Verily all praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His assistance and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our selves and the evil consequence of our deeds. Whosoever Allah guides none can misguide, whosoever Allah misguides, none can guide.
I bear witness that nothing deserves to be worshipped except Allah, alone with no partners. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave-servant and Messenger.
This essay shall touch briefly on some issue of revelation in Islam. The primary aim of this essay is to mention some aspects of revelation that are not well known to many people. For example, not many Muslims know that the hadeeth is also a revelation from Allah. Another issue is that there are incidents that describe the Prophet having some sort of trance yet the wahy that is being revealed is not a part of Qur’an but a hadeeth. Lastly, the issue of preservation of the Qur’an mentioned both in a ‘recited’ form and as a book as well as the importance of knowing it.
Definition
Wahy as defined in Hans Wehr A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic means to inspire; to reveal[1].
Classical definition of the scholars however defined it as a rapid, secret communication, no matter how it was done.[2] It is also applies to the message itself being revealed.
The Qur’an mentions several usage of the word Wahy as the natural laws of nature[3] or instinctual animal habits[4], natural human habits (breastfeeding a baby)[5], Allah’s inspiration to human’s to do actions which are not instinctive such as Prophet Moosa’s mother casting him to the river[6], whisperings of devils[7], guidance to the angels from Allah[8], or the direct speech of Allah to angels[9], and finally the process of revelation of Allah’s commands to His Prophet (s.a.w.) as well as the revelation itself[10].
Description of Circumstances of Revelation
Below are just some ahadeeth that describes how the hadeeth is revealed to Prophet Muhammad in different occasions.
1. Wahy began with true dreams:
In a long hadeeth narrated by Aisha (r.a.):
The commencement (of the Divine Inspiration) to Allah’s Apostle was in the form of true dreams in his sleep, for he never had a dream but it turned out to be true and clear as the bright daylight.[11]
2. He used to move his tongue hastily
Initially the Prophet (s.a.w.) used to move his tongue hastily in order to retain the wahy. Ibn Abbas reported: regard to the words of Allah, Great and Glorious: "Move not thy tongue therewith" (75:16) that when Gabriel brought revelation to him (the Prophet) he moved his tongue and lips (with a view to committing it to memory instantly). This was something hard for him and it was visible (from his face). Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed this a "Move not thy tongue therewith to make haste (in memorizing it). Surely on us rests the collecting of it and the reciting of it" i.e. Verily it rests with Us that We would preserve it in your heart and (enable you) to recite it You would recite it when We would recite it and so follow its recitation, and He (Allah) said: "We revealed it, so listen to it attentively. Verily its exposition rests with us i.e. We would make it deliver by your tongue." So when Gabriel came to him (to the Holy Prophet), he kept silence, and when he went away he recited as Allah had promised him.[12]
2. His complexion would change once he receives revelation
'Ubada b. as-Samit reported that whenever Allah's Apostle (s.a.w.) received revelation, he felt its rigour and the complexion of his face changed.[13]
3. He would sweat even on a cold day
‘Aisha reported: When revelation descended upon Allah’s Messenger (s.a.w.) even during the cold days, his forehead perspired. [14]
4. Once revelation descended while he was eating and holding a bone in his hand
‘Aisha reported that Sauda (Allah he pleated with her) went out (in the fields) in order to answer the call of nature even after the time when veil had been prescribed for women. She had been a bulky lady, significant in height amongst the women, and she could not conceal herself from him who had known her. ‘Umar b. Khattab saw her and said: Sauda, by Allah, you cannot conceal from us.
Therefore, be careful when you go out. She (Aisha) said: She turned back. Allah’s Messenger ( s.a.w.) was at that time in my house having his evening meal and there was a bone in his hand. She (Sauda) dines and said: Allah’s Messenger. I went out and ‘Umar said to me so and so. She (‘Aisha) reported: There came the revelation to him and then it was over; the bone was then in his hand and he had not thrown it and he said: ‘Permission has been granted to you that you may go out for your needs.”
When the Prophet died and the revelation ceased his companions would weep due to the cessation of revelation
Anas reported that after the death of Allah’s Messenger (s.a.w.) Abu Bakr said to ‘Umar: Let us visit Umm Aiman as Allah’s Messenger (s.a.w.) used to visit her. As we came to her, she wept. They (Abu Bakr and Umar) said to her: What makes you weep? What is in store (in the next world) for Allah’s-Messenger (s.a.w.) is better than (this worldly life). She said: I weep not because I am ignorant of the fact that what is in store for Allah’s Messenger ( s.a.w.) (in the next world) is better than (this world), but I weep because the revelation which came from the Heaven has ceased to come. This moved both of them to tears and they began to weep along with her. [15]
The Hadeeth is also a revelation from Allah
Although majority of Muslims recognize that the hadeeth is the second source of Islamic law, many don’t realize that the hadeeth is also a revelation from Allah.
The Qur’an contains both direct as well as indirect proofs that Allah communicated to His Messenger other than the Qur’an. As for the direct proof is Allah’s saying in Soorah an-Najm:
Allah the Exalted the Majestic says in the Quran: “By the star when it goes down (or vanishes). Your companion has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.”[16]
Al-Hafidh Ibn Katheer says in his commentary regarding this Ayah (verse):
Allah The Exalted The Majestic said, “Nor does he speak of desire”, asserting that nothing the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, utters is of his own desire or wish, “It is only a revelation revealed” means he only conveys to the people what he was commanded to convey, in its entirety without addition or deletions. Imam Ahmad[17] recorded that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al Aas said:
‘I used to record everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam so it would be preserved. The Quraish discouraged me from this saying, ‘You record everything you hear from the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, even though he is human and sometimes speaks when he is angry? I stopped recording the Ahadeeth for a while, but later mentioned what they said to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, who said,
“Write! By He in Whose Hand is my soul, every word that comes out of me is the truth[18]
There are verses in the Qur’an that implies that Allah did communicate with the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a form of communication other than the Qur’an. In Soorah al Baqarah Allah mentioned the incident of changing the Qiblah:
The fools (pagans, hypocrites, and Jews) among the people will say, “What has turned them (Muslims) from their qiblah [prayer direction (towards Jerusalem)] to which they were used to face in prayer.” Say, “To Allah belong both, east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a Straight Way.”
Thus We have made you a Wasat (just) (and the best) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger be a witness over you. And We made the Qiblah (prayer direction towards Jerusalem) which you used to face, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their. Indeed it was great (heavy) except for those whom Allah guided. And Allah would never make your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. your prayers offered towards Jerusalem). Truly, Allah is full of kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind. [19]
In this verse Allah is saying that the Muslims used to face Jerusalem as Qiblah when they pray. We all know that important part of worship such as the direction of the Qiblah must have been directed by Allah to His Messenger. Yet, there is no mention in the Qur’an saying that Allah instructed His Messenger to turn to Jerusalem. Therefore this communication from Allah to His Messenger happened only except through the hadeeth.
There are hadeeths that mention incidents of revelation that describe the Prophet (s.a.w.) having some kind of trances. Commonly when we say hadeeth of the Messenger, many of us think that it is only a saying of the Messenger without the trances that usually accompanies with the revelation of the Qur’an. However, Imam Muslim collected a hadeeth that describes an incident during Hajj when the Prophet was asked about wearing perfume while the Ihraam is already worn:
Safwan b. Ya’la b. Umayya reported that Yala used to say to ‘Umar b. Khattab (Allah be pleased with him): Would that I see revelation descending upon the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.). (Once) when the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) was in Ji’rana and there was a cloth which provided shade over him, and there were his Companions with him. Umar being one of them, there came a person with a cloak of wool on him daubed with perfume and he said: Messenger of Allah, what about the person who, entered upon the state of Ihram with a cloak after daubing it with perfume? The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) looked at him for a short while, and then became quiet, and revelation began descending upon him, and ‘Umar gestured (with his hand) to Ya’la b Umayya to come. Ya’la came and he entered his head (beneath the cloth and saw) the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) with his face red, and breathing with a snore. Then he felt relieved (of that burden) and he said: Where is the man who was just asking me about Umrah? The man was searched for and he was brought, and the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) said: So far as the perfume is concerned, wash it three times, and remove the cloak too (as it was sewn) and do in ‘Umrah as you do in Hajj.[20]
The Qur’an is preserved as a Book (written) and as a Recital
The Qur’an is refers to itself sometimes as a kitaab.
"Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own (and indeed Allah answered their invocation by sending Muhammad Peace be upon him), who shall recite unto them Your Verses and instruct them in the book (this Qur'an) and Al-Hikmah (full knowledge of the Islamic laws and jurisprudence or wisdom or Prophethood, etc.), and sanctify them. Verily! You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise."[21]
And sometimes as Qur’an
The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). [22]
Perhaps the significance of this is that the Qur’an was preserved by two means: written and oral recitation. It was primarily and initially preserved orally, recited, memorized and passed on from one person to another, form one generation to the next. This method is still done today. That is why we can hear people say that if all the Mushafs were to be burned, Muslims would still be able to produce it exactly as it was due to the number of Muslims who have memorized it. The importance of this knowledge is that some enemies of Islam throw back to the Muslims that the compilation of the Qur’an was only done during the time of Abu Bakr. Thus they cast doubt on the preservation of the Qur’an. What they don’t realize is that the Qur’an was preserved orally and written Arabic of that time was not advanced enough in order to fully preserve it. When the vowel marks was invented, it was the memorization and oral recital that helped to finally preserve the Qur’an in written form exactly the same as its recited form.
Abu Khalid
Al Madzhar Ahmadul
[1] Hans Wehr. A dictionary of Modern Written Arabic pg. 1056
[2] Fath al Baari, 1/9 quoted in the Messengers and the Message by Dr. Umar al Ashqar pg. 91
[3] 41:12
[4] 16:38
[5] 28:7
[6] 28:7
[7] 6:121
[8] 8:12
[9] 2:30
[10] 53:3-4
[11] Sahih Bukhari. Book 1 Revelation. Hadeeth 003
[12] Sahih Muslim. Book 4 Prayer Hadeeth 900
[13] Ibid. Book 17 Punishment prescribed by Islam Hadeeth 4192
[14] Ibid. Book 30 The Excellent qualities of the Prophet. Hadeeth 5764
[15] Ibid. Book 31 The Merits of the Companions of the Prophet Hadeeth 6009
[16] 53:31-5
[17] Ahmad 2:162, Abu Dawud 4:60 as quoted in Tafsir ibn Katheer English Translation by Darussalam
[18] Tafsir Ibn Katheer (English Translation), Abridged, Vol. 9 Pp. 306-307
[19] 2:142-143
[20] Sahih Muslim Book 7 Pilgrimage Hadeeth 2656. Similar narrations can also be found in Abu Dawud book of Hajj.
[21] 2:129
[22] 2:185
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Q & A regarding Islamic Beliefs
- Define the term Tawheed linguistically and Islamically and explain why some of the aspects of linguistics meaning is not appropriate.
- Tawhid literally means ‘unification’ or ‘asserting oneness’. Islamically it means realizing and maintaining of Allah’s unity in all of man’s actions which directly or indirectly relate to Him. It is the belief that Allah is One without partner in His dominion, One without similitude in His essence and attributes, One without rival in His divinity and in worship.
Whys some of the linguistics meaning is not appropriate.
2. Explain the term wahdatul wujood, identify its originator and its relationship to Tawheed.
- Wahdatul wujood means that the creator and creation is one. In other words it means that Allah is all and all is Allah, there is only one existence which is Allah.
3. Discuss why the division of Tawheed into the three categories was not done by the Companions of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam.
- Because there was no necessity to analyze such basic principle of faith in this fashion. It became necessary when Islam spread into areas where the people who became Muslims carried their pre Islamic beliefs with them. Usually, it was the duty of Caliph to implement punishments to the heretics. However with the regime of later Umayyad Caliphs who are more corrupt and cared little care about religious issues, the task of opposing heretic beliefs fell upon the shoulders of the scholars who rose to meet the challenge intellectually.
4. Identify the issue of Tawheed which Haroon Yahya is noted for violating.
- To be answered
5. Explain the meaning of Tawheed ar Ruboobeeyah
- It means that Allah alone cause all things to exist when there was nothing. It also means that Allah is the only source of power and movement in the universe. It also means that He is the sole Lord of the universe and its inhabitants without any real challenge to His lordship. He maintains and sustains the creation without any need from it or for it.
6. Mention the reason given in the hadeeth narrated by ‘Uqbah in which the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam refused to accept the oath of allegiance from one man out of a group of ten and explain its significance to the study of Tawheed.
- Because the man was wearing an amulet. Its significance to the study of Tawheed is it proves that
7. Explain the correct position regarding the use of Qur’aanic charms and support your explanation with evidence.
- The correct position is that it is bid’ah. Some verses of the Qur’an like the Muwaddhatain was specifically revealed for exorcism but it was meant to be read not hung around the neck etc. Therefore to use verses of the Qur’an other than the prescribed way is bid’ah due to the hadeeth:
Whoever innovates in Islam something which does not belong to it will have it rejected. (Bukhari, Abu Dawud)
8. Identify two Qur’aanic chapters revealed for removing evil spells and explain the circumstances in which they were revealed.
- Sooratul Falaq and an Nas. A spell was cast on the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam. He told Ali to recite the two chapters verse by verse, when he became ill he used to recite them on himself. (Bukhari and Muslim)
9. Give a brief but clear explanation of the term Tawheed al Asmaa was Sifaat.
- It is to maintain Allah’s Names and Attributes without explaining away His names and attributes by giving them meanings other than their obvious meanings. It means to refer Him by what He and His Messenger referred Him by, without giving any new names or attributes, without giving Him the attributes of the creations or His attributes given to the creation.
10. Explain whether anger is one of Allah’s attributes, support your explanation with evidence and explain how this attribute is to be understood.
- Anger is one of Allah’s attributes the evidence of which is in Soorah al Fath verse 6:
That He may punish the munafiqoon, men and women, and the mushrikoon, men and women, who have an evil opinion of Allah. A circle of evil is around them; Allah is angry with them, curses them and has prepared for them an evil end. (48:6)
- Allah’s anger is not like human anger because humans become angry due to weakness and lack of patience, while Allah’s anger is based on justice.
11. Discuss whether it can be said that there are any similarity between God’s attributes and those of humankind with at least two examples.
- The similarity would only be in name but not in degrees. God’s attributes are to be taken in absolute sense free from human deficiencies.
- Allah has a face and humans have face. But they are not similar in any way. The face of the horse is different from the face human beings. If there exist a difference of attributes of face in the creation, then how much more between the creation and the Creator
12. Can the name al Ghaadib (be used) in reference to Allah and why or why not?
- No we cannot call Allah by the name al Ghaadib because neither He nor His Messenger called Him by this name.
13. Explain how most Shi’ites destroy Tawheed al Asmaa was Sifaat relative to their belief in Imaamate.
- They have given their Imams attributes of infallibility, knowledge of the future, past and the unseen and the ability to change destiny.
14. Briefly explain the meaning of Tawheed al Ibaadah
- It means that all forms of worship must be directed only to Allah because He alone deserves to be worshipped and He alone can grant benefit to man as a result of His worship.
15. Discuss the ruling on praying through or to Prophet Muhammad with regard to the principle of Tawheed.
- It is haram to pray through or to the Prophet Muhammad because it is a form of shirk. It violates Tawheed Ibaadah because praying is an essential part of worship and praying should only be directed to Allah. It is also giving some of the attributes of Allah to Prophet Muhammad such as the ability to grant request or repulse harm.
- Praying through the Prophet as an intercessor is also not allowed because he is already dead. We can ask a religious person to pray for us while he is alive. Further, the Shafa’ah of the Prophet only happens on the Day of judgment.
16. Mention the literal and Islamic meaning of shirk
- Shirk literally means partnership, sharing or associating.
- Islamically it refers to the act of assigning partners to Allah in whatever form it may take.
Explain briefly the two ways of shirk may take place in Tawheed ar Ruboobeeyah.
Shirk by association means that Allah’s powers are shared by the creation or lesser gods.
Shirk by negation means denying the existence of Allah.
17. Discuss how Tawheed is violated by the belief that (E=MC²)
- It means that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. It violates Tawheed by giving creation the attributes of Allah who alone is without beginning or end.
18. Identify the aspect of Tawheed which is destroyed by those who claim that Alee was God in person or claim that Jesus was God.
- It destroys Tawheed al Asmaa was Sifaat by deification of Alee or Jesus
19. Mention with a brief explanation how and why drawing, painting or carving images of God violates principle of Tawheed
- It violates Tawheed al Asmaa was Sifaat by humanizing Allah by assigning attributes of the creation to Him.
Abu Khalid
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Removing the blame from the Sahabah Part 2
All praise is due to Allah. The salutations and peace of Allah be upon Muhammad.
This is the second part of my reply which would expound further on the issue of abrogation and the consequences of taking the Sahabah out of Islam. Lastly, at the end of the day, it is still possible for us to cooperate on righteousness even though our point of difference is a major one based on a Qur'anic principle I will mention below, insha Allah.
Abrogation
Allah abrogates a verse when the ruling doesn’t apply anymore. He promised this in the Qur’an:
Whatever a verse do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten we bring a better one or similar to it. Know you that Allah is able to do all things. (2:106)
The gradual prohibition of alcohol is an example of an abrogation of Qur'anic verses by other Qur'anic verses.
First verse: 16:67
And from the fruits of date-palms and grapes, you derive strong drink (this was before the order of the prohibition of the alcoholic drinks) and a goodly provision. Verily, therein is indeed a sign for people who have wisdom. (An-Nahl 16:67)
Then: 2: 219
They ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." Thus Allâh makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought." (Al-Baqarah 2:219)
Lastly: 5: 90,91
O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, AlAnsâb, and AlAzlâm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitân's (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful. (Al-Ma'idah 5:90)
Shaitân (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allâh and from As-Salât (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain? (Al-Ma'idah 5:91)
First it was just a mention of its source, then it is equated with harm and benefit, then at last prohibited and mentioned together with other great sins such as gambling, shirk, and causes of enmity and hatred. Therefore it is upon Allah to abrogate a verse in order to modify or suspend the rulings He made in His book.
When Allah said that He has prepared for them gardens under which rivers flow He knows that they will continue to believe in Him until the day they will die. This is because He will not promise paradise for them if He knew from the beginning that they will go out of Islam.
In fact saying that the Sahabah went out of Islam when the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam died is like saying that Allah didn’t know the future. Nothing can be farther from this. Why? Because He already said that He promises them paradise! Will Allah say these words: “Yah they were good people before the death of the Messenger so I promised them paradise because of that, but when the Messenger died, they ceased to believe anymore so I am withdrawing my promise”. Brother, only human beings do this! Subhanallah, Allah is high above to what they ascribe to Him.
What do we do with their mistakes, shall we change our religion?
Undermining or degrading the status of the Sahabah has grave consequence on our religion. This is NOT a minor point as what you are constantly reminding me.
1. This is because it was the Sahabah, as a whole, who brought our religion to us.
2. It was them who passed on the Qur’an to us.
3. It was them who passed on the Hadeeth to us.
4. It was them who taught us the reasons of the revelation of the Qur'an and the circumstances surrounding the event of revelation.
5. It was them who taught us the explanation of hadeeth.
You see, take the Sahabah out of the picture, and left just a few of them would mean:
That the Qur’an did not come to us Mutawaatiran. (Narrations by such a large number of people that it is impossible for all of them to come together and concoct a lie). Why? If Sahabah were not Muslims in the first place then we don’t take our religion from them! Every hadeeth specialist knows that one of the condition of accepting narrations is the narrator must be a Muslim. Would you take your religion form a kaafir? Listen to Allah’s words if you like:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ
O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done. (Al-Hujurat 49:6)
This is a command from Allah not to get information just from anybody. We must verify the person narrating and as well as the content of the narration. If Allah forbids us to take information from a fasiq (a rebellious person) then how much more so taking the whole religion and Qur’an from the apostates.
If the Sahabah went outside the fold of Islam and we cannot take our religion from them, then Brother, pay attention, the Qur’an you are holding cannot be acceptable and trustworthy! No Sahabah equals to no Qur’an! Who had the first idea to compile the pieces of Qur’an written in whatever material available to them at the time? Wasn’t it Umar ibn al Khattab? Who actually headed the compilation of the Qur’an? Wasn’t it Zaid ibn Thaabit? Who helped Zaid ibn Thaabit in compiling the Qur’an? Wasn’t it the committee of Sahabah who memorized the Qur’an? Under whose caliphate this task happened? Wasn’t it under Abu Bakr? When Hudhaifa, the one me and you are both praising and asking Allah’s pleasure upon him, realized that due to variation of recitation and dialects of people far from the Madeenah, there might be a possibility to dilute the contents of the Qur’an and change its meanings, to whom did he convey his concerns? Wasn’t it to Uthman ibn Affan? Wasn’t Uthman ibn Affan the one who codifies this Qur’an to us? This same Uthman ibn Affan was the one on whom the Prophet of Allah gave his two daughters successively in marriage. Was the Prophet not good in judging character that he would give his two daughters to marry the same person who would apostate after his death?
It was the Sahabah that you loath and scorn that gave you your Qur’an in your hand today. If they are so despicable and loathsome then you should not trust the content of the Qur’an you recite in your daily prayers. If they were able to disbelieve in the person whom they loved most, suffered with, fought with, married to his daughters, or their daughters marrying him, if they were able to stomach that, then it is easy for them to change what is in the Qur’an.
Disbelieving in the Sahabah means putting the hadeeth into the recycle bin. This carries the same reason as above. If we only believe in a few Sahabah, much of the Shariah would be lost. But Allah promised us that He gives to the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam the Qur’an and something similar to it, which is essentially the Hadeeth. Listen to Allah’s saying if you like:
Similarly (to complete My blessings on you) We have sent among you a Messenger of our own, reciting to you Our verses, and sanctifying you, and teaching you the Book and the Hikmah, and teaching you that which you used not to know. (2:151)
Here hadeeth is referred as the Hikmah or wisdom, because the hadeeth explains the Qur’an and both is the foundation of the Shari’ah.
We can cooperate
Having said that, however, even this should not prevent me from cooperating with you in doing good things especially so when Allah said in the Qur’an:
Help you one another in Al Birr and AtTaqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is Severe in punishment. (Al-Ma'idah 5:2)
Meaning as long as we are cooperating on righteousness and not on fasad and munkar, then we can work together. Example of this is if the government of the Philippines demands us to obey the traffic rules, we cooperate with them because this is not fasad and munkar. Therefore if I can cooperate with kuffaar on righteousness then how much more so with an ahlul Qiblah, the one who turns to Makkah to pray and says Lailaha Illallah. This is especially more true in our situation in the Philippines where we have a common antagonist who doesn’t care whether we believe in the Sahabah or not as long as we are named Abu Bakr or Ali then we must be terrorists.
Abu Khalid
This is the second part of my reply which would expound further on the issue of abrogation and the consequences of taking the Sahabah out of Islam. Lastly, at the end of the day, it is still possible for us to cooperate on righteousness even though our point of difference is a major one based on a Qur'anic principle I will mention below, insha Allah.
Abrogation
Allah abrogates a verse when the ruling doesn’t apply anymore. He promised this in the Qur’an:
Whatever a verse do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten we bring a better one or similar to it. Know you that Allah is able to do all things. (2:106)
The gradual prohibition of alcohol is an example of an abrogation of Qur'anic verses by other Qur'anic verses.
First verse: 16:67
And from the fruits of date-palms and grapes, you derive strong drink (this was before the order of the prohibition of the alcoholic drinks) and a goodly provision. Verily, therein is indeed a sign for people who have wisdom. (An-Nahl 16:67)
Then: 2: 219
They ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." Thus Allâh makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought." (Al-Baqarah 2:219)
Lastly: 5: 90,91
O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, AlAnsâb, and AlAzlâm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitân's (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful. (Al-Ma'idah 5:90)
Shaitân (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allâh and from As-Salât (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain? (Al-Ma'idah 5:91)
First it was just a mention of its source, then it is equated with harm and benefit, then at last prohibited and mentioned together with other great sins such as gambling, shirk, and causes of enmity and hatred. Therefore it is upon Allah to abrogate a verse in order to modify or suspend the rulings He made in His book.
When Allah said that He has prepared for them gardens under which rivers flow He knows that they will continue to believe in Him until the day they will die. This is because He will not promise paradise for them if He knew from the beginning that they will go out of Islam.
In fact saying that the Sahabah went out of Islam when the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam died is like saying that Allah didn’t know the future. Nothing can be farther from this. Why? Because He already said that He promises them paradise! Will Allah say these words: “Yah they were good people before the death of the Messenger so I promised them paradise because of that, but when the Messenger died, they ceased to believe anymore so I am withdrawing my promise”. Brother, only human beings do this! Subhanallah, Allah is high above to what they ascribe to Him.
What do we do with their mistakes, shall we change our religion?
Undermining or degrading the status of the Sahabah has grave consequence on our religion. This is NOT a minor point as what you are constantly reminding me.
1. This is because it was the Sahabah, as a whole, who brought our religion to us.
2. It was them who passed on the Qur’an to us.
3. It was them who passed on the Hadeeth to us.
4. It was them who taught us the reasons of the revelation of the Qur'an and the circumstances surrounding the event of revelation.
5. It was them who taught us the explanation of hadeeth.
You see, take the Sahabah out of the picture, and left just a few of them would mean:
That the Qur’an did not come to us Mutawaatiran. (Narrations by such a large number of people that it is impossible for all of them to come together and concoct a lie). Why? If Sahabah were not Muslims in the first place then we don’t take our religion from them! Every hadeeth specialist knows that one of the condition of accepting narrations is the narrator must be a Muslim. Would you take your religion form a kaafir? Listen to Allah’s words if you like:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ
O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done. (Al-Hujurat 49:6)
This is a command from Allah not to get information just from anybody. We must verify the person narrating and as well as the content of the narration. If Allah forbids us to take information from a fasiq (a rebellious person) then how much more so taking the whole religion and Qur’an from the apostates.
If the Sahabah went outside the fold of Islam and we cannot take our religion from them, then Brother, pay attention, the Qur’an you are holding cannot be acceptable and trustworthy! No Sahabah equals to no Qur’an! Who had the first idea to compile the pieces of Qur’an written in whatever material available to them at the time? Wasn’t it Umar ibn al Khattab? Who actually headed the compilation of the Qur’an? Wasn’t it Zaid ibn Thaabit? Who helped Zaid ibn Thaabit in compiling the Qur’an? Wasn’t it the committee of Sahabah who memorized the Qur’an? Under whose caliphate this task happened? Wasn’t it under Abu Bakr? When Hudhaifa, the one me and you are both praising and asking Allah’s pleasure upon him, realized that due to variation of recitation and dialects of people far from the Madeenah, there might be a possibility to dilute the contents of the Qur’an and change its meanings, to whom did he convey his concerns? Wasn’t it to Uthman ibn Affan? Wasn’t Uthman ibn Affan the one who codifies this Qur’an to us? This same Uthman ibn Affan was the one on whom the Prophet of Allah gave his two daughters successively in marriage. Was the Prophet not good in judging character that he would give his two daughters to marry the same person who would apostate after his death?
It was the Sahabah that you loath and scorn that gave you your Qur’an in your hand today. If they are so despicable and loathsome then you should not trust the content of the Qur’an you recite in your daily prayers. If they were able to disbelieve in the person whom they loved most, suffered with, fought with, married to his daughters, or their daughters marrying him, if they were able to stomach that, then it is easy for them to change what is in the Qur’an.
Disbelieving in the Sahabah means putting the hadeeth into the recycle bin. This carries the same reason as above. If we only believe in a few Sahabah, much of the Shariah would be lost. But Allah promised us that He gives to the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam the Qur’an and something similar to it, which is essentially the Hadeeth. Listen to Allah’s saying if you like:
Similarly (to complete My blessings on you) We have sent among you a Messenger of our own, reciting to you Our verses, and sanctifying you, and teaching you the Book and the Hikmah, and teaching you that which you used not to know. (2:151)
Here hadeeth is referred as the Hikmah or wisdom, because the hadeeth explains the Qur’an and both is the foundation of the Shari’ah.
We can cooperate
Having said that, however, even this should not prevent me from cooperating with you in doing good things especially so when Allah said in the Qur’an:
Help you one another in Al Birr and AtTaqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is Severe in punishment. (Al-Ma'idah 5:2)
Meaning as long as we are cooperating on righteousness and not on fasad and munkar, then we can work together. Example of this is if the government of the Philippines demands us to obey the traffic rules, we cooperate with them because this is not fasad and munkar. Therefore if I can cooperate with kuffaar on righteousness then how much more so with an ahlul Qiblah, the one who turns to Makkah to pray and says Lailaha Illallah. This is especially more true in our situation in the Philippines where we have a common antagonist who doesn’t care whether we believe in the Sahabah or not as long as we are named Abu Bakr or Ali then we must be terrorists.
Abu Khalid
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Removing the Blame from the Sahabah
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Last Prophet Muhammad.
O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except as Muslims.
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair preaching and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly your Lord knows who has gone astray from His path, and He is the best aware of those who are guided.
This is my last and final public reply to this topic. This is because this group was primarily conceived as a forum for discussing the possibility of having an Islamic Media in the Philippines. As such, it is not appropriate and not justified to discuss sectarian issues that are not related to the primary objective of the group.
I started with the verse of Allah where He commanded us to fear Him, to really fear Him. The question: to what extent we should fear Him is answered in the next sentence “the way He should be feared”. Our fear should therefore be proportional to the Might, Glory, and Power etc of Allah. This is an impossibility because we cannot possibly conceive the extent of Glory, Power, Might, etc. of Allah. In another verse, to clarify the issue further, He said “Fear Allah according to your ability”. Thus we should fear Him as humanly as possible. Then the next sentence says “and die not except as Muslims”, also another impossibility for humans because we don’t control our death, hence the verse would mean to be ready for death all the time.
The second verse I mentioned is the methodology of Da’wah. That is, da’wah is inviting, and calling people, not scaring them away. That it is telling people the truth and asking them to think about it, if they will not take heed then Allah said “Allah guides whom He wills”. Therefore it is not proving to somebody that we are better than them in terms of intelligence and research. If intelligence alone can guide us to the right path then why are there are so many intelligent people who do not believe in Allah.
The reference of giving da’wah is:
O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe Allah and the last day. That is better and more suitable for final destination. (An Nisa 59).
And from this I shall proceed to my reply.
I shall only mention verses of the Qur’an to prove my point not because the proofs can only be found in the Qur’an but because this is the common ground for you and me to stand upon, a frame of reference to anchor our discussion. Although Allah has also mentioned His Messenger as a reference in the verse above, I will not quote hadeeth as much as possible because you don’t take knowledge from the Sahabah that is not in your ten odd saved list. This is because the Sahabah were the ones who passed on to us the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah and because of your belief against the Sahabah.
POINT NUMBER ONE: Allah subhanahuwataala is pleased with the Sahabah (A Sahabi is the one who met the Messenger of Allah and believed in him and died believing in him)
وَالسَّابِقُونَ الأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُواْ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
And the first to embrace Islâm of the Muhâjirûn (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansâr (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhâjirûn) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allâh is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.
Brother it is Allah who is saying this that He is pleased with the Muhajirun and the Ansar.
Not only that, even those who will follow their way, He will be pleased with them (so that people like us in the later generations would have chances of gaining the pleasure of Allah).
He has prepared for them Paradise.
Doubt Number 1: Who are the Muhajirun and the Ansar?
Answer to doubt Number 1:
Who are the Muhajirun and the Ansar? Do they not include Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman aside from Ali, radiallahu anhum ajmain? Who migrated together with the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, inside the cave, wasn’t it Abu Bakr? Who helped the Muhajirun when they emigrated to Madeenah, wasn’t it the Ansar. That is why they are called Ansar because it literally means ‘helpers’.
إِلاَّ تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لاَ تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللّهَ مَعَنَا فَأَنزَلَ اللّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ السُّفْلَى وَكَلِمَةُ اللّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا وَاللّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
If you help him (Muhammad) not (it does not matter), for Allah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of two, when they (Muhammad and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, and he said to his companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, peace, etc.) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while it was the Word of Allah that became the uppermost, and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.
Doubt Number 2: Indeed Allah is talking about the Muhajirun and the Ansar and they were good Muslims when this verse was revealed but when the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam died they went apostate. Allah may be pleased with them at the time but He wasn’t pleased with them later after the Messenger died.
Answer to doubt Number 2:
Doubt number 2 is also contradicting the verse of the Muhajirun and the Ansar because:
a. Allah said that He has prepared for them Paradise.
· This means that Allah is still pleased with them even after the Messenger of Allah died otherwise He wouldn’t say it in the Qur’an and be preserved for all time that He has prepared for them paradise.
b. If what you claim is true (that they went apostate after the death of the Messenger) then the burden is upon you to produce a proof from the Qur’an that Allah has abrogated the verse above.
· What I am asking you is a Qur’anic verse, please note this properly. I am not asking Seerah and Hadeeth (whether it is Sahih, Daeef or even Maudoo’) for two reasons:
i. It is only the Qur’an that you and me can refer to because we both agree that it is still the same Qur’an revealed to the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam. In fact it is only because of our mutual belief in the Qur’an that we call ourselves ‘brother.’
ii. The Qur’an (Isnad) chain of transmission is Mutawaatir. Meaning, so many people transmitted it in every chain and generation with the same accuracy and content, that it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to come together and concoct a lie and create a false (matn) text.
iii. Because of point ii above, not all hadeeth you can mention to me has the same status in the eyes of the skilled Muhadditheen. Hence any hadeeth or seerah that you might show me in the course of our discussion that doesn’t have same level of authenticity is not acceptable. This is another topic, though related but merits a separate discussion. (There should be a topic called: hadeeth criticism between Ahlus Sunnah and Shee’a – Subhanallah this should be interesting). I suggest you read hadeeth criticism.
c. If we truly believe in the Qur’an and truly fear Allah (remember the two verses I mentioned above) indeed this single verse is ENOUGH to discredit the claim of the Sahabah, the majority of them, including the Muhajirun and Ansar, went apostate after the death of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam. This verse is clear and unequivocal.
Other verses where Allah mentions His pleasure with the Sahabah, the first believers.
Allah is not fivolous in anything He says or does. Thus I will mention to you other verses of the Qur’an mentioning the obligation of following the Sahabah. When I say Sahabah here, it includes the household of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, his ahlul bayt.
عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَثَابَهُمْ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا
Indeed, Allâh was pleased with the believers when they gave their Bai'â (pledge) to you (O Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)) under the tree, He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down As-Sakinah (calmness and tranquillity) upon them, and He rewarded them with a near victory
Allah not only said that He is pleased with them but He also commanded us to follow the footsteps of the Sahabah especially on those issues where they have agreed upon.
الرَّسُولَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءتْ مَصِيرًا
And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers' way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination.
Point to be taken from this verse:
Contradicting and opposing the Messenger is connected with following other than the believers way. This verse what revealed during the time when there are Muslims and Mushrikeen. The Muslims at that time were, of course the Messenger of Allah, his family, his relatives who are believers, the Muhajirun and the Ansar and other companions.
If the Sahabah went apostate show me a verse in the Qur’an that abrogates the specific point mentioned in the verse.
Another verse:
آمَنُواْ بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنتُم بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَواْ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
So if they believe in the like of that which you believe, then they are rightly guided, but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So Allâh will suffice you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.
Point to be taken from this verse:
When Allah said ‘They’ and ‘You’ in this verse, to whom is He referring to? He is refering to the Mushrikeen and the Muslims at that time. What was Allah telling them? It is to believe like what the believers believe at that time, then it is the right guidance.
Again if the Sahabah went apostate, show me a verse in the Qur’an that abrogates the specific points mentioned in this verse.
Another verse:
لَـكِنِ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَعَهُ جَاهَدُواْ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ لَهُمُ الْخَيْرَاتُ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
أَعَدَّ اللّهُ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
But the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) and those who believed with him (in Islâmic Monotheism) strove hard and fought with their wealth and their lives (in Allâh's Cause). Such are they for whom are the good things, and it is they who will be successful.
For them Allâh has got ready Gardens (Paradise) under which rivers flow, dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success. (At-Tawbah 9:88, 89)
How many of the Muhajirun and the Ansars who fought with the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam who are not in your saved list? Allah is saying here that they will be successful and again, He has prepared for them gardens underwhich rivers flow. These people were ready to die and give up their lives for the sake of Allah. Would they do that if they were just ‘going with flow’?
If they went apostate after the death of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, then produce your proof of abrogation.
POINT NUMBER TWO: The Sahabah were not infallible
This point is very obvious that in american english, this would be called a ‘no brainer’. Therefore, they can commit mistakes – indeed they committed mistakes. It should be emphasized here that in terms of (Athaar) or narrations from the Sahabah and on the seerah as well, the ruling of authenticating narrations also applies, exactly the same as with the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah. Therefore whatever you can mention to me regarding their supposed ‘sinful deeds’ may or may not be authentic according to the Usool al Hadeeth.
So what are we going to do with their mistakes?
Again lets see the Qur’an:
وَالَّذِينَ جَاؤُوا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Al-Hashr 59:10)
This is one of the fundamentals teachings of Islam. What do we do if our brother or sister Muslims committed mistakes? What does Islam teaches? Are we supposed to tell the world about peoples mistakes? Are we commanded by Allah to dig the sins of the people and broadcast it to everyone? Are we supposed to slander them?
As before we return to the Qur’an:
A slanderer going about with calumnies (Al Qalam 68:11)
Woe to every slanderer and backbiter (Al Humazah 104:1)
Allah subhanahuwataala mentioned slander and backbiting here separately. In Arabic, there are few words I want to bring up here:
Nameemah: tale carrying from one person to another, the usual intention of which is to promote discord and disunity between the people.
Gheebah: Back biting
Buhtaan: saying something untrue about a person
Humaza: slanderer
Lumaza: backbiter
Allah had forbidden them all. If one should not slander a common Muslim, what do you think of those whom Allah praised in His own book?
Slandering the Sahabah will only bring discomfort in the least for those who are not firmly grounded in knowledge and hatred to them in the most.
Ponder carefully on this verse again:
And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Al-Hashr 59:10)
We must ask Allah’s forgiveness for them and we must not put in our hearts any hatred against them. This is a very clear verse that those who believe in the Qur’an and those who fear Allah (the first two verses I mentioned) will not hesitate to accept.
Summary
What I have given here brother are just proofs from the Qur’an, the Speech of Allah that you and me hold on to. I suggest you do the same, that is, also give proofs from the Qur’an that are as clear and unequivocal as these.
The hadeeth literature is filled with proofs that supports all the Qur’anic statements quoted above. I hope Allah grants me ability and time to make a second part reply which would compose primarily from the hadeeth.
In the end it is Allah who guides and He guides whoever is sincere in seeking the truth.
O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except as Muslims.
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair preaching and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly your Lord knows who has gone astray from His path, and He is the best aware of those who are guided.
This is my last and final public reply to this topic. This is because this group was primarily conceived as a forum for discussing the possibility of having an Islamic Media in the Philippines. As such, it is not appropriate and not justified to discuss sectarian issues that are not related to the primary objective of the group.
I started with the verse of Allah where He commanded us to fear Him, to really fear Him. The question: to what extent we should fear Him is answered in the next sentence “the way He should be feared”. Our fear should therefore be proportional to the Might, Glory, and Power etc of Allah. This is an impossibility because we cannot possibly conceive the extent of Glory, Power, Might, etc. of Allah. In another verse, to clarify the issue further, He said “Fear Allah according to your ability”. Thus we should fear Him as humanly as possible. Then the next sentence says “and die not except as Muslims”, also another impossibility for humans because we don’t control our death, hence the verse would mean to be ready for death all the time.
The second verse I mentioned is the methodology of Da’wah. That is, da’wah is inviting, and calling people, not scaring them away. That it is telling people the truth and asking them to think about it, if they will not take heed then Allah said “Allah guides whom He wills”. Therefore it is not proving to somebody that we are better than them in terms of intelligence and research. If intelligence alone can guide us to the right path then why are there are so many intelligent people who do not believe in Allah.
The reference of giving da’wah is:
O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe Allah and the last day. That is better and more suitable for final destination. (An Nisa 59).
And from this I shall proceed to my reply.
I shall only mention verses of the Qur’an to prove my point not because the proofs can only be found in the Qur’an but because this is the common ground for you and me to stand upon, a frame of reference to anchor our discussion. Although Allah has also mentioned His Messenger as a reference in the verse above, I will not quote hadeeth as much as possible because you don’t take knowledge from the Sahabah that is not in your ten odd saved list. This is because the Sahabah were the ones who passed on to us the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah and because of your belief against the Sahabah.
POINT NUMBER ONE: Allah subhanahuwataala is pleased with the Sahabah (A Sahabi is the one who met the Messenger of Allah and believed in him and died believing in him)
وَالسَّابِقُونَ الأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُواْ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
And the first to embrace Islâm of the Muhâjirûn (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansâr (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhâjirûn) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allâh is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.
Brother it is Allah who is saying this that He is pleased with the Muhajirun and the Ansar.
Not only that, even those who will follow their way, He will be pleased with them (so that people like us in the later generations would have chances of gaining the pleasure of Allah).
He has prepared for them Paradise.
Doubt Number 1: Who are the Muhajirun and the Ansar?
Answer to doubt Number 1:
Who are the Muhajirun and the Ansar? Do they not include Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman aside from Ali, radiallahu anhum ajmain? Who migrated together with the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, inside the cave, wasn’t it Abu Bakr? Who helped the Muhajirun when they emigrated to Madeenah, wasn’t it the Ansar. That is why they are called Ansar because it literally means ‘helpers’.
إِلاَّ تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لاَ تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللّهَ مَعَنَا فَأَنزَلَ اللّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ السُّفْلَى وَكَلِمَةُ اللّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا وَاللّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
If you help him (Muhammad) not (it does not matter), for Allah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of two, when they (Muhammad and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, and he said to his companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, peace, etc.) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while it was the Word of Allah that became the uppermost, and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.
Doubt Number 2: Indeed Allah is talking about the Muhajirun and the Ansar and they were good Muslims when this verse was revealed but when the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam died they went apostate. Allah may be pleased with them at the time but He wasn’t pleased with them later after the Messenger died.
Answer to doubt Number 2:
Doubt number 2 is also contradicting the verse of the Muhajirun and the Ansar because:
a. Allah said that He has prepared for them Paradise.
· This means that Allah is still pleased with them even after the Messenger of Allah died otherwise He wouldn’t say it in the Qur’an and be preserved for all time that He has prepared for them paradise.
b. If what you claim is true (that they went apostate after the death of the Messenger) then the burden is upon you to produce a proof from the Qur’an that Allah has abrogated the verse above.
· What I am asking you is a Qur’anic verse, please note this properly. I am not asking Seerah and Hadeeth (whether it is Sahih, Daeef or even Maudoo’) for two reasons:
i. It is only the Qur’an that you and me can refer to because we both agree that it is still the same Qur’an revealed to the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam. In fact it is only because of our mutual belief in the Qur’an that we call ourselves ‘brother.’
ii. The Qur’an (Isnad) chain of transmission is Mutawaatir. Meaning, so many people transmitted it in every chain and generation with the same accuracy and content, that it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to come together and concoct a lie and create a false (matn) text.
iii. Because of point ii above, not all hadeeth you can mention to me has the same status in the eyes of the skilled Muhadditheen. Hence any hadeeth or seerah that you might show me in the course of our discussion that doesn’t have same level of authenticity is not acceptable. This is another topic, though related but merits a separate discussion. (There should be a topic called: hadeeth criticism between Ahlus Sunnah and Shee’a – Subhanallah this should be interesting). I suggest you read hadeeth criticism.
c. If we truly believe in the Qur’an and truly fear Allah (remember the two verses I mentioned above) indeed this single verse is ENOUGH to discredit the claim of the Sahabah, the majority of them, including the Muhajirun and Ansar, went apostate after the death of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam. This verse is clear and unequivocal.
Other verses where Allah mentions His pleasure with the Sahabah, the first believers.
Allah is not fivolous in anything He says or does. Thus I will mention to you other verses of the Qur’an mentioning the obligation of following the Sahabah. When I say Sahabah here, it includes the household of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, his ahlul bayt.
عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَثَابَهُمْ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا
Indeed, Allâh was pleased with the believers when they gave their Bai'â (pledge) to you (O Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)) under the tree, He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down As-Sakinah (calmness and tranquillity) upon them, and He rewarded them with a near victory
Allah not only said that He is pleased with them but He also commanded us to follow the footsteps of the Sahabah especially on those issues where they have agreed upon.
الرَّسُولَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءتْ مَصِيرًا
And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers' way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination.
Point to be taken from this verse:
Contradicting and opposing the Messenger is connected with following other than the believers way. This verse what revealed during the time when there are Muslims and Mushrikeen. The Muslims at that time were, of course the Messenger of Allah, his family, his relatives who are believers, the Muhajirun and the Ansar and other companions.
If the Sahabah went apostate show me a verse in the Qur’an that abrogates the specific point mentioned in the verse.
Another verse:
آمَنُواْ بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنتُم بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَواْ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
So if they believe in the like of that which you believe, then they are rightly guided, but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So Allâh will suffice you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.
Point to be taken from this verse:
When Allah said ‘They’ and ‘You’ in this verse, to whom is He referring to? He is refering to the Mushrikeen and the Muslims at that time. What was Allah telling them? It is to believe like what the believers believe at that time, then it is the right guidance.
Again if the Sahabah went apostate, show me a verse in the Qur’an that abrogates the specific points mentioned in this verse.
Another verse:
لَـكِنِ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَعَهُ جَاهَدُواْ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ لَهُمُ الْخَيْرَاتُ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
أَعَدَّ اللّهُ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
But the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) and those who believed with him (in Islâmic Monotheism) strove hard and fought with their wealth and their lives (in Allâh's Cause). Such are they for whom are the good things, and it is they who will be successful.
For them Allâh has got ready Gardens (Paradise) under which rivers flow, dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success. (At-Tawbah 9:88, 89)
How many of the Muhajirun and the Ansars who fought with the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam who are not in your saved list? Allah is saying here that they will be successful and again, He has prepared for them gardens underwhich rivers flow. These people were ready to die and give up their lives for the sake of Allah. Would they do that if they were just ‘going with flow’?
If they went apostate after the death of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, then produce your proof of abrogation.
POINT NUMBER TWO: The Sahabah were not infallible
This point is very obvious that in american english, this would be called a ‘no brainer’. Therefore, they can commit mistakes – indeed they committed mistakes. It should be emphasized here that in terms of (Athaar) or narrations from the Sahabah and on the seerah as well, the ruling of authenticating narrations also applies, exactly the same as with the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah. Therefore whatever you can mention to me regarding their supposed ‘sinful deeds’ may or may not be authentic according to the Usool al Hadeeth.
So what are we going to do with their mistakes?
Again lets see the Qur’an:
وَالَّذِينَ جَاؤُوا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Al-Hashr 59:10)
This is one of the fundamentals teachings of Islam. What do we do if our brother or sister Muslims committed mistakes? What does Islam teaches? Are we supposed to tell the world about peoples mistakes? Are we commanded by Allah to dig the sins of the people and broadcast it to everyone? Are we supposed to slander them?
As before we return to the Qur’an:
A slanderer going about with calumnies (Al Qalam 68:11)
Woe to every slanderer and backbiter (Al Humazah 104:1)
Allah subhanahuwataala mentioned slander and backbiting here separately. In Arabic, there are few words I want to bring up here:
Nameemah: tale carrying from one person to another, the usual intention of which is to promote discord and disunity between the people.
Gheebah: Back biting
Buhtaan: saying something untrue about a person
Humaza: slanderer
Lumaza: backbiter
Allah had forbidden them all. If one should not slander a common Muslim, what do you think of those whom Allah praised in His own book?
Slandering the Sahabah will only bring discomfort in the least for those who are not firmly grounded in knowledge and hatred to them in the most.
Ponder carefully on this verse again:
And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Al-Hashr 59:10)
We must ask Allah’s forgiveness for them and we must not put in our hearts any hatred against them. This is a very clear verse that those who believe in the Qur’an and those who fear Allah (the first two verses I mentioned) will not hesitate to accept.
Summary
What I have given here brother are just proofs from the Qur’an, the Speech of Allah that you and me hold on to. I suggest you do the same, that is, also give proofs from the Qur’an that are as clear and unequivocal as these.
The hadeeth literature is filled with proofs that supports all the Qur’anic statements quoted above. I hope Allah grants me ability and time to make a second part reply which would compose primarily from the hadeeth.
In the end it is Allah who guides and He guides whoever is sincere in seeking the truth.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
The Need for Islamic Media in the Philippines
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Have you ever wondered how are we Muslims in the Philippines ever to rise up to the surface while - we - now are drowning in the abyss of ignominy and despair?
I believe that the solution is in Islam; the way we understand it and implement it in our lives.
We witness in the last century how our struggle progress from combat to never ending peace talks. Deep in our hearts, we know that the latter (the way it is going now) is not going to work, judging from our experience with the people we are negotiating with. I do eagerly hope and pray that all will end up according to our expectations and aspirations.
While I certainly don’t underestimate the efforts and the untold sacrifices of our elders and brothers, I believe that there needs to be a renewal of effort in bringing back Islam to our homeland.
There is one way that we, the bangsamoro, have not yet fully participated in collectively as we did in the other arena of the struggle. That is the way of Da'wah.
We have all the fronts and groups, the main method of which is political and physical struggle. But we seldom hear groups with mass support to call the people to Allah and His religion.
Perhaps, partially one of the reason is that we don't see our selves as the main problem. Perchance, we don't see that it is because of our own state of weakness that Allah allowed this to happen to us. In other words, we don’t think of making da'wah to our selves.
In the last few decades, there have been efforts of da'wah, particularly supported by our brothers in the Middle East. Perhaps you would remember Da'wah centers springing up everywhere in the archipelago.
There were also groups that tried to brave the tides of broadcasting. I still remember watching Najeeb Rasul in his program Voice of Islam interviewing Dr. Bilal Philips. That episode made me - alhamdulillah - more conscious of my deen. I actually went to a da’wah center, for the first time, after watching.
I also remember while that program last, everyday people are coming to the da'wah center I frequently visit. People are embracing Islam almost daily. Once, four sisters embraced Islam simultaneously!
Come to think of it, that program airs on Saturday, at lunch time, pitted against well established lunch programs and giant stars, through a channel with the worst TV reception. Despite of that, I certainly believed that, that show helped many people, Muslims and non Muslims alike find their way back to Allah subhanahu wa taala.
But the event in New York in 2001 changed the way our generous brothers can give financial help to us. Consequently several Da’wah centers closed and others although operational yet their influence were reduced to within the walls of the buildings they are located.
The Iglesia ni Cristo has several TV programs funded by their own selves. If they can sustain their programs then so are we. We are more numerous and most importantly we have the Truth. We should be more motivated to have our own programs or even a channel.
Although Islam in of itself has systems of spreading information and education such as the Khutba every Friday, a widespread, far reaching, comprehensive, systematic delivering of Islamic information is urgently warranted.
Parents may wonder why their influence on their children is minimal. Simple math may answer this dilemma. A child goes to school and stays there for about 6 to 8 hours. Then after coming home, the child sits in front of the TV for another 4 hours or so. Dinner comes and everyone is sitting on the dining table for about thirty minutes. That is the only time when parents are actually with their children. Of course, actual scenarios may vary but the bottom line is how can thirty minutes parenting compare to 10 – 12 hours of school and TV.
We cannot expect help from the Philippine educational system to forge Islamic identities to our children – and this is a topic in of itself and there is also an urgent need for the Islamization of knowledge in the Philippines (and everywhere else I guess). I still believe that the identity of a child is forged at home.
Several researchers have concluded that broadcast television nowadays do not offer anything constructive to our children. This ‘enlightenment’ came from non Muslims themselves.
These two things I believe where we should exert our utmost effort – we – those who chose to struggle away from the battlefields. They are, Islamizing the educational system and causing a media metamorphosis from filthy daily mainstream broadcasting into informative, educational programs that would help the parents and their children, the teachers and their students, produce Islamic generations.
I think that this is a worth wile endeavor and I am ready to partake in this mission and make it the mission of my life. The “how” of it and the “how much” of it is beyond my knowledge and capabilities now. But I don’t really care.
Let this Tausug group be proactive not just reactive. I sincerely hope that our discussion would revolve around this issue and I pray that more people would come to know about this idea.
I know i'm not alone in this and somebody may already have thought of this and may even have taken actions. But what we need now is a concerted effort from individuals who are inclined to this endeavor so that a bigger impact would be felt by the Filipinos in general and bangsamoro in particular.
Have you ever wondered how are we Muslims in the Philippines ever to rise up to the surface while - we - now are drowning in the abyss of ignominy and despair?
I believe that the solution is in Islam; the way we understand it and implement it in our lives.
We witness in the last century how our struggle progress from combat to never ending peace talks. Deep in our hearts, we know that the latter (the way it is going now) is not going to work, judging from our experience with the people we are negotiating with. I do eagerly hope and pray that all will end up according to our expectations and aspirations.
While I certainly don’t underestimate the efforts and the untold sacrifices of our elders and brothers, I believe that there needs to be a renewal of effort in bringing back Islam to our homeland.
There is one way that we, the bangsamoro, have not yet fully participated in collectively as we did in the other arena of the struggle. That is the way of Da'wah.
We have all the fronts and groups, the main method of which is political and physical struggle. But we seldom hear groups with mass support to call the people to Allah and His religion.
Perhaps, partially one of the reason is that we don't see our selves as the main problem. Perchance, we don't see that it is because of our own state of weakness that Allah allowed this to happen to us. In other words, we don’t think of making da'wah to our selves.
In the last few decades, there have been efforts of da'wah, particularly supported by our brothers in the Middle East. Perhaps you would remember Da'wah centers springing up everywhere in the archipelago.
There were also groups that tried to brave the tides of broadcasting. I still remember watching Najeeb Rasul in his program Voice of Islam interviewing Dr. Bilal Philips. That episode made me - alhamdulillah - more conscious of my deen. I actually went to a da’wah center, for the first time, after watching.
I also remember while that program last, everyday people are coming to the da'wah center I frequently visit. People are embracing Islam almost daily. Once, four sisters embraced Islam simultaneously!
Come to think of it, that program airs on Saturday, at lunch time, pitted against well established lunch programs and giant stars, through a channel with the worst TV reception. Despite of that, I certainly believed that, that show helped many people, Muslims and non Muslims alike find their way back to Allah subhanahu wa taala.
But the event in New York in 2001 changed the way our generous brothers can give financial help to us. Consequently several Da’wah centers closed and others although operational yet their influence were reduced to within the walls of the buildings they are located.
The Iglesia ni Cristo has several TV programs funded by their own selves. If they can sustain their programs then so are we. We are more numerous and most importantly we have the Truth. We should be more motivated to have our own programs or even a channel.
Although Islam in of itself has systems of spreading information and education such as the Khutba every Friday, a widespread, far reaching, comprehensive, systematic delivering of Islamic information is urgently warranted.
Parents may wonder why their influence on their children is minimal. Simple math may answer this dilemma. A child goes to school and stays there for about 6 to 8 hours. Then after coming home, the child sits in front of the TV for another 4 hours or so. Dinner comes and everyone is sitting on the dining table for about thirty minutes. That is the only time when parents are actually with their children. Of course, actual scenarios may vary but the bottom line is how can thirty minutes parenting compare to 10 – 12 hours of school and TV.
We cannot expect help from the Philippine educational system to forge Islamic identities to our children – and this is a topic in of itself and there is also an urgent need for the Islamization of knowledge in the Philippines (and everywhere else I guess). I still believe that the identity of a child is forged at home.
Several researchers have concluded that broadcast television nowadays do not offer anything constructive to our children. This ‘enlightenment’ came from non Muslims themselves.
These two things I believe where we should exert our utmost effort – we – those who chose to struggle away from the battlefields. They are, Islamizing the educational system and causing a media metamorphosis from filthy daily mainstream broadcasting into informative, educational programs that would help the parents and their children, the teachers and their students, produce Islamic generations.
I think that this is a worth wile endeavor and I am ready to partake in this mission and make it the mission of my life. The “how” of it and the “how much” of it is beyond my knowledge and capabilities now. But I don’t really care.
Let this Tausug group be proactive not just reactive. I sincerely hope that our discussion would revolve around this issue and I pray that more people would come to know about this idea.
I know i'm not alone in this and somebody may already have thought of this and may even have taken actions. But what we need now is a concerted effort from individuals who are inclined to this endeavor so that a bigger impact would be felt by the Filipinos in general and bangsamoro in particular.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil: Combining The Foundation and the Methodology
All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings of Allah to His Messenger Muhammad, his family and followers until the end of the World.
The foundation
In Islam enjoining good and forbidding evil is one of the duties of a Muslim. Allah said:
You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad SAW and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden), and you believe in Allah. And had the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have faith, but most of them are Al-Fasiqun (disobedient to Allah - and rebellious against Allah's Command).
Al Imran (3) 110[1]
In another verse,
Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful.
Al Imrân (03) Verse 104.
In his Tafsir, Ibn Kathir[2] said:
Allah said, (Let there arise out of you a group of people) that calls to righteousness, enjoins all that is good and forbids evil in the manner Allah commanded, (And it is they who are the successful.)
Ad-Dahhak[3] said, "They are a special group of the Companions and a special group of those after them, that is those who perform Jihad and the scholars.''
The objective of this Ayah is that there should be a segment of this Muslim Ummah fulfilling this task, even though it is also an obligation on every member of this Ummah, each according to his ability
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Vol 2 Page 232 (Darussalam English Translation)
The foundation
In Islam enjoining good and forbidding evil is one of the duties of a Muslim. Allah said:
You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad SAW and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden), and you believe in Allah. And had the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have faith, but most of them are Al-Fasiqun (disobedient to Allah - and rebellious against Allah's Command).
Al Imran (3) 110[1]
In another verse,
Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful.
Al Imrân (03) Verse 104.
In his Tafsir, Ibn Kathir[2] said:
Allah said, (Let there arise out of you a group of people) that calls to righteousness, enjoins all that is good and forbids evil in the manner Allah commanded, (And it is they who are the successful.)
Ad-Dahhak[3] said, "They are a special group of the Companions and a special group of those after them, that is those who perform Jihad and the scholars.''
The objective of this Ayah is that there should be a segment of this Muslim Ummah fulfilling this task, even though it is also an obligation on every member of this Ummah, each according to his ability
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Vol 2 Page 232 (Darussalam English Translation)
The Consequences
This duty is so important such that neglecting on acting upon it is equated with the collective punishment of Allah upon the people, whether they are good or bad if those who are good amongst them neglect to implement it. Imam Bukhari collected a hadeeth narrated By Zainab bint Jahsh:
The Prophet got up from his sleep with a flushed red face and said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. Woe to the Arabs, from the Great evil that is nearly approaching them. Today a gap has been made in the wall of Gog and Magog like this." (Sufyan illustrated by this forming the number 90 or 100 with his fingers.) It was asked, "Shall we be destroyed though there are righteous people among us?" The Prophet said, "Yes, if evil increased."
Vol 9, Book 88. Book of Afflictions and the end of the world. Hadeeth number 181[4]
And its fulfillment is connected to our safety:
O you who believe! Take care of your ownselves, [do righteous deeds, fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]. If you follow the right guidance and enjoin what is right (Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbid what is wrong (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden) no hurt can come to you from those who are in error. The return of you all is to Allah, then He will inform you about (all) that which you used to do.
Al Maaidah (5): 105
…and Allah will grant us power in the land:
Those (Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in the land, (they) order for Iqamat-as-Salat. [i.e. to perform the five compulsory congregational Salat (prayers) (the males in mosques)], to pay the Zakat and they enjoin Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism and all that Islam has forbidden) [i.e. they make the Qur'an as the law of their country in all the spheres of life]. And with Allah rests the end of (all) matters (of creatures).
Al Hajj (22): 41
The Methodology
The methodology of enjoining good and forbidding evil is enshrined in a hadeeth collected by Imam Muslim:
It is narrated on the authority of Tariq b. Shihab: It was Marwan who initiated (the practice) of delivering khutbah (address) before the prayer on the 'Id day. A man stood up and said: Prayer should precede khutbah. He (Marwan) remarked, This (practice) has been done away with. Upon this Abu Sa'id remarked: This man has performed (his duty) laid on him. I heard the Messenger of Allah as saying: He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith.
Book 1 Faith. Hadeeth No. 79
In another narration:
It is narrated on the authority 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud that the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) observed: Never a Prophet had been sent before me by Allah towards his nation who had not among his people (his) disciples and companions who followed his ways and obeyed his command. Then there came after them their successors who said whatever they did not practise, and practised whatever they were not commanded to do. He who strove against them with his hand was a believer: he who strove against them with his tongue was a believer, and he who strove against them with his heart was a believer and beyond that there is no faith even to the extent of a mustard seed.
Sahih Muslim. Book 1. Faith. Hadith 0081.
It is done according to position and authority
'Abdullah bin 'Umar had said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'All of you are guardians and responsible for your wards and the things under your care. The Imam (i.e. ruler) is the guardian of his subjects and is responsible for them and a man is the guardian of his family and is responsible for them. A woman is the guardian of her husband's house and is responsible for it. A servant is the guardian of his master's belongings and is responsible for them.' I thought that he also said, 'A man is the guardian of his father's property and is responsible for it. All of you are guardians and responsible for your wards and the things under your care."
Sahih Bukhari Vol 2, Book 13. Friday Prayer. Hadith 018
Implementing the Methodology with Wisdom
Enjoining good and forbidding evil is essentially inviting people to Allah. In this regard, Allah said in the Qur’an:
Invite (mankind, O Muhammad) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.
Surah/Chapter 016 - An-Nahl. Verse 125.
Implementing with wisdom means we must make sure according to the best of our abilities that when we enjoin good or forbid evil, the end result would be beneficial. In other words a greater good should be achieved or a greater evil is prevented.
There are many circumstances when we want to do good yet the result is harm. One example is praying the Tahajjud prayer but neglecting to pray the Fajr prayer due to exhaustion. One does not do the voluntary acts of worship in lieu of the Waajib. Because of this one does not pray the Sunnah prayer once the Iqaamah has been announced.
Likewise there are also circumtances where we want to avert harm yet the result is greater harm. To illustrate this point, we will mention the hadeeth narrated by Anas bin Malik in Sahih Muslim:
A Bedouin came and passed urine in one corner of the mosque. The people shouted at him but the Prophet stopped them till he finished urinating. The Prophet ordered them to spill a bucket of water over that place and they did so.
Vol 1 Book 4 Ablutions Hadeeth no. 234
Had the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam did not prevent the people from stopping the man from urinating, that man would have had splashed his urine all over the place, or in people’s clothings instead of confining it only to the place where he is urinating. Further, abruptly stopping the urination process could have other bad effects to a person’s health. Thus a greater harm was prevented by allowing some lesser harm to occur.
Ask Allah’s help
There is a Sunnah prayer called Istikhaara prayer. One is supposed to perform this prayer if he/she is going to decide on something.
Finally enjoining good and forbidding evil should be done for the sake of Allah alone. Further it should be done according to the way of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
We ask Allah that if we perform this obligation, we will be from those who are rewarded and be those whose scale of good deeds in the Judgment Day is heavy.
Narrated By 'Amr bin Al-'As: That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If a judge gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct (i.e. agrees with Allah and His Apostle's verdict) he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, (i.e. against that of Allah and His Apostle) even then he will get a reward."
Summary
Muslims are required to enjoin good and forbid evil. Its implementation and neglect are linked to our success and failure respectively. Its effectuation is done with wisdom and according to one’s authority. Finally it is Allah who grants success.
[1] All Qur’anic quotations are taken from islamsoft solutions. Downloadable free from http://www.islamtomorrow.com/
[2] A Great Scholar of Qur’an interpretation. http://www.tafsir.com/
[3] A Great Scholar amongst the early generations of Muslims.
[4] All Hadeeth quotations are taken from islamsoft solutions.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
State of Mind is Hereafter
The state of mind of a person determines how he receives, reacts, and lives his
life. The mind is the interpreter of the soul to the world. It is the means by which one can appreciate joy and love and all the good things in life. Likewise, it is also the vehicle through which a person perceives pains and sufferings. By 'state of mind', what is meant here is how a person perceives the reality of life and how he judge the world.
We'll all face death
The believers are emphatically and repeatedly told that this life is a fleeting one that can end anytime, anywhere. Death is thus like a persistent companion that never leaves. He is further told that the real life is the hereafter, where everybody will be resurrected and call to account. There, either one is bound to live eternally in perfect bliss in the company of the righteous, or one is in state of suffering and humiliation.
"Wherein he will neither die (to be in rest) nor live (a good living)." (Sooratul A'la87:13)
Why are we here?
There are things in life that can only be known by the human mind through the
medium of revelation. Amongst these are the origin and destiny of man. Questions such as: Where does man came from? What is he doing here in this world? What is required of him to do? What is the essence and explanation of life? What will happen to him after his death? Is death the end of everything?
We are here to Worship (Ibaadah)
The purpose of man's existence is to worship His Creator. Worship is defined as
everything that a person does, speaks and intends, whether hidden or apparent, as long as Allah loves and is pleased with it. In summary, worship is to perform
all the things that Allah commanded and recommended us with, and as well as to
avoid the doubtful matters and all the things he forbade us with. It entails believing in Allah, His Books, the Messengers, the Angels, the Day of Judgement, and the Divine Decree. It is to believe in them the way the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wasallam (Peace be upon him), taught to, and understood by, the Sahabah and those who exactly followed their ways.
It also includes performing Salah, to fast in Ramadan, to perform Hajj and to pay Zakat. It ranges from saying 'There is no God but Allah' to picking up harmful
life. The mind is the interpreter of the soul to the world. It is the means by which one can appreciate joy and love and all the good things in life. Likewise, it is also the vehicle through which a person perceives pains and sufferings. By 'state of mind', what is meant here is how a person perceives the reality of life and how he judge the world.
We'll all face death
The believers are emphatically and repeatedly told that this life is a fleeting one that can end anytime, anywhere. Death is thus like a persistent companion that never leaves. He is further told that the real life is the hereafter, where everybody will be resurrected and call to account. There, either one is bound to live eternally in perfect bliss in the company of the righteous, or one is in state of suffering and humiliation.
"Wherein he will neither die (to be in rest) nor live (a good living)." (Sooratul A'la87:13)
Why are we here?
There are things in life that can only be known by the human mind through the
medium of revelation. Amongst these are the origin and destiny of man. Questions such as: Where does man came from? What is he doing here in this world? What is required of him to do? What is the essence and explanation of life? What will happen to him after his death? Is death the end of everything?
We are here to Worship (Ibaadah)
The purpose of man's existence is to worship His Creator. Worship is defined as
everything that a person does, speaks and intends, whether hidden or apparent, as long as Allah loves and is pleased with it. In summary, worship is to perform
all the things that Allah commanded and recommended us with, and as well as to
avoid the doubtful matters and all the things he forbade us with. It entails believing in Allah, His Books, the Messengers, the Angels, the Day of Judgement, and the Divine Decree. It is to believe in them the way the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wasallam (Peace be upon him), taught to, and understood by, the Sahabah and those who exactly followed their ways.
It also includes performing Salah, to fast in Ramadan, to perform Hajj and to pay Zakat. It ranges from saying 'There is no God but Allah' to picking up harmful
Beware of Stickers: Thank Goodness
ALHAMDULILLAH IS TRANSLATED AS THANK GOODNESS'
Indeed, all praises are for Allaah subhaanahu wa ta'ala. We praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allaah from the evils of our souls and our evil actions. Whosoever Allaah guides then none can misguide and whosoever Allaah misguides then none can guide aright. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah alone, having no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam is His servant and Messenger.
Perhaps every Muslim who has a grasp of both English and Arabic language knows that the English translation of the Arabic word 'al-Hamdulillah', is 'Praise be to Allah or All praises and thanks are to Allah alone' or something similar to them. However, today, we find stickers on the cars and vehicles of people, used s decoration or perhaps as a sort of reminder, with the word 'al-Hamdulillah' written and immediately below it, the word 'thank goodness' is placed. In this brief article, we shall endeavor to prove that the translation is not accurate both in its literal sense and in its meaning. And we shall also, Insha-allah, try to unveil its contradiction with the principles of Islam.
Before we do that, it is important to note that the Qur'anic 'translations' we read in English are not the Qur'an. "Neither the translator nor his audience believe that the translation is the Qur'an."[1] This is because the Qur'an itself, in about eleven references, explained that it was revealed in the language of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, which is in Arabic.[2] With this in mind, whenever we say the English translation of 'al-Hamdulillah', we mean the translation of the meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' in English.
We say the translation is not accurate in its literal sense because if one browses through the widely disseminated Qur'anic 'translations' today, one will not find 'al-Hamdulillah' translated as 'thank goodness'.
Amazingly, in a span of two centuries of translation of the Qur'an, none of the translators render 'al-Hamdulillah' into English as 'thank goodness'. In the 18th century, George Sale translates 'al-Hamdulillahi-Rabbil-'alameen' as "Praise be to God the Lord of all creatures". Likewise, in the 19th century J.M. Rodwell, he translated it as "Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds". Also, in first half of 20th century, M. Pickthall translated it as "Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds"[3]
In recent times, The Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an in the English Language By AI-Hilali et. al. translated 'al-Hamdulillah' as 'All the Praises and Thanks be to Allah'[4].
Also if one looks through Arabic-English Dictionaries, 'Hamd is translated as 'praising' or 'thanking' or something similar to them, and I am yet to find a dictionary that translate the word 'Allah' as 'goodness'.
Due to this unusual translation, the intended meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' has been severely corrupted.
To know the intended meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah', we quote some of the Tafseer (Explanation of the Scholars of the Qur'an^ of the Scholars. AI-Haafidh Ibn Kathir, rahimahullah, in his Tafseer of the Qur'an, quoted at-Tabari (Tafseer of the Qur'an by at-Tabari 1:135) regarding the meaning of 'al-hamdulillah' as follows:
The meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' is "All thanks are due purely to Allah, alone, not any of the objects that are being worshipped instead of Him, nor any of his creation. These thanks are due to Allah's innumerable favors and bounties that only He knows the amount of. Allah's bounties include creating the tools that help the creation worship Him, the physical bodies with which they are able to implement His commands, the sustenance that He provided them in this life, and the comfortable life He has granted them, without anything or anyone compelling Him to do so. Allah also warned His creation and alerted them about the means and methods with which they can earn eternal dwelling in the residence of everlasting happiness. All thanks and praises to Allah for these favors from beginning to end."[5]
Shaykh Muhammad Ameen Shanqeetee, rahimahullah, explained in his Tafseer of the Qur'an, Adwaa'ul Bayaan, the meaning of 'alhamdulillah' as follows:
"The saying of the Exalted, 'all the praises and thanks are for Allaah': there is no mention here as to when this praise is said or from where this praise comes from, but in Surah (a chapter of the Qur'an,) Rum there is mention that from amongst the 'where's' are the heavens and the earth – in His saying, 'and His is all the praises and thanks in the heavens and the earth.' (30:18).
And in Surah Qasas there is mention that from amongst the 'when's' are in this world and in the Hereafter - in His sayings,
'And He is Allaah, none has the right to be worshipped
besides Him. To Him belongs all praise in the beginning (i.e. this world) and in the end (i.e.
the Hereafter).' (28:70).
And He said in the beginning of Surah Saba'a,
'His is all the praise in the Hereafter, and He is the All-Wise, All-Aware.' (34:1).
The Alif and Laam (i.e. the definite article 'the') in al-Hamd is so as to include all the different manners of praise, and it is an extolling with which Allaah has praised Himself and ordered His servants to praise Him with." [6]
It is clear, without any doubt from the above translations of scholars (Muslims and Non-Muslims), and as well as from the Tafseer of the Mufassiroon[7], that translating 'al-Hamdulillah' as 'thank goodness' is not accurate both from the linguistic point of view or from the meaning of the Tahmid (al-Hamdulillah). It is absolutely clear that nothing deserves 'al-Hamd' except Allah alone.
In addition, regarding 'al-Hamd', Shaykh-al-lslam Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah,
says:
"Hamd means praising orally a grace regardless of being benefited by it, be it a favour or anything else, such as a statement that 'I did hamd to a certain person in connection with the prize he had been awarded or for his feat of boldness.' Shukr (thanking) is that praise which is done orally or emotionally or by any other organ of the body in lieu of some favor. This shows that the word hamd is commonly used in one situation and Shukr m another situation."[8]
If 'al-Hamdulillah 'means to praise and thank Allah for His bounties, therefore, the translation should mention Allah being thanked and praised or else we would be praising or thanking someone or something other than Allah. If Allah should be acknowledged first when being grateful for some fortune, then all the more so the translation should mention the word Allah or at least put the word 'God' for those who don't know the word 'Allah'.
In the translation, however, Allah is not mentioned, instead, 'goodness' was mentioned. The dangeir in translating 'al-Hamdulillah' as 'thank goodness' has this implication: That the translation of the word 'al-Hamd' is 'thanks' and the English word for 'Allah' is 'goodness'. It is obvious that both words 'al-Hamd' and Allah' don't mean 'thanks' and 'goodness' respectively. The logical consequence of this is that saying 'thank goodness' as the conscious translation of the meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' in English language is like saying thanks for the bounties we receive to some abstract idea like 'goodness'. This is because 'Allah' does not mean 'goodness'.
Moreover, some might say that goodness could be one of Allah's Names. If this is the case then we say ‘produce your proof’. We describe Allah the way He describes Himself and the way His Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) described Him.
Imaam Aboo 'Uthmaan ibn 'Abdur-Rahman As-Saboonee in describing what the people of the Sunnah believe concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah, says:
They affirm what Allah, the Most Majestic, has affirmed for Himself in His Book or through the tongue of His Messenger, (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam).[9]
Imaam Ibn Qudaamah says about the obligation of sticking to Qur'an and authentic Hadeeth concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah:
We are obliged to believe in and to welcome with submission and acceptance everything that is mentioned in the Qur'an or that is correctly transmitted from the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) concerning the attributes of Allah. And we must not oppose it (which is done) by radd (rejection), ta'weel (distortive interpretation), tashbeeh (comparison) and tamtheel (representation).[10]
Furthermore, Shaykh 'Umar Sulaiman AI-Ashqar says:
"It is not permitted to talk about the unseen except with a clear proof.
And do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Surely the hearing, the sight and heart, about each of these you will be questioned. (17:36)
In addition, Allah criticized those who claimed that the angels are female and He made what they said a testimony about which they are going to be asked when He brings them to stand in front of Him.
And they made the angels, who themselves are slaves to the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded and they will be questioned? (43:19)
If such matter of speaking about the angels without knowledge is such, then consider the seriousness of speaking about Allah without knowledge. It is a sin, considered as one of the major sins according to the scales of Truth and His Law.
Say: What my Lord has forbidden you are all acts of indecency, whether committed openly or in secret, sin and wrongful oppression, that you associate with Allah that which has not been sanctioned by Him and that you say concerning Allah something about which you have no knowledge. (7:33)
The reliable and safe way that will lead us to knowledge of Allah, the Most High, is through revelation, which brought this knowledge to light in the clearest possible manner. It is clear and distinct method whose results are reliable and trustworthy because the source of it is the All-Knowing the All Aware and His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihiwa sallam).
There is no one more knowledgeable about Allah than Allah Himself just as no one in creation is more knowledgeable about Allah than His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihiwa sallam"[11]
The names of Allah are the matters of al-ghaib (unseen) and as such that they can't be known except from revelation from Allah. Hence we require proof from the revelation - the Qur'an and authentic Hadeeth—that says that 'goodness' is one of the Names of Allah.
It must be emphasized, however, that in no way we mean that Allah is not good. No doubt that Allah is the Creator and the Source of all good. In fact, there is a hadeeth that Allah is described as At-Tayyib, The Good. But The Good' is entirely different from 'goodness'.
One of the Names of Allah is Ar-Rahman (The Merciful) but we don't say that Allah is rahmah (mercy). And Allah is AI-Hakeem (The All-Wise), but we don't say that Allah is hikmah (wisdom). Likewise, Allah is At-Tayyib (The Good) but we don't say that He is 'goodness'. Ar-Rahman, Al-Hakeem, At-Tayyib are Names of Allah, therefore we may say At-Tayyib is Allah. However 'mercy', 'wisdom', and 'goodness' are characters ascribed to Allah, but we don't say 'mercy' is Allah, 'wisdom' is Allah, or 'goodness' is Allah. And besides the meaning of At-Tayyib is closer to mean 'Pure' and it is not the meaning of 'goodness'. Hence, we can say 'all praises and thanks to Ar-Rahman;' but we can't say 'all praises and thanks to rahmah'. Likewise, we can say 'all praises and thanks to At-Tayyib' but we can't say 'all praises and thanks to goodness'.
Thus, the final analysis is, neither the word 'Allah' means 'goodness', nor can 'goodness' be established from any angle to mean 'Allah'. Hence, saying 'thank goodness' instead of saying 'thanks Allah' is close to committing Shirk[12] (polytheism) " because 'goodness' doesn't deserve the thanks and praises of the creatures between the heavens and earth. Even though we may thank someone who's done something good at the same time we must recognize or acknowledge that ultimately all good comes from Allah. Therefore, He is the One Who deserves to be praised.[13]
It could tantamount to Shirk because 'goodness' replaced the word 'Allah' as if 'goodness' is the translation of the word 'Allah', or as if 'goodness' is Allah Himself. This, by necessity, gives a connotation that 'goodness' can avert or inflict harm or can grant good or wishes when undoubtedly this Ability is the prerogative of Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an, the English translation of its meaning is:[14]
Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Wakil (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian, etc.) over all things. (39:62)[15]
The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam), the one sent to explain the Qur'an in detail, says in a hadeeth reported by Ibn Abbas (radi-Allahu- anhu):
Know that if the whole nation united in an effort to benefit you with something, they would only be able to benefit you with something that Allah has destined for you. Likewise, if the whole nation united to harm you with something, they would only be able to do so if Allah had destined it to happen to you.[16]
If this could be Shirk, then, Muslims must be very far from this because Shirk is the greatest Zulm[17]. Allah doesn't forgive shirk if one did not repent before death.
Allah says in the Qur'an:
Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin." (4:48)
In addition, 'al-Hamdulillah' is a Speech of Allah, His Word, and should be considered with utmost care when translating and not taken lightly. Saying 'al-Hamdulillah' is the best form of supplication as was recorded in this hadeeth:
"The most excellent dhikr (remembrance) is [the statement] laa ilaaha illallaah and the most excellent du'a (supplication) is [the statement] al-Hamdulillaah"[18]
Therefore, we must translate it in the best possible manner.
The origin of the expression 'thank goodness'
The origin of the expression 'thank goodness' is from Western Societies in which the predominant life's philosophy is atheistic in nature and science is the ultimate yardstick in life (i.e. what can't be proven by science is non-existent). Instead of saying the word 'God', they replaced it with the word 'goodness' or with other words, since 'God' according to science can't be proven by physical experiment.
They do this even though the whole of Creation points to the existence of God. And belief in God in these societies is not something that one can really be proud of, instead, religion is viewed as a shackle to one's mind (the opium of the masses).
The danger in imitating the Kuffar (disbelievers)
The Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said: "Whoever imitates a people, then he is from them"
This expression is actually an imitation of the Kuffar because this is what some of them say when something good happened to them or some harm was removed from them. While in Islam, Allah is acknowledged first as the ultimate cause of everything. Meaning if something good happens then it is from Allah[19], and if some calamities happen, then they are tests from Allah. That is why there are words to say in times of happiness (i.e. alhamdulillah) and in times of disaster {Qaddarallah, it is Allah's decree).
Perhaps the one who translated this had this in mind: That the reason for the translation is for the non-Muslims - who don't believe in God - to understand the expression 'al-Hamdulillah' in a frame of mind they are familiar with. If he (the translator) is a Muslim he must understand that He is required to speak about Allah and His Greatness. If he is a non-Muslim, then he has blundered in his translation.
Conclusions
Trivial as it may be to non-Muslims, translating 'al-Hamdulillah' to 'thank goodness' have grave implications to Muslims because it strikes at the very foundation of Islam, which is Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism, Affirmation of Uniqueness and Perfection of Allah)[20]. That is because the expression 'thank goodness' as the English for 'al-Hamdulillah' is not accurate, and at the least, ascribing an inappropriate name to Allah, or carries some form of Shirk.
Lastly, this saying 'thank goodness' has deep psycho-social roots in western societies that are permeated with and anchored upon atheism and upon the belief that religion is divorced from mundane life, and Muslims must be aware of this.
[1] An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an by Abu Ammaar Yaasir Qadhi, page 352.
[2] Amongst them are (Qur'an) 16:103,12:2, and 42:7
[3] Translating the Meaning of Surate Al-Fatiha and Amma section to the English (Twelve English Translations To The Meanings Of Surate Al-Fatiha and Amma Section Between Years 1734 and 1974). Prepared and presented by Dr. Anwar Mahmoud Abdul Wahed, pp. 31
[4] Interpretation of the Meanings of the Qur'an in the English Language by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, page 1.
[5] Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged), English Translation, by a group of Scholars under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur-Rahman al-Mubaarakpuri, volume 1 page 70.
[6] Adwaa 'ul Bayaan [Part 1] The Tafseer of Sooratul-Faatihah By al'Allaamah Muhammad al-Ameen ash- Shanqeetee. Translated by Abu Rumaysah from http://www.troid.org/.
[7] Mufassiroon - Those scholars who are highly skilled in explaining the Qur'an.
[8] Shark Al-Aqeedat-il-Waasitiyah (Text on the fundamental Beliefs of Islam and rejection of False concepts of its Opponents By Sheikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, commentary by Dr. Muhammad Khalil Harras, page 21.
[9] The Creed of the PIOUS PREDECESSORS and the PEOPLE OF HADEETH, By Aboo 'Uthmaan Ismaa'eel ibn "Abdurrahman As-Saboonee, English Translation, pp. 3.
[10] Lum 'atul I 'tiqaad (The Radiance of the Faith), By Imaam Muwaffiq-ud-Deen Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisee, English translation by Masjid Ahlus-Sunnah Publication, Jamaica, pp. 11.
[11] The Names and Attributes of Allah According to the doctrine of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah by Shaykh 'Umar Sulaiman al-Ashqar. Translated to English and published by Jam 'iat Ihyaa' Minhaaj Al-Sunnah, UK, pp. 16 - 17.
[12] Shirk basically is polytheism, i.e. worship of others along with Allah. It also implies attributing divine attributes to any other besides Allah. It particularly implies associating partners in worship with Allah or to believe that the source of power, harm or blessings is from others besides Allah. (The definition is taken from the Noble Qur'an by al-Hilali et. al. Appendix II, pp. 1018).
[13] '...And His is all the praises and thanks in the heavens and the earth.' Qur'an (30:18).
[14] Whenever we say 'Allah says in the Qur'an', we mean the interpretation of its meaning in the English language.
[15] The Translation is from The Noble Qur'an by Al-Hilali et. al.
[16] Reported by Ibn Abbas and collected by at-Tirmidhee, and authenticated by al-Albaanee in Saheeh al- Jaami' as-Sagheer, vol. 2. Pp. 1317; no. 3957. The English wording came from the Tafseer of SooratuI Hujuraat by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, pp. 142
[17] Verily, Shirk is the great Zulm. Qur'an 31:13
[18] Sunan at-Tirmidhee [no. 3623]. It was declared hasan by Shaykh Al-Albaanee, rahimahullah, in Saheeh at-Tirmidhee' [no. 2694]
[19] Whatever of good reaches you, is from Allah... Qur'an 4:89
[20] Tawhid (Islamic Monotheism) has three aspects:
(I) Oneness of the Lordship of Allah; Tauhid-ar-Ruboobiyya: To believe that there is only one Lord for
the Universe, its Creator, Organizer, Planner, Sustainer, and the Giver of Security, etc., and that is
Allah.
(II) Oneness of the Worship of Allah; Tawhid-al-Uloohiyya: To believe that none has the right to be
worshipped [e.g. praying, invoking, asking for help (from the unseen), swearing, slaughtering
sacrifices, giving charity, fasting, pilgrimage, etc.] but Allah.
(Ill) Oneness of the Names and the Qualities of Allah: Tawhid-al-Asma-was-Sifaaf. To believe that:
(t) We must not name or qualify Allah except with what He or His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam) has named or qualify Him;
(<-r>) None can be named or qualified with the Names or Qualifications of Allah; e.g. Al-Karim;
We must confirm all of Allah's Qualifications which Allah has state in His Book (Qur'an) or mentioned
through His Messenger (Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) without changing them or ignoring them
completely or twisting the meanings or giving resemblance to any of the created things [e.g. Allah is
present over His Throne as mentioned in the Qur'an (20:5). Allah said: "The Most Beneficent (Allah)
Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)," over the seventh heaven;
and comes down over the first (nearest) heaven to us on the day of 'Arafat (Hay, i.e. the 9th of Dhul-Hijja)
and also during the last third part of the night as mentioned by the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, but
He is with us by His knowledge only, not by His Personal-Self (Bi-Dhatihi).. (The definition is taken from
the Noble Qur'an by al-Hilali et. al. Appendix n, pp. 1010)
Indeed, all praises are for Allaah subhaanahu wa ta'ala. We praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allaah from the evils of our souls and our evil actions. Whosoever Allaah guides then none can misguide and whosoever Allaah misguides then none can guide aright. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah alone, having no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam is His servant and Messenger.
Perhaps every Muslim who has a grasp of both English and Arabic language knows that the English translation of the Arabic word 'al-Hamdulillah', is 'Praise be to Allah or All praises and thanks are to Allah alone' or something similar to them. However, today, we find stickers on the cars and vehicles of people, used s decoration or perhaps as a sort of reminder, with the word 'al-Hamdulillah' written and immediately below it, the word 'thank goodness' is placed. In this brief article, we shall endeavor to prove that the translation is not accurate both in its literal sense and in its meaning. And we shall also, Insha-allah, try to unveil its contradiction with the principles of Islam.
Before we do that, it is important to note that the Qur'anic 'translations' we read in English are not the Qur'an. "Neither the translator nor his audience believe that the translation is the Qur'an."[1] This is because the Qur'an itself, in about eleven references, explained that it was revealed in the language of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, which is in Arabic.[2] With this in mind, whenever we say the English translation of 'al-Hamdulillah', we mean the translation of the meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' in English.
We say the translation is not accurate in its literal sense because if one browses through the widely disseminated Qur'anic 'translations' today, one will not find 'al-Hamdulillah' translated as 'thank goodness'.
Amazingly, in a span of two centuries of translation of the Qur'an, none of the translators render 'al-Hamdulillah' into English as 'thank goodness'. In the 18th century, George Sale translates 'al-Hamdulillahi-Rabbil-'alameen' as "Praise be to God the Lord of all creatures". Likewise, in the 19th century J.M. Rodwell, he translated it as "Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds". Also, in first half of 20th century, M. Pickthall translated it as "Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds"[3]
In recent times, The Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an in the English Language By AI-Hilali et. al. translated 'al-Hamdulillah' as 'All the Praises and Thanks be to Allah'[4].
Also if one looks through Arabic-English Dictionaries, 'Hamd is translated as 'praising' or 'thanking' or something similar to them, and I am yet to find a dictionary that translate the word 'Allah' as 'goodness'.
Due to this unusual translation, the intended meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' has been severely corrupted.
To know the intended meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah', we quote some of the Tafseer (Explanation of the Scholars of the Qur'an^ of the Scholars. AI-Haafidh Ibn Kathir, rahimahullah, in his Tafseer of the Qur'an, quoted at-Tabari (Tafseer of the Qur'an by at-Tabari 1:135) regarding the meaning of 'al-hamdulillah' as follows:
The meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' is "All thanks are due purely to Allah, alone, not any of the objects that are being worshipped instead of Him, nor any of his creation. These thanks are due to Allah's innumerable favors and bounties that only He knows the amount of. Allah's bounties include creating the tools that help the creation worship Him, the physical bodies with which they are able to implement His commands, the sustenance that He provided them in this life, and the comfortable life He has granted them, without anything or anyone compelling Him to do so. Allah also warned His creation and alerted them about the means and methods with which they can earn eternal dwelling in the residence of everlasting happiness. All thanks and praises to Allah for these favors from beginning to end."[5]
Shaykh Muhammad Ameen Shanqeetee, rahimahullah, explained in his Tafseer of the Qur'an, Adwaa'ul Bayaan, the meaning of 'alhamdulillah' as follows:
"The saying of the Exalted, 'all the praises and thanks are for Allaah': there is no mention here as to when this praise is said or from where this praise comes from, but in Surah (a chapter of the Qur'an,) Rum there is mention that from amongst the 'where's' are the heavens and the earth – in His saying, 'and His is all the praises and thanks in the heavens and the earth.' (30:18).
And in Surah Qasas there is mention that from amongst the 'when's' are in this world and in the Hereafter - in His sayings,
'And He is Allaah, none has the right to be worshipped
besides Him. To Him belongs all praise in the beginning (i.e. this world) and in the end (i.e.
the Hereafter).' (28:70).
And He said in the beginning of Surah Saba'a,
'His is all the praise in the Hereafter, and He is the All-Wise, All-Aware.' (34:1).
The Alif and Laam (i.e. the definite article 'the') in al-Hamd is so as to include all the different manners of praise, and it is an extolling with which Allaah has praised Himself and ordered His servants to praise Him with." [6]
It is clear, without any doubt from the above translations of scholars (Muslims and Non-Muslims), and as well as from the Tafseer of the Mufassiroon[7], that translating 'al-Hamdulillah' as 'thank goodness' is not accurate both from the linguistic point of view or from the meaning of the Tahmid (al-Hamdulillah). It is absolutely clear that nothing deserves 'al-Hamd' except Allah alone.
In addition, regarding 'al-Hamd', Shaykh-al-lslam Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah,
says:
"Hamd means praising orally a grace regardless of being benefited by it, be it a favour or anything else, such as a statement that 'I did hamd to a certain person in connection with the prize he had been awarded or for his feat of boldness.' Shukr (thanking) is that praise which is done orally or emotionally or by any other organ of the body in lieu of some favor. This shows that the word hamd is commonly used in one situation and Shukr m another situation."[8]
If 'al-Hamdulillah 'means to praise and thank Allah for His bounties, therefore, the translation should mention Allah being thanked and praised or else we would be praising or thanking someone or something other than Allah. If Allah should be acknowledged first when being grateful for some fortune, then all the more so the translation should mention the word Allah or at least put the word 'God' for those who don't know the word 'Allah'.
In the translation, however, Allah is not mentioned, instead, 'goodness' was mentioned. The dangeir in translating 'al-Hamdulillah' as 'thank goodness' has this implication: That the translation of the word 'al-Hamd' is 'thanks' and the English word for 'Allah' is 'goodness'. It is obvious that both words 'al-Hamd' and Allah' don't mean 'thanks' and 'goodness' respectively. The logical consequence of this is that saying 'thank goodness' as the conscious translation of the meaning of 'al-Hamdulillah' in English language is like saying thanks for the bounties we receive to some abstract idea like 'goodness'. This is because 'Allah' does not mean 'goodness'.
Moreover, some might say that goodness could be one of Allah's Names. If this is the case then we say ‘produce your proof’. We describe Allah the way He describes Himself and the way His Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) described Him.
Imaam Aboo 'Uthmaan ibn 'Abdur-Rahman As-Saboonee in describing what the people of the Sunnah believe concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah, says:
They affirm what Allah, the Most Majestic, has affirmed for Himself in His Book or through the tongue of His Messenger, (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam).[9]
Imaam Ibn Qudaamah says about the obligation of sticking to Qur'an and authentic Hadeeth concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah:
We are obliged to believe in and to welcome with submission and acceptance everything that is mentioned in the Qur'an or that is correctly transmitted from the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) concerning the attributes of Allah. And we must not oppose it (which is done) by radd (rejection), ta'weel (distortive interpretation), tashbeeh (comparison) and tamtheel (representation).[10]
Furthermore, Shaykh 'Umar Sulaiman AI-Ashqar says:
"It is not permitted to talk about the unseen except with a clear proof.
And do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Surely the hearing, the sight and heart, about each of these you will be questioned. (17:36)
In addition, Allah criticized those who claimed that the angels are female and He made what they said a testimony about which they are going to be asked when He brings them to stand in front of Him.
And they made the angels, who themselves are slaves to the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded and they will be questioned? (43:19)
If such matter of speaking about the angels without knowledge is such, then consider the seriousness of speaking about Allah without knowledge. It is a sin, considered as one of the major sins according to the scales of Truth and His Law.
Say: What my Lord has forbidden you are all acts of indecency, whether committed openly or in secret, sin and wrongful oppression, that you associate with Allah that which has not been sanctioned by Him and that you say concerning Allah something about which you have no knowledge. (7:33)
The reliable and safe way that will lead us to knowledge of Allah, the Most High, is through revelation, which brought this knowledge to light in the clearest possible manner. It is clear and distinct method whose results are reliable and trustworthy because the source of it is the All-Knowing the All Aware and His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihiwa sallam).
There is no one more knowledgeable about Allah than Allah Himself just as no one in creation is more knowledgeable about Allah than His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihiwa sallam"[11]
The names of Allah are the matters of al-ghaib (unseen) and as such that they can't be known except from revelation from Allah. Hence we require proof from the revelation - the Qur'an and authentic Hadeeth—that says that 'goodness' is one of the Names of Allah.
It must be emphasized, however, that in no way we mean that Allah is not good. No doubt that Allah is the Creator and the Source of all good. In fact, there is a hadeeth that Allah is described as At-Tayyib, The Good. But The Good' is entirely different from 'goodness'.
One of the Names of Allah is Ar-Rahman (The Merciful) but we don't say that Allah is rahmah (mercy). And Allah is AI-Hakeem (The All-Wise), but we don't say that Allah is hikmah (wisdom). Likewise, Allah is At-Tayyib (The Good) but we don't say that He is 'goodness'. Ar-Rahman, Al-Hakeem, At-Tayyib are Names of Allah, therefore we may say At-Tayyib is Allah. However 'mercy', 'wisdom', and 'goodness' are characters ascribed to Allah, but we don't say 'mercy' is Allah, 'wisdom' is Allah, or 'goodness' is Allah. And besides the meaning of At-Tayyib is closer to mean 'Pure' and it is not the meaning of 'goodness'. Hence, we can say 'all praises and thanks to Ar-Rahman;' but we can't say 'all praises and thanks to rahmah'. Likewise, we can say 'all praises and thanks to At-Tayyib' but we can't say 'all praises and thanks to goodness'.
Thus, the final analysis is, neither the word 'Allah' means 'goodness', nor can 'goodness' be established from any angle to mean 'Allah'. Hence, saying 'thank goodness' instead of saying 'thanks Allah' is close to committing Shirk[12] (polytheism) " because 'goodness' doesn't deserve the thanks and praises of the creatures between the heavens and earth. Even though we may thank someone who's done something good at the same time we must recognize or acknowledge that ultimately all good comes from Allah. Therefore, He is the One Who deserves to be praised.[13]
It could tantamount to Shirk because 'goodness' replaced the word 'Allah' as if 'goodness' is the translation of the word 'Allah', or as if 'goodness' is Allah Himself. This, by necessity, gives a connotation that 'goodness' can avert or inflict harm or can grant good or wishes when undoubtedly this Ability is the prerogative of Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an, the English translation of its meaning is:[14]
Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Wakil (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian, etc.) over all things. (39:62)[15]
The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam), the one sent to explain the Qur'an in detail, says in a hadeeth reported by Ibn Abbas (radi-Allahu- anhu):
Know that if the whole nation united in an effort to benefit you with something, they would only be able to benefit you with something that Allah has destined for you. Likewise, if the whole nation united to harm you with something, they would only be able to do so if Allah had destined it to happen to you.[16]
If this could be Shirk, then, Muslims must be very far from this because Shirk is the greatest Zulm[17]. Allah doesn't forgive shirk if one did not repent before death.
Allah says in the Qur'an:
Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin." (4:48)
In addition, 'al-Hamdulillah' is a Speech of Allah, His Word, and should be considered with utmost care when translating and not taken lightly. Saying 'al-Hamdulillah' is the best form of supplication as was recorded in this hadeeth:
"The most excellent dhikr (remembrance) is [the statement] laa ilaaha illallaah and the most excellent du'a (supplication) is [the statement] al-Hamdulillaah"[18]
Therefore, we must translate it in the best possible manner.
The origin of the expression 'thank goodness'
The origin of the expression 'thank goodness' is from Western Societies in which the predominant life's philosophy is atheistic in nature and science is the ultimate yardstick in life (i.e. what can't be proven by science is non-existent). Instead of saying the word 'God', they replaced it with the word 'goodness' or with other words, since 'God' according to science can't be proven by physical experiment.
They do this even though the whole of Creation points to the existence of God. And belief in God in these societies is not something that one can really be proud of, instead, religion is viewed as a shackle to one's mind (the opium of the masses).
The danger in imitating the Kuffar (disbelievers)
The Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said: "Whoever imitates a people, then he is from them"
This expression is actually an imitation of the Kuffar because this is what some of them say when something good happened to them or some harm was removed from them. While in Islam, Allah is acknowledged first as the ultimate cause of everything. Meaning if something good happens then it is from Allah[19], and if some calamities happen, then they are tests from Allah. That is why there are words to say in times of happiness (i.e. alhamdulillah) and in times of disaster {Qaddarallah, it is Allah's decree).
Perhaps the one who translated this had this in mind: That the reason for the translation is for the non-Muslims - who don't believe in God - to understand the expression 'al-Hamdulillah' in a frame of mind they are familiar with. If he (the translator) is a Muslim he must understand that He is required to speak about Allah and His Greatness. If he is a non-Muslim, then he has blundered in his translation.
Conclusions
Trivial as it may be to non-Muslims, translating 'al-Hamdulillah' to 'thank goodness' have grave implications to Muslims because it strikes at the very foundation of Islam, which is Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism, Affirmation of Uniqueness and Perfection of Allah)[20]. That is because the expression 'thank goodness' as the English for 'al-Hamdulillah' is not accurate, and at the least, ascribing an inappropriate name to Allah, or carries some form of Shirk.
Lastly, this saying 'thank goodness' has deep psycho-social roots in western societies that are permeated with and anchored upon atheism and upon the belief that religion is divorced from mundane life, and Muslims must be aware of this.
[1] An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an by Abu Ammaar Yaasir Qadhi, page 352.
[2] Amongst them are (Qur'an) 16:103,12:2, and 42:7
[3] Translating the Meaning of Surate Al-Fatiha and Amma section to the English (Twelve English Translations To The Meanings Of Surate Al-Fatiha and Amma Section Between Years 1734 and 1974). Prepared and presented by Dr. Anwar Mahmoud Abdul Wahed, pp. 31
[4] Interpretation of the Meanings of the Qur'an in the English Language by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, page 1.
[5] Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged), English Translation, by a group of Scholars under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur-Rahman al-Mubaarakpuri, volume 1 page 70.
[6] Adwaa 'ul Bayaan [Part 1] The Tafseer of Sooratul-Faatihah By al'Allaamah Muhammad al-Ameen ash- Shanqeetee. Translated by Abu Rumaysah from http://www.troid.org/.
[7] Mufassiroon - Those scholars who are highly skilled in explaining the Qur'an.
[8] Shark Al-Aqeedat-il-Waasitiyah (Text on the fundamental Beliefs of Islam and rejection of False concepts of its Opponents By Sheikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, commentary by Dr. Muhammad Khalil Harras, page 21.
[9] The Creed of the PIOUS PREDECESSORS and the PEOPLE OF HADEETH, By Aboo 'Uthmaan Ismaa'eel ibn "Abdurrahman As-Saboonee, English Translation, pp. 3.
[10] Lum 'atul I 'tiqaad (The Radiance of the Faith), By Imaam Muwaffiq-ud-Deen Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisee, English translation by Masjid Ahlus-Sunnah Publication, Jamaica, pp. 11.
[11] The Names and Attributes of Allah According to the doctrine of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah by Shaykh 'Umar Sulaiman al-Ashqar. Translated to English and published by Jam 'iat Ihyaa' Minhaaj Al-Sunnah, UK, pp. 16 - 17.
[12] Shirk basically is polytheism, i.e. worship of others along with Allah. It also implies attributing divine attributes to any other besides Allah. It particularly implies associating partners in worship with Allah or to believe that the source of power, harm or blessings is from others besides Allah. (The definition is taken from the Noble Qur'an by al-Hilali et. al. Appendix II, pp. 1018).
[13] '...And His is all the praises and thanks in the heavens and the earth.' Qur'an (30:18).
[14] Whenever we say 'Allah says in the Qur'an', we mean the interpretation of its meaning in the English language.
[15] The Translation is from The Noble Qur'an by Al-Hilali et. al.
[16] Reported by Ibn Abbas and collected by at-Tirmidhee, and authenticated by al-Albaanee in Saheeh al- Jaami' as-Sagheer, vol. 2. Pp. 1317; no. 3957. The English wording came from the Tafseer of SooratuI Hujuraat by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, pp. 142
[17] Verily, Shirk is the great Zulm. Qur'an 31:13
[18] Sunan at-Tirmidhee [no. 3623]. It was declared hasan by Shaykh Al-Albaanee, rahimahullah, in Saheeh at-Tirmidhee' [no. 2694]
[19] Whatever of good reaches you, is from Allah... Qur'an 4:89
[20] Tawhid (Islamic Monotheism) has three aspects:
(I) Oneness of the Lordship of Allah; Tauhid-ar-Ruboobiyya: To believe that there is only one Lord for
the Universe, its Creator, Organizer, Planner, Sustainer, and the Giver of Security, etc., and that is
Allah.
(II) Oneness of the Worship of Allah; Tawhid-al-Uloohiyya: To believe that none has the right to be
worshipped [e.g. praying, invoking, asking for help (from the unseen), swearing, slaughtering
sacrifices, giving charity, fasting, pilgrimage, etc.] but Allah.
(Ill) Oneness of the Names and the Qualities of Allah: Tawhid-al-Asma-was-Sifaaf. To believe that:
(t) We must not name or qualify Allah except with what He or His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam) has named or qualify Him;
(<-r>) None can be named or qualified with the Names or Qualifications of Allah; e.g. Al-Karim;
We must confirm all of Allah's Qualifications which Allah has state in His Book (Qur'an) or mentioned
through His Messenger (Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) without changing them or ignoring them
completely or twisting the meanings or giving resemblance to any of the created things [e.g. Allah is
present over His Throne as mentioned in the Qur'an (20:5). Allah said: "The Most Beneficent (Allah)
Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)," over the seventh heaven;
and comes down over the first (nearest) heaven to us on the day of 'Arafat (Hay, i.e. the 9th of Dhul-Hijja)
and also during the last third part of the night as mentioned by the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, but
He is with us by His knowledge only, not by His Personal-Self (Bi-Dhatihi).. (The definition is taken from
the Noble Qur'an by al-Hilali et. al. Appendix n, pp. 1010)
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