Traditional Muslim Understanding of Divine Punishment of Kuffar: 'Those Who Insult Allah's Prophets Are Tarnished in This Life before More Humiliation in the Next'
By
Ahmed Hammuda
31 October
2020
Insulting
God and His Prophets is not an invention of the contemporary world. For eons,
forgotten losers of old have levelled abuse at the Divine and His notable
representatives on Earth, not least of all at the Prophets of God.
Saneek / Shutterstock.com
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It is
undoubtedly clear that the champions of paltry ideologies that reduce man to a
measly composition and movement of chemical compounds cannot salvage their
philosophical wreckage except by scorning those who know life’s greater
purpose. Despite its laïcité, France stands as the “most depressed nation on
earth” [1] and has the highest suicide rate Western Europe. [2] Scorning
definitely distracts from confessing that others may be right.
Many
Prophets were killed, crucified, or insulted, yet they are in bliss and their
legacies remain. Their killers or scorners are, at best, dust, awaiting a much
longer chastisement and humiliation in the Hereafter. The history of the final
Prophet, Muhammad (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), is replete with how
his scorners faced abysmal and humiliating ends whilst his immaculate status was
forever preserved. Allah has promised:
“Surely
We will be sufficient for you against the mockers…” [3]
During the
international phase of the Da’wah, the Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi
Wa Sallam) wrote to invite
both Khosrow (of Persia) and Caesar (of Rome) to Islam. Both abstained from
accepting the message. Caesar, however, honoured the letter and emissary of the
Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). Allah strengthened and
stabilised the Kingdom of Caesar. Khosrow, on the other hand, tore apart the letter
and mocked the Messenger (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) and his emissary. The Prophet (Sall
Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam)
later said: “Khosrow has just torn apart his own dominion.”[4]
A short
time later, Khosrow’s son, Kavad II, killed his father to take over the throne.
Through successive ignominious defeats at the hands of the Byzantines and the
Muslims in the Caliphate of ‘Umar (Rady Allahu ‘Anhu), Khosrow’s empire
was indeed irreversibly torn into pieces.
Al-Suhaili
reports: “Heraclius (610-641 AD) kept the Prophet’s letter sheltered in a gold
reed-like object in its honour and kept passing it down from one emperor to the
other. It finally ended up with the ‘King of the Franks’ over Toledo, before
being inherited down. Some of our companions told me that Abd al-Malik b.
Sa’id, one of the Muslim commanders, met that king. In their encounter, he
showed him the Prophetic letter. On seeing it, he was overtaken by emotion and
knelt across (to kiss it), but was not given permission.”[5]
Ibn Hajar
reports, on the authority of Said al-Din Falih al-Mansuri, that the King of the
Franks showed him a box lined with gold containing a gold pen case. He opened
the case and pulled out a letter, the ink of which had faded, attached to a
silk rag. The king then said: “This is your Prophet’s letter to my grandfather
the Caesar that continues to be inherited down until now. Our father advised us
that so long as we preserve this letter, our kingdom will be preserved. We thus
protect it with utmost effort and honour it, concealing it from the Christians
so that our dominion may persist.”[6]
Abu Lahab
and his son ‘Utbah were once preparing to head for al-Sham (the Levant). Before
they left, ‘Utbah promised: “I will (first) go to Muhammad and mock his Lord.”
‘Utbah approached the Prophet and daringly said (invoking a Qur’anic passage
from Surah al-Najm out of mockery): “I have disavowed the one ‘who got close
and drew near, and was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.’” Hearing
his mockery of Allah’s words, the Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam)
invoked: “Allah, send upon him a dog of your dogs,” and turned away.
‘Utbah
returned to his father who asked: “Son, what did you say to him?” ‘Utbah
related the account, then Abu Lahab asked: “And what did he say back?” He replied:
“Allah, send upon him a dog of your dogs.” Abu Lahab then said: “Son, by Allah,
I do not feel safe from (the manifestation of) that supplication.”
They both
took off until they reached a land near al-Sham full of lions. Addressing his
travelling group, Abu Lahab said: “By the right of my age and position, that
man (Muhammad) supplicated against my son that I do not feel protected from, so
gather your belongings and go to that monastery and put my son in the middle of
your belongings and surround him.” They did as he ordered. Moments later, a
lion approached and roamed around the camping group, sniffing and searching
until he hopped on top of their caravan and jumped directly onto ‘Utbah,
vigorously attacking him until he ripped his head off. Abu Lahab said: “I knew
that he would not escape the supplication of that man.”[7]
In his book
Thail Mawlid al-‘Ulama’, Al-Kettani mentions that during the era of the Caliph
al-Hakim, there emerged a man who called himself Hadi al-Mustajibin (the Guide
of the Accepters) who would call to the worship of the ruler. It was said that
he insulted the Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) and spat at the
Qur’an. When he entered Makkah, its residents complained to its Emir, but the
latter defended the man and sought to excuse him by claiming he was repentant.
The people insisted that such a sin cannot be made up by mere repentance. They
gathered in the Haram, collectively beseeching Allah. Thick dark smog filled
the atmosphere then cleared, leaving over the sacred house a bright ray,
visible day and night. This persisted until it was brought to the attention of
the Emir of Makkah, who summoned Hadi al-Mustajibin and executed him.
In his book
Al-Shifa, Qadi ‘Iyad writes that the jurists of Kairouan in present-day Tunisia
– and companions of the jurist Sahnun b. Sa’id – had issued an edict to execute
Ibrahim al-Fazari, a skilled poet and master of multiple sciences who would
frequently mock Allah and his prophets, including the Prophet Muhammad (Sall
Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). The jurist Yahya b. Umar ordered for al-Fazari
to be killed and crucified. As he hung facing the Qiblah, historians mention
that the firmly grounded wooden pole was later found in its place, but facing
another direction!
The 20th
century scholar Ahmad Shakir mentions that he attended a sermon in which an
articulate orator wanted to praise the leadership for showing courtesy to the
writer Taha Hussein, who was blind. In his speech, he said: “(The leader) did
not frown or turn his attention away when the blind man came him,” invoking but
deforming the verses of Surah ‘Abasa. Ahmad Shakir said: “This criminal’s
retribution came in this world before the next. By Allah, I saw him after a few
years with my very two eyes, after his haughtiness and position… as a docile
and humiliated servant looking after people’s slippers at the door of the
masjid.”
In other
instances, Allah protected His Messenger (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam)
through imperceptible barriers, through angels, and through fear thrown into
the hearts of those who intended to cause him harm. It was reported that
Ghawrath b. al-Harith, who was a polytheist, vowed to kill the Prophet (sall
Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) whilst the Prophet was sleeping under a palm tree
with his sword hung up on it.
Ghawrath held
a sword over the head of the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and
threatened: “Who will protect you?” The Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
answered: “Allah!” Jabir, the narrator, says: “The sword fell out of his hand
and the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) picked it up and said: ‘And who
will protect you’? The man replied: ‘The best of the two who grabbed (the
sword).’ The Prophet asked: ‘Do you bear witness that none is worthy of worship
besides Allah and that I am His Messenger?’ The man said: ‘I promise to not
fight you, nor to assist anyone who fights you.’ The Prophet let him go.”[8] In
other narrations, the Prophet had given him the sword on the man’s request and,
on grabbing it, his hands shuddered and he dropped it. The Prophet (sall Allahu
‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Allah stood between you and what you sought to
do.”[9]
Abu Huraira
reports that Abu Jahl asked his friends whether the Prophet Muhammad (Sall
Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam ‘places his face on the ground’ (in sujud) in
their presence. They answered in the affirmative. He said: “By Lat and `Uzza!
If I see him doing that, I will trample his neck or smear his face with dust.”
Abu Jahl
approached the Messenger (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) as he was in
sujud and pressed ahead to step on his blessed neck. On nearing, Abu Jahl
stumbled back with glaringly wide eyes, petrified and looking as if he were
repelling something with his hands. It was said to him: “What is the matter
with you?” He said: “I saw a ditch of fire, terror and wings had emerged
between me and him.” Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam)
would later say: “If he were to come near me, the angels would have torn him to
pieces!”[10]
‘Abdullah
b. ‘Abbas (Rady Allahu ‘Anhu) reported that a group of the leadership of
Quraish gathered in the Hijr (the Sacred House) and vowed by their idols (Lat,
Uzza, Manat, and Isaf) that if they were to see Muhammad (Sall Allahu
‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), they will collectively kill him. Fatimah (rady Allahu
‘anha) was made aware of their plan and rushed to her father, the Messenger (Sall
Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), weeping. He said: “O daughter, bring me water
for ablution.” He then washed and entered the Masjid. When the leadership of
Quraish saw him, they lowered their heads and avoided making eye contact; not a
man approached him. The Prophet Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) advanced,
knelt, and filled his palm with dirt and threw it at them, exclaiming: “May
these faces be deformed.” The narrator of this event said that everyone in the
vicinity of that pelted dirt was killed years later on the Day of Badr.[11]
Allah
protected His Messenger from scorners by diverting insults to other than his
noble self. The Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) used to say:
“Does it not astonish you how Allah protects me from the abuse and curses of
Quraish? They abuse Mudhammam and curse Mudhammam, while I am Muhammad (and not
Mudhammam).”[12] Ibn Hajar explains: “The disbelievers of Quraish would, out of
sheer hate, insult the Prophet using Mudhammam (the lowly one) other than his
name, Muhammad (the praised one)…but Mudhammam is neither his name, nor is he
known by it, and thus their insults were naturally diverted away from him!”
On other
occasions, Allah would alter the laws of nature in defence of his Prophet (Sall
Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). Zaynab bint Harith presented meat that she had
packed with poison to the Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). On
placing the meat in his mouth, and without swallowing it, he said: “The bone is
telling me that it is poisoned!” On inquisition, Zaynab admitted to poisoning
the meat. The laws of nature were altered in two ways: by the poison having no
effect on the Messenger, and by the bone informing the Messenger of the poison!
Allah would
transform the hearts of the Prophet’s enemies to friends on their first direct
interaction with him. The starkest example of this is in the story of Abu
Sufyan b. Harith, the Prophet’s milk-brother who loved the Prophet during his
childhood but became a stern enemy following the prophethood. Abu Sufyan would
frequently insult the Prophet and his companions, but rather than humiliate
him, Allah softened his heart to Islam.
Abu Sufyan
said: “Allah put Islam in my heart, so I travelled with my wife and child until
we reached al-Abwa’. I covered my face and approached until I was face to face
with the Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam). When he saw me, he
turned away, so I repositioned myself so that I was facing him again.” The
narrator said: “Abu Sufyan kept following him (the Prophet) everywhere he would
go… until Abu Sufyan said: ‘By Allah, the Messenger shall give me permission
(to speak to him) or I will take my son’s hand and die of hunger or thirst.’
When the Messenger (Sall Allahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) heard of this, his
heart softened towards him and he allowed him to enter.”[13]
Subhan
Allah, the One who humiliates the scorners of the Prophet in this life before
the next, averts their insults to useless caricatures or objects, and transforms
the heart of the Prophet’s haters to become humbled at his door begging for his
pardon! His mockers fail to reduce from his veneration. They are like sloths
who spit at the sun: dirtied by their own splutter. They are tarnished in this
life before more humiliation in the next.
“Surely
those who offend Allah and His Messenger are condemned by Allah in this world
and the Hereafter. He has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.”[14]
And all
praise and thanks are due to Allah alone.
Notes:
[1] https://www.france24.com/en/20110802-france-world-most-depressed-nation-who-study-research-headlines-antidepressants
[2]
https://www.thelocal.fr/20190206/how-frances-high-suicide-rate-varies-around-the-country
[3] Al-Qur’an 15:95
[4] See Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, Ibn Kathir
[5] https://www.islamweb.net/ar/article/140478/ كيف-انتقم-الله-من-الذين-سبوا-الرسول-صلى-الله-عليه-وسلم-عبر-التاريخ
[6] Ibid.
[7] See Tafsir Ibn Kathir
[8] Sahih Al-Dhahabi on the authority of Abdullah b. Jabir (rady Allahu
‘anhu)
[9] See Tafsir Ibn Kathir
[10] Sahih Ibn Hibban on the authority of Abu Hurairah (rady Allahu
‘anhu)
[11] Musnad Ahmad; classed Sahih by al-Albani
[12] Bukhari on the authority of Abu Hurairah (rady Allahu ‘anhu)
[13] See the Sirah of Ibn Hisham
[14] Al-Qur’an 33:57
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Original
Headline: How Allah Dealt With Those Who Insulted His Prophet
Source: The Islam21c