Exalting God and His Messenger
Al-Salam Institute arranged a retreat for its students in the city of Leicester, United Kingdom, from 26–29 Shaʿbān 1445 AH. Around one hundred students, male and female, from within and outside the UK attended. They benefited from lessons in tafsīr, ḥadīth, fiqh, and Arabic literature, and took part in other activities. They returned delighted and grateful to the teachers and administration of the Institute.
On the way back from Leicester to Oxford, I travelled in the car of the diligent student Muḥammad Khidr, accompanied by my colleague Dr ʿAbd al-Ḥakīm Vázquez, one of the eminent teachers at the Institute, who specialises in ḥadīth and the Mālikī madhhab. Along the road we discussed various subjects related to knowledge, education, and tarbiyah. He asked me why I hold such affection for Imām Ibn Ḥazm al-Ẓāhirī, when so many of the scholars reproached him and accused him of lacking proper decorum towards the scholars of Islam.
I replied: Ibn Ḥazm suffered much in the path of knowledge, and it is no surprise if sharpness of temper overcame him. He was a man of letters, and he employed his literary power in criticism, which often became piercing. This aspect of his writing alienated many people. May God have mercy on them all, and may He forgive Ibn Ḥazm and all of us.
What endears him to me most is his exaltation of God and His Messenger. Of course, in this regard the Companions, the Tābiʿūn and the early generations surpass him by far. Yet what struck me in Ibn Ḥazm’s writings is that he lived at a time when taqlīd and excess in the schools of law and theology had become widespread. He responded to this deviation with powerful scholarly refutations. From him I learnt the principle of placing God and His Messenger above all else. Among the most striking of his words in this respect are:
> “When it became clear, through proofs and miracles, that the Qurʾān is the covenant of God with us, binding upon us to affirm and to act upon it, and when it was verified by transmission from the whole community, leaving no scope for doubt, that this Qurʾān is precisely what is written in the codices widespread in all lands, then it became obligatory to submit to it. Thus, it is the source to which all must return… Whatever in the Qurʾān is command or prohibition, it is obligatory to abide by it.” (al-Iḥkām fī Uṣūl al-Aḥkām 1/95).
> “It is thereby established for us that revelation from God to His Messenger (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) is of two kinds: one is revelation that is recited, composed in a miraculous order – that is, the Qurʾān; and the other is revelation that is narrated and transmitted, not composed in miraculous arrangement, not recited, but read – this is the report from the Messenger of God (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), clarifying what God Most High intends of us. God says: ‘With clear proofs and scriptures; and We have sent down to you the Reminder so that you may explain to mankind what has been revealed to them, that they may reflect’ [Q 16:44]. We found that God has enjoined obedience to this second kind just as He enjoined obedience to the first kind, which is the Qurʾān, with no difference. He says: ‘O you who believe! Obey God, and obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you. If you dispute about anything, refer it to God and the Messenger, if you believe in God and the Last Day; that is best and fairest in interpretation’ [Q 4:59]. Thus, the reports we have mentioned constitute one of the three sources whose obedience has been made obligatory in this comprehensive verse, which gathers together all the laws, from the first to the last. First, His saying: ‘Obey God’ – this is the Qurʾān; then: ‘and obey the Messenger’ – this is the report from the Messenger of God (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam); then: ‘and those in authority among you’ – this is the consensus transmitted back to the Messenger of God as his ruling…” (al-Iḥkām fī Uṣūl al-Aḥkām 1/97).
> “We found that God refers us to the speech of His Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), as has been explained above. Thus, it is not permitted for a Muslim who affirms God’s Oneness to turn, when disputes arise, to anything other than the Qurʾān and the report from the Messenger of God (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), nor to depart from what is found therein. Whoever does so after the proof has been established against him is a sinner; but whoever does so deeming it lawful to depart from their authority and obligating obedience to another besides them, is – beyond any doubt – an unbeliever. Muḥammad b. Naṣr al-Marwazī related that Isḥāq b. Rāhwayh used to say: ‘Whoever receives a report from the Messenger of God (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), one he affirms to be authentic, and then rejects it without dissimulation, is an unbeliever.’ We did not base our case on Isḥāq’s statement, but cited it lest some ignorant person think we stand alone in this. Rather, our proof for declaring an unbeliever one who deems lawful opposing what is confirmed to him from the Messenger of God (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) is the saying of God Most High, addressing His Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam): ‘But no, by your Lord, they do not believe until they make you judge in what they dispute among themselves, and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you decide, and submit in full submission’ [Q 4:65]. ʿAlī (b. Ḥazm) said: This suffices for whoever understands, fears, and believes in God and the Last Day, and is certain that this covenant is the covenant of his Lord to him, and His command sent upon him.” (al-Iḥkām fī Uṣūl al-Aḥkām 1/99).
His works such as al-Muḥallā and al-Iḥkām abound in such statements. In this respect he resembles Imām Ibn Taymiyyah, whose words are widely known and need no citation. Likewise, in recent times Imām ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Farāhī spoke in a similar spirit. I will mention only this passage of his:
> “Know that all the sciences of religion revolve around the knowledge of the Lord Most High with His perfect attributes. The foremost of these attributes is His being the sole sovereign: we submit to none besides Him. His sovereignty is with justice and mercy – the Hereafter is founded upon His sovereignty and justice. Prophethood derives from His sovereignty, mercy, and justice. The postponement of the Hereafter is due to His wisdom and forbearance. The mission of Muḥammad (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) is the perfection of prophethood, the completion of mercy and justice in this world, guaranteeing their completion in the Hereafter. It is, indeed, the form of His Sovereignty.” (Fī Malakūt Allāh, pp. 6–7).
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Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6842
