The learning objective for this lesson are below:
Learning Objectives
Ittibaa’ (Following) of the Prophet
The second term used by the Holy Qur’ân in respect of the prophets is the ittibaa’, i.e. to follow:
Say, if you love Allâh, follow me and Allâh will love you and forgive you your sins. (3:31)
Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Injeel… (7:157)
Believe, then, in Allâh and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who believes in Allâh and His words, and follow him so that you may be on the right path. (7:158)
Allâh has surely relented towards the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Helpers who followed him in an hour of difficulty. (9:117)
O Prophet, sufficient for you is Allâh and those who followed you of the believers. (8:64)
(The believers say:) Our Lord, we have come to believe in what You revealed and followed the Messenger. So write us among those who bear witness. (3:53)
Say: This is my way. I call to Allâh with sure knowledge, I and whoever follows me. (12:108)
The closest of the people to Ibrahim are those who follow him. (3:68)
And We set in the hearts of those who followed him (Jesus) tenderness and mercy. (57:27)
And warn the people of the day when the punishment comes on them and those who did evil shall say: Our Lord, defer us to a near term and we shall respond to Your call and shall follow the messengers. (14:44)
And We did not appoint the Qiblah on which you were earlier, but that We might know the people who follow the Messenger as distinct from those who turn back on their heels. (2:143)
He said: My people, follow the messenger! (36:20)
(Hârûn said:) And your Lord is the Rahmaan (the All-Merciful), so follow me and obey my command. (20:90)
So they (the disbelievers) said: Shall we follow a single human being from among us? Then, indeed we should be in error and insanity. (54:24)
All these verses, with different styles and connotations, lay a strong emphasis on the necessity of “following the prophets” and indicate that whoever believes in a prophet is bound to “follow” him. The reason is obvious. The prophets are sent to the people to set a practical example of what they teach and preach. Their message is not confined to their oral teachings. Their acts are equally important in any effort to discover, learn and follow the right way of living. The Holy Qur’ân is quite explicit on this point when it was said in Surah al-Ahzaab:
There is surely a good example for you in the Messenger of Allâh, for the one who hopes (to meet) Allâh and the Hereafter and remembers Allâh abundantly. (33:21)
It is an established fact that mere theoretical education cannot be sufficient for reforming a people. The natural way of reformation is to set a practical example which people may follow. Mere reading of books cannot make a person perfect in a science or art, unless he is simultaneously trained by a senior scholar or a skillful artist of that field. If somebody studies the books of medical science, but does not work under the supervision of an experienced doctor, he, despite his thorough study, cannot claim to serve as a doctor, nor can such a person be allowed to play with the lives of the patients.
If somebody studies books of law, he cannot claim to be a lawyer unless he acquires a practical training from a senior lawyer and remains for a considerable time under his juniorship.
Even a plain enthusiast who wants to cook a good meal cannot do so perfectly by merely studying the books written on the subject, although all the ingredients required for cooking the food are mentioned in the book and even the minute details of the process are fully described. But a person who has never cooked that meal before cannot prepare it just right and perfect with the sole help of a cookbook unless he is practically trained by some expert. That expert sets a practical example for him and he, by following the example, gradually learns how to cook that good meal.
It clearly shows that human beings are always in need of a practical example in order to learn an important subject. The same is true in the matter of religious teaching and training.
That is why Allâh did not choose to send the divine books only. He always sent a messenger with the book. There are many prophets who came without a new divine book. But there is no divine book sent down without a prophet. The disbelievers of Makkah, too, demanded many times that the Book should be revealed to them without the mediation of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam). But the demand was rejected and the Book was sent through the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam).
The reason is obvious. Humanity did not need a divine book only. It also needed a teacher who could teach them the contents of the Book. It also needed an instructor who could train them and could set a practical example for them without which they could not benefit from the Book in their practical life. It was for this reason that the Holy Prophet () was sent with a clear direction to all human beings that they are bound to obey and follow him and to learn the details of Allâh’s pleasure through the practical example set before them by him. It was also clarified in the foregoing verse of the Holy Book that the “obedience of the Messenger” is actually the “obedience of Allâh” and that the latter cannot be carried out except through the former, because whatever the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) says or does in the capacity of a prophet is based on the revelation received by him from Allâh. Thus, his sayings and acts both, even though they are not contained in the Holy Qur’ân, are inspired or confirmed by the divine revelation.
Two Kinds of Revelation
It follows from the foregoing discussion that the revelation the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) received from Allâh is of two different kinds:
(i) the revelation of the Qur’ân, the Holy Book, named in the Islamic terminology as al-wahy al-matluww (the recited revelation, i.e. the revelation which can be recited in the prayers). This kind of revelation is confined to the verses of the Holy Qur’ân and is written verbally in its folds.
(ii) the revelation received by the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) from time to time to let him know the pleasure of Allâh in day-to-day affairs and the details of the principles laid down in the Holy Qur’ân with their correct interpretation. This kind of revelation is called al-wahy ghair al-matluww (the unrecited revelation). This kind of revelation is not conveyed to the people verbally. It has been demonstrated through the sayings and acts of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam).
The Second Kind of Revelation Proved by the Holy Qur’ân
This second kind of revelation is not contained in the Holy Qur’ân, but the Holy Qur’ân itself not only refers to it frequently but attributes its contents to Allâh Almighty. Some verses of the Holy Book are reproduced below which clearly prove that the “revelation” is not confined to the Holy Qur’ân, but there is another kind of “wahy” which does not form part of the “Holy Book,” yet it is the revelation from Allâh Almighty:
First Example: The Holy Qur’ân says:
And We did not appoint the Qiblah on which you were earlier, but that We might know the people who follow the Messenger as distinct from those who turn back on their heels. (2:143)
In order to understand the verse, it is necessary to know the background in which it was revealed:
In the early days of Madani life, after the Holy Prophet’s (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) migration to Madinah, the Muslims were ordered to direct their faces in prayers towards Baytul-Maqdas (Jerusalem) which had been appointed as Qiblah of the Muslims. Up to seventeen months, the Muslims had been observing the Baytul-Maqdas as their Qiblah. It was after seventeen months that the Holy Qur’ân abrogated the earlier order and the Muslims were required to observe the Holy Mosque of Makkah as their Qiblah and turn their faces towards it while praying. The following verse was revealed to appoint the new Qiblah:
…So turn your face towards al-Masjid al-Haraam. (2:144)
This new order was criticized by some disbelievers and they objected on it as to why the Baytul-Maqdas was appointed as Qiblah earlier. The above quoted verse (2:143) was revealed to answer this objection. The answer was that the appointment of the former Qiblah was in order to test the people whether or not they follow the Messenger. To quote the meaning of the verse again:
And We did not appoint the Qiblah on which you were earlier, but that We might know the people who follow the Messenger… (2:143)
Here the appointment of the previous Qiblah has been attributed to Allâh Almighty, which is a clear indication to the fact that the appointment of Baytul-Maqdas as Qiblah was done by the order of Allâh Almighty Himself. But this order is nowhere in the Holy Qur’ân, and there is no verse in the Holy Book which directs the turning of faces towards Baytul-Maqdas. This order was given to Muslims by the Holy Prophet () with no reference to any verse of the Holy Qur’ân. Still, this order was mentioned by the Holy Qur’ân in the above quoted verse as the order of Allâh: The words,
“We did not appoint the Qiblah,” instead of the words,
“The Holy Prophet did not…” are too clear on this point to need more explanation.
This statement of the Holy Qur’ân, thus, evidently proves that the previous order given by the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) was based on a revelation which did not form part of the Book. And this is exactly the “unrecited revelation.” The verse of the Holy Qur’ân (2:143) quoted above proves the following facts:
(a) The Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) used to receive some revelations which are not contained in the Holy Qur’ân.
(b) These revelations were from Allâh Almighty, so much so that the orders based on such revelations were attributed to Allâh Almighty.
(c) The orders based on such revelation were as binding on the believers as the orders of the first kind of revelations, i.e. the verse of the Holy Qur’ân.
(d) These orders were sometimes given so as to test whether or not the Muslims follow the Messenger (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) irrespective of the question that his orders are contained in the Holy Qur’ân or not.
Filed under: Education, Lessons from the change of the Qibla, Obligation of following the Prophet Muhammad (S), Part 2, The Authority of the Sunnah - teaching resource, The meaning of ittiba
