A portion of the preceding ayah in the Quran expresses the same message forcefully[3]

“We did not send any apostle but to be obeyed by Allah’s leave”

A similar theme is verbalized later in this surah[4]

“Whoever pays heed unto the Apostle pays heed unto God thereby; and as for those who turn away – We have not sent thee to be their keeper.”

The index ayah is addressing the Prophet to tell him that Muslims will not “be true believers” unless they accept him as the Final Authority and Judge in all aspects of life, including the resolution of their disputes. He is not merely a guide and a preacher. A true believer is not offering just lip service to the cause but is really convinced of the truth and this is demonstrated in his performance in real life. As he is convinced that any verdict of the Holy Prophet is fair and just, a true believer does not feel any discomfort or conflict in accepting it; he does this willingly and wholeheartedly without any hesitation, reservation or resistance. In other words, the ayah declares clearly and emphatically the role and authority of the Holy Prophet on every Muslim, who is required to submit to all his commands, given verbally or practically. This is known as Sunnah of the the Holy Prophet which displays and demonstrates the message of the Quran to enable the believers to  practice their religion in their day to day life. Thus, the Quran repeatedly says  “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger” or “Whoever, obeys the Messenger, he really obeys Allah”.

This has “full legal force side by side with the Qur’an” according to the famous Islamic scholar Dr. Mohammed Asad in his tafseer “The Message of the Quran”. However he precedes this categorical statement by a caveat “whenever they are authenticated beyond any possibility of doubt”. I think the Muslim scholarship very often ignores this requirement because of their passion and love and admiration of the the Holy Prophet.

True faith is not merely a lip service but it is practicing it without any doubts and dissent. Further, “when a decision is given we are not only to accept it, but find in our inmost souls no difficulty and no resistance, but on the contrary a joyful acceptance springing from the conviction of our own faith”. It needs to be emphasized that the message of this verse is not restricted to the life time of the the Holy Prophet. It will remain the current currency till the end of the world. This does not mean that the Prophet, in person, will be available to judge in all disputes between believers at all times. His judgement, as referred to here, means a judgement based on his sunnah. The the Holy Prophet himself endorsed this position when he said “None of you can become a believer until his desires become subservient to what I have brought (i.e. my teachings).”

“Not accepting the decision of the Holy Prophet is Kufr” declares Mufti Mohammed Shafi in his celebrated tafseer Ma’aarif-ul-Quran. He further points out that even following the concessions given by the Shari’ah like tayammum or offering prayers sitting down with a feeling of heavy heart is also prohibited. If God Almighty has granted you a compromise, thank HIM and follow it gladly. The Holy Prophet has said: “The way Allah Almighty is pleased with what is done with high determination, so is HE pleased with what is done by using leaves (given to you)”.

How is this radiant and grandeur Prophetic authority implemented— in his life time and after? The Holy Text responds clearly and positively[5]

“We have sent down to thee the Book in truth, that thou mightest judge between men, as guided by God. so be not (used) as an advocate by those who betray their trust”

I would like to remark that we Muslims, by and large have missed out on this ayah and look around here and there, up and down to find the Prophet’s answers to our problems; this  results in different and conflicting explanations.

The research scholar and mentor Javed Ahmed Ghamdi brings out a nuance to this ayah in his illuminating tafseer Al Bayaan “…….the Quran while rejecting their qasam has defined completely the extreme limits of the role and rank of the Rasool i.e. apart from the issues of deen and shariah even in the disputes that arise among yourselves the decisions of the Rasool has to be accepted whole heartedly without any ifs and buts.”

Thus “The Messenger was sent to preach, guide, instruct, and show the Way —not to dive people to good” as per Allamaa Yousuf Ali in his popular tafseer of the Quran. He goes on to say “The the Holy Prophet coveys and explains; he does not coerce or bulldoze his mission. It is safe to say if a believer obeys him, he in fact is submitting to God. On the other hand, if a believer disobeys the the Holy Prophet, he in fact is defying God Almighty.”

There is a report trying to explain the shan-e-nazool (reas0n f0r revelation) of this verse. A dispute was brought to the Prophet for judgment by the Prophet’s early Companion and cousin al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwām  and one of his neighbors concerning the use of a water channel. The neighbor was unhappy with the Prophet’s ruling and suggested that he had favored al-Zubayr, because al-Zubayr was his cousin. This verse was revealed, chastising his critical attitude toward the Prophet’s judgment.

Sayyid Qutb, the distinguished Islamic scholar and activist makes rather an ambiguous statement in his magnificent tafseer Fee Dhilalil Quran “In fact, God has sent His messengers so that they be obeyed, by His leave and within His law, so that the Divine way of life is properly implemented.” What does he mean “by His leave and within His law”. Is he suggesting that we are supposed to assess whether a certain opinion of the the Holy Prophet is “by His leave and within His law”. Certainly not, I would say. Probably he means all the decision of the Prophet are “by His leave and within His law”.

Later on the eminent scholar adds “Religion is a code for practical life, with all its systems, situations, values, morality, and worship.” He further states “He certainly has not sent a messenger so that he has only a moral effect on people and gets them to offer worship rituals. That would be an erroneous understanding of religion, which does not fit with the purpose of God sending His messengers. His purpose in sending them is to establish a proper code in practical life……. This explains the true image of Islam in history: a message to be conveyed, a regime, an authority, and a system of government to implement the Islamic law and constitution after the Prophet has passed away.” As this was the generally accepted mission of Islam while I was growing up, I used to proudly and confidently declare “Islam is a complete code of Life”; it has an answer for all the human problems in this world and hereafter. I realize now this has been a monumental hype, albeit with pure intentions. The research scholar Javed Ahmed Ghamdi is in the fore font to paint the true and comprehensive picture of religion and Islam in particular. The main purpose and focus of Islam and all religions is to introduce to mankind the concept and fact of life after death. On the planet, Islam teaches about Imaniyaat and Achlatiyaat (Faith and Morality), prescribes certain Ibaadaat (Rituals) and inculcates tazkia (Purification) of the body, food, beliefs and values. Islam does issue a general directive for some specific situations like personal laws and a representative government. Apart from these, Islam wants the individual to think and ponder for himself in all the situation he faces: social, economical, educational, political etc. In these scenario, shari’ah will intervene only if there is a moral or spiritual problem and predicament

How do we Muslims measure up to the demands of the index ayah? Are we following the Holy Prophet in living our lives? To start with, we are not even in agreement about his training and tuition for us. We have divided ourselves into sects on this very basis. So the answer to the question I have posted is “very poor”.

But this is not the end of the story. Contrary to the Holy Prophet’s wishes and education we are indulging in the worst type of hero worship; a practice abhorrent to the deen of Islam. A few examples follow: It is asserted by some scholars that the universe came into existence only because of and for the prophet. He is honored as the leader of all the prophets and he is supposed to have led them in prayers during the night of Mairaj.

Prophet  Mohammed is considered the best of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah who are the best of of mankind;

There are authentic hadiths stating that the Prophet will be granted al-maqam al-mahmud or the station of honor on the Day of Resurrection. This means that he will intercede for all mankind when Allah delays the Reckoning and they will have been waiting for so long in the Place of Gathering on the Day of Resurrection. People’s distress and anxiety will reach a point they can no longer bear, and they will say, “Who will intercede for us before our Lord so that He will pass judgment amongst His slaves?” So the people will go to the Prophets, each of whom will say, “I am not able to do this,” until when they come to our Prophet, he will say, “I am entitled to do it, I am entitled to do it.” So he will intercede for them that judgment may be passed.

Since there was no mention of it or limit set as to the quantity or quality of praise for the Prophet, it is an implicit permission to praise without restriction.

How can there be such a thing as praising “too much” or “too often”, when the Lord of the Worlds decided pre-eternally, out of all the names in His infinite knowledge, to name His beloved “Muhammad” which is not just “the one praised” (mahmud), but intensified as “the one who is praised over and over again without cease”?

On the other hand, the Quran and the the Holy Prophet have time and again disproved and refuted such inflated claims.

The Holy Text distinctly declares: [6]

“they all believe in God, and His angels, and His revelations, and His apostles, making no distinction between any of His apostles”

The hero worshippers retort that they do accept all the prophets as God sent. But they maintain that the ayah does not prevent them from grading and rating the prophets and evaluating their comparative merits.

There are sayings of the the Holy Prophet urging Muslims not to amplify nor over state his role and position:

In an authentic hadith, the the Holy Prophet declares “do not elevate me even above Younus, the machliwala”.

The eminent scholar Dr. Israr Ahmed quotes this hadith in one of the video sessions of his popular TV series of tafseer of Quran. After reciting the above hadith he says emphatically “he is” and then adds softly “but one should not say so”. What he just finished saying  emphatically, he forbids us from doing the same. It defies all explanation how an eminent scholar can be so inconsistent in his views.

The Holy Prophet explicitly warned his Ummah against exaggeration in praising him as the Christians did with Jesus and ended up worshipping him.

The Prophet forbade excessively praising him, as per the narration in which he said, “Do not exaggerate in magnifying me like the Christians exaggerated in magnifying the son of Maryam (Isa, or Jesus,), for I am only His slave, so say: ‘the slave of Allah and His messenger’.” [al-Bukhari, al-Sahih]

It is really unfortunate and ironical. We Muslims differ and diverge about the characteristics and attributes of our beloved Prophet who we regard as Nur al Huda (The Light of Guidance) and Rahmatan lil-‘Alamin (Mercy to the Worlds).

Let us pray to Allah Ta’aala Subhaanahoo that HE directs us (the Ummah) and commands us to acclaim and eulogize our beloved Prophet in the way HE wants us to do.

……..and Allah knows best.

May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding–“fahm”–of our Deen, Aameen.

Dr. Khalid Mitha