ßÊÇÈ The Quran: Sufficient as a Source of Islamic Legislation
Chapter Two : The Quran, the Prophet, and the Messenger

في الجمعة ٢٩ - مارس - ٢٠٢٤ ١٢:٠٠ صباحاً

Chapter Two : The Quran, the Prophet, and the Messenger

 

1) The difference between the prophet and messenger.

 

            People misunderstand the instruction to obey and follow the messenger, that’s because they misunderstand the difference between the meanings of ‘the prophet’ and ‘the messenger.’

            ‘The prophet’ is Muhammad bin Abdullah; the man himself, in his life, in his private affairs, in his social relations with those around him, and in his human conduct. Owing to his human conduct, he was susceptible to rebuke from God Almighty. For this reason, he used to be rebuked in his capacity as a prophet, e.g. “O you prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful for you, just to please your wives?… (66:1)”. God Almighty also says on the subject of the prisoners of war of the battle of Badr, “No prophet shall acquire captives, unless he participates in the fighting. You people are seeking the materials of this world, while God advocates the Hereafter… (8:67)”. God also says to him, “Even the prophet cannot take more of the spoils of war than he is entitled to. Anyone who takes more than his rightful share will have to account for it on the Day of Resurrection… (3:161)”. And when he sought forgiveness for some of his relatives, our Lord said to him “Neither the prophet, nor those who believe shall ask forgiveness for the idol worshipers, even if they were their nearest of kin, once they realize that they are destined for Hell. (9:113)”. Concerning a very hard battle the believers fought, the Almighty says “God has redeemed the prophet, and the immigrants (Muhãjireen) and the supporters who hosted them and gave them refuge (Ansãr), who followed him during the difficult times. That is when the hearts of some of them almost wavered… (9:117)”.

            The Almighty also said, instructing the prophet to be reverent of Him, and to follow the revelation, and to trust in Him, and in prohibiting him from obeying the disbelievers, He said “O you prophet, you shall reverence God and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. God is Omniscient, Most Wise. Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord. God is fully Cognizant of everything you all do. And put your trust in God… (33:1-3)”. All this is addressing him as a prophet.

            The Quranic discussion about the relationship between Muhammad (peace upon him!) and his wives – who are the mothers of the believers – also addresses him as a prophet, “O prophet, say to your wives, “If you are seeking this life and its vanities, then let me compensate you and allow you to go amicably. (33:28)”, and “The prophet had trusted some of his wives with a certain statement… (66:3)”. The Quran was addressing the mothers of the believers, however, it didn’t say ‘O wives of the messenger’, rather, it said “O wives of the prophet, if any of you commits a gross sin, the retribution will be doubled for her. This is easy for God to do. (33:30)”, and “O wives of the prophet, you are not the same as any other women… (33:32)”.

            The discussion about his relationship with the people around him also addresses him as a prophet, “O prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the wives of the believers that they shall lengthen their garments… (33:59)”, and “The prophet is closer to the believers than they are to each other, and his wives are like mothers to them… (33:6)”, and “O you who believe, do not enter the prophet’s homes unless you are given permission to eat… (33:53)” and “…Others made up excuses to the prophet: “Our homes are vulnerable,”… (33:13)”, and so on. In light of this, ‘the prophet’ is Muhammad the man, in his behaviour, in his private and public social relations, for this reason, he was addressed as the prophet to follow the revelation.

However, when the prophet speaks with the Quran, he is the messenger who should be obeyed for the sake of God, “We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed in accordance with God’s will… (4:64)”, and “Whoever obeys the messenger is obeying God… (4:80)”. The prophet Muhammad as a human was the first to obey the Quranic revelation, and the first to implement it on himself. Whenever the prophet himself was ordered to follow the revelation, the instruction came to obey the messenger, that is, to obey the prophet when he spoke using the message, i.e. the Quran, “Say, “Obey God, and obey the messenger.”… (24:54)”. There does not occur a single instance in the Quran of God saying ‘Obey God, and obey the prophet.’ This is because obedience is not due to the prophet who is a human, but it is due to the message, i.e. the messenger, i.e. the word of God Almighty which was revealed to the prophet, and which the prophet was the first to obey. Not forgetting to mention that there does not occur a single instance in the Quran of the messenger being rebuked.

The word ‘prophet’ has a single defined meaning, it is: the man who was chosen by God from among the people to inform him of the revelation so that he becomes a messenger. As for the word ‘messenger,’ it has – in the Quran – many meanings, they are:

1.      to signify ‘the prophet:’ “Muhammad was not the father of any man among you. He was a messenger of God and the final prophet… (33:40)”.

2.      to signify Gabriel: “This is the utterance of an honorable messenger. Authorized by the Possessor of the Throne, fully supported. He shall be obeyed and trusted. Your friend is not crazy[10]. He saw him at the high horizon. (18:19-23)”.

3.      to signify the angels: the angels who record our works, “Do they think that we do not hear their secrets and conspiracies? Yes indeed; our messengers are with them, recording. (43:80)”.

4.      to signify a runner (someone who carries a letter or message from one person to another): like Joseph’s saying to the king’s messenger ‘go back to your lord’ in the verse “The king said, “Bring him to me.” When the messenger came to him, he said, “Go back to your lord…” (12:50)”.

5.      to signify the Quran or the message: intertwined with this meaning is the meaning of ‘the message-bearing prophet’ who speaks with the revelation and that goes for all the instructions which endorse obeying God and His messenger. All these verses point to obeying the word of God which He brought down to His messenger, and the messenger was the first to speak the revelation, and the first to practice it.

This final signification of ‘the Quran,’ means that the messenger of God is present among us, even to this day, and that is the book of God which God will preserve till the Day of Resurrection. We can understand this from God’s saying “How can you disbelieve, when these revelations of God have been recited to you, and His messenger is among[11] you? Whoever holds fast to God will be guided in the right path. (3:101)”. That is, so long as the book of God is being recited, the messenger is present among us, and whoever holds fast to God and His book, God has guided him to the Straight Path. This remains valid at any time, and in any place so long as the Quran is preserved; and it will remain preserved and will serve as a proof for the creation till the rising of the Hour.

The word ‘messenger’ in some Quranic verses signifies the Quran itself with the utmost clarity, as in His saying “…Anyone who gives up his home, emigrating to God and His messenger, then death catches up with him, his recompense is reserved with God… (4:100)”.

This verse sets out a general and continually-applicable law, which remains applicable even after the death of Muhammad (peace upon him!). Thus, emigration for the sake of God and His messenger – i.e. the Quran – continues to be possible even after the death of the prophet Muhammad, so long as the Quran (or message) remains.

Sometimes, the word ‘messenger’ can only signify the Quran specifically without any other meaning; “That you people may believe in God and His messenger, and reverence Him, and observe Him, and glorify Him, day and night. (48:9)”.

The word ‘messenger’ here signifies the word of God only, and does not signify Muhammad the messenger at all. The proof for this is that the pronoun which is suffixed to the word ‘messenger’ occurs in singular form, thus God says “…and reverence Him, and observe Him, and glorify Him, day and night.” The use of the singular pronoun means that God and His messenger (i.e. His words) are not two separate entities rather, they are one and the same thing, for He did not say ‘and reverence them both, and observe them both, and glorify them both, day and night.’  Glorification is due only to God Almighty, alone. And there is no difference between God Almighty and His words, for God Almighty is one in His essence and in His attributes, “Proclaim, “He is the One and only God…” (112:1)”.

He says, “They swear by God to you, to please you, when God and His messenger are more worthy of pleasing… (9:62)”.

If the messenger in this verse signifies the prophet Muhammad, He would have said ‘are both more worthy of pleasing.’ However, the messenger here signifies the word of God only, which is why ‘God and His messenger’ are referred to in the singular, which means ‘God and His words’.

So, the prophet is Muhammad the man, in his private and public life. As for the messenger, he is the prophet when he utters the Quran and delivers the message “O you messenger, deliver what is revealed to you from your Lord… (5:67)”.

Whenever God orders the prophet to follow the revelation, He orders us all to obey God and the messenger, i.e. the message. There isn’t a single instance in the Quran where God says ‘the sole duty of the prophet is to deliver the message,’ rather, He says “The sole duty of the messenger is to deliver the message… (5:99).” Therefore, delivering the message is associated with the message, just as ‘the prophet’ is associated with the human side of the messenger in his life, his conditions, and his relations.

 

–        The words of the messenger, and the words of the prophet.

 

We now know that ‘prophet’ signifies Muhammad the man (peace upon him!), in his life, in his private and public relations, and in his conduct as a human being. As for the messenger, he is the prophet Muhammad when he utters the message and delivers the revelation.

Muhammad the man (or the prophet) had his words with his wives and with his friends, and he had his conduct as his being a leader, a teacher, and a head of state. Muhammad the messenger had his words as his being a messenger upon whom the revelation of God came down that he may deliver the message to the people. So, what is the difference between this and that? Let us start with Muhammad the messenger and his sayings.

 

The sayings of the messenger:

The intense hatred expressed by the polytheists towards the Quran must be noted here, for they tried to make the messenger change the words of the Quran and substitute them. However, the prophet used to reject this request by expressing his fear of God’s awesome retribution, we read “When our revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet us say, “Bring a Quran other than this, or change it!” Say, “I cannot possibly change it on my own. I simply follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the retribution of an awesome day.”

Say, “Had God willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would you have known anything about it. I have lived among you a whole life before this (and you have known me as a sane, truthful person). Do you not understand?” (10:15-16)”. They wanted him to speak about the religion without using the Quran whilst ascribing it to God, but he refused fearing the retribution of a Great Day.

            But the polytheists never gave up, they decided to clampdown and trick the prophet that they may reach some kind of compromise, but he was warned “Do not obey the rejecters. They wish that you compromise, so they too can compromise. (68:8-9)”. However, they persisted in their struggle and they had almost influenced the prophet, but God’s preserving His revelation was quicker than their scheming. The Quran describes this in the clearest terms: “They almost diverted you from the revelations we have given you. They wanted you to fabricate something else, in order to consider you a friend. If it were not that we strengthened you, you almost leaned towards them just a little bit. Had you done that, we would have doubled the retribution for you in this life, and after death, and you would have found no one to help you against us. (17:73-75)”.

            The reader is urged to study, at leisure, these verses so that he/she may reach the conclusion that the polytheists urged the prophet to speak about the religion outside the Quran whilst ascribing it to God, but they failed because God Almighty preserved the Quranic revelation despite the schemes of the polytheists. There is a testament in the Quran about the prophet being innocent, and which confirms that he never spoke about God’s religion except using the Quran, the word of God, and that he never invented anything against God, this testament is: “A revelation from the Lord of the universe. Had he uttered any other teachings.  We would have punished him. We would have stopped the revelations to him. None of you could have helped him. (69:43-47)”. Thus, had the prophet spoke about God something which God didn’t say, God would have punished him a severe punishment which would have been witnessed by the people in the prophet’s time, and they wouldn’t have been able to prevent this punishment to protect the prophet because He said “None of you could have helped him.” Now, seeing that this punishment never took place, we can be sure that the prophet delivered the complete message in his time and didn’t fabricate anything about God.

            Religion is for God. God is the One who reveals it through the revelations, and it’s a duty on the people to yield to the revelation no matter how much it conflicts with their desires. The messenger is the one who receives the revelation then he delivers it with all his power, and he does not have the right to add to it or to take anything away. The Almighty says about the last prophet (peace upon him!) “Had he uttered any other teachings.” This is said so as to exempt the prophet from speaking about God’s religion as a human being. It must be noted, however, that God has ordered him to say such-and-such a thing, this is the real meaning of the oft-occurring word “say” in the Quran.

            The word “say” is one of the most important Quranic words. It occurs in the Quran 332 times, it indicates that there are specific things that God ordered the messenger to say to the people.

The Torah foretold of the final prophet who would be born of the progeny of Ishmael, “The Lord, your God will raise a prophet from among you, from among your brothers, like me; you will hear of him. I will raise for them a prophet from among their brothers like you, and I will put my words into his mouth then he will speak to them about everything I entrust them to do.[12]

The evidence here, is that the previous divine books foretold of the final prophet to whom the revelation is revealed instructing him to ‘say this and that’; which then becomes a part of the written revelation, or, in the words of the Torah, “and I will put my words into his mouth then he will speak to them about everything I entrust them to do.”

Looking at all the places where the word “say” occurs in the Quran, we note the following:

1.      The most frequent occurrence of the word “say” is in discussion with the different human and religious groups:

a.       there are discussions with the polytheists; e.g., “Say, “Roam the earth and note the consequences for those before you.” …(30:42)”

b.      there are discussions with the people of the book; “Say, “O followers of the scripture, let us come to a logical agreement between us and you… (3:64)”

c.       there are discussions with the hypocrites; “They swear by God, solemnly, that if you commanded them to mobilize, they would mobilize. Say, “Do not swear. Obedience is an obligation… (24:53)”

d.      there are discussions with the believers; “Say, “Come let me tell you what your Lord has really prohibited for you…” (6:151)”

e.       there are discussions with all of humanity; “Say, “O people, I am God’s messenger to all of you…” (7:158)”

2.      The word “say” also occurs in response to the questions of the believers; “…They also ask you what to give to charity: say, “The excess.” …(2:219)”

3.      The word “say” also legislates and defines belief, worship and supplication; “Proclaim, “He is the One and only God…” (112:1)”, and “Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak…” (113:1)”, and “Say, “My Lord has guided me in a straight path - the perfect religion of Abraham, monotheism…” (6:161)”

4.      The word “say” can be repeated in the same verse, “Say, “Shall I accept other than God as a Lord and Master, when He is the Initiator of the heavens and the earth, and He feeds but is not fed?” Say, “I am commanded to be the most devoted submitter”… (6:14)”

5.      The word “say” is also used in the following ways, The Almighty says, “O people, you shall reverence your Lord, and fear a day when a father cannot help his own child, nor can a child help his father. Certainly, God’s promise is truth. Therefore, do not be distracted by this life; do not be distracted from God by mere illusions. With God is the knowledge regarding the Hour (end of the world). He is the One who sends down the rain, and He knows the contents of the womb. No soul knows what will happen to it tomorrow, and no one knows in which land he or she will die. God is Omniscient, Cognizant. (31:33-34)”. Similarly, “They ask you about the end of the world (the Hour), and when it will come to pass. Say, “The knowledge thereof is with my Lord. Only He reveals its time. Heavy it is, in the heavens and the earth. It will not come to you except suddenly.” They ask you as if you are in control thereof. Say, “The knowledge thereof is with God,” but most people do not know. Say, “I have no power to benefit myself, or harm myself. Only what God wills happens to me. If I knew the future, I would have increased my wealth, and no harm would have afflicted me. I am no more than a warner, and a bearer of good news for those who believe. (7:187-188)”.

If we were to think about every verse in which the word “say” occurs, we would become certain that the Quran always provided the prophet with many answers that he needed on any subject so that he would not have the capacity, opportunity, or even the authorisation to speak about God’s religion from his own opinion. Especially seeing that God Almighty had prohibited the prophet to speak about the religion from his own opinion, or that he should falsely ascribe words to God. This then means that the words of the messenger and his hadith are to be found in the Quran itself among its verses, especially among the verses which contain the divine command of “say” which contain all the information that the prophet and the Muslims needed.

The prophet himself used to warn with the Quran, “And preach with this (Quran) to those who reverence the summoning before their Lord… (6:51)”. He also used to remind with the Quran, “…Remind with this (Quran), lest a soul may suffer the consequences of its evil earnings… (6:70)”, and “…Therefore, remind with this Quran, those who reverence My warnings. (50:45)”. The prophet also used to give them good news with the Quran, “We thus made this (Quran) elucidated in your tongue, in order to deliver good news to the righteous, and to warn with it the opponents. (19:97)”. He used to strive against them too using the Quran, “Therefore, do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with this, a great striving. (25:52)”.

The prophet (peace upon him!) had the ‘conduct of the Quran’, and it was rightful of him to have the conduct of the Quran, “You are blessed with a great moral character. (68:4)”. Conduct in the Quranic sense is the religion itself. Is there a religion greater than the religion of God?

 

The sayings of the prophet:

Outside the revelation, Muhammad (peace upon him!) was a judge, a leader, a soldier, a husband, a friend, and a member of his community. He was exemplary in all these capacities. He was a well spoken, eloquent man. He succeeded in making the call to Islam, and in setting up a state. He faced many political and personal difficulties in his life, but he conquered those difficulties and was successful in the end owing to his talents, and his exemplary decorum. Of course, his human weakness sometimes overcame him and affected his own self and those around him; his sayings and his actions outside the Quranic revelation sometimes went against the revelation.

            The Quran mentions some sayings of the prophet; it praises him for some and rebukes him for some, a few examples follow:

  1. In the battle of Badr, the Muslims mobilized in their small number to face a caravan, but to their surprise, a big army had come out to face them which was greater in number and much better equipped. So the Muslims had hated to engage them out of fear, the Quran paints a picture of the scene, “When your Lord willed that you leave your home, to fulfill a specific plan, some believers became exposed as reluctant believers. They argued with you against the truth, even after everything was explained to them. They acted as if they were being driven to certain death. (8:5-6)”. The prophet, who was their leader, encouraged his friends, God recorded this saying of his and mentioned what the prophet said in a good way, “You told[13] the believers, “Is it not enough that your Lord supports you with three thousand angels, sent down?” (3:124)”. The prophet said to them in that situation ‘is it not enough that your Lord supports you with three thousand angels?’ This is a hadith of the prophet, who was the leader in the Battle of Badr, the Quran mentions this in praise.
  2. In a few other severe battles, the hypocrites became sluggish in mobilizing, whereas a few destitute believers came to the prophet to ask him if they can mobilize with him because they didn’t have any means of transport, or any provisions. The prophet then apologised to them saying “I do not have anything to carry you on.” The Quran explains this incident: “Not to be blamed are those who are weak, or ill, or do not find anything to offer, so long as they remain devoted to God and His messenger. The righteous among them shall not be blamed. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful. Also excused are those who come to you wishing to be included with you, but you tell them[14], “I do not have anything to carry you on.” They then turn back with tears in their eyes, genuinely saddened that they could not afford to contribute. (9:91-92)”. The prophet said to them in that situation “I do not have anything to carry you on.” This is a hadith of the prophet which is specific to that time and place.
  3. Regarding the case of Zayd’s marriage and divorce, whose wife later got married to the prophet (peace upon him!), God says regarding this “Recall that you said to the one who was blessed by God, and blessed by you, “Keep your wife and reverence God,” and you hid inside yourself what God wished to proclaim. Thus, you feared the people, when you were supposed to fear only God… (33:37)”. God had ordered the prophet to make Zayd divorce his wife and then to marry her himself after the divorce so that the prophet could practically and publicly dispel the pre-Islamic ignorant notion that one’s adopted son’s wife is the same as the wife of one’s real biological son, and in doing so, he established the precedent that a man can marry the divorced wife of his adopted son if they are completely through with each other. The prophet should have said to Zayd ‘Divorce your wife.’ But he was apprehensive so he said the exact opposite, so the Quran came down rebuking the prophet and reminding him of what he said and why he deserved rebuke from our Lord “Recall that you said to the one who was blessed by God, and blessed by you, “Keep your wife and reverence God,”…”, so, the hadith of the prophet here would be “Keep your wife and reverence God.” The prophet said this to Zayd bin Haritha, and this hadith is also bound to the time and place in which it was said.

 

The above examples demonstrate that the prophet in his every day life and in his many social relations said and did many things. These sayings (or hadith) were bound to the time and place in which they were said, and which cannot be applied to any successive time because the exact same occurrences (involving the same people and conditions) can never happen again. History is history; we can only derive lessons and warnings from it.

The recorded life history of the prophet contains many hadith and sayings which have been attributed to him in both the Medinan and Meccan periods; it is merely history, it contains truth and errors, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the religion of God Almighty. As for the narrations found in the Quran about the prophet Muhammad, then these are wholly true and cannot be distorted. Belief in these Quranic narrations is the same as belief in the Quran itself.

 

The sayings of the prophet inside the Quranic revelation which the Quran narrates are lessons for us, we believe in them just as we believe in every other word of the Quran.

The sayings of the prophet outside the Quranic revelation which the oral traditionalists recorded centuries after the death of the prophet as part of his life history are to be considered as history which can be either true or erroneous, and either reliable or fraudulent, and which are not a part of the religion at all.

As for the sayings of the messenger, then that is the message, i.e. the Quran, or the religion of God, which the messenger has delivered without adding anything or taking anything away. It is sufficient, detailed, and clear. The prophet was among the first people to obey and practice this revelation.

This is the truth of the human greatness of Muhammad the prophet, peace upon him!

 

–        The sole duty of the messenger is to deliver the message.

 

This Quranic phrase has become an [Arabic] proverb, despite this, we don’t give it the attention it deserves with regard to our religion. The Quranic rule regarding this subject is always to limit the role and importance of the messenger to merely delivering the message; “The sole duty of the messenger is to deliver the message… (5:99)”, and “…but if they turn away, your sole mission is to deliver this message… (3:20)”, and “…If you turn away, then know that the sole duty of our messenger is to deliver the message efficiently. (5:92)”, and “…Your sole mission is delivering the message… (42:28)”.

To deliver the message is to deliver it whole, without adding anything or taking anything away. The above verses clearly limit the responsibility of the messenger to merely delivering the message as it is.

To deliver the message is to inform the people of the Quran’s contents, be it warnings, good news, guidance, or enlightenment; “O prophet, we have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news, as well as a warner. Inviting to God, in accordance with His will, and a guiding beacon. (33:45-46)”. These descriptions of the prophet as a witness, a bearer of good news, a warner, and an inviter, all fall under the definition of delivery. Once the messenger delivers the message, he becomes a witness against his people.

To be a witness against someone isn’t the same as being a witness for someone. If one is a witness against someone, then one is in dispute with that person. However, if one is a witness for someone, then one supports that person’s case and serves as an advocate.

The Quranic text describes the prophet as a witness against his people on the Day of Resurrection, i.e. he will dispute those who were in defiance, we read “We have sent to you a messenger as a witness against you[15]… (73:15)”, and “Thus, when the day (of judgment) comes, we will call upon a witness from each community, and you (the messenger) will serve as a witness against[16] these people. (4:41)”, and “The day will come when we will raise from every community a witness from among them, and bring you as the witness against these people. We have revealed to you this book to provide explanations for everything… (16:89)”.

The Quran mentions the messenger’s testimony against his people on the Day of Resurrection in the following verse “The messenger said, “My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran.” (25:30)”. Thus, his responsibility is to deliver the Quran to the people, but since they abandoned the Quran and took hold of other books, they deserved to be disowned by the messenger on the Day of Resurrection.

One of the signs that they have abandoned the Quran is that they accuse it of ambiguity and say that it requires the words of men to explain and clarify it. They also say that it doesn’t clarify things properly, and even though it is described as “a clarification for all things”, they insist that it requires further elucidation. Due to this, the testimony of the messenger on the Day of Resurrection is going to be one of opposition to their claims confirming that the Quran came down clarifying everything, “The day will come when we will raise from every community a witness from among them, and bring you as the witness against these people. We have revealed to you this book to provide explanations for everything… (16:89)”.

In some verses discussing the delivery of the message, the messenger’s responsibilities of delivery and of warning were down-played, however, the importance of God’s fulfillment of judgment are stressed, “…your sole mission is to deliver (the message). It is us who will call them to account. (13:40)”, and “If they turn away, we did not send you as their guardian. Your sole mission is delivering the message… (42:48)”, and “You shall remind, for your mission is to deliver this reminder. You have no power over them. As for those who turn away and disbelieve. God will commit them to the great retribution. To us is their ultimate destiny. Then we will call them to account. (88:21-26)”. The messenger of God only did what he was told to do. We read the Quran, but we do not reflect on it, and most of us desert it. We pray to God for guidance!

 

–        The messenger used to govern using the Quran alone.

 

The prophet was a ruler responsible for a state, and he was a leader of his nation. People used to seek his governance in their affairs and problems. He thus governed and settled their disputes in his capacity as a messenger who uttered the laws of God as they were.

The Quranic principle is that all governance rests with God in matters of dispute, and every side must be content with God’s rule. The Almighty says “We thus reveal to you an Arabic Quran to warn the central community and all around it, and to warn about the Day of Summoning that is inevitable. Some will end up in Heaven, and some in Hell. (42:7)”, and “If you dispute any part of this message, the judgment for doing this rests with God. Such is God my Lord. In Him I trust, and to Him I submit. (42:10)”. He also says “Shall I seek other than God as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? (6:114)”. So, governance, or judgment rests with God [which is to be found] in His book which was revealed with full detail; and it was the messenger of God who used to speak the book and deliver it to the people (peace upon him!). Supporting this statement is the following verse “…If you dispute in any matter, you shall refer it to God and the messenger… (4:59)”.

The Quran has made it clear to us that the messenger used to govern and rule using the Quran alone, so no-one can say that Muhammad died (peace upon him!) and left words other than the Quran with which we govern and rule. Even after the death of the prophet and his absence from us, the Quran is still present among us for those who seek its guidance and for those who wish to govern and rule by it. However, the hypocrites believe otherwise, because they only used to seek the messenger’s judgment when they were in the right. But if they were in the wrong they would turn away from the messenger’s judgment despite the fact that they claim to be Muslims who should ally themselves with God and His messenger. The Quran makes clear their situation and says “They say, “We believe in God and in the messenger, and we obey,” but then some of them slide back afterwards. These are not believers. When they are invited to God and His messenger to judge among them, some of them get upset. However, if the judgment is in their favor, they readily accept it! (24:47-49)”.

The Almighty also says “When they are told, “Come to what God has revealed, and to the messenger,” you see the hypocrites shunning you completely. (4:61).” They used to shun the messenger because he used to judge among them with what God revealed only. When God said “When they are told, “Come to what God has revealed, and to the messenger,” (4:61)” it doesn’t mean that there is another source beside what God has revealed because the messenger is the one who speaks with what God has revealed, and he governs and rules thereby.

A few verses from Chapter 24 confirm this “When they are invited to God and His messenger to judge among them, some of them get upset. (24:48)”, and “The only utterance of the believers, whenever invited to God and His messenger to judge in their affairs, is to say, “We hear and we obey.”… (24:51)”. Now, if the messenger was something else [as a separate entity] from the word of God, the verb [in these verses] would have appeared in the dual and God would have said ‘When they are invited to God and His messenger for the two of them to judge among them…,’ and ‘The only utterance of the believers, whenever invited to God and His messenger for the two of them to judge in their affairs, is to say…’.

But because God is the only judge and because the messenger is the one who speaks only the word of God, the verb occurs only in the singular and the pronoun suffixed to it refers back to only one [thing, God,] there is no god but Him, He says “…to judge among them…”. God says “God has proclaimed: “Do not worship two gods; there is only one god. You shall reverence Me alone.” To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth and therefore, the religion shall be devoted absolutely to Him alone. Would you worship other than God? (16:51-52)”.

The prophet (which isn’t the same as the messenger as we have come to know), was a human being and he was tricked by the hypocrites. This occurred when one of the hypocrites stole a shield but some people found out and so the thief’s family felt shame because of what he did. So he and his family planned that he should put the stolen shield in an innocent Jew’s house at night. Then they went to the prophet in the morning claiming to be innocent. So the prophet was tricked and he even defended the thief; thus, the thief became innocent and the innocent became a thief. This is a story which happens in every time and place; where a criminal who committed a crime escapes accusation whilst the innocent person is jailed unjustly. The Quran mentions this story and transforms it from a historic incident which was specific to that time and place and to the people involved, into an affair relevant to all people in any time and place. In the beginning, God Almighty admonished the prophet instructed him to judge with the Book and warned him from being an advocate for the traitors; “We have sent down to you the scripture, truthfully, in order to judge among the people in accordance with what God has shown you. You shall not side with the betrayers. (4:105)”, that is to say that God sent down the scripture truthfully so that the prophet can judge among the people according to what God has shown him in the Book itself; judgment is sought from the Book. And because the prophet forgot to do so, he was told to ask for forgiveness in the following verse “You shall implore God for forgiveness. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful. (4:106)”. Then, [in the verse after that], he was prohibited from defending those traitors who conspired to claim that a criminal was innocent, and to accuse the innocent “Do not argue on behalf of those who have wronged their own souls; God does not love any betrayer, guilty. They hide from the people, and do not care to hide from God, though He is with them as they harbor ideas He dislikes. God is fully aware of everything they do. (4:107-108)”.

Thereafter, The Almighty says “Here you are arguing on their behalf in this world; who is going to argue with God on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection? Who is going to be their advocate? (4:109)”, i.e., can anyone help them on the Day of Resurrection or intercede on their behalf? Then, the following verses lay down the principle of personal responsibility “Anyone who commits evil, or wrongs his soul, then implores God for forgiveness, will find God Forgiving, Most Merciful. Anyone who earns a sin, earns it to the detriment of his own soul. God is Omniscient, Most Wise. Anyone who earns a sin, then accuses an innocent person thereof, has committed a blasphemy and a gross offense. (4:110-112)”. That is, every person is responsible for their own sins, and if they sought forgiveness, then God will forgive them and if not then they will be taken to account for what they did and no-one will argue or intercede on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection, “…The transgressors will have no friend nor an intercessor to be obeyed. (40:18)”.

Moreover, The Almighty says to the prophet “If it were not for God’s grace towards you, and His mercy, some of them would have misled you. They only mislead themselves, and they can never harm you in the least. God has sent down to you the scripture and wisdom, and He has taught you what you never knew. Indeed, God’s blessings upon you have been great. (4:113)”. That is, they tried to trick the prophet but the revelation came down and exposed them and everything went back to normal, and this is how the prophet’s affairs took place; according to the Quran. Because that’s how he used to judge and speak; using the Quran and nothing but the Quran.

 

–        “Obey God, and obey the messenger.”

 

The Almighty says “You shall obey God and the messenger, that you may attain mercy. (3:132)”. He also says “O you who believe, you shall obey God, and you shall obey the messenger, and those in charge among you… (4:59)”. So, are we obliged to obey one, or two, or three [entities] in our religion? We are obliged to obey only One, He is God. We obey His commands which the messenger utters, or whoever utters [God’s] commands after the death of the prophet. The fundamental legislative principle which is derived from the Quran is that no creation is obeyed in disobeying the Creator. Obeying the prophet – whilst he was alive – was on the basis of obeying God only, we understand this from God’s saying “O you prophet, when the believing women (who abandoned the disbelievers) to seek asylum with you pledge to you that they will not set up any idols besides God, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor fabricate any falsehood, nor disobey your righteous orders, you shall accept their pledge, and pray to God to forgive them… (60:12)”.

The evidence in this verse is God’s saying “O you prophet…”, for had He said “O you messenger…”, the prophet’s being obeyed would have been unconditional because it would be obedience to the message, i.e., the word of God. But because God spoke to him as a prophet, He restricted the prophet’s being obeyed to righteousness, and so He said “…nor disobey your righteous orders…”. Thus, obeying the prophet [means] obeying God the [One who revealed the Quran]. The prophet himself was the first person to obey the message. Similarly, “…those in charge among you…” should be the first people in obeying God, and if not, then they shouldn’t be obeyed if it means disobeying the Creator (He is praised!).

The Almighty says “We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed in accordance with God’s will… (4:64)”, and “Whoever obeys the messenger is obeying God… (4:80)”. This is why every prophet went to his people as a messenger with a message with which he used to speak to them, requesting them to obey him on the basis of this message, ““I am an honest messenger to you. You shall reverence God and obey me…” (26:107/108, and 125/126, and 162/163),” however, he did not say “I am an honest prophet to you.” And despite the fact that the Quran demands one to hold one’s parents in the highest regard, it makes an exception to this rule when the parents try to mislead their children, “We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. But if they try to force you to set up idols beside Me, do not obey them… (29:8)”.

Obeying the messenger [means] obeying the Quran which God revealed to the messenger; and the messenger, or the Quran, is still among us.

 

–        “Follow the light which was revealed to him.”

 

One doesn’t place one’s belief in Muhammad the person (peace upon him!), rather, in what was revealed to Muhammad; “Those who believe and work righteousness, and believe in what was sent down to Muhammad - which is the truth from their Lord - He remits their sins, and blesses them with contentment. (47:2)”.

We don’t follow Muhammad the person (peace upon him!), however, we follow the light that came down with him, i.e. the Quran; this is what the Quran itself says “…Those who believe in him, respect him, support him, and follow the light that came with him are the successful ones…”. [It should be observed], that the text could have read ‘Those who believe in him, respect him, support him, and follow him,’ however, one shouldn’t follow a human being, rather, divine revelation.

Muhammad (peace upon him!) was the first person to take a hold of the revelation and follow its guidance, and this is how The Almighty instructed him “Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord… (6:106)”, and “Follow what is revealed to you, and be patient… (10:109)”, and “Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord. God is fully Cognizant of everything you all do. (33:2)”, and “Once we recite it, you shall follow such a Quran. (75:18)”, and “We then appointed you to establish the correct laws; you shall follow this… (45:18)”. [Muhammad’s] lord also instructed him to proclaim that he follows the revelation “…I only follow what is revealed to me… (46:9)”, and “…Say, “I simply follow what is revealed to me from my Lord.”… (7:203)”.

If the prophet followed the revelation, then we should be the first people to follow the revelation after him. The Almighty says whilst addressing both us and the prophet “This scripture has been revealed to you - you shall not harbor doubt about it in your heart - that you may warn with it, and to provide a reminder for the believers. You shall all follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; do not follow any idols besides Him. Rarely do you take heed. (7:2-3)”.

These noble verses are at the beginning of the Chapter [entitled] The Purgatory. In this chapter, God Almighty prohibits the prophet from having doubt, or being ashamed about delivering the Quran and to warn with it. It also teaches us and serves as a reminder, “This scripture has been revealed to you - you shall not harbor doubt about it in your heart - that you may warn with it, and to provide a reminder for the believers.” Then came to the believers specific instructions to follow the Quran alone, “You shall all follow what is revealed to you from your Lord…”, [then there came] a clear prohibition from following other than the Quran, “…do not follow any idols besides Him…”. Thus, this matter is clear and is not open for debate; follow the Quran to the exclusion of everything else.

[This raises] the typical question [in many people], and that is ‘So what about following the prophet?’ The simple answer is ‘[In order to follow the prophet, one must] follow the Quran which the prophet himself followed.’ Or it is even to follow the messenger, i.e. the message, i.e. the Quran.

There is a hidden marvel in God’s prohibiting us thus: “…do not follow any idols besides Him…”, because using sources other than the Quran means that you have made them equal to God and His Book; this constitutes setting up idols along side God, despite the fact that God is enough as an ally for the believer, and the Quran is enough as a book.

God’s saying “…do not follow any idols besides Him. Rarely do you take heed.” establishes a solid fact about humans, which is that most humans follow conjecture and falsehood, “If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of God. They follow only conjecture; they only guess. (6:116)”.

But despite this numerical majority who follow conjecture and desire, they bear no weight in the face of the Quranic truth: “Proclaim: “The bad and the good are not the same, even if the abundance of the bad may impress you…” (5:100)”.

Furthermore, one of the worst human traits is that they rarely take heed “…except those who believe and work righteousness, and these are so few…(38:24)”.

 

 

2) Did the prophet have legislative [rights]?

 

The prophet neither had legislative [rights] nor did he know the unseen. The believer must believe that the prophets were the best people to bear the responsibility of the message, were this not the case, God wouldn’t have chosen them “…God knows exactly who is best qualified to deliver His message… (6:124)”. The responsibility of carrying the message boils down to delivery only, “The sole duty of the messenger is to deliver the message… (5:99)”.

The prophet’s limited role in merely delivering the message as it is without addition or deletion is emphasised in the fact that we ourselves can infer its meanings by pondering over the book; this is the people’s responsibility once the prophet delivered to them the message. The Quran proves this inference, God says “This is a scripture that we sent down to you, that is sacred - perhaps they reflect on its verses. Those who possess intelligence will take heed. (38:29)”. The verse could have read ‘This is a scripture that we sent down to you, that is sacred - perhaps you (Muhammad) reflect on its verses.’ However, reflection is the responsibility of the people, just as delivering [the message] is the responsibility of the messenger.

            The Quran confirms our responsibility to reflect over the book, The Almighty says in the form of a negative question, “Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than God, they would have found in it numerous contradictions. (4:82)”, and “Why do they not study the Quran carefully? Do they have locks on their minds? (47:24)”. And on the Day of Resurrection, their regret will be intense because they did not reflect over the Quran, so it will be said to them “Why do they not reflect upon this scripture?... (23:68)”.

            God Almighty has described the Quran as enlightenment for the people, that is, it is a call for them to reflect on it. And it made clear to them that the prophet has got nothing to do with them once he fulfills [his role as the] deliverer of the message, we know this from reading God’s saying “Enlightenments have come to you from your Lord. As for those who can see, they do so for their own good, and those who turn blind, do so to their own detriment. I am not your guardian. (6:104)”.

            The Almighty says to the prophet “…Say, “I simply follow what is revealed to me from my Lord.” These are enlightenments from your Lord, and guidance, and mercy for people who believe. When the Quran is recited, you shall listen to it and take heed, that you may attain mercy. (7:203-204)”. Thus, we must take heed to the Quran so that we may see, and reflect on its verses.

There is no doubt that the prophet (peace upon him!) was among the most diligent people. He used to hold back from rushing to give an answer whenever he was asked something concerning religious matters. The Quranic fact confirms that if the prophet was ever asked anything, he used to wait for the answer to come down in the revelation, God says “They ask you about” such-and-such, “Say” such-and-such.

The two words ‘They ask you’ and ‘they refer to you’ [always occur] with the word ‘say’ in the Quran. By this, we can be sure that the prophet was only required to deliver the message as it is. They used to refer to the prophet, but the prophet used to await [the response from] the revelation. Then the answer would come from the Lord of Might “They consult you concerning women: say, “God enlightens you [regarding them]… (4:127)”. He didn’t say to [the prophet] ‘They consult you concerning women. Say ‘I shall enlighten you’’. Rather, He says “…God enlightens you…” Also regarding inheritance, the people referred to the prophet about a person who had no children and left wealth, so he waited for the response from God Almighty, and He said “They consult you; say, “God advises you concerning the single person who has no children and has left wealth… (4:176)”, He didn’t say ‘I shall advise you’.

 

Studying the word “they ask you” in the Quran, we come to know of the following facts:

  1. The people used to ask the prophet about new things in legislation, but the prophet used to wait along with them for the new legislative ruling which came down in the Quran, an example of this is when they asked questions about the spoils of war “They consult you about the spoils of war… (8:1)”.
  2. They also used to ask the prophet about new clarifications concerning affairs which the Quran had already spoke of before. Now, the prophet could have given an answer by deduction and comparison, however, he didn’t (peace upon him!). God revealed the following verse in Mecca “Say, “My Lord prohibits only evil deeds, be they obvious or hidden, and sins, and unjustifiable aggression… (7:33)”. Thus, sins were prohibited in Mecca, thereafter, the prophet was questioned about the ruling of alcohol in Medina. And even though it was known to be sinful, the prophet didn’t conclude or clarify (even though he was the best person to do so). Rather, he waited for the reply from God Almighty “They ask you about intoxicants and gambling: say, “In them there is a gross sin, and some benefits for the people. But their sinfulness far outweighs their benefit.”… (2:219)”. And seeing that the consumption of alcohol is a big sin, it was given a general prohibition in Mecca, then it was given a specific prohibition in Medina.
  3. Indeed, the prophet was even asked about things which were already mentioned in the Quran, but yet still, the prophet didn’t just repeat the verses that had already been revealed, but he waited for a reply which would confirm what has already been revealed. For in Mecca, verses had already been revealed which encouraged benevolent treatment of orphans, e.g., “Therefore, you shall not forsake the orphan. (93:9)”, and “Do you know who really rejects the faith? That is the one who mistreats the orphans. (107:1)”, and “Wrong! It is you who brought it on yourselves by not regarding the orphan. (89:17)”, and “Feeding, during the time of hardship. Orphans who are related. (90:14-15)”, and “You shall not touch the orphans’ money except for their own good, until they reach maturity… (17:34 and 6:152)”. Thereafter, verses were revealed in Medina which confirmed good treatment of the orphan, e.g., “They donate their favorite food to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. (76:8)”, and “…and they give the money, cheerfully, to the relatives, the orphans, the needy… (2:177)”. In spite of this, they still questioned the prophet about orphans, but the prophet waited for the reply and didn’t just read to them the many verses encouraging the rights and good treatment of the orphan. So then God Almighty revealed “…And they ask you about the orphans: say, “Bringing them up as righteous persons is the best you can do for them. If you mix their property with yours, you shall treat them as family members.”… (2:220)”. This reply confirms what has already been revealed about caring for the orphan. The prophet was asked once again about the orphans of the women, then the revelation came down confirming what had already been made clear regarding looking after the orphans and their mothers, “They consult you concerning women: say, “God enlightens you regarding them, as recited for you in the scripture. You shall restore the rights of orphaned girls whom you cheat out of their due dowries when you wish to marry them: you shall not take advantage of them. The rights of orphaned boys must also be protected as well. You shall treat the orphans equitably… (4:127)”. This response points to what was already revealed in the scripture regarding the care of orphans and vulnerable children, verses which the people were already reading and reciting.
  4. Furthermore, there is a confirmed Quranic fact which the Quran repeats, which is that the prophet has no knowledge of the future, and doesn’t know when the Hour will occur, nor does he know what will happen to him or the people. Concerning this, read what God Almighty says: “Say, “I do not say to you that I possess the treasures of God. Nor do I know the future…” (6:50)”, and “Say, “I do not know if what is promised to you will happen soon, or if my Lord will delay it for awhile”. He is the Knower of the future; He does not reveal the future to anyone. Only to a messenger that He chooses… (72:25-27)”, and “If they turn away, then say, “I have warned you sufficiently, and I have no idea how soon or late (the retribution) will come to you. (21:109)”. And can there be anything clearer than what God Almighty says “Say, “I am not different from other messengers. I have no idea what will happen to me or to you. I only follow what is revealed to me. I am no more than a profound warner.” (46:9)”?

 

Despite all this, there are many other verses which confirm that knowledge of the Hour lies with God alone “With God is the knowledge regarding the Hour (end of the world). He is the One who sends down the rain, and He knows the contents of the womb. No soul knows what will happen to it tomorrow, and no one knows in which land he or she will die… (31:34)”, and “With Him is the knowledge about the Hour (end of the world)… (41:47)”, and “Most Exalted is the One who possesses all sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and everything between them. With Him is the knowledge about the Hour (end of the world), and to Him you will be returned. (43:85)”.

All of these are verses which confirm that the prophet had no knowledge of the future, and that the knowledge of the Hour lies with God alone. Only one verse was enough to make this clear, however, people asked the prophet many times about the Hour, but despite this, he never hastened to give an answer using the verses which had already been revealed. Rather, he waited for the revelation, and the revelation always used to come down with the same answer, which is that the knowledge of the Hour lies with God alone and that the prophet doesn’t know the future.

People asked the prophet about the Hour but he never hastened to give an answer even though he knew that the Quran would not give an answer which contradicts previous revelations, and that the answer will be the same as what has already been confirmed and oft-repeated. The prophet waited for the answer, then God Almighty revealed: “They ask you about the end of the world (the Hour), and when it will come to pass. Say, “The knowledge thereof is with my Lord. Only He reveals its time. Heavy it is, in the heavens and the earth. It will not come to you except suddenly.” They ask you as if you are in control thereof. Say, “The knowledge thereof is with God,” but most people do not know. Say, “I have no power to benefit myself, or harm myself. Only what God wills happens to me. If I knew the future, I would have increased my wealth, and no harm would have afflicted me… (7:187-188)”. This is more than enough clarification.

            However, they questioned him further about the Hour but the prophet still waited for an answer, then God replied and revealed “They ask you about the Hour, and when it will take place! It is not you (Muhammad) who is destined to announce its time. Your Lord decides its fate. Your mission is to warn those who expect it. (79:42-45)”. Note that God says to the prophet “It is not you (Muhammad) who is destined to announce its time.” The knowledge of the Hour was restricted to God “Your Lord decides its fate.” Similarly, the prophet’s role was restricted to giving a warning “Your mission is to warn those who expect it”.

            All this happened in Mecca, but once in Medina, the people asked the prophet about the Hour, but yet still, the prophet waited for an answer from God: “The people ask you about the Hour (end of the world). Say, “The knowledge thereof is only with God. For all that you know, the Hour may be close.” (33:63)”.

The prophet could well have replied, for he had many verses to refer to, but he used to wait for the answer, because the revelation used to come down with the known answer in advance. Then, the people would ask the prophet the same question but the prophet would wait for the answer. Then, the same answer would be revealed, but then, other people would ask him the same question. But he would still wait for the answer – which he already knew – until the revelation came to him, and so it went. And had the prophet the right to figure out the answer for himself, he would have responded to those questions with the first answer that was revealed to him.

Even though these Quranic facts haven’t been revealed in futility (God be exalted from futility!), and notwithstanding all the authentications which have been repeated and confirmed that the prophet didn’t know the future, or that he didn’t know anything about the Hour, or its time, or its events; despite all this, people ascribed to the prophet after his death tens of hadith about the signs of the Hour and its events, and about intercession, and about the conditions of the inhabitants of paradise and the inhabitants of hell. These hadith which have filled the ‘Sahih’ books, only serve to strengthen the wonder of the Quran, because we can now understand why the Quran corroborated those facts many times in advance; to establish those facts in advance.

These erroneous hadith are a test to us before God Almighty; we can either believe the Quran and reject hadith, or we can believe hadith and reject God and His Quran. There is no middle path, there is no third alternative. We ask God for guidance and security!

Let us now return to the issue of legislation. The people used to ask the prophet about things to which he was able to give the answers outside the Quran, but despite this, the prophet didn’t rush to give the answer based on his own opinion, or based on his knowledge; he always waited for the Quranic revelation. The people had asked the prophet about the phases of the moon, and it was common knowledge that the phases of the moon were used to know the date. The Arabs were used to using the lunar months so that they could figure out the time of the month, this was common practice in the Arabian Peninsula. They used to practice hajj according to the phase of the moon, they did this before the revelation of the Quran and even in the prophet’s time (peace upon him!). Thus, when the prophet was questioned about the phases of the moon, he could have given them an answer based on his own opinion, however, he waited for the revelation: “They ask you about the phases of the moon! Say, “They provide a timing device for the people, and determine the time of Hajj.”… (2:189)”. They also asked the prophet about intercourse while women are menstruating, and we can all agree that the prophet, with his good taste and graceful sensitivity, would have known that menstruation is a bother to women, and he would have known that it is best to abstain from intercourse during this time. Despite this, the prophet didn’t give his own opinion, but waited for the revelation, until God Almighty said “They ask you about menstruation: say, “It is harmful; you shall avoid sexual intercourse with the women during menstruation; do not approach them until they are rid of it”… (2:222)”.

In one incident, a woman came to the prophet asking about the legitimacy of zihaar[17], after her husband claimed her to be like his mother, i.e., he swore not to have sexual relations with her because she was like his mother. But the prophet never had any answer for her, so he waited, as usual, for the revelation. However, the woman couldn’t bear to wait, so she argued with the prophet, but that’s expected for someone in her position. But when she didn’t get an answer from the prophet, she looked to the sky and complained to God Almighty about her situation. Then, the Quran came down clarifying that situation, legislating the affair “God has heard the woman who debated with you about her husband, and complained to God. God heard everything the two of you discussed. God is Hearer, Seer. (58:1)”.

The true legislator is God Himself. As for the messenger, then he is the one who delivers the revelation as he received it. If the prophet had the right to legislate, then there would have been two sources in the religion. In which case, that second source would have been worthy of God’s protection just as He protected the first source. But that was never the case. And since the very beginning, the prophet’s sole responsibility was to deliver the message, and legislation was not one of his responsibilities.

            Furthermore, so long as the revelation was still being revealed, and so long as the legislative laws hadn’t yet been completed, then there could not be any scope for legislative deduction, or interpretation. And once the revelation and religion had been completed, then so too ended the prophet’s role after he gave the trust and delivered the message.

            Had the prophet legislated and defined the religion based on his opinion, that would have constituted another source alongside the Quran. Even if that happened, the companions (sahaaba), the followers (tabi’een), and the imams wouldn’t have had the scope to contrive laws after the prophet had done so, nor would they have the right to ‘explain’ the Quran after the prophet had done so. But what really happened is that the companions, their followers, and the imams legislated, and they ‘explained’ the Quran. Thereafter, people came who ascribed some of these laws to the prophet, not only to ensure their proliferation, but also to make the prophet holy. But they couldn’t understand that what they were doing contradicts the Quran. And thus began what is now known as the ‘other’ sources alongside the Book of God.

 

The prophets deduction was in application, not in legislation.

 

The prophet couldn’t come up with new laws. However, he had to figure out how best to obey God, and how to apply His laws, and execute His commands. And even in these things, the prophet was ordered to consult the believers about the affairs.  Would the way he applied the laws be suitable for the believers who came after him? The way he chose to apply the legislative texts is subject to his limits as a human, as well as being subject to the condition of his time and locality, and those people around him. [All these factors] are definitely different to our conditions, therefore, the way he chose to apply the laws in his time and for his time, is not applicable to us or to anyone who came after him.

Example, God says “You shall prepare for them all the power you can muster, and all the equipment you can mobilize… (8:60)”. The way that the prophet went about applying this verse in bearing arms and militarisation to comply with this verse, is restricted to the conditions of his time. So should we practice what he did in our times? Or should we do that which is most suitable for our times?

 

Deducing the meaning of the Quran is a religious duty; it’s called reflection.

 

            If we were to reflect on the Quran using systematic principles in our search for guidance without any preconceived whims, we would succeed. And any resulting inferences should be ascribed to us and not to the religion of God Almighty. And if we erred in our inference then that error should be attributed to us, and in which case, the religion has nothing to do with that error. We are all humans who are capable of committing error, which is why it was important for God’s religion to be separate and protected from human error, and so that God’s religion may remain high above human whims. God has promised to protect His religion until the coming of the Hour, so that it may serve as proof against their erroneous inference, and their lies about God and His messenger.

            Seeing that the Quran is protected with God’s power, they couldn’t corrupt its words or its text. So they lied about God and His messenger through their exegeses and hadith. Imagine if God hadn’t protected His Quran from their desires. In that case, the imams’ custodianship thereof would have erased every verse from the Quran which negates the prophet’s perfection, his knowledge of the future, and his power of intercession[18]. And they would have also erased many other verses which establish the upright Islamic principles based on the utmost freedom of belief, freedom of thought, the right of total justice, and the necessity of consultation in the form of direct representation, i.e. democracy; these are all forgotten, nonexistent, Quranic facts which we have tried to make clear, but the imams/sheiks rise against us even though all our evidence is from the Quran. Indeed, if they were able, they would publicly proclaim their disbelief in it. But they can’t, so instead they can only persecute me, curse me, and insult me that they may cover up their weakness of ignorance, and their hatred towards what God Almighty has revealed. Such is the Quran, which God Almighty has brought down for us as a pure, clear and protected religion, with His power, up until God’s proof will be established on the Day of Resurrection.

 

–        The limits of people’s legislative deduction in the Quran.

 

The word ‘ijtihaad[19] in its technical meaning, is an invention of the Abbasids. And we are forced to use it because of its prevalence. The equivalent Quranic term would be ‘tadabbur’, which means that a reader should read and reflect on a verse until he understands the intended meaning. That is because the Quran is a multiple-meaning book in which are similarites and repetitions of meaning, as well as elucidations thereof. Its verses shed light on eachother, and they do not contradict one another. This fact is pointed out alongside the instruction to reflect on the Quran, God says “Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than God, they would have found in it numerous contradictions. (4:82)”.

      Reflection is a mental activity which the reader of the Quran performs encouraged by its verses which promote thinking, reasoning, opening one’s eyes, knowledge, and understanding. The Quran uses some derivatives of the word ‘ijtihaad’ based on the same roots, e.g. “Those who criticize the generous believers for giving too much, and ridicule the poor believers for giving too little… (9:79)”. [The derivative word used here] refers to one’s financial capacity, also the Almighty says “They swear by God, solemnly… (24:53)”. This Quranic usage gives a more precise, and more graceful meaning to the word ‘ijtihaad’, even more so than its meaning invented in the Abbasid era.[20]

      The question remains, where do the limits lie in deducing conclusions from God’s legislation? When is this allowed, and when is it disallowed? God Almighty says “They follow idols who decree for them religious laws never authorized by God… (42:21)”. And despite the emphatic attack by this verse on legislating what God doesn’t permit, the verse establishes the existence of permissible legislation for it is other than that which God didn’t permit. Unfortunately, some of them don’t know the limits of deduction so they deduce things which are not permissible, or they even stopped thinking where thought was required. They themselves say that ‘there is no ijtihaad if [the subject is mentioned in the] text.’ However, the Quranic text – like any legislative text – requires ijtihaad/interpretation/deduction on how that text is implemented in reality. But they added texts which are attributed to the prophet, then they made them – along with other texts – additional sources in Islam alongside the Quran. These texts have become hindrances for the real and correct ijtihaad/deduction; these texts have no basis, and they make them holy, even though they contradict the Quran. Let us give an example of this:

      God Almighty names in the Quranic text all the people who cannot marry eachother “Do not marry the women who were previously married to your fathers - existing marriages are exempted and shall not be broken - for it is a gross offense, and an abominable act. Prohibited for you (in marriage) are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, the sisters of your fathers, the sisters of your mothers, the daughters of your brother, the daughters of your sister, your nursing mothers, the girls who nursed from the same woman as you, the mothers of your wives, the daughters of your wives with whom you have consummated the marriage - if the marriage has not been consummated, you may marry the daughter. Also prohibited for you are the women who were married to your genetic sons. Also, you shall not be married to two sisters at the same time - but do not break up existing marriages. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful. Also prohibited are the women who are already married, unless they flee their disbelieving husbands who are at war with you. These are God’s commandments to you. All other categories are permitted for you in marriage, so long as you pay them their due dowries. You shall maintain your morality, by not committing adultery… (4:22-24)”.

      Thus, the prohibited categories in the Quranic text are as follows;

1.      the mother

2.      the daughter

3.      the sister

4.      the aunt (father’s sister)

5.      the aunt (mother’s sister)

6.      the brother’s daughter

7.      the sister’s daughter

8.      the suckling ‘mother’, or, nurse

9.      the suckling mother’s daughter

10. the wife’s mother

11. the daughter of the wife with whom the marriage has been consummated

12. the wife of the biological son

13. to be married to two sisters at any one time

14. the woman who is married to someone else, only if the contract is dissolved

15. the father’s wife

Thus, we have fifteen prohibited categories in marriage.

            The Quran was careful to make clear the details, exceptions, and precautions so we can have the complete picture. Some of the above mentioned prohibited categories were temporarily made exceptionally lawful because the marriages had already taken place before the revelation of the verse. However, those were the only exceptions and any other case was prohibited. Regarding marrying the father’s widow or his divorcee, the Almighty says “Do not marry the women who were previously married to your fathers - existing marriages are exempted and shall not be broken…” Also, regarding marrying two sisters at once, the Almighty says “…Also, you shall not be married to two sisters at the same time - but do not break up existing marriages…”, these exceptions were made clear even though there were only a few specific cases at the time of the revelation of the Quran. However, the Quran included those few cases and clarified them because the Quran is that book which clarifies everything and was revealed to detail everything.

            The Quran even]makes clear the prohibition of the wife’s daughter: “…the daughters of your wives with whom you have consummated the marriage - if the marriage has not been consummated, you may marry the daughter…”

            The Quran also makes clear the prohibition of the son’s wife “…Also prohibited for you are the women who were married to your genetic sons…” That is, he must be the biological son of the man and not merely adopted. Which is why God Almighty ordered Zayd bin Haritha (who was the prophet’s adopted son) to divorce his wife Zaynab bint Jahsh so that the prophet could marry her after the divorce.

            The Quran also made clear the prohibition of marrying a woman who is already married, only if she was to lose her freedom and become a slave, in which case, the contract of marriage would be dissolved after having completed her post-marriage interim, then she can get married, “…Also prohibited are the women who are already married, unless they flee their disbelieving husbands who are at war with you…”

            Once the Quran had enumerated all the prohibited categories and gave a detailed discussion, God said “…These are God’s commandments to you…”, that is, these categories of marriage are prohibited thus should be observed, this is a sweeping yet detailed instruction[21]. Thereafter, God says “…All other categories are permitted for you in marriage…”, that is, all other categories not mentioned in those three verses are permissible for lawful marriage and have not been prohibited under any circumstances.

            Thus the Quran has enumerated the prohibited categories of marriage in a whole, legislative, and preventative enclosure. And whatever lies beyond that enclosure, is lawful in marriage.

            To be more precise, we cannot, in this case, derive further legislation from these verses only in implementing the text as it is. This is so especially seeing that it is a whole, legislative, and preventative text to which nothing can be added, nor can anything be taken away from it, lest we transgress God’s law. 

However, the scholars have used analogy to prohibit a man from marrying a woman and her aunty at the same time based on God’s prohibition of marrying two sisters at once. They also prohibited marrying the sister of one’s suckling mother, or nurse, they did this by analogy based on God’s prohibition of marrying the suckling mother, or nurse, or her daughter. They then drew up hadith on this subject (which more than anything resemble the texts of their jurisprudence and scholars’ rulings), and they invented the following principle: “the immediate female relatives of the suckling mother, or nurse, are prohibited just as if they were one’s own blood relatives.[22] They also added: “a man cannot marry a woman and her aunty at the same time.” – here lies the contradiction with the book of God.

If a man wanted to marry his wife’s aunty then the Quran has allowed that because his wife’s aunty doesn’t fall under any of the prohibited categories in the Quranic text, rather, she falls under the lawful category[23] in accordance with what God said “…All other categories are permitted for you in marriage…”, however, the books of jurisprudence make this Quranic permissibility unlawful.

If a man wanted to marry the sister of the woman who suckled him, then the Quran has made that lawful, but their jurisprudence has made it unlawful. This clearly means that they make unlawful what God has made lawful and they ascribe such prohibitions to the messenger, but the messenger is innocent from that (peace upon him!).

            All women are lawful in marriage except those who have been specifically mentioned and explicitly defined in the text. But this whole, and preventative definition wasn’t enough for them, so they added other prohibited categories thereby transgressing the limits of what God had said: “…All other categories are permitted for you in marriage…” Further to this, they say to us that “there can be no ijtihaad if there exists a text [in the Quran about the subject in question],” and they fabricated texts which they pass off as being holy even though these texts contradict the Quran, and they prevent us from questioning these texts.

            This is merely one example of prohibited ijtihaad which the first generations committed and which they passed off as being holy. And there are other examples of this type of prohibited ijtihaad which transgress the bounds of the whole and preventative Quranic texts; going into detail on this subject lies beyond the scope of this book.

            The scholars should have turned their attention to those areas in which ijtihaad is permissible. We note that the legislative verses of the Quran are limited in scope and number, for they are less than two hundred verses and make up approximately one thirtieth of the Noble Quran, despite this, the Lord of Might saw these verses as enough. With those verses, the religion was rendered complete, and the blessing of Islam was completed with the completion of the Quran, “…Today, I have completed your religion, perfected My blessing upon you, and I have decreed Islam[24] as the religion for you… (5:3)”. Having read this verse, it cannot be possible to say that the books of jurisprudence and hadith rectify a deficiency found in the Quran; God the Mighty, the Wise, is too great to bring down a deficient book which requires humans to complete it. The Quranic legislative verses are limited in number and scope, this means that Quranic legislation has left a wide, open margin for human movement in the way of development and deductions in accordance with the changing times. But this must be in the general Quranic legislative framework which aims to achieve justice, equal rights, equivalence, and it should aim to make things easy, as well as protecting rights, and life. Quranic legislation has come in whole and preventative texts governing certain issues like marriage, diet, and with specific quorums for inheritance. It is required of us to deduce how best to implement these texts in the best way; we are not required to oppose it either by adding to it, or distorting it.

            Moreover, Quranic legislation expects people’s customs and common knowledge to implement its detailed laws, and to formulate from those customs and from common knowledge Islamic rules in a noble, humane, and upright Islamic framework which are well-known in every time and place being derived from justice, freedom, peace, generosity, easiness, compassion, gentleness, and tolerance.

            It is possible to implement these upright Islamic principles in society amicably, according to sound customs and its suitability for the age in which the people are living – only insofar as the Quran permits such human codification. Under this category of codification would fall everything else like civil laws, traffic regulation, import and export, immigration, and so on. Every human law in which can be found Islamic principles is indeed Islamic legislation which God Almighty has permitted. So too can the details of Quranic legislation be applied according to customs and common practices in every age. This is so that the Noble Quran gives scope for social and human progress, and so that Quranic legislation remains above the time and place; so, for example, something that was appropriate in the Abbasid era wouldn’t be appropriate for ours.

            Example, the Almighty says “Divorced mothers shall nurse their infants two full years, if the father so wishes. The father shall provide the mother’s food and clothing equitably… (2:233)”. The Quran didn’t set an amount of money in Dirhams or Dinars, rather, it used the word “provision”, thus including in its scope both monetary and social factors. The Quran expects people to implement its laws according to their practices which should give human life a high value and to apply those laws with upstanding customs using money and other means of livelihood. And an appropriate amount for the condition of the nursing mother and her situation and the situation of society. Thus, people should establish laws that suit their times in the framework of those customs which the Quran points out in its detailed legislation: this is the real ijtihaad in serving the Quranic text.

            It is noted that in the discussion of marriage and personal affairs, the Quran frequently expects people to implement its law according to their known practices, that is because marriage is one of the oldest human institutions which people have known through their custom. And it still is a blessed way of life in God’s religion. When the Quran came down, Muhammad the messenger of God had already got married legitimately according to pre-Islamic Arab custom. Before Islam, the Arabs were not completely void of any righteous practices. Thus, the Noble Quran didn’t mention anything to us about the method of the marriage contract. However, many verses were revealed correcting some common mistakes relating to marriage, the relationship between the couple, divorce, and the post-divorce interim.

            Detailing the places where the Quran expects us to implement its laws according to common practices "" href="#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25">[25], there are opportunities (which the Quran has defined) for the literal implementation [of its laws] without the slightest change or substitution, e.g., the prohibited categories of marriage, not prohibiting any foods that have been made lawful, and the specified quorums in inheritance.

            Moreover, there is the possibility of people implementing their laws according to their customs and practices in regard to social authority and how a Muslim should behave in light of his righteousness and his fear of God – the Quran has allowed all this – e.g., attestation, and charity.

            Also, there is the issue of the method of consultation which isn’t found in the Quran; but the Quranic legislative text is limited in scope and quantity which gives much space for social evolution in realising justice, equality, and ease of living. This gives Quranic legislation relevance and applicability in every time and every place. There is also the issue of consultation in regard to the best way of implementing the text or codifying common practices. Any [body of] legislative laws which a society reaches through consultation whilst abiding by the spirit of the Quran with the aim of realising equality and justice, and preventing injustice, is indeed Islamic legislation which God Almighty permits.

            The purpose of sending messengers and revealing books, was to let people establish justice, God says about this “We sent our messengers supported by clear proofs, and we sent down to them the scripture and the law, that the people may uphold justice… (57:25)”. (God the Great spoke truth!)

 

-          The Sunna[26] of the prophet was the Quran alone.

 

The Sunna does indeed constitute legislation, and it is the system, or method, or way of doing things. With these two meanings, the word sunna in the Quran is attributed to God, and to His legislation, and to His way in dealing with humans, whether they be polytheists or believers.

The sunna, or custom of the polytheists was to be arrogant with truth and to scheme against the believers, and God’s custom with them, or His sunna, was to strike them with their own evil schemes, “They resorted to arrogance on earth, and evil scheming, and the evil schemes only backfire on those who scheme them. Should they then expect anything but the fate of those who did the same things in the past? You will find that God’s system[27] is never changeable; you will find that God’s system is immutable. (35:43)”.

            The polytheists used to force the believers to emigrate, this is why it was God’s habit to destroy them or punish them, He says “They almost banished you from the land to get rid of you, so they could revert as soon as you left. This has been consistently the case with all the messengers that we sent before you, and you will find that our system never changes. (17:76)”.

            It was God’s habit, or His practice, or His sunna, to defeat the polytheists before the believers if the believers were true to their faith, “If the disbelievers ever fought you, they would turn around and flee. They have no Lord and Master; they have no helper. Such is God’s sunna[28] throughout history, and you will find that God’s sunna[29] is unchangeable. (48:22-23)”.

            The hypocrites had conspired in Medina against the prophet and the Muslims, and God had threatened them that He would treat them like He treats the polytheists, “Unless the hypocrites, and those with disease in their hearts, and the vicious liars of the city refrain (from persecuting you), we will surely grant you the upper hand, then they will be forced to leave within a short while. They have incurred condemnation wherever they go; (unless they stop attacking you,) they may be taken and killed. This is God’s eternal sunna[30], and you will find that God’s sunna[31] is unchangeable. (33:60-62)”.

            This is the sunna, which means system, or method, or way of doing things; it is used in reference to God and in reference to the way He deals with the polytheists.

            Sunna can also mean legislation. The Arabs derive a verb from this noun and use this verb with “law” as the verbal object, e.g. ‘to legislate a ruling.’ The following verse uses this meaning “The prophet is not committing an error by doing anything that is made lawful by God. Such is God’s sunna[32]since the early generations. God’s command is a sacred duty. (33:38)”. In this verse, we find “God’s sunna[33]” is synonymous with the two words “made lawful” and “God’s command” which God has made a sacred duty. Thus, the sunna of God – with the meaning of legislation – is a compulsory divine command which must be executed.

            Let us not forget the other meaning of sunna which is ‘a way of doing things’ or ‘system,’ and the Quran describes God’s sunna as irrevocable.

            The prophet was obliged to carry out God’s sunna, i.e. His laws and commands, even if he felt embarrassed to do so. The following verse was revealed in relation to Zayd bin Haritha, and in relation to his marriage and divorce from his wife “The prophet is not committing an error by doing anything that is made lawful by God. Such is God’s sunna[34]since the early generations. God’s command is a sacred duty. (33:38)”. This verse was revealed because the prophet was embarrassed to carry out God’s sunna, i.e. His command, or His law. We understand from this verse that the sunna is God’s law, and the prophet was the first to carry out this sunna, thus we see the prophet as an example in obeying God’s sunna, i.e. His laws, or commands. Every believer must know that there isn’t a difference between that which is a sunna and that which is obligatory, because they are both God’s law which must be executed. So, prayer, charity, and the pilgrimage (for the capable) are all the sunnas of God, and are compulsory.

            What we have inherited from the prophet in regard to the method of salat, the traditionalist scholars have labeled it “the practical sunna.” They stress that it is necessary and obligatory, and that it is absolutely immutable; this is a sound opinion. However, they erred when they attributed to the messenger oral traditions which they called the ‘oral sunna.’ The only oral sunna of the messenger is the Quran, that which is found therein, and the many quotes following the command “Say...” They also erred when they contradicted themselves by saying that there’s a difference between that which is a sunna, and that which is obligatory. They made some things obligatory, like the five prayers, and they made the Sunna superfluous to the main obligatory prayers. However, we have come to know, as outlined above, that the sunna is obligatory and there is no difference between it and between the Quran. Nor is there a difference between these two words in the spoken language, e.g. ‘to legislate a ruling.’[35]

            After this clarification, they continue to question, “Doesn’t the prophet have a Sunna?” But then the questioner should read the discussion above entitled “The Sunna of the prophet was the Quran alone.” But in bewilderment they then question, “Didn’t the prophet have a Sunna outside the Quran?” The answer to this is in the Quran, God says “The messenger of God has set up a good example for those among you who seek God and the Last Day, and constantly think about God. (33:21)”. God Almighty didn’t say “The messenger of God has set up a good sunna…,” rather, He said “a good example.”

            Therefore, the sunna belongs to God, because it consists of His laws and commands. As for seeing the messenger as a prime example, then that concerns the way in which he implemented God’s sunna and His commands.

            It would be useful if we better our understanding of the above verse (33:21), and the context in which it was used. The verse was revealed commentating on the Battle of the Parties in the 33rd chapter titled “The Parties.” The people of Medina – when they were under siege – were split into two factions: the first of which were the hypocrites and their ilk who failed to stand firm “The hypocrites and those with doubts in their hearts said, “What God and His messenger promised us was no more than an illusion!” (33:12)”. The second of which were the believers who stood fast and persevered “When the true believers saw the parties (ready to attack), they said, “This is what God and His messenger have promised us, and God and His messenger are truthful.” This (dangerous situation) only strengthened their faith and augmented their submission. (33:22)”. The messenger of God was an example to them in the way of bravery and perseverance, thus God Almighty describes his stand like this: “The messenger of God has set up a good example…” There were some believers who sought to be brave like the prophet more so than others, regarding these the Lord says “Among the believers there are people who fulfill their pledges with God. Some of them died, while others stand ready, never wavering. (33:23)”.

            In light of the above, seeing the messenger as a prime example in the above verse (33:21), is restricted to the context of a certain event and a specific situation. This is further strengthened by God Almighty instructing the messenger Muhammad and the believers to follow the lead of Abraham and those who were with him when they disowned their own people “A good example has been set for you by Abraham and those with him. They said to their people, “We disown you and the idols that you worship besides God… (60:4)”, and “A good example has been set by them for those who seek God and the Last Day… (60:6)”. God Almighty specifies the stand that those believers made whose lead we must follow, He specifies their stand thus: “They said to their people…”, He did not, however, ask of us to follow them absolutely, in every respect.

            To see someone as an example and to imitate them, would be to follow them. However, taking someone as an example and imitating them shouldn’t be absolute except in following the Book of God. Just as God Almighty instructed us to imitate the prophet in a specific situation, then so too did He instruct the prophet himself to imitate the guidance of the previous prophets “These are the ones guided by God; you shall be guided in their footsteps… (6:90)”. Note that the Almighty didn’t say “you shall be guided by them,” rather, he said “…you shall be guided in their footsteps…” Nor did He instruct the final prophet to imitate or follow Abraham, rather, He instructed him to follow the religion of Abraham[36]: “Then we inspired you (Muhammad) to follow the religion of Abraham, the monotheist; he never was an idol worshiper. (16:123)”.

            To seek leadership would be to seek it in God’s law, and in the sunna of His messenger; this is what the prophet himself did. The prophets were leaders from whom we should seek leadership in the situations that they found themselves, and about which God spoke in the Quran; He alone knows best about them and about their private lives.

            The sunna of the messenger is the Quran, God’s law.

We ask God Almighty that we should live and die by the messenger’s sunna!

 

-          “Take what the messenger gives you, and abstain from that which he bans you, and fear God.”

 

Some people misinterpret this verse, knowingly, to suit themselves so that they can change its meaning and take it out of its context. They then use this as evidence of the legality, or applicability of other sources which they have added to the Quran. In order that we may understand the true meaning of God’s saying “Take what the messenger gives you…”, we must read the verse from the beginning, it will then be seen that the verse is actually talking about spoils, i.e., spoils which are restored to the public treasury without war or combat, God says “Whatever God restored to His messenger from the (defeated) communities shall go to God and His messenger (in the form of a charity). You shall give it to the relatives, the orphans, the poor, and the traveling alien. Thus, it will not remain monopolized by the strong among you. You may keep the spoils given to you by the messenger, but do not take what he enjoins you from taking. You shall reverence God. God is strict in enforcing retribution. (You shall give) to the needy who immigrated. They were evicted from their homes and deprived of their properties, because they sought God’s grace and pleasure… (59:7-8)”.

            Thus, the verse is speaking about spoils and how they should be distributed to the poor and the needy with the exception of the rich. The verse is essentially saying to the believers “Take whatever the messenger gives you of the spoils, and whatever he prohibits you from that which isn’t yours, abstain from it.” The following verse then makes clear the rights of the immigrants and the poor with regard to the spoils by virtue of their having left their homes and properties.

            Despite being well-off, it was an evil habit of the hypocrites to be satisfied with Islam as long as that suited their financial interests. God even prohibited the prophet from being intrigued by their wealth and children (9:55 and 9:80). And even though they were well-off, they used to vie with the poor for the acquisition of charity and state welfare, God Almighty said of them “Some of them criticize your distribution of the charities; if they are given therefrom, they become satisfied, but if they are not given therefrom, they become objectors. They should be satisfied with what God and His messenger have given them. They should have said, “God suffices us. God will provide for us from His bounties, and so will His messenger. We are seeking only God.” Charities shall go to the poor, the needy, the workers who collect them, the new converts, to free the slaves, to those burdened by sudden expenses, in the cause of God, and to the traveling alien. Such is God’s commandment. God is Omniscient, Most Wise. (9:58-60)”.

            Thus, these verses of the chapter entitled Repentance (chapter 9), indicate the intended meaning of God’s saying “…take what the messenger gives you…” Thus, the believer should be content with what the messenger gives him: “…They should have said, “God suffices us. God will provide for us from His bounties, and so will His messenger… (9:59)”. Whereas the hypocrite would have been greedy and desired that to which he has no right, and he would have persisted with his greed.

            God has already made clear those who deserve the spoils in Chapter 59: “Whatever God restored to His messenger from the (defeated) communities shall go to God and His messenger (in the form of a charity). You shall give it to the relatives, the orphans, the poor, and the traveling alien. Thus, it will not remain monopolized by the strong among you. You may keep the spoils given to you by the messenger, but do not take what he enjoins you from taking… (59:7)”.

            He even defined the groups who deserve charity in Chapter 9: “Charities shall go to the poor, the needy… (9:60)”.

            In both of the above subjects, the discussion was about what the messenger gives to the believers, and that they should take what he gives them and be content with it, and that they should not take what he prohibits them. Let us now remind ourselves, that the messenger (peace upon him!) only used to judge among the people with the Quran, this includes the distribution of spoils and charities according to what has been revealed in the Wise Book.

            It could be said in opposition to the above that there need not be a specific incident to which a verse relates, i.e. a verse can be taken out of its context and read in an absolute manner. Therefore, even if the verse was speaking about spoils, when God said “…take what the messenger gives you and abstain from that which he prohibits you…”, it would now be seen as a general instruction to take whatever the messenger gives us, and to abstain from that which he prohibits us.

            One can easily reply to this objection by simply understanding the meaning of the word messenger in the Quran, and that one must obey him because he instructs us using the Quran. The messenger, as shown above, is either 1. the prophet of God when he speaks with the Quran, or 2. the Quran itself after the prophet’s death. Thus, the messenger has come to us with the Quran and we must hold fast to it, God Almighty says “We have revealed the scripture through you for the people, truthfully… (39:41)”, so this is the book that has come down to the messenger for us, and this book is what the messenger has given us, and we must take it and hold fast to it. As to that which the messenger has prohibited us, “…and abstain from that which he prohibits you…”, then this refers to writing religious texts other than the Quran, and to erase anything written down about the religion outside the Quran.

            Ahmed, Muslim, al-Darami, al-Tirmidhi and al-Nisa’i[37] all narrated via Abu Saeed al-Khudri that the messenger said “Do not write anything about me except the Quran, whoever has written anything about me other than the Quran, then let him erase it.” Al-Darami (who was the teacher of al-Bukhari) reported via Abu Saeed      al-Khudri that some people “Asked the prophet permission to write things down about him, but he didn’t give them permission.” Al-Tirmidhi reports via Abu Saeed al-Khudri that some people said the following: “We asked permission of the prophet to write things down, but he didn’t give us permission.”

            Muslim and Ahmed both narrate that Zayd bin Thabit (a famous transcriber of the Quran) entered upon Mu’awiyah, then he asked Zayd about a hadith and ordered someone to write it down, then Zayd said to him that “the messenger of God ordered us not to write anything of his speech,” so Mu’awiyah erased it.

Researchers[38] [in the field] of oral traditions, gave preponderance to hadith which prohibited writing down hadith, especially seeing that it doesn’t make sense that the prophet would prohibit something then, conversely, instruct that it be done. Moreover, and this is most important, when the prophet died, he didn’t leave for his friends any compiled book except the noble Quran.

            Some have tried to reconcile these two opposing viewpoints by insisting that the prophet prohibited writing down any of his speech because it was his intention that the hadith didn’t get mixed up with the Quran.

            This is a claim which breaks down before the Quran’s miraculous linguistic style which far surpasses the speech of man, and with which God Almighty challenged the Arabs to produce a single chapter like it. Such is the Quran which the Arabs could never match, so how could any one of them fear that it would get mixed up with something else?

            What is certain is this: the messenger of God never left anything behind him except the Quran.

            Bukhari himself admits in his books of hadith that the prophet never left any compiled book except the Quran, Ibn Rafi’ narrates: “Shaddad ibn Mu’qal and I entered upon Bin Abbas, then Shaddad ibn Mu’qal said to him “Did the prophet leave anything?” Bin Abbas replied “He didn’t leave anything except that which is between the two covers,” meaning the Quran.” He also narrates: “We entered upon Muhammad ibn al-Hanifa, then we asked him “Did the prophet leave anything?”, he replied “He didn’t leave anything except that which is between the two covers.””[39]

            He also confirms that the prophet forbade writing anything other than the Quran, and that the Caliphs who came after him followed in his footsteps and they also forbade writing the hadith or narrating them.

            Abu Bakr The Veracious[40] gathered the people after the prophet’s death and said “You speak about the prophet sayings in which you differ, and those to come after you will differ even more, so don’t speak anything about the messenger of God. So whoever asks you about him, then say “Between us and yourselves lies the book of God, so legalise what it has made lawful, and prohibit what it has prohibited.” Al-Dhahabi narrates this in his book The Reminder of the Protectors. Also, Bin Abdul Barr al-Bayhaqi narrates that Umar The Criterion[41] said “I had wanted to write down the sunna, but then I remembered a people who came before you who wrote similar books, they then rushed to those books and abandoned the book of God. And by God, I will never tamper the book of God with anything.” Another version of the narration says “I will never mix up the book of God with anything.” Furthermore, Bin Asakir narrates the following, he said “Umar ibn al-Khattab didn’t die until he sent for the friends of the messenger of God, he then gathered them from the furthest places and said “What are these hadith that you have spread about the messenger of God in the furthest of places? You shall stay with me here; nay, by God, you shall not leave me so long as I am alive.” So they didn’t leave him until he died.”

            Al-Dhahabi narrates in The Reminder of the Protectors that Umar ibn           al-Khattab apprehended Abu Mas’ud, Abu al-Darda’, and Abu Mas’ud al-Ansari, he then said “You have proliferated the hadith about the messenger of God.” Umar had detained them in Medina, then Uthman let them go.

            Bin Asakir narrated that Umar said to Abu Huraira: “You shall forsake the hadith about the messenger of God or I will come after you to Doos (Abu Huraira’s homeland).” Umar also said to Ka’b al-Ahbar: “You shall leave the hadith which was transmitted to you from the first one (i.e. Abu Huraira) or I will chase you to the Land of Monkeys.” Uthman ibn Affan dealt with these two in the same way.

            After the death of Umar, Abu Huraira began to proliferate the hadith further, for he now had no-one to fear. Abu Huraira used to say “I narrate to you hadith, which, if I were to have narrated them at the time of Umar, he would have hit me with a stick .” And in Lashj’s narration he said “…he would have hit my head with a stick…” Moreover, al-Zahari narrates that Abu Huraira used to say “We weren’t able to stay ‘The messenger of God said…’ without having Umar apprehend us.” He continues “So did you expect me to narrate these hadith to you while Umar was alive? By God, had I done so, I would have been certain that sticks would strike my back, that is because Umar used to say “Make yourselves busy with the Quran, because the Quran is the word of God.””

            Rashid Ridha in the Lighthouse comments on the above “Had Umar’s life been longer than Abu Huraira’s, those many hadith would not have reached us.”

            All this should be enough for us to prove that 1. the prophet only came with the Quran and forbade us from accepting anything else, 2. even his most famous friends followed his footsteps and held fast to the Quran and nothing else, 3. the compilation of those hadith which are attributed to the prophet was (and still is), an act of defiance towards the prophet and it even contradicts his instructions which they themselves narrate in their books, 4. these compilations are in opposition to both the laws of God Almighty, and the precept of his noble prophet. These compilations only began in the 3rd century AH, 200 years after the death of the prophet.

 

            Thus, we ask ourselves, if those hadith were a part of Islam, as they claim, despite the prophet’s prohibition of their being written down, is that not an accusation against the prophet that he fell short in delivering the message? And is it at all reasonable to suggest that the Islamic message should be deficient, and remain that way until some people decided, in the Time of Tribulations[42], that they wanted to redress this supposed deficiency?

            What we believe is this: that the prophet (peace upon him!), had delivered the message completely, and that message is the Quran, and he forbade anyone from writing anything else. As for hadith, they reflect the real condition of ‘Muslims’ and their beliefs, and they also reflect the colossal disparity between true Islam and the ‘Muslims.’