THE RIGHTS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD OVER MANKIND

Extracted from

The Cure
SAHIH-SHEFA
by Supreme Justice A u!"#$! E%#$&
$ie$ '(()*CE - Is!#mic +e#r ,--H.

Rep/rte$ % Gr#0$ Muh#$$ith H# i H#"i1 A $u!!#h 2e0 S#$e3 Re4ise$ % Muh#$$ith A $u!!#h T#!i$i A0 #$#pt#ti/0 % Ser4#0t /" H#$ith& Sh#%3h Ahm#$ D#r5ish 'Ar# ic. Kh#$ei6#h A7 Stephe0s 'E08!ish. A%esh# N#$ri%# 'I0$/0esi#0.
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The Ri8hts /" Pr/phet Muh#mm#$ O4er M#03i0$

The obligation to believe and obey the Prophet Prophet (Sunnah). and follow the way of te

With these established factors it is incumbent to believe in Prophet Muhammad and the authenticity of his message thereby accepting the faith and believing in the Revelation he brought to you. llah tells us to! "Believe in Allah, and His Messenger, and in the Light which We have sent down" (#$%&). 'e spea(s of the Prophet saying! "We sent you (Prophet Muhammad) as a witness and as a earer o! glad tidings and warning, so that you elieve in Allah and His Messenger and that you support him, revere him (Prophet Muhammad), and e"alt Him (Allah) at the dawn and in the evening" ($&%&)*). 'e also says! "Believe in Allah and His Messenger, the #nlettered Prophet" (+%,-&). .rom these verses it is made (nown to the individual that there is an obligation to believe in Prophet Muhammad . Without it! belief is incomplete because one/s belief is only valid with the belief in the 0neness of llah and the acceptance and belief in Prophet Muhammad . llah warns! "Whosoever dis elieves in Allah and His Messenger$ We have prepared a Bla%ing &ire !or the un elievers" ($&%,1). bu 'urayrah heard the Messenger of llah say! 23 have been ordered to fight (the idolatry of) people until they bear witness that there is no god e4cept llah! and believe in me! and what 3 have brought. When they do this! their blood and property are protected from me! e4cept when an 3slamic right is violated. Their rec(oning is with llah." The meaning of belief in the Prophet is that one bears witness to his prophethood! the Message llah entrusted to him! being supportive of all that he brought and said. What is in one/s heart is then born witness by the tongue that! he is indeed the Messenger of llah .

This meaning of belief is ratified by the hadith in which the rchangel 5abriel came to the Prophet and said! "Tell me about 3slam." The Prophet replied! "3t is that you bear witness that there is no god e4cept llah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of llah 6." Then 5abriel as(ed the Prophet about the meaning of belief to which he replied! "3t is that you believe in llah! 'is ngels! 'is 7oo(s and 'is Messenger..." 7elief in the Prophet implies the acceptance of the heart whereas 3slam only demands its verbali8ation. 'owever! if the testimony is simply upon the tongue without the confirmation of the heart that! is tantamount to hypocrisy. llah spea(s of the hypocrites saying! "When the hypocrites come to you they say, 'We ear witness that you are the Messenger o! Allah(' Allah )nows that you (Prophet Muhammad) are indeed His Messenger, and Allah ears witness that the hypocrites are truly liars*" (#1%,). Such people lie with their tongues concealing what is really in their hearts and such testimony has no benefit in the 9verlasting :ife because their witnessing is incomplete and they will ;oin the unbelievers. s for their punishment it will be in the deepest part of the .ire! below that of the unbelievers. 'owever! in this life because they uttered the verbal testimony such people are determined by Muslim ;udges to be Muslims! because ;udges do not have access to see the reality of what is in the heart. <udges have been forbidden to investigate the reality of a person/s witnessing because the Prophet censured the actions of a certain person by as(ing him! "=id you split open his heart>" ?erbal testimony is part of 3slam and confirmation with the heart is part of belief.

The Obligation to Obey the Prophet

There is an obligation upon all Muslims that re@uires obedience to the Prophet . This obligation is made apparent in the Aoran which he delivered. llah says! "Believers, o ey Allah and His Messenger, and do not turn away !rom him when you are hearing( +o not e li)e those who say, 'We hear,' ut they do not listen" (&%BC). nd! ",ay, '- ey Allah, and o ey the Messenger .(( /! you o ey him, you shall e guided" (B$%-$). "- ey Allah and the Messenger in order to e su 0ected to mercy" (1%,1B). "Whosoever o eys the Messenger, indeed he has o eyed Allah" ($%&C). nd! "Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it$ and whatever he !or ids you, a stain" (-*%+). "Whosoever o eys Allah, and the Messenger,
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they are with those whom Allah has !avored" ($%#*). "We did not send a Messenger e"cept that he should e o eyed, y the permission o! Allah" ($%#$). 3n these verses llah clearly states that when someone obeys 'is Messenger he is in fact also obeying llah. 0bedience to whatever Prophet Muhammad commanded and abstaining from whatsoever he forbade are synonymous to being obedient to llah. llah also spea(s of the reward for such obedience and warns of the punishment that will fall upon whosoever disobeys. Scholars and 3mams are of the opinion that obeying the Messenger of llah means to cling to his prophetic way and submit to what he brought. They said that llah did not send a Messenger to a nation without placing the obligation upon them to obey 'is Messenger and that by the Messenger the person is obeying llah. bu 'urayrah heard the Messenger of llah say! "Whosoever obeys me has obeyed llah. Whosoever disobeys me has disobeyed llah. Whosoever obeys my envoy has obeyed me and whosoever disobeys my envoy has disobeyed me." 0beying the Messenger constitutes being a part of obeying llah! because llah has commanded that he is the one to be obeyed. s for the unbelievers who resist the Prophet llah informs us! "-n that +ay when their !aces are turned a out in the &ire, they shall say, 'Would that we had o eyed Allah and o eyed the Messenger*'" (11%##)! but it is too late and their wishful thin(ing will be of no benefit to them! it will be a constant source for regret. The Prophet also said! "When 3 forbid you to do something! abstain. When 3 command you to do something! do as much as you are able." bu 'urayrah recalled the time when the Prophet spo(e of Paradise! and said! " ll of my nation will enter Paradise e4cept those who refuse." The Dompanions as(ed! "0 Messenger of llah ! who will refuse>" 'e replied! "Whosoever obeys me will enter Paradise whereas whosoever disobeys me has refused."

nother time the Prophet told his Dompanions. "My li(eness and the li(eness of what llah has sent me with is li(e a man who comes to his people saying! /0 people! 3 have seen the army with my own eyes! and 3 am a bearer of warning E save yourselvesF/ 0ne group of his people obey him and travel at nightfall! they go at their leisure and are saved. nother group re;ect him and remain. The army arrives in the morning and they are annihilated. Such is the li(eness of those who obey me and follow what 3 bring! and the li(eness of those who disobey me and belie what 3 bring!" The Prophet drew another simile saying! "3t is similar to a person who builds a house and then prepares a fine feast in it and sends forth a summoner. Whosoever answers the summoner enters the house and eats from the feast! whereas whosoever does not answer the summoner neither enters the house nor eats from the feast." The "house" referred to in the preceding hadith means Paradise and the "summoner" is Prophet Muhammad . Whosoever obeys the Prophet! praise and peace be upon him! has obeyed llah! whereas whosoever disobeys the Messenger of llah has in fact disobeyed llah.

The Obligation to Follow the Guidance of the Prophet

The obligation to obey! practice the way! follow the guidance of the Prophet

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llah says! ",ay, '/! you love Allah, !ollow me (Prophet Muhammad) and Allah will love you, and !orgive your sins" (1%1,). 'e also says! "Believe in Allah and His Messenger, the #nlettered Prophet, who elieves in Allah and His Words( &ollow him in order that you are guided" (+%,-&). nd! "But no, y your Lord, they will not elieve you until they ma)e you the 0udge regarding the disagreement etween them, then, they will not !ind in themselves any discom!ort concerning your verdict, and will surrender to you in !ull su mission" ($%#-). llah says! "/n the Messenger o! Allah you have a !ine e"ample !or he who hopes !or Allah and the Last +ay" (11.B,). Several scholars e4plained that /a fine e4ample/ means a role model and that one should emulate him by following his way of life and neither oppose him in either word or action. Therefore! whosoever follows the command of llah to do this is promised

by 'im that they will be guided! because llah sent Prophet Muhammad with 'is guidance and the Religion of truth to purify us! and to teach us the 'oly Aoran coupled with the wisdom! all of which guides to the Straight Path. 3n the verse that reads "/! you love Allah, !ollow me (Prophet Muhammad) and Allah will love you, and !orgive your sins" (1%1,) it is understood that whosoever follows the Prophet preferring him over and above personal desires and inclinations will be forgiven by llah and will be loved by 'im. The foundation of the strength of one/s belief is submission to the Prophet coupled to the satisfaction of his ;udgment and forsa(ing opposition to him. The love of a worshiper of llah and 'is Messenger lies in obedience and being pleased with the commands of both llah and 'is Prophet . The love of llah for such worshipers is that 'e pardons them and blesses them with 'is Mercy. 0ur attention is drawn to the fact that love from llah manifests itself in protection and success! whereas the love of a worshiper manifests itself in obedience. poet wrote% "=o you disobey llah when you claim to love 'im> 7y my life! this is a strange logicF 3f your love had been true! then you would have obeyed 'im. The lover obeys the one he loves." 3t has been e4plained that the love of a worshiper is e4pressed in his e4altation of llah and in his awe of 'im! and the love of llah for 'is worshiper is the mercy 'e bestows together with 'is concern for him( The Prophet warned! 2Gou must follow my prophetic way and the way of the rightly guided Daliphs. Dling to it voraciously and beware of new things. Hew things are innovations and each innovation (which is not in accordance with the principals of 3slam) is misguidance." 3n addition to this warning <abar reported having heard! "9ach misguidance is in the .ire." (,hay)h +arwish added1 Scholars say innovations are either
negative or positive. Those in keeping with Islamic principals are positive, whereas those which are negative are those against Islamic principals. Both types are categorized under the five jurisprudence classifications which are: o ligatory, for idden, likea le, dislika le, permission either to practice something

or not to practice it.!

bu Rafi/ narrates that the Prophet told his Dompanions! "=o not let any one of you be found reclining on his bed after hearing news of my order that either commands or forbids! so that later on he says! /3 do not (now! 3 follow only what is found in the 7oo( of llah./" (,hay)h +arwish commented1 #n!ortunately in ,yria and also in several western countries a !alse innovated doctrine has arisen( Adherents wear "2" shirts proclaiming statements such as, "2he People o! 3oran"( 2hese people cannot e considered to e representative o! their claim in !act they are the opposite( ) :ady yesha! Mother of 7elievers! may llah be pleased with her! tells us that the Messenger of llah would do something in order to simplify a matter for his followers. 'owever! there were some who were negligent from its doing. When news of their negligence reached the Prophet he would praise llah and say! "What do you thin( of people who neglect to do something 3 myself do> 7y llah! my (nowledge of llah is greater than theirs and my fear of llah is greater than theirsF" The Prophet said "Whosoever abandons my prophetic way is not of me." (,hay)h +arwish added1 when we learn that the prophet practiced something we should !ollow as much as we can, ut i! he ordered us not to do something we should stop immediately( However, i! he did not do something, there is no o ligation to re!rain !rom its doing unless it is su 0ect to prohi ition() The Prophet warned of times to come saying! "The children of 3srael divided into seventy)two sects. My nation will divide into seventy)three! all will be in the .ire e4cept one." The Dompanions as(ed who would be the e4ception whereupon he replied! "They are those who establish themselves on what 3 and my Dompanions do today." (,hay)h +arwish added1 Most o! these sects came into e"istence then vanished( ,ome o! these sects had good manners and were neither given to lying nor cheating( However this cannot e said o! the 3hari0ites whose e"ample was revived y i n 2aymia and then y the Waha is )nown !or their distortions, !a rications and !alsi!ications o! /slamic literature and creed( An outrageous e"ample o! their distortion, !a rication and lies ecame apparent when it was discovered the Waha is had altered the wording o! most o! the re!erences o! elite Muslim scholars !rom the early and later
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generations whose /slamic re!erences have always een a source to rely upon( 2he Waha is too) these re!erences, inserted their !alsi!ication and reprinted them, there y deceiving and misguiding the reader( &or e"ample, Waha is claim most o! the elite scholars o! /slam 4 more than 5676 Ha!i% o! Hadith 4 deviated !rom the /slamic !aith even though these elite scholars are )nown to have !ollowed the way o! the Prophet* 8et it has een proven that Waha is elect to promote and !ollow the !lawed teachings o! i n 2aymia alone 9 who passed away in the eginning o! the :th century o! /slam 9 and ma)e his teachings an essential condition to understand Allah and His Prophet( Please pay attention to this warning, they are misguided innovators( 2raditional scholars o! nowadays are wary o! traditional oo)s reprinted in the last ;< years ecause o! Waha i su tle distortions and !a rications( &or o vious reasons scholars have made it their policy not to use these oo)s, rather, they rely on editions either stone printed or hand written manuscripts( An e"ample o! Waha i dishonesty is !ound in their reprinting o! /mam =awawi's oo) o! supplications( 2he Waha is removed a complete chapter relating to the supplications to e made when visiting the tom o! the Prophet, ecause i n 2aymia's doctrine !or ids the visiting o! the Prophet's tom ( 2he !irst three generations o! Muslims comprised o! the >ompanions o! the Prophet and then their !ollowers the 2a ien and therea!ter 2a i 2a ien who were the !ollowers o! the 2a ien( -! all the 2a ien, the Prophet, praise and peace e upon him, said, "-wais ?arani is the est o! the 2a ien"( =ote how the Prophet mentioned the word "2a ien"( He did not use the word ",ala!" whereas the Waha is, re!er to these generations as ",ala!" and include several people who were )nown deviators o! the prophetic way( / n 2aymia was neither one o! the >ompanions, 2a ien nor o! the 2a i 2a ien, he passed away in the :th century o! /slam, however, Waha is revere him in such a way that it is as i! he were the leader o! these elite generations( 2hey ma)e him conditional to understand the @evelation o! 3oran and Hadith and use as their standard, his erroneous interpretations
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o! the +ivinity()

The Prophetic Way and Guidance as Adhered to by the Companions, and Their Followers (Tabien and the Tabi Tabien
The narrations of the Dompanions! Tabien and the Tabi Tabien (first three generations of Muslims) and the esteemed learned persons concerning the following of the prophetic way! and accepting the guidance of the Prophet. bdullah 0mar/s son was as(ed! "3n the Aoran we find the prayer when one is fearful! and the prayer at home! but we cannot find the prayer of a traveler." 0mar/ son replied! " 0 my nephew! llah sent Prophet Muhammad to us when we did not (now anything! we did what we saw him doing." 0mar son of bdul 8i8 said! "The Messenger of llah had his prophetic way and the four caliphs who came after him also had ways. To adopt them is to comply with the 7oo( of llah and to act upon them is obedience to llah and the strengthening of the Religion of llah. Ho one should change or alter the prophetic way or consider the opinion of those in opposition. Whosoever follows it is guided! and whosoever see(s help by it will be amongst those who win. Whosoever opposes it and follows a path other than that of the believers llah will assign to him that which he turns to and roast him in 'ell! and that is an evil arrival." =uring the caliphate of 0mar! l AhattabIs son 0mar sent a letter to his governors instructing them to learn the prophetic sayings relating to the shares of inheritance and dialects. 'e wrote! "People will try to argue with you (using the Aoran)! when this occurs overcome them with the prophetic way. The people who follow the way of the Prophet have the greatest (nowledge of the 7oo( of llah." 3mam li ;oined the 5reater Pilgrimage and the :esser Pilgrimage together whereupon 0thman! who was unaware of the permissibility to ;oin them as(ed! "Who has told you to do this! when 3 have forbidden the people to do so>" li respectfully replied! "3 do not abandon the way of the Messenger of llah in preference to the statement of another."

Dommenting on the words of llah! ",hould you dispute a out anything re!er it to Allah and the Messenger" ($%-*)! ta e4plained that it means that in the event of a disagreement one should consult the 7oo( of llah! and also the prophetic way. sh)Shafi/i said! "The Prophetic Way of the Messenger of llah in its following." is only

0ne day 0mar was heard saying as he stood before the 7lac( Stone in AaIbah. "Gou are only a stone and can neither help nor harm. 3f 3 had not seen the Messenger of llah (iss you! 3 would not (iss you" and he (issed it. bdullah! 0mar/s son was observed ma(ing his she)camel turn about in a certain place and was as(ed why he had made her do this. 'e replied! "3 do not (now. 0nce 3 saw the Messenger of llah doing it! so 3 do it." The father of 0thman l 'iri said! "Whosoever places the authority of the prophetic way above himself either by word or deed spea(s with wisdom. 7ut whosoever gives passion authority over himself spea(s by evil innovation." Sahl t)Tustari described his school of ;urisprudence saying! "The foundations of our school are three% following the Prophet in character and actions! eating that which is lawful! and ma(ing our intention sincere in all actions." The ;urist hmad! 'anbal/s son said! "0ne day 3 was with a party of people who stripped off all their clothes! and went into the water. 3 applied the saying of the Prophet that says! /Whosoever believes in llah and the :ast =ay! should enter the baths in a loin cloth/! so 3 did not strip. That night 3 had a vision! in which a voice said to me! /0 hmad! llah has forgiven you! because you implemented the prophetic way! and 'e has made you an imam who will be followed./ 3 as(ed! /Who are you>/ 'e replied! /5abriel/"

The !anger of !isobeying the Prophet

(,hay)h +arwish added1 "Be!ore reading this section one should understand that any good innovation promoting activities in )eeping up with

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/slamic principals is encouraged and never condemned( 2hose who condemn activities re!lecting /slamic principals /slam are grossly de!icient in /slamic )nowledge and conseAuently their intellect !ails them( 2his leads to !lawed opinions and they are !ound to e !anatical, lac)ing compassion( ,uch people hold !irm to the opinion that i! the Prophet , did not do something, we should not do it, and i! this is so then people !rom !ar away countries would not e a le to go y oat or airplane on pilgrimage 4 which is one o! the pillars o! /slam 4 ecause the Prophet, praise and peace e upon him, only went on !oot or y camel* An innovation that is condemned is one that replaces the Prophetic way and goes against the principals o! /slam( /! anyone should tell you that anything the Prophet did not do is to e ta)en as a ad innovation, when it is )nown to comply with the principals o! /slam, it is through sheer ignorance() 3f one were to change the way of Prophet Muhammad then one would be misguided and be among the innovators and therefore sub;ect to the threat and severance of llah. llah warns! ",o let those who diso ey His command eware, lest they are struc) e sedition, or, they are stric)en with a pain!ul punishment" (B$%#1). 'e also warns! "But whosoever opposes the Messenger a!ter guidance has een made clear to him and !ollows a path other than that o! the elievers, We shall let him !ollow what he has turned to and We shall roast him in Hell 4 and evil arrival" ($%,,-). bu 'urayrah tells us of the time the Prophet visited a graveyard. =uring the visit he described some of his nation saying! "Some (on the =ay of <udgement) will be driven away from my Pool ;ust as a stray camel is driven away. 3 will call to them saying! /Dome here! come hereF/ 7ut it will be said! / fter you they made changes./ Whereupon 3 will say! /5o away! go awayF/" The Prophet told his Dompanions! " nyone who adds something to my commands! which is not part of them! is a deviant." nas reports that the Prophet is not of me." said! "Whosoever avoids my Prophetic Way

bu Rafi/ narrates that the Prophet told his Dompanions! "=o not let any one of you be found reclining on his bed after hearing news of my order that either commands or forbids! so that later on he says! /3 do not (now! 3 follow
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only what is found in the 7oo( of llah./" l)Mi@dam said! "What the Messenger of llah that which llah ma(es unlawful." ma(es unlawful is li(e

Prophet Muhammad told his Dompanions! "Those who go to e4tremes in speech will be destroyed." The first Daliph! bu 7a(r s)Siddi@ said! "0f the things the Messenger of llah used to do! 3 have omitted none. 3 feared that had 3 left out any of his commands 3 would have deviated."

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