Question
Thank you for your reply posted in your site under discussion titled “More on imitating Prophet (peace be upon him) dated 15 Nov.2004.In this reply you quoted a Hadith where Prophet (peace be upon him) said “In worldly matters you are more knowledgeable than I” But Imaam An-Nawawi (Allah’s mercy on him) commented on this Hadith as “The Scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) stated that “which I only guessed” means the matters of this world and its style of living and does not mean legislation. But what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said as a religious point of view when there is no explicit text from the Quran and considered it as a part of legislation then we have to act according to it. Pollinating date palms is not a matter pertaining to legislation and religion but is a matter which has a matter with the matters of this world. It is Ikrimah (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported the expression” which only I guessed” to explain the meaning of the wording of the Prophet (peace be upon him) because at the end of the narration it is worded Ikrimah said or the like (i.e. the narration was reported in indirect speech) and did not exactly and precisely include the wording of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) commented that the narration was not a revelation but was the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) own ijthihad (opinion on a non-religious matter) as explained in these narrations. They said that his opinion on worldly matters (and style of living) is like the opinion of others, so this could happen and there is no deficiency in this, as the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), were greatly concerned with the matters and knowledge of the Hereafter”. Saying that politics is not a part of religion according to this narration is not correct because this narration meant the details of the style of living and did not mean general legislation. For example the issue of industrialization is included in this narration, as regards the judging between people regarding the killing of a soul, money, honour and dignity, and the like, then that is something pertaining to legislation and we should not contradict the Islamic Law in matters concerning the above issues.
Hope you will clarify.
Thank you.
Was Salaam.
Answer
You write:
But what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said as a religious point of view when there is no explicit text from the Quran and considered it as a part of legislation then we have to act according to it.
The mission of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was to deliver the Divine Message to all his addressees. They in their collective capacity then carried the burden of delivering it to the world of their time and their subsequent generation. I cannot accept the notion that the Prophet (pbuh) kept the knowledge of certain religious directives to a few individuals only.
You seem to be implying that the Prophet (pbuh) gave additional religious directives which were independent of the Holy Qur’an and The Sunnah. This then would imply that the Prophet (pbuh) did not completely deliver the Message and thus failed in his mission. We know that this is untrue. So, it is important that we interpret the Ahadith in the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah rather than vice versa. Only those Ahadith which have a basis in the Qur’an, the Sunnah or the inherent nature of man, can have any relevance and that too only of a supplementary nature. On the other hand, those Ahadith which present directives independent of the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the inherent nature of man cannot have any significance for us.
You write:
Pollinating date palms is not a matter pertaining to legislation and religion but is a matter which has a matter with the matters of this world.
You seem to be expressing something else here as compared to what you were saying in our previous encounters. When I explained that not everything is part of our religion and therefore we are not obliged to follow the Prophet (pbuh) in everything, it appeared as though you disagreed. I think it would therefore be helpful if you clarify the situation.
You write:
Ikrimah (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported the expression” which only I guessed” to explain the meaning of the wording of the Prophet (peace be upon him) because at the end of the narration it is worded Ikrimah said or the like (i.e. the narration was reported in indirect speech) and did not exactly and precisely include the wording of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Indeed an overwhelming majority of Ahadith are of this nature, proving once again that they cannot be an independent source of our religion. However, according to the criteria of the Hadith Scholars, this is a reliable narration. Furthermore, it is supported by other narratives in which the Prophet (pbuh) was also reported to have expressed certain likes or dislikes that had nothing to do with the religion.
Narrated Khalid bin Al-Walid:
Allah’s Messenger and I entered the house of Maimuna. A roasted mastigure was served. Allah’s Messenger stretched his hand out (to eat of it) but some woman said, “Inform Allah’s Messenger of what he is about to eat.” So they said, “It is mastigure, O Allah’s Messenger!” He withdrew his hand, whereupon I said, “O Allah’s Messenger! Is it unlawful?” He said, “No, but this is not found in the land of my people, so I dislike it.” So I pulled the mastigure towards me and ate it while Allah’s Messenger was looking at me. (Bukhari, Narrative no. 5076)
The above is another example of a dislike of the Prophet (pbuh) which his companion did not see the necessity of imitating. There are many more such examples in the Hadith literature. We know for instance that the Prophet (pbuh) liked white clothes, yet his followers still wore other colored clothing. Even he himself wore different colored garments such as black, green and red. So, I think my point should be more than clear by now – not everything which the Prophet (pbuh) did or asked others to do necessitates our observance to it as we are only obliged in following the religious guidance which he left for us.
You write:
They said that his opinion on worldly matters (and style of living) is like the opinion of others, so this could happen and there is no deficiency in this
This is precisely what I was saying too.
You write:
Saying that politics is not a part of religion according to this narration is not correct because this narration meant the details of the style of living and did not mean general legislation. For example the issue of industrialization is included in this narration, as regards the judging between people regarding the killing of a soul, money, honour and dignity, and the like, then that is something pertaining to legislation and we should not contradict the Islamic Law in matters concerning the above issues. Hope you will clarify.
In our last exchange you said that we “have to follow Prophet (S) in all spheres of life”. It is in response to this view point that I presented the Hadith in question. You mentioned that I was merely giving my “own opinion” and so with this Hadith, I was explaining yet further that I am not merely blowing my own trumpet. I never implied that religion has no role to play in politics. The Qur’an clearly gives directives that are to be implemented by an Islamic state when and if it exists. I would urge you to please view our exchange again as you have clearly misrepresented my position.
Regards
Hischam Khan
February 19, 2005