The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “O Prophet, fear Allah and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.”

Is the mere call considered a form of honor? Hmm?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No.
The student: The call is to the prophethood, and prophethood is a form of excellence.

The Shaykh : You have spoken well. The call is to the prophethood, even though Allah the Exalted calls the other prophets by their names: “O Musa,” “O Isa,” and the like. As for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he was never called except by the description of prophethood or messengership. So if you say, “Did not Allah say: in Surat al-Imran? And He said: in Surat al-Fath? ... Ismail?” Yes.
The student: This is not a place of calling; it is an address.

The Shaykh : Yes. This is not a place of calling; it is an address. But it is a place of information, and from this noble verse, the obligation of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) is derived. Isa.
The student: From the command...

The Shaykh : “Fear Allah.” Yes, and from it, the obligation of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) for the Ummah is derived. Yes.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is commanded to have taqwa (mindfulness of Allah), then others are even more so. This is one aspect. Another aspect is:
The student: ...
The Shaykh : That the address directed to the Messenger of Allah (may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him) is directed to him and his Ummah, unless there is evidence for its restriction.
Now, on this occasion, the addresses directed to the Messenger (may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him) are either such that there is evidence for their generality, or there is something in the address itself that indicates generality, or there is something that indicates specificity, or there is something that indicates neither this nor that. So, what indicates generality is for the general. Who can give an example of this?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, generality.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No, no, this does not have evidence of generality.
The student:

The Shaykh : Yes, in Surat al-Talaq. Or is there something that indicates specificity?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes. Correct. It has many examples. Or is there something that indicates neither this nor that? Like this verse, but its ruling is general. Its ruling is general for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Ummah. Clear. Good.
And from this noble verse, it is derived that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a servant who is commanded and burdened with obligations. From what?
The student: From his command to have taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and not to obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites.

The Shaykh : Yes. You have spoken well. From his command to have taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and not to obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites.
And from that, it is derived that no matter how high a person’s rank, the obligations are not lifted from him.
The student: That, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the best of creation, was called by Allah and commanded...

The Shaykh : Good. And based on this, it is derived, branching from this benefit, the clarification of the misguidance of those Sufis who say that when a person reaches the degree of witnessing (mu'ayinah), the obligations are lifted from him. Is that so or not? Because we say that no one reaches the rank of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and yet the obligations were not lifted from him. If they say that Allah says: in Surat al-Hijr, meaning until you reach the degree of certainty and then you stop worshipping, how do we answer them?
The student: The meaning of certainty here is death.

The Shaykh : Good. Do you have evidence that certainty is death?
The student: ....

The Shaykh : They say until you reach the degree of certainty and then stop. We now want to find evidence that indicates that certainty is death.
The student: The saying of some of the Salaf... and he strived in the cause of Allah with true striving until certainty came to him.

The Shaykh : No, no. This is the saying of the Salaf. We want it from the Book or the Sunnah.
The student: Their saying .

The Shaykh : Yes. Their saying, meaning the companions of the Hellfire: in Surat al-Muddaththir. Certainty came to them, meaning they reached the degree of certainty. Hmm? Absolutely, they died upon disbelief and now they have reached the degree of certainty. If these people say that we have reached a degree of certainty, they would be among the companions of the Hellfire. So we agree with them on that. Clear.
Good. And from this noble verse, it is derived the prohibition of obeying the disbelievers and the hypocrites and inclining toward them, due to His saying:
And from it, it is derived that the disbeliever and the hypocrite can never be an advisor to the believers, ever. Yes, Ghannam.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes. And if it were possible for there to be advice in him, He would not have prohibited absolute obedience to him. Yes. Because the advisor is obeyed.
And from this noble verse, it is derived the affirmation of two of the names of Allah, which are the All-Knowing and the Wise.