Following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah — Authentic Hadith on Obedience and Adherence

The Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not optional. It is revelation from Allah, binding upon every Muslim, and rejecting it — in whole or in part — is a serious matter that the Prophet himself warned against. What follows are a selection of authentic hadith on the obligation of following the Sunnah and holding firm to it, drawn from Sunan Ibn Majah.

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The Command to Follow the Sunnah

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Whatever I have commanded you do it, and whatever I have forbidden you, refrain from it. (Sunan Ibn Majah 1)

He also said:

Leave me as I have left you (Don't ask me the minor things that I have avoided to tell you). For those who came before you were doomed because of their questions and differences with their Prophets. If I commanded you to do something, then do as much of it as you can, and if I forbid you from doing something, then refrain from it. (Sunan Ibn Majah 2)

And he said:

Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah; and whoever disobeys me, disobeys Allah. (Sunan Ibn Majah 3)

These narrations together establish the foundation: the Prophet's commands and prohibitions carry the same weight as the commands and prohibitions of Allah, because he does not speak from his own desire — it is nothing but revelation sent down to him.

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The Example of the Companions

Abu Ja'far said:

Whenever Ibn 'Umar heard a Hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would not do more than it said, and he would not do less. (Sunan Ibn Majah 4)

This is the model of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) — precise adherence to the Sunnah, neither adding to it nor falling short of it. They did not evaluate the hadith against their preferences or circumstances. They heard, and they followed.

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The Victorious Group

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

A group among my Ummah will continue to follow the truth and prevail, and those who oppose them will not be able to harm them, until the command of Allah comes to pass. (Sunan Ibn Majah 10)

He also said:

A group of my Ummah will continue to prevail and they will never be harmed by those who forsake them, until the Hour begins. (Sunan Ibn Majah 6)

The scholars of Islam have explained that this victorious group is those who hold firmly to the Quran and the Sunnah upon the understanding of the Salaf. Their victory is tied directly to their adherence — and when adherence weakens, so does the promise.

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A Warning Against Rejecting the Sunnah

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned about a time when people would reject the hadith and claim that the Quran alone is sufficient. He said:

Soon there will come a time that a man will be reclining on his pillow, and when one of my Ahadith is narrated he will say: 'The Book of Allah is (sufficient) between us and you. Whatever it states is permissible, we will take as permissible, and whatever it states is forbidden, we will take as forbidden.' Verily, whatever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden is like that which Allah has forbidden. (Sunan Ibn Majah 12)

This narration is a direct prophecy of a deviant position that exists in our time — those who claim to follow the Quran while rejecting the Sunnah. The Prophet refuted this position before it even appeared. The Sunnah is not separate from the revelation. It is part of it.

He also said:

Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (i.e. Islam) that is not part of it, will have it rejected. (Sunan Ibn Majah 14)

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Holding Firm

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described the path he left us upon:

I am leaving you upon a (path of) brightness whose night is like its day. No one will deviate from it after I am gone but one who is doomed. (Sunan Ibn Majah 43)

There is no confusion about what Islam requires. The Quran is preserved. The Sunnah is preserved. The obligation of the Muslim is to learn it, follow it, and hold firm to it no matter who opposes.

This same obligation — returning every dispute to the Quran and Sunnah rather than personal preference — is explored further in Obeying Allah and Obeying His Messenger.

For a dedicated study on this exact subject, we recommend Follow the Sunnah of the Prophet by Imam Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani | $25.00 — an important call to adherence to the Prophetic way by one of the foremost hadith scholars of the modern era.

If you are looking to study the hadith of the Prophet more broadly, we also recommend browsing our Hadith collection at The Islamic Book Cafe.

Baarakallahu feekum — The Islamic Book Cafe | Portland, Oregon