me pray” (1); and, “Take your rites from me” (2); and, “Whoever performs an action that is not in accordance with our affair, it is rejected” (3).