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Excerpted from:
The Islamic Creed - Sharh Al `Aqidah At Tahawiyyah
Commentary by Ali Ibn Abi al `Izz al Adhru`I, Abridged by Abdul Mun`im Saleh Al `Ali Al `Izzi
And (we believe) that Muhammad is His chosen slave, the selected
Prophet and an approved Messenger.
The three terms: 'chosen', 'elected' and 'approved,' are more or
less synonyms. The point of note here is that a man's perfection lies in how
true a slave he is to Allah the Most High. The more true slave a man is, the
more perfect and the higher in rank he is. Anyone who believes that the creation
can get out of the bond of slavery to Allah, howsoever he may achieve that, and
attains higher status with Him, is the most ignorant of His creations. Allah
The Islamic Creed - Sharh Al `Aqidah At Tahawiyyah
Commentary by Ali Ibn Abi al `Izz al Adhru`I, Abridged by Abdul Mun`im Saleh Al `Ali Al `Izzi
said:
"And they say,
'The Merciful has taken a son.' Glory is to Him. Rather, they are slaves,
honored." (Al-Anbiya', 26)
Further, Allah spoke of the Prophet, Muhammad, as a slave in all
those places He wished to honor him. He said:
"Glorified is He
who took His slave in a journey by night." (A l-Isra', 1)
(As against the above) most theologians and polemicists have
argued in favor of the greatness of the Prophets and Messengers on the strength
of their miracles. No doubt, miracles are strong evidences. But, evidences are
not restricted to miracles. For, the most truthful, as well as the greatest
liars, claim to be Prophets. But, so far as the discerning minds are considered,
this does not cast any doubt on the affair. Rather, the surrounding details
speak for themselves. We know that there are several ways by which people can
distinguish between a true claimant and a false one even In ordinary affairs.
So, what about claims to Prophethood? Hassan b. Thabit well said:
Even if clear signs had not been with him
The evidences would have reached you by
report.
Never did a false prophet rise but his ignorance, lies, corrupt
ways, and the devil's hold of him, have been so apparent to anyone endowed with
some common sense that he had no difficulty in discovering his falsity. That is
because there is no recourse to a Prophet but to order some things and forbid
some others. Thus, It is in the scheme of things that he should do things that
render his truthfulness manifest. On the other hand, an imposter too cannot
escape but do some things and inform (about the Unseen) exposing himself in so
doing, in ways more than one. An authentic Prophet is just the opposite of him.
To be sure, if there were to be two claimants to Prophethood, one an imposter
and the other a true one, then, the matter will definitely end with one's
falsehood being exposed and the other's authenticity becoming clear: even if it
takes some time. Truthfulness and virtuosity go hand in hand. Similarly,
falsehood and perversion go hand in hand. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said
in a report preserved in the Sahihayn (Bukhari and Muslim): "Adhere to
the truth. For truth leads to piety, and piety leads to Paradise. A man keeps on
uttering and pursuing the truth until he is recorded as 'a truthful' with Allah.
And, beware of lies. For lies lead to impiety and impieties lead to the Fire. A
man keeps on lying, and pursuing lies until he is written 'a liar' with Allah."
Now, when know that a simple thing as the truthfulness of a man,
or his falsehood, is apparent from his behavior, then how can a false prophet
avoid being detected? No one can fail to distinguish the true prophet from a
false one.
We know that Khadijah, Allah be pleased with her, knew the
truthfulness of the Prophet from personal experience. Consequently, at the time
of his first revelation when he expressed his apprehension in words: "I fear for
my life," she responded, "Never. By Allah, He will never let you down. For you
join the kin, speak truth, carry (the load of) the feeble, honor the guest, work
for the destitute, and lend support to just causes."
Najashi asked for recitation of what the Prophet claimed to be
receiving. He too, when he heard a portion of the revelation, remarked: "By God,
this and what Moses had brought have the same lamp as their source."
Warqah b. Nawfal said something close to it when he was told about
what the Prophet had experienced. Warqah was no ordinary person. He had
converted to Christianity and was learned enough to be able to write the Gospels
in Arabic. When Khadijah, Allah be pleased with her, told him about what the
Prophet had received, Warqah said: 'This is the same Message that Moses
received."
Further, Allah the Most High has left to survive some of the signs
of how He helped His Messengers and how He destroyed those nations that cried
lies to them, such as the signs of the Flood, the drowning of Fir'awn and his
armies, etc. When Allah narrated the stories of prophets after prophets in the
chapter tided Al-Shu'ara', such as those of Musa, Ibrahim, Nuh and
others. He followed up every episode with the words:
"In that was a
sign. Most of them were not believers. And, surety, your Lord is All-powerful,
All-Merciful." (Al-Shu 'ara', 8-9)
As for us, we know from reliable traditions of the past detailing
the lives of the prophets, of the pious men, as also of their adversaries, to
feel assured that they were true. This can be realized in ways more than one:
Firstly, they had forewarned their people of the humiliating
chastisement that would descend upon them if they remained obdurate rejecters.
Secondly, what followed as a consequence when it became apparent
that the people were not going to believe, such as, drowning of Fir'awn and the
people of Nuh, etc.
Thirdly, anyone who studied the life and works of the Prophets
will be convinced that they bore a high character so that the question of their
speaking an untruth was out of question.
As for our Prophet, his case is so obvious that denying his
message is tantamount to denying Allah the Most High Himself and alleging
tyranny on his part - high above that Allah is.
To explain: If
someone thought that Muhammad, on whom be peace, was not a Prophet, rather a
tyrant ruler, then, it implies that he ascribed a lie to God, brought before the
people something not revealed by Him, then, continued to declare the lawful as
unlawful and the unlawful as lawful, declared the old Scriptural Laws null and
void, slew the people, and destroyed the true followers of earlier Prophets.
Yet, he is led to victories after victories. He claimed that all that was by
Allah's command sent down to him. And the Lord God Himself watched him do all
that in His Name, annihilating the followers of truth and continuing to lie for
no less than twenty-three years. Indeed, Allah seem to have helped him achieve
all that, let him overcome everyone, prepared the grounds in supernatural
circumstances to lead him to victories. Moreover. He even answered his prayers,
destroyed those opposed to him and raised his name over all others. Now, for
Allah to let someone commit all that, in His Name, and, instead of uprooting
him, help him in his plans, is only possible if Allah Himself is a tyrant, an
oppressive Being, and a transgressor. Inevitably, that would lead the people to
the belief that this world has no Creator nor a Lord above all. Had there been
one, he would have stopped this person from doing all that. Indeed, He would
have punished him with an exemplary punishment for the satisfaction of the rest
of the world. The 'no action' response does not befit even an ordinary king of
this world. How then does it fit the King of kings and the Ruler of all rulers?
We do not deny that many liars have been successful in their own
days, and attained glory. But, firstly, they did not succeed wholly, and
secondly, the new situation they helped to create did not last long. In time,
Allah's Messengers and their followers did away with all that they had
established. This has been the Sunnah of Allah with the nations of the
past. Indeed, even the unbelievers knew that. Allah said:
"They say, 'A
poet for whom we await the Fate's uncertainty.' Say, 'Wait. For lam with you one
of those waiting.'" (Al-Tur, 30-31)
(That is, even the pagans were pretty sure that if the Prophet was
phony he would be destroyed and, therefore, the best recourse was to wait for
the Divine intervention).
