Key to Highest Ranks

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Islam is a great blessing from Allah Almighty. It is a means of eternal salvation.

لْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا ۚ

...This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion...

[Qur'an Al-Ma'ida 5:3]

Obedience is the heart of Islam. It is the key to the highest ranks we can dream of.

وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّـهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّـهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقًا ﴿٦٩

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. (69)

[Qur'an An-Nisaa 4:69]

Conversely, disobedience is the way to the lowest level we can imagine.

وَمَن يَعْصِ ٱللَّـهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ﴿٢٣ ...

...And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger - then indeed, for him is the fire of Hell; they will abide therein forever. (23)

[Qur'an Al-Jinn 72:23]

The act of obeying Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the most important act for us to be concerned about in our lives. We cannot be happy (at least in the long run) without obeying Allah. The substance what we need to be obeying in order to reach the high level of Paradise and save us from the pits of Hell is in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Holding fast to the Qur'an and the Sunnah, following and obeying it is the way out of misguidance. In every instance of our lives, we want to know what is it that we should be doing and should not be doing. Every act of ours there is a ruling from Allah and we need to know this ruling and apply it so we be of those who obey and not of those who disobey.

Ali, Allah be pleased with him, was concerned about obeying Allah, and asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "If a matter befalls us concerning which there is no command nor prohibition what should we do?"

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not say do what you want, but said, "Consult your scholars and worshipers."

So, if you don't know what Allah wants you to do, ask the scholars, the people of knowledge.

The whole relationship we have with Allah is that of slavehood. We must ask about what we don't know what the Master wants. We can't assume that "I am a good person so I am going to make it to Paradise." You might make it to Paradise, out of Allah's mercy, but this is not guaranteed. This is not the process. And we cannot just read the Qur'an and the Sunnah and think we know what Allah wants us to do. We want to learn our religion from scholars to avoid misguidance and destruction.

May Allah guide us on the straight path and grant us success in this life and the next. Ameen.

Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam