Commentary
Not accepting the decision of the Holy Prophet is Kufr
This verse, while projecting a powerful view of the highly exalted station of the noble Prophet ﷺ presents a very explicit statement concerning the need to obey him, something conclusively proved by so many verses of the Holy Qur'an. The verse opens with the ultimate oath, "by your Lord", following which Allah Almighty proclaims that nobody can become a Muslim unless he accepts the verdict of the Holy Prophet ﷺ willingly, calmly and fully to the extent that there remains even in his heart not the slightest strain because of this verdict.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ is himself the exerciser of God-given authority over his community in his capacity as the Messenger of Allah and he is thus responsible for adjudicating in every dispute that may arise. The authority he excercises in making decisions certainly does not depend upon his being made a judge by some litigants. We should also keep in mind that Muslims have been asked to make the prophet their judge because people are generally not satisfied with judgments delivered by someone appointed by the government as compared with an arbitrator they themselves choose to have. But, the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، is not only the ruler of a state, he is a Messenger of Allah, protected against sins by Him, and sent as mercy for the worlds, and also a loving father for his community - so, the compassionate instruction given is that, whenever a situation of conflict arises in social or religious matters, the contesting parties are duty-bound to make the Holy Prophet ﷺ the arbitrator and judge and have him give the final verdict, and once the verdict has been given by him, let them all accept it whole-heartedly and act accordingly.
The Authority of the Holy Prophet ﷺ extends to all times
Commentators say that acting in accordance with this command of the Holy Qur'n is not restricted to the blessed times when he graced this mortal world. After him, the verdict of the sacred Law left by him, is nothing but his own verdict. Therefore, the rule reigns supreme right through the Last Day, the rule that guidance should be sought by-turning directly to the Holy Prophet LI during his blessed life-time, and after him, one must turn to his Shari'ah which is, in all reality, a return to him, may Allah bless him forever and ever.
Some problems and their solutions
1. To begin with, as already stated earlier, the rule is that a person who is not satisfied with the decision given by the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، in every dispute and in every problem or issue, is not a Muslim. As we already know, this was the reason why Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ killed the person who was not satisfied with the decision given by the Holy Prophet ﷺ following which he carried the case to Sayyidna ` Umar for an alternate judgment. The heirs of the person killed went to the court of the Holy Prophet ﷺ with a suit against Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ accusing him of having killed a Muslim without a valid legal reason. It is important to note here, and this has not been taken up earlier, that the following words, when the case was presented before the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، came out spontaneously from his blessed lips: " مَا کنت أظن أن عمر یجترء علٰی قتل رجل مؤمن " (that is, I never thought ` Umar will ever dare killing a believing Muslim). This proves that the higher authority, when approached with an appeal against the decision of a lower authority, should not take sides with his subordinate authority, but should come up with a decision based on justice and fairness alone, as it has been illustrated above where the Holy Prophet ﷺ expressed his displeasure over the decision of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ - before the revelation of the verse had a bearing on this incident. Once this verse was revealed, the reality came out in the open that the person killed was not a believing Muslim as confirmed by this verse.
2. The second ruling which emerges from the expression: فیما شَجَرَ (in the disputes which arise) settles that it is not restricted to dealings and rights alone; it covers articles of belief, ideas and many other theoretical problems. (at-Bahr al-Muhit) Therefore, given such a wide spectrum if intellectual and social activity, it is not unlikely that things could go to the undesirable limits of mutual differences in views and ways when confronting a certain problem. When this does happen, it is the duty of a Muslim not to continue mutual disputation, instead of which, both parties should revert back to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and when he is not with them personally, they must revert back to his Shari’ ah to search for the solution of their problems.
3. The third rule of self-assessment that we find from here is: Doing something, which was provenly said or done by the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، with a heavy heart is a sign of weakness in faith ('Iman). For example, there are occasions when the Shari’ ah has allowed the performance of salah by making tayammum in place of the regular wudu with water; now, if a person feels uneasy and not so satisfied with the idea of making the symbolic tayammum in place of a regular wuclu he would very much like to do, then, he should not take this attitude of his as a sign of taqwa or piety, instead, he should take it to be caused by some spiritual sickness. Who can be more muttaqi, more God-fearing than the Holy Prophet ﷺ ? If the form and condition in which he allowed people to perform their prayers while sitting - and he himself performed it while sitting - does not find favour with a person looking for the satisfaction of his heart, and he elects to undergo unbearable hardship by insisting to stand and perform his prayer in that position, then, he better be sure that there is some sickness is his heart. However, if a person, whose pain or discomfort or need is not that acute, elects not to use the leave (rukhsah) given to him by the Shari’ ah and, instead of that, chooses to take the path of high determination.(` azimah) which is, then, correct in accordance with the very teaching of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . But feeling any strain in utilizing the leaves (rukhsah) granted by the Shari’ ah as some sort of absolute rule is no taqwa. It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: یُحِبُّ اَن تُؤتٰی اِنَ اللہ تعالیٰ یُحِبُّ اَن تُؤتٰی رُخصہ کَمَا یُحِبُّ اَن تُؤتٰی عَزَایٔمُہ (that is, 'the way Allah Almighty is pleased with what is done with high determination, so is He pleased with what is done by using leaves).'
The best method of general ` Ibadat (acts of worship), Adhkar اَذکَار (plural of dhikr: the remembrance of Allah), Aurad اوراد (plural of wird وِرد : self-allotted voluntary recitations, made privately in specified hours of the morning or night), Durud (prayer to Allah that peace and blessings be on the Holy Prophet ﷺ and Tasbih (glorification of Allah) is no different than what used to be the routine of the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself and which was, after him, followed consistently by his noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. All Muslims must, as a matter or personal obligation, find these out from the authentic and sound narrations of hadith so that they can make them an integral part of their daily routine of life.
Special Note
Details given above clearly show that the Holy Prophet was not only a reformer and moral leader but was a just ruler as well, an authority of such class and majesty that his judgment was declared to be the very criterion of belief and disbelief, a 'distinguishing feature between 'Iman and Kufr, as evident from the incident relating to Bishr, the hypocrite. To make this prophetic station more explicit, Allah Almighty has, at many places in His sacred Book made the obedience of the Holy Prophet ﷺ mandatory along with His own due obedience incumbent on all believers. Thus, the Qur'an says: أَطِيعُوا اللَّـهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ (Obey Allah and obey the Messenger - 3:32; 3:132; 4:59; 5:92; 24:54; 47:33; 64:12). Then, elsewhere it says: مَّن يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّـهَ (Whoever obeys the Messenger, he really obeys Allah - 4:80).1
1. For a detailed treatment of this aspect, please see "The Authority of Sunnah" by Muhammad Taqi Usmani.
A little deliberation in these verses will unfold the radiant grandeur of his authority, a practical demonstration of which became manifest when Allah Almighty sent to him His Law so that he can decide cases in accordance with it. Therefore, it was said: إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِمَا أَرَاكَ اللَّـهُ ۚ (that is, 'We revealed to you the Book with the truth so that you may judge between people by what Allah makes you see.' ) (4:105)