Refuting Bassam Zawadi: Did Prophet Knew Meaning Of Mutashabiyaat Verses?

[MuhammedAli]

Introduction:

Bassam Zawadi a Wahhabi appologist against Christians is quite well known over the internet. He along with his Wahhabi co-religionists believe that Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) was not granted all the knowledge in Quran, not explained all the verses and their meanings in the Quran. Their aqeedah is that verses mutashabiyat and the meaning of haroof e muqat'taat has not been taught to Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) by Allah (subhana wa ta'ala). Where as Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah holds to the beliefe that Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) as well as ulul albab have been granted the knowledge of such verses especially the companions.

Back Ground:

A Sunni by the name of Farid on Marifah.net forum in response to Bassam Zawadi wrote:

“Bassam, the 'expert' in Ash'ari Sunni theology just 'asks questions' and then proceeds to answer on behalf of everyone himself. Anyhow this has been discussed on this forum in the past.

Here Sidi Abu Adam mentioned: "The Prophet (sallaļļaahuˆalayhiwasallam) definitely knew the meaning of anything ascribed to Aļļaah in the scriptures, but what is mutasħaabih (ambiguous) to some is not to others, as I indicated above."

Here he also says the same: "Note, however, that the prophet and at least some of the companions definitely knew the exact meaning of all statements ascribing attributes to Allaah – it is just that some of them became ambiguous to later generations and thus became mutasħaabihaat."

So the question is not - did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam or some of his companions know the meaning of wajh as ascribed to Allah in these verses (which we know they did) - the real question is that do these salafis have this specific information from them to hand and if so, could they kindly share it.”

And in sectarian typing rampage Bassam Zawadi in response on ahlalhdeeth.com wrote:

“Where is the evidence for all this? Who on earth ever said that the Prophet and some of the Sahabah knew some of the meanings? How come this information was not passed down to us then? Did the Prophet and companions fail in preserving such vital doctrine? They bothered to narrate to us the smallest of details, but some how managed to fail to provide us information about Allah Himself? Sorry Faqir.... but you sound ridiculous and your basically calling the Prophet and his companions a bunch of failures.”

And here is a reconstruction of his above murderous rampage put in the context by me; note in the brackets insertions are mine:

“Where is the evidence for all this [that Prophet and atleast some companions knew some of mutashabiyat]? Who on earth ever said that the Prophet and some of the Sahabah knew some of the meanings [of mutashabiyat]? How come this [known] information [of mutashabiyat] was not passed down to us then? Did the Prophet and companions fail in preserving such vital [information about mutashabiyat which are vital for] doctrine? They bothered to narrate to us the smallest of details [fiqh and other aspects ...], but some how managed to fail to provide us information about [mutashabiyat which are attributes of] Allah Himself? Sorry Faqir.... but you sound ridiculous and [if Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) as well as the companions knew the meaning of mutashabiyat and despite that they failed to perserve the meaning of these verses by passing them on to future generations then you're] basically calling the Prophet and his companions a bunch of failures."

After reading this response of Bassam I contacted a old friend of mine al-boriqee who I had good brotherly relationship in past on Understanding-Islam forum owned and run by Moiz Amjad. There I explained to him that Bassam Zawadi does not believe that knowledge of all of Quran was given, taught to Prophet (salallahu alayhi was'sallam) and this belief is kuffr. It was after brother al-boriqee's response that I thought I write this article to explain the error what Bassam believes and support the beliefe of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Muslimeen in light of Quran to establish proof against this batal creed. So the Muslims do not fall into this kuffri innovation and warn others of this creed which leads to apostacy.

Part One: Bassam Zawadi.

Analysis Of Bassam Zawadi's Questions:

1)“Where is the evidence for all this [that Prophet and atleast some companions knew some of mutashabiyat]?”

Implication of his this question is; that there is no evidence to substantiate that some of the companions and Prophet had [as bassam wrote] some of knowledge of mutashabiyat. Lets for argument sake assume that what he means is; there is a lot of evidence that knowledge of mutashabiyat was known to Prophet and companions and also in his next question: “Who on earth ever said that the Prophet and some of the Sahabah knew some of the meanings [of mutashabiyat]?” he also means: everyone said Prophet knew the meaning of mutashabiyat, then his third question: 'How come this information [of mutashabiyat] was not passed down to us then?' implies; had there been such knowledge then it would have been passed to us and its absence is proof that there was no knowledge of mutashabiyat.

2)“Who on earth ever said that the Prophet and some of the Sahabah knew some of the meanings [of mutashabiyat]?”

The implications of this question are that no one has ever stated that Prophet and some of companions knew some meanings of mutashabiyat. Now for sake of argument lets against all odds say with this question his implications was that everyone said Prophet knew the meaning of mutashabiyat then his next question: 'How come this information [of mutashabiyat] was not passed down to us then?' Implies that had there been such knowledge then it would have been passed to us and its absence is proof that there was no knowledge of mutashabiyat.

3)“How come this [known] information [of mutashabiyat] was not passed down to us then?”

Putting his questions in context based on the implication, If the meaning of mutashabiyat was known to Prophet and companions then; how come this information of mutashabiyat was not passed down to the Muslims in general. Note in his first two ques he implies ignorance of Prophet and his companions and in his third question based on the built up assumption of ignorance he asks the third question. Does this imply that Bassam believes Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) knew the meaning of mutashabiyat or does it imply that Prophet and his companions didnt know the meanings hence they didnt pass them on to us?

4)“Did the Prophet and companions fail in preserving such vital [information about mutashabiyat which are vital for] doctrine?”

Part one; Now if someone said; no they didnt fail in perserving the knowledge and in light of this question: 'How come this [known] information [of mutashabiyat] was not passed down to us then?' in the context it could; Prophet and some companions knew but they didnt pass on the information on to perserve it. If Prophet knew and he taught some companions. Yet no one knows the meaning of the ayaat mutashabiyat at present then conlusion is [according to Ashari's] Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) and his companions are bunch of failures because despite knowing they failed to perserve the meaning by passing it on to next generation.[1] Also with answer; no they didnt fail in perserving the knowledge, he would go back to que: 'How come this information [of mutashabiyat] was not passed down to us then?' And this would imply; had Prophet and companions knew the meanings of mutashabiyat then it would have been passed on to us and absence of such is proof they didnt know the meaning of mutashabiyat.

Part two; And if someone said; yes they failed to perserve the meaning of mutashabiyat, first he would accuse them of kuffr and then he would respond with the next question; They bothered to narrate to us the smallest of details [of fiqh and other aspects ...], but some how managed to fail to provide us information about [mutashabiyat which are attributes of] Allah Himself? Which would imply if there was something about mutashabiyat then I assure you we would have had something with us. And we have nothing of this sort in sahih authentic sources giving meanings of mutashabiyat hence there was nothing known to Prophet and nothing known to companions about mutshabiyat. Putting is differently; had Prophet known something about mutashabiyat he would have taught sahabah and they would have narrated the meaning of mutashabiyat which would reach us. Since Prophet didnt know, he didnt teach the Sahabah, and they didnt pass it on to us, and consequently we know nothing about the meanings of mutashabiyat.

In both answers, no, or yes, Ashari was trapped in plot of Bassam. It's heads, Bassam wins, tails Ashari looses. This question is like; will you stop beating your wife up? Yes, means he is accepting he is beating his wife up, and no also means he is admitting to beating his wife up but wont stop beating her. So cleverly worded questions and the answer to trickery might dupe unsuspecting, non-critical mind into affirming something reprehensible but it does not nessciate that actually person believes what he was tricked into. Word games can only trick people into something, and people who are aided by shaytan can find many ways of extracting supporting evidence for their allegations (i.e. Ashari's believe Prophet and his companions failed in perserving the Quran) and you have seen example of it. I don't think Bassam is intelligent enough to think it through in so much detail about the out come of answers, rather he would have jumped at anyone of the two yes or no and continued from there.

5)“They bothered to narrate to us the smallest of details [fiqh and other aspects ...], but some how managed to fail to provide us information about [mutashabiyat which are attributes of] Allah Himself?”

This question implies absence of proof that meaning of mutashabiyat was taught to Prophet, companions is proof that there isnt if there was then we would have had it in our possession especially when such detailed knowledge was passed on to us.

6)“Sorry Faqir.... but you sound ridiculous and [if Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) as well as the companions knew the meaning of mutashabiyat and despite that they failed to perserve the meaning of these verses by passing them on to future generations then you're] basically calling the Prophet and his companions a bunch of failures.”

What he means here is sory Faqir if Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) as well as the companions knew the meaning of mutashabiyat and despite that they failed to perserve the meaning of these verses by passing them on to future generations then you're basically calling the Prophet and his companions a bunch of failures and you Faqir sound ridiculous arguing that they had known the meaning of mutashabiyaat.

Refuting Claim: Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) Didn't Know Meaning Of Mutashabiyaat:

Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) states: "... can do no harm in the least. For Allah hath sent down to thee the Book and wisdom and taught thee what thou Knewest not (before): And great is the Grace of Allah unto thee." [Ref: 3:114]This verse means that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has taught Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) the knowledge within Quran and this knowledge was not know to Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) before. In another verse Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) explicitly states He taught Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) the Quran: “Ar'Rahman (i.e. Most Gracious Allah)! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an.” [Ref: 55:1 – 2] Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) instructs Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) not recite Quran quickly after Jibraeel (alayhis salam) because Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) will explain to him the Quran: "Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur'an) to make haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it: But when We have promulgated it, follow thou its recital (as promulgated):Nay more, it is for Us to explain it (and make it clear): ..." [Ref: 75: 16 – 19] Further more Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) not only understood the entire Quran himself but he was instructed also taught it to his companions. Hadhrat Ibrahim (alayhis salam) and Hadhrat Ismail (alayhis salam) made the fallowing dua for Arabs:"Our Lord! send amongst them an Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: For Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise." [Ref: 2:129] and this dua was answered: “A similar (favour have ye already received) in that We have sent among you an Messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our Signs, and sanctifying you, and instructing you in Scripture and Wisdom, and in new knowledge.” [Ref:2:251]

Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has made it clear that He has taught Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) the meaning, explanation of entire Quran. This explaination of Quran includes verses of mutashabiyaat as well as haroof al muqat'taat. Had Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) not taught Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) the meaning of mutashabiyaat and haroof al muqat'taat then Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) would have made takhsees in the verses of Quran by stating exceptions (i.e. taught all the Quran except the mutashabiyaat and haroof al muqat'taat) absence of such exceptions is proof that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) taught the entire Quran to Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) including the meaning of haroof al muqat'taat and ayaat mutashabiyaat. Hence he knew the meaning of mutashabiyaat as well as haroof al muqat'taat and he did indeed teach them to some of his companions otherwise if he had not taught them then the hokam of verses is not fullfiled by Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam). The companions who learnt meaning of mutashabiyaat and haroof al muqat'taat passed on the knowledge of them to those who wished to know and those who showed no interest in learning about meaning of these verses they left them. The companions considered the knowledge of ayaat al mutashabiyaat and haroof al muqat'taat as knowledge which does not benefit and evidence of this is the fact that; Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) discouraged the pursuite of this knowledge and pointed that those who pursue this subject wanting to know its meaning have perversity, have sickness, have discease in their hearts. Also if it was beneficial knowledge Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) would have explained the meaning of these verses in Quran itself because nature of Quran is that it interprets it self. Yet in regard of interpretation of mutashabiyaat and haroof al muqat'taat no explicit explanation is given. Therefore it was knowledge which was not going to benefit the Sahabah in any way hence the majority avoided the subject all togather.

Refuting Bassam's Implications Of Question Four:

Bassam's assumption based batal allegation against my Ashari brother Faqir was; Faqir believes and Ashari scholars of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah believe Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) as well as the companions failed to perserve the teaching regarding Mutashabiyaat. This was a out right slander; none of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah believe this. Rather Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah comprising of Ashari and the Maturidi schools of thought hold to the position that knowledge was not learnt by many Sahabah; the majority stayed clear of learning about mutashabiyaat and minority learnt. In the first three generations and the suceeding generations the patern remained the same.

The majority did not pursue the knowledge of mutashabiyaat because Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) states in the Quran regarding Mutashabiyaat verses: “He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.”[Ref: 3:7] Note two things in the verse; one reason for companions not learning the knowledge of mutashabiyat was that they feared what Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) stated about one who asks about mutashabiyat: “But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, ...” but the verse also affirms that there are men of understanding who will grasp the message of Quran in general, and in the context of verse; the meaning of mutashabiyat: “... and none will grasp the Message [of entire book/ of mutashabiyaat] except men of understanding.”

The plain and simple fact is that Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) knew, and taught some companions and others and tabiyeen and tabi'tabiyeen were disintrusted in the subject because of what Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) stated in the Quran about perversity of heart of those who pursue this course of knowledge hence they neglected this aspect of aqeedah with good intentions of obeying the instruction of Allah (subhana wa ta'ala): “And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge; for surely the hearing, the sight, the heart all of those shall be questioned of.” [Ref: 17:36] Those who were taught about the mutashbiyaat passed on what they were taught because Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) instructed the teaching of knowledge: “But teach (the Message): for teaching benefits the Believers.” [Ref: 51:55] Those who knew and were asked about Mutashabiyaat; they concealed nothing because Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) informed the companions:"He who is asked about knowledge and conceals it will be bridled on the Day of Judgment with a bridle of fire." [Ref: Abu Dawood, B25, H3650] Hence it is foolish to say the Prophet and companions didnt perserve the knowledge of mutashabiyat those who knew did their part but others didnt want to learn it because of what Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) stated about purseuing such knolwedge. And those who learnt were in minority hence the understanding of minority became disputed by heretics with argument that majority of Sahabah, Tabiyeen and Tab'tabiyeen didnt teach this.

Conclusion:

The real deal, the grand question, on basis of which Bassam wanted to refute was: Did the Prophet and companions fail in preserving such vital [information about mutashabiyat which are vital for] doctrine? This question was one which was most important on basis of which Bassam wanted to prove that if Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) knew the meaning of mutashabiyat then he would have taught the Sahabah and they would have passed it on to us. And absence of such proof is evidence that Prophet didnt know nor did the companions the meaning of mutashabiyat. And this very beliefe is kuffr because Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has stated in the Quran that He has explained the entire Quran to Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) Himself. Not only that; Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) taught the entire Quran including the meaning of mutashabiyaat as well as haroof al muqat'taat to some of companions.

Any who disbelieves what is established from clear verses of Quran (i.e. Prophet sallalahu alayhi was'sallam knowing the meaning of entire Quran including haroof al muqat'taat and ayaat mutashabiyaat) such person has disbelieved in Quran. Even if such individual was to make takhsees on logical, rational basis even then his kuffr would be established and no excuse of mistake would be accepted. A takhsees of quoted verses (i.e. Prophet didnt know mutashabiyaat and meaning of haroof al muqat'taat) is only acceptable if it is based on evidence of Quran or Hadith and in the absence of such evidence its kuffr.

Wama alayna ilal balaghul mubeen.
Muhammed Ali Razavi

Footnote:

- [1] Bassam alledges against the Ashari's position; Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) as well as some of his companions knew the meaning of ayaat Mutashabiyaat is proof that Ashari's are calling Prophet (sallallahu alayhi was'sallam) and his companions bunch of failures because they knew yet failed to passed on the knowledge. Primarily the fact is he deduced this based on his own questions and no one has ever hinted that Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) or his companions are bunch of failures, nor anyone from Ashariyya and Maturidiyya have ever called them failures [or deleriants] rather this is production of Bassam Zawadi's shaytani imagination. As for his judging of position of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah regarding companions and their passing of knowledge based on his deleriant reasoning it is against the established Sunnah of Prophet (sallallahu alayhi was'sallam). Determining one's belief based on assumptions and delusional deductions and not what the person expresses with his tongue is against the teaching of Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam). Once a companion Usama bin Zaid had killed a person in battle who had with his tongue professed: "La ilaha illal-Lah." Prophet (sallalahu alayhi was'sallam) disaproved of his this action when the incident was narrated to him: "O Usama! Did you kill him after he had said "La ilaha ilal-Lah?" I said, "But he said so only to save himself." The Prophet kept on repeating that so often that I wished I had not embraced Islam before that day.” [Ref: Bukhari, B59, H568] This proves that aqeedah is, faith is, Islam is, based on what a person professes with his tongue and he is to be judged according to his profession and not logical, rational, reasoning, or assumptions or deductions. And lastly the readers should be aware of the fact that Bassam Zawadi employed the Khariji principle of judging the aqeedah of a person based on logical, rational, assumptions and deductions. The Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah does not practice this rather we judge the aqeedah based on what person professes with tongue.

Edited 26 اگست 2013 by MuhammedAli