{"id":77,"date":"2015-02-25T19:32:16","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T19:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azmi.co\/cust\/ngba-wp\/?page_id=77"},"modified":"2018-10-01T01:58:42","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T01:58:42","slug":"mohammad-sinful","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/?page_id=77","title":{"rendered":"MOHAMMAD-SINFUL"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the name of All\u0101h,<\/span><\/p>\n

the Beneficent, the Merciful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peace and Blessings of All\u0101h on Mohammad.<\/span><\/p>\n

DEDICATED TO<\/span><\/p>\n

All\u0101h\u2013the Glorious and the High,<\/span><\/p>\n

Lord of the worlds<\/span><\/p>\n

AND TO<\/span><\/p>\n

Mohammad\u2013who brought the world<\/span><\/p>\n

to our feet and eternity to our arms.<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

MOHAMMAD SINFUL<\/span><\/p>\n

(Webster\u2019s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary<\/i> defines sin as \u201can offense against God;\u201d \u201ctransgression of the law of God;\u201d \u201ca vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God.\u201d<\/span> If the Prophet Mohammad committed any sin prior to his call to prophethood there does not seem to be any record of it. And unless the Prophet\u2019s frowning at the blind man and him praying for his dead enemy are sins\u2013Qur\u2019an 80:1-2; 9:84, 113\u2013<\/span>there does not seem to be any evidence of the Prophet having committed \u201can offense against God;\u201d or committed a \u201ctransgression of the law of God;\u201d or being \u201cestranged from God\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

Christians claim that Mohammad sinned. And they quote Qur\u2019an 40:55 and 48:1-2 to substantiate their claim. (Though no examples of these sins are given; nor could any be given as there is no sin to recount). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 That Mohammad sinned. In Qur\u2019an 40:55 All\u0101h says to the Prophet \u201cSo be patient; surely the promise of Allah is true; and ask protection for thy sin<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>and celebrate the praise of thy Lord in the evening and the morning.\u201d <\/span>The word istaghfara <\/i>does not only mean forgiveness for sin(s) committed but also carries the deeper meaning of protecting one from committing sin(s). Muhammad Ali explains:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe words istaghr-li-dhanbi-ka <\/i>occurring here, and repeated in 47:19, do not negative the claim made repeatedly that the Prophet was sinless. Fully five times the Holy Prophet is described in the Holy Qur\u2019an as being one who purified others from sin, in 2:129, 151; 3:164; 9:103, and 62:2. How could a sinful man purify others from sins? In fact, we do not find any prophet or reformer so plainly described as a purifier of others as<\/span><\/p>\n

the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Again, the Holy Prophet is repeatedly spoken of in the Holy Qur\u2019an as walking in the way of perfect righteousness and entire submission to All\u0101h. Obedience to the Messenger is obedience to All\u0101h (4:80); if you love All\u0101h, then follow me, All\u0101h will love you (3:31). In the presence of these and a hundred other statements of a similar nature, sin could not be attributed to him. A perusal of the Holy Book further proves that the Qur\u2019an does not allow us to attribute sin to any prophet: \u201cThey speak not before He speaks, and according to His command they act\u201d (21:27).<\/span><\/p>\n

The significance of dhanb <\/i>has already been fully explained in 3:11a<\/i>. The other word occurring here is istighfar<\/i>. It is of the measure of istif\u2018al<\/i>, and signifies the asking of ghafr <\/i>or maghrah<\/i>. According to R, ghafr <\/i>means the covering of a thing with that which will protect it from dirt<\/i>. Hence the words ghufran <\/i>and maghrah <\/i>on the part of All\u0101h signify, according to the same authority, His granting protection to His servants against chastisement<\/i>. And istaghfara <\/i>is explained as meaning he sought of God covering <\/i>or forgiveness <\/i>or pardon <\/i>(T, LL). It will thus be seen that the idea of protection is the dominant idea in the word ghafr <\/i>and its derivatives, and the word not only signifies the forgiveness of sin<\/i>, but also the <\/span>covering of sin<\/span><\/i>, which is really the <\/span>granting of protection against sin<\/span><\/i>.<\/span> That ghafr <\/i>means protection against the punishment of sin <\/i>as well as protection against the commission of sin<\/i>, is made clear by Qastalani in his commentary of Bukhari: Al-ghafru al-sitru wa huwa imma baina-l-\u2018abdi wa-l-dhanbi wa imma baina-l-dhanbi wa \u2018uqubatihi<\/i>, i.e., ghafr <\/i>means protection<\/i>, and it is either a protection of the servant from sins <\/i>or a protection from the punishment \u00a0of sin<\/i>. It is therefore protection in the first sense that is meant here, protection from sins, a protection from the imperfections of human nature, which make a man liable to sin unless he is protected by Allah.<\/span> In fact, wherever the word ghafr <\/i>or istighfar <\/i>is used in connection with the righteous, as in 3:17, 7:151, 17:25, 40:7, etc., it is the protection from sin<\/span> that is meant. See also 2:286a <\/i>and 48:2a<\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Qur\u2019an 48:1-2 states: \u201cSurely We have granted thee a clear victory, That All\u0101h may cover for thee thy (alleged) shortcomings<\/span> in the past and those to come,<\/span>\u00a0<\/i>and complete His <\/span>favour to thee and guide thee on a right path.\u201d <\/span>(Notably, <\/span>the Hadith to this verse refers to All\u0101h forgiving the Prophet his \u201cfaults\u201d NOT sin. A \u201cfault\u201d is not necessarily a sin\u2013Bokhari Vol. 6, #360-361).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The highlighted words in the verse, clearly, do not refer to sin but to a \u201cshortcoming\u201d suffered in dealing with the disbelievers. As Muhammad Ali explains the background of these verses:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe victory referred to is that gained by the truce at Hudaibiyah in 6 A.H. (B.64:37). The fact that there was no actual fighting at Hudaibiyah has led many to think that the words contain a prophecy about the conquest of Makkah, which, however, is referred to later on in the third section of this chapter. The truce at Hudaibiyah was surely a real victory for the Muslims, because it opened the way for the propagation of Islam among the disbelievers, and by putting a stop to hostilities gave the opponents an occasion to ponder over the merits of the religion against which they had hitherto struggled in vain on the field of battle. As a result of this truce large numbers came over to Islam, and the words are thus prophetical, and their truth was demonstrated long after their revelation. It may be added here that \u2018Umar had some misgivings as to the good of the truce concluded at Hudaibiyah; he thought that the truce was not honourable for the Muslims, for the conditions to which they yielded were disadvantageous to them.<\/span> One of the conditions of the truce was that, if anyone from among the Makkans came over to the Holy Prophet, he would return him to the Quraish, though he were a Muslim, while the Quraish were not bound to return anyone who deserted the Prophet and joined the Quraish. The Muslims felt it very hard that one of their brethren should be returned to suffer persecution at the hands of the disbelievers; but, as the Quraish refused to make a truce unless this condition was included, the Holy Prophet accepted it.<\/span> Immediately afterwards Divine revelation dispelled all those misgivings, and declared the truce to be a great victory leading to glorious results, as it actually proved to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

For ghafr <\/i>meaning covering <\/i>or protecting<\/i>, see 2:286a<\/i>. The word dhanbi-ka <\/i>occurring here has been misunderstood as meaning <\/span>thy sin<\/span><\/i>.<\/span> In the first place dhanb <\/i>means any <\/span>shortcoming<\/span><\/i>, not necessarily a <\/span>sin<\/span><\/i>; see 3:11a<\/i>. Secondly, the Prophet never committed a sin and his istighfar <\/i>meant the asking of Divine protection against the commission of sins; see 40:55a<\/i>. Even before he was raised to the dignity of prophethood, he was known in Arabia as al-Amin <\/i>or the faithful one. Dhanbi-ka <\/i>therefore here means not the sin committed by thee <\/i>but the sin committed against thee<\/i>, or the shortcomings attributed to thee<\/i>, as ithmi <\/i>in 5:29 means not the sin committed by me <\/i>but the sin committed against me<\/i>, for which see 5:29a<\/i>. Other examples of a similar use of idafah <\/i>are met with in the Holy Qur\u2019an. For instance, see 6:22, where shuraka\u2019u-kum <\/i>does not mean your partners <\/i>but the partners set up by you<\/i>, and in 16:27 shuraka\u2019i <\/i>does not mean My partners <\/i>but the partners which you set up with Me<\/i>. The idafah <\/i>in dhanbi-ka <\/i>carries a similar significance, and the word means thy alleged shortcomings<\/i>. It is only in this sense that we can speak of sins in the past <\/i>and those to come<\/i>. These were the short-comings attributed to the Prophet by his enemies, by those who were contemporaneous with him and those who were yet to come after him. Notwithstanding the fact that the Prophet was respected throughout Arabia for his righteousness and truthfulness before he laid claim to prophethood, the twenty years of opposition to the Truth which he brought had poisoned the minds of the Arabs to such an extent that they now drew a very dark picture of him, heaping all kinds of abuses on him. Their poets now indulged in vituperating him, thus poisoning the minds of the masses. The battles that were now being fought had, further, made it impossible for the Muslims to present a true picture of Islam to the Arabs. After several years of conflict, the Hudaibiyah truce brought about a change in the relations of the two parties and the truth about the Prophet now began to dawn on their minds. They now saw that the Prophet was not the man of terror as their leaders had pictured to them. They saw the great transformation which he had wrought and the life which he had infused into a dead nation. It was in this sense that God covered the shortcomings and failures which his opponents attributed to him<\/span>. Their effect on the public mind was removed by the Hudaibiyah truce, which gave his enemies an occasion to ponder over the beauties of Islam. In the words those to come<\/i>, there is a reference to the latter-day carpings of the enemies of Islam. As already stated, this chapter deals not only with the immediate triumph of Islam, but prophesies also its ultimate triumph in the whole world (v. 28). Hence there is a promise here that not only would those misunderstandings which already existed be corrected, but even those that remained behind <\/i>and would be spread at a later date by the ene-mies of Islam<\/span> would also be dispelled, and Islam would thus shine in its full lustre not only in Arabia but in the whole world.\u201d (Muhammad Ali\u2019s translation of the Qur\u2019an can be viewed online: www.muslim.org<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

(About the misunderstandings \u201c<\/span>that remained behind <\/span><\/i>and would be spread at a later date by the enemies of Islam<\/span>.\u201d<\/span> A century ago magnificent and dedicated scholars such as Muhammad Ali and Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din \u2013two indomitable sentinels of faith who vigil at the frontiers\u2013<\/span> vanquished the assaults by the Christian missionaries and Hindu bigots against Islam. <\/span><\/p>\n

In our time we have the likes of NONIE DARWISH<\/a>; WAFA SULTAN;<\/a> GEERT WILDERS;<\/a> SON OF HAMAS<\/a><\/span>; IBN WARRAQ<\/a><\/span>; and AYAAN HIRSI ALI<\/a> <\/span>among others (and unschooled Muslims like IRSHAD MANJI<\/a>), who are paraded and plumed as \u201cin-tellectuals,\u201d who are actually ignoramuses \u2013they know nothing about Islam and they know even less about Christianity\u2013<\/span> and\/or are perhaps opportunists \u2013the fastest way for one to establish himself\/herself into the eyes of the community is to fire-breathe on Islam\u2013 <\/span>who try to bad mouth Islam). <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Again, All\u0101h tells us that Mohammad is the best exemplar,1<\/sup><\/span> that if we want All\u0101h to love us and forgive us our sins we must follow the Prophet;2<\/sup><\/span> that the Prophet is the light-giving sun;3<\/span><\/sup> that Prophets do only as All\u0101h instructs;4<\/span><\/sup> that Mohammad will be given the right to intercession on the Day of Judgment;5<\/span><\/sup> that He guides Mohammad in the Right Way;6<\/span><\/sup> that Mohammad purifies;7<\/span><\/sup> that Mohammad attained perfection;8<\/span><\/sup> that Mohammad is to be honored\/revered9<\/span> <\/sup>and is blessed by All\u0101h and His angels10<\/span> <\/sup>\u2013Surely such a person could not be a sinner.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 All\u0101h tells us in His Qur\u2019an 21:26-27 that all prophets were sinless, because prophets only act according to Divine decrees: \u201cAnd they say: The Beneficent has taken to Himself a son. Glory be to Him! Nay, they are honoured servants\u2014They speak not before He speaks, and according to His command they act<\/span>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

That the Prophet is also free from \u201cerror\u201d is made clear by All\u0101h: \u201cYour companion <\/span>ERRS NOT<\/span>,<\/span> nor does he deviate. Nor does he speak out of desire\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 53:2-3).11<\/span><\/sup> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Evidently, Mohammad \u201cerrs not\u201d and is sinless.<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 NOTES<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 33:21; 68:4; 69:40;<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 3:31; (7:157-158).<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 33:45-46;<\/span><\/p>\n

4. <\/span>Qur\u2019an 11:12-14; 21:27, 45; 46:9; 53:3-4. As Prophets act only according to Divine instructions they are thus sinless.<\/span><\/p>\n

5.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 43:86; 19:87 (Bokhari Vol. 1, # 98; Vol. 4, # 556; Vol. 9, #\u2019s 600-601); (See M. Ali comm; 2264);<\/span><\/p>\n

6.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 42:52-53; 43:61, 64.<\/span><\/p>\n

7.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 62:2.<\/span><\/p>\n

8.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 53:6.<\/span><\/p>\n

9.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 48:9.<\/span><\/p>\n

10.<\/span> Qur\u2019an 33:56.<\/span><\/p>\n

11.<\/span> All\u0101h reveals in Qur\u2019an chapter 93:1-11:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. <\/span><\/strong>By the brightness of the day!<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/span><\/strong>And the night when it is still! \u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

3. <\/span><\/strong>Thy Lord has not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

4. <\/span><\/strong>And surely the latter state is better for thee than the former.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. <\/span><\/strong>And soon will thy Lord give thee so that thou wilt be well pleased.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

6. <\/span><\/strong>Did He not find thee an orphana <\/i>and give (thee) shelter?<\/span><\/p>\n

7. <\/span><\/strong>And find thee groping, so He showed the way?<\/span><\/p>\n

8.<\/span><\/strong> And find thee in want, so He enriched thee?\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

9. <\/span><\/strong>Therefore the orphan, oppress not.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

10. <\/span><\/strong>And him who asks, chide not.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

11. <\/span><\/strong>And the favour of thy Lord, proclaim..<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Muhammad Ali comments on verse 7 which states: \u201c<\/span>And find thee groping, so He showed the way?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat erring <\/i>is not the significance of \u02d9dall <\/i>(\u201cgroping\u201d) here is shown conclusively by 53:2, which says: \u201cYour companion errs not<\/i>\u201d. Vv. 6, 7, 8 stand in close relation respectively to vv. 9, 10 and 11; v. 6 tells the Prophet that he was himself an orphan, and the conclusion that he should therefore not oppress the orphan is drawn in v. 9; similarly, v. 8 speaks of the Divine favour to him in making him free from want, and the conclusion is drawn in v. 11 that he should therefore proclaim the Divine favour to him. Thus it is clear that v. 6 stands in close relation to v. 9; and v. 8 to v. 11, and the conclusion is evident that v. 7 stands in close relation to v. 10. Now, v. 10 plainly speaks of one who asks to be guided to the Truth, or a petitioner generally who needs the help of another, being unable himself to do a thing or undertake a task; see 10a<\/i>. The Holy Prophet was no doubt a sa\u2019il <\/i>(one who asks) in this sense. He did not worship idols, but neither could he, without the help of All\u00e5h, find out the way for the regeneration of his people, for which his soul yearned so eagerly. Hence he was unable to see the way by himself<\/i>, and the word \u02d9dall <\/i>signifies one who is perplexed and unable to see the way for himself<\/i>, from \u02d9dalla, he was perplexed and unable to see his right course <\/i>(LL). The true significance of the word is thus that All\u00e5h found the Prophet in quest of the way, but unable to find the way himself. Therefore He guided <\/i>him by Divine light. In this manner was the Prophet told not to chide any petitioner, but to render help to him as All\u00e5h had helped him. Or \u02d9dall <\/i>signifies one who becomes lost <\/i>(T, LL) in the pursuit of some object, as Jacob\u2019s sons speak of their father as being in \u02d9dalal <\/i>(R), i.e., lost in the love of Joseph (12:95), and thus the meaning may be that the Holy Prophet had so devoted himself to the quest of the right way for the world that he had lost himself in that quest; see introductory note, chapter 94\u201d For MA\u2019s translation of the Qur\u2019an see www.muslim.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n