PART ONE:
(THE PROOF OF PROPHETHOOD)
PREFACE
Infinite gratitude be to Allâhu ta’âlâ, who has sent Prophets to guide people to the way of salvation and who has revealed four of His major Books to them; these Books contain no aberration or abnormality. The Book He has revealed to His Last Prophet, Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm), is Qur’ân al-kerîm, wherein evertyhing necessary for His human slaves has been revealed, unbelievers have been warned of Hell’s torment while Believers who carry out the requirements of Islam have been given the good news of Paradise. By sending Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm), Allâhu ta’âlâ has completed the faith (dîn) of His human slaves. He has declared that He will be pleased with those who are in the Islamic religion (ad-Dîn). For His slaves of earlier times, too, He sent prophets with clear revelations and great miracles. He has declared in the Qur’ân al-kerîm that no Prophet will succeed Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm). He has decreed that, as a blind person entrusts himself to those who will lead him or as a helplessly ill person commits himself to the care of compassionate doctors, people must submit themselves to Prophets He has sent so that they will attain benefits beyond mind’s grasp and escape calamities. He has made Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm) the highest, the most merciful of Prophets, and his Umma the most equitable people. He has made his Umma the most perfect of all. He has announced through âyats in His Book that his conduct has no excess or defect, that his grade is very high and that he is the Prophet for all creatures. He has sent him as the Last Prophet to communicate the fact that Allâhu ta’âlâ is One to His slaves, and to treat their sick hearts. May abundant blessings and good wishes, from us, be upon him, his household (’Âl), and companions (as-Sahâba) day and night! They are the stars guiding to the right way and the sources of light illuminating darkness.
Let it be known that this slave, that is, [al-Imâm ar-Rabbânî Mujaddid al-alf ath-thânî] Ahmad ibn ’Abd al-Ahad, who is greatly in need of Allâhu ta’âlâ’s compassion and the first of them to invoke Him to protect him, his ancestry, masters and disciples against the troubles of the Rising Day, has seen with regret that the people of our time have become increasingly slack in believing in the necessity of Prophets’ coming, in the twenty-five Prophets whose names are given in the Qur’ân alkerîm, and in obeying the religion brought by the Last Prophet. Moreover, some powerful people with authoritative positions in India have been persecuting pious Muslims who diligently follow Islam. There have appeared people who mock the blessed name of the Last Prophet and substitute the blessed names given to them by their parents with absurd names. Sacrificing a cow, which is wâjib for Muslims to butcher during ’Îyd al-Adhâ, has been prohibited in India. Mosques are either being demolished or turned into museums or stores. Islamic cemeteries are being made into playgrounds or places for rubbish. Disbelievers’ churches are being restored in the name of monuments. Their rituals and festivals are being celebrated by Muslims, too. In short, Islam’s requirements and Islamic customs are being abhorred or totally abandoned. They are being called “retrogressive.” Disbelievers’ and atheists’ costums, false religions, immoral and shameless acts are being praised. Efforts are being made to spread them. Depraved and squalid books, novels and songs of the Indian disbelievers are being translated into the languages of Muslims and sold. In this way efforts to annihilate Islam and Islam’s beautiful ethics, which result in Muslims’ îmân weakening, are being carried on while unbelievers and rejectors are increasing. Moreover, even men of religion, who must be healers for the disease of disbelief, are falling for this disaster and drifting into calamity.
I have studied the causes for this corruption in Muslim children’s belief and have scrutinized the origin of their doubts. I have come to the conclusion that there is only one reason for the slackness in their îmân. And the reason is that much time has ealpsed since Rasûlullah (’alaihi ’s-salâm), while at the same time some fanatical, short-sighted, religiously nescient politicians and some ignoramuses, who pass themselves off as scientists, talk on religious matters and have their words accepted as true. I have spoken with people who read and believe the writings of such fanatics of science and who therefore describe themselves as enlightened, modern people. I have seen that they err mostly in comprehending the rank of prophethood (nubuwwa). I have heard many of them say, “Prophets endeavoured so that people should get along well with one another and form beautiful habits. This has nothing to do with life in the next world. Books of philosophy, too, provide ways of getting along well and forming good habits. Imâm Muhammad al-Ghazâlî divides his book Ihyâ’ulûm ad-dîn into four sections. In the first section he explains beautiful habits, which he terms Munjiyyât (things that save). In the other three sections, he writes about salât, fasting and other ’ibâdât. This book of his resembles books of philosophy. And this shows that ’ibâdât are not munjî (able to save) and that salvation depends upon beautiful habits.” Others say, “One who has heard of the Prophet, his âyats and miracles but who disbelieves this information because centuries have passed ever since, is like a person who lives in the mountains or in a desert and has not heard about the Prophet at all. Like the latter, the former may not have îmân, either.”
In response to them, we say that, Allâhu ta’âlâ pitied human beings in the eternal past and willed to send them Prophets to guide them to perfection and to cure the diseases in their hearts. In order to fulfil these duites of theirs, Prophets must threaten the disobedient and give good news to the obedient. They must inform the former of the torment and the latter of the rewards in the Hereafter. Man desires to attain things that come sweet to him. In order to attain them, he goes astray, sins and harms others. The sending of Prophets was necessary for protecting men from doing evil and for providing them with a peaceful and comfortable life in this world and the next. Life in this world is short. Life in the next world is endless. For this reason, attaining happiness in the next world takes precedence. Some ancient philosophers, in order to sell more of the books they had prepared with their own views and imaginations, embellished them with ways of beautifying one’s morals and doing useful acts, which they had read in heavenly books or heard from those who believed in these books. Concerning Hujjat al-Islâm Imâm Muhammad Ghazâlî’s (rahmatullâhi ’alaih) explaining ’ibâdât in his books; scholars of fiqh explained how to carry out ’ibâdât, but they did not describe their subtle particulars because their purpose was to state the conditions for and manners of performing ’ibâdât properly. They did not look to men’s souls and hearts. The task of describing them devolved on scholars of tasawwuf. Al-Imâm al-Ghazâlî combined the knowledge of religion that provided for physical betterment and outward deeds with the knowledge of tasawwuf, which enables one to attain inner cleanliness. He explained both of them in his book. He named the latter Munjiyyât, that is, teachings that prevent calamity, yet he said that ’ibâdât, too, were munjî. The way of making ’ibâdât a means of salvation can be learned from books of fiqh. Those teachings of salvation which pertain to the heart cannot be learned from books of fiqh. They can be understood better by reading the explanations of that exalted imâm.
We have not seen the medical scientist Calinos or the grammarian ’Amr Sibawaih. How do we know that they were experts in those branches of knowledge? We know what the science of medicine means. We read Calinos’s books and hear some of his statements. We learn that he gave medicine to the ill and cured them. Hence we believe that he was a doctor. Likewise, when a person who knows the science of grammar reads Sibawaih’s books or hears some words of his, he knows and believes that he was a grammarian. By the same token, if a person knows well what prophethood is and studies Qur’ân alkerîm and the Hadîth ash-sherîf, he will understand thoroughly that Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was in the highest grade of prophethood. As one’s belief in the above-mentioned scholars would never be upset, so the slanders and vilifications of the ignorant and deviated will never undermine one’s îmân in Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm), since all the sayings and behaviours of Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm) guide people to perfection, make their beliefs and behaviours correct and useful, and illuminate their hearts so as to cure them of diseases and disencumber them of bad habits. This is what prophethood (nubuwwa) means.
A person who lives in mountains or in a desert [or a communist country] and has not heard of Prophets is called shâhiq al-jabal. It is impossible for such people to believe in prophethood or that Prophets were sent. It is as if no Prophet has come for them. They are excusable. [After their accounts are settled following death, they, like animals, will be eternally annihilated without entering Paradise or Hell. The same is the case for disbelievers’ nonadolescent children.] They are not commanded to believe in Prophets. Concerning them, Sûrat al-Isra declares: “We do not torment unless We send a Prophet before!”
With the intention of removing the doubts and suspicions of those who acquired their religious knowledge from the books of religiously ignorant people and from the venomous pens of the enemies of the religion, I have thought of writing what I know. In fact, I have deemed this a task, a debt which I owe to humanity. By writing this book, I have tried to explain what prophethood means, to verify that Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was in full possession of prophethood, to eliminate the doubts of the unbelievers concerning this fact, and to display the wickedness and harms of a few bigots of science who attempt to suppress this fact with their personal thoughts and opinions. Citing documents from the books of Islamic scholars and adding my humble thoughts, I have tried to rebut their thoughts. The book consists of an introduction and two articles. And the introduction is divided into two topics. Trusting myself to Allâhu ta’âlâ, I begin writing.
Hijri Kamarî 990 Mîlâdî 1582
AHMAD IBN
’ABD AL-AHAD
AS-SIRHINDÎ
INTRODUCTION I
1 — WHAT DOES PROPHETHOOD MEAN?
It is written at the end of the book Sharh-i Mawâqif by Sayyid Sherîf al-Jurjânî that, according to the scholars of Kalâm, a person to whom Allâhu ta’âlâ says, “I have sent thee to the people in such and such a country or to the whole of mankind,” or “Reveal [My will] to my slaves!” or gives a similar command, is called a “nabî” or “payghambar” (Messenger or Prophet). Being a Prophet does not require having certain conditions like riyâda or mujâhada or having been born with qualities suitable for prophethood. Allâhu ta’âlâ can bestow this gift upon anyone He chooses. He knows everything and does what is best. He does whatever He wills to do. He is the Almighty. According to the scholars of Kalâm, it is not necessary for a Prophet to display a mu’jiza (miracle), either. It was said that he had to display miracles so that people would know that he was aProphet, but this still is not a condition for him to be a Prophet. According to ancient Greek philosophers, to be a Prophet requires three conditions; firstly, to reveal the ghaib (unknown, mystery), that is, to explain past and future events when required; secondly, to do extraordinary things, that is, things that are mentally and scientifically impossible; thirdly, to see an angel in object and body and to hear Allâhu ta’âlâ’s wahy from the angel.
Neither for us nor for them [philosophers], is it necessary for a Prophet to know all of the unknown. And knowing some of it is not peculiar only to Prophets. It is admitted also by philosophers that those who undergo riyâda, that is, those who isolate themselves in a room and eat just enough so as not to die, some sick people who have lost consciousness, and some people while asleep disclose some mysteries. In this respect such people are not different from Prophets. Perhaps, what philosophers call the “ghaib” are the extraordinary and unusual things which are rarely seen. However, these are not the real unknown. Knowing them or reporting them once or twice does not mean to transcend the ordinary. This point keeps Prophets and others distinct. Scholars of Kalâm also report that Prophets will know the real myteries revealed to them by Allâhu ta’âlâ, but they say that knowing mysteries is not a requirement for being a Prophet. Also, the abovesaid grounds which philosophers put forward with respect to knowing the unknown are not correct. They are incompatible with Islam’s fundamentals. Furthermore, knowing the unknown on such grounds is quite a different subject. They are extraordinary wonders. There is no use in particularly dwelling on this.
Extraordinary events, such as, affecting objects and substances as one wishes; effecting the wind, earthquakes and fires when one likes or a ship’s sinking; a man’s dying or a tyrant’s going to his doom upon one’s wish are the human soul’s influence on matter. In fact Allâhu ta’âlâ, alone, is the One who affects matter. Allâhu ta’âlâ creates this effect on whomever He wills, whenever He wills. For this reason, it cannot be said that extraordinary things or wonders are peculiar to Prophets only. This is admitted by philosophers, too. Therefore, how could this ever be the distinction between Prophets and others?
Although ancient Greek philosophers said that wonders could also happen through non-prophets, they did not accept the frequency or the degree of wonders reaching the capacity of i’jâz (miracle). They said that because such extraordinary things happen through Prophets a Prophet is distinguishable from others.
Philosophers’ stating that an angel manifesting itself to Prophets and revealing Allâhu ta’âlâ’s wahî as a condition for prophethood contradicts their own philosophy. Their saying such things are intended to mislead holders of îmân, for, according to them, angels are immaterial and speechless. To produce sounds requires being material, they say. Sound is produced through waves of air. We can say that these conditions put forward by philosophers might come to mean that angels can show themselves and talk by taking material forms.
INTRODUCTION II
2 — WHAT DOES MU’JIZA MEAN?
To us, a mu’jiza is something proving the truthfulness of a person who said he was aProphet. There were conditions for a mu’jiza:
1 — Allâhu ta’âlâ made it in the absence of ordinary means, whereby to help HisProphet be confirmed.
2 — It had to be extraordinary. Ordinary things, such as the sun’s rising in the East every day or flowers blooming in the spring, could not be mu’jizas.
3 — Others had to be incapable of doing it.
4 — It had to happen whenever the person who announced his prophethood wished it to.
5 — It had to agree with his wish. For example, if he said that he would enliven a certain dead person and if some other marvel took place, for example, if a mountain was broken into two, instead, it would not be a mu’jiza.
6 — The mu’jiza happening upon his wish should not belie him. For example, while he was miraculously talking with a certain beast, if the beast said, “This man is a liar,” it would not be a mu’jiza.
7 — The mu’jiza should not happen before he said he was a Prophet. Wonders that happened before [the announcement of his prophethood], such as ’Îsâ’s[1] (’alaihi ’s-salâm) talking when he was in a cradle, his being handed dates when he asked for dates from a withered-up tree, and in Muhammad’s (alaihi ’ssalâm) childhood, the cleavage of his chest and his heart being cleansed by washing, there being a cloud over his head continuously and his being greeted by trees and stones were not mu’jizas, but karâmas. They are called irhâsât (preparatory signs of a prophet). They emphasized prophethood. It is possible for such karâmas to happen through Awliyâ’ as well. Before Prophets were informed of their prophethood, their status was not lower than that of the Awliyâ’. Karamâs were seen from them. A mu’jiza could happen immediately after a Prophet is informed of his prophethood. For example, if he had said that such and such an event would take place a month later, the event would become a mu’jiza when it took place. But it would not be necessary to believe in his prophethood before it took place.
A mu’jiza demonstrating that a Prophet is telling the truth is not only a requirement of the intellect. That is, it is unlike the case of some work denoting the existence of its agent. For the intellect’s realizing that something is the proof of something else requires some relationship between the two things. When the proof is seen, the existence of the related thing, not the existence of something else, is realized. The case is not so with a mu’jiza. For example, heavens being broken into pieces, stars being scattered and mountains being pulverized will take place when the end of the world comes, at the time of Doomsday. This will not be the time for the coming of a Prophet. These are the mu’jizas foretold by every Prophet. But, it is not necessary for those who hear about them to know that they are mu’jizas. So is the case with a Walî’s karâma being the mu’jiza of a Prophet, though it does not have any connection with that Prophet. What we have stated so far is explained in detail in the book Sharh-i mawaqif by Sayyid Sherîf al-Jurjânî.
According to most ’ulamâ’, though open tahaddî (challenge), that is, saying, “Go ahead and do the same! But you can’t!” is not a condition for a mu’jiza, the meaning of a mu’jiza contains tahaddî. Because a tahaddi is not a matter of question in the reports made about the states of the Rising Day and future events, these are not mu’jizas against disbelievers. The Believers believe that these reports are mu’jizas. The karâmas of Awliyâ’ are not mu’jizas because they do not claim prophethood and because there is no tahaddî in them. The fact that such non-challenging wonders do not prove the truthfulness of a person claiming prophethood does not necessarily show that mu’jizas do not prove it. On the contrary, this is what is expected from a mu’jiza.
Question: “Mu’jizas prove the truthfulness of the person claiming prophethood because they are wonders. Does a mu’jiza have a special effect on proving [prophethood]?”
Answer: Such is not the actual case. A mu’jiza’s proving the validity of a claim of prophethood is due to the fact that others cannot do it, which means a mu’jiza has a special effect. In fact, this is the real proof.
Question: “In Sharh-i Mawâqif, Sayyid Sherîf al-Jurjânî says, ‘Naql (narration) cannot be a proof by itself because it is necessary also to believe in the truthfulness of the person who says that he is a Prophet, and this takes place by the intellect’s admitting it. Upon seeing a mu’jiza, the intellect believes that a Prophet has told the truth.’ This passage from al-Jurjânî says that a mu’jiza demonstrating a Prophet’s truthfulness is judged through the intellect, whereas a while before he said that it would not be judged through the intellect. Don’t these two statements of his contradict each other?”
Answer: The passage immediately above says that the intellect studies the mu’jiza that proves the truthfulness of a Prophet. It does not say whether or not the intellect has an effect on the mu’jiza’s proving his truthfulness. Even if we were to admit that it says that it has some effect, it still does not say that this is judged only through the intellect. Since there is no one saying that the intellect has no effect in this affair, such a contradicition is out of place. Sayyid al-Jurjânî’s statement was made while explaining a narrated (naqlî) mu’jiza, for which such a statement is most appropriate.
A mu’jiza’s denoting a Prophet’s truthfulness is not a belief resulting out of hearing, either. It is natural indication. That is, when a mu’jiza is seen, Allâhu ta’âlâ creates in the person who sees it the knowledge that the person announcing his prophethood is telling the truth. Such is Allâhu ta’âlâ’s divine law. This is so because, though it is possible for a liar to display a mu’jiza, it has never happened. If the person announcing his prophethood lifts up a mountain and says, “If you believe me, this mountain shall go back to its place. If you don’t believe me, it will fall on your heads,” and if they see that the mountain moves back towards its place when they want to believe and towards them when they think of not believing, it will be understood, through divine law, that he is telling the truth. Yes, it is possible - in view of the intellect- for such an absolute mu’jiza to happen from a liar, but it is not the divine law of Allâhu ta’âlâ. That is, it has never been seen.[2]. This is exemplified as follows: A man claimed to be a ruler’s messenger and said, “If you don’t belive me, take my letter to the ruler.” The letter read: “If it is true that I am your messenger, get down from your throne and sit on the floor!” They took the letter to the ruler who read it and did as it was written. Those who saw this believed definitely that he told the truth. This belief is unlike the case of “likening the unkown to the witnessed,” that is, understanding [the existence of] something not seen by seeing something else. For, a mu’jiza definitely proves truthfulness. According to the Mu’tazila, it is not possible for a liar to display a mu’jiza.
Magic and similar things are the occurrence of certain events by doing the things that are their causes, or, sometimes, they are illusions which figure up in one’s imagination though they do not really exist. They are not wonders.
ARTICLE I
3 — BI’THAT: THE SENDING OF PROPHETS
AND ITS NECESSITY
Man is aware of nothing at the time of his creation. The creation around him, however, is so vast that only Allâhu ta’âlâ knows its extent. This is reported in the thirty-first âyat of Sûrat al-Muddaththir.[3] A child begins to perceive classes of beings through its sense organs. Each class of beings is termed an ’âlam. “The sense organ created first in man is the tactile organ; with the ability of touch, man perceives cold, hot, wet, dry, soft, hard and the like. The tactile organ cannot perceive colours or sounds, and these are thought to be nonexistent. Then his organ of sight is created, and with it colours and shapes are perceived. The world perceived by this organ has more variety and more numerous beings than the tactile world. Next his auditory organ functions. With this sense organ sounds and tunes are perceived. Afterwards, his ability to taste and then his ability to smell are created. Thus the five senses which reflect the world of perception are completed. Towards the seventh year of life, his power of discretion (tamyîz) is created by which things that cannot be comprehended through the sense organs are realized. This power differentiates things that are perceived by the sense organs from one another. Then his intellect or wisdom is created. What is useful, harmful, good or bad is ascertained by the power of discretion; wisdom distinguishes the neccessary, permissible, possible or impossible from one another. Wisdom comprehends things that cannot be grasped by the powers of perception and discretion. Besides wisdom, Allâhu ta’âlâ creates one more power in some of His chosen slaves. With this, things that cannot be understood or learnt thru wisdom and things that will happen in the future are known. This is called the power of prophethood (nubuwwa). Because the power of discretion cannot comprehend the things within the cognitive area of wisdom, it is oblivious to them. And because wisdom cannot understand the things comprehended by the power of prophethood, it disbelieves, and denies them. Denial of what cannot be comprehended is the result of not comprehending, not knowing. Likewise, a person born blind will know nothing of colours or shapes if he does not hear about them. He will not believe in their existence. To reveal to His slaves that the power of nubuwwa also exists,Allâhu ta’âlâ created dreams in men similar to this power. In dreams, man might see what will happen in the future clearly or in its vision in the âlam-i mithâl. If a person who does not know what dreams are is told, “When man’s consciousness is suspended and thoughts and senses are gone like that of a dead person, he sees unknown things that are beyond mind’s grasp,” he will deny it. He will even attempt to prove that such a thing is impossible, saying, “Man perceives his surroundings by his sense organs. With these organs suspended, especially when they do not function at all, he will perceive nothing.” He will reason rather coarsely. As sense organs cannot comprehend things that are known by wisdom, likewise, wisdom cannot perceive the things that are known by the power of prophethood.
Those who doubt the existence of the power of prophethood doubt its possibility or, if its possibility is accepted, its occurrence. Its existence or occurrence shows that it is possible. And its existence is demonstrated by Prophets’ giving information beyond the intellect’s ability. This information, which cannot be acquired through the intellect, calculation or experimentation, was acquired only from Allâhu ta’âlâ’s ilhâm (inspiration placed upon the heart by Allâhu ta’âlâ or His angels, that is, through the power of prophethood). The power of prophethood has also other peculiarities. Since dreams, which resemble one of its peculiarities, exist in men, we have given it as an example. Its other peculiarities are revealed through dhawq (tasting, sensitivity) to those who strive on a path of Tasawwuf. The peculiarity we have given must suffice as a proof to make one believe in prophethood. Imâm Muhammad al-Ghazâlî, too, wrote this peculiarity as a proof for believing in prophethood in his book Al-munqidh min ad-dalâl.
According to ancient Greek philosophers, it is useful to believe in prophethood. They said, “To believe in prophethood helps wisdom. Meditating over the existence, power and knowledge of Allah is similar to this. Also, many useful things beyond the intellect’s ability are learned from Prophets. Examples of this are the Rising Day, teachings pertaining to the next world, revelation of what things are good and what others are bad, and knowing whether some foods and medicines are harmful or not.”
Those who do not believe in prophethood say:
1 — “A person sent as a Prophet should have known that the one who said, ‘I have sent thee as a prophet. Communicate my message!’ was Allah. And knowing Allah, in its turn, is in no way possible. It may be a genie who uttered these words. All religious people believe in genies.”
Answer: The person who was sent (as a prophet) proved by mu’jizas that he was sent as such. Allâhu ta’âlâ is the One who creates the mu’jiza. Genies cannot perform it. Nor can any other creature.
2 — “If the angel who brought wahî to the Prophet was an object, it must have been seen by all those who were present there. You, too, say that it was not seen. If it wasn’t an object but a spirit, it would have been impossible for it to speak or to be heard. If your answer is: ‘The angel that brought wahî from Allâhu ta’âlâ to the Prophet was an object.Allâhu ta’âlâ willed that it would not be seen, which is within His power,’ then we would necessarily not see a mountain in front of us or hear a drum played near us, which is ridicuolus.”
Answer: The one who brought the wahî was an angel. An angel is a fine, transparent object. It is not Allâhu ta’âlâ’s law for colourless and transparent things to be seen. Air is a substance. Yet because it is transparent and colourless, it is not seen. It would be ridiculous if we said that solid things are not seen. It is possible for a spirit to take a visible shape, to speak and to be heard, which has happened many times.
3 — “To believe in a Prophet, it is necessary to understand that he is a Prophet. And this is possible only after long observation. The obligation to confirm him on the spot is nonsensical.”
Answer: After seeing a Prophet’s wonders and mu’jizas, it becomes impossible not to acknowledge that he is telling the truth. Those who see or hear about them must acknowledge and believe the fact immediately.
4 — “It is a Prophet’s task to command useful things and to prohibit harmf