Chapter on
Categories of Those Who Violate the Testimony:
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
Brothers in Islam, we have previously clarified the true meaning of testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, showing that those who act upon it and adhere to its meanings, both inwardly and outwardly, are true in their Shahadah (Testimony of Faith), whereas those who contradict it are in serious danger.
Those who violate this Shahadah fall into the following categories:
The first category is people who do not believe in the Message of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and refuse it altogether, out of denial or obstinacy, as in the case of the Mushriks (those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) of Makkah.
The second category is people who believe in the Message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), but reject its universality. They claim that it is specific to the Arabs, as held by some People of the Book (Jews and Christians).
To both these kinds of people we say: Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says to His Messenger (peace be upon him):
Surah Saba', 34:
28
And We have not sent you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind
And:
Surah Al-A`raf, 7:
158
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allâh
And:
Surah Al-An`am, 6:
33
We know indeed the grief which their words cause you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): it is not you that they deny, but it is the Verses (the Qur’ân) of Allâh that the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers) deny.
Yet the purpose of this word is not to refute these people and other deniers, for scholars and Imams of Islam have efficiently discharged this duty and written numerous works on this topic. Anyone who wishes to pursue this matter further may refer to that extensive body of literature.
The third category is people who testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and claim to be followers of Islam, but they have violated the essence of this Shahadah in one of a number of ways that vary in degrees of seriousness.
Some of them excessively venerate the Prophet (peace be upon him) and go to extremes, describing him as an eternal light that passed from one Prophet to another until finally culminating in the person of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Some have declared him as a physical manifestation of Allah (Exalted be He) - we seek refuge with Allah from this.
The first belief is held by extremist Shi`ah (Shi'ites) and Batiniyah, as well as extremist Sufis.
The second belief is held by adherents to the tenet of Wahdat-ul-Wujud (Sufi belief that Allah is the only Existent in reality, all else is transitory).
Such statements, which are tantamount to Kufr (disbelief), can never proceed from a believing heart. Rather, those who advance these ideas merely come in the guise of Islam in order to confuse the masses. The ideas they propagate are no different from those held by previous disbelieving nations. They are akin to the
Christian doctrines about
Christ (peace be upon him),
that he is God in human form.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is no more than a man; a Servant of Allah whom Allah (Exalted be He) chose and honored by making him the Last of the Prophets and Messengers and the noblest descendent of Adam. His humanity is an established fact that negates all the false claims that have been advanced about him, like those previously mentioned or any other.
Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
Surah Al-Kahf, 18:
110
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your Ilâh (God) is One Ilâh (God - i.e. Allâh). So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord."
And:
Surah Al-Isra', 17:
93
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم): "Glorified (and Exalted) be my Lord [(Allâh) above all that evil they (polytheists) associate with Him]! Am I anything but a man, sent as a Messenger?"
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
I am but a human being like you and liable to forget like you.
There is a lot of other conclusive evidence and texts all indicating that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a human being; that the distinction conferred upon him by Allah (Exalted be He) was prophethood and the Message. Those who go to extremes and raise him above his true status are in fact contradicting their Shahadah that "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah".
Others exceed the proper limits by dedicating to the Prophet (peace be upon him) certain acts of worship, such as Du`a' (supplication), humility, Salah (Prayer) to his grave and the like, when such acts should be offered to Allah Alone.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) strictly and repeatedly warned against excessive veneration, and, more importantly the Noble Qur'an where Allah (Exalted be He) declares Du`a', humility, Salah and other acts of worship to be His Exclusively.
Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:Surah Ghafir, 40:
60
And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islâmic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islâmic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!"
Describing the best of His Servants, Allah (Exalted be He) says:Surah Al-Anbiya', 21:
90
Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us.
Allah (Exalted be He) also says to His Messenger (peace be upon him):
Surah Al-Kawthar, 108:
2
Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only).
And He (Exalted be He) commands His Prophet (peace be upon him) saying:
Surah Al-An`am, 6:
162
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "Verily, my Salât (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allâh, the Lord of the ‘Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists).
`Umar ibn Al-Khattab
(may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Marym (Mary), for I am only His Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Messenger.
It is reported in theTwo Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim)that
`Aishah
(may Allah be pleased with her) said:
When death approached the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he cast a woolen cloth over his face, and when it made him short of breath, he would remove from his face. While in that state he said, 'May the Curse of Allah be upon the Jews and Christians, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.' 'He was warning against (doing) what they did.'
`Aishah
added, 'Had it not been for that, his grave would have been made prominent, but he was afraid lest it might be taken as a place of worship.'
The Prophet (peace be upon him) sternly prohibited people from taking graves as places of worship by praying to Allah (Exalted be He) near them, cursing those who did so; even if no worship or supplication takes place. They would still be means that ultimately lead people to worshipping them and associating other partners with Allah (Exalted be He); let alone those people who actually devote their worship to the graves, turn to them, vow to them, circumambulate them, offer sacrifices to them, and call upon their occupants in the hope that they will prevent harm or bring about good.
Al-Qurtuby
(may Allah be merciful to him) writes, commenting on this matter: "Therefore, the Muslims took excessive precautions to block any means to do so at the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him). They raised the earthen walls around it high, completely surrounding it and blocking off the entrances to it. They also feared lest the location of his grave might be used as a Qiblah (direction faced in Prayer), if it was in the direction the worshippers face; as some might believe that facing it would be an act of worship.
To prevent this they built two walls at the northern corners of the grave and placed them at a slant so that they would form a triangle with one of its corners pointing to the north. In this way, no one would be able to directly face the grave while offering Salah."
This is how Allah (Exalted be He) protected the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as an answer to his Du`a' when he said:
O Allah! Do not let my grave become an idol that people worship.
Those who direct themselves to it, actually, aim at what they feel in their heart - knowing that it is the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) [i.e., they can face no concrete structure for it]; otherwise, his grave (peace be upon him) cannot be faced or reached.
It is, in fact, just as the Shaykh of Islam,
Ibn Taymiyyah,
describes it: "Approaching his grave is neither possible nor enjoined to be done."This is after the building of three walls surrounding it.
There are also people who go to extremes regarding the Prophet (peace be upon him) and claim that he (peace be upon him) knows the Ghayb (the Unseen) and is aware of them and their circumstances. Some even go so far as to claim that they see him and meet with him while they are fully awake.
This is in blatant denial of what the Qur'an says and doing so implies Kufr in Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He), who clearly says:Surah Al-Naml, 27:
65
Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (Unseen) except Allâh, nor can they perceive when they shall be resurrected."
And:Surah Hud, 11:
123
And to Allâh belongs the Ghaib (Unseen) of the heavens and the earth
And:Surah Al-Ra`d, 13:
9
All-Knower of the Unseen and the seen, the Most Great, the Most High.
Allah (Glorified be He) commands His Prophet (peace be upon him) saying:Surah Al-An`am, 6:
50
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "I don’t tell you that with me are the treasures of Allâh, nor (that) I know the Unseen
Allah (Exalted be He) also commands him saying:
Surah Al-A`raf, 7:
188
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "I possess no power over benefit or harm to myself except as Allâh wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (Unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe."
There is plenty of evidence that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has died:
Allah (Glorified be He) says:Surah Al-Zumar, 39:
30
Verily you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) will die, and verily they (too) will die.
And:Surah Al-Anbiya', 21:
34
And We granted not to any human being immortality before you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): then if you die, would they live forever?
And:Surah Al-`Imran, 3:
185
Everyone shall taste death.
`Aishah
relates that at the moment of death, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
With the highest companions.
Then his soul departed (peace be upon him).
The fourth category, by contrast, is people who make light of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Sahih (authentic) Sunnah. They reject a part of the Prophetic Hadiths on the pretext that they are unacceptable to reason. Whenever their limited minds fail to understand something that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is authentically reported to have said, they toss his words behind their backs, preferring reason to revelation. They do this even though it is a fact that sound reason will never be in conflict with authentic revelation. When it seems to someone that there is a conflict, then that person should suspect the soundness of his own reasoning. Authentic Nas (Islamic text from the Qur’an or the Sunnah) should always be given precedence.
Such people are astray and contradict the dictates of their Shahadah that "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah".
We have already presented the evidence that adherence to the Sunnah is obligatory. We have mentioned that
Al-Shafi`y
(may Allah be merciful to him) said: "The scholars unanimously agree that whoever obtains clear knowledge about an aspect of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) should not abandon it for the opinion of anyone else."
There are also some who reject part of the Sunnah because it conflicts with their desires. This has become extremely common in these later days, to the extent that unqualified people have begun to discuss Shar`y (Islamic legal) matters; declaring things lawful or forbidden.
This is a most serious offense.
Allah (Glorified be He) says:Surah Al-Isra', 17:
36
And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness not) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those one will be questioned (by Allâh).
And:Surah Al-A`raf, 7:
33
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "(But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are Al-Fawâhish (great evil sins and every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with Allâh for which He has given no authority, and saying things about Allâh of which you have no knowledge."
There are also people who violate the true meaning of testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah but without going so far as to fall into Kufr, though it is still very serious and must be avoided.
An example of this is to swear an oath by the Prophet (peace be upon him). Although this is an act of minor Shirk (associating other partners with Allah that is not tantamount to taking the Muslim out of Islam) it can lead a person to outright major Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship that takes the Muslim out of Islam).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Anyone who swears an oath by other than Allah has committed Kufr or Shirk.
He (peace be upon him) also said:
Do not swear by your fathers.
Finally, the fifth category, is people who violate the true meaning of their testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah by introducing Bid`ahs (innovations in religion). Every Bid`ah introduced will contradict the essence of testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, which inherently dictates worshiping Allah Alone in the way that was prescribed by His Prophet (peace be upon him). Thus, any newly-invented means for drawing near Allah (Exalted be He) will go against the meaning of this Shahadah.