Mawdudi's Disrespect to the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

اَلۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

والصلاة والسلام على خاتم النبيين

Abul-Ala Mawdudi, one of the most misguided individuals from this Ummah whom regrettably many duped Muslims imagine to have been some great Mujaddid or Imam, was someone who audaciously disrespected several of the holy Prophets, including the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam) whom he referred to as:

ریگستان عرب کے ایک ان پڑھ چرواہے

"an illiterate herder of the Arabian desert" (Pardah, p.171)

A Saint with Prophetic Qualities: Yahya bin Abdullah

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

اَلۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

والصلاة والسلام على خاتم النبيين

One of the righteous Saints of this Ummah, the Imam, sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah [al-Mahd], a descendant of the Prophet (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam) being the great-grandson of the Prophet’s grandson Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (radi Allahu anhu). He is remembered for his uprising against the tyrannical Abbasid government in the land of Dailam in 792 CE. But this uprising failed and Yahya bin Abdullah made an agreement for safety with the Abbasid ruler Harun al-Rashid. During this period, a descendant of Abdullah bin Zubair (radi Allahu anhuma), namely, Abdullah bin Mus’ab bin Thabit bin Abdullah bin Zubair, who had enmity toward the progeny of sayyidina Ali al-Murtada (radi Allahu anhu), entered the presence of Harun al-Rashid and made a serious allegation against sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah, accusing him of having invited him and by implication many others including those in the ruler’s court to participate in an armed revolt against the Abbasids. Sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah not only denied this allegation, he invited his accuser, Abdullah bin Mus’ab, to participate in a Mubahalah, a prayer contest in which the two parties invoke the curse of Allah upon the liar, to settle the matter. With Harun al-Rashid’s encouragement, both individuals entered into the Mubahalah. They first offered two light raka’at, then knelt down, intertwined their right hands, then sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah offered the following prayer:

اللهم إن كنت تعلم أني دعوت عبد الله بْن مصعب إلى الخلاف على هذا ووضع يده عليه وأشار إليه فاسحتني بعذاب من عندك وكلني إلى حولي وقوتي وإلا فكله إلى حوله وقوته واسحته بعذاب من قبلك آمين رب العالمين

“Allahumma! If you know that I summoned Abdullah bin Mus’ab to rebelliousness on the basis of this – and he placed his left hand on it and pointed to it – then destroy me with an act of Your divine punishment, and abandon me to my own strength and power. But if the contrary is true, then abandon him to his own strength and power and destroy him with an act of Your divine punishment. Amen! Lord of the Worlds”

Then Abdullah bin Mus’ab repeated the prayer and the two parted ways. Sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah was kept imprisoned by Harun al-Rashid while Abdullah bin Mus’ab was free to go. Shortly thereafter, the very next day in fact, another descendant of sayyidina Ali al-Murtada (radi Allahu anhu), namely, Abbas bin Hasan bin Ubaidullah bin Abbas bin Ali, was summoned by Abdullah bin Mus’ab to his home through the latter’s envoy. Abbas sent his son Abdullah in his place, but as Abdullah bin Abbas approached the residence of Abdullah bin Mus’ab the womenfolk of that house came out wailing and lamenting, announcing that Abdullah bin Mus’ab had died!

Abdullah bin Abbas returned to his father and informed him of the amazing news, to which his father, Abbas, stated:

لو جاز أن يدعى ليحيى نبوة لادعاها أهله رحمة الله عليه وعند الله نحتسبه ولا والله ما نشك في أنه قد قتل

“If it were permissible to claim Prophesy [Nubuwwah] for Yahya, his family would have claimed it, may Allah have mercy on him. We reckon him to have been recompensed by Allah, by Allah, we cannot doubt that he [Abdullah bin Mus’ab] has been [divinely] killed!”

Even Harun al-Rashid was amazed, and he released sayyidina Yahya from his brief, merely a day long, imprisonment and rewarded him with a hundred thousand dinars, saying:

يا أبا محمد أما علمت أن الله قد قتل عدوك الجبار

“O Abu Muhammad! Do you know that Allah has killed your enemy, the tyrant?”

(Tarikh at-Tabari; v.8, pp.248-250)

On a subsequent occassion, while sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah (rahimahullah) was once again imprisoned under orders from Harun al-Rashid, he was brought forth to the latter’s presence in heavy iron fetters. Bakkar, the son of Abdullah bin Mus’ab who was previously destroyed by Allah as a result of the Mubahalah, continued to bear enmity toward sayyidina Yahya and the progeny of amir al-Mu’minin Ali bin Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhu), and repeated accusations that sayyidina Yahya was covertly organizing a revolt against the Abbasids in Medina. But sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah was intelligent and he informed Harun al-Rashid of a matter that would doubtlessly disturb him, that Bakkar had in fact, ironically, cursed the one who killed sayyidina Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyah (rahimahullah), who was martyred in Medina in an uprising against a prior Abbasid ruler, al-Mansur. The Abbasid ruler, Harun al-Rashid, was naturally contemptuous of Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyah and would have considered his killing a good thing. Bakkar claimed that what sayyidina Yahya (rahimahullah) was saying was a lie, and so sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah (rahimahullah) challenged Bakkar to make the following prayer:

أنا بريء من حول الله وقوته موكل إلى حولي وقوتي إن كنت قلته

“May I be deprived of Allah’s strength and His power, and abandoned to my own strength and power if I really did say that”

Despite reluctance and obvious fear, Bakkar finally repeated the prayer sayyidina Yahya instructed him to say. Soon thereafter, Bakkar suffered a paralytic stroke and died immediately! Members of his family, however, claimed that he was murdered by his wife, who was jealous of his taking a concubine, and had two Black slaves kill him by means of sitting on his face and having him suffocate to death. (Tarikh at-Tabari; v.8, p.246)

Either way, it is evident that the death of Bakkar bin Abdullah bin Mus’ab, like the death of his father, was a divine punishment for his slanders and enmity toward the pious Saint and Imam, sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah (rahimahumullah).

Indeed, the victory of sayyidina Yahya bin Abdullah against the two Zubairids, father and son, by means of Mubahalah and Li’an, is from among his Karamat (miracles). Abbas bin Hasan bin Ubaidullah bin [Abul-Fadl] Abbas bin Ali even testified to the effect that sayyidina Yahya had prophetic characteristics within him, and that his family would have claimed Nubuwwah for him had such a thing been possible after the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam).

Inspiration of Ayah to Mujaddid Alf Thani: Glad-Tidings of a Boy Named Yahya (19:7)

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على نبيه الامين

The great Reformer, Mujaddid Alf Thānī, Imām Rabbānī, Ahmad Sirhindī رحمة الله عليه received the following Ilhām (inspiration) which is an Āyah of the Qurān:

اِنَّا نُبَشِّرُکَ بِغُلٰمِ ۣاسۡمُہٗ یَحۡیٰی

We give you glad-tidings of a boy, his name is Yahyā

Subsequently, a son was born to Mujaddid Alf Thānī and he named him Muhammad Yahyā (Maqāmāt Imām Rabbānī, p.136)

Mawdudi Called Prophet Joseph a Dictator Like Mussolini معاذ الله

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على نبيه الامين

Commenting on the passage in the Qurān which mentions the prophet Joseph عليه السلام asking the king of Egypt to grant him the portfolio of treasury in the government, Abūl-A’lā Mawdūdī said:

یہ محض وزیر مالیات کے منصب کا مطالبہ نہیں تھا جیسا کہ بعض لوگ سمجھتے ہیں، بلکہ یہ ڈکٹیٹر شپ کا مطالبہ تھا۔ اور اس کے نتیجے میں سیدنا یوسف علیہ السلام کو جو پوزشن حاصل ہوئی وہ قریب قریب وہی پوزشن تھی جو اس وقت اٹلی میں مسولینی کو حاصل ہے

This wasn’t merely a request for the office of the minister of the treasury as some people understand, rather, this was a request for dictatorship. And as a result our master Joseph, peace be upon him, acquired a position that is quite near to the position which currently Mussolini has in Italy (Tafhīmāt, part 2, p.122)

Majlis-e-Ahrar Declared Pakistan 'Palidistan'

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على نبيه الامين

The Majlis-i-Ahrar, a discredited political party active in the Punjab, which uses religion to cloak its nefarious political agenda, actively opposed the creation of Pakistan, a state necessary to protect the Muslims from brute Hindu majoritarianism and bigotry.

In his presidential address given at Kasur on 1^st of December 1941, Ch. Afzal Haq dubbed Pakistan as Palidistan (impure land):

احرار اس پاکستان کو پلیدستان سمجھتے ہیں

The Ahrar considers this Pakistan to be Palidistan (Khutbāt-i-Ahrār, p.83)

Danger of Liberal Religious Movements in Indonesia

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على نبيه الامين

وعلى آله واصحابه اجمعين

A conservative, puritanical and strict approach to Islam is what is most pleasing to Lord Allah. Tragically, the State in many places around the Muslim World is facilitating the imposition of a religious tendency that is the exact opposite. I have written at length on this blog concerning the danger posed by statism and state versions of Islam which are designed to modify Islam so that it is more suitable to the interests and desires of the elites and the irreligious masses. In Indonesia, the religious establishment, namely, Nahdlatul Ulama, gravitates toward a conception of Islam that is far from the ideal. It may be characterized as excessively liberal and modern, meaning it is lax, embracing the dangers of pluralism, democracy, feminism and modernity.

In our time, certain practices and laws associated with Islam have become controversial leading to a culture war. It is observed that dangerous liberal and progressive movements among the Muslims almost universally challenge the institution of veil, gender segregation and the proscription on music.

From the principles of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, which is also generally widespread in the East Indies, is tasāmuh which roughly means leniency as opposed to harshness. While gentleness is from the disposition of our Religion in certain matters, it is quite evident that in others, especially the sensitive matters, it is the way of the Prophets and the pious Imams to utilize harshness in admonition.

The spread of sexual immorality in Muslim societies today is certainly rooted in a laxity with regard to observing the veil and modesty, and a total disregard for the institution of gender segregation and the seclusion of ladies. But this is certainly not a new phenomenon, it is the same problem which plagued the children of Israel for which their holy Prophets rebuked them.

Islam Nusantara, the philosophy promoted by the State in Indonesia and by its religious establishment (Nahdlatul Ulama or NU), is against the spirit of orthodox Islam precisely because it is opposed to the sentiment of zeal for Islamic exclusivity and purity, the spirit so gloriously manifested in the activity of the ancient Prophets, and the Reformers and Saints of this Ummah who follow in their footsteps.

The second major religious movement in Indonesia, a sort of rival to the NU, is the so-called Muhammadiyah. These are essentially Salafi modernists, and promote a concept they dub Islam Berkemajuan or a “progressive” approach to Islam. Unlike Islam Nusantara, this concept is not intended for a local context but a global one. Muslims ought to beware of such philosophies, often predicated on the notion of ijtihād. In practical terms, what this means is that many important matters which have already been settled by the early Sunni jurists in terms of law and jurisprudence may be re-evaluated and modified for the modern context. The tendency of those who invoke the necessity of ijtihād in modern times is always toward greater cultural liberalization and laxity, especially a more permissive attitude with respect to the issues of veiling, gender segregation, music, interest, banking, and political activity. In this sense both NU and Muhammadiyah are problematic, indeed dangerous religious movements that are currently dominating the religious landscape of Indonesia. Cultures in the East Indies or the Malay Archipelago are historically somewhat matriarchal. The strictness of veiling and gender segregation, a fundamental aspect of orthodox Islam and still observed in places like Arabia and Afghanistan, is alien to the Malay Archipelago. Rather than aggressively seeking to Islamize their society with an emphasis on the conservative traditions and the strictures of the Sharī’ah, the corrupt religious establishment of this region in the Muslim World is constantly validating the pre-Islamic and even un-Islamic customs and culture in the name of moderation. With the passage of time, as the globe gravitates toward greater cultural liberalization and permissiveness, this corrupt religious establishment, which falsely claims to be moderate and traditional, may even reevaluate its position toward homosexuality and the validity of practising other religions and even worshipping other deities. The holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

‌لَتُنْقَضَنَّ ‌عُرَى ‌الْإِسْلَامِ ‌عُرْوَةً ‌عُرْوَةً فَكُلَّمَا انْتَقَضَتْ عُرْوَةٌ تَشَبَّثَ النَّاسُ بِالَّتِي تَلِيهَا وَأَوَّلُهُنَّ نَقْضًا الْحُكْمُ وَآخِرُهُنَّ الصَّلَاةُ

The bonds of Islam will be undone one by one. Each time one bond is undone, the people will move to the next one (and adhere to that). The first bond to be undone will be the Hukm [rule] and the last one will be the Salāh (Musnad Ahmad)

The meaning of the Hadīth is that the first aspect of Islam that the Muslims will abandon and neglect will be the divinely legislated guidelines and laws related to political administration and governance (which happened with the demise of Khilāfat ar-Rāshidah within thirty years of the Prophet’s passing away from this world) while the last will be the collective abandoning of the five daily prescribed prayers, the most salient Islamic practice.

Become Humiliated Monkeys! (2:65)

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

Concerning the violators of the Sabbath among the Israelites, Allāh سبحانه وتعالى says:

وَلَقَدۡ عَلِمۡتُمُ الَّذِیۡنَ اعۡتَدَوۡا مِنۡکُمۡ فِی السَّبۡتِ فَقُلۡنَا لَہُمۡ کُوۡنُوۡا قِرَدَۃً خٰسِئِیۡنَ ﴿ۚ

And surely, you have known the end of those among you, who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. So We said to them: Be ye apes, despised

(Juz 1, Sūrah 2, Āyah 65)

Many people believe that Allāh literally transformed a party of Israelites into apes. While this appears to be the most widespread interpretation of the Āyah, and others like it which mention مسخ (metamorphosis), a figurative interpretation of some evil humans becoming swine and apes seems more reasonable and profound. Hence, the great mufassir Mujāhid bin Jabr (d.104 H) from among the Tābi’īn, commented on this Āyah, saying:

‌مُسِخَتْ ‌قُلُوبُهُمْ وَلَمْ يُمْسَخُوا قِرَدَةً وَخَنَازِيرَ وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ مَثَلٌ ضَرَبَهُ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ مِثْلَ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا

Their hearts were transformed, not that they were [actually] transformed into monkeys and pigs. Indeed, it is a similitude that Allāh presented for them, like the donkey carrying volumes of books (Tafsīr Ibn Abī Hātim, v.1, p.133, #672)

Here sayyidinā Mujāhid رحمه الله referred to the parable mentioned in Sūrat al-Jumu’ah:

مَثَلُ الَّذِیۡنَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوۡرٰٮۃَ ثُمَّ لَمۡ یَحۡمِلُوۡہَا کَمَثَلِ الۡحِمَارِ یَحۡمِلُ اَسۡفَارًا

The likeness of those who were made to bear the Torah, but would not bear it, is as the likeness of an ass carrying a load of books

(Juz 28, Sūrah 62, Āyah 5)

In other words, the transformation of some evil humans into pigs and monkeys means a transformation of their internal characteristics and behavior. Their hearts became like the hearts of apes and swine, as Mujāhid رحمه الله explained. In Arabic linguistics, the word ‘monkey’ derived from the trilateral root ق ر د carries the meaning of ‘to deceive; to subdue, to humiliate’. Thus, the transformation of evil humans into monkeys signifies their becoming subdued and humiliated. Likewise, the word ‘pig’, derived from the quadrilateral root خ ن ز ر carries the meaning of ‘to be rough and crude’, so those among them who were transformed into pigs signifies their roughness and crudeness. This is found in many cultures and almost universally understood that calling someone a pig means he is obscene, shameless, gluttonous, perverted and disgusting. Calling someone a monkey means he is disgraced, humiliated, or ugly.

This interpretation is made clearer in certain Ahādīth of the holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم

أَمَا يَخْشَى أَحَدُكُمْ أَوْ لاَ يَخْشَى أَحَدُكُمْ إِذَا رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ قَبْلَ الإِمَامِ أَنْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ رَأْسَهُ رَأْسَ حِمَارٍ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ صُورَتَهُ صُورَةَ حِمَارٍ

Is not the one who raises his head [from prostration and bowing] before the Imām afraid that Allāh will make his head the head of a donkey or that Allāh will make his form the form of a donkey! (Sahīh al-Bukhārī)

To date, there has been no recorded instance of someone’s head or body being literally transformed into that of a donkey’s, indicating that it is a figurative phenomenon, as sadly the phenomenon of ignorant and heedless people raising their head from bowing or prostration before the Imām in Salāh is not uncommon, especially among the astray Shī’ah. In Arabic linguistics, the word donkey is derived from the trilateral root ح م ر which carries the meaning of ‘to be difficult’. In other words, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم described those who raise their heads in Salāh before the Imām as obstinate people.

In another tradition, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم predicted that a party of his Ummah shall consider silk, wine and musical instruments permissible, and that Allāh will transform them into monkeys and pigs:

وَيَمْسَخُ آخَرِينَ قِرَدَةً وَخَنَازِيرَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ

(Sahīh al-Bukhārī)

يَخْسِفُ اللَّهُ بِهِمُ الأَرْضَ وَيَجْعَلُ مِنْهُمُ الْقِرَدَةَ وَالْخَنَازِيرَ ‏

(Sunan Ibn Mājah)

There have already appeared many Muslims, including those who identify as scholars clothed in the garb of knowledge, who declare music permissible, and who change the name of alcoholic beverages and other intoxicants saying they do not fall in the category of the prohibited khamr. Yet we know of no instance in history in which such people were literally transformed into apes and swine.

Concerning the Qadariyyah, meaning those who deny Qadar (that Allāh has decreed and determined human destiny, and is the Creator of our deeds), they are a sect that appeared quite early on in the history of the Ummah, and it is reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said about them:

يَكُونُ فِي هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ خَسْفٌ أَوْ مَسْخٌ أَوْ قَذْفٌ فِي أَهْلِ الْقَدَرِ

From this Ummah the people of Qadar shall be transformed, swallowed by the Earth, and pelted with stones (Jāmi’ at-Tirmidhī)

Yet there has been no recorded instance in history of innovators from the Qadariyyah, Mu’tazilah, Shī’ah and other sects which deny Qadar being literally transformed into animals.

As a matter of fact, the holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم himself seems to have indicated that the incident of some people being transformed into apes and swine, as mentioned in the holy Qurān, was not literal. It is mentioned that someone asked the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم about those transformations:

فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ الْقِرَدَةُ وَالْخَنَازِيرُ هِيَ مِمَّا مُسِخَ

A man asked: ‘O Messenger of Allāh, what about the monkeys and pigs which were transformed?’

فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمْ يُهْلِكْ قَوْمًا أَوْ يُعَذِّبْ قَوْمًا فَيَجْعَلَ لَهُمْ نَسْلاً وَإِنَّ الْقِرَدَةَ وَالْخَنَازِيرَ كَانُوا قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم answered: ‘Indeed, Allāh عزّ وجلّ does not destroy a people or punish a people then grant for them progeny. Indeed, monkeys and pigs existed before that.’

(Sahīh Muslim)

The statement that monkeys and pigs existed before the instances of maskh (metamorphosis) mentioned in the holy Qurān is a strong indication that the literal monkeys and pigs from the animal kingdom are a separate category, and those evil people described as monkeys and pigs in the holy Qurān are another category. And Allāh knows best.

In a Hadīth attributed to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, though its authenticity is not established:

عَن أبي أُمَامَة رَضِي الله عَنهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُول الله صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم تكون فِي أمتِي فزعة فَيصير النَّاس ‌إِلَى ‌عُلَمَائهمْ ‌فَإِذا ‌هم ‌قردة ‌وَخَنَازِير

There will be terror and dismay in my Ummah, so when the people turn to their Ulamā’ [they will find] them monkeys and pigs (Nawādir al-Usūl, v.2, p.196)

Hadith: "Prophets are alive in their graves, praying" Is Jesus included?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وصلى الله على نبيه الكريم

According to a Hadith narrated by sayyidina Anas bin Malik (radi Allahu anhu) the most holy Prophet (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam) said:

الأَنْبِيَاءُ أَحْيَاءٌ فِي ‌قُبُورِهِمْ يُصَلُّونَ

“The Prophets are alive in their graves, praying” (Musnad al-Bazar, v.13, p.299, #6888; Musnad Abi Ya’la, v.6, p.148, #3425)

The authenticity of this Hadith is hotly contested. Nevertheless, if we assume the Hadith is sound, it is actually a proof that the Messiah Jesus, who was among the Prophets, was not raised alive to Heaven in his earthly body but like all the other Prophets is buried in a grave.

The reality of the life of the Prophets in their graves is a spiritual life in the Hereafter, and not in this worldly realm. The term ‘grave’ here refers to the dimension known as Barzakh, an intermediary state which the soul enters after death but before the Resurrection. It is comparable to the Biblical concept of Sheol.

Hayya wa Qayyam (Daniel 6:26)

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

One of the most powerful names of Allah Most High is

al-Hayy ul-Qayyûm

The Living, the Enduring

This most holy name occurs thrice in the text of the holy Quran, including in Ayat al-Kursi. Interestingly, it is also found in the Book of Daniel:

חַיָּ֗א וְקַיָּם֙

Hayyâ wa Qayyâm

I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever [Hû Elâhâ Hayyâ wa Qayyâm] and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end (Daniel 6:26, KJV)

Incidentally, this is an implicit proof that Daniel is one of the true Prophets and the Scripture of Daniel is from divine inspiration. Jesus testified to the fact that Daniel was a Prophet (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14).

Ibn Taymiyah: Meaning of Seal of Apostles

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

On this blog I have quoted several scholastic authorities in Islam who correctly interpret sayyidina Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم being خاتم النبيين ‘Seal of the Prophets’ to mean that there can be no prophet after him who shall abrogate his Shari’ah. Among them is Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, particularly regarded by Salafis, who wrote:

وَهَذَا صِفَةُ خَاتَمِ الرُّسُلِ الَّذِي لَا يَأْتِي بَعْدَهُ نَبِيٌّ ‌يَنْسَخُ ‌شَرْعَهُ

“And this is a characteristic of the Seal of Apostles, the one after who there will not come a prophet to abrogate his Shari’ah” (al-Jawab al-Sahih; v.3, p.407)

Adam Dwelled in an Earthly Paradise (Part 2)

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In an article I wrote on this blog some four years ago I made the case for the Paradise in which Allah placed Adam and his wife in, the Garden of Eden, being a location on this planet Earth, in this mortal realm.

The story of Adam and Eve being deceived by Satan and thereafter, as a consequence, being expelled from the Garden of Eden, is repeated throughout the holy Quran because there is great significance in the moral lesson it contains for mankind. Allah Most High created Adam and ordered the Angels, the category of His creation blessed to be in His Presence and constantly glorifying and praising Him, to make obeissance to Adam. Apparently a person named Iblis was likewise included in this order to make obeissance to Adam. For this reason, some Muslim scholastic authorities have opined that Iblis is a “fallen Angel” whose original name was Azazel. However, Allah says in the Quran concerning the Angels:

لَّا یَعۡصُوۡنَ اللّٰہَ مَاۤ اَمَرَہُمۡ وَیَفۡعَلُوۡنَ مَا یُؤۡمَرُوۡنَ

They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but they do as they are commanded

(Juz 28, Surah 66, Ayah 6)

In fact, it is made clear in the Quran that Iblis is a Jinn:

کَانَ مِنَ الۡجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنۡ اَمۡرِ رَبِّہٖ

He was of the Jinn; and he disobeyed the command of his Lord

(Juz 15, Surah 18, Ayah 50)

When Iblis obstinately refused to prostrate before Adam, due to his arrogance, his jealousy, his hatred for man, and his feeling of superiority, Allah Most High at that instant expelled him from His Presence:

قَالَ فَاہۡبِطۡ مِنۡہَا فَمَا یَکُوۡنُ لَکَ اَنۡ تَتَکَبَّرَ فِیۡہَا فَاخۡرُجۡ اِنَّکَ مِنَ الصّٰغِرِیۡنَ

Allah said: Depart hence. It behoves you not to be arrogant here. Get out, you are surely of those abased

(Juz 8, Surah 7, Ayah 13)

قَالَ فَاخۡرُجۡ مِنۡہَا فَاِنَّکَ رَجِیۡمٌ

Thereupon Allah commanded: Get out hence, for you are rejected

(Juz 14, Surah 15, Ayah 34; Juz 23, Surah 38, Ayah 77)

Since the Quran makes clear that Iblis was expelled from Allah’s Presence when he refused to prostrate to Adam, the question arises how was Iblis able to return to Paradise and deceive Adam and Eve, after which they were all expelled from Paradise? (Juz 8, Surah 7, Ayah 24) An ignorant person argued that when Iblis was ordered to leave Paradise, he asked for respite and Allah granted his request, therefore, he remained a little longer in Paradise in order to beguile Adam and Eve and then was at last expelled with them thereafter!

But this absurd theory is easily refuted by the Quran:

لَئِنۡ اَخَّرۡتَنِ اِلٰی یَوۡمِ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ لَاَحۡتَنِکَنَّ ذُرِّیَّتَہٗۤ اِلَّا قَلِیۡلًا

[Iblis said]: If You will grant me respite till the Day of Resurrection, I will most surely reduce his posterity to subjection except a few

قَالَ اذۡہَبۡ فَمَنۡ تَبِعَکَ مِنۡہُمۡ فَاِنَّ جَہَنَّمَ جَزَآؤُکُمۡ جَزَآءً مَّوۡفُوۡرًا

[Allah] said: Get out. Hell shall be the recompense of you all, you and those who follow you from among them: an adequate recompense

وَاسۡتَفۡزِزۡ مَنِ اسۡتَطَعۡتَ مِنۡہُمۡ بِصَوۡتِکَ وَاَجۡلِبۡ عَلَیۡہِمۡ بِخَیۡلِکَ وَرَجِلِکَ وَشَارِکۡہُمۡ فِی الۡاَمۡوَالِ وَالۡاَوۡلَادِ وَعِدۡہُمۡ ؕ وَمَا یَعِدُہُمُ الشَّیۡطٰنُ اِلَّا غُرُوۡرًا

Go ahead and entice whomsoever of them you can, with your voice, and mount assaults against them with your horse and your foot and be their partner in wealth and offspring, and make promises to them. And Satan promises them naught but deceit

(Juz 15, Surah 17, Ayat 62-64)

This passage makes clear that despite granting Iblis respite, Allah ordered his immediate expulsion from His Presence. So it could not have been there where Adam and Eve were dwelling and somehow Satan sneaked back in to beguile them.

*Interestingly, the last Ayah quoted mentions Satan’s voice, horse and foot as the means for him to entice and misguide mankind. The voice of Satan is a reference to his and the ability of the other devils and demons to whisper evil suggestions into the hearts of humans, and it may also be a reference to the evil lyrics and sounds of music, poetry and the recited scriptures of pagan religions. The horse of Satan is a reference to the Satanic cavalry, the generals and ranking officers of his army, while his foot is a reference to the Satanic infantry of lesser foot soldiers who likewise do his bidding in waging spiritual warfare against Islam.

Those who insist the Paradise from which Adam and Eve were banished as a consequence of their disobedience in eating from the forbidden Tree is the everlasting Paradise of the Afterlife should know that Allah says no one will ever be expelled from that Paradise:

وَّمَا ہُمۡ مِّنۡہَا بِمُخۡرَجِیۡنَ

Nor shall they be ejected therefrom

(Juz 14, Surah 15, Ayah 48)

Furthermore, Allah says, according to a Hadith Qudsi, concerning Paradise:

أَعْدَدْتُ لِعِبَادِي الصَّالِحِينَ مَا لاَ عَيْنٌ رَأَتْ وَلاَ أُذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ وَلاَ خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ

I have prepared for my righteous servants what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard and what no human heart can imagine

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

Yet this Hadith Qudsi will apparently be falsified if it is admitted that Adam and Eve were present in that Paradise.

In his monumental Tafsir of the Quran, Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi quotes the opinion of two Mu’tazilite theologians, Abul-Qasim al-Balkhi and Abu Muslim al-Isfahani, who argued that the Paradise in which Allah made Adam and Eve dwell was a Garden of the Earth and not the eternal Paradise of the Hereafter:

الْمَسْأَلَةُ الرَّابِعَةُ اخْتَلَفُوا فِي الْجَنَّةِ الْمَذْكُورَةِ فِي هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ هَلْ كَانَتْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَوْ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَبِتَقْدِيرِ أَنَّهَا كَانَتْ فِي السَّمَاءِ فَهَلْ هِيَ الْجَنَّةُ الَّتِي هِيَ دَارُ الثَّوَابِ أَوْ جَنَّةُ الْخُلْدِ أَوْ جَنَّةٌ أُخْرَى فَقَالَ أَبُو الْقَاسِمِ الْبَلْخِيُّ وَأَبُو مُسْلِمٍ الْأَصْفَهَانِيُّ هَذِهِ الْجَنَّةُ كَانَتْ فِي الْأَرْضِ

(Tafsir al-Kabir; v.3, p.3)

One of the objections to the idea that the Garden which Adam and Eve dwelt in was in the Earth is that Allah says:

قَالَ اہۡبِطُوۡا بَعۡضُکُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ ۚ وَلَکُمۡ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ مُسۡتَقَرٌّ وَّمَتَاعٌ اِلٰی حِیۡنٍ

[Allah] said: Go forth, some of you will be enemies of others. And for you there is an abode on the Earth and a provision for a time

(Juz 8, Surah 7, Ayah 23)

The objection is that how could Adam and Eve be expelled from a place that was on Earth only to be told that the Earth is their abode. Imam al-Razi has quoted the response of the Mu’tazilite theologians:

وَحَمَلَا الْإِهْبَاطَ عَلَى الِانْتِقَالِ مِنْ بُقْعَةٍ إِلَى بُقْعَةٍ كَمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى اهْبِطُوا مِصْراً

The meaning of the going forth is movement from one place to another like how the Most High says ‘Go into a settlement’ (Surah 2, Ayah 61)

(Tafsir al-Kabir; v.3, p.3)

In other words there is no problem in the idea that Adam and Eve were expelled from one part of the Earth and told to live anywhere else in the rest of the Earth, just as the Prophet Moses told some of his people who were complaining about having to be limited to eating one kind of food that they should therefore go into some settlement and find the food they want. Being told to go into a settlement does not imply that they were not already present in a settlement.

Another argument quoted from the Mu’tazilite theologians who argued that the Paradise from which Adam and Eve were banished was on Earth is that Satan tempted them to eat from the Tree by saying that if they did so they would attain immortality:

وَقَالَ مَا نَہٰکُمَا رَبُّکُمَا عَنۡ ہٰذِہِ الشَّجَرَۃِ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ تَکُوۡنَا مَلَکَیۡنِ اَوۡ تَکُوۡنَا مِنَ الۡخٰلِدِیۡنَ

[Satan] said: Your Lord has forbidden you this Tree only lest you become two Angels or that you should live forever

(Juz 8, Surah 7, Ayah 20)

فَوَسۡوَسَ اِلَیۡہِ الشَّیۡطٰنُ قَالَ یٰۤـاٰدَمُ ہَلۡ اَدُلُّکَ عَلٰی شَجَرَۃِ الۡخُلۡدِ وَمُلۡکٍ لَّا یَبۡلٰی

But Satan tried to entice him away and said: Adam, shall I lead you to the tree of eternity and to a kingdom that never declines?

(Juz 16, Surah 20, Ayah 120)

If the Paradise in which Adam and Eve were dwelling in was the Paradise of eternity into which the Believers shall enter in the Afterlife, then how could Satan be successful in tempting Adam and Eve to disobey Allah with a promise of immortality?

Now it should be strongly established that the Jannah in which Adam and Eve dwelt was the Garden of Eden, a paradise on Earth. Khwaja Ghulam Farid (1845-1901), a poet and mystic from south Punjab, is quoted as saying:

یہ جو مشہور ہے کہ حضرت آدم اور بی بی حوا کو بہشت سے نکالا گیا اور یہ کہا جاتا ہے کہ آسمان سے زمین پر پھینک دیے گۓ یہ بالکل صحیح نہیں ہے بلکہ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ ملک یمن کے قریب ایک باغ تھا جو بہشت کی طرح نہایت ہی دل آویز اور دلکشا تھا حضرت آدم اور بی بی حوا اس باغ میں رہتے تھے اور یہی ان کی بہشت اور جنت تھی

The popular view that Adam and Eve were banished from Heaven and thrown down to the Earth is totally incorrect. Rather, the fact is that there was a garden near the country of Yemen which was extremely delightful like Heaven. Adam and Eve used to reside in that garden which was their Heaven and Paradise (Maqabis ul-Majalis, p.799)