disparaging or imputing mistakes or imperfections to the prophet

8/4/2019 Disparaging or Imputing Mistakes or Imperfections to the Prophet

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The Shar’i judgment concerning those who make disparaging

remarks about Rasulullah Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim

or impute imperfection to him.

Excerpts from Ash Shifa of Qadhi Iyadh Rahimuhullah



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Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen. Wa Bihi nasta’een. Wa salaatu wa salaamu ‘alaa Sayyidul

wuldi Aadam, Muhammadur Rasulullahi wa Aalihi wa Sahbihi ajma’een. Wa ba’d.

In the United States there is a new trend among the children of practicing Muslims with

traditional Islamic beliefs toward a wayward sect that disparages Rasulullah Sall Allahu

‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim. Some of the youth are attending Islamic seminars, learning

conversational Arabic and Qiraat of Holy Qur’an. In the process they are also taught

corrupt beliefs. Because they can speak Arabic and read Holy Qur’an it is assumed that they

are qualified to give bayan to the Muslims masses. In most cases this could not be further

from the truth.

Among the corrupted beliefs that are being taught our youth is that it is permissible to

harm Rasulullah Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim by attributing imperfection, and

mistakes to him. This is not a new issue in the Muslim Ummah. Qadhi Iyadh Rahimuhullah

in his “Ash Shifaa” addressed this issue over 900 years ago.1 The Ashabul Kiram and the

Salaf and Khalaf and all of the true ‘Ulama were and are resolute in refuting anyone who

attributed imperfection to the character of Sayyidinaa Rasuli Akram Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa

Aalihi wa Sallim.

When asked to present proof from Al Qur’an Majid and Sunnah that any amongst the

rightly guided Sahaba’s, the Salaf or the Khalaf said it was permissible to disparage or

attribute mistakes and imperfections to The Beloved of Allahu ta ‘ala, those who say it ispermissible cannot. Some have tried to make this issue an issue of Ahl Al Hadith vs. Barelvi,

or Salafi vs Barelvi etc. This could not be further from the truth. It is an issue of

understanding and having the correct Aqidah concerning the Prophets of Allahu ta ‘ala and

particularly understanding the Status of Sayyidinaa Rasuli Akram Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa

Aalihi wa Sallim. To this end we will not quote any sources from the Illustrious ‘Ulama from

the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Though the majority of ‘Ulama from the Indo-Pak subcontinent

understood the matter correctly long before there was a Dar ul ‘Uloom at Barelvi.

The famous 6th century Hijra classical text Ash-Shifa is widely accepted as the best, most

comprehensive and most important book about the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace. Its full Arabic title is Ash-Shifa' bi-ta'rif huquq Mustafa ("Healing

1Qadhi Iyadh Bin Musa (1083-1149) Rahimullah was from the North African city of Ceuta, Morocco then part of

the Andalusian Khilafa. He was a forthright Maliki ‘Alim and the greatest Qadhi of his era. He is also known to

have been the teacher of Ibn Rushd



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by the Recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One")2. Qadhi Iyadh writes in the

Introduction:

"You have repeatedly asked me to write something which gathers together all that

is necessary to acquaint the reader with the true stature of the Prophet, peace and

blessings be upon him, with the esteem and respect which is due to him, and withthe verdict regarding anyone who does not fulfill what his stature demands or who

attempts to denigrate his supreme status - even by as much as a nail-paring. I have

been asked to compile what our forebears and Imams have said on this subject and I

will amplify it with ayats from the Qur'an and other examples."

He further writes:

“Allah purified him in both spirit and body and protected him from all imperfections

and blemishes, and bestowed him with wisdom and judgment. Through him, Allah

opened eyes that were blind, hearts that were covered and ears that were deaf, andHe caused people to believe in Him. Those whom Allah had decreed happiness

honored and helped him, as for those to whom Allah had written wretchedness they

rejected and turned away from him. Allah says, "But he who is blind in this life shall

be blind in the Everlasting Life and will be further astray from the Path." 17:72 . May

Allah praise His Messenger with praising that increase continuously and may He

grant peace upon his family and Companions.”

Our intent here is to present the Evidence from Holy Qur’an Majid, Sunnah and thescholarly opinions of the Traditional Islamic scholars on the subject. Students of knowledge

should not be given the opportunity to make monumental mistakes in public. Mistakesmade in public should also be corrected in public. Knowledge of Qirat and Lughtul

Arabiyya alone does not qualify one to publicly express ones’ opinion. The traditional

Ulama spend years studying Islamic Aqaaid as well as other allied Islamic Sciences before

they were authorized to preach or teach. Ignorance is dispelled by the light of Knowledge.

His Eminence Shaykh Sayyid Mubarik ‘Ali Jilani Hafidhuhullah has mentioned that Allahu ta

‘ala always punishes the person who disrespects The Holy Last Messenger Sall Allahu

‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim with some sort of loss even if he or she is allowed to repent. May

Allahu ta ‘ala protect us from harming the Beloved Nabiyy Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wasallim, either by actions that contravene the Sunnah or by words unbefitting of his

esteemed rank, ameen.

Ustadh Muhammad Sa’id Hunafa Qadiri

Ramadhan 24, 1432

Jaam’ia Muhammadiyya

2 The English translation of “Ash Shifa” by Qadi Iyad is available at your better Islamic book resellers. No serikous

student, nay, no Muslim household should be without this valuable book.



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The judgments concerning those who think the Prophet

Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim imperfect or curse him

Excerpts from Ash Shifa of Qadhi Iyadh Rahimuhullah

Introduction

The rights of the Prophet and the devotion, respect, esteem and honor that are owed to him

are made clear in the Book and the Sunna and the consensus of the community. In His Book,

Allah has made it haram to harm him. The community agrees that anyone among the

Muslims who disparages him or curses him is to be killed.

Allah says, "Those who harm Allah and His Messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world

and the Next World. He has prepared a humiliating punishment for them ," (33:57) and

"Those who harm the Messenger of Allah have a painful punishment," (9:61) and "It is not

for you to hurt the Messenger of Allah and you should not ever marry his wives after him.

That is something terrible with Allah." (33:53)

Allah says, prohibiting the use of equivocal expressions in respect of the Prophet , "O you

believe, do not say 'Observe us' but 'regard us' and listen." (2:104) This is because the Jews

used to say, "Observe us, Muhammad," i.e. listen to us and hear us. They were using an

equivocal expression, intending to make fun, so Allah forbade the believers to be like them

and cut off the means to doing so by prohibiting the believers from using that expression sothat the unbelievers and hypocrites would not be given an opportunity to insult and mock

the Prophet.

It is said that it was censured because it was a common expression among Jews which had

the meaning, "Listen, you did not hear." It is also said that was censured because, for the

Ansar, it contained lack of manners and lack respect and esteem because in the Ansari

dialect it meant, "Look at us, and will look at you." They were forbidden to say it since it

meant that they could only look at him when he looked at them. The Prophet, may Allah

bless and grant him peace, must be observed whatever the case.

Similarly he forbade the use of his kunya saying, "Name yourselves with my but do not usemy kunya." This was to protect himself and guard himself harm since he had once

answered a man who called out, "Abu'l- Qasim!" the man said, "I did not mean you. I was

calling him."

After this it was forbidden to use his kunya as a name so he would not be annoyed by

answering a call addressed not to him but to someone else. The hypocrites and mockers

made this a means of annoying and belittling him. They would call him, and then when he



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turned, they would say, "We meant this one," pointing to someone else. Their intention was

to inconvenience him and belittle him as is the custom of mockers and the insolent. The

Prophet was protected from their harm in every way. The meticulous `ulama’ restrict this

prohibition to the time he was alive and allow the Prophet’s kunya to be used after his

death since the cause of harm is no longer there.

People have taken different positions regarding this hadith. This is not the place to discuss

it, and what we have mentioned below is the position most people adhere to and the

correct one, Allah willing. It is based on esteem and respect for him, and is a

recommendation, not a prohibition.

This is why he forbade the use of his name since Allah had forbidden that he be called by

his name when He said, "Do not make your calling the Messenger among you like your

calling each other." (24:63) Therefore the Muslims called him "Messenger of Allah",

"Prophet of Allah" and some of them called him by his kunya, "Abu'l-Qasim", in certain

instances.

Anas related from the Prophet something that indicates that it is disliked to call people by

his name since it could cause disrespect, "You call your sons Muhammad and then you

curse them."

Abu Ja'far at-Tabari related that 'Umar wrote to the people of Kufa, "Do not call anyone by

the name of the Prophet." Muhammad ibn Sa'd related that he observed a man called

Muhammad while another man was cursing him and saying to him, "May Allah do such a

thing to you, Muhammad!" 'Umar said to his nephew, Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn al-Khattab,

"I do not think that Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, should be cursed

on account of you. By Allah, you will not be called Muhammad as long as I am alive." He

called him 'Abdur-Rahman. By doing this, he wanted to forbid people being called with thenames of Prophets out of the desire to honor them, so he changed their names and said, "Do

not name yourselves with the names of the Prophets," and he did not say anything further

on it.

The correct position is that using the Prophet's name and kunya is permitted after the

death of the Prophet by the proof of the agreement of the Companions about it. Some of

them named their sons Muhammad and gave them the kunya, Abu'l-Qasim.

It is related that the Prophet gave 'Ali permission to do so and the Prophet also said that his

name would be the name of the Mahdi and his kunya.

The Prophet used his name for Muhammad ibn Talha, Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Hazm,

Muhammad ibn Thabit and others. He said, "It will not harm any of you to have one, two or

three Muhammad’s in the house."

The Judgment of the Shari'a regarding someone

who curses or disparages the Prophet



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Know that all who curse Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or blame him

or attribute imperfection to him in his person, his lineage, his deen or any of his qualities, or

alludes to that or it’s like by any means whatsoever, whether in the form of a curse or

contempt or belittling him or detracting from him or finding fault with him or maligning him,

the judgment regarding such a person is the same as the judgment against anyone who

curses him. He is killed as we shall make clear. This judgment extends to anything whichamounts to a curse or disparagement. We have no hesitation concerning this matter, be it a

clear statement or allusion.

The same applies to anyone who curses him, invokes against him, desires to harm him,

ascribes to him what does not befit his position or jokes about his mighty affair with foolish

talk, satire, disliked words or lies, or reviles him because of any affliction or trial which

happened to him or disparages him, because of any of the permissible and well-known

human events which happened to him. All of this is the consensus of the 'ulama' and theimams of fatwa from the time of the Companions until today.

Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir said that the bulk of the people of knowledge agree that whoevercurses the Prophet is killed. These include Malik ibn Anas, al-Layth, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and

Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, and it is the position of the Shafi'i school. Qadi Abu'l-Fadl said that it is

based on the statement of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. His repentance is not accepted. Something

similar was stated by Abu Hanifa and his people, ath-Thawri and the people of Kufa and al-Awza'i about the Muslims. However, they said that it constitutes apostasy.

At-Tabari related something similar from Abu Hanifa and his companions about anyone

who disparages the Prophet, proclaims himself quit of him or calls him a liar.

Sahnun said about those who curse the Prophet, "This is apostasy in exactly the same way

as heresy (zandaqa) is. Therefore there is some dispute about whether such a personshould be called to repent (as a Muslim) or whether he is an unbeliever. Is he to be killed

by a hadd-punishment (as a Muslim) or for disbelief?" We will make this clear in Chapter

Two. We do not know of any dispute among the 'ulama' of the community and the Salaf regarding the permissibility of shedding his blood.

Several people have mentioned that the consensus is that he is to be killed and considered

an unbeliever. One of the Dhahirites, Abu Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Farisi, however,

indicated that there is some disagreement about whether to consider someone who

belittles the Prophet as an unbeliever. The best-known position has already been stated.

Muhammad ibn Sahnun said that the 'ulama' agree that anyone who reviles the Prophet and disparages him is an unbeliever and the threat of Allah's punishment is on him. The

community's judgment on him is that he be killed. Anyone who has any doubts about such a

person's disbelief and punishment is also an unbeliever. For a proof of this, Ibrahim ibn

Husayn ibn Khalid, the faqih, uses the instance of Khalid ibn al-Walid killing Malik ibn

Nuwayra for referring to the Prophet as "your companion."'



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Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi said, "I do not know of any Muslim who disagrees about thenecessity of killing such a person if he is a Muslim."

Ibn al-Qasim reports from Malik in the book of Ibn Sahnun, the Mabsut, and the 'Utibiyya

and Ibn Mutarrif relates the same from Malik in the book of Ibn Habib, "Any Muslim who

curses the Prophet is killed without being asked to repent."

Ibn al-Qasim said in the 'Utibiyya, "Anyone who curses him, reviles him, finds fault with

him or disparages him is killed. The community says that he should be killed just like the

dualist. Allah made it obligatory to respect the Prophet and be dutiful to him."

In the Mabsut from 'Uthman ibn Kinana we find, "Any Muslim who reviles the Prophet is

killed or crucified without being asked to repent. The Imam can choose between crucifying

him or killing him." In the variant of Abu'l-Mus'ab and Ibn Abi Uways, they heard Malik say,

"Anyone who curses the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

reviles him, finds fault with him or disparages him is killed, be he Muslim or unbeliever,

without being asked to repent."

Asbagh said, "He is killed in every case, whether he conceals it or makes it public, without

being asked to repent because his repentance is not recognized." 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdul-

Hakam said that and at-Tabari related something similar from Malik Ibn Wahb related that

Malik said, "Anyone who says that the Prophet's cloak (or button) was dirty, thereby

intending to find fault with him, should be killed."

One of our 'ulama says that people agree that anyone who curses any of the Prophets using

the expression "Woe to him" or anything disliked is to be killed without being asked to

repent.

Abu'l-Hasan al-Qabisi gave a fatwa that a man who called the Prophet "the porter, theorphan of Abu Talib" should be killed.

Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd gave a fatwa to kill a man who was listening to some people

discussing what the Prophet looked like. When a man with an ugly face and beard walked

by, he said to them, "You want to know what he looked like? He looked like this passer-by

in physique and beard." Abu Muhammad said, "His repentance is not accepted. He lied, mayAllah curse him. That could not come out of a heart with sound belief."

Ahmad ibn Abi Sulayman, the companion of Sahnun, said, "Anyone who says that the

Prophet was black should be killed."

He was told about a man to whom someone said, "No, by the right of the Messenger of

Allah," and he replied, "Allah did such a thing to the Messenger of Allah," mentioning some

ugly words. People said to him, "What are you saying, enemy of Allah?" Then he said some

even harsher things and added, "I wish for a scorpion for the Messenger of Allah." When

someone asked him for fatwa about this man, lbn Abi Sulayman said, "Testify against him

and I will be your partner," i.e. in killing him and getting the reward. Habib ibn ar-Rabi' said



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that is because trying to explain away the literal expression is not accepted because it isclear contempt and lack of respect for the Messenger of Allah. His blood is permitted.

Abu 'Abdullah ibn 'Attab gave a fatwa about a tax-collector who said to a man, "Pay and

complain to the Prophet. If I ask or am ignorant, the Prophet was ignorant and asked," to

the effect that he be killed.

The fuqaha' of Andalusia gave a fatwa that Ibn Hatim, the scholar of Toledo, be killed and

crucified because there was testimony that he made light of what is due to the Prophet. In

the course of a debate, he called him "the orphan" and the in-law of the lion (i.e. 'Ali)," and

claimed that his doing-without (zuhd) was not intentional. He alleged that if he had been

able to have good things, he would have eaten them. He said other similar things.

The fuqaha' of the Qayrawan and the companions of Sahnun gave a fatwa for the killing of

Ibrahim al-Ghazari, a poet and master of many sciences. He was one of those who attended

the assembly of Qadi Abu'l-'Abbas ibn Talib for debate. He was accused of objectionable

things like mocking Allah, His Prophets and our Prophet. Qadi Yahya ibn 'Umar and otherfuqaha' summoned him and commanded that he be killed and crucified. He was stabbed

and crucified upside down. Then he was brought down and burned. One of the historians

related that when the post to which he was tied was lifted up, the body turned around away

from qibla. It was a sign to all and the people said, "Allah is greater!" Then a dog came and

licked his blood. Yahya ibn 'Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and

grant him peace, spoke the truth," and he mentioned a hadith in which the Prophet said, "A

dog will not lick a Muslim's blood."

Qadi Abu 'Abdullah ibn al-Murabit said, "Whoever says that the Prophet was defeated is

asked to repent. If he repents, it is all right. If not, he is killed because it detracts from the

Prophet. Such a disparaging remark could not be said about the Prophet by anyone withunderstanding of his affair and certainty about his inviolability."

Habib ibn Rabi' al-Qarawi said that the school of Malik and his companions is that anyonewho says anything disparaging about the Prophet is killed without being asked to repent.

Ibn 'Attab said that the Book and Sunna require that someone who intends to even slightly

harm or disparage the Prophet, either by allusion or clear statement, must be killed.

Anything like this which is something that the 'ulama' consider to be a curse or

disparagement necessitates that the one who says it be killed. Neither the early or later

people disagree about that, but they disagree about the basis for killing him as we haveindicated. We will make this clear later.

This is also my position regarding the judgment of anyone who belittles him or insults him

about having been a shepherd, oversight, forgetfulness, sorcery, any wound he received,

the defeat of one of his armies, injury by an enemy, the intensity of his illness or his being

attracted to his wives. The judgment of all this is that the one who intends to disparage him



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by it is killed. The position of the 'ulama' is as we have already stated and it will be provedby what follows.

The proof of the necessity of killing anyone who

curses the Prophet or finds fault with him

The Qur'an says that Allah curses the one who harms the Prophet in this world and He

connected harm of Himself to harm of the Prophet. There is no dispute that anyone who

curses Allah is killed and that his curse demands that he be categorized as an unbeliever.

The judgment of the unbeliever is that he is killed.

Allah says, "Those who harm Allah and His Messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world

and in the Next, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment." (33:57). He said

something similar about those who kill the believers. Part of the curse on them in this

world is that they are killed. Allah says, "Cursed they will be. Wherever they are found, theyare seized and all slain." (33: 61) He mentions the punishment of those who fight, "That is

humiliation in this world for them." (5:45) "Killing" (qatl) can have the meaning of "curse".

Allah says, "May the conjecturers be killed!" (51:11) and "May Allah fight them! How they

are perverted!" (9:30) i.e. may Allah curse them.

This is because there is a difference between their harming Allah and His Messenger and

harming the believers. Injuring the believers, short of murder, incurs beating and

exemplary punishment. The judgment against those who harm Allah and His Prophet is

more severe - the death penalty.

Allah says, "No, by your Lord, they will not believe until they have you judge between themin what they disagree about." (4:65) He removes the badge of belief from those who find an

impediment in themselves against accepting the Prophet’s judgment and do not submit to

him. Anyone who disparages him is opposing his judgment.

Allah says, "O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet and

be not loud in your speech to him as you are loud to one another lest your actions fail. "

(49:3). Such an action only comes about through disbelief and the unbeliever is killed.

Allah says, "When they come to you, they greet you with a greeting which Allah nevergreeted you with." Then He says, "Jahannam is enough for them, an evil homecoming." (58:9)

Allah says, "Among them are those who harm the Prophet and say that he is all ear," (9:61)

and, "Those who harm the Messenger of Allah have a painful punishment." (9:63)

Allah says, "If you ask them, they will say, 'We were only plunging and playing.' Say, 'What,

were you then mocking Allah, His signs and His Messenger? Make no excuses. You have

disbelieved after your belief."' (9:67-68) The commentators say, "You have disbelieved"

refers to what they have said about the Messenger of Allah.



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We have already mentioned the consensus. As for the traditions, al-Husayn ibn 'Ali related

from his father that the Messenger of Allah said in respect of this matter, " Whoever curses aProphet, kill him. Whoever curses my Companions beat him."

In a sound hadith the Prophet commanded that Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf be killed. He asked, "Who

will deal with Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf? He has harmed Allah and His Messenger." He sent someone to assassinate him without calling him to Islam, in distinction to other idol-

worshippers. The cause of that lay in his causing harm to the Prophet. That indicates that

the Prophet had him killed for something other than idol-worship. It was for causing harm.

Abu Rafi,' who used to harm the Messenger of Allah and work against him, was also killed.

Similarly on the Day of the Conquest, he ordered the killing of Ibn Khatal and his two slave

girls who used to sing his curses on the Prophet.

In another hadith about a man who used to curse the Prophet, the Prophet said, "Who will

save me from my enemy?" Khalid said, "I will," so the Prophet sent him out and he killed

him.

Similarly the Prophet commanded that a group of unbelievers who used to injure and curse

him, like an-Nadr ibn al-Harith and 'Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, be killed. He promised that a

group of them would be killed before and after the conquest. They were all killed except for

those who hurried to become Muslim before they were overpowered. Al-Bazzar related

from Ibn 'Abbas that 'Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt cried out, "O company of Quraysh, why is it that I

alone among you am to be killed without war?" The Prophet said, "For your disbelief and

your forging lies against the Messenger of Allah."

'Abdu'r-Razzaq mentioned that a man cursed the Prophet, causing the Prophet to say, "Who

will save me from my enemy?" Az-Zubayr said, "I will." He sent az-Zubayr and he killed him.

It is related that a woman used to curse the Prophet and he said, "Who will save me from

my enemy?" Khalid ibn al-Walid went out and killed her.

It is related that a man forged lies against the Prophet and he sent 'Ali and az-Zubayr to killhim.

Ibn Qani' related that a man came to the Prophet and said, "Messenger of Allah, I heard my

father say something ugly about you, so I killed him," and that did not distress the Prophet.

Al-Mujahir ibn Abi Umayya, the Amir of Yemen, reported to Abu Bakr that a woman therein the time of the Ridda chanted curses against the Prophet, so he cut off her hand and

pulled out her front teeth. When Abu Bakr heard that, he said to him, "If you had not done

what you already did, I would have commanded you to kill her because the hadd regardingthe Prophet is not like the hadd regarding others."

Ibn 'Abbas said that a woman from Khatma satirized the Prophet and the Prophet said,

"Who will deal with her for me?" A man from her people said, "I will, Messenger of Allah."



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The man got up and went and killed her. He told the Prophet who said, "Two goats will not lock horns over her."

Ibn 'Abbas said that a blind man had an umm walad who used to curse the Prophet. He

scolded her and restrained her, but she would not be restrained. That night she began to

attack and revile the Prophet, so he killed her. He told the Prophet about that and he said hehad shed her blood with impunity.

In the hadith of Abu Barza as-Aslami it says, "One day I was sitting with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq

and he became angry at one of the Muslim men." Qadi Isma'il and other Imams said that the

man had cursed Abu Bakr. An-Nasa'i related it as, "I came to Abu Bakr and a man had been

rude and answered him back. I said, 'Khalif of Allah, let me strike off his head!' He said, 'Sit

down. That is not for anyone except the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant

him peace.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad ibn Nasr said, "No one disagreed with him." So the Imams take this,

as a proof that anyone who does anything that might anger, harm or curse the Prophet inany way should be killed.

There is also the letter of 'Umar ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz to his governor in Kufa. He had asked his

advice about killing a man who had cursed 'Umar. 'Umar wrote back to him, "It is not lawful

to kill a Muslim for cursing anyone except the Messenger of Allah. Whoever curses him, his

blood is lawful."

Harun ar-Rashid asked Malik about a man who had reviled the Prophet and he mentioned

to him that the fuqaha' of Iraq had given a fatwa that he be flogged. Malik became angry

and said, "Amir al-Mu'minin! There is no continuation for a community after it curses its

Prophet! Whoever curses the Companions of the Prophet is to be flogged."

I do not know which of those Iraqi fuqaha' gave Harun ar-Rashid that fatwa. We have

already mentioned that the school of the people of Iraq is that he be killed. Perhaps they

were among those who were not known for knowledge or those whose fatwas were

unreliable or idiosyncratic, or it is possible that what the man said was not taken to be a

curse and there was a dispute as to whether or not it was a curse or he had retracted it and

repented of it. None of these things were mentioned to Malik at all. However, the consensus

is that anyone who curses him is to be killed as we have already stated.

That he is to be killed can be deduced by reflection and consideration. Anyone who curses

or disparages the Prophet has shown clear symptoms of the sickness of his heart and proof of his real convictions and belief. That is why most of the 'ulama' judge him to be an

apostate. This is what is transmitted by the people of Syria from Malik, al-Awza'i, ath-

Thawri, Abu Hanifa and the people of Kufa.

The other position is that it is not a proof of disbelief, and so the person in question is killed

by the hadd-punishment but he is not adjudged to be an unbeliever unless he persists in his

words, not denying them nor refraining from them. To be judged an unbeliever, his



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statement must either be a clear statement of disbelief, like calling the Prophet a liar, or

originate from mocking words and censure. His open avowal of what he said and lack of

repentance for it is an indication that he finds it lawful and this constitutes disbelief, so

there is no disagreement that he is an unbeliever. Allah says about people like this, "They

swear by Allah that they did not speak. They said the words of disbelief. They disbelieved

after their Islam." (9:76)

The commentators said that this refers to the statement, "If what is said by Muhammad is

true, we are worse than monkeys."

It is said that it refers to what one of them said, "Our likeness with respect to that of

Muhammad is only as the words of the one who says, 'Feed your dog and it will devour

you.' When we return to Madina, the mighty will drive out the weaker."

It is said that even if the one who says this conceals it, the same judgment applies to him as

to the heretic and he is killed because he has changed his deen. The Prophet said, "Strike off

the heads of all who change their deen ."

Because upholding the Prophet's honor is an obligation owed by his entire community and

anyone who curses a free man of his community is given a hadd-punishment, the

punishment of someone who curses the Prophet is that he is to be is killed because of the

immensity of the worth of the Prophet and his elevation over others.

The judgment regarding someone who

maligns the Prophet without deliberation

or really believing what he has said

We have already discussed killing the person who, with intent, curses the Prophet, belittleshim or slights him in any way. The judgment in this case is clear.

The second case concerns when it is necessary to clarify what someone has said. This

applies to someone who speaks about the Prophet without intending to curse or belittle

him and not believing his words to be true, but who nonetheless speaks about the Prophet

using words of disbelief which curse him, revile him or call him a liar or ascribe to him

something that is not permitted or deny one of his necessary attributes, all of which

constitutes disparagement in respect of him. For instance, he might ascribe a major wrong

action to the Prophet, or say that he had failed to convey the message or had fallen short in

a judgment between people or he might lower his rank, the honor of his lineage, the extent

of his knowledge or his asceticism, or deny a famous matter reported from him which hascome by many paths of transmission with the intention of refuting the report, or say

something insolent and ugly or of a cursing nature in respect of him. However, the state of

this individual indicates that he does not mean to censure the Prophet nor to curse him but

that ignorance, discontent, drunkenness, carelessness, arrogance or hasty speech has led

him to say what he has said.



13

The judgment in this case is the same judgment as that applied to the first individual. Such

a person is killed without hesitation since no one is excused for disbelief by ignorance or by

claiming a slip of the tongue or by any of the things, which we have mentioned if his

intellect is basically sound. The only exception is when someone is forced to do it while his

heart is at rest in belief.

This was the fatwa given by the people of Andalusia against Ibn Hatim when he denied theasceticism of the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Muhammad ibn Sahnun said that someone in the hands of the enemy who curses the

Prophet is killed unless it is known that he was forced to become Christian or was

compelled to say that against his will. Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd said that one cannot

claim the excuse of a slip of the tongue in the cases of this kind.

Abu’l-Hasan al-Qabisi gave a fatwa that someone who reviles the Prophet while he is drunk

should be killed because it is assumed that the drunkard believes that and does it when he

is not drunk. Furthermore, the hadd-punishments for slander, murder and all the hudud are not removed by drunkenness because the person brought the state of drunkenness on

himself. This is because someone who drinks wine knowing that it will confuse his intellect

and cause him to do disliked things is the same as someone who intends doing the things

that this will inevitably bring about. It is on this basis that we make divorce, emancipation,

retaliation and the hadd-punishments binding on the drunkard.

This judgment is not refuted by the hadith in which Hamza said to the Prophet, "Are you

other than the slave of my father?"

The Prophet knew that Hamza was drunk and turned away because at that time wine had

not yet been forbidden. Thus there was no wrong action in the offences ensuing from it.The judgment was that what ensued from it was pardoned as is the case with what ensuesfrom sleep or drinking a trustworthy remedy.

Here ends the excerpts from “Ash Shifa by Qadhi Iyadh” as translated By Ustadha Aisha

Bewley Hafidhahullah.

Wa maa ‘alaina illal balaaghul mubeen. Wa Sall Allahu ta ‘ala ‘alaa Khayri KhalqihiSayyidinaa wa Mawlaana Muhammad, wa ‘Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallim.

disparaging or imputing mistakes or imperfections to the prophet

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