The Prophet PBUH is infallible:
Dear noble brothers, one of the Prophetic Ahadeeth is the following:
(( Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold to them, you will not go the wrong way. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet." ))
[ Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, on the authority of Abi Hurairah ]
The Prophet, peace be upon him, is a legislator as it is implied in this Ayah:
﴾ And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad PBUH) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)… ﴿
Since he is a legislator, he is infallible in his Aqwal (sayings), Af'al (actions), Iqrar (conformations), and Sifaat (traits).
(( Narrated Kharija bin Zaid bin Thabit: Um Al-'Ala', an Ansari woman who gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH) said to me, "The emigrants were distributed amongst us by drawing lots and we got in our share 'Uthman bin Maz'un. We made him stay with us in our house. Then he suffered from a disease which proved fatal when he died and was given a bath and was shrouded in his clothes, Allah's Messenger (PBUH) came I said, 'May Allah be merciful to you, O Abu As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you'. ))
[ Al-Hakim, on the authority of Umm Ala' Al-Ansariyah ]
Had the Prophet, peace be upon him, remained silent, her words would have been confirmed. Yet, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( 'How do you know that Allah has honored him?' I replied, 'O Allah's Messenger (PBUH)! Let my father be sacrificed for you! On whom else shall Allah bestow His honor?' The Prophet (PBUH) said, 'No doubt, death came to him. By Allah, I too wish him good, but by Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with me though I am Allah's Messenger (PBUH). ' By Allah, I never attested the piety of anyone after that." ))
[ Al-Hakim, on the authority of Umm Ala' Al-Ansariyah ]
This means that the Aqwal (sayings) of the Prophet, peace be upon him, are considered part of his Sunnah. Let me make this point clearer; his Aqwal (sayings), Af'al (actions), Iqrar (confirmations) and Sifaat (traits) are Sunnah. This is the position of the Noble Prophet, and because he is a legislator, he is infallible. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, made him infallible. However, one may wonder about the following Ayaat:
(( The Prophet (PBUH)) frowned and turned away* Because there came to him the blind man (i.e. 'Abdullah bin Umm-Maktum, who came to the Prophet (PBUH) while he was preaching to one. ))
(( May Allah forgive you (O Muhammad PBUH). Why did you grant them leave (for remaining behind, you should have persisted as regards your order to them to proceed on Jihad)… ))
[ At-Taubah, 43
]
The precise answer is that due to Divine Profound Wisdom, Allah the Almighty allowed the Noble Prophet in rare cases to act according to his own opinion. Asyou know his words are but an Inspiration:
﴾ Nor does he speak of (his own) desire* It is only an Inspiration that is inspired. ﴿
Accordingly, if his opinion was right, he would not receive the Divine Revelation, which means it confirms his opinion. On the other hand, if his opinion was wrong, the Revelation would be sent to him to correct it.
I would like to get back to the Ayaat, I have mentioned earlier. Allah the Almighty says:
((The Prophet (PBUH)) frowned and turned away* Because there came to him the blind man (i.e. 'Abdullah bin Umm-Maktum, who came to the Prophet (PBUH) while he was preaching to one. ))
He the Almighty also says:
﴾ May Allah forgive you (O Muhammad PBUH). Why did you grant them leave (for remaining behind, you should have persisted as regards your order to them to proceed on Jihad)… ﴿
[ At-Taubah, 43
]
He, peace be upon him, was given the chance to act based on his own opinion in a few cases, but do you know why? Because the difference between the Status of Lordship and the status of humanity should be made clear, and the Noble Prophet's opinions confirmed this difference.
Allah's Book and His Messenger's Suunah are a way of life for mankind:
I would like to repeat the Hadith:
(( Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold to them, you will not go the wrong way. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet." ))
[ Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, on the authority of Abi Hurairah ]
The following Ayah complements the Hadith:
﴾ O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. ﴿
Who are the ones in authority according to Imam Shafi'i? They are the rulers and the scholars; the scholars refer to the orders and the rulers carry them out. Allah the Almighty says in the same Ayah:
﴾ (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves… ﴿
With whom will you differ? Listen to this part of the Ayah, please:
﴾ O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. ﴿
If you differ in anything with those who are in authority, i.e. the scholars and the rulers, Allah the Almighty tells us what to do in this part of the Ayah:
﴾ …Refer it to Allah and His Messenger (PBUH)… ﴿
A llah the Almighty refers us to the Book (the Noble Quran) and the Sunnah, so do you think we will not find the Shari'ah ruling we need on a certain matter in the two Divine Texts to which the Creator of the universe Who is the Great Lord refers us to? Definitely, we will find what we need.
In fact, the Prophet, peace be upon him, told us about all the things that get us closer to Allah the Almighty as well as the things that distance us from Him. Therefore, the scholars said, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, never delayed explaining the matters mentioned in the Noble Quran." Well, he is infallible in his Aqwal, Af'al and Iqrar, but he never postponed a matter that needed clarification or explanation.
I repeat what I have just said; whatever that affects our relationship with Allah the Almighty positively or negatively no matter how insignificant it might seem; the Noble Prophet told us about. Hence, when someone wears clothes that are plain with no lines or embroider, his dressing code is not one of the religious matters mentioned in the Divine Texts due to Allah's Mercy upon us.
I would like to sum up this point, there are matters we are ordered to do, matters we are ordered to abstain from and matters we are not told what to do about them. Thus, when someone comes across the matters that have no reference in the Divine Revelation, he should for greater reason stop looking for their rulings in religious texts, lest he makes things difficult for himself.
There is another Hadith that complements the one I have mentioned earlier:
(( "…Verily he among you who lives long will see great controversy, so you must keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Khulafa ar-Rashideen (the rightly guided caliphs), those who guide to the right way. Cling to it stubbornly [literally: with your molar teeth]. Beware of newly invented matters [in the religion], for verily every bid'ah (innovation) is misguidance." ))
[ Abu Dawood, on the authority of Abu Najeeh al-'Irbaad Ibn Saariyah ]
Innovation is added to Shari'ah, and some people try to invent matters under the so called concept rejuvenating Islam, which is unacceptable, because religion can never be rejuvenated. In other words, religion is Tawqifi [It is not permissible to worship Allah, may He be exalted, through any act of worship unless this act of worship is proven in the Shar'i texts (Qur'an and Sunnah) to be an act of worship that was prescribed by Allah.]. Therefore, nothing should be added to it, lest it is implicitly accused of being incomplete, and nothing should be deleted from it, lest it is implicitly accused of having extra matters that are worthless.
Keep in mind that religion is Tawqifi; nothing should be added to or deleted from it. Let me tell you that we can do something good to religion, which is keeping it safe from whatever is not part of it, such as superstitions, innovations and all matters that are invented and referred to as religious. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( ...I am leaving you upon a (path of) brightness whose night is like its day… ))
The decisive matters mentioned in the Noble Quran and Sunnah are very clear:
(( Beware of newly invented matters [in the religion], for verily every bid'ah (innovation) is misguidance. ))
[ Abu Dawood, On the authority of Abu Najeeh al-'Irbaad Ibn Saariyah ]
Thinking about adding something to or deleting something from religion, is an implicit accusation of having an incomplete religion. In fact, when we add invented matters to religion, we end up being sections and parties that fight against one another. Also, when we omit the necessary matters from religion, such as Jihad (fighting in Allah's Cause), we become weak. Indeed, by addition we fight against one another, and by deletion we get weak. So, if we establish religion as it is without adding to it or deleting from it, we will reap its fruits individually and collectively.
Establishing Islam can be done individually and collectively
Let me address the Muslims individually; if the Ummah failed in establishing this religion, but you want to survive Allah's Punishment by refraining from disobeying Him, you can establish Islam on your own. In this case, you will reap its fruits individually. Actually, the greatness of Islam lies in the fact that it is an individual and a collective religion. When the whole Ummah establishes it, it will be granted victory:
﴾ Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them… ﴿
This is a Divine Promise, so always remember that annihilating the entire universe is easier to Allah than keeping His Promises to the Believers unfulfilled:
﴾ …as He granted it to those before them… ﴿
It is a rule:
﴾ …And that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear… ﴿
There is a delicate indication in this Ayah; which religion will they be granted the authority to practise? It is the one Allah the Almighty has chosen for us. Unfortunately, religion to some people is mere folklore, celebrations, meetings, pride and so on, so it could never have been given the authority to be practised. Since we have not been given the succession to rule on earth, we have not been given the authority to practise religion, and we have not been given the safe security, then the problem is with us, because in the last part of the Ayah, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. ﴿
If the second party fails in performing the acts of worship he is assigned to perform, Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, is not bound to His three Divine Promises
Applying the Prophetic Sunnah saves man from Allah's Torment:
I would like to move to another Ayah which contains a pattern of negative form that is used to negate the status of something or someone. There is another pattern that is used to negate a certain event. To make this point clearer, let me give you this example. If you ask someone, "Are you hungry?" He will say, "No, I am not", and this is the whole thing, but if you ask a very respectful person, "Are you a thief?" He will not be satisfied with answering "No, I am not", but he will add to it, "I will never ever take what is not mine, I will never accept taking something from others by force, and I will never accept such a thing to happen or to be committed by anyone no matter what!" Linguists mentioned about ten meanings the negative form that negates the status give. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And Allah would not punish them… ﴿
This means, it is a thousand times impossible to be punished by Allah the Almighty while the Prophet, peace be upon him, was amongst Muslims and after he passed away.
﴾ And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad PBUH) are amongst them… ﴿
This means that as long as the Prophetic Sunnah is applied, we would never be punished as it is indicated in the Ayah:
﴾ And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad PBUH) are amongst them, nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah's) Forgiveness. ﴿
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, guides us to do two things in order to be secured from Allah's Punishment; the first thing is applying the Prophetic Sunnah, and the second one is seeking Allah's Forgiveness whenever we commit a sin. These Words of Allah are very delicate to the entire Ummah:
﴾ And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad PBUH) are amongst them, nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah's) Forgiveness. ﴿
[ Al-Anfal, 33 ]
Hence, as long as the Prophetic Sunnah is applied, Muslims are secured from Allah's Punishment.
Muslims neither regret the past nor fear the future:
Allah the Almighty says in the Noble Ayah:
﴾ We said: "Get down all of you from this place (the Paradise), then whenever there comes to you Guidance from Me, and whoever follows My Guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve. ﴿
This part of the Ayah, "there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve", includes all the time in the sense that there will be no fear on them in the future nor will they regret the past. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …There shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve. ﴿
[ Al-Baqarah, 38
]
Do not feel sorry about whatever was done in the past and do not fear what is going to happen in the future, and this is why Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us… ﴿
Semantically, there is a big difference between "ordained for us" and "ordained on us". I repeat the Ayah:
﴾ Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us… ﴿
The believer should believe in what Allah the Almighty has ordained for him. Pay attention to the following Ayah, please:
﴾ Till, when they reach it (Hell-fire), their hearing (ears) and their eyes, and their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do. ﴿
Never fear the future, for Allah the Almighty but ordained goodness for us, and never grieve the past, for it happened due to Allah's Divine Wisdom. The most remarkable fact about our Master Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, is that he never felt sorry about the things he missed in the worldly life, because he believes in Allah deeply. Servants have never done anything better than believing in Tawhid (Allah's Monotheism), and this Ayah proves that:
﴾ Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is our Maula (Lord, Helper and Protector)." And in Allah let the believers put their trust. ﴿
Allah the Almighty undertakes to guide His creations:
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, undertakes by his Divine Character to guide His creations. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Truly! Ours it is (to give) guidance… ﴿
Whenever "Ours it is" is mentioned in an Ayah, it means that Allah, may His Glory be glorified, undertakes by His Own Divine Character to guide His creations. To elaborate, if someone is living in Alaska, and he saw the sun and moon, he would ask himself: Doesn’t this earth have a creator? If he is illiterate, he learned nothing in his life, and he met no scholars from any creed, but upon applying for a job he travels from his country to another one where he has a Muslim neighbor, and he becomes affected by him so he wonders, "Is there no Lord?" with that question, this Ayah is applied to him. I repeat the Ayah:
﴾ Truly! Ours it is (to give) guidance… ﴿
Allah the Almighty undertakes by His Own Divine Character to guide His creations.
Listen to the following Ayah, please:
﴾ Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen, and even if He had made them listen… ﴿
Do not worry about the worshipping servants of Allah the Almighty, and I keep saying: Do not worry about this religion because it is Allah's but be worried about yourself whether you are allowed to be one of Allah's worshipping servants or not. The true believers say as Allah the Almighty narrates:
﴾ Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is our Maula (Lord, Helper and Protector)." And in Allah let the believers put their trust. ﴿
[ At-Taubah, 51
]
In another Ayah, they say:
﴾ Say: "Do you wait for us (anything) except one of the two best things (martyrdom or victory)… ﴿
No war is ever launched between two parties that defend Al-Haqq (the truth), because the truth is one; it cannot be multiple.The same goes for a straight line between two points. It is only one straight line, and if you draw a hundred straight lines they will be over one another.
The war that is launched between two parties, one of them defends Al-Haqq, while the other party defends Al-Batil (falsehood), never lasts for a long time, because Allah the Almighty supports Al-Haqq, and the war between two parties, both of which defend Al-Batil, never ends. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Say: "Do you wait for us (anything) except one of the two best things (martyrdom or victory); while we await for you either that Allah will afflict you with a punishment from Himself or at our hands. So wait, we too are waiting with you." ﴿
The steadfast man is pacified by Allah's Promise and believes in it:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, were being chased during their migration, Suraqah followed them. Killing the Noble Prophet was declared in Quraish lawful, and a reward of 100 camels would be given to whoever brought him, peace be upon him, whether dead or alive.
When Suraqah caught up with the Noble Prophet, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him, "O Suraqah, I wonder how you would feel when you put on the bracelets of Khosrau on your wrists". As if the Noble Prophet, who was chased, threatened to be killed, wanted alive or dead for a 100 camel reward, assured Suraqah, "I am sure that Allah will save me, and I will reach Al-Madinah, establish a state there, establish an army, fight the two most powerful empires in the world, defeat them and then the loots of Khosrau will be brought to me. O Suraqah, I will give you his bracelets." This is the position of Prophethood, "O Suraqah, I wonder how you would feel when you put on the bracelets of Khosrau on your wrists".
Allah's Promise to the Prophet, peace be upon him, was fulfilled at the era of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and some narrators said, "A companion stood up holding his spear and raising it high, and up to its height there were spoils of war; money , gold and so on, so Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "How faithful is the one who got these loots to here!" Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "O Commander of the Believers, do you wonder about his faithfulness? You are their example in saving the wealth like this without taking anything from it, and had you done the opposite they would have followed your example." These words are crystal clear.
At that time, Umar called for Suraqah bin Malik and put Khosrau's clothes, crown and bracelets on him. How great this religion is! Annihilating the whole universe is easier to Allah than keeping His Promises to the believers unfulfilled. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ (Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us.) ﴿
The point I would like to highlight by my elaboration is that as long as man is steadfast, he is pacified by Allah's Promise, and this pacification implies believing in Allah's Promise:
﴾ …And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? ﴿
[At-Taubah, 111]
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …And who is truer in statement than Allah? ﴿
Man's success is acting upon Allah's Order:
Pay attention to this delicate Ayaat, please:
﴾ Shall We then treat the (submitting) Muslims like the Mujrimun (criminals, polytheists and disbelievers, etc.)?* What is the matter with you? How judge you? ﴿
In another Surah, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Is he whom We have promised an excellent promise (Paradise), which he will find true, like him whom We have made to enjoy the luxuries of the life of (this) world… ﴿
It is impossible for them to be alike!
Dear noble brothers, there are Divine Promises in the Noble Quran, and I keep repeating that annihilating the whole universe is easier to Allah the Almighty than keeping His Promises to the believers unfulfilled. Hence, our success lies in acting upon Allah's Order and following His Way, so that we might be granted whatever that is good. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Nay! But worship Allah (Alone and none else), and be among the grateful. ﴿
The sentence structure in the Ayah indicates the firm belief in worshipping Allah Alone.
