Reward for Conformance and
Punishment for Contravention

In short, a real Muslim is one who, in joy as well as sorrow, in friendship as well as enmity, in fact, in every stage of life, may act, keeping the Quran and Hadith and the prophetic pattern in mind. If there is friendship and love for anyone, it should be purely with the intention of winning Allah's and His Apostle's pleasure; and if there is enmity and antagonism against anyone, that too should be for the sake of Allah and His Apostle. Then disputes too should be settled with reference to the Quran and the prophetic pattern. If life was lived like this and in every thing obedience to Allah and the Holy Prophet's  auspicious methods were kept in view, then very great rewards have been promised for it in the Quran and the Hadith.

Allah Most High will bestow progress, exaltation and honour in this world. And in the Hereafter, such bounties regarding which the Holy and Truthful Prophet  has said:

"Neither have eyes seen them nor ears have heard their description and praise nor their thought has crossed any heart."

Vis-à-vis, very great tortures have been described in the Quran and the Hadith for those who are disobedient to Allah and the Holy Prophet . May Allah Most High, bestowing upon us all the grace to act according to the Quran and the Sunnah, save us from this disgrace! Amen!

The Blessings and Rewards for Conforming To The Sunnah

Allah Most Gracious hath promised great rewards on conformance to the Holy Prophet :

"Say, (O Muhammad to mankind): lf ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. Say (O Muhammad) Obey Allah and the messenger.” But if they turn away, lo! Allah loveth not the disbelievers.” (III: 31-32).

For a man of faith and with an appreciative heart, what blessings could be better and worthy of pride than the Lord Most High may appoint him as a loved one. But a dormant spirited body unaware of relish and pleasure of love, strange in this corridor, cannot appreciate the bounty and can have no sorrow on its deprivation. Only the enlightened can appreciate value of such love.

Persian couplet:

"This felicity is not achieved by the force of arm as long as the Munificent Lord may not bestow it."

Those who follow the unlettered prophet (VII-157), the divine order is that, "They are successful." Here 'success' has been mentioned as a reward for following the Holy Prophet .

In this material world any one achieving a literary degree or a certificate considers to have achieved a milestone in life and guards the precious possession through all his means, even though the achievements of a mortal world are also mortal. Wealth, affluence, and honour are transitory and evanescent, much toil and efforts are put in to achieve prosperity by hook or by crook.

Whereas here we are being asked to follow a being who is the beloved of Allah (Who hath no partner) and the greatest well-wisher of all, in short, of the whole humanity; one who for such keen and sincere well-wishing devoted all his possessions, home, household, family, clan and his own holy self. We are being asked to follow such a beloved person and such a benefactor of humanity and for that a certificate of success in both the worlds is also being awarded.

Divine Punishment in the World and The Hereafter for Avoiding the Sunnah

Similarly, Allah hath shown His wrath for turning away from the Sunnah and disobeying it. Saith Allah Most High: -

“And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth abstain (from it). And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is stern in reprisal.” (LIX: 7)

 

“O ye who believe! Obey Allah and His messenger, and turn not away from him when ye hear him (speak). Be not as those who say, We hear, and they hear not. Lo! the worst of beasts in Allah's sight are the deaf, the dumb who have no sense. Had Allah known of any good in them He would have made them hear, but had he made them hear they would have turned away, averse.”

Here the believers are ordered to obey Allah and the Holy  and to give up opposition to them; and they are also ordered not to create similarity with the unbelievers who say that they hear but in fact they do not hear anything.

Source: Ita'at-Ur-Rasul  Obedience to the Messenger (Peace be upon him) by Sheikh Yusuf Motala