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CHAPTER
2
In the Messenger of Allah, we have an “excellent example”
Some Muslims site the following
Ayah to advocate Hadith:
“Certainly
you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar <uswatun
husnatun> for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and
remembers Allah much” (Qur'an 33:21).
The Muslim says that we need to
follow this “best example” by reading what people reported
about him in the books of Hadith.
Before we start our discussion, we
must quote a few more ayaat for without them the discussion would
be incomplete:
“Indeed,
there is for you an excellent example <uswatun husnatun> in
Ibrahim and those with him…” (60:4)
Now, Allah tells us that the best
examples for us to follow are the Prophet Ibrahim and his
companions and the Prophet Muhammad. In fact, Allah commanded the
Prophet Muhammad and all of us through him that we all must follow
the Prophet Ibrahim:
“Say:
‘Allah speaks the Truth: follow the way of Ibrahim, the sane in
faith; he was not of the Pagans.’” (3:95)
“Surely
Ibrahim was an exemplar, obedient to Allah, upright, and he was
not of the polytheists. He showed his gratitude for the favors of
Allah, who chose him, and guided him to a Straight Way. And We
gave him Good in this world, and he will be, in the Hereafter, in
the ranks of the Righteous. So We have taught you the inspiration,
‘Follow the ways of Ibrahim the True in Faith, and he joined not
gods with Allah.’” (16:120-123)
Thus it is incumbent upon us to
follow the Prophet Ibrahim. The question is how do we follow him
and his companions (remember they are all “uswatun husna”,
or best examples to be followed). The Qur’an does
not point us to any other books that we must seek in order to
follow the best example of Prophet Ibrahim. Does this mean that
today we cannot follow his best example?
Before we address this question, it
is important to ask a few other questions: We need to know what
aspects of their “best examples” are we to follow. Is it their
clothing? their eating habits?, whether they shaved or had beards,
etc. Now Prophet Ibrahim probably wore the same clothing that was
the norm in his time and probably wore a beard, as did his kaffir
father. Probably, he sat on the floor and ate with his hands, as
did his kaffir father. Is this what we are supposed to
follow of the “best example”? Allah does not leave us guessing
– He tells us the EXEMPLARY conduct of the Prophet Ibrahim in
the Qur’an that we are supposed to follow.
The first act, of course is
Submission to Allah alone:
“Our Lord!
And make us both submissive to You…” (2:128)
And He bowed his will to the
Command of Allah:
“When his
Lord said to him, Be a Muslim, he said: I submit myself to the
Lord of the worlds.” (2:131)
He also did not associate anyone or
anything with Allah in any way:
“…And he was
not one of those who associate (others with Allah)” (2:135)
“He said:
What! Do you then serve besides Allah what brings you not any
benefit at all, nor does it harm you? Fie on you and on what you
serve besides Allah; what! Do you not then understand? ”
(21:66-67)
He is also the one who is not
afraid to tell the truth to his elders and “scholars” of his
age:
“Lo! Ibrahim said
to his father Azar: Take you idols for gods? For I see you and
your people in manifest error.” (6:74)
“He said,
‘Indeed you have been in manifest error - you and your
fathers.’” (21:54)
He is also the one who is not
afraid to use his aqal and ask questions. Why is he doing
that? Because he has complete trust on Allah and is only
seeking Allah’s Guidance. He is not seeking any other book or
any other human as a guide – but only Allah as his
guide:
“So when
the night over-shadowed him, he saw a star; said he: Is this my
Lord? So when it set, he said: I do not love the setting ones.
Then when he saw the moon rising, he said: Is this my Lord? So
when it set, he said: If my Lord had not guided me I should
certainly be of the erring people. Then when he saw the sun
rising, he said: Is this my Lord? Is this the greatest? So when it
set, he said: O my people! surely I am clear of what you set up
(with Allah). Surely I have turned myself, being upright, wholly
to Him Who originated the heavens and the earth, and I am not of
those who associate (other things with Allah)” (6:76-79)
He is also the one who disputes
with his people and tells them that how come they are NOT afraid
of all the things they have associated with Allah of which Allah
gave them NO authority:
“And how
should I fear what you have set up (with Him), while you do not
fear that you have set up with Allah that for which He has not
sent down to you any authority; which then of the two parties is
surer of security, if you know?” (6:81)
He was tender hearted and prayed to
Allah for his father as he had promised:
“And
Ibrahim asking forgiveness for his father was only owing to a
promise which he had made to him; but when it became clear to him
that he was an enemy of Allah, he declared himself to be clear of
him; most surely Ibrahim was very tender-hearted forbearing.”
(9:114)
He was a good host:
“And
certainly Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news. They
said: Peace. Peace, said he, and he made no delay in bringing a
roasted calf.” (11:69)
Unlike many “religious” people
today, he was not bloodthirsty. His first instinct was to forgive
and give people more chance to amend their conduct. Even to the
homosexuals, he was merciful. When the Angels of Allah told him
that they have come for the purpose of destroying Lut’s people,
he started to plead with Allah on their behalf:
“So when fear had gone away from
Ibrahim and good news came to him, he began to plead with Us for
Lut's people. Most surely Ibrahim was forbearing, tender-hearted,
oft-returning (to Allah)” (11:74-75)
Thus by reading the Qur’an we see
a man who was intelligent, was serving only Allah
and was seeking only Allah’s Guidance. He was not
afraid to criticize the dominant philosophies and idea and
religions of his time, but at the same time he was soft hearted
and merciful, even to the sinners. This is the example, the best
example, we are to follow and not what he wore and how he sat and
how long his beard was, etc.
Just like Allah describes the best
example of Prophet Ibrahim within the Qur’an, He also describes
the best example of the Prophet Muhammad within the same Qur’an.
Just like Prophet Ibrahim, Prophet
Muhammad was also born into a culture – he wore the clothes that
they wore; he had a beard as was the custom in his days so that
Abu Jahl also had a beard; he ate as they did, most probably with
his hands sitting on a floor. The question is: are we to follow
this cultural example, or is Allah going to outline the best
example that we are to follow? As we saw in the case of Prophet
Ibrahim, Allah defined the best example in His Book for us to be
followed till eternity; He did not leave this task
for some obscure outside sources. In a similar fashion He cannot
leave the best example of the Prophet Muhammad that we are to
follow till eternity to outside obscure sources. We will see that
He has defined the best example of the Prophet Muhammad within the
same Qur’an.
Prophet Muhammad is also merciful
and soft hearted, and only looks to Allah and no one
else for support:
“Certainly
a Messenger has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him
is your falling into distress, excessively solicitous respecting
you; to the believers (he is) compassionate. But if they turn
back, say: Allah is sufficient for me, there is no god but He; on
Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of mighty power.” (9:128-129)
Like Prophet Ibrahim, he also does
NOT associate anyone with Allah and only asks for Allah’s
Guidance:
“Say: I
only call upon my Lord, and I do not associate (another thing)
with Him” (72:20)
He does not follow any thing or any
book besides the Book of Allah:
“But when
Our Clear ayaat are recited to them, those who rest not their
hopes in meeting with Us, say ‘Bring us a Qur’an other than
this, or change this’. Say: ‘It is not for me, of my own
accord, to change it. I follow naught but what is revealed to me;
surely I fear, if I disobey my Sustainer, the punishment of a
mighty day’.” (10:15)
He performs his duty with sincerity
as Allah Commands him. His duty is to warn people, and he is
warning people with the Book that Allah has given him. Here is the
commandment of Allah:
“And thus
have We revealed to you an Arabic Quran, <auhaina_ ilaika qur
a_nan arabiy yan> that you may warn the mother city and those
around it, and that you may give warning of the day of gathering
together wherein is no doubt; a party shall be in the garden and
(another) party in the burning fire.” (42:7)
And here is the answer of the
obedient Messenger:
“Allah is
witness between you and me; and this Quran has been revealed to me
that with it I may warn you and whomsoever it reaches.” (6:19)
He is teaching people with what
Allah has revealed to him. People mock and abuse him, but he is
sincere to his Lord and does NOT react or compel anyone to believe
– he teaches what Allah has told him to teach from:
“We know
best what they say, and you are not one to compel them; therefore
remind him by means of the Quran who fears My Promise.” (50:45)
And he obeys this command, and
says:
“I am
commanded only that I should serve the Sustainer of this city, Who
has made it sacred, and His are all things; and I am commanded
that I should be of those who submit; And that I should recite the
Quran. Therefore whoever goes aright, he goes aright for his own
soul, and whoever goes ' astray, then say: I am only one of the
warners.” (27:91-22)
The Prophet Muhammad judges among
people, but he does NOT judge from laws OUTSIDE of Allah’s Book,
as Allah commands him:
“Surely We have
revealed the Book to you with the truth that you may judge between
people by means of that which Allah has shown you; and be not an
advocate on behalf of the treacherous.” (4:105)
“And We
have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is
before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge
between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their
low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you;”
(5:48)
Being a servant of Allah, he obeys
this command and does NOT judge by anything OUTSIDE of the laws of
Allah as given to him through the Book of Allah. He attests to
this fact and is made to say:
“Shall I
then seek a Ruler other than Allah? When He it is Who has revealed
to you the Book (which is) distinctly elucidated;” (6:114)
The above Verse also points out a
very special character of the Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah, i.e. he
does not look for any other source
besides the book of Allah for laws and rules.
Thus, in the final analysis we see
a man who is merciful, intelligent, and an obedient of Allah. He
follows the Book of Allah; he teaches the people from the Book of
Allah; he judges people from the Book of Allah; he warns people by
the Book of Allah; he only looks to the Book of
Allah for rules and laws and does not seek any other source.
In the Muslim world today, there
are many sects and they all claim that they have “authentic”
Sunnah of the Messenger with them in the form of books of Hadith.
They all look to these books to provide them with guidance in
making laws and rules and in their day to day life. They have gone
to such an extent that in cases where there are clear rulings
within the Qur’an, they prefer to take the rulings from these
Hadith books in preference to the Qur’an. They have invented new
“knowledge” – they call it “Ilm al-Nasakh wal Mansukh”,
meaning “the knowledge of the abrogated and the abrogating”.
In this knowledge, their scholars have not only classified that
some verses of the Qur’an abrogate other verses, but that also
some Hadith abrogate the verses of the Qur’an.
They all read the above ayaat of
the Qur’an, and yet insist that they are following the Sunnah of
the Prophet. Let us analyze their claims:
1. The Prophet followed nothing
but the Qur’an. Are these people following anything else besides
the Qur’an? If they are, then they are NOT following the Sunnah
of the Prophet.
2. The Prophet warned and taught by the Qur’an. Are these people
using anything else besides the Qur’an to teach and warn? If
they are, then they are not following the Sunnah of
the Prophet.
3. The Prophet judged by the Qur’an. Are these people using
anything else besides the Qur’an to judge? If they are, then
they are not following the Sunnah of the Prophet.
4. The Prophet looked only at Allah’s Book – the Qur’an, as
a source of all rulings and laws. Are these people looking at
anything or anyone else besides the Qur’an as a source of law?
If they are, then they are not following the Sunnah
of the Prophet.
5. The Prophet was merciful. The Prophet Ibrahim was so merciful
that he even pleaded for homosexuals with Allah even after the
angels had descended to kill them. Are these people merciful to
the sinners, or are they eager to stone and kill people brutally
even though stoning is not in the Book of Allah? If
they are proposing brutal laws, which are not even
in the Book of Allah, then these people cannot be following the
Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet Ibrahim.
Allah has predicted this state of
the Muslim ummah within His Book. In this prediction we will yet
again see how Allah defines the Sunnah or the way of the Messenger
that these people neglected. We will conclude with a reading from
the Surah Furqaan (furqaan is another attribute of the
Qur’an – it means something that distinguishes the truth from
falsehood, i.e. The criterion).
The scene is from the day of judgment.
We start with the Verse where the Zalimun or unjust people will
regret that they did not take the way of the Messenger:
“And the
day when the unjust one shall bite his hands saying: O! Would that
I had taken a way with the Messenger” (25:27)
These people then curse the
Shaitaan who took them away from the dhikr (another
attribute of the Qur’an, meaning The Reminder):
“O woe is
me! Would that I had not taken such a one for a friend ! Certainly
he led me astray from the reminder<dhikr> after it had come
to me; and the Shaitaan fails to aid man.” (25:28-29)
The Messenger himself will complain
to Allah about how his followers did not
take his way. Here is how:
“And the
Messenger will say: O my Lord! Surely my people have neglected
this Quran.” (25:30)
Then Allah tells us that for every
prophet, there is an enemy, and this enemy is the one that takes
people away from the Qur’an, which is way of the Messenger:
“And thus
have We made for every prophet an enemy from among the sinners and
sufficient is your Lord as a Guide and a Helper” (25:31)
In this last verse Allah tells us
that for every Prophet there is his enemies. One might ask, who
are these enemies and how do they lead people away
from the Qur’an – the way of the Messenger? As we know, Allah
does NOT leave anything to guesswork, but explains what He means
by tasreef al-ayaat, i.e “repeating the Verses”:
<unzur kaifa nusarriful
a_ya_ti la'allahum yafqahu_n >
“See how We
repeat the verses that they may understand.” (6:65)
Thus we look elsewhere in the
Qur’an to see what these enemies are. We find their exact
description in the following Ayah:
“Likewise
did We make for every Prophet an enemy,- evil ones among men and
Jinns, inspiring each other with flowery discourses by way of
deception. If your Lord had so planned, they would not have done
it: so leave them and their inventions alone.” (6:112)
Here is the exact description of
those evil enemies. They will come up with “flowery
discourses”, i.e. stories that sound so nice to the listener,
and stories that look plausible. It is through this method that
the evil ones will derive people away from the way of the
Messenger – the Qur’an. It is not hard to see the Muslims
today have hundreds of books of Fiqh and Hadith; they insist that
we must read them and cannot understand the Qur’an without these
“flowery discourses”. Shaitaan has been very successful with
the Muslims. He has used their love and respect for the Prophet
Muhammad to actually derive them away from his true Sunnah –
while all the time the Muslim is thinking that he is following the
Sunnah, he is actually following other “flowery discourses”
that Allah never authorized.
Thus, we see that the “best
example” of the Messenger is to follow the Qur’an and not seek
any other source besides the Qur’an for Guidance. The proponents
of Hadith, however, do not stop here. They now pull out their most
“powerful” argument in support of the Hadith. They insist that
everything the Prophet said in his life was by wahi
(revelation) from Allah. This is the topic for the next
chapter.
continue with chapter 3
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