The Prophet’s saying (صلى الله عليه وسلم), “Lowliness and humiliation have been placed upon those who oppose my commands.”^[1]

This ḥadīth indicates that honour and elevation in the worldly life and hereafter can only be attained by following the commands of the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم), due to what that entails of following Allāh’s command. This is as Allāh—the Exalted—mentioned:

مَّن يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ

“He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allāh.”
(Al-Nisāʾ, 4:80)

He—the Exalted—also said:

وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

“And to Allāh belongs all honour, and to His Messenger, and to the believers.”
(Al-Munāfiqūn, 63:8)

And He said—Exalted be He—:

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا

“Whoever desires honour, then to Allāh belongs all honour (so seek it from Him alone).”
(Fāṭir, 35:10)

In some narrations it is reported that Allāh says, “I am the All-Mighty. So, let whoever seeks might obey the All-Mighty [Allāh].”^[2]

Allāh—the Most High—says:

إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ

“Verily, the most honourable of you with Allāh is the most pious of you.”
(Al-Ḥujurāt, 49:13)

Hence, humiliation and lowliness result from opposing the commands of Allāh and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Opposition to the Messenger is of two types:

1. The opposition of those who do not believe in his authority, like the opposition to his commands displayed by the disbelievers and the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), those who do not hold that his obedience is obligatory. Such people are subject to humiliation and lowliness.
2. Those who hold obedience to the Messenger to be obligatory, but then oppose his commands. This itself is of two types:

1. 1. Those who oppose his commands by committing sins which they consider impermissible and a form of disobedience. Such people have a share of the humiliation and lowliness mentioned in the ḥadīth. Imām Aḥmad used to invoke Allāh saying, “O’ Allāh! Strengthen and empower us with guidance towards honourable acts, and do not humiliate us by allowing us to commit humiliating, disobedient acts.” This group of people opposes the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) due to their inclination towards lustful, false desires (shahawāt).
   2. Those who oppose his commands due to doubts (shubuhāt), and they are the sectarian dissenters who have innovated in the religion. They all have a share of humiliation and lowliness mentioned in the ḥadīth, the degree of which is proportional to their opposition to his commands. Allāh—the Most High—says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا الْعِجْلَ سَيَنَالُهُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَذِلَّةٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُفْتَرِينَ

“Certainly, those who took the calf (for worship), wrath from their Lord and humiliation will come upon them in the life of this world. Thus do We recompense those who invent lies.”
(Al-Aʿrāf, 7:152)

The people of innovation all concoct lies against Allāh. The severity of their innovation is proportional to the abundance of lies they concoct against Him. For anyone who prohibits what He has permitted or permits what He has prohibited is considered by Allāh as having fabricated a lie in opposition to Him. Hence, whoever ascribes to Allāh that which he is ignorant of has fabricated a lie against Him. Likewise, whoever ascribes to Allāh what is not permissible to ascribe to Him—such as likening Him to His creation, negating His names and attributes, or denying His divine predestination—has fabricated a lie against Allāh. Because of this, Allāh’s punishment for the innovator is greater and more severe than that of the sinner, as the innovator has fabricated against Allāh and opposed the command of His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in accordance with his own misguided whims and opinions.^[3]