In the Name of Allah; the Entirely Merciful,
the Especially Merciful
Salutations of peace and blessings upon our
beloved Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, companions, and progeny.
In this entry, I will elucidate a very
important principle of Islam regarding the authority and infallibility of the
Prophet (peace be upon him).
Before we discuss the principle of Prophetic
inerrancy the respected reader should understand that the ultimate
authority in Islam is the Word of Allah, the Holy Qur’an. That is the
Book of God, the literal speech of Allah Most High. It’s every letter, jot, and
particle is Wahi (divine revelation).
As such, for a believing Muslim, the Holy Qur’an
is unquestionable and inerrant. This is not to say that Muslims may
legitimately disagree over the correct interpretation of Qur’anic Verses, but
that it is essential and required for a Muslim to sincerely acknowledge that
the Book of Allah is the supreme authority on the basis of it being Allah’s
spoken Words that have reached us through revelation.
Consequently, it is a firm principle in Islam
that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), to whom the Qur’an was revealed,
was perfect and infallible in his conveying of God’s revelation to us in the
capacity of being a Prophet.
Secondly, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did
not receive only the Holy Qur’an as divine revelation, but received other
inspirations which constitute the basis for the Sunnah, the second most
important authority in Islam. The Sunnah is the way or path of the Prophet
(peace be upon him) in practically following Islam, for example, the precise
method of offering different acts of worship, and guidance for all Muslims on
how to live their lives. The Sunnah is based on Ilhaam (divine
inspiration), but unlike the Qur’an, it is not a book or text. Rather, the
Sunnah are traditions and customs that have been passed down from generation to
generation by Tawaatur. These are the two fundamental sources and
authorities in Islam whose authenticity, due to Tawaatur, cannot be
rationally impugned.
The third source is the Hadith. The Hadith
corpus are narrations and reports that are traced back to the Prophet (peace be
upon him) through Isnaad (chains of narrators). Muslims must approach
the Hadith with more skepticism and caution because they are not always
authentic. The Muhadditheen (scholars and experts of Hadith) were
incredible individuals who expended utmost effort to determine the authenticity
of each and every individual Hadith, by examining the narrators and other
factors. Nevertheless, the Muhadditheen were not infallible and it is not only
possible but a certainty that they were not always correct but that they erred.
The Hadith contain the sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet (peace be
upon him) which constitute an important source for our religious guidance.
However, the methodology of the real Ahlus Sunnah (the orthodox sect of
Muslims) is to give preference to the Qur’an and mass-transmitted Sunnah over
and above solitary reports of Hadith. But if a Hadith does not contravene any
verse of the Qur’an or any aspect of the mass-transmitted Sunnah (and the
majority of Hadith do not contravene), then there is no harm in accepting and
acting upon such Hadith, provided that the individual Hadith is not too suspect
in its authenticity (Da’eef) or fabricated (Mawdoo’).
However, in this entry I would like to touch
upon an important principle with relates to acceptance of even those Hadith
which are Saheeh (authentic). As Muslims, we believe that the Prophet
(peace be upon him) was in communion with Allah and a recipient of divine
revelation. Furthermore, he was protected by Allah with regard to conveying the
Deen to us. However, being a human being, he also made statements which
were not based on revelation or his being in the role of a Prophet, but some
statements of his were based on his personal opinion. The following Hadith
demonstrate this fact:
أَنَّ أُمَّهَا أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا زَوْجَ النَّبِيِّ
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَخْبَرَتْهَا ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى
اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ خُصُومَةً بِبَابِ حُجْرَتِهِ
فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِمْ ، فَقَالَ : " إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ ، وَإِنَّهُ
يَأْتِينِي الْخَصْمُ ، فَلَعَلَّ بَعْضَكُمْ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَبْلَغَ مِنْ بَعْضٍ ،
فَأَحْسِبُ أَنَّهُ صَدَقَ ، فَأَقْضِيَ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ ، فَمَنْ قَضَيْتُ لَهُ
بِحَقِّ مُسْلِمٍ ، فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ قِطْعَةٌ مِنَ النَّارِ فَلْيَأْخُذْهَا أَوْ
فَلْيَتْرُكْهَا "
Narrated Umm Salama, wife of the Prophet
(Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) from Allah’s Apostle (Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam) that he heard some people quarreling at the door of his dwelling. He
came out and said, “I am only a human being, and opponents come to me (to
settle their problems); maybe someone amongst you can present his case more
eloquently than the other, whereby I may consider him true and give a verdict
in his favor. So, if I give the right of a Muslim to another by mistake, then
it is really a portion of (Hell) Fire, he has the option to take or give up (before
the Day of Resurrection).”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
This Hadith indicates that the Prophet (peace
be upon him) did not always make decisions on the basis of Wahi (divine
revelation), and did not always make statements in the role of being a Prophet.
Rather, being the leader of influence in his community, people came to him to
settle their disputes and seek counsel. No doubt, the Prophet (peace be upon
him) was qualified to do so, as he undertook this role even before his
proclamation of the Nubuwwah (prophethood). However, the Prophet (peace
be upon him) himself stated that being a human being it is not necessary that
each and every one of his decisions is infallible. Only those decisions,
commands and statements of his which are based on Wahi are infallible and
unquestionable.
حَدَّثَنِي رَافِعُ بْنُ خَدِيجٍ ، قَالَ : " قَدِمَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمَدِينَةَ ، وَهُمْ يَأْبُرُونَ النَّخْلَ ،
يَقُولُونَ يُلَقِّحُونَ النَّخْلَ ، فَقَالَ : مَا تَصْنَعُونَ ؟ قَالُوا :
كُنَّا نَصْنَعُهُ ، قَالَ : لَعَلَّكُمْ لَوْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا كَانَ خَيْرًا ،
فَتَرَكُوهُ ، فَنَفَضَتْ أَوْ فَنَقَصَتْ ، قَالَ : فَذَكَرُوا ذَلِكَ لَهُ ،
فَقَالَ : إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ ، إِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ دِينِكُمْ ،
فَخُذُوا بِهِ ، وَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ رَأْيٍ ، فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا
بَشَرٌ "
Rafi' b. Khadij reported that Allaah's
Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) came to Medina and the people had been
grafting the trees. He said: What are you doing? They said: We are grafting
them, whereupon he said: It may perhaps be good for you if you do not do that,
so they abandoned this practice (and the date-palms) began to yield less fruit.
They made a mention of it (to the Prophet), whereupon he said: I am a human
being, so when I command you about a thing pertaining to religion, do accept
it, and when I command you about a thing out of my personal opinion, keep it in
mind that I am a human being.
(Sahih Muslim)
Here again we see that the Prophet (peace be
upon him) makes a distinction between following him as it pertains to the Deen
(religion), and following him as it pertains to his personal opinion in matters
that are unrelated to the Deen. We have to remember that the Prophet’s
authority in the Deen is not derived from his essence, but from Allah. Being a
Messenger, he is chosen by Allah to simply convey to us, in his sayings and
actions, the Religion of Islam including its laws and regulations, or the Shari’ah.
In this capacity and role of being a Prophet, he is divinely protected from
error and is infallible. However, in matters that are not Shar’an
(relating to the Shari’ah), the Prophet (peace be upon him) may have given his
personal opinion and it is not necessary that his personal opinion in such
matters is always correct:
عَنْ أَنَسٍ ، " أَنّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، مَرَّ بِقَوْمٍ يُلَقِّحُونَ ، فَقَالَ : لَوْ لَمْ
تَفْعَلُوا لَصَلُحَ ، قَالَ : فَخَرَجَ شِيصًا ، فَمَرَّ بِهِمْ ، فَقَالَ : مَا
لِنَخْلِكُمْ ، قَالُوا : قُلْتَ كَذَا وَكَذَا ، قَالَ : أَنْتُمْ أَعْلَمُ
بِأَمْرِ دُنْيَاكُمْ "
Anas reported that
Allaah's Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) happened to pass by the
people who had been busy in grafting the trees. Thereupon he said: If you were
not to do it, it might be good for you. (So they abandoned this practice) and
there was a decline in the yield. He (the Prophet) happened to pass by them
(and said): What has gone wrong with your trees? They said: You said so and so.
Thereupon he said: You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) in the
affairs of the world.
(Sahih Muslim)
Here the Prophet
(peace be upon him) is even clarifying that it is possible others have superior
knowledge to him in certain worldly affairs, such as agriculture, dendrology,
etc. For example, the famous episode that occurred during combat preparations
for the Battle of the Trench (Khandaq). The Prophet’s wise and knowledgeable
companion, Salman the Persian (Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet
whether the strategy he had laid out in preparation for the battle was on the
basis of Wahi (divine revelation) or Rayy (the Prophet Muhammad’s
personal opinion), to which the Prophet (peace be upon him) answered that it
was based on his personal opinion and assessment of the situation. Salman the
Persian, after seeking this important clarification, then proceeded to
recommend an alternative strategy of digging a trench around Medina, from which
the battle acquired its name (Battle of the Trench).
Here is another
example of how the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) personal opinion, recorded in
an authentic Hadith of Bukhari Sharif, turned out to be incorrect because it a
statement he expressed from his own personal observation and not on the basis
of Wahi:
Narrated Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam) said: “A group of Israelites were lost. Nobody knows what they did. But
I do not see them except that they were cursed and transformed into mouses and
rats, for if you put the milk of a she-camel in front of a mouse or rat, it
will not drink it, but if the milk of a sheep is put in front of it, it will
drink it.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
Here we can clearly see that the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave his
personal opinion regarding a group of Israelites that were lost and never seen
again. The Prophet (peace be upon him), based on his personal opinion and not
Revelation, stated that they were cursed and transformed into mice. This was
based on his personal observation of mice, when he noticed that they do not
drink camel’s milk but do drink sheep’s milk. Alternatively, the Hadith may be
understood as a parable, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) is comparing
the Jews to mice in that both avoid camel’s milk. Such parables where groups of
human beings, due to their peculiar characteristics, are described with names
of certain animals, is part of the Islamic narrative, and there exist such parables
throughout the Qur’an and Hadith. I have briefly touched on this vast subject
in one of my previous entries here.
In the Darussalam edition and English translation of Sahih al-Bukhari by
Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, it is stated in the footnotes to this Hadith: “Later
on the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) was informed through revelation
about the fate of those Israelites: They were transformed into pigs and
monkeys.”
This is why it is so critical to have a more skeptical and nuanced approach
to the Hadith, otherwise a person could mistakenly think that the Prophet’s
personal opinion based on his own observation or experience is infallible and
must be regarded as Deen, whereas that is simply not the case. The Prophet
(peace be upon him) was, after all, a human being living in seventh century
Arabia, and he himself confessed that it is possible that others may have more
knowledge than him concerning worldly matters. This explains why many of the
Prophet’s statements, which are based on his personal opinion, do not accord
with modern scientific discoveries and facts. If a Muslim is not careful, he
can end up embarrassing himself and other Muslims by blindly defending the
veracity of such Hadith as proverbial Gospel truth by failing to
understand the Islamic principle which makes a distinction between Wahi (divine
revelation) and Rayy (Prophet’s personal opinion).
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