The Essence of Obedience

Requirements of Worship does not mean they were irrelevant in Makkah or similar circumstances. Instead, this gradual revelation was due to the wisdom of tadreej fil-ahkam (gradual implementation of commandments), as explained in the hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari (Hadith No. 4993), narrated by Aisha (R.A.), the wife of the Prophet œ and one of the foremost scholars among the early Muslims. Had this gradual approach not been necessary, these commands would have been fully revealed in Makkah because their fulfillment does not require authority; they are individually binding on every Muslim. In contrast, for commands such as “whip the adulterer” or “cut off the hand of the thief,” having authority is crucial for their enforcement. These commands could only be issued and carried out in Madinah, where Muslims had established authority. Such commands were never given to any community before they gained authority, nor can they be enforced without such authority. In other words, the commandments of the first type were revealed in Madinah simply because of the sequence of events (afterward), while the revelation of political and social commands in Madinah indicates that they were dependent on Muslims attaining authority. The difference between the two types of commandments is clearer because the first type