“And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or denies His verses? Indeed, the wrongdoers will not succeed.” (Qur’an 6:21)
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Now one thing you will immediately notice when dealing with the hafs Qur’an only religion is that most of them do not even speak Arabic. Most of them try and appeal to converts (who have very poor or weak Arabic). They have a reason for doing this, because they prey upon the fact that you do not understand the Arabic and thus, are able to manipulate what the text says.
A prime example is their manipulation of this verse:
“We did not leave anything out of this book.” (Qur’an 6:38)
Now, as this website is directed primarily to an English-speaking audience, let us ask you this.
You will note that ‘The Monotheist Group’ -a quranist translation has rendered the Arabic as:
“And there is not a creature on the earth, nor a bird that flies with its wings, except they belong to nations like you belong. We did not leave anything out of the record; then to their Lord they will be gathered.” (Qur’an 6:38)
The verse in full actually states:
“All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this book. To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned.” (Qur’an 6:38)
Is there a difference between saying:
“We did not leave anything out of this book.” and
“We did not leave anything out of the book.”
If one were to say ‘the book‘, then this is vague. What book are we actually referring to? If we say ‘this book‘, then we are referring to a book that is actually with me.
The Arabic word used here is l-kitabi. L-kitabi need not necessarily be a reference to the Qur’an at all.
It is the same word that is used in the following verses:
“And there followed them successors who inherited the book, taking the commodities of this lower life and saying, “It will be forgiven for us.” And if an offer like it comes to them, they will take it. Was not the covenant of the book taken from them that they would not say about Allah except the truth, and they studied what was in it? And the home of the Hereafter is better for those who fear Allah, so will you not use reason?” (Qur’an 7:169)
It is very obvious that l-kitabi is not a reference to the Qur’an in the above text.
“And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the book that, “You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you will surely reach haughtiness.” (Qur’an 17:4)
It is very obvious that l-kitabi is not a reference to the Qur’an in the above text as it was sent down to the Blessed Prophet Muhammed (saw).
“And do not argue with the People of the book except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, “We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our Allah and your Allah is one; and we are Muslims to Him.” (Qur’an 29:46)
It is very obvious that l-kitabi is not a reference to the Qur’an in the above verse.
“Have you not considered those who practice hypocrisy, saying to their brothers who have disbelieved among the People of the Book, “If you are expelled, we will surely leave with you, and we will not obey, in regard to you, anyone – ever; and if you are fought, we will surely aid you.” But Allah testifies that they are liars.” (Qu’ran 59:11)
Can you imagine Allah (swt) calling (ahli Qur’an) people of the Qur’an liars? Obviously, l-kitabi above is not a reference to the Qur’an.
Indeed, they who disbelieved among the People of the book and the polytheist will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures.” (Qur’an 98:6)
Can you imagine Allah (swt) saying those who disbelieve among the (ahli Qur’an) will be with the polytheists in hell forever? It is obvious that l-kitabi above is not a reference to the Qur’an.
The logical contradiction.
“We did not leave anything out of this book.” (Qur’an 6:38)
In order for this verse to be true in the way that those who follow the Qur’an only religion would have us to believe, this verse would have to be the last verse revealed in the Qur’an. If any other verses come after it, this entails a logical and absolutely devastating blow to their position.
The Qur’an was not sent down all at once.
“And those who disbelieve say: Why is not the Quran revealed to him all at once? Thus, that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages.” (Qur’an 25:32)
Also, if they don’t know the last verse of the Qur’an to be revealed that is also a logical and devastating blow to the way they understand the verse. Because it means that what was revealed first and last has been left out of the Qur’an! This is important for their argument.
Allah (swt) has clearly told us that he has not included everything in the Qur’an.
“And messengers, We have mentioned unto you before, and messengers, We have not mentioned unto you; and Allah spoke directly to Moses.” (Qur’an 4:164)
So how exactly do we understand this verse in a way that is consistent with not only logic but with the Qur’an itself?
“And the book will be placed open, and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say, “Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?” And they will find what they did present before them. And your Lord does injustice to no one.” (Qur’an 18:49)
Are we really to understand this to mean: “So as for he who is given the Qur’an in his right hand, he will say, “Here, read my Qur’an!” No. That is ridiculous.
It is very obvious that l-kitabi (this book) above is not a referee to the Qur’an at all. Rather, it is a reference to the book that contains each and every single act that we have done. The Qur’an, for example, obviously does not contain each and every evil small or great that humans have done.
So as for he who is given his book in his right hand, he will say, “Here, read my book! (Qur’an 69:19)
“But as for he who is given his book behind his back.” (Qur’an 84:10)
Are we really to understand this as “But as for he who is given his Qur’an behind his back?”
It is best if we understand (Qur’an 6:38) in light of a verse that will help bring clarity to the confusion of those who follow the myriad of sects of the Qur’an Only Religion.
It is crystal clear that the above text is a reference to the book of deeds. The verse is talking about disbelievers on the day of judgement.
If only they were guided to reflect upon the following verse:
“There is no creature on earth whose sustenance is not undertaken by Allah. He knows where it lives and where it rests. Everything is in a Book that is clear.” (Qur’an 11:6)
It should be more than obvious that both the verses above refer to some celestial register where the minutia of all things are kept, and not to the Qur’an.
Prima Qur’an Conclusion:
The verse (Qur’an 6:38) itself does not indicate if it is talking about the Qur’an or not.
There is no way out of this airtight argument from an intra-Qura’n perspective. Accept that the verses mentioned above are talking about the book of deeds that is with Allah (swt).
The followers of the Qur’an Only Religion don’t want to accept this because it completely nukes one of their central talking points. It takes a talking point away from them that they use to scam the masses.
Dear readers, those people who follow the Qur’an only religion more often than not have very poor and weak knowledge of the Arabic language. Many of them can barely speak it, if at all. You do not see them offering to recite to you the Qur’an in Arabic, with proper recitation. The level of understanding of Arabic among them is quite atrocious. This is not to be mean; however, to be brutally honest. This is why they rely upon such very weak arguments to present their case.
“We sent them with clear proofs and the Zabur. And we revealed to you the message that you may make clear to mankind what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.” (Qur’an 16:44)
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This section will be on engaging the Pseudo-Islamic.
In particular this section of the blog will have all articles related to two Pseudo-Islamic movements.
The first being the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion.
THE HAFS QUR’AN ONLY RELIGION
It is important to understand that we believe that the adherents of the Hafs Qur’an only movement are a distinct religion in much as we respect the way the Baha’i movement is a distinct religion from Islam.
Insh’Allah this section will deal with common arguments among the federation of sects that are known collectively as the ‘Qur’anist’.
This section will be refuting their many bold assertions; as well as showing why this particular attempt to re-interpret Islam and make it altogether different religion is deeply flawed.
Now why are they called the Hafs Qur’an only view? These people will either out of ignorance about the transmission and textual history of the Qur’an refer to their platform as ‘Qur’an Only’ or Quraniyoon. However, the Hafs Qur’an did not fall out of the sky. Thus, is important for them to reflect on why so much foundational trust is put into the men that transmittedthe Hafs Qur’an to the exclusion of all other transmissions of the Qur’an.
At the core of this religion of theirs is a massive epistemological problem.
In regard to approving comments from followers of the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion we have taken seriously the verse of the Qur’an: “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.” (Qur’an 5:2)
Thus, they would do well to read the article listed below: Is the Qur’an a detailed explanation of all things? to understand the policy on this website that keeps them as well as us from sinning and keeps them consistent with in their worldview. Insh’Allah.
THE QADIANI MOVEMENT Also known as AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT is a divided movement, split into two competing jama’at or congregations. That is the LAHORI whom we refer to as The Ahmadiyya A and the QADIANI whom we refer to as the Ahmadiyya B.
As the Qadiani or Ahmadiyyah B believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a Prophet after The Blessed Prophet Muhammed (saw), they have been marked as being outside the millat of Islam. Likewise, they (the Ahmadiyyah B) or Qadiani have made anyone outside of their jama’at to be kafirs. Though, their is some tongue in cheek wordplay see their website. Source: (https://www.alislam.org/articles/are-non-ahmadis-muslim-or-non-muslim-ahmadiyya-muslim-perspective/)
To the dismay of the Muslim Ummah, The Qadiani have a Khalifa, named MIrza Masroor Ahmed, he lives in Tilford, United Kingdom, where he pays taxes to the United Kingdom. Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali were not known to have paid taxes to a Non Muslim government.
For future reference all articles addressed to either of the above movements will be found under: AHL AL-QIBLA / AHL AL-KHILAF under: Engaging with the Pseudo-Islamic:
Refutation that oral traditions came 300 years after the Prophet.
Even though they used to say that the hadith -oral traditions came some 300 years after the Blessed Messenger (saw). Praise be to Allah the more educated among them have backed away from that claim. However, this article is here because many in that movement may be unaware.
See Harold Motzki (a Non-Muslim orientalist and academic) who made short work of that Quranist claim
Does the Qur’an itself tell us to reject all hadith?
This article is a nail in the coffin for the entire movement. Some from their movement have commented but ended up leaving in frustration. It looks at their arguments and misquotations of the Qur’an. Also given in this article is an irrefutable example of Allah confirming a hadith to the Blessed Messenger [saw].
Did the Blessed Prophet Muhammed (saw) write the Qur’an?
Our colleague had written a refutation like this many years ago on the ‘Qur’an only‘ web site known as http://www.ourbeacon.com/ or it used to be known as ‘GalaxyDastak‘. Dr. Shabbir Ahmed founder of the forum had me banned. This was also the last our colleague heard from their former teacher Hamza AbdulMalik. Hamza AbdulMalik used to be the director of IPCI international until he dropped off the radar and re-emerged as a Quranist.
Well, our colleague may have been removed from the forum but here is the refutation of their arguments for all to see here:
A pre-eminent argument used by ‘Quranist’ ripped to shreds By Dr. Jeffery Lang.
The most oft-quoted verse used by Quranist is analyzed and ripped apart by a Muslim convert, academic, and professor of math, Dr. Jeffery Lang.
This is a centerpiece argument used by Edip Yuksel, Sam Gerrans, “Joseph Islam”, Rashad Khilafa, Shabir Ahmed and the lot of them. The reason why this argument is especially devastating coming from someone like Dr. Jeffry Lang is that Dr. Lang is critical of the hadith corpus as we have it today.
The following is a look how Quranist have both misunderstood the word hikma as a reference to the Qur’an and how they do not understand that it is something that Allah gives his messengers to deal with situations and context not immediately addressed by the revelations they were given.
Hating a hadith just for the sake of hating a hadith.
This article a hypothetical question is posed. What if a particular ahad hadith turned out to be correct? Especially one that is of a scientific nature? What would the Quranist do in such a scenario?
Salaat in the Qur’an is not ritual prayer? Examining the claim of some Quranist.
This article looks at one Quranist claim that salat is not ritual prayer. This is what happens when you abandon the understanding of the Blessed Messenger and follow the ‘every man for himself’ approach of the Quranist.
“Verily, in the messenger of Allah, you have a good example for him who looks unto Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” (Qur’an 33: 21)
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“The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then doubt not but strive with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is those who are truthful.” (Qur’an 49:15)
“When the Prophet disclosed a hadith in confidence to one of his consorts, and she then divulged it (to another), and Allah made it known to him, he confirmed part thereof and repudiated a part. Then, when he told her thereof, she said, “Who told you this? “He said, “He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted (with all things).” (Qur’an 66:3)
It would be very difficult to imagine a Messenger of Allah (swt) confirming part of a hadith (The Qur’an) and repudiating part of a hadith (The Qur’an) if the word hadith was used exclusively of the Qur’an.
This is the death blow to the position from which the followers of the Quraniyoon religion are unable to escape from.
“The worst animals before Allah are the deaf and dumb, those who do not use their reason.” (Qur’an 8:22)
Let us see if those people who follow the Quraniyoon religion are capable of using their intellect when they discuss with Muslims.
The first point of consideration
For anyone who would use their faculties of intellect would be this. If we are going to use a hadith that supposedly prohibits the use of writing hadith and yet these very hadith are found in hadith canons that have been collected, collated and written down, it stands to reason that those who included the very hadith of prohibition would have cogent and viable reasons to write the hadith down themselves!
We have never come across anyone from the federation of Quraniyoon sects that alleges that these hadith came into the hadith corpus by accident.
In other words, those who collect the hadith canons are aware of those hadiths. That is sensible, right? Couldn’t we all agree that is a logical first acknowledgment?
After all, they are relying upon the work of al-Khatib al Baghdadi titled: “Tqid al-‘Ilm”
Let’s move to the second point.
The second point.
This line of attack from the Quraniyoon religion involves using circular reasoning.
Imagine that you follow any number of sects from the Quraniyoon religion. Now your premise is that all the hadiths are false:
Based upon that premise, what would be your logical conclusion?
The Quraniyoon have some very foggy thinking about deep matters.
The irony is that the vast majority of them from any sect of the Quraniyoon have never even bothered to look at the science of hadith themselves. They have just taken this argument without investigating it.
Ironically, this makes them guilty of blind trust.
For example, those who use these hadiths and come to the conclusion that these hadiths give accurate information. On what basis do they assert this?
Is it because of the sanad-chain of transmission? If that is the case, then what is their actual problem with Hadith?
If not, then it shows a fatal flaw in their thought process here.
It reminded us of when one of our bloggers at primaquran hosted a group of tourists when doing guided Mosque tours in Singapore. This man suddenly blurted out, “There is no truth! Nothing is true!” So our colleague turned and asked him, “Is that true?”
The third point.
This point is very important. There is not a single hadith anywhere from the Blessed Messenger [saw] that forbids the oral transmission of hadith.
That is an open challenge to anyone from any sect of the Quraniyoon.
Let us repeat that:
There is not a single hadith anywhere from the Blessed Messenger [saw] that forbids the oral transmission of hadith.
What we do have are hadith attributed to the Blessed Messenger [saw] that discourage people from writing down anything other than the Qur’an.
However, this itself has a context and we will come to that soon enough.
Abu Sa’id Khudri reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said:
“Do not take down anything from me, and he who took down anything from me except the Qur’an, he should efface that and narrate from me, for there is no harm in it and he who attributes any falsehood to me—and Hammam said: I think he also said:” deliberately” -he should, in fact, find his abode in the Hell-Fire.”
No prohibition against the oral transmission of hadith.
Fourth point.
Quoting hadith like this is actually a strong point against the Quraniyoon religion.
The reason being is that it shows that the companions must have been writing things from the Blessed Messenger (saw) other than the Qur’an to the point that it needed to be addressed.
The intention behind the proclamation of not writing anything down from the Blessed Messenger (saw) besides the Qur’an is the fear that other material would get mixed up with the Qur’an.
We should also keep in mind that writing materials were scarce.
We have proof of this.
Examples:
Source: Ahmed Von Denfer’s book: An Introduction to the sciences of the Qur’an pages 21–22
You can see that in the Mushaf of Ubay bin Ka’b that he included two du’a from the Blessed Messenger [saw] as well as a hadith from him.
“I heard Ibn Az-Zubair who was on the pulpit at Mecca, delivering a sermon, saying, “O men! The Prophet used to say, “If the son of Adam were given a valley full of gold, he would love to have a second one; and if he were given the second one, he would love to have a third, for nothing fills the belly of Adam’s son except dust. And Allah forgives he who repents to Him.” Ubai said, “We considered this as a saying from the Qur’an till the Sura (beginning with) ‘The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you..’ (102.1) was revealed.”
How do the people who follow the Quraniyoon religion answer this?
We as Muslims have the answers to it. It puts ease and tranquility into the hearts and the minds of the believers. Whereas the position of the Quraniyoon fills the mind and heart with doubts and whispers from the enemy.
Fifth point.
The hadith must be understood in the context of not mixing the hadith of the Blessed Messenger (saw) with his recommended supplications and the Qur’an because of the following evidence:
If the statement is understood in the way those of the Quraniyoon want the masses to understand, then it would indicate that the Blessed Messenger (saw) went against the instructions of Allah (swt).
If the Prophet (saw) forbade the writing down of anything other than the Qur’an, then he would have gone against the Qur’an itself!
“O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down. And let a scribe write it between you with justice. Let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one who has the obligation to dictate. And let him fear Allah, his Lord, and not leave anything out of it. But if the one who has the obligation is of limited understanding or weak or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate with justice. And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men, then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses-so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her. and let not the witnesses refuse when they are called upon. And do not be weary to write it, whether it is small or large, for its specified term. That is more just in the sight of Allah and stronger as evidence and more likely to prevent doubt between you, except when it is an immediate transaction that you conduct among yourselves. For then there is no blame upon you if you do not write it. And take witnesses when you conclude a contract. Let no scribe be harmed or any witness. For if you do so, indeed, it is grave disobedience in you. And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you, and Allah is Knowing of all things.” (Qur’an 2:282)
Allah (swt) himself demands a written record for credit transactions.
Sixth point.
Recall that we mentioned the prohibition on writing the hadith came with a context, and we will come to that soon enough.
Writing down the hadith was not prohibited from those who had trouble with memory retention.
“There was a man among the Ansar who would sit with the Messenger of Allah (saw), and he would listen to the Ahadith of the Prophet (saw) and he was amazed with them, but he could not remember them. So he complained about that to the Messenger of Allah (saw). He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I listen to your Ahadith, and I am amazed, but I can not remember them.’ So the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘Help yourself with your right hand’ and he motioned with his hand as if writing.'”
Conclusion: This is more than sufficient evidence to refute the claims of those who say that the Blessed Messenger (saw) forbade the writing of hadith.
One thing is certain: no one can claim that the Blessed Messenger (saw) forbade the oral transmission of hadith.
“But there are, among men, those who purchase lahwa alhadith (vain hadith), without knowledge (or meaning), to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah and throw ridicule (on the Path): for such there will be a Humiliating Penalty.” (Qur’an 31:6)
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This idea to reject all the hadith has no basis in the Qur’an. It is an Anti-Quranist position.
To say that the Qur’an instructs Muslims to reject all the hadith would be to reject the Qur’anitself!
How could I make such a claim? Because Allah (swt) calls the Qur’an, “hadith” within the Qur’an itself!
For example:
Then leave Me alone with such as reject this (hadith) alhadith by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not. (Qur’an 68:44)
So we can see from the beginning that Allah (swt) saw fit to refer to the revelation itself as Hadith.
Also, the Qur’an makes a distinction between hadith in chapter 31, verse number 6 as follows:
“But there are, among men, those who purchase lahwa alhadith (vain hadith), without knowledge (or meaning), to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah and throw ridicule (on the Path): for such there will be a Humiliating Penalty.” (Qur’an 31:6)
Here the Qur’an is warning us against lahwa alhadith (vain hadith). If Allah (swt) so wished he could have simply used the word ‘hadith’.
If there are ‘lahwa alhadith’—vain hadith, then it stands to reason there are hadith that are not vain, fruitless, or futile.
The Qur’an is a book in which nothing has been left out.
“We have not neglected anything in the Book, then to their Lord shall they be gathered.” (Qur’an 6:38)
It would have been sufficient to say do not believe in any hadith other than this hadith – the Qur’an. However, we do not find such a verse in the entirety of the Qur’an!
For example, we could say to you, “You may eat all the apples in the basket.” We can also say, “You may eat all the apples in the basket that are good.”
The first sentence indicates that it is permissible to eat every apple contained in the basket. The second sentence indicates that some apples in the basket may not be good, so use discretion.
So, most unfortunately religion has come along to challenge Islam. This religion is known as ‘Quraniyoon‘ are actually ascribing deficiency to Allah (swt). May Allah (swt) forgive us!
THE QUR’AN REFERENCES HADITH OUTSIDE OF IT.
There are some examples in the Qur’an that refer to hadith outside the Qur’an.
What would be the point of referencing hadith outside the Qur’an if all hadith were useless and utterly futile? Why reference Hadith if they did not contain some newsworthy information?
Example 1)
“Has the hadith reached you, of the honored guests of Abraham?” (Qur’an 51:24)
If one continues to read through the verses, they will see that this is obviously a recounting of the events that are contained within Genesis chapter 18: 1-15 of the Bible.
Example 2)
“Has the hadith of Moses reached you?” (Qur’an 20:9)
If one continues to read through the verses, they will see this is obviously a recounting of the events that are contained within Exodus chapter 3: 1-5 of the Bible.
Allah (swt) never says that all hadith are baseless or lies.
Allah (swt) simply informs us that it is Allah (swt) that is the best to relate a hadith. We find that in the following verse of the Qur’an.
“Allah! There is no god but He: of a surety He will gather you together against the Day of Judgment, about which there is no doubt. And whose hadith can be truer than Allah’s?” (Qur’an 4:87)
Who would argue against this point? Human beings can deliver mercy and compassion, but who can be more merciful and compassionate than the one who is The Most Merciful & The Most Compassionate?
Thus, hadith can be true, but Allah’s hadith is the truest; for who can be truer than Allah?
ALLAH CONFIRMS HADITH OF PROPHET MUHAMMED OUTSIDE THE QUR’AN? YES!
“When the Prophet disclosed a hadith in confidence to one of his consorts, and she then divulged it (to another), and Allah made it known to him, he confirmed part thereof and repudiated a part. Then when he told her thereof, she said, “Who told you this? “He said, “He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted (with all things).” (Qur’an 66:3)
It would be very difficult to imagine a Messenger of Allah (swt) confirming part of a hadith (The Qur’an) and repudiating part of a hadith (The Qur’an) if the word hadith was used exclusively of the Qur’an. This is the death blow to the position of which ‘Qur’an only Muslims‘ are unable to escape.
It would also be hard to imagine that if all hadith outside the Qur’an were absolutely false, how could the Blessed Messenger (saw) confirm part of a hadith that was false in the presence of his Lord?
For example, there are ahadith in the collection called Bukhari that relate to this particular incident. You can read more about the above verse and the events surrounding it here:
We personally have no reason to discount this hadith of giving an accurate portrait of the events that happened. In fact, it is in the context of this entire event that the Allah (swt) reprimands the Blessed Messenger (saw) for his error as well.
“O Prophet! Why do you hold to be forbidden that which Allah has made lawful to you You seek to please your wives. But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 66: 1)
This hadith in Bukhari and other sources also recounts what is known in historical circles as ‘the principle of embarrassment’.
Hadith can refer to inspiration or dreams that Allah (swt) gives people in their sleep.
“Thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the interpretation of hadith and perfect His favor to you and to the posterity of Jacob – even as He perfected it to your fathers Abraham and Isaac before! for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.” (Qur’an 12:6)
“The man in Egypt who bought him, said to his wife: “Make his stay (among us) honourable: maybe he will bring us much good, or we shall adopt him as a son.” Thus did We establish Joseph in the land, that We might teach him the interpretation hadith. And Allah has full power and control over His affairs, but most among mankind know it not.” (Qur’an 12:21)
“Twice we can see that Allah (swt) mentions that he will teach Joseph the interpretation ofhadith. In both instances, it is a reference to dreams.
“Behold! Joseph said to his father: “O my father! I did see (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me!” (Qur’an 12:4)
Now with him, there came into the prison, two young men. Said one of them: “I see myself (in a dream) pressing wine.” said the other: “I see myself (in a dream) carrying bread on my head, and birds are eating, thereof.” “Tell us” (they said) “The truth and meaning thereof: for we see you are one that does good (to all).”He said: “Before any food comes (in due course) to feed either of you, I will surely reveal to you the truth and meaning of this before it befalls you: that is part of the (duty) which my Lord hath taught me. I have (I assure you) abandoned the ways of a people that believe not in Allah and that (even) deny the Hereafter.” (Qur’an 12:36-27)
“And the king said: Surely I see seven fat kine which seven lean ones devoured; and seven green ears and (seven) others dry: O chiefs! explain to me my dream, if you can interpret the dream.” (Qur’an 12:43)
“O, Joseph!” (he said) “O man of truth! Expound to us (the dream) of seven fat kine whom seven lean ones devour, and of seven green ears of corn and (seven) others withered: that I may return to the people and that they may understand.” (Qur’an 12:46)
This is obviously a recounting of the events that are contained within Exodus chapter 41: 1-36 of the Bible.
As Muslims, if we are to believe that the dreams we receive from Allah (swt) are all revelations, then we are going to have to radically change our concepts of revelation.
Allah quotes Jewish oral traditions (hadith) as revelation revealed to them!
“That is why We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever takes a life—unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land—it will be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity.” (Qur’an 5:32)
“Therefore, Adam the first man was created alone, to teach you that with regard to anyone who destroys one soul from the Jewish people, i.e., kills one Jew, the verse ascribes him blame as if he destroyed an entire world, as Adam was one person, from whom the population of an entire world came forth. And conversely, anyone who sustains one soul from the Jewish people, the verse ascribes him credit as if he sustained an entire world.”
Allah (swt) gives us the corrected version. In some manuscripts, the phrase reads “a single soul” (נפש אחת) without “of Israel” (מישראל) is read.
The version without “of Israel” expresses a universal humanistic ethic — the value of any life.
The version with “of Israel” restricts it to Jewish life.
The differences is noted here: שִׁנוּיֵי נוּסְחָאוֹת ש״ס מִשְׁנָיוֹת וִילְנָא — that is, “Textual Variants of the Mishnayot in the Vilna Shas”.
Here are the major variant readings found in the Shinuye Nussachaot of the Vilna edition and other manuscripts:
Version
Key Phrase
Meaning
Vilna Mishnah (common printed)
“כל המקיים נפש אחת מישראל כאילו קיים עולם מלא”
“Whoever sustains one soul of Israel, it is as if he sustained an entire world.”
Kaufmann Manuscript (oldest Mishnah MS)
“כל המקיים נפש אחת כאילו קיים עולם מלא”
“Whoever sustains one soul, it is as if he sustained an entire world.” (No “of Israel”)
Parma & Cambridge MSS
Also omit “מישראל”
Same universal form
Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a)
Usually includes “מישראל”
Narrower: “one soul of Israel”
The point is that nothing like this is found in any variation of the TNCH that we have in our possession today.
This is also more than sufficient evidence to show the Quranist position is anti-academic and anti-historical.
We could elaborate more on this, but we believe what is provided is sufficient to prove the following.
1) The Qur’an does not tell Muslims to reject all hadith,
2) The Qur’an does not tell Muslims to accept all the hadith.
3) The Qur’an makes it clear that hadith does not necessarily refer to divine revelation itself.
4) The Qur’an makes it clear that no hadith could be truer than the hadith of Allah (swt).
“Allah! There is no god but He: of a surety He will gather you together against the Day of Judgment, about which there is no doubt. And whose hadith can be truer than Allah’s?” (Qur’an 4:87)
This statement lets us know that even if hadith reach a state of mutawattir (mass transmitted), they still cannot clash with the clear teachings of the Qur’an.
Remember that this blog is called PRIMA QURAN
So what is Prima-Qur’an?
Prima is from the Latin word which simply means ‘first’ or ‘foremost’.
Prima Qur’an is about using the Qur’an, primarily for guidance in matters of theology, jurisprudence, and spirituality.
Prima-Qur’an rejects any source that clashes with the teachings of the Qur’an.. It is about Muslims going back to the Qur’anfirst. It is about Muslims looking to the Holy Qur’an first and foremost for guidance and healing.
The position of Prima-Qur’an is distinct from the religion of the Quraniyoon religion.
Quraniyoon is a religion that broke away from the religion of Islam. If the truth is told in reality they reject the Qur’an as well.
We have yet to encounter any person from the Quraniyoon that can give us a text anywhere from the Qur’an where it tells us to disregard all the hadith.
“It is He Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical; then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. But none knows its interpretation except Allah, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord, and none do mind except those having understanding.” (Qur’an 3:7)
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Now it may escape many of us who are not familiar with either the Arabic text or the various English translations of this; however, there are two very different ways to translate a very key element of this text.
Notice this very mystically and Shi’a influenced translation here:
“It is He Who has sent down the Book upon thee; therein are signs determined; they are the Mother of the Book, and others symbolic. As for those whose hearts are given to swerving, they follow that of it which is symbolic, seeking temptation and seeking its interpretation. And none know its interpretation save God and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord.” And none remember, save those who possess intellect.” –The Study Qur’an.
Another translation favoured by people who want human beings (that are not Prophets) to have a very heavy influence over the Qur’an is here:
“He is the One who sent down to you the Scripture, from which there are firm verses; they are the essence of the Scripture; and others which are similar to each other. As for those who have a disease in their hearts, they will follow what is similar from it seeking to confuse, and seeking to derive an interpretation. But none know its interpretation except God and those who are well-founded in knowledge, They Say: “We believe in it, all is from our Lord.” And none will remember except the people of understanding.” –The Monotheist group.
Now let us pause for a moment and ponder the theology behind this.
Why do you suppose a translation which is heavily influenced by Shi’a and mystical traditions would translate the Arabic text as “And none know its interpretation save God and those firmly rooted in knowledge.”?
Think about it. You would favour such a translation of the text if you had a concept of esoteric knowledge being passed to a secret inner circle and/or if you had a belief in infallible interpreters.
You would also want to favour such a translation if you use it as a key element of your polemic to claim the totality of the Qur’an is clear in all matters; and hence you would have a very strained translation that reads: “others which are similar to each other.”
So we can see how the bulk of translators from disparate backgrounds have translated the verse here:
Now Rashad Khalafa is the first person that we know of whom, using numerology, plucked a verse out of the Qur’an, and showing utter disdain for its context, began to employ a numerological pattern based upon the number 19 throughout the Qur’an.
In the process of doing so, he cast doubt about the Qur’an, taking two verses out himself. He declared himself a prophet. Declared the multitudes of Muslims as mushriks.
This is what the world looked like 30 years after the death of the last and final Messenger [saw].
30 years after the death of Rashad Khalafa, what do we have?
Dozens of competing Quraniyoon groups. Scattered chat groups in online forums pitching any number of sectarian Quranist ideology to new converts and/or isolated Muslims. Most of them coalesce around one personality. This personality becomes their hermeneutic guide. That is until they find fault with him and someone splits away to form another Quranist group.
So let us look at the verse in question. Let us see if what this numerologist claims pans out.
“Soon will I cast him into Hell–Fire.”
“And what will explain to you what Hell–Fire is?
“Naught does it permit to endure, and naught does it leave alone!”
“Darkening and changing the colour of man!”
“Over it are Nineteen.”
“And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed their number only as a trial for Unbelievers in order that the People of the Book may arrive at certainty, and the Believers may increase in Faith and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the Believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say, “What symbol does Allah intend by this?” Thus does Allah leave to stray whom He pleases, and guide whom He pleases: and none can know the forces of your Lord, except He. And this is no other than a warning to mankind.”
(Qur’an 74:27-31)
Now we show the difference between those of us who love the Qur’an and those who follow the Quraniyoon religion.
The first major difference is that those of us who love the Qur’an is that we have a deep love and respect for the Qur’an as a revelation from Allah [swt]. We are not dismissive of what Allah [swt] says. We do not try and superimpose meanings from our nafs -ego upon the Qur’an.
We do our level best not to ignore the context of the Qur’an.
Whereas those who follow the Quraniyoon religion, many of them follow a man named Rashad Khalifa, and it is his self-imposed numerological interpretation that is followed as though it is what Allah [swt] says.
Authubillah minash shaitain ir rajim.
“Over it are Nineteen.” This is the verse that many Quraniyoon have a strong aversion and disdain for.
It reminds us of what Allah [swt] says here:
“He said, “O my people have you considered: if I should be upon clear evidence from my Lord while He has given me mercy from Himself but it has been made unapparent to you, should we force it upon you while you are averse to it?” (Qur’an 11:28)
Those who follow the Quraniyoon religion will go on and on about how they claim they believe that the Qur’an is clear and that it is ‘highly detailed‘ yet when it comes to that verse above, they are averse to it.
“And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidence, those who do not expect the meeting with Us say, “Bring us a Qur’an other than this or change it.” Say, [O Muhammed], “It is not for me to change it on my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed I fear if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.” (Qur’an 10:15)
“Over it are Nineteen.” – Where in this text does it say that the ‘It’ is a reference to the Qur’an?
“Over it are Nineteen.”-Where does this text say that “It’ is a reference to surah Al Fatiha?
“Over it are Nineteen.”- Where in this text does it say that the ‘Nineteen’ is a reference to letters?
“Over it are Nineteen.”- Where in this text does it say that ‘Nineteen’ is a reference to the basmallah?
“Over it are Nineteen.”- Where does this text say that the ‘basmallah’ is a confirmed verse of Al fatiha?
But those people who follow the Quraniyoon religion who follow their own whims and desires love it when you say:
Qala Rashad — Says Rashad
Qala Edip — Says Edip
But when you say Qala Allah-Says Allah, they will be averse.
They do not like when Allah [swt] says to them:
“So when you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge in Allah from Satan the rejected.” (Qur’an 16:98)
Now, when we allow the context of the Qur’an to speak, what do we find?
“Soon will I cast him into Hell–Fire.”
“And what will explain to you what Hell–Fire is?
“Naught does it permit to endure, and naught does it leave alone!”
“Darkening and changing the colour of man!”
“Over it are Nineteen.”
“And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire……”
Prima Qur’an Comments:
The ‘It‘ does not depend on some human beings to come 1400 years later and give it clarity. This verse of the Qur’andidn’t wait until a human being came along and made it clear or gave it a ‘detailed explanation‘.
It becomes clear to all whose eyes are open and whose hearts are not averse to the manifest truth in front of them that the ‘It‘ is a reference to hellfire.
“Over it are Nineteen.”
So what does the nineteen reference?
The following verse tells us:
“And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed THEIR NUMBER only as a trial for Unbelievers in order that the People of the Book may arrive at certainty, and the Believers may increase in Faith and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the Believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say, “What symbol does Allah intend by this?” Thus does Allah leave to stray whom He pleases, and guide whom He pleases: and none can know the forces of your Lord, except He. And this is no other than a warning to mankind.” (Qur’an 74:31)
“Over it[hellfire] are Nineteen.”
Allah [swt] informs us:
“O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are angels, harsh, and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.” (Qur’an 66:6)
“Angels as Guardians of the Fire.”
“We have fixed their number only as a trial for Unbelievers.” – You could translate this as “We have made their waiting period as a trial for unbelievers.”
“None can know the forces of your Lord, except He.”
Prima Qur’anComments:
It is evidently clear that nineteen is a reference to angels.
However, those who averse to the book of Allah [swt] and prefer the revelations of men will tell us this simply refers to the static number 19.
The very big problems with this are as follows:
We know that they can’t pin this number 19 on ‘it‘ because they have no internal reference from the Qur’an as to what the ‘it’ is a reference for. For the Muslims, it is obvious for the Quraniyoon Allah [swt] left them in confusion.
They want to connect 19 to ‘their number‘, which produces the inescapable fact of Arabic grammar. Facts that they hide from their followers.
The Arabic text: iddatahum is:
N-accusative feminine noun Prounoun-3rd person masculine plural possessive prounoun.
That is a definitive reference to the angels, not numbers.
The next point of evidence is also something which puts a cherry on top of the sealed deal.
“and none can know the forces of your Lord, except He” – What do you think Allah [swt] is talking about here in the context of 74:31?
Forces–junuda– it is never talking about number 19. Junuda is always used in reference to soldiers, forces, host, army.
Again, not an impersonal number but to the angels.
Now let us entertain the machinations of the Quraniyoon—in reality Qur’an rejecters:
Let us say that this junuda-forces means number 19. This would be self-defeating as it would mean that Allah [swt] is not the only one who knows the number, because human beings know the number as well!
Next points:
Let us remember what Allah [swt] says:
and others are allegorical; then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation (Qur’an 3:7)
and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say, “What symbol does Allah intend by this?(Qur’an 74:31)
Notice something here? The people who are asking, ‘Well what is meant by 19?‘ We can stop right then and there and know that they are people with diseased hearts, hearts filled with perversity and are among the ranks of the ungrateful disbelievers.
We know this because Allah [swt] told us clearly that these people would be the ones who are pursuing it.
Now an objection from those who follow the Quraniyoon religion, who do not believe in what Allah [swt] says is as follows:
“How does telling people there are 19 angels guarding the hellfire increase them in faith or convince them about Islam?“
It’s as if they don’t even bother to look at what Allah [swt] said his objectives were.
Let’s recap:
Trial for unbelievers-Fitnatan That people of the book arrive at certainty–liyastayqina believers increase in faith–imanan no doubt left for the people of the book and the believers-yartaba
Those are the objectives:
So how are all these objectives met? Well, we can clearly see that this whole text is a fitna for those whose hearts are a disease and unbelievers.
As regards the other three categories:
“But if he is one of those who denied the truth and went astray.” –alddalleena(Qur’an 56:92)
“The path of those You have blessed; not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.”- (Qur’an 1:7)
“Then for him is the accommodation of scalding water and burning Hellfire Indeed, this is the true certainty.” (Qur’an 56:92)
All three objectives are met:
If the people of the book arrive in hell, there will be no doubting its certainty.
The believers will increase in faith.
There will be no doubt for either the believers or the people of the book.
The icing on the cake will be to see that hellfire is indeed guarded by 19 something that only Allah [swt] would know: “none can know the forces of your Lord, except He” will be evident to all.
“Surely those who receive our revelations with denial and arrogance, the gates of heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle. This is how We reward the wicked. Hell will be their bed; flames will be their cover. This is how We reward the wrongdoers. As for those who believe and do good—We never require any soul more than what it can afford—it is they who will be the residents of Paradise. They will be there forever. We will remove whatever bitterness they had in their hearts. Rivers will flow under their feet. And they will say, “Praise be to Allah for guiding us to this. We would have never been guided if Allah had not guided us. The messengers of our Lord had certainly come with the truth.” It will be announced to them, “This is Paradise awarded to you for what you used to do.” The residents of Paradise will call out to the residents of the Fire, “We have certainly found our Lord’s promise to be true. Have you too found your Lord’s promise to be true?” They will reply, “Yes, we have!” Then a caller will announce to both, “May Allah’s condemnation be upon the wrongdoers, those who hindered ˹others˺ from Allah’s Way, strived to make it ˹appear˺ crooked, and disbelieved in the Hereafter.” There will be a barrier between Paradise and Hell. And on the heights ˹of, that barrier˺ will be people who will recognize ˹the residents of˺ both by their appearance. They will call out to the residents of Paradise, “Peace be upon you!” They will have not yet entered Paradise, but eagerly hope to. When their eyes will turn towards the residents of Hell, they will pray, “Our Lord! Do not join us with the wrongdoing people.” Those on the heights will call out to some ˹tyrants in the Fire˺, who they will recognize by their appearance, saying, “Your large numbers and arrogance are of no use ˹today˺! Are these ˹humble believers˺ the ones you swore would never be shown Allah’s mercy?” ˹Finally, those on the heights will be told:˺ “Enter Paradise! There is no fear for you, nor will you grieve.” The residents of the Fire will then cry out to the residents of Paradise, “Aid us with some water or any provision Allah has granted you.” They will reply, “Allah has forbidden both to the disbelievers, those who took this faith ˹of Islam˺ as mere amusement and play and were deluded by ˹their˺ worldly life.” ˹Allah will say,˺ “Today We will ignore them just as they ignored the coming of this Day of theirs and for rejecting Our revelations.” We have certainly brought them a Book which We explained with knowledge—a guide and mercy for those who believe. Do they just wait for the final fulfillment of the event? On the day the event is finally fulfilled, those who disregarded it before will say: “The apostles of our Lord did indeed bring true (tidings). Have we no intercessors now to intercede on our behalf? Or could we be sent back? then should we behave differently from our behavior in the past.” In fact, they will have lost their souls, and the things they invented will leave them in the lurch.”
(Qur’an 7:40-54)
The absurdity of the interpretation by the Quraniyoon religion.
Imagine that for 1400 years this text had no meaning that was clear and cogent to the Blessed Messenger (saw) or his companions. Instead, rather than the guidance of Allah (swt), humanity had to wait for guidance from a man who used numerology to deduce his conclusions.
In what way was the mentioning of this number producing certainty for the ahl kitab for 1400 years? How does it produce certainty for the over 1 billion Christians who haven’t even heard of this?
Rather, for 1400 years, people from all walks of life have been coming to Islam without numerology. Al hamdulillah.
Obviously, none of the so-called numerology patterns of 19 were known at the time of the Blessed Messenger [saw]. In fact, when this verse was revealed, a great portion of the Qur’an was not even revealed.
Not only that, but you would think that Rashad Khalifa, with such a find, would be able to inspire his own children to carry on with his mission.
However, they are quite uninspired.
Neither Ahmed Rashad Khalifa or Samir Rashad Khalifa take up the mantle of their father.
“Those who reject Faith will not cease to be in doubt concerning revelation until the Hour comes suddenly upon them, or there comes to them the Penalty of a Day of Disaster.” (Qur’an 22:55)
For a further excellent refutation of the claims of the quraniyoon religion, we would recommend the following:
“Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans – those who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness – will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.” (Qur’an 2:62)
“Indeed, those who have believed and those who were Jews and the Sabeans and the Christians and the Magians and those who associated with Allah – Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allah is, over all things, Witness.” (Qur’an 22:17)
“Indeed, those who have believed and those who were Jews or Sabeans or Christians – those who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness – no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.” (Qur’an 5:69)
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So in this “highly detailed” book that “leaves nothing out” who and what are the Sabeans? If we asked the followers of the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion what they thought.
If Joseph Islam, Sam Gerrans, Hamza Abdul Malik, Shabir Ahmed, Edip Yuksel, Aisha Musa, Qur’an Centric were to all have a conference together, you ask them: “Who are the Sabeans?” Please give me as many Qur’an references and quotations as humanly possible.
What would you come up with?
Edip Yuksel and his co-translators decided to simply throw in the towel. They decided that the Qur’an itself doesn’t explain what the word means, so they relied upon Hadith literature!
This is what they give you instead.
“Surely those who acknowledge, and those who are Jewish, and the Nazarenes,and those who follow other religions, anyone of them who acknowledge God and the Last day, and do reform, they will have their reward with their Lord, with no fear over them, nor will they grieve.*” (Qur’an 2:62 A Reformist Translation)
So they just leave the Sabeans out altogether.
When it comes to 5:69 we are just given a footnote that says, “005:069 See 2:62 “
“Those who acknowledge, the Jews, the Converts, the Nazarenes, the Zoroastrians, and those who have set up partners; God will separate between them on the day of Resurrection. For God is witness over all things.” (Qur’an 22:17 A Reformist Translation)
So here you can see in (Qur’an 22:17) the Sabians get translated as ‘the Converts’ whereas in (Qur’an 2:62) they just get left out completely.
So Edip Yuksel, Layth Saleh al-Shaiban & Martha Schulte-Nafeh came up with the following:
Source: (Reformist Translation of the Qur’an pg. 65)
Apparently, Layth Saleh al-Shaiban, who is the translator, didn’t tell us a source that says: “SaBaA means to be an apostate.” The “detailed Qur’an” that “doesn’t leave anything out of the book” certainly does it tell us this. One of the three mentioned above wrote:
“As for the word Sabiene, it is a mistranslated as a proper name by the majority of commentators.” So which classical commentator understands the word in the way that they do? One of them wrote: “In fact, it derives from the Arabic word SaBaA, meaning to be an apostate, or ‘the follower of other religions’. Hadith books use this word as an accusation of Meccan mushriks directed against Muhammed when he started denouncing the religion of his people, they described his conversion to the system of Islam with the verb ‘SaBaA’.
“In fact, it derives from the Arabic word SaBaA, meaning to be an apostate, OR ‘the follower of other religions’. Where does the “highly detailed” Qur’an that “leaves nothing out of the book” mention this?
Why couldn’t they cross-reference the word with another word in the Qur’an?
Why are Edip and his co-authors/translators referencing the Hadith books? Why is the Qur’an not sufficient to tell us what the word means? Also,
Edip and his co-authors/translators must think that the book of Allah (swt) has some deficiency when using language. Notice that they say, that SaBaA could mean: apostate/follower of other religion/
“The true religion with Allah is Islam(l-is’lamu). Those who were given the Book were not at variance except after the knowledge came to them, being insolent one to another. And whoso disbelieves in God’s signs. God is swift at the reckoning.” (Qur’an 3:19)
If Allah (swt) was meaning that all of those people who believe in God, the Last Day and Work Righteousness, he could just have said: “l-is’lam.” If what is intended by Edip’s thinking is a submitter to God? Also, unfortunately, Edip’s understanding of the verse leaves Buddhism out in the freezing cold.
So does Sabian mean: Apostate/Convert/ Or the very vague: Follower of Other Religions? Obviously, putting the word Apostate in the verses will be very awkward.
This is how it would look for the curious:
“Those who acknowledge, the Jews, the Apostates, the Nazarenes, the Zoroastrians, and those who have set up partners; God will separate between them on the day of Resurrection. For God is witness over all things.” (Qur’an 22:17 A Reformist Translation)
“Surely those who acknowledge, and those who are Jewish, and the Nazarenes, and the Apostates, anyone of them who acknowledge God and the Last day, and do reform, they will have their reward with their Lord, with no fear over them, nor will they grieve.” (Qur’an 2:62 A Reformist Translation)
Simply bizarre. Absolutely no explanation is given for why Allah (swt) would mention converts (presumably to Islam) in these verses when they would already be believers.
So let us plug in “follower of other religions.” This is how it would look for the curious:
“Those who acknowledge, the Jews, the followers of other religions, the Nazarenes, the Zoroastrians, and those who have set up partners; God will separate between them on the day of Resurrection. For God is witness over all things.” (Qur’an 22:17 A Reformist Translation)
“Surely those who acknowledge, and those who are Jewish, Nazarenes, and those who follow other religions, anyone of them who acknowledge God and the Last day, and do reform, they will have their reward with their Lord, with no fear over them, nor will they grieve.” (Qur’an 2:62 A Reformist Translation)
The problem with the Reformist Translation, beyond trying to make the Qur’an say what one wants it to say, is that it looks less and less like it came from a Creator and more and more like a confused, jumbled mess.
Little wonder the only praise the book got was from fellow Qur’an Only Religious believers, those who want to liberalize Islam and oh yes, ‘One anonymous Sunni scholar” (of course…wink, wink).
Here is how a Creator who is trying to convey to us that he sent one system for humanity, and that there is no delineation between any of the systems would convey his message:
“Surely those who acknowledge God and the Last Day, and do reform, they will have their reward with their Lord, with no fear over them, nor will they grieve.” There you go. Very simple.
Sam Gerrans takes a stab at it. In his “Qur’an a Complete Revelation” we have nothing novel there.
“Who are the Sabeans according to this detailed book?”—Sam Gerrans
“I don’t know, but I have a pretty good guess,”—Edip Yuksel.
“Ah sweet bro, let me copy that down!”—Sam Gerrans.
“Those who heed the warning and those who hold to Judaism and the Nazarenes And the Sabaeans Whoso believe in God and the Last day and works righteousness: They have their reward with their lord and they need not fear Nor will they regret.” (Qur’an 2:62 A Complete Revelation Sam Gerrans)
His foot note says:
“’Arabic s-b-‘. This root is also associated in the early Islamic literature with followers of other faiths, or with apostates. I am indebted to Edip Yuksel et al. for this point.”
“Those who heed warning And those who hold to Judaism and the Sabaeans and the Nazarenes Whoso believes in God and the Last Day and works righteousness: They need not fear Nor will they regret.” (Qur’an 5:69 A Complete Revelation Sam Gerrans)
“Those who heed warning and those who hold to Judaism And the Sabaeans And the Nazarenes and the Majus And those who ascribe a partnership God will decide between them on the Day of Resurrection. God is a witness over all things.” (Qur’an 22:17 A Complete Revelation Sam Gerrans)
And he has a footnote that reads in regard to Majus
“Muhammed Asad comments here:
“Al-majus: the followers of Zoroaster or Zarathustra (Zardusht), the Iranian prophet who lived about the middle of the last millennium B.C, and whose teachings are laid down in the Zend-Avesta. They are represented today by Gabrs of Iran and, more prominently, by the Parsis of India and Pakistan. Their religion, though dualistic in philosophy is based in belief in God as the Creator of the universe.”
So as regards Sabeans, Gerrans has decided to leave the word transliterated into English and has copied and pasted Edip et al. and what they have said.
Those who follow the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion have absolutely no recourse to this word, Sabean, other than to reference early Islamic literature. The word appears three times in the “highly detailed revelation” that apparently leaves nothing out, is clear, and explains itself. For this, among many, many other reasons, we do not find the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion to be cogent.
“Then is it other than Allah I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book explained in detail (mufassalan)?” And those to whom We [previously] gave the Scripture know that it is sent down from your Lord in truth, so never be among the doubters.” (Qur’an 6:114)
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“Then is it other than Allah I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book explained in detail (mufassalan)?” And those to whom We [previously] gave the Scripture know that it is sent down from your Lord in truth, so never be among the doubters.” (Qur’an 6:114)
It was actually these verses that made me realize that we need to stop approving comments from those of the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion.
Why? Because every comment from an adherent of that faith would try to explain to us what certain verses mean. They would try to expoundupon certain verses. Knowing that they are already outside of Islam, we did not want to assist them in their sins.
The only comments we would approve from them are simply quotes from the Qur’an In Arabic. Nothing else is needed. If we meet one in person, they can simply recite the Qur’an (if they are able). There is no need to expound, explain, propose, elucidate, expand on, elaborate on, spell out, describe etc.
Because to do that would mean that they (the sects of the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion) are asserting that the Qur’an is not fully detailed. That it needs an outside expositor.
This verse of the Qur’an we take very seriously
“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.” (Qur’an 5:2)
So this is why we do not approve comments from adherents of that anymore. Unless, of course, it is simply the Arabic text of the Qur’an. We do not want to assist them in sin, since by expounding, explaining, proposing, elucidating, expanding on, elaborating on, spelling out, describing they are ascribing to Allah (swt) a lie!
We are simply helping them to be consistent in their world view. So next time, dear brothers and sisters, if any of them start to take on the role of the Creator (according to their own view) and start to expound, explain, propose, elucidate, expand on, elaborate on, spell out, describe, tell them to cease and desist and give you the Qur’an only!
These disbelievers claim that Muhammed (saw) is simply a mail carrier, whereas they delegate to themselves a higher role. They do not simply deliver the mail, but rather they expound, explain, propose, elucidate, expand on, elaborate on, spell out, describe the mail.
In fact, most we met commit blatant shirk because they have relied upon the following: Shabir Ahmed, The Monotheist Group, Rashad Khilafa attempting to translate the meaning of the Arabic into other languages!
In fact, Allah (swt) asserts with power the following:
Allah (swt) says: “We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an so you people may understand.” (Qur’an 12:2)
If the All Wise Creator wanted you to use another language to convey the message of Islam, he would have done so. Just as he has done in the past with Aramaic and Hebrew! Where did Allah (swt) give a license to these people to put the guardianship of their soul into the hands of these men?
“So We have revealed an Arabic Quran to you, in order that you may warn the capital city and all who live nearby.” (Qur’an 42:7)
“If We had made it a foreign Quran, they would have said, ‘If only its verses were clear! What? Foreign speech to an Arab?’ Say, ‘It is guidance and healing for those who have faith, but the ears of the disbelievers are heavy, they are blind to it, it is as if they are being called from a distant place.” (Qur’an 41:44)
But the blind followers of the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion have committed shirk by entrusting their guidance to translations done by men rather than to entrust their guidance to Allah (swt). This, of course, is using their own vapid and shallow misunderstanding of the Qur’an.
This is to judge them based upon the criteria that they have set for themselves, which as we have seen, has lead to:
Hypocrisy by their attempting to explain and elucidate what Allah (swt) says is clear.
Shirk in entrusting their understanding of Allah’s message to men who translate it.
Now that we have seen how the so-called ” Hafs Qur’an Only Religion” misunderstands the verses, we will now give you the correct understanding of the verses.
“In their stories there is truly a lesson for people of reason. This message cannot be a fabrication, rather ˹it is˺ a confirmation of previous revelation, a detailed explanation of all things(wataafsila kulli shayin), a guide, and a mercy for people of faith.” (Qur’an 12:111)
So Allah (swt) has equipped the human being with mantiq (logic), deductive reasoning and abstract thinking, among other cognitive tools. When we look at the Qur’an we do not find the answers to quantum mechanics, how to change a flat tire, or even how to get to Jonathan’s house. Humanity relies upon Google Maps, Mechanics, and Quantum Physicists.
When we realize that there is a great deal of information that is not contained in the Qur’an, it becomes apparent that: ‘explanation of all things’ is hyperbolic.
This also becomes readily apparent to all when we look at the following verses as well:
“Then We gave Moses the Scripture, making complete [Our favor] upon the one who did good and as a detailed explanation of all things (watafsilan likulli shayin) and as guidance and mercy that perhaps in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord they would believe.” (Qur’an 6:154)
So, as can be seen from the above verse (Qur’an 6:154) it is similar to (Qur’an 12:111). If what was revealed to Musa (as) is to be taken as a “detailed explanation of all things”, we run into a major, major contradiction and error in understanding.
That is because the Qur’an came after the Torah and there are things revealed in the Qur’an that are not given to Musa (as). Like, for example, the fact that the Qur’an is in Arabic. That the Qur’an speaks of the Torah being corrupted — which would be self-defeating if the Torah contained information that stated that it had been corrupted while also claiming that it is a “detailed explanation of all things.”
This is what happens when you have such a vacuous and shallow understanding of the faith.
“Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption done in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, even after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.” (Qur’an 5:32)
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The problem with the hafs Qur’an only religion is that it has the ability to be fa,r far more violent than anything you would find in the religion of Islam. In Islam, as we follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah, we have very clear restrictions put upon us when it regards war and combat.
Thus, is it any wonder that, the first time any manifestation of this federation of sects had the opportunity to taste a little bit of power, a little bit of control, it manifested on the scene as something ultra violent.
It has been related that the Blessed Messenger (saw) said:
“You will find people who claim to have totally given themselves to God. Leave them to what they claim to have given themselves… Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place. Do not slaughter sheep or camels except for food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter them. Do not steal from the spoils, and do not be cowardly.” Source: (Mālik ibn Anas, and Abū Muṣ’ab Al-Zuhri. Muwaṭṭa’ Al-Imām Mālik. (Bayrūt: Mu’assasat al-Risālah, 1993) 1:357 #918.)
According to the hafs Qur’an only religion, based upon their faulty understanding of Islam’s sacred text, they believe that there is nothing included in a book that is fully detailed and leaves nothing out that explicitly states: “Do not kill women or children.” This is frightening.
We see this on full display with Kalo Kato
In fact, due to the interpretative principles applied by any number of the federation of sects included in the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion they can manipulate such as the following:
“Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption done in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, even after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.” (Qur’an 5:32)
The apparent and clear reading of this verse is that the killing of a soul, unless for a soul or corruption in the land, is that this is only a decree for the children of Israel, not necessarily for anyone else. The phrase “corruption done in the land” is also not clearly defined or detailed. These types of general and vague expressions allow for sects of the Qur’an Only Religion, like Kalo Kato, to reign down death and terror upon any who get in their way.
“Among those reported killed were two soldiers and two security operatives who were among those deployed to quell the uprising as well as four children said to have been burnt when their house was torched by the rampaging Kalo-Kato sect members.” – Source: https://www.realcourage.org/2009/12/nigeria-bauchi-violence-kala-kato/
“A resident of the area said they sensed trouble when the preacher of the sect during today’s morning prayers started denouncing other Islamic sects as infidels and condemning the action against the Boko Haram sect members when according to him, ‘they were preaching the truth.’ ” — “An eyewitness, Kamal, said the sect members descended on a listener who challenged the preachers before they went wild attacking anyone in sight and burning houses.” Source: https://www.realcourage.org/2009/12/nigeria-bauchi-violence-kala-kato/
You can read more about this violent Hafs Qur’an Only Religion sect here:
What is both revealing and frightening is that the only country on Earth where a sizable portion of the population has followed the Qur’an only ideology that once they gained a foothold in an area, takfiri ideology, and violent fanaticism manifested!
We really hope that is not a portend of things to come. It is hoped that all followers of the Hafs Qur’an Only Religion would condemn the acts of this Qur’an Only Sect and it is hoped that they would interpret the text in a very different way than what Kala Kato has done.
“We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses and the great Quran.” (Qur’an 15:87)
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“We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses AND the great Quran.” (Qur’an 15:87)
So it is true that a position held among some who follow the Umbrella Religion of Qur’an Only that they do indeed believe that Surah Al Fatiha is not a Surah at all. They do not believe that it is part of the Qur’an.
The answer is yes. Among the federation of sects that follow the Qur’an Only Religion, there are indeed those who believe that. So they would accuse the other sects of their religion of heresy and not believing what Allah (swt) says as per:
“It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will preserve it.” (Qur’an 15:9)
However, other sects of the religion would in turn quote the exact verse to throw back at the accusers of heresy, in turn accusing them of heresy.
This has been a long-standing issue among this religion is their lack of a coherent vision in regard to what actually constitutes the Qur’an.
Where we discussed the sects of their religion, he took out two verses of the Qur’an simply because it did correspond to his supposition of how an interlocking mathematical pattern should be.
Fortunately, as yet, it has not turned into open violence between these sects. However, some sects of the Qur’an Only Religion have certainly not been shy from extreme violence before in the past, even bringing themselves to burn children alive! Nasty!
Now a very quick and easy rebuttal to this business that the ‘seven oft repeated‘ as a definite reference to Al Fatiha comes in the form of Surah Al-Maun here: https://quran.com/ms/al-maun.
In fact, those of that religion(Qur’an Only Religion) have no internal evidence in the Qur’an to reference anything as ‘Al Fatiha’. The fact that the (Qur’an Only Religion) even accepts that the Qur’an we have today is in the order it should be is a huge admission that they have submitted to the authority and traditions of human beings.
Ask them to show you the internal evidence from the Qur’an that it should be in the order that it is in:Example chapter 2: Al Baqarah (with these amounts of verses and words), chapter 3 (with these amounts of verses and words) etc. and watch them flounder and gasp for air like a fish out of water.
So now there will come an even dicier debate between them: how do you determine what is or isn’t the Qur’an!
For a religion that has some very simple understanding of the Qur’an, such as: That the Qur’an is mubeen (clear), which is meant as a barb towards the Islamic religion, these folks sure leave so much unclear.
For example: using their naïve understanding, the Qur’an could say:
“We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses(insert al fatiha here)AND the great Quran.” (Qur’an 15:87)
Or: “We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses: (insert Al-Ma’un here) AND the great Qur’an (Qur’an 15:87)
However, of course, this is not what has happened. Our issue is not leaving Islam to follow the Qur’an only religion to than find out which of its competing sects is correct.. Our issue is leaving Islam to follow another religion that has some of the most shallow understanding of the Qur’an one could ever come across. Not to mention trying to get any of them to recite very simple verses correctly.
Qur’an Only Religion: “You Muslims act as if the Qur’an has a special way in which it should be recited.”
Me: “Or a little more—and recite the Quran in a measured way.” (Qur’an 73:4)
So how do you recite it in a measured way? Certainly the Prophet (saw) did so?
Yet these people prefer lowly desires and their ego. They recite it based upon them.
We have never heard any of them even come close to this powerful and angelic eloquence! Absolutely moving!
If we had to do a public debate with one of them. We would give our opponent 2-3 hours and take :16 seconds. That 16 seconds would be this amazing soul! Some of you have heard about non-Muslims being moved to tears, to the point of taking shahada upon hearing such recitations. Hearts that are enlivened with the Qur’an can enliven other hearts.
Where as the dead hearts, you hear about as much enthusiasm for Allah’s revelation when they recite it (that is when they bother to even attempt it) as you would get from the average child being offered beetroots for dessert.
I have heard some people from the Qur’an only religion try and recite the Qur’an (that is those who can even be bothered to do so) and it was horrendous. To be fair, this goes to anyone who does not really invest in the Qur’an. They just invest in ‘head knowledge.’ Recently a Muslim reformist was debating Daniel Haqiqatjou. When Daniel asked the man to recite Al Fatiha, well, let us just say there was much to be desired. Imagine a whole religion that broke away from Islam, and not one among them that can fulfill what Allah (swt) says…recite the Quran in a measured way.
This is what we realized, and we hope that you too (the sincere truth seeker) will realize. That this religion that calls itself “Qur’an Only” is filled with head knowledge. We never saw any real love of the Qur’an among them.
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern of conduct for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often” (Qur’an 33:21)
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One of the reasons that we know that the Sunnah of the Blessed Prophet (saw) is a source of revelation and guidance for us is that every aspect of his blessed life down to the minute minutia would be regulated and corrected by Allah (swt).
In other words, if there is something that the Blessed Prophet (saw) said, or did that was not approved by Allah (swt), there would be a revelation that would bring correction and guidance.
“And He found you lost and guided [you].” (Qur’an 93:7)
It is very clear that the Sunnah of the Blessed Messenger is an authoritative source of law for us as Muslims.
“He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah, but those who turn away-We have not sent you over them as a guardian.” (Qur’an 4:80)
So it is clear we are not seeking to dispute the Sunnah (words, deeds, actions, treaties) of the Blessed Messenger (saw) as a source of law.
We are simply saying that it is not equal to the authoritative weight of the Qur’an.
Let us start off with something very powerful from Allah (swt).
“This [Qur’an] is sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. If [the Prophet] had said anything against Us, We would certainly have seized his right hand and cut off his artery, and none of you could have defended him.” (Qur’an 69:43-47)
ALLAH!!!
Now can you imagine the Blessed Prophet (saw) being known as Rasūlullāh, Ḥabībullāh, Nabiyyullāh and Shafīʿullāh? That even this blessed being esteemed as He (saw) is that the Lord of the Worlds, the Lord of Might, did not leave out from his revelation that he would cut off his aorta valve!
This is if he said anything against Allah (swt). So we know from this verse that it is impossible for the Prophet (saw) to have said anything contrary to what Allah (swt) said! Nor would the Prophet (saw) act, or speak in a way that displeases Allah (swt). In fact, this article will show you that the life of the Blessed Messenger (saw) was regulated down to the most minute details. It also shows us that this is conclusive proof that the life of the Blessed Messenger(saw) is a source of divine guidance for Muslims.
“And follow that which is revealed to you from your Lord. Indeed, Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.” (Qur’an 33:2)
There are four misunderstandings that are common among Muslims.
That everything that the Prophet (saw) said, or did is revelation.
That everything that the Prophet (saw) said, or did is not revelation.
That the Sunnah is equal in weight to the Qur’an as being authoritative.
The idea that the Sunnah can abrogate or override the Qur’an.
In fact, the above text (Qur’an 69:43-47) is sufficient to prove points 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 above.
This method is internally cogent and consistent and other methods in jurisprudence are hard-pressed to find any flaws in this methodological approach.
The next verse
“Nor does he speak out of desire.” (Qur’an 53:3)
I would honestly say this has to be the most abused text of the entire revelation.
It is this very verse that is unjustifiably used (and abused, might we add) to claim that every action, deed, saying, of the Blessed Messenger (saw) had divine sanction behind it.
We feel that the context of this verse is completely ignored by many fellow traditionalists.
“I swear by the star when it goes down. Your Companion is neither astray nor being misled Nor does he speak out of (l-hawa) desire. It is an inspiration (wahyun) that is inspired (yuha).” (Qur’an 53:1-4)
The ‘It’ is in the revelation is not definitive.
The ‘It’ can refer to the ‘words, deeds, actions, and treaties‘ of the Blessed Messenger (saw).
The ‘It’ can be a reference to the Qur’an itself.
The difference between divine inspiration (the Sunnah) and divine revelation sent down (Qur’an, Torah, Injil)
“And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, “It has been inspired(uhiya) to me,” while nothing has been (yuha) inspired to him, and one who says, “I will reveal (sa-unzilu) like what Allah (anzala) revealed.” And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], “Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.”(Qur’an 6:93)
Three categories: The one who invents a lie about Allah. The one who says it has been (yuha) inspired to me. The one who says I will (anzala) reveal like what Allah revealed.
“With truth have We sent it (anzalna) down, and with truth hath it (nazala)descended. And We have sent thee as naught else save a bearer of good tidings and a warner.” (Qur’an 17:105)
“And your Lord (ahwa) inspired the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men’s) habitations.” (Qur’an 16:68)
And the verse “He does not speak of his desire” is so badly abused and the claim is that every single thing that came out of the Blessed Prophets mouth was an inspired revelation.
Well, didn’t the Blessed Prophet (saw) have private conversations with his wives?
So if he said something like “Oh Aisha! I am thirsty, so could you give me some water?” Is this revelation?
Or if he said, “I need to go take care of something, and I’ll be back in 5 minutes.”
Is this revelation? Think about it! He was a human being as well as a Messenger of Allah. Surely he had daily conversations with people.
The real truth is everything the Prophet (saw) said or did is inspired revelation unless it was corrected and guided by Allah (swt).
Without a doubt, this misconception begins with the misunderstanding of the previous verses: (Qur’an 53:1-4)
The idea that the Sunnah can abrogate or override the Qur’an
You will never find any instance or example internally in the Qur’an (common agreed-upon point of reference) where the Blessed Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), overturned a decision of Allah (swt). There is not a single reference at all for this.
However, we do have the following internal evidence within the Qur’an (common agreed-upon point of reference) where Allah (swt) corrected the Blessed Messenger (saw), overturned a decision by the Blessed Messenger (saw).
“The Prophet is a friend (awla) to the believers more than they are to their own selves, and his wives are their mothers. Blood relations have more rights to one another, according to the Book of Allah, than do the believers and Muhajirun. Nevertheless, you may act kindly toward your (awla) friends. All this is inscribed in the Book.” (Qur’an 33:6)
The Blessed Prophet (saw) is the mawla (ally, protector) of the believers. Even in this capacity, Allah (swt) has given guidance or correction on where the Blessed Messenger (saw) went, of course.
“O Prophet! Why are you holding something to be forbidden which Allah has made lawful to you? You seek to please your consorts. But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 66:1)
Anyone familiar with what is considered the historical context of this verse knows the Blessed Messenger (saw) swore off honey for a period of time to please some of his jealous and envious wives. Yet, Allah (swt) has reminded the Blessed Messenger (saw), telling him to not make forbidden that which Allah (swt) has made permissible!
We will never find a single example internally within the Qur’an in which the Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), advised Allah (swt), or overturned a decision given by Allah (swt). Not once!
Yet another example:
“Allah has indeed heard (and accepted) the statement of the woman who argues with you concerning her husband and carries her complaint (in prayer) to Allah and Allah (always) hears the arguments between both sides among you: for Allah hears and sees (all things). If any men among you divorce their wives by Zihar (calling them mothers), they cannot be their mothers: None can be their mothers except those who gave them birth. And in fact, they use words (both) iniquitous and false: but truly Allah is one that blots out (sins), and forgives (again and again). But those who divorce their wives by Zihar, then wish to go back on the words they uttered,- (It is ordained that such a one) should free a slave before they touch each other: You are admonished to perform: and Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that you do. And if any has not (the wherewithal), he should fast for two months consecutively before they touch each other. But if any is unable to do so, he should feed sixty indigent ones, this, that you may show your faith in Allah and His Messenger. Those are limits (set by) Allah. For those who reject (Him), there is a grievous Penalty.” (Qur’an 58: 1-4)
As many of you may know regarding what is considered the historical context of these verses, Khawlah bint Tha‘labah (ra) went to the Blessed Messenger (saw) to complain about her husband. Many times it is reported that the Blessed Messenger (saw) gave his verdict on the matter.
Now, this should give us pause.
Here we have the case of this woman who, even after hearing the decision of the Blessed Messenger (saw), continued to argue with him! In other words, the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) wasn’t good enough for her! That’s right. She didn’t simply say, “Yes, Oh Messenger of Allah, thank you!” No! This woman went to the highest authority of justice and wisdom that there is. She took her pain directly to Allah (swt)!
So Allah (swt) took the side of the woman over the side of the Blessed Messenger (saw)!
That is why there is a distinction between:
When the Messenger decides a matter and when Allah and his Messenger decide a matter.
“It is not for a believer, man, or woman when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in plain error.” (Qur’an 33:36)
This is why we have:
“The only statement of the [true] believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say, “We hear and we obey.” And those are the successful.” (Qur’an 24:51)
Now in light of the above verses, if Khawlah bint Tha‘labah (ra) had not received a response in which Allah (swt) responded to her, she would have been sinful for disobeying the Messenger of Allah.
So this lets us know that when the Blessed Messenger (saw) decrees something, it is absolutely authoritative unless Allah (swt) has stated otherwise.
We will never find a single example internally within the Qur’an in which the Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), advised Allah (swt), or overturned a decision given by Allah (swt). Not once!
In fact, this historical narrative shows that the Blessed Messenger (saw) was/is indeed a Messenger of Allah (swt) and not a messenger of his own design and making.
“When you said to the one whom Allah has blessed and you have favored, “Keep your wife and be mindful of Allah” while concealing within yourself that which Allah was about to disclose. In doing so You feared people, whereas it is Allah whom you should fear. So, when Zayd divorced her, We married her to you. We do not want believers to have restrictions concerning their adopted sons’ wives after they divorce them, for Allah’s God’s command must be carried out.” (Qur’an 33:37)
Now while one may ultimately conclude from this that Allah gave to the Blessed Messenger (saw) that which was intended to give him, without this verse he would have no indication of this. The sunnah of the Prophet (saw) was to advise Zayd to stay with his wife. Allah (swt) has overridden the decision.
The Prophet (saw) was guided by Allah (swt) when he used his own ijtihad (his own understanding) in devising a strategy in giving dawah.
“He frowned and turned ˹his attention˺ away, simply˺ because the blind man came to him ˹interrupting. You never know ˹O Prophet˺, perhaps he may be purified, or he may be mindful, benefitting from the reminder. As for the one who was indifferent, you gave him your ˹undivided˺ attention, even though you are not to blame if he would not be purified. But as for the one who came to you, eager ˹to learn˺, being in awe ˹of Allah, you were inattentive to him. But no! This ˹revelation˺ is truly a reminder. (Qur’an 80:1-11)
Another example:
And say not of anything: Lo! I shall do that tomorrow without adding, “if Allah so wills!” But if you forget, then remember your Lord, and say, “I trust my Lord will guide me to what is more right than this.” (Qur’an 18:23-24)
This is an important reminder to the Blessed Prophet (saw) and to the believers.
We do not know if we will even be around the next day or if we will even have the ability to say things. If we ever find ourselves by mistake making a promise, we should remember Allah (swt) immediately with ‘Insh’Allah’
“Verily, you (O Muhammed) guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He knows best those who are guided.” (Quran 28:56)
So the Blessed Prophet (saw) can make all the du’a and supplications for any person he wishes. Yet, if that person goes against what Allah (swt) has decreed and has gone against the Sunnah of the Blessed Messenger (saw) and has not reformed themselves, they would not be among the guided. Even if they are a beloved companion or a beloved family member.
“˹It does not matter˺ whether you ˹O Prophet˺ pray for them to be forgiven or not. Even if you pray for their forgiveness seventy times, Allah will never forgive them. That is because they have lost faith in Allah and His Messenger. And Allah does not guide the rebellious people.” (Qur’an 9:80)
“May Allah pardon you, [O Muhammed]; why did you give them permission [to remain behind]? [You should not have] until it was evident to you who were truthful and you knew [who were] the liars.” (Qur’an 9:43)
To usdear respected readers, those who have followed Prima-Qur’an: Ibadi perspectives on Islam for some time, this has to be a very big oversight on behalf of some of our respected scholars.
The inability of not being able to distinguish the following:
1) Muhammed (saw) the human being
&
2) Muhammed (saw) the Messenger of Allah (saw).
Take, for example, the following text:
Rafi’ b. Khadij reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) came to Medina and the people had been grafting the trees. He said:
What are you doing? They said: We are grafting them, whereupon he said: It may be good for you if you do not do that, so they abandoned this practice (and the date palms began to yield less fruit). They made a mention of it (to the Holy Prophet), whereupon he said: I am a human being, so when I command you about a thing pertaining to religion, do accept it, and when I command you about a thing from my personal opinion, keep it in mind that I am a human being. ‘Ikrima reported that he said something like this.
I and Allah’s Messenger (saw) happened to pass by people near the date palm trees. He (the Holy Prophet) said: What are these people doing? They said: They are grafting, i. e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (saw) said: I do not find it to be of any use. The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah’s Messenger (saw) (was later) informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he said: If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion; but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.
Anas reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) happened to pass by the people who had been busy in grafting the trees. Thereupon he said:
If you were not to do it, it might be good for you. (So they abandoned this practice) and there was a decline in the yield. He (the Holy Prophet) happened to pass by them (and said): What has gone wrong with your trees? They said: You said so and so. Thereupon he said: You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) of the affairs of the world.
Unfortunately, many do not seem to make this distinction.
Recall the above verse:
“This [Qur’an] is sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. If [the Prophet] had said anything against Us, We would certainly have seized his right hand and cut off his artery, and none of you could have defended him.” (Qur’an 69:43-47)
Nor does he speak out of (l-hawa) desire. It is an inspiration (wahyun) that is inspired (yuha)(Qur’an 53:3-4)
“O you who believe, you shall obey Allah, AND obey the messenger. Otherwise, all your works will be in vain.” (Qur’an 47:33)
So we know that obey Allah AND obey the Messenger is a reference to the Qur’an and to the inspiration that Allah (swt) has given to his Messenger (saw).
In regard to the Qur’an, the Prophet (saw) is an expositor or muffasir. That means to explain via his Sunnah those instructions which are not spelled out in the Qur’an. Or to explain that which is not clear, if the message in and of itself is clear, then one would only need to deliver the message if the message contains data that needs to be spelled out or an expositor would need to explain it clearly.
“And obey Allah and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, then Our Messenger is responsible only for conveying the message (l-balaghu) clearly(l-mubina). (Quran 64:12)
“But if you they turn away [Prophet], remember that your only conveying this message clearly.” (Qur’an 16:82)
We know that the Messenger (saw) spoke like a human being having normal human conversations in his day-to-day interactions with his wives and his companions. We also know that he spoke as an authority just as Allah (swt) informed us. He also spoke under divine inspiration and gave divinely inspired instructions that are not recorded in the Qur’an.
Just as in the time of the Blessed Messenger (saw) he has authority over us and would command us:
“˹Remember, O Prophet,˺ when you left your home in the early morning to position the believers in the battlefield. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (Qur’an 3:121)
Or, for example, the appointment of the Qibla which is not mentioned at all in the Qur’an.
When the Muslims arrived in Madina, the Blessed Messenger (saw) commanded them to pray facing Jerusalem. This continued until Allah (swt) revealed:
“So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-haram.” (Qur’an 2:144)
Some of the non-Muslims criticized this order, and demanded to know why the Qiblah was originally Jerusalem, but had now been changed. So Allah revealed:
We did not appoint the Qiblah that you were on, except to distinguish the ones who follow the messenger from the ones who would turn back on their heels.” (Qur’an 2:143)
In other words, this was a trial from Allah. However, although Allah attributes the appointment of the previous Qiblah to Himself, this appointment is not found anywhere in the Qur’ān. It was the Blessed Messenger (saw) who told the believers to face Jerusalem, based upon revelation from Allah. This revelation was not part of the Qur’ān, but it was a revelation via the Sunnah which Allah (swt) revealed to the Prophet (saw).
Behold! Allah promised you one of the two parties, that it should be yours: You wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but Allah willed to justify the Truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the Unbelievers.” (Qur’an 8:7)
Does anyone recall when Allah (swt) made this promise to the Blessed Messenger (saw)? Where is that statement at anywhere in the Qur’an?
Allah promised that the Muslims would either gain the caravan of Abū Sufyān, or defeat the army of Abū Jahl. However, this promise made by Allah is not found anywhere in the Qur’ān.
It was conveyed to the believers by the Blessed Prophet. However, the verse states ‘Allah promised you’ and not ‘the Prophet promised you’. Hence, the Blessed Prophet (saw) received the promise from Allah through unrecorded revelation that is not included in the Qur’an!
“With clear proofs and divine Books. And We have sent down to you the Reminder, so that you may explain to people what has been revealed for them, and perhaps they will reflect.” (Qur’an 16:44)
Where is this explanation at? If the Qur’an was a self-evident revelation, there would be no need for an expositor.
Those who reject the instruction to follow the Blessed Prophet (saw) are dumbfounded about how to carry out the following order:
“and bow down with those who bow down.” (Qur’an 2:43)
and
“and bow along with those who bow down.” (Qur’an 3:43)
They can only offer glibly it means to bow down with others. However, the Qur’an itself does not indicate how this is done or in what manner.
We then become like those whom Allah (swt) warned about in the Qur’an.
“Although they have no knowledge of this. They follow nothing but assumptions. And surely assumptions can in no way replace the truth.” (Qur’an 53:28)
“It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom – although they were before in clear error.” (Qur’an 62:2)
The above verse becomes even more powerful when you reflect on the fact that the masses of people were illiterate at that time, and they were dependent upon oral recitation.
All the Qur’an is revelation but not all of Allah’s revelation is in the Qur’an.
Further proof that the Blessed Messenger (saw) received revelation other than the Qur’ān is that the compilation of the Qur’ān is not in its chronological order. Verses revealed in Makkah are found in Madanī chapters and vice versa. Likewise, chapters revealed in Madina come before the chapters revealed in Makkah. The arrangement of verses within surahs, and the arrangement of the surahs within the Qur’ān could only have been done by the Blessed Messenger (saw) based upon revelation from Allah. As Allah commands the Blessed Messenger (saw) to say:
“When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us say ˹to the Prophet˺, “Bring us a different Quran or make some changes in it.” Say ˹to them˺, “It is not for me to change it on my own. I only follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I were to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.” (Qur’an 10:15)
So, following the Qur’an in the order that it is today, verse after verse everyone who calls themselves a Muslim is following the Sunnah, and not the Qur’an. The Qur’an does not give us the order and arrangement of its verses and surahs.
PRIMA QUR’AN OR PRIMA MUHAMMED?
It had occurred to us that in reality this website could very well be called: “Prima-Muhammed.” In what sense? In the sense that in reality the early community of Muslims had very little Qur’an and a great deal of the Blessed Messenger (saw).
Think about it. Who witnessed the Blessed Prophet (saw) receive the revelation in the Cave?
If Muhammed (saw) was not established as Al Amin (The Trustworthy), would the Qur’an even be accepted? From the seerah (life & history) of the Blessed Messenger (saw), we read how people became Muslim, more so because of the noble and honorable character of the Blessed Messenger (saw) and less so because they actually sat down and pondered over particular verses and chapters of the Qur’an. When these occasions do happen—as in the case of the conversion of Umar (ra)—they stand out and are noteworthy.
And We made them leaders guiding by Our command. (wa-awḥaynā) And We inspired to them the doing of good deeds, establishment of prayer, and giving of zakah; and they were worshippers of Us.” (Qur’an 21:73)
The Blessed and Noble Prophet (saw) his doing of good, his establishing of the Prayer and his method of giving Zakah are all revelation. Those who reject the clear verses of Allah (swt) are none but the disbelievers. The methodology to establish the prayer and the amount and methodology of giving the zakah are revelations not recorded in the Qur’an.
“Say, “If I should err, I would only err against myself. But if I am guided, it is by what my Lord reveals to me. Indeed, He is Hearing and near.” (Qur’an 34:50)
“O you who believe, you shall obey Allah, AND obey the messenger. Otherwise, all your works will be in vain.” (Qur’an 47:33)
“Say, “I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner.” (Qur’an 46:9)
“When the prayers are over, remember Allah—whether you are standing, sitting, or lying down. But when you are safe, establish regular prayers. Indeed, performing prayers is a duty on the believers at the appointed times.” (Qur’an 4:103)
If Allah revealed to the Prophet (saw) to do the prayer and the zakat, then what is that way that Allah revealed to him obligated upon the Prophet (saw) and not upon us?!
Why is that way preserved for that community and not for us?!
“And follow what is revealed to you, [O Muhammed], and be patient until Allah will judge. And He is the best of judges.” (Qur’an 10:109)
“Recite, [O Muhammed], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.” (Qur’an 29:45)
So Muhammed (saw) had to follow prayer, but we do not?
As the Muslims have split into various theological and sectarian factions, we have no choice but to weigh the various oral traditions in light of the Qur’an. However, to dismiss the oral traditions outright is to dismiss the revelation given to the Blessed Messenger (saw) that is extraneous to the Qur’an.
“They are invited to the book of Allah to settle their dispute”. (Qur’an 3:23)
It is theQur’an that regulates and gives authority to the Sunnah; not the other way around.
“It is not for any human being that Allah should give him the Book, and the wisdom and the Prophethood that he should then say to men: ‘Be devoted to me rather than Allah, but rather (he would say): “Become men of Allah by spreading the knowledge of the divine writ, and by your own deep study of it.”(Qur’an 3:79)
You will never find any instance or example internally in the Qur’an (common agreed-upon point of reference) where the Blessed Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), overturned a decision of Allah (swt).
TheQur’an totally dominates the Sunnah and regulates its characteristics and behaviors. It is never the other way around.
In fact, what we feel many Muslim and Christian theologians fail to recognize is that no human being, Prophet, or otherwise can truly be an example for us unless they make mistakes and errors in judgment and learn from them. It is, after all, part of the human experience. That is after all the teaching of Adam and Eve (upon them both be peace).
It is the teaching not of perfect infallible human beings devoid of human experience, so that we can achieve this idea of the Insān-i Kāmil — ‘The Perfect Man’, far from it. The teaching is about Allah (swt), a loving Creator that forgives when we err and guides when we stray. All this provided that we in turn do our part by obeying his commands and asking for repentance when we err.
Often our theologians have imposed their own ideas upon the text and made them say things they didn’t say to begin with.
An example (and in relation to this post). This example is for educational purposes, and it is not intended to slight any of our respected scholars.
“That Allah may forgive you of your errorsthat which is past and that which is to come, and may perfect His favour unto you, and may guide you on a right path,” (Qur’an 48:2)
This verse perhaps has been manipulated in the English translation as well.
*Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri* has translated the above as:
“So that Allah forgives, for your sake, all the earlier and later sins (of all those people) of your Umma ([Community]* who struggled, fought and sacrificed by your command), and (this way) may complete His blessing on you (outwardly and inwardly) in the form of Islam’s victory and forgiveness for your Umma (Community), and may keep (your Umma) firm-footed on the straight path (through your mediation).”
This seems like quite an abuse of the text.
* Note: We understand the people of Sufism to be lovers of Al-Haqq (The Truth) and not people who manipulate the religion. So I am suggesting that this is perhaps an oversight on behalf of our respected Shaykh Tahir-ul-Qadri.
Or it is perhaps that the apparent meaning is that the Blessed Messenger (saw) committed minor infractions. Perhaps due to the theological inclinations of respected Shaykh Tahir ul Qadri, it was his intention to have this be interpreted in another manner.
Once a person understands the theological underpinnings that some have concerning the infallibility of prophets, perhaps it becomes crystal clear why he would want to make the text conform to a certain understanding.
May Allah (swt) bless him and bless us. May Allah (swt) guide him and guide us.
The translation of the respected Shaykh clashes with translators from such diverse and disparate backgrounds as (Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, Muhsin Khan, Sahih International, Aisha Bewley, Dr. Ghali, T. B Irving, and Muhammad Asad)
The Arabic text is: Liyaghfira laka Allahu mataqadd
We leave that to you, the reader, to reflect upon.
“He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah, but those who turn away-We have not sent you over them as a guardian.” (Qur’an 4:80)
Both the revelation of Allah revealed as the Qur’an and the revelation as inspiration revealed to the Blessed Messenger are authoritative as guidance for Muslims.
However, as the following verse shows Allah (swt) is in total control over all things.
“This [Qur’an] is sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. If [the Prophet] had said anything against Us, We would certainly have seized his right hand and cut off his artery, and none of you could have defended him.” (Qur’an 69:43-47)
“Allah wishes to make clear to you, and guide you to the traditions of those who were before you, and to accept repentance of you, and Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise.” (Qur’an 4:26)
We as Muslims ask in our five daily prayers in every rakat to follow the straight path.
“Guide us to the the straight path (ih’dina l-sirata l-mus’taqima)” (Qur’an 1:6)
That straight path is adhering to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
“And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command. You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith, but We have made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants. And indeed, you guide to a (siratin mus’taqimin) straight path.”(Qur’an 42:52)
has translated the above as:
Prima Quran 