Helpless Partners Ascribed to Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] - Part 1 - Chapter 14 - Concise Commentary On The Book of Tawhid
S. Munir
S. Munir
S. Munir
- It is invalid to set the allies of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] or the righteous as rivals to Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ], for even the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] had nothing to do with the destiny of people, and, with greater reason, anyone other than the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] has nothing to do with it.
- The prophets of Allah were susceptible to illnesses and afflictions.
- The obligation of dedicating one's acts of worship solely to Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ], since He [ سبحانه و تعالى ] is the All Dominating.
- Showing forbearance and patience over afflictions for Allah's [ سبحانه و تعالى ] sake is highly recommended.
- The Muslim is forbidden to express or experience despair of Allah's [ سبحانه و تعالى ] mercy, no matter how many sins he committed Such a rule does not apply to polytheism."
S. Munir
لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
'Not for you (O Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam], but for Allâh) is the decision; whether He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes them; verily, they are the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong doers and the disobedient).' (Soorah Aal-'Imraan (The Family of 'Imraan) 003, Verse 128).
(Related by Al-Bukhari)
According to a variant [different] version:
Narrated Salim's father:
That he heard Allah's Apostle [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ], when raising his [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] head from bowing of the first Rak'a of the morning prayer, saying, "O Allah! Curse so-and-so and so-and-so" after he had said, "Allah hears him who sends his praises to Him. Our Lord, all the Praises are for you!" So Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] revealed:--
لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
'Not for you (O Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam], but for Allâh) is the decision; whether He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes them; verily, they are the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong doers and the disobedient).' (Soorah Aal-'Imraan (The Family of 'Imraan) 003, Verse 128)
Salim bin 'Abdullah said' "Allah's Apostle [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] used to invoke evil upon safwan bin Umaiya, Suhail bin 'Amr and Al-Harith bin Hisham. So the Verse was revealed:--
لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
"Not for you (O Muhammad!)......(till the end of Verse) (Soorah Aal-'Imraan (The Family of 'Imraan) 003, Verse 128) .
(Related by Al-Bukhari)
Abdullah Ibn Umar Ibnul-Khattab [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] (the Narrator)
The narrator 'Abdullah Ibn Umar Ibnul-Khattab [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] was a venerable and pious Companion and a well-known scholar. He died in 73 A.H.; may Allah be pleased with him.
The Occasion of the Hadith
Ibn 'Umar [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] heard this invocation just after the Battle of Uhud during which the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] had his head wounded and his front teeth damaged.
Keywords and Phrases
Allah! Curse so-and-so
and so-and-so: A curse is an appeal or prayer for a deprivation of Allah's
[ سبحانه و تعالى ] mercy to befall
someone or something. The persons cursed were mentioned in the variant version
of the hadith.
He [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] used to invoke Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] against Safwan Ibn Umayyah, Suhayl Ibn Amr and Al-Harith Ibn Hisham: The Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] named those three persons as they were the heads of the polytheists on the day of 'Uhud. Afterwards, those three persons converted to Islam and Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] accepted their repentance.
General Meaning of the Hadith
'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] narrated that he heard [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] invoking in prayer against certain figures among the disbelievers who wounded him [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] on the day of the Battle of 'Uhud, so Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] admonished him [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] in the Ever-Glorious Quran saying:
لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
'Not for you (O Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam], but for Allâh) is the decision; whether He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes them; verily, they are the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong doers and the disobedient).' (Soorah Aal-'Imraan (The Family of 'Imraan) 003, Verse 128)
However, those three people converted to Islam afterwards and Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] accepted their repentance.
Relevance of the Hadith to the Chapter
This hadith shows that the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] could not guard either himself [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] or his [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] Companions against the evils of the polytheists. He [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ], instead, sought help from His Lord [ سبحانه و تعالى ]; the Omnipotent and the All- Sovereign. The Prophets [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] behavior attests to the falsity of the beliefs of tomb-worshippers, who adore Allah's [ سبحانه و تعالى ] friends and righteous persons.
Lessons Drawn from the Hadith
- It is invalid to invoke the allies of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] and the righteous to bring benefit or remove harm.
- It is permissible to invoke Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] within prayers to let His [ سبحانه و تعالى ] wrath befall the polytheists.
- Naming the person meant in invocation during prayer does not blemish one's prayer.
- According to the hadith, the imam of prayer is to pronounce both tasmi (saying "Allah hears him who praises Him") and tahmid (saying "Our Lord, all the Praises are for you!") immediately after rising from bowing posture."
S. Munir
Abu Hurayrah [ رضى الله تعالى عنه , may Allah be pleased with him ] narrated:
"When the verse that reads,
وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ
"And warn your tribe (O Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam]) of near kindred."
[ القرآن الكريم The Noble Qur'aan, سورة الشعراء Soorah ash-Shu'araa. - (The Poets) 026, Verse 214]
[Translation - "Interpretation of the Meaning of The Noble Qur'aan in the English Language" By Dr. Muhammad Taqiuddeen al-Hilaalee, Ph.D. and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Published By Darussalam.]
was revealed, the Messenger of Allah [ صلى الله عليه و سلم , may Allah exalt his mention and render him and his message safe from every derogatory thing ] rose and said, 'O people of Quraysh! Buy (i.e. save) yourselves (from the Hellfire), as I cannot save you from the punishment of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى , Glorified and Exalted be He ]. O 'Abbas Ibn Abdul-Muttalib! I cannot save youfrom the punishment of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ]. O Safiyyah, the Aunt of the Messenger of Allah [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ]! I cannot save you from the punishment of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ]. O Fatimah Bint Muhammad! Ask me anything from my wealthy but I cannot save you from the punishment of Allah!"
(Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and At-Tirmidhi).
Abu Hurayrah [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] (the Narrator)
Abu Hurayrah [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] is the nickname of 'Abdur-Rahman Ibn Sakhr Ad-Dawsi [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ]. He [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] was one of the great scholars and prolific narrators among the venerable Companions. He [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] narrated more than five thousand hadiths and died in 57, 58 or 59 A,H.; may Allah be pleased with him.
- The Messenger of Allah
[ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] rose: It
means that the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم
] climbed up the hill of As-Safa.
- Buy yourselves:
Buying a soul means saving it from the Hellfire by believing in Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] and obeying Him [ سبحانه و تعالى ]. The nobility of
ancestry will not save anyone from the Hellfire.
- I cannot save you from the punishment of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ]: Since his kindred may have conceived that he would intercede on their behalf if they should be doomed to the Hellfire; the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] intended to remove that thought from their minds.
General Meaning of the Hadith
Abu Hurayrah [ رضى الله تعالى عنه ] narrated that Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] commanded the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] in the Noble Quran to warn his closest kindred. In submission to Allah's [ سبحانه و تعالى ] command, the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] climbed up the hill of As-Safa and called out the people of Quraysh, including his uncle, aunt and daughter and gave them all an exclusive warning against the punishment of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ]. The Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] thus instructed them to seek their salvation through believing in the Oneness of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] and obeying Him [ سبحانه و تعالى ] by word and deed. Moreover, he [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] informed them that he [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] would be incapable of saving them from the Hellfire and their being of his close kinfolk would then be of no avail unless they should believe in Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ].
Relevance of the Hadith to the Chapter
This hadith states that it is impermissible to ask the Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ], or anyone else, except for what he is capable of in this life. Also, it is prohibited to ask someone to do something exclusively confined to Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ]. The hadith thus confutes the fallacies of the tomb worshippers who invoke the dead pious people to remove their afflictions and fulfill their needs.
- The hadith provides an argument against those who worship the prophets or the righteous, and believe that such pious people can respond to requests exclusively fulfilled by Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ].
- It is impermissible to ask someone to do something not within his capabilities.
- The Prophet [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] was keen to submit to the commands of Allah [ سبحانه و تعالى ] and convey His [ سبحانه و تعالى ] message.
- Only true faith and good deeds can save people from the Hellfire.
- Mere ancestry will be of no avail in the Hereafter.
- The people most worthy of the Prophet's intercession are those who obey him and adhere to his Sunnah, be they among his kindred or not.
- Being one of the Prophet's [ صلى الله عليه و سلم ] relatives will be of no avail in the Hereafter, unless accompanied by sound faith and good deeds based on the monotheistic creed."