Apostles Only Obligated to Convey the Message

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدي يا نور الله

فداك ابي وامي يا رسول الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Concerning the function of the Prophets and Apostles of Allah, many people wrongly think that since they are the highest authority among the creation, answerable directly to Allah alone, that the keys of temporal dominion must be in their hands too. The truth is that Allah only commissions His Apostles for the duty of conveying the Message:

ۚ وَاِنۡ تَوَلَّوۡا فَاِنَّمَا عَلَیۡکَ الۡبَلٰغُ

But if they turn away your [My Apostle] duty is only to convey the Message

(Surah 3 Ayah 20)

وَمَا جَعَلۡنٰکَ عَلَیۡہِمۡ حَفِیۡظًا ۚ وَمَاۤ اَنۡتَ عَلَیۡہِمۡ بِوَکِیۡلٍ

And We have not made you [My Apostle] a keeper over them, nor are you over them a manager

(Surah 6 Ayah 107)

فَاِنَّمَا عَلَیۡکَ الۡبَلٰغُ وَعَلَیۡنَا الۡحِسَابُ

Upon you [My Apostle] is only to convey the Message, and upon Us is the reckoning

(Surah 13 Ayah 40)

فَہَلۡ عَلَی الرُّسُلِ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِیۡنُ

And is there anything upon the Apostles except plain delivery of the Message?

(Surah 16 Ayah 35)

فَاِنۡ اَعۡرَضُوۡا فَمَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنٰکَ عَلَیۡہِمۡ حَفِیۡظًا ؕ اِنۡ عَلَیۡکَ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ

But if they turn away, We have not sent you [My Apostle] as a guardian over them. Upon you is only to convey the Message

(Surah 42 Ayah 48)

فَذَکِّرۡ ۟ؕ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنۡتَ مُذَکِّرٌ

لَسۡتَ عَلَیۡہِمۡ بِمُصَۜیۡطِرٍ

Admonish, therefore, for you [My Apostle] are but an admonisher

You are not a keeper over them

(Surah 88 Ayah 21 & 22)

And throughout the Holy Quran we find multiple Verses where Allah emphasizes the fact that the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم has not been made a وكيل (manager) over the people, and that his duty is merely to convey the clear message بلاغ المبين

How then do we reconcile this reality repeatedly emphasized throughout the Quran with the fact that some Apostles, especially the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم did indeed seem to exercise temporal dominion during the course of their prophetic ministries? In the case of the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم he was not made as a ruler directly by Allah over the State of Medina that was eventually established under his authority. Rather, as I have explained elsewhere, this was a secondary role that the Ansar invited him to, and pledged allegiance to him to that effect.

And most of the other Prophets and Apostles of Allah were never in a position of temporal authority over their people. Nor was that necessary. Allah mentions the Prophet Samuel عليه السلام that despite being a Prophet he appointed Talut (Saul) to be King over Israel rather than himself:

وَقَالَ لَہُمۡ نَبِیُّہُمۡ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ قَدۡ بَعَثَ لَکُمۡ طَالُوۡتَ مَلِکًا

And their Prophet said to them: “Allah has appointed for you Talut as a king”

(Surah 2 Ayah 247)

Then the Prophet Samuel acted as a prophetic counsel for King Saul, who had the responsibility of administering the people, while the higher, heavenly authority remained with the Prophet. Often times there has been a similar setup in Muslim history where a pious and powerful king reigned from the throne, but surrounded himself with Ulama more learned than him who served as his key advisers. For instance, Mujaddid Alf Thani, Imam Rabbani, Ahmad Sirhindi رحمة الله عليه acquired a position of influence in the court of the Mughal king Jahangir where he struggled to persuade the king to adopt a more orthodox Islamic policy. At times Jahangir faltered but the Mujaddid was there to counsel him regarding the right way. In the next generation, the Mujaddid’s sons were advisers and supporters of the pious king Aurangzaib رحمة الله عليه

As for the Hadith of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

كَانَتْ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ تَسُوسُهُمُ الأَنْبِيَاءُ

The Prophets used to conduct the political affairs of the Children of Israel (Sahih al-Bukhari)

This does not mean that the Prophets necessarily directly ruled over the Israelites as Kings. Only some of their Kings were Prophets, namely, David and Solomon عليهما السلام

Rather it means they were concerned with the political affairs of the nation and would often prophesy regarding the state of the nation in relation to the surrounding nations and the condition of the king. So the Prophet Shemaiah prophesied in the time of the evil kings Rehoboam and Abijah, while the Prophet Ahijah prophesied in the time of the evil king Jeroboam. The Prophet Jehu prophesied in the time of the evil king Baasha, and the Prophet Elijah in the time of the evil king Ahab. His successor the Prophet Elisha prophesied in the time of the evil kings Ahaziah and Joram. The Prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk and Ezekiel prophesied in the time of the evil kings Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.

The great scholar Shah Abd ul-Ghani al-Mujaddidi of Delhi said:

تسوسهم الأنبياء من السياسة وهي الرياسة والتأديب على الرعية ولا يناقَض هذا بقصة طالوت فإنه كان ملكًا لا نبيًا ونبيهم كان الشمويل عليه السلام لأن الملوك كانوا تباعًا لأنبيائهم فلما أُمِروا به أطاعوهم فكانت السياسة حقيقة للنبي والملِك كان نائباً منه

The Prophets conducting their siyasah, which is leadership and discipline over the subjects, and this does not contradict the story of Talut, for he was a king, not a Prophet, and their Prophet was Samuel, peace be upon him, because the kings were followers of their Prophets; so when they were ordered to do so, they obeyed them, so politics was truly for the Prophet, and the king was his deputy (Injah al Hajah Sharh Sunan Ibn Majah)

While Shah Abd ul-Ghani al-Mujaddidi رحمة الله عليه was correct in saying that ultimately the kings were meant to be under obedience to the Prophets, as the Prophets are the direct representatives of Allah Himself and speak on His behalf, in actuality most of the kings were evil and disobedient, not only have no regard for the Prophets but at times even opposing and murdering them. Therefore, the Hadith means that the Prophets conducted the political affairs of the Children of Israel but without necessarily wielding temporal dominion over them. They would preach the truth and the message and rebuke the evil of the kings, and attempt to guide the nation in political matters

والله ورسوله اعلم