Gifts of Knowledge

See previous post here.

The Shaikh continued, “No two people who have studied Islaam will disagree that our religion is based on two fundamental principles.

The first principle is that Allaah Alone is worshipped without associating any partners with Him in all types of worship, and without directing any part of it to anyone other than Him. This is the meaning of the believer’s declaration, “I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, Alone, with no partner.”

The second principle is that Allaah is worshipped according to what He has legislated upon the tongue of His Messenger and Khaleel, Muhammad ﷺ. This is the meaning of the believer’s declaration, “And I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah.”

The soundness of the first principle depends upon fulfilling the second.

What it means to fulfill it can be summarized as sincerely following the Messenger ﷺ, because following him is evidence of love for Allaah, the Mighty and the Exalted. The love of Allaah, together with being mindful of Him and finding comfort in Him, is the ultimate aim of the servant’s striving and exertion. It is also a means of attaining the Lord’s love for His servant and His forgiveness of him, as He, the Mighty and Majestic, says: “Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ ‘If you ˹sincerely˺ love Allaah, then follow me, Allaah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allaah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’” [3:31] This is because he is His chosen Messenger for delivering the religion which He legislated for His servants. He is the one who conveys Allaah’s commands, prohibitions, and what He makes lawful or unlawful. Thus, the lawful is what he made lawful, the unlawful is what he made unlawful, and the religion is what he legislated and approved. The Messenger is the intermediary between Allaah and His servants in clarifying the legislation, its associated promises and warnings, and in conveying His revelation which encompasses all of that—both the Quraan and the Sunnah.

He was charged with this task by Allaah’s saying, “O Messenger! Convey everything revealed to you from your Lord. If you do not, then you have not delivered His message.” [5:67] And, “The Messenger’s duty is only to deliver ˹the message˺ clearly.” [24:54] And, “And We have sent down to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Reminder, so that you may explain to people what has been revealed for them.” [16:44] And by His saying, “Invite ˹all˺ to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and kind advice, and only debate with them in the best manner.” [16:125]

These verses from the Wise Reminder clearly explain the function of the noble Messenger ﷺ: to fulfil the duty of conveying and explaining, and to call people to the religion of Allaah and to His legislation which He prescribed for His servants and approved for them.

These three divine commands mentioned above within the preceding verses all fulfil a single purpose: to guide creation to the path that leads to the Creator سبحانه so that He may be pleased with them, in order to honour them in the abode of His Honour in return for their fulfilling what He made obligatory upon them in this world—realising true servitude [uboodiyyah] to Him so that the Almighty’s saying about him ﷺ be fulfilled, “We have sent you ˹O Prophet˺ only as a mercy for the whole world.” [21:107]

And he truly is a mercy gifted and a blessing bestowed on all of humanity. However, it requires that his followers raise their heads to study his Sunnah as it ought to be, sufficing themselves with it, in order to understand the Book of Allaah in its light, devoting themselves to it completely—this Sunnah which is precisely that explanation, that conveyance, and that call [mentioned in the above verses].

Furthermore, no Muslim, regardless of how limited his scholarly standing, how weak his education, or how scant his knowledge is, can doubt that the noble Messenger Muhammad ﷺ conveyed what was revealed to him by his Lord, namely the Noble Quraan.

This is because believing that Allaah revealed the Quraan to His chosen Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, that he conveyed what was revealed to him exactly as it was revealed, that he explained to the people whatever required explanation, answered their questions and inquiries on numerous subjects, and called them to accept what had come to him from his Lord by way of revelation, and that he never ceased calling them to it until he joined the uppermost, highest company in heaven [ar-Rafeeq al-Aʿlaa]—this level of eemaan is the very foundation of the religion upon which all subsequent duties and obligations are built.

If we believe this, and indeed we must believe it, then where do we find the explanation which shows us that the Prophet ﷺ actually went and fulfilled those divine commands of being ordered to, “convey,” “explain,” and “call” [the people to Allaah]?

The answer is: that we find it in his purified Sunnah, and nowhere else.

That Sunnah for which Allaah appointed whoever He wanted among His servants—those eminent, masterful, scholars of the Muslims. So they preserved and safeguarded it from every erroneous statement and every distorted meaning, so that the statement of Allaah, His true word and truthful report be fulfilled, i.e., “It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will preserve it.” [15:9]

And the Reminder which is revealed and preserved first and foremost is the Quraan. Allaah preserved it through whomever He willed, by whatever means He willed, and in whatever manner He willed.

And upon careful examination and consideration, the Sunnah also falls within the general meaning of the Reminder in a secondary sense. Allaah سبحانه preserved it through those eminent, masterful, critical scholars, as we mentioned earlier.

And the Sunnah through which that required explanation [the Prophet was duty-bound to give] are his statements, actions, and tacit approvals ﷺ.”

See next post here.

Tagged: quraniyoon