Could the prophet (pbuh) make something haram on his own?
Question:
Assalamualaykum akhi you mentioned in your words:
"As a general principle, other than what is clearly prohibited in the Qur’an, nothing else can be called impermissible unless it is used for something that is prohibited in the Qur’an".
Now the question is could the prophet may Allah have mercy on his soul not prohibit something which is independent from the Quran? If not then why? Allah mentions in the Quran many times to Obey Allah and his Messenger. How do we understand all the prohibitions made by the Prophet Mohammed May Allah have mercy on his soul that seem to be independent from the quran such as women not travelling without a mahram and so on .... .
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum,
Directives of the prophet (pbuh) with regard to permissible and not permissible are not independent from the Qur’an. If we look at them carefully we will find that all these directives (when authentic) fall under one of the following categories:
Of the above three only the first is Shari’ah and only the first two can be considered in principle permanent. This is while the third category belongs to situational directives. For example at the time of the prophet (pbuh) Muslims were in continuous war with their enemies and therefore it was not safe at all for Muslim women to travel without a mahram to protect them. As the head of the state the prophet (pbuh) disallowed Muslim women traveling alone to keep them safe.
Directive of the Qur’an to obey God and the prophet (pbuh) is not referring to two streams of independent obedience. The prophet (pbuh) was delivering God’s message and obeying him simply meant obeying God (look at 4:80). On the other hand the prophet (pbuh) was guided by the Qur'an itself and his main duty was to deliver the message of the Qur'an and advising people to obey it, so following the Qur'an would mean following the prophet (pbuh) as well. It is not like we obey God by following the Qur'an and we obey the prophet (pbuh) by following the hadith. Rather, we obey God and the prophet (pbuh) by following the Qur'an, while hadith may also explain or reiterate a directive of the Qur'an and its application.
I would like you to deliberate on the meaning of the following hadith as narrated by Salman al-Farsi in Sunan Ibn Majah and with slightly different wording in other books like the collection of Ibn Dawud:
الْحَلَالُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَالْحَرَامُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ، فَهُوَ مِمَّا عَفَا عَنْهُ
Halal is what God has made halal in His Book and Haram is what God has made haram in His Book, and whatever there is silence about it has been forgiven (allowed).
(Ibn Majah, 3367)
May God be satisfied with the family of the Prophet (pbuh) and his pious companions.
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September 2015
Assalamualaykum akhi you mentioned in your words:
"As a general principle, other than what is clearly prohibited in the Qur’an, nothing else can be called impermissible unless it is used for something that is prohibited in the Qur’an".
Now the question is could the prophet may Allah have mercy on his soul not prohibit something which is independent from the Quran? If not then why? Allah mentions in the Quran many times to Obey Allah and his Messenger. How do we understand all the prohibitions made by the Prophet Mohammed May Allah have mercy on his soul that seem to be independent from the quran such as women not travelling without a mahram and so on .... .
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum,
Directives of the prophet (pbuh) with regard to permissible and not permissible are not independent from the Qur’an. If we look at them carefully we will find that all these directives (when authentic) fall under one of the following categories:
- Application of a Qur’anic directive (e.g. forbidding marriage with a woman and her parental or maternal aunt, that is simply an application of 4:23 if we appreciate the style of the Arabic language of the Qur’an)
- Reiterating what a human instinct considers desirable or not desirable (e.g. not eating animals with sharp canine teeth)
- Directives given not as the prophet but as the head of the state of Muslims (e.g. women not traveling without a mahram)
Of the above three only the first is Shari’ah and only the first two can be considered in principle permanent. This is while the third category belongs to situational directives. For example at the time of the prophet (pbuh) Muslims were in continuous war with their enemies and therefore it was not safe at all for Muslim women to travel without a mahram to protect them. As the head of the state the prophet (pbuh) disallowed Muslim women traveling alone to keep them safe.
Directive of the Qur’an to obey God and the prophet (pbuh) is not referring to two streams of independent obedience. The prophet (pbuh) was delivering God’s message and obeying him simply meant obeying God (look at 4:80). On the other hand the prophet (pbuh) was guided by the Qur'an itself and his main duty was to deliver the message of the Qur'an and advising people to obey it, so following the Qur'an would mean following the prophet (pbuh) as well. It is not like we obey God by following the Qur'an and we obey the prophet (pbuh) by following the hadith. Rather, we obey God and the prophet (pbuh) by following the Qur'an, while hadith may also explain or reiterate a directive of the Qur'an and its application.
I would like you to deliberate on the meaning of the following hadith as narrated by Salman al-Farsi in Sunan Ibn Majah and with slightly different wording in other books like the collection of Ibn Dawud:
الْحَلَالُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَالْحَرَامُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ، فَهُوَ مِمَّا عَفَا عَنْهُ
Halal is what God has made halal in His Book and Haram is what God has made haram in His Book, and whatever there is silence about it has been forgiven (allowed).
(Ibn Majah, 3367)
May God be satisfied with the family of the Prophet (pbuh) and his pious companions.
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September 2015
