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Text and translation
English translation
42. Yahya bin Abu Mutā' said: "I heard Trbād bin Sāriyah say: 'One day, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ stood up among us and delivered a deeply moving speech to us that melted our hearts and caused our eyes to overflow with tears. It was said to him: 'O Messenger of Allāh, you have delivered a speech of farewell, so enjoin something upon us.' He said: 'I urge you to fear Allāh, and to listen and obey, even if (your leader) is an Abyssinian slave. After I am gone, you will see great conflict. I urge you to adhere to my Sunnah and the path of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and cling stubbornly to it. And beware of newly-invented matters, for every innovation is a
going astray.”’ (Hasan)
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Commentary
It is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ for a departing man to give good advice to those he is leaving behind.
Importance of Taqwa (piety; righteousness): Taqwa as a special term means obeying the commands of Allâh, and avoiding evil acts that would displease Him, so as to escape the punishment of Hell-fire.
Obedience to a legally recognized ruler is mandatory as long as he does not give an order that openly conflicts with the dictates of Shari'ah.
The Prophet ﷺ had already forewarned the people of impending conflicts in the community after him. The prediction came literally true. There cropped up many conflicts on religious and political grounds among the community. The Prophet's giving advance information about them is proof of the veracity of his prophethood.
The best adjudicators in the event of conflicts are the Qur'ân and Hadith.
Life stories of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs are the shining examples of adherence to the dictates of the Qur'ân and Sunnah. They had taken them direct from the Prophet ﷺ. We can, therefore, rightly depend on their understanding of Islam, especially because the Prophet ﷺ himself had declared them as the rightly-guided ones.
