Anas reported that Allah's Messenger ﷺ had the best disposition amongst people. He sent me on an errand one day, and I said: By Allah, I would not go. I had, however, this idea in my mind that I would do as Allah's Apostle ﷺ had commanded me to do. I went out until I happened to come across children who had been playing in the street. In the meanwhile, Allah's Messenger ﷺ came there and he caught me by the back of my neck from behind me. As I looked towards him I found him smiling and he said: Unais, did you go where I commanded you to go? I said: Allah's Messenger, yes, I am going. Anas further said: I served him for nine years but I know not that he ever said to me about a thing which I had done why I did that, or about a thing I had left as to why I had not done that.
The hadith also teaches us the importance of obedience; Anas knew that he should follow what Allah's Messenger ﷺ commanded him to do, so despite initially feeling reluctant, he still went ahead and did it anyway out of respect for the prophet's orders. We can learn from this that it is important to obey our elders as long as their commands are within reason and don't go against Islamic teachings or laws.
