Friday Sermon
8 March 2019
The reality of “magic” on the Prophetsa
After reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz, and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated:
Hazrat Qaisra bin Mihsan was
a companion from among the Ansar. In several narrations, his name has also been
recorded as Qais bin Hisan. He belonged to the Banu Zuraiq tribe of the Ansar.
His mother’s name was Aneesah bint Qais and his father’s name was Mihsan bin Khalid.
He participated in the Battles of Badr and Uhud. One of his daughters was Umm
Saad bint Qais. At the time of his demise, his children were in Medina. (Usdul
Ghaba, Vol. 4, p. 422, Qais bin Mihsanra, Dar-ul-Kutb
Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)(Al-Tabqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3,
p. 443, Qais bin Mihsanra, Dar-ul-Kutb al-Ilimiyya, Beirut, 1990)
The next companion is Hazrat Jubairra
bin Iyaas. His father’s name was Iyaas bin Khalid. He participated in the
Battle of Badr. He belonged to the Banu Zuraiq branch of the Khazraj tribe.
Hazrat Abdullahra bin Muhammad states that his name was Jubair bin
Ilyas. His name has also been recorded as Jabar bin Iyaas in another narration.
(Al-Tabqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 444, Jubairra
bin Iyaas, Dar-ul-Kutb al-Ilimiyya, Beirut, 1990).
It is mentioned in the Ahadith that a
Jewish man cast a magic spell on the Holy Prophetsa and that the
Holy Prophetsa was influenced by it – God forbid. It is mentioned in
narrations that the spell was cast on a comb and some strands of hair and
thrown into a well named Zhi Arwan. The Holy Prophetsa later had it
removed.
It is written in Fath-ul-Bari, a
commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, that it was Hazrat Jubairra
bin Iyaas who took out the comb and the strands of hair from the well of Zhi
Arwan. According to another narration, it was Hazrat Qaisra bin
Mihsan who pulled them out. (Fath-ul-Bari, Imam ibn Hijar,
Kitab-ul-Tibb, Baab Al-Sehr, Hadith no. 5763, Vol. 10, p. 282, Qadeemi Kutb
Khana Karachi)
Hence, I have mentioned both of the companions
together. However, what is more important to know is that whether or not the
Holy Prophetsa was influenced by any kind of magic and what the true
reality of this incident is as opposed to determining which of the two
companions took those items out of the well. Moreover, it is important for us
to know what our viewpoint is regarding this. We have to reply to anything
which can or does give rise to an allegation against the Holy Prophetsa.
Thus, I shall present some of the details found in our Jamaat literature
regarding this incident. I will expound upon this incident today in relation to
both of these companions.
While mentioning this incident in the
introduction to the commentary of Surah Al-Falaq, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra
states:
“According to some, Surah al-Falaq and
al-Nas – i.e. the last two chapters of the Holy Quran – were revealed in Mecca.
Some, however, call them Medinitechapters i.e. chapters that were
revealed in Medina.”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra
further writes:
“Those who are of the view that it is a
Medinite chapter present the argument that this and the subsequent chapter were
related to the illness of the Holy Prophetsa during which it had
been considered that a magic spell had been cast on him by the Jews. It is
thought that these two chapters had been revealed on that occasion and the Holy
Prophetsa would blow over his body after reciting them.”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra is
mentioning what is said by others in relation to these chapters. He further
writes:
“Commentators say that because this
incident occurred in Medina, hence, Surah al-Falaq and Surah al-Nas are
Medinite chapters. Nonetheless, it has been the preferred view that both of
these chapters were Medinite (i.e. they were revealed in Medina).”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Muadra
writes,
“This is what commentators [of the Holy
Quran] have inferred but not proven from a historical account. We also do not
possess any conclusive evidence based on which we could say that these chapters
were Meccan, but the argument which they have given is also weak and trivial
because even if this Surah had been revealed in Mecca, the Holy Prophetsa
could have recited and blown it on himself during an illness. Thus, this
argument is incorrect to think that this was revealed in Medina only on the
basis of him blowing it on himself.”
“When the Holy Prophetsa
fell ill, people thought that it was as a result of a spell cast by the Jews. I
shall present the account of this incident exactly as it is found in the
narrations.”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has
mentioned this account in the introductory notes of the aforementioned
chapters. He writes:
“Since the commentators have given
precedence to the narration of Hazrat Aishara, hence I will only
present the translation of this narration. Hazrat Aishara narrates,
‘The Jews had cast a spell on the Holy Prophetsa with such an effect
that on occasions, he felt that he had completed a particular task, whereas in
fact, he had not done so. One day, or during one night, the Holy Prophetsa
supplicated before God Almighty and then again supplicated and he once again
supplicated and said, “O Aishara, God Almighty granted me everything
for which I had supplicated.’
“Hazrat Aishara further
narrates: ‘I asked, “O Messengersa of Allah what did you ask for?
(What has Allah bestowed you with?)” He replied, “Two men came to me and one of
them sat near my head and the other near my feet. The one seated near my head
said to the one near my feet…”’ Hazrat Aishara states, ‘Or perhaps
he said, “The one who was seated near my feet said to one seated near my head:
‘What does this individual (i.e. the Holy Prophetsa) suffer from?’
The other one replied, ‘A spell has been cast on him.’ He then enquired, ‘Who
has cast the spell?’ He replied, ‘It was a Jew named Labeed bin al-A‘sam.’ He
then asked, ‘What is the thing by which he transmitted its effect?’ The other
one replied, ‘Using a comb and by the hair wrapped around the spathe of a
date-palm.’ He then asked, ‘Where is it located?’ He replied, ‘In the well of
Zhi Arwan.’”’
“Hazrat Aishara states: ‘The
Holy Prophetsa went to the well along with some of his companions.
When he returned, he said, “O Aishara, by God! The water of the well
had a reddish complexion resembling extracts of henna.”’”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has
further expounded on this:
“It seems that it was the practice of
the Jews that when they would cast a spell on someone, they would add henna or
something similar into water. This was done to portray that as if through the
power of the magic the water had turned red.”
This was a technique they used to
deceive the people who were naive and simple. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra
further states:
“The Holy Prophetsa then
stated, ‘The dates were like that of Satan i.e. like the head of a snake.’
(Here the dates have been compared with the head of a snake, illustrating that
the branches of the date palm were almost ripe). Hazrat Aishara
states, ‘I then said, “O Messengersa of Allah! Why did you not burn
it?” The Holy Prophetsa replied, “Since Allah has cured me, I did
not wish to carry out an action which can become a means of contention among
people. Therefore, I commanded that they should be buried.”’”
Thus, those items were then buried.
Regarding the narration of Hazrat Aishara, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra
states:
“It seems that the two men who came to
the Holy Prophetsa were in fact angels. Had they been humans, surely
Hazrat Aishara would have seen them.”
In relation to the narration of Hazrat
Aishara, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further states:
“The narration of Hazrat Aishara
simply states that the Holy Prophetsa was informed by God Almighty
through the angels that the Jews had cast a spell on him. It certainly does not
mean that the Holy Prophetsa was affected by the spell in the way
people believe spells to work.”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra
further states:
“Nevertheless, when the Holy Prophetsa
had buried their instruments of magic in the ground, the Jews considered that
their spell had been broken. At the same time, God Almighty had granted the
Holy Prophetsa health as well. In short, the Jews were convinced
that they had cast a spell on the Holy Prophetsa and due to this,
their attention was naturally drawn to the fact that the Holy Prophetsa
would fall ill.”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further
writes,
“While this narration reveals the
hostility that the Jews harboured against the Holy Prophetsa, it
also proves that the Holy Prophetsa was a true prophet of God
Almighty. The reason for this is that the Holy Prophetsa had been
informed by God Almighty of all the ploys being hatched against him by the
Jews. Hence, for the Holy Prophetsa to have received knowledge of
the unseen and for the Jews to have failed in their objectives are clear and
evident signs of the truthfulness of the Holy Prophetsa.” (Tafsir-e-Kabir,
Vol. 10, pp. 539-542)
In any case, the conclusion drawn by
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra is in fact the truth; the Jews thought they
had cast a spell on the Holy Prophetsa. However, it did not have any
impact on the Holy Prophetsa. Furthermore, the ailment and the
illness of forgetfulness, or whatever illness it was, had some other causes.
Nevertheless, having informed the Holy Prophetsa of this scheme of
the Jews, God Almighty completely negated their assumption that they had cast a
spell. Furthermore, by informing the Holy Prophetsa, those Jews who
saw the illness of the Holy Prophetsa and rejoiced and propagated
this news believing that this illness was due to the impact of their spell, the
truth of this matter became manifest.
Moreover, there is an article in the
literature of our Jamaat written by Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra,
which details this incident from a historical and intellectual perspective and
further elaborates upon this incident. He writes:
“In the annals of history, in fact,
even in the Ahadith, it has been mentioned that following the treaty of
Hudaybiyyah, a hypocrite of Jewish descent, whose name was Labeed bin al-A‘sam,
once cast a spell on the Holy Prophetsa – God forbid. This spell was
cast by tying strands of hair to a comb, and then uttering some incantations
over it and it was then thrown down a well.”
He further states:
“It is said that, God forbid, the Holy
Prophetsa remained under this spell for quite some time.” (This was
the rumour they had spread.) “During this period, the Holy Prophetsa
would often feel low and disheartened and in this state of anxiousness, he
would repeatedly supplicate. One prominent aspect in relation to this state
during that period was that it had affected the Holy Prophetsa’s
memory. He used to forget certain matters, so much so that at times, he would
think that he had already completed a certain task, whereas, he had not in fact
done so. Or at times, the Holy Prophetsa would believe that he had
already visited the home of one of his wives, whereas he had not in fact done
so.”
Expounding on this particular matter
regarding the wives, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra says:
“It should be remembered that it was
the practice of the Holy Prophetsa that he had appointed set days
for his wives in accordance with the commandments of Islam and he would go to
the house of each wife in the evening and enquire about their wellbeing. In the
end, the Holy Prophetsa would arrive at the house of the wife, whom
he had assigned the day to. The aforementioned narration is referring to this
practise.”
The narration further continues,
“Eventually, God Almighty disclosed the reality of this evil plot.”
This was the summary of the account
related in Sahih al-Bukhari, which Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has
also mentioned in his commentary. However, he further writes:
“This is the summary of the narration
which has been mentioned in certain books of history and Ahadith. Many tales
have been invented about this incident that it is difficult to decipher the
truth.”
So many stories have been fabricated
based on this narration that it has become very difficult to determine the
truth of the matter. He further writes:
“If all of these narrations were to be
accepted then, God forbid, the blessed and holy character of the Holy Prophetsa
would appear to be of a very weak disposition who, at least in worldly affairs,
could be led by his opponents into any direction they wanted as a result of
their incantations. Furthermore, it would also seem as if they could make him a
target of their impure attention and influence his heart and mind and that, God
forbid, the Holy Prophetsa was helpless in confronting their
magic.
If the incident is accepted exactly as
it has been narrated in historical accounts and the Ahadith, consequently, only
a wrongful conclusion could be drawn from all this. However, this is certainly
not possible.
If one carries out an in-depth
analysis, both rationally and from a historical perspective, they would arrive
at the conclusion that this was nothing more than an illness of temporary lapse
in memory, which can occur at times due to anxiety or physical weakness. At the
same time, some evil-minded enemies took advantage of this and spread rumours
that the Holy Prophetsa was under the influence of an incantation,
God forbid. However, God Almighty swiftly restored the Holy Prophetsa
back to health and destroyed the false propaganda of the enemies and the
hypocrites.
The great conqueror of satanic forces,
the most eminent amongst the prophets, who defeated and crushed Satan and his
armies, neither has such a person ever existed nor will anyone like him ever be
born. To think that he was a target of evil sorcery by a Jewish man is severe
misjudgement. (Such a thought cannot even be entertained).
This is not only our claim, in fact,
the Holy Prophetsa himself has refuted this. This matter has been
elaborated upon in a Hadith. Hazrat Aishara asked the Holy Prophetsa:
‘O Messenger of Allah! Is there a Satan with me?’ (Hazrat Aishara asked
in relation to herself). The Holy Prophetsa responded: ‘Yes.’ She
then asked if Satan is attached to every human. The Holy Prophetsa
answered in the affirmative. Astonished, Hazrat Aishara then
enquired: ‘O Messengersa of Allah! Is there a Satan attached with
you?’ The Holy Prophetsa responded: ‘Yes. However, God has granted
me victory over Satan to the extent that my Satan has even become a Muslim.’ (Sahih
Muslim, Kitab Sifatul Qiyamah Wa Al-Jannah Wa Al-Naar, Baab Tehrik
Al-Shaitan)
Despite this clear saying, how can
someone imagine that a Jew, who in light of the Holy Quran belongs to those
people who have incurred the displeasure of God and was a hypocrite, would be
able to influence someone as exalted and lofty as the Holy Prophetsa
through his incantations with the help of his Satan? And moreover, the Holy
Prophetsa, as a result of this, remained troubled, sorrowful and
sick for a long time?
Liars and deceivers in all ages have
used such false tricks against the truth. However, God the Powerful and the
Magnificent has continuously exposed all such liars. He states:
كَتَبَ اللّٰهُ لَاَغْلِبَنَّ اَنَا وَرُسُلِيْ
“Allah
has decreed: ‘Most surely I will prevail, I and My Messenger.’’’ (Surah
al-Mujadalah, Ch.58: V.22)
This means, God has decreed that He,
along with His messengers will be victorious in all ages and no satanic deceit
will prevail over them.”
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
further writes,
“The question then arises as to the
truth of this incident, which has been narrated by Hazrat Aishara
and recorded even in Sahih al-Bukhari. If one were to consider the
context of this incident and take into account the ways and habits of the Jews
and the hypocrites, one can easily determine the truth regarding this incident.
“First of all, it is important to note
that this incident of sorcery took place after the Treaty of Hudaibiya.
It is recorded in Tabqaat ibn Saad that the Holy Prophetsa decided
to travel to Mecca in order to perform Umrah, based on a dream he had
seen. While he was travelling for this purpose, the Quraish prevented him from
entering Mecca, as a result of which he had to return in what appeared to be a
state of loss. This apparent failure caused immense grief, and the disbelievers
and the hypocrites began to mock and ridicule this, which indeed was expected.
However, this incident had such an immense impact to the extent that it
affected even sincere Muslims, as it is recorded in a Hadith that even an
eminent companion such as Hazrat Umarra was greatly perturbed for a
brief period owing to the apparent defeat.” This incident relating to Hazrat
Umarra is found in a Hadith of Bukhari.
“During this time, the Holy Prophetsa
became anxious and worried for those individuals that were weak of faith, lest
they be put into a trial. Inevitably, this had a severe impact on the Holy
Prophet’ssa health and he was concerned regarding this for quite
some time. This anxiety naturally affected the health of the Holy Prophetsa.
He would pray fervently to God in this state of apprehensiveness, as is
indicated in the words of the Hadith:
دَعَا وَ دَعَا
[Meaning,
he prayed and prayed…]
“He prayed so there would not be any kind
of temporary hindrance in the progress of Islam owing to the incident of
Hudaibiya. This prayer was similar to the prayer he recited during the Battle
of Badr, whereby despite the fact that God Almighty had promised him victory,
but on seeing the apparent strength of the opposing army, the Holy Prophetsa
prayed:
اَللّٰهُمَّ اِنْ تَهْلِكَ هٰذِهِ الْعِصَابَةَ لَا تُعْبَدُ فِي الْاَرْضِ
“Due
to these reasons, it impacted him psychologically and he suffered from
temporary amnesia [memory loss].”
According to some narrations, it lasted
a few days whereas in other narrations it is stated that this illness lasted
two days or one day and a night. Regardless of however many days this
persisted, the illness naturally affected his health. The conclusion of Hazrat
Mirza Bashir Ahmadra is that the illness lasted a few days which
came about due to the deep worry and concern the Holy Prophetsa had
for those Muslims who were still weak in their faith.
“Hence, this is an intrinsic component
of human nature, which even the prophets of God are not exempted from. When the
Jews and hypocrites witnessed that the Holy Prophetsa was unwell
during those days and under a lot of strain both mentally and physically and
that he was suffering with a spell of memory lapse, therefore, as was their
habit, they began creating mischief by announcing that they had cast a spell on
the Holy Prophetsa and that his forgetfulness etc. was a result of
this sorcery. Furthermore, as was their longstanding custom, they tied knots of
hair around a comb and buried it in a well, as a physical demonstration. When
the Holy Prophetsa came to know of this supposed sorcery, he prayed
further to God Almighty in order to put this mischief to an end. (As stated by
Hazrat Aishara that once the Holy Prophetsa was made
aware of this, he prayed fervently for a day and night). The Holy Prophetsa
supplicated to the Lord of the heavens for the name of the one who instigated
this and the way in which this fabricated sorcery was carried out, so that he
could completely eradicate this mischief. Thus, God Almighty heard his ardent
pleas and manifested the truth to him in a vision.
“The Quran declares unequivocally:
لَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ اَتٰي
“In other words, no sorcerer can ever
be successful against the prophets, in any case whatsoever, regardless of how
they try to attack.” (Surah Ta Ha, Ch.20: V.70)
“Furthermore, we read in the Holy Quran:
يَقُوْلُ الظَّالِمُوْنَ اِنْ تَتَّبِعُوْنَ اِلَّا رَجُلًا مَّسْحُوْرًا
“I.e., the wrongdoers say, ‘You follow
none but a man who is a victim of deception’ (Surah Bani Israil, Ch.17: V.48).
This claim of the disbelievers is mentioned in the Holy Quran. Furthermore,
after pondering over the wording of this Hadith, the phraseology and the Arabic
idiom, this narration of Bukhari can only be understood to be the
viewpoint of others stating what seemed to have taken place. This means that
the narrator although seems to write on his own account, but in reality, it is
merely relating what others have been saying.
“Therefore, the translation of this
narration would be as follows, ‘Hazrat Aishara narrates that once, a
spell was cast on the Holy Prophetsa, i.e. the enemies had spread
the rumour that he was a victim to this sorcery.’ Hazrat Aishara did
not hold this view herself. Hence the translation would be that ‘the opponents
themselves spread the rumour that the Holy Prophetsa was influenced
by a spell. Similarly, in those days, the Holy Prophetsa would think
he had carried out a task, which he had not done so.’ And according to one
narration it states that he would think that he had just visited the house of
one of his wives, but in actual fact he had not.
“Then, Hazrat Aishara further gives clarification in which she states that in
those same days, the Holy Prophetsa was once at her house and would supplicate to God Almighty
again and again regarding this concern of his. After making this supplication,
he addressed her saying, ‘O Aishara, are you aware that God Almighty has disclosed to me [the
truth] in regard to that which I enquired.’ She replied, ‘O Messengersa of Allah, what is it that you enquired about?’ He answered,
‘Two people came to me (in a dream or in a vision). One of them sat near my
head whilst the other sat towards my feet. One of them asked the other what had
happened to him?’”
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
writes,
“This method of conversation likewise seems
to be describing a narrative from the perspective of the opposing party.
Thereafter, it is the same lengthy account which has already been mentioned,
that is the ailment of the Holy Prophetsa was allegedly due to the
effect of a certain Jew’s sorcery.
“Hazrat Aishara states that
after this dream or vision, the Holy Prophetsa – along with some of
his companions – went to that well and inspected it. Several date palm trees
had grown around it (and the well was completely dark and very deep). The Holy
Prophetsa returned to Hazrat Aishara and told her ‘O
Aishara, I have seen the well. The water of the well is like the
colour of henna extract and red in colour. It was a practice amongst the Jews
there – (as has previously been mentioned that to trick the people, they would
contaminate the water with artificial colour) and the palm trees appeared like
cacti.’ Hazrat Aishara states, ‘I asked the Holy Prophetsa
why he did not take the comb and its related objects out and dispose of them?’
Some narrations say she asked why he did not burn them? The Holy Prophetsa
stated ‘God has kept me safe and cured me. Why then should I throw it out in
front of the people and needlessly spread an ill (which risks causing the
weak-minded to believe that sorcery was the root of it all).’ Therefore, the
well was buried and closed off.”
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
writes,
“Speaking from the perspective of other
people, or narrating the words of other people is a method of conversation that
was prevalent amongst the Arabs. In fact, at certain occasions, the Holy Quran
itself has made use of this method of speech. Accordingly, in one instance
while addressing the inmates of hell, God Almighty states:
ذُقْ اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَزِيْزُ الْكَرِيْمُ
‘Taste
it! Thou didst consider thyself the mighty, the honourable.’
(Surah al-Dukhan, Ch.44: V.50)
“In other words, ‘O one who is entering
Hell, taste this punishment of God. Indeed, you are a man most mighty and
honourable.’ In this verse, it is never meant that – God forbid – God considers
the inmates of hell respectable and honourable. Rather, it is in the context of
describing another person’s perspective meaning that the associates of these
inmates and the inmates themselves considered their own selves honourable and
respectable. (I.e. those who – after committing wicked deeds in the world –
still believed themselves to be highly honourable and respectable) They are
explicitly told to taste the fire of God’s punishment.
“It is exactly this style of
conversation that was adopted by the two men or angels whom the Holy Prophetsa
saw in his vision. Therefore, when both concluded in saying that this
individual has been stricken by sorcery, their purport was not, ‘We think he
has been stricken by sorcery’ but what they actually were expressing was, ‘The
people are claiming that he has been stricken by sorcery and magic.’
“The real and ultimate purpose of the
dream thus was none other than for God to reveal to His Prophetsa,
the object which those wretched mischief mongers had concealed in the well and
by means of which they would spread deception amongst likeminded people. (They
were using this excuse and spreading these lies amongst hypocrites and others
like them). God’s intent was thus to reveal this to His messengersa
in order to utterly annihilate this fabricated sorcery of theirs. Subsequently,
it so happened that their alleged object of sorcery was buried and the well was
likewise destroyed. Also, the Holy Prophet’ssa worry and anxiety
that such deceptions might cause the simple-minded people to go astray was also
alleviated. God’s promise of:
لَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ اَتٰي
‘And a magician shall not thrive, come
where he may’ (Surah Ta Ha, Ch.20: V.70) was indeed fulfilled in full glory and
grandeur. That is, whatever trickery a magician or a conjuror may try; if he
comes against a prophet of God, he can never be victorious. In all cases, the
aforementioned Hadith strongly establishes the following points:
“After the incident of the Treaty of
Hudaibiya, because of the strain of his constant concern lest people stumbled
in their faith due to the incident of the Treaty of Hudaibiya, the Holy Prophetsa
would sometimes suffer lapses in memory in relation to his domestic
affairs.
“Secondly, the Jews and the hypocrites,
who would leave no stone unturned to make such issues a basis for defaming
Islam and its Holy Foundersa, saw this state of the Holy Prophetsa
and began a secret rumour that they had – God forbid – cast a spell over the
Prophet of the Muslims. This rumour of theirs was just like the one that they
started at the expedition of Bani Mustaliq in order to make a horrible attempt
to defame Hazrat Aishara because she got left behind, thereby trying
to create hardship and agony for the Holy Prophetsa.
“Thirdly, as a physical symbol of their
so-called magic, these evil-natured people used Labeed bin al-A‘sam, a
hypocrite of Jewish decent, to tie knots of hair around the teeth of a comb. He
pressed it into a well so that simple-minded people would be easily deceived and
started secret rumours which only raised more concern for the Holy Prophetsa.
“The fourth point is that the Holy
Prophetsa began to offer fervent supplications, praying, ‘O Allah!
You Yourself exterminate and put an end to this evil ploy and reveal its reality
to me so that I may expose this trickery and thereby save simple-minded people
from misgivings.’ Hence, God accepted this prayer and revealed the truth of the
matter.
“The fifth point is that God Almighty
heard the prayers of the Holy Prophetsa and exposed the
mischief-making of Labeed bin al-A‘sam, upon which the Holy Prophetsa,
accompanied by some witnesses, proceeded to the well, buried the comb and
totally covered up the well, so that the matter could come to an end once and
for all.
“In the end, the only question that
remains, is how could it be that the Holy Prophetsa, a prophet of
such lofty stature who is in fact the greatest of all prophets could fall
victim to a brief spell of memory lapse, which could apparently become an
impediment in the way of fulfilling the duties of prophethood? So, in response
to this, one should bear it well in mind that every prophet comes in two
capacities. One is that of a prophet and messenger from God Almighty, by virtue
of which he is honoured with divine revelation, and stands as an educator in
all matters of faith for his followers, becoming an example to be followed by
them. The second capacity of a prophet is that he is also a man from among
mankind, and so is subject to all those human requirements and natural
vulnerabilities attached to other human beings.
“This is why God Almighty, while
addressing the Holy Prophetsa in the Holy Quran, states:
قُلْ اِنَّمَا اَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوْحٰي اِلَيَّ
‘O Messenger, tell them, “I am but a human
being like yourselves, (and subject to all those laws to which other human
beings are subject to). Yet, I am also a Prophet of God and have been granted
divine revelation from God for the guidance of mankind.”’ – This is an
explanatory translation of this verse. (Surah al-Kahf, Ch.18: V.111)
“In this beautiful verse, God has expounded
the two different states of prophets in an extraordinary fashion, i.e. that in
one regard they have been given a distinction from other human beings, whereas
on another front, they have not been placed outside the category of other men.
Therefore, whoever contends that prophets stand outside the perimeter of human
requirements and natural weaknesses is a liar.”
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
writes:
“Indeed, prophets also fall ill like
other people, and can fall victim to malaria, fevers and typhoid – (One should
bear in mind that according to the apparent symptoms recorded by the Ahadith
and books of history, the Holy Prophetsa passed away due to typhoid
– tuberculosis, asthma, flu, cough, gout, migraine, psychological ailments such
as anxiety, stress, lapses in memory, and injuries due to accidents or as a
result of war etc. Thus, a prophet can suffer from any of these, and have
always been subject to them, except in special cases where a particular prophet
has been given a divine promise of protection from a specific illness.
“However, if the thought arises in
someone’s mind that regarding the Holy Prophetsa, the Holy Quran
states:
سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنْسٰ
‘We shall teach thee the Quran,
and thou shalt forget it not’, [Surah al-A‘la, Ch.87: V.7] in
response to this one should remember that this promise is only regarding the
Quranic revelation and is not to be applied as a general rule for everything.
The meaning of this verse is that ‘O Prophet! The teaching We shall reveal to
you for the benefit of mankind, We shall cause you to not forget it and We
shall safeguard it till the Day of Judgment.’ However, this promise was not for
general day to day dealings, or worldly matters, or even the physical rituals
related to the religious injunctions.
“Thus, we find in the Ahadith that owing to
the natural human tendencies, the Holy Prophetsa would, on several
occasions, fail to remember or recall something. In fact, in a Hadith, recorded
in both Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophetsa at
times would forget the number of rak‘aat [units of prayer] he had
offered whilst leading the prayer and his Companionsra would remind
him. Similarly, on many other occasions, the Holy Prophetsa would
have a lapse in memory.
“In another Hadith, the Holy Prophetsa
is reported to have even stated:
اِنَّمَا اَنَا بَشَرٌ اَنْسٰي كَمَا تَنْسَوْنَ فَاِذَا نَسِيْتُ فَذَكِّرُوْنِيْ
‘I am also a human like you, and at
times, just like you forget something, I also forget. Therefore, if I fail to
remember something, then remind me.’ (Abu Daud, Kitab Al-Salat)
“Therefore, just as the Holy Prophetsa
would at times have a lapse in memory, he also suffered from the illness of
temporary amnesia after the Treaty of Hudabiyya. Thus, the earlier scholars
have offered a similar interpretation to the narration regarding sorcery. For
instance, Allama Maazari states:
‘There exists countless sound and
irrefutable arguments which establish the truthfulness of the Holy Prophetsa,
moreover the miracles of the Holy Prophetsa further testify to his
truthfulness. However, all other aspects of attached to one’s life for which
the Holy Prophetsa was not divinely commissioned for as a prophet,
and this includes suffering from ailments like other humans do, this [temporary
lapse in memory] would also be considered as a form of ailment.’
“Allama ibn Al-Kassar states:
‘When the Holy Prophetsa
suffered from this lapse in memory, this was also a form of ailment as is
clearly evident from the concluding words of the Hadith in which the Holy
Prophetsa stated that God Almighty had granted him cure.’ (These
words are clearly written)
“In short, after the Treaty of
Hudaibiya, the Holy Prophetsa suffered from the aforementioned
ailment, but the enemies alleged that this was a result of sorcery. However,
this was certainly not the case, in fact owing to the circumstances of the
time, the Holy Prophetsa suffered from temporary amnesia and some
mischievous individuals took this as an opportunity to create false propaganda
against the noble character of the Holy Prophetsa. The Holy Quran
strongly rebuts such fallacies of sorcery against prophets and neither does
human intellect accept this. The words of the Hadith also reject this false
interpretation, moreover the Holy Prophet’s lofty and noble status completely
dispels this notion of sorcery.”
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
further states:
“It would not be out of context to
mention Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II’sra narration, may Allah be his
Helper,” (Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra Sahib was mentioning this
during the lifetime of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra.) “In part one of Sirat-ul-Mahdi,
narration number 75 states that one day a Hindu, who was full of prejudice and
lived in Gujrat, came to Qadian. He was an expert in the art of hypnotism and
sat in a gathering of the Promised Messiahas and secretly began to
focus his attention on the Promised Messiahas so that he could
influence him to carry out some inappropriate acts and thus make the Promised
Messiahas a target of mockery and ridicule. However, when he began
to focus his attention upon the Promised Messiahas, he suddenly
screamed out aloud and ran away. When he was asked about what had happened to
him, he said that when he focused his attention on Mirza Sahib, it seemed as if
a ferocious lion was standing before him, ready to pounce at any moment. That
is why he became terrified and ran away.”
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
writes:
“The Promised Messiahas was
the servant of the Holy Prophetsa; if the servant holds such a
status that God Almighty did not allow for him to be hypnotised, then how can
one believe that the master – i.e. the Holy Prophetsa – was
hypnotised by the Jews, God forbid?” (Mazameen-e-Bashir, Vol. 3, pp.
642-653, Mazameen 1959)
In the end, I will read the sayings of
the Just Arbitrator of this era [i.e. the Promised Messiahas] which
prevails over all other commentaries and explanations. In one of his
gatherings, a person asked the Promised Messiahas what he thought
about the incident where the disbelievers asserted that they had cast a spell
on the Holy Prophetsa. The Promised Messiahas
stated:
“Sorcery is also the work of Satan. It
does not behove the status of a prophet or messenger to come under the
influence of a spell. Rather, all spells are broken when they come in contact
with a prophet, just as God Almighty states in the Holy Quran:
لَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ اَتٰي
[“And
a magician shall not thrive, come where he may.” (Surah Ta Ha, Ch.20:
V.70)].
Observe, Prophet Mosesas was
confronted by the magicians, did Mosesas not succeed? To say that
the Holy Prophetsa was influenced by magic is absolutely incorrect
and we can never accept there to be any truth in this matter. It is contrary to
our beliefs to heedlessly accept everything that is written in Bukhari
and Muslim. Even logic does not accept the fact that a spell could have
any influence over such a grand and noble prophet. For one to say that the Holy
Prophetsa was put under a spell, God forbid, in which his memory was
affected, or caused any other effects, is completely false.”
The Promised Messiahas
further states,
“It seems that these statements were
fabricated by a wretched individual. Despite the fact that we have high regard
for the Ahadith, however, we can never accept a Hadith which is contrary to the
Holy Quran and the honour of the Holy Prophetsa. During the time in
which the Ahadith were being collected, those that compiled the narrations
worked meticulously and recorded them with due care. However, despite all their
efforts and precautions, they were unable to safeguard them from error. That
was the period in which the Hadith were to be collated, but now is the time to
reflect and ponder.” Read and deliberate over them. “Any Hadith that is averse
to the teachings of the Holy Quran or the honour and dignity of the Holy
Prophetsa ought to be rejected or one should ensure that its
meanings do not contradict them” just as Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
and Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra did.
The Promised Messiahas then
writes:
“To collate the Aathaar of the
Holy Prophetsa is a noble deed (i.e. to collect incidents about the
lives of prophets is a virtuous deed). To collate these incidents is a noble
deed, however, in principle, the people that collate such incidents can never
do so with complete accuracy. Now, it is the responsibility of every individual
to deliberate over them and having analysed them they ought to decide which
ones should be accepted and which ones ought to be rejected. To accept that the
Holy Prophetsa was influenced by a spell cast on him, (God forbid),
is a belief in which one can lose their faith.”
The Promised Messiahas
continues,
“God Almighty states:
اِذْ يَقُوْلُ الظَّالِمُوْنَ اِنْ تَتَّبِعُوْنَ اِلَّا رَجُلًا مَّسْحُوْرًا
‘When the wrongdoers say, “You follow
none but a man who is a victim of deception”’ – (who is under the influence of
a spell). (Surah Bani Israil, Ch.17: V.48).
People who say such things are wrongdoers
and not Muslims. It is the non-believers and transgressors who make such
statements that the Holy Prophetsa was under the influence of a
spell (God forbid). People do not think that if the Holy Prophetsa
could have been influenced in such a way, (God forbid), then what would be the
state of the Muslim ummah? In such a case, it would certainly perish. I am lost
for words that the Prophet regarding whom all the prophets declared that he
would be free from the grasp of Satan, and yet regarding that very prophet they
believe in such statements which are against his honour.” (Maluzat, Vol.
9, pp. 471-472)
All praise is for Allah that we
accepted the Imam of the Age, through which we can recognise the true rank and
status of the Holy Prophetsa.
اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰي مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَليٰ اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَبَارِكْ وَسَلِّمْ اِنَّكَ حَمِيْدٌ مَّجِيْدٌ
