Question: May Allaah Grant you great
good – insults upon the Prophet(s) [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him]
have become frequent. Their methods of insulting him vary, at times they
release films and clips and at other times they insult him in the broader media.
The question is; what should be our
stance against those who insult him [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon
him]?
Connecting to this also; is it
permissible for us to be angered by their insults and express our anger via
protesting against them?
Shaykh Saaleh bin Fawzaan al-Fawzaan
[may Allaah Preserve him] replied by saying:
My brothers! Insulting the Prophet
[Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] is not a new phenomenon. They
insulted him to his face, calling him ‘a magician’, ‘a liar’, ‘a soothsayer’,
‘a mere poet’ to the end of their degrees of insults.
However, the Prophet [Peace and
Blessings of Allaah be upon him] remained patient with their insults and he
didn’t hasten to seek revenge. Allaah ordered him to remain patient:
(وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْراً جَمِيلاً)
“And be patient (O Muhammad
)
with what they say, and keep away from them in a good way.”
[al-Muzzamil 72:10]
He heard their insults and was effected
by them but he remained patient, Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him,
acting upon the Command of Allaah, [the Glorified and the Exalted]:
(وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ يَضِيقُ صَدْرُكَ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ*
فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَكُنْ مِنْ السَّاجِدِينَ* وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى
يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ)
[al-Hijr 15: 97-99]
So he remained patient and commanded
his Companions [may Allaah be Pleased with them all] to likewise remain patient
and not to react to any one of these insults. This was their plight when they
were living in Makkah, purely because they were weak and outnumbered, and had
they reacted then the Mushriks of Quraysh would have overcome them and
al-Islaam would have ended in Makkah (without it spreading).
The command during the
Makkan period was to remain patient and invite people to al-Islaam by giving
Da’wah. This situation continued until they migrated to Makkah and found those
who would help them, the Ansaar.
Thereafter, Allaah Ordered Jihaad
against the Mushriks of Makkah, which was the legislated form of Jihaad (and not the
killing of innocent people or those bound under treaty, rather legislated Jihaad includes rulings connected to combat between two opposing armies).
Protesting, killing innocent people
or destroying their wealth - this includes Muslims or who the Muslims have
peace treaties with - and attacking them is a form of treachery and is not
permissible.
It is not permissible to killing
anyone who is innocent, regardless of if they are Kuffaar or not, it is not
permissible:
(وَلا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ أَنْ صَدُّوكُمْ عَنْ
الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ أَنْ تَعْتَدُوا)
“and let not the hatred of some people in (once) stopping you fromAl-Masjid-al-Haram lead you to transgression (and
hostility on your part)” [al-Maa’idah 5:2]
It is not permissible to transgress
the rights of those who are innocent (or under treaty):
(وَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى)
“No person’s sin can burden another.”
[al-Israa 17:15]
And,
(وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ
حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ)
“And if anyone of the Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, pagans,
disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) seeks your protection then grant him
protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allah (the Qur'an), and then
escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know
not.” [at-Tawbah 9:6]
Message carriers from Mushrik and
Kuffaar rulers used to come to the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be
upon him] as ambassadors for their respective countries. They would enter
al-Madeenah and at times would even enter the Masjid of the Prophet [Peace and
Blessings of Allaah be upon him] and convey the message they had been ordered
to carry. Despite the fact that these ambassadors where Mushriks or Kuffaar,
they entered with peace and security.
With this, we must all realise that
al-Islaam is not a religion of anger and retribution. Rather, it is a religion
of spreading guidance, mercy and kindness.
These were the characteristics and
practices of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] and what
did having this approach result in? It resulted in the Messenger of Allaah
[Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] being supported by Allaah, given
honour and the correct representation of al-Islaam spreading.
As for those who
mocked him (during the Makkan period), they became from those who were foremost in
practicing al-Islaam and spreading it (such as Aboo Sufyaan and the son of Abu
Jahl, ‘Ikrimah).
They submitted in al-Islaam and they personified a good
display of al-Islaam.
This is all because the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of
Allaah be upon him] was patient with them, was kind and gentle with their
insults until the Prophet even became more beloved to them more than
themselves.
This is how Allaah [the Glorified and the Exalted] said about him:
(وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ)
“And verily, you (O Muhammad
)
are on an exalted standard of character.”
[al-Qalam 68:4]
This was the noble character
of the Messenger of Allaah [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be
upon him].
The Kuffaar came to realise this.
They only insult the Prophet expecting a reaction from the Muslims so that they
can attach something negative against al-Islaam.
Responding to these incidents
with violence leads them to point the finger and attach stereotypes to the
Muslims; killing diplomats and destroying the houses and wealth of others –
this is what the religion of al-Islaam teaches.
This is exactly what the Kuffaar
want, so that they can blame the Muslims and stereotype them based on the
actions of a few of the ignoramuses from them, stereotyping all Muslims based
on the actions of the ignorant and the worst of those from them.
Therefore, it is not permissible to
be hasty. When facing such tribulations, rather the command is to be patient.
(وَلَقَدْ كُذِّبَتْ رُسُلٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ
فَصَبَرُوا عَلَى مَا كُذِّبُوا وَأُوذُوا حَتَّى أَتَاهُمْ نَصْرُنَا وَلا
مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَكَ مِنْ نَبَإِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ)
“Verily, (many) Messengers were denied before you (O Muhammad
), but with patience
they bore the denial, and they were hurt, till Our Help reached them, and none
can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allah. Surely there has reached you the
information (news) about the Messengers (before you).”
[al-An’aam 6:34]
This is the guidance that the
religion of al-Islaam has come with and the correct response given to
those who mock and insult; be kind, practice patience and not to be hasty in seeking
retribution.
The Mushriks want for us to fall
into the trap they have laid in front of us, taking the example of the actions
of some of the ignorant ones – arrogance, violence and killing. To the extent
that such notions become widespread and influence the regular Muslim, so that
they protest against the actions of other Muslims leading to Muslims killing one another.
This is precisely what they want.
