Sharh-ul-Usool ath-Thalaathah : Lesson 46 (Part C) & Lesson 47
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|English]
Belief in the Messengers
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
Allaah sent all of the messengers as bringers of good tidings and as warners, and the proof is His saying, He the Most High:
رُّسُلًا مُّبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا
Messengers were sent as bringers of glad tidings and as warners so that the people should have no excuse with Allaah after the sending of the messengers. And Allaah is ever All Mighty, All Wise. [4:165] [74]
[74]:Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan’s Explanation :
Eemaan in the Messengers is one of the six pillars of eemaan; he sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam said:
“Eemaan is that you truly believe in Allaah and in His Angels and in His Books and in His Messengers…”
[Hadeeth reported by al Bukhaaree (50) and Muslim (8,9 & 10) from the hadeeth of Aboo Hurayrah radi Allaahu‘ anhu]
So having eemaan in the Messengers is one of the pillars of eemaan; so it is essential to have eemaan in all of the messengers, from the first of them to the last of them. So whoever denies a single messenger, then he is a kaafir (disbeliever) in all of them, just as He, the Most High, said:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن يَتَّخِذُوا بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًا – أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ حَقًّا ۚ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا
Those who disbelieve in Allaah and in His Messengers want to make a distinction between believing in Allaah and in His Messengers and they say, “We believe in some of them and we disbelieve in some.”And they wish to take a path in between that. They are the disbelievers in truth and We have prepared a humiliating punishment for the disbelievers. [4:150-151]
So there must be eemaan in all of the Messengers from the first of them to the last of them, those whom Allaah has named from them in His Book, and those He has not named. For the Messengers are many; and therefore there occurs in the hadeeth that they number:
“One hundred and twenty four thousand (prophets) and the messengers from them were three hundred and fifteen all together.”
[Hadeeth reported by Ahmad in his Musnad from the hadeeth of Aboo Umaamah al Baahilee radi Allaahu ‘anhu and declared to be saheeh by al Albaanee in as Saheehah (2668)]
So there were many messengers; from them were those whom Allaah named in His Book and from them were those He did not name. So it is obligatory upon us to have eemaan in all of them, from the first of them to the last of them.
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
: وأولُهُمْ نوحٌ عليهِ السلامُ، وآخِرُهُم محمدٌ صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو خاتِمُ النَّبيينَ والدليلُ على أنَّ أوَّلُهُم نوح قوله تعالى
And the first of them was Nooh, ‘alaihissalaam, and the last of them was Muhammad sallAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam; and the proof that the first of them was Nooh, ‘alaihissalaam, is His saying, He the Most High:
إِنَّا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ كَمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ نُوحٍ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ مِن بَعْدِهِ
We have sent you (O Muhammad), with Revelation, just as We sent Revelation to Nooh and to the prophets who came after him [4:163] 75
[75]:Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan’s Explanation :
The proof that the first of them was Nooh is His saying, He the Most High:
… إِنَّا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ
We sent revelation to you…
This was an address to the Prophet sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam
كَمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ نُوحٍ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ مِن بَعْدِهِ ۚ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَعِيسَىٰ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُونُسَ وَهَارُونَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ ۚ وَآتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُورًا
… just as We sent revelation to Nooh and the prophets who came after him; and We sent revelation to Ibraaheem and Isma’eel and Is-haaq and Ya’qoob and to the tribes (of Banu Israeel) and to ‘Eesaa and Ayyoob and Yoonus and Haaroon and Sulaymaan; and We gave the Zaboor to Daawud. [4:163]
Allaah mentioned a number of their names together in this aayah, just as He mentioned a number of their names together in the aayah from Soorah al An’aam:
وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَهَارُونَ
And from his descendants were Daawood and Sulaymaan and Ayyoob and Yoosuf and Moosaa and Haaroon… [6:84]
to the end of the aayaat.
So the first of them was Nooh – ‘alaihissalaatu wassalaam – as proven by His saying, He the Most High:
.. وَالنَّبِيِّينَ مِن بَعْدِهِ
And the prophets who came after him… [4:163]
Allaah sent him (Nooh) to his people when they went beyond the limits (ghuloo) concerning the righteous people after the people had been upon the religion of Tawheed from the time of Aadam ‘alaihissalaam for ten generations and they were upon Tawheed.
So when the people of Nooh came, there were amongst (those people) righteous men. Then when those righteous men died, the people grieved severely for them. So Satan seized the opportunity and said to them, “Make images of those righteous people and set them up in the places where you sit in order that when you see these images, you will remember their condition and you will gain enthusiasm upon worship.” So therefore they made images of those dead people and they set them up in the sitting places but they (these images) were not worshipped to begin with because of the presence of scholars who used to explain Tawheed to the people and used to criticize shirk.
Then when the people of knowledge died and the first generation passed away, a later generation came – and the scholars had died – Satan came and said to them, “Your forefathers only erected these images in order to worship them and they used to seek rain near them (these images).” So he made worship of them seem to be good, so they worshipped them besides Allaah.
So in this way, shirk came about upon the Earth; so Allaah therefore sent His Prophet Nooh – ‘alaihissalaatu wassalaam – calling them to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and seeking to return them to Tawheed, which was the religion of their forefather Aadam – ‘alaihissalaam. However they (Nooh’s people) were obstinate and haughty:
وَقَالُوا لَا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا
And they said, “Do not forsake those objects that you worship! Do not forsake Wadd nor Suwaa’ nor Yaghooth nor Ya’ooq nor Nasr. [71:23]
Ibn ‘Abbaas said:
« هذه أسماء رجال صالحين ، صوروا صورهم ونصبوها على مجالسهم فآل ﺑﻬم الأمر إلى أن عبدوها من دون الله »
“These were the names of righteous men; they made images of them and they set them up in their sitting places, and this eventually led them to worshipping them besides Allaah.”
[Hadith Reported by al Bukhaaree as narration 4920]
So when Nooh – ‘alaihissalaatu wassalaam – came to them and forbade them from worshipping them and he commanded them to worship Allaah, they said, “Do not abandon those objects that you worship; do not obey Nooh but rather continue upon your kufr and transgression and obstinacy!”
This was the first shirk that occurred upon the Earth and its cause was the images. And therefore the Prophet sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam said:
« إن أشد الناس عذابا عند الله يوم القيامة المصورون »
“The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be those who make images.”
[Hadith Reported by al Bukhaaree (5950) and Muslim (2109) from hadeeth of ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood radi Allaahu ‘anhu]
And he sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam said:
« إن الذين يصنعون هذه الصور يعذبون يوم القيامة ، يقال لهم : أحيوا ما خلقتم »
Those people who make these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection. It will be said to them, “Give life to that which you have created.”
[Hadith Reported by al Bukhaaree (5951) and Muslim (2108) from hadeeth of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar radi Allaahu‘ anhumaa ]
They will be commanded to breathe the spirit of life into these images; and this will be a case of ta’jeez (giving them a command to show their inability) and as a punishment for them, and Allaah’s refuge is sought. This is because making images is a route from the routes which lead to shirk, just as happened with the people of Nooh.
So the first of the Messengers was Nooh. And as for the seal of the Messengers and the last of them, then he was Muhammad sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam. He, the Most High, said:
مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ
Muhammad is not the father of any of your men but rather he is the Messenger of Allaah and the final one of the prophets. [33:40]
And he sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam said:
« وأنا خاتم النبيين لا نبي بعدي »
I am the seal of the Prophets; there will be no prophet after me.[6]
[Hadith Reported by Aboo Daawud (4252) and at Tirmidhee from hadeeth of Thawbaan radi Allaahu ‘anhu and declared saheeh by al Albaanee]
So through him, the Heavenly Messages were concluded. So no prophet will be raised and sent after him until the Hour is established. However his Sharee’ah (Revealed Law) will remain until the Hour is established and his religion will remain until the Hour is established, as has preceded. So whoever claims Prophethood after Muhammad sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam then he is a disbeliever; and whoever believes (this false claimant to Prophethood) then he (too) is a disbeliever in Allaah, because there will be no prophet after him sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam.
And many people have claimed Prophethood after him; and Allaah has exposed them and has made their falsehood apparent. And from the last of them – in what we know – was al Qaadiyaanee, Ghulaam Ahmad al Qaadiyaanee, the Indian; the one who in the beginning claimed to be upon knowledge and worship, then he claimed that he was ‘Eesaa ibn Maryam, then he claimed Prophethood. And he now has followers who call themselves the Qaadiyaanees. And the Muslims have declared them to be disbelievers and they have shunned them and counted them as being a disbelieving sect outside of Islaam. And they are a people who are shunned and banished – and all praise is for Allaah – from the lands of the Muslims. And they (the Qaadiyaanees) are active (in dawah). However their activities end in failure.
So, in summary, there will be no prophet after the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam. Whoever claims prophet hood after him, then he is a great liar, just as he sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam said:
« لا تقوم الساعة حتى يبعث دجالون كذابون ، قريبا من ثلاثين كلهم يزعم أنه رسول الله »
“The Hour will not be established until dajjaals (great tricksters), great liars are sent, close to thirty, each one of them claiming that he is a messenger of Allaah.”
[Hadith Reported by al Bukhaaree (3609) and Muslim after the narration 2923 in the Book of Trials and Tribulations from the hadeeth of Aboo Hurayrah radi Allaahu ‘anhu]
Those who claim falsely to be prophets are many but Allaah exposes their affair and uncovers them and shows how debased they are to the people. And whoever believes them, then he is a disbeliever because he is denying the Truth of what has been said by Allaah and His Messenger sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam and the consensus of the Muslims upon the fact that Prophethood was concluded with Muhammad sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam.
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
And Allaah sent a Messenger to every nation, from Nooh until Muhammad, commanding them to worship Allaah alone, and forbidding them from the worship of at-taaghoot and the proof is His saying, He the Most High:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
We certainly sent a messenger to every nation ordering them that they should worship Allaah (alone) and they should shun the Taaghoot [16:36] 76
[76]: Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan’s Explanation :
And his saying: “Allaah sent a messenger to every nation…”, Meaning: Allaah sent a messenger to every nation of mankind in order to establish the proof upon them so that they would not be able to say, “No bringer of good tidings nor any warner came to us!”
And because of His saying, He the Most High:
مَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا
We do not punish until We have sent a messenger. [17:15]
So Allaah sent a messenger to every nation from the previous nations, just as He, the Most High, said:
وَإِن مِّنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ
There was not a previous nation except that Allaah sent a warner to them. [35:24]
However it is obligatory that we are aware of what was the call of the Messengers? The call of all the messengers, from the first of them to the last of them, was the call to tawheed as per His saying, He the Most High:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
We certainly sent a messenger to every nation ordering them that they should worship Allaah (alone) and they should shun the taaghoot. [16:36]
So everything that is worshipped besides Allaah is Taaghoot, as will follow with regards to the types of the Taaghoots – that from their types is that which is worshipped besides Allaah whilst he is pleased with that, as will follow.
So the meaning of His saying, He the Most High:
.. وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
And shun the Taaghoot…
means to keep away from worshipping the false objects of worship and the idols and the graves and the tombs; these are taaghoots. So the noble aayah proves that the call of the Messengers, all of them, was concentrated upon Tawheed from the first of them to the last of them.
Just as He, the Perfect and Most High, said:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ
And We did not send any messenger before you except that We revealed to him that none has the right to be worshipped except Me so worship Me alone. [21:25]
And His saying:
يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ بِالرُّوحِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ أَنْ أَنذِرُوا أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاتَّقُونِ
He (Allaah) sends down the angels with the Revelation from His Command to whomever He wishes from His servants ordering them, “Warn the people that none has the right to be worshipped except Me, so therefore fear and be dutiful to Me.” [16:2]
So the call of the Messengers, all of them, was to tawheed and to singling out Allaah, the Majestic and Most High, with worship and to forbidding shirk. This was the call of the Messengers.
Then after tawheed comes the Revealed Laws with regards to the halaal (permissible) and the haraam (forbidden). And the details of the Revealed Laws varied in accordance with the variation between the nations and the needs of the nations. And Allaah abrogated from them whatever He wished, and then all of them were abrogated through the Revealed Law of Islaam – the halaal and the haraam, the rulings and the acts of worship and the commands and the prohibitions.
As for the foundation (of the Revealed Laws) then it was tawheed; then this did not vary and it was not abrogated. This was a single religion; the religion of all the Messengers from the first of them to the last of them was one religion (in this respect) – just as He, the Most High, said:
لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجًا
And for each people We laid down a prescribed law and a detailed way to follow. [5:48]
And the religion of tawheed is the worship of Allaah with that which He legislated at each time in accordance with its particular circumstances. So if a Revealed Law was abrogated then the people moved onto the new abrogating Law.
So whoever insists and remains upon that which has been abrogated, and avoids that which is abrogating, then he will be a disbeliever in Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic because the religion which has been abrogated will not be a religion after its being abrogated. Rather it will only be religion before it was abrogated. So when it has been abrogated, then it will not be religion. The religion will be that which comes later (abrogates). Therefore the Revealed Law of Islaam abrogated whatever came before it from the Revealed religious laws.
So whoever remains upon Judaism or Christianity after the sending of Muhammad sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam then he is a kaafir (disbeliever) because he is acting upon a religion which has been abrogated, whose time has come to an end.
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Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah. Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles of Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab by Shaykh Saalih ibn Fowzaan al-Fowzaan hafizahullaah. Translated by Daawood Burbank, rahimahullaah
Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah
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Listen to the Full Audio Series:
Sharh Usool-ith-Thalaathah – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank
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