Loyalty and Obedience

The Qur'an gives a detailed account of human nature. All the corruption and indecent personality traits of unbelievers are mentioned as well as the attributes of believers. The attributes of obedient believers oft-returning to Allah, and into whom Allah breathed His Spirit, are what make up an exalted standard of character.

Surely, such a high standard of moral values pertaining to believers is in sharp contrast to that of unbelievers. Sincerity and trustworthiness throw into sharp relief the insincere and hypocritical nature of the unbelievers. Likewise, the generous, brave and modest attitude of believers is very different from the arrogant, ruthless and selfish behaviours of unbelievers. One feature which clearly distinguishes between these two groups- that is, between believers and unbelievers - is a sense of loyalty, or its absence. In its real sense, unbelievers can never remain true, solely due to the fact that they are motivated by self-interest: It often takes them just a matter of moments to turn away from a lifelong friend or a close relative. Likewise, they easily give up struggling or fighting for something they think as right.

However, the believers assume a totally different attitude. The criteria they apply to their deeds and lives plainly manifest themselves in the verse. Say: “Truly, my prayer and my devotions, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds.” (Al-anam 162) Consequently, those who have faith are considerate in their behaviours, aiming to attend the will of Allah, and remain committed to their people and purpose at any cost. On account of minor benefits, they never leave the righteous path and they demonstrate an unshakable and unswerving loyalty to believers and especially to the leader of believers. Allah describes the loyalty shown by the believers in the Qur’an as follows:

Loyalty keeps all believers who fight for their faith directed towards one goal. This attribute, the essential characteristic of determination, is vital for any community of believers that is steadfast. A believer would fail to keep his self-respect if even once he demonstrated a minor neglect in his loyalty. Once one loses self-respect completely, one gradually approach a point where one loses faith. Subsequently, things deteriorate very quickly and the backslider starts to behave in just the way an unbeliever or a hypocrite does. This is because unfaithfulness encourages a person to commit other significant kinds of deception. He first of all transgresses by trying to hide his disloyalty from other believers. Then he starts telling lies, making a sustained effort to deceive them. After a while, his ‘talent’ for telling lies, makes him feel that he can really dupe believers and starts to adopt a way of living based on deriving unfair benefits from them. This indicates a state of mind in which the deceiver feels no love for believers. In this mood, he seeks the pleasure of people rather than of Allah. That is why he strives after high prestige. He perceives anything likely to damage this prestige as a serious threat to his being and strives to protect himself by telling more lies. Meanwhile, as believers begin to detect his lies, he displays more of the traits of a hypocrite. At this point, he tries to exculpate himself. But this effort, turns him entirely into the type of a person who does not hesitate to form alliances with unbelievers and hypocrites.

The aforementioned sequence of events is striking in the sense that it reveals how certain disloyal kinds of behaviour, which are assumed to be minor and insignificant, can cause the individual to drift into unbelief. The truthful believers, on the other hand, steadfastly persevere in righteousness till the day of their death, since they owe their obedience to nobody but Allah. This fact is noted in the following verse:

Being truthful is one of the most important subjects that a believer should be sensitive to. While informing us about hypocrites who are ever ready to escape from their obligations, Allah bids us give our attention to the pledge they take in the Qur’an about not turning their backs and accordingly states that such people bear a heavy responsibility.

A pledge made to Allah is indeed a heavy responsibility. Hence, Allah commands the believers:

No doubt, the most significant sign of loyalty is obedience. Obedience is an essential attribute of believers, as stated in the Qur’an. It is actually the key to earning the mercy of Allah, to attaining Heaven and gaining a victory against unbelievers.

Under all circumstances, believers should be committed to obedience for all time. Hypocrites, too, can be obedient, but only when the conditions are not so tough and demanding. However, in times of difficulty and trouble, only true believers persevere in their obedience. In the Qur’an, Allah informs us that hypocrites  living in the time of the Prophet find the fight for faith to be difficult. However, they join believers in their struggle when they find that it means “immediate gain and an easy journey”.

One of the main attributes of believers is to maintain their obedience in every situation and under all circumstances. The Qur’an informs us about the different attitudes of believers and hypocrites.

obedience to the messenger should come from deep within the heart and with full commitment. The believers should acknowledge that the decision of the messenger is righteous and, accordingly, never have any doubts about their obedience. This is an extremely important issue, since obeying reluctantly is described in the Qur’an as a sign of disbelief:

Obedience is a sure sign of one’s faith in Allah and his total willingness to be a servant to Him. This is surely the only way to man’s salvation. As Allah states in Surat’ Al-Anfal, 24: “O you who believe! Give your response to Allah and His Messenger, when He calls you to that which will give you life.” the messenger calls man to his eternal salvation. In another verse Allah states that the Messenger summons the believers to salvation, freedom, contentment and avoidance of evil.

The believers’ victory over unbelievers is also dependent on their obedience to the Messenger and those charged with authority among them. In response to their obedience, Allah supports believers and grant them a glorious victory. The reverse is also true. In case of disobedience, they lose their power over unbelievers. Allah relates such an incident that took place in the prophet's time. in the following verse:

Salvation can be achieved only through obedience. Those who do not obey the messenger and follow a path other than the one leading to righteousness, will eventually go to Hell. Allah makes this fact plain in the Qur’an as follows: