In this short article, Hafiz Ather Hussain explores just some of the ways Allāh has ensured the continuous protection of the final Messenger, Sayyidunā Muhammad.
in an insecure world, it seems everyone seeks protection from possible misfortune and calamity. We are happy to put our trust in governments, employers, insurance companies, banks, investment funds, friends and personal security measures to protect us from physical, financial and psychological harm. In the Holy Qur’ān, Allāh states that He has provided the best possible protection to His beloved Messenger, Sayyidunā Muhammad.
و اهلل يعصمك من النا س
Allāh will protect you from mankind (5: 67).
Once the Messenger’s protection is guaranteed from the Creator, no one can ever doubt his security and wellbeing.
The Islamic scholars have offered different opinions on the exact background to the above verse:
- Imam al-Qurtubī writes that the Messenger ﷺ was once resting under a tree when a man came with a sword. He asked the Messenger ﷺ as he raised his sword: ‘Who will protect you from me?’ The Messenger ﷺ coolly replied ‘Allāh’. As soon as he said these words, the sword fell from the man’s hands and the Messenger swiftly took ownership of it. ‘Who will protect you from me now?’ Utterly defeated, the man was left speechless. When he returned to his people, the man said: ‘I have come to you from the best of all mankind.’
- It is said that Abū Tālib used to send men from Banū Hāshim to protect the Messenger He instructed them: ‘Certainly Allāh has protected me from jinns and humans, so I do . ﷺ not require anyone to protect me.’
- A third opinion is that Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqās and Hudhayfa (may Allāh be pleased with them) used to protect the Messenger ﷺ at night in al-Madina. When the above verse was revealed, he told them to leave, as Allāh was his Protector.
- The scholars have noted that the verb used in the verse (isma) is where we derive the word ma’sūm from, which means innocence. So one possible meaning is that Allāh has made you sinless and perfect. Certainly this is true because his worse enemies never found anything to defame him with, neither before or after his public announcement of nubuwwa.
Protection like no other
There is a wider meaning too, which will be the focus of this article. It means that Allāh has sent Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the Final Messenger with the final book. Therefore this means that it is imperative that no one finds room to reject him or the message. So Allāh shut all avenues of doubt, objections, accusations, false perceptions in the most secure form. No one will find any blemish on the character of the Prophet ﷺ, not then, today or ever. Note that the verse uses the imperfect verb (ya’simuka), meaning that this protection is continuous and on going.
How has Allāh ensured the protection of his Messenger ﷺ from possible objections?
‘Muhammad took his power and position from his father.’
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ lived in a climate where paternal relations were considered very important. The Arabs were very proud of their fathers and often lauded them in public. People might have said that similarly, Muhammad ﷺ sought the power, position and glory from his father and hence told the people he was the Final Messenger of Allāh. In order to ensure no one could make this claim, Allāh ensured the Messenger ﷺ never physically saw his father, Sayyiduna Abdullāh (may Allāh be pleased with him).
‘The Qur’an was written by Muhammad’
To mute this possible objection, Allāh ensured he was never seen to read and write in public. The Qur’an states:
Neither did you read any book before it (this Qur’ān), nor did you write any book with your right hand. In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted (29: 48).
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ could read and write; illiteracy is a defect and all prophets and messengers are free from defects. He was just not seen to read or write in public.
Similarly, observers might have suggested that he learned the Qur’an from the people around him. Again, Allāh ensured this could not be the case as he sent him to an illiterate community (ummiyīn).
‘Muhammad ﷺ was out of touch with the people.’
Leaders are often accused of not being in touch with the people, for being born with silver spoons in their mouths. How do they know what it feels like to be poor? Sometimes this can be a hindrance to propagation. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born an orphan. Hence he was totally in touch with the underprivileged.
‘Prophets are the chosen men of Allāh but sometimes, the followers can distort their message.’
All prophets and messengers were the chosen, perfect men of Allāh, entrusted with conveying the divine message. But a great amount depends on the followers too. They can sometimes distort the people and the message. For example, Jesus (peace be upon him) taught the oneness of Allāh but his followers invented the creed of trinity. In order to protect his Beloved ﷺ, Allāh ensured the men around him were the best men ever to have existed, the blessed Companions. Abū Bakr (may Allāh be pleased with him) was the greatest of all men after prophets. Umar (may Allāh be pleased with him) was the epitome of piety. Uthmān (may Allāh be pleased with him) was unparalleled in kindness. And Alī (may Allāh be pleased with him) was peerless in courage and bravery.
‘Generations thereafter could have erred in preserving the Sunna of Prophet’
One could argue that though the immediate men around Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) were marked with outstanding traits, later generations may have made mistakes in preserving and recording the Sunna. To prevent this from happening, Allāh put the preservation of the Sunna in the safe hands of Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz, Imām al-Bukhārī and the likes. Regarding Sunan al-Tirmidhī, it is said whosoever has this book in his home, it is as if he has the Prophet ﷺ in his home.
‘Preservation is one thing, emulating it is another’
Even if the Sunna is preserved, there is still a possibility that people will discard it, because there are no practical examples in front of them. Knowing the Sunna is different to practicing it in real life.
In order to prevent anyone suggesting this, Allāh sent a Ghazālī and a Ghawth, a Khwāja and a Dāta Sāhib. All these men – and indeed countless more – were a practical manifestation of the Sunna, in words, thought and action.
‘In the early period of Islam, such men were common but what about in our time?’
As time goes on, people, cultures and norms will change. A possibility exists that people will slowly forget the Sunna and act upon other trends. To stop this from happening, Allāh sends a mujaddid (religious reviver) every one hundred years, the likes of Mujaddid Alf Thānī and Ala Hazrat. So sending this reviver every century is in reality protecting the Prophet ﷺ and his flawless Sunna.
This protection from Allāh is ongoing and will last forever. Our Lord has put checks and mechanisms in place to ensure the character and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) will remain untarnished until the Last Day.
May Allāh send his sincerest salutations and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, ameen. And may we all find inspiration and salvation in acting upon his Sunna, āmīn.
Dr. Hafiz Ather Hussain al-Azhari
@hafiz_ather
BA Principles of Theology, al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
MA Arabic and Islamic Studies, Dar al-Ulum Muhammadia Ghawsia, Bhera, Pakistan.
BA Political Science, MPhil Theology & PhD Theology, University of Birmingham.
