CHAPTER 1: REFUTING THE CLAIM THAT THE QUR’ANIC VERSES CONTRADICT EACH OTHER
If it is said, “There are some verses in the Qur’an which assert that Muhammad is sent to the Arabs only, while some other verses state that his message is universal. Thus, there is a sense of contradiction between these verses.”
If we assume that some Qur’anic verses imply that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to the Arabs only, while some other verses imply that his message is universal, this would be proof that his message was generalized after being confined to the Arabs, in this way, there is no contradiction between the verses. So how can their argument be accepted, bearing in mind that there is no single verse in the Qur’an to denote that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to the Arabs only? Rather, it contains verses that say he was sent to the Arabs, for the Quraish and also for the people of the scripture. There is no contradiction at all between such verses. Sometimes, in the Qur’anAllah addresses the Christians and sometimes He addresses the Jews, but there is no contradiction between the two cases. Similarly, there are some verses in which Allah addresses the’ believers amongst the nation of Muhammad commanding them to adhere to the laws and doctrines of Islam, but there is no doubt that this address does not contradict the call directed to the people of the Scripture.
Thus, the universality of the message of the Prophet (peace be upon him) should be an acknowledged fact, whether this acknowledgement is before or after the acknowledgement of his prophethood. The acknowledged facts that are known with extreme conviction cannot be among matters that are contradictory. That however, is always the way of the people of innovation in religion from among those who have strayed from the people of the Scripture; they always follow the verses that are not entirely clear and abandon the ones that are entirely clear.
If they say, “The verses of the Qur’an are contradictory and we only protest with that which concords with our aims, for our main purpose is to manifest the contradiction of the Qur’an.”
For this False Statement we Outline the Following Refutations:
1. There are many seemingly contradictory verses in the Books of the earlier Prophets, that are much greater in number than those that are alleged to be found in the Qur’an. If those books are concordant with each other and free from any contradiction and if this contradiction appears to those who are ignorant of their true implications and of the intended meanings of the Prophets, why should the Qur’an be any different? So, there is no contradiction. The matter is just as it was illustrated by the poet who said, “Many a person suspects a sound speech, while the shortcoming is only his dullness and incapability of sound understanding.”
This verse concerns normal speech, so what about the Qur’an, the best of all books?
2. The People of the Scripture focus on the verses that are not entirely clear and abandon the ones that are entirely clear in their Books, which is the same thing they did regarding the Qur’an.
3. If the verses of the Qur’an were contradictory, Muhammad (peace be upon him) would not be a messenger of Allah, for what was revealed by Allah cannot bear any sense of contradiction. Only that which was not revealed by Allah could be contradictory. Allah, the Exalted, says,
which means, “Do they not then consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much contradiction. “(An-Nisa’ 4- 82)
So, any book, which is not revealed by Allah would have some kind of contradiction, whereas that which is from Allah can never bear any sense of contradiction. Therefore they, i.e., the Christians, cannot use anything contradicting as an argument for their case; for it is not from Allah. And if it is not contradictory, it will be a part of the message of the Messenger. The fact that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah to them does not bear any contradictions, for that which comes from Allah cannot be contradictory.
4. Their claim that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent only to the Arabs does not contradict the fact that he was also sent to them and to all mankind. Similarly, Muhammad (peace be upon him) was ordered to warn those nearest to him; his relatives and his tribe Quraish, but this does not contradict that he was also ordered to warn all the Arabs. To be more specific, if there is a reason for this specification, it does not invalidate or contradict the original generalization. That is what is called (in Arabic language) “The concept of contradiction and the style of addressing.”
All people are of the opinion that specifying some of the general for a good reason other than specifying a judgment does not invalidate or contradict the original generalization. An example of that is the following verse,
which means, “And kill not your children for fear of poverty.”(AI-isra’ 17: 31)
In this verse, Allah forbade the Quraish from killing their children, for that was a common practice among them. In other verses He forbade killing any human being without just cause whether that human being was a child or not. So, as we see, there is no contradiction between the two verses. Thus, specifying children does not invalidate the general command; which is namely the prohibition of killing human beings without a just cause.
5 : Muhammad (peace be upon him) is similar to Jesus, (‘Isa, peace be upon them) who was initially sent for a certain group of people, then his message was generalized to encompass all mankind, in a verse of the Bible, he said, “I was not sent except for the children of Israel.” Afterwards, his message was generalized, for he said to his students upon sending them with his message to invite the people everywhere, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (Jin: 20:21)
There are many similar biblical verses, which state the same specification concerning Christ’s call and others, which generalize it afterwards. This is found in all the different versions of the bible. Christ was truthful in that (and in all he said), so how can they deny that which is stated in the Qur’an although it is similar to that, which is mentioned in the Bible?
In conclusion, we say that Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) just as He sent Christ and ail other Prophets (peace be upon them all) before. He ordered them to convey the message to their nearest relatives and those who are the closest to them and then to one group after another until their message would reach all people on earth.
We reply to their argument with the following verses:
which means, “Similarly (to complete My Blessings on you) We have sent among you a Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) of your own, reciting to you Our verses (the Qur’an).” (Al-Baqarah, 2:151)
which means, “Indeed Allah conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) from among themselves, reciting unto them His verses (the Qur’an) (Al-‘lmran, 3:164)
The above two verses have the same meaning as this verse:
which means, “Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hellfire), for the believers he (peace be upon him) is) full of pity, kind, and merciful.” (At-Tawbah, 9:128)
The implication here involves either of two meanings. The first one is: you people, We have sent amongst you a Messenger of your own (i.e. a human being) and had he been an angel of Allah, you could not have endured his message. So, Allah conferred a great favor upon you by sending down a human being as your Messenger.
That is way the Exalted says,
This means, “And they say: ‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ Had We sent down an angel, the matter would have been judged at once, and no respite would be granted to them. And had We appointed him an angel, We indeed would have made him a man, and We would have, certainly, caused them confusion in a matter which they have already covered with confusion (i.e. the Message of Prophet Muhammad).” (Al-An’am, 6:8-9)
The other possible meaning is that the Arabs are the addressees of the above verse. In both meanings, Allah, the Almighty confirms that He has conferred His Favor upon the addressees by sending them a Messenger from among themselves. This does not contradict the fact that he is also sent to others besides the Arabs. If the verse is an address to all mankind, it should be known that he is also sent to the jinn, although he is not one of them. So how can anyone say: if the Arabs were the addressees here, this would indicate that his message is intended for the Arabs only, while the non-Arabs are closer to the Arabs than human beings are to the Jinn! Allah, the Almighty mentions in His Book that a group of Jinn believed in the Quran when they heard its verses being recited. He says,
which means, “And (remember) when We sent towards you (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) Nafran (three to ten persons) of the jinn, (quietly) listening to the Qur’an, when they stood in the presence thereof, they said: ‘Listen in silence!’ And when it was finished, they returned to their people, as warners. They said: ‘O our people! Verily! We have heard a Book (this Qur’an) sent down after Musa (Moses), confirming what came before it. It guides to the truth and to a Straight Path (i.e. Islam). O our people! Respond (with obedience) to Allah’s Caller (i.e. Allah’s Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him)), and believe in him (i.e. believe in that which Muhammad (peace be upon him) has brought from Allah and follow him). He (Allah) will forgive you of your sins, and will save you from a painful torment (i.e. Hell-fire). And whosoever does not respond to Allah’s Caller, he cannot escape on earth.'” (Al-Ahqaf, 46: 29- 32)
He, the Almighty also says,
which means, “Say (O Muhammad): It has been revealed to me that a group (from three to ten in number) of jinn listened (to this Qur’an). They said: Verily! We have heard a wonderful Recital (this Qur’an)! It guides to the Right Path, and we have believed therein, and we shall never join (in worship) anything with our Lord (Allah).”‘ (Al-Jinn, 72: 1-2)
And says,
which means, “And verily, this (the Qur’an) is indeed a Reminder for you (O Muhammad) and your people (people of Quraish, or your followers), and you will be questioned (about it).” (Az-Zukhruf, 43: 44)
His were the people of the Quraish but that does not contradict the fact that he was sent to all the Arabs and to all mankind.
As for these three verses:
which means, “To give warning to a people to whom no warner had come before you, in order that they may remember or receive admonition.” (Al-Qasas, 28: 46)
which means, “In order that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are heedless.” (Yasin, 36: 6)
which means, “That you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you (O Muhammad), in order that they may be guided.” (As-Sajdah, 32: 3)
Allah, the Almighty mentions in these verses that He has conferred His Blessings upon those people and that He has left no excuse for them after sending His Messenger to them. He mentions some of the reasons behind sending this Messenger, which does not necessarily mean that this Messenger is sent for those people only. This way of expression is well known in the Arabic language.
Allah, the Almighty says,
which means, “He sends the Inspiration by His Command to any of His slaves He wills, that he (the person who receives inspiration) may warn (men) of the Day of Mutual Meeting (i.e. The Day of Resurrection).” (Ghafir, 40: 15)
In this verse, Allah tells us that He sends His angels with Revelation upon whomsoever He chooses from amongst His servants (i.e. Prophets) so that they may warn them against the horrors of the Day of Resurrection. This contradicts the fact that those Prophets are sent to give glad tidings to the believers concerning Paradise as well as to demonstrate Allah’s Commands, Prohibitions and Judgments. He, the Almighty says,
which means, “Surely, We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Book (this Qur’an) in truth that you might judge between men by that which Allah has shown you (i.e. has taught you through Divine Inspiration).” (An-Nisa 1 , 4: 105)
The message of any Prophet includes both commands and prohibitions, and glad tidings and warnings.
Similarly, Allah, the Almighty states,
which means, “He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islamic Monotheism) to make it victorious over all (other) religions.” (As-Saf, 61: 9)
There are many other reasons behind His sending messengers. There are many such examples in the speech of Allah. When a purpose or a motive of a certain action is stated, this does not mean that it has no other meanings or purposes. The specification of one reason only for a certain action must have a stated cause as in this verse,
These people were the first and the most entitled to be warned by Muhammad (peace be upon him), so warning them specifically in this context has a meaningful purpose. Meanwhile, this does not mean that other people are not included in this warning. Allah, the Exalted says,
which means, “Which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibrael (Gabriel)] has brought down upon your heart (O Muhammad) that you may be (one) of the warners. In the plain Arabic language.” (Ash-Shu’ara’, 26: 193-196)
It is known that he, Muhammad (peace be upon him), was sent as a bearer of glad tidings, a commander of the right (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and a forbidder of all that is wrong (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden). He was also sent to allow all lawful good things, to prohibit all unlawful evil things, and to relieve people from the heavy burdens (of Allah’s Covenant), and the fetters (bindings) that had been upon them.
By: Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah
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