A Comprehensive Interpretation of the Verse of Obedience in the light of Classical Exegesis

This verse is named ‘the verse of obedience’ due to the repetition of the word ‘obey’. It is one of the most comprehensive verses in the Qur’ān, establishing the authority of all four main sources of Islamic jurisprudence: Qur’ān, Sunnah, ijmā’ and qiyās. Furthermore, it outlines the tenets of Islamic governance. About this verse, Ibn Hazm (d. 457 H), an Andalusian legal theorist, expresses that he contemplated it and found it to be comprehensive for everything that people said, from the first to the last of them, about what they concurred and disagreed regarding the rulings and acts of worship that Allah has ordained. Ibn Hazm, further states that the main purpose of writing ‘Al-Ihkām fi Usūl al-Ahkām’ is to elucidate (a) the dynamics of this verse and its meaning, (b) the meaning of obedience that is mandated for Allah, His Messenger, and those in authority while identifying who they are (c) the differences among the scholars and what the differences are about, and (d) to refer the differences to Allah and His Messenger. According to Ibn Hazm, these issues encompass all of the religion.