Fussilat 41:37–43

It is Not permissible to prostrate before anyone except Allah Almighty

لَا تَسْجُدُوا لِلشَّمْسِ وَلَا لِلْقَمَرِ‌ وَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُنَّ (Do not make sajdah [ prostration ] to the sun, or to the moon. And make sajdah to Allah who has created them - 37). It is learnt from this verse that prostration is the right of the Creator of the Universe only. The consensus of the Ummah is that to prostrate before any star, human being, etc. is haram (forbidden), whether it is for worship, or just as a gesture of respect and reverence. The only difference is that if someone prostrates before anyone other than Allah with intention to worship him, he becomes an infidel and the one who prostrates simply as a mark of respect and reverence is not called an infidel, but he is guilty of committing a serious haram act and is a sinner.

Prostration of worship for any being other than Allah has never been lawful for any Ummah in any Shari` ah of any prophet, because it becomes a practice of shirk (polytheism) and shirk has never been allowed in any code of shari'ah revealed to any prophet. However, prostration in respect and reverence of anyone (with no intention to worshipping him) had been allowed in the codes of shari'ah revealed to some prophets. All the angels were ordered to prostrate before Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) before he came into this world. It is stated in the Qur'an that the father and brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) prostrated before him. But the jurisprudents of this Ummah are unanimous on the point that such a prostration was permissible in the earlier codes only, and it stands abrogated in Islam. Prostration for any being other than Allah has been declared absolutely haram (forbidden). Full details of this issue are given in the author's booklet ( المقالۃ المرضیۃ فی حکم سجدۃ التحیۃ) Al-maqalat-ulmardiyyah, fi Hukmi sajdat-it-tahiyyah' in Arabic, and its Urdu translation has also been published.

وَهُمْ لَا يَسْأَمُونَ (and they do not get weary. - 38) This is one of the verses called ` Verses of sajdah' the recitation of which makes it obligatory to perform sajdah (prostration) for the one who recites them and the one who listens to them. This sajdah is called sajdah of tilawah. There is consensus of the Ummah on the point that sajdah of tilawah is wajib (obligatory) in this Surah, but the scholars differ regarding the exact place where it becomes wajib. Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn-ul-` Arabi has written in Ahkam-ul-Qur'an that Sayyidna ` Aliand Sayyidna Ibn Masud ؓ used to prostrate at the end of the verse 37 i.e. at the end ofإِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ (if it is Him whom you worship.) Imam Malik has adopted this very stance. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، however, used to prostrate at the end of the verse 38 i.e. at the end of لَا يَسْأَمُونَ ۩ (and they do not get weary.)

Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ has also advised prostration at this place. Masruq, Abu ` Abdur Rahman Sulami, Ibrahim Nakha` i, Ibn Sirin, Qatadah, etc., and most jurists used to prostrate at verse 38, i.e. at the end of لَا يَسْأَمُونَ ۩. Imam Abu Bakr Jassas has said in Ahkam-ul-Qur'an that this has been the view of all the leading Hanafi scholars. He has further said that in view of the differences, it is on the safer side to prostrate at the end of the verse 38, because even if prostration becomes wajib at the end of the verse 37, then the obligation would be discharged if it is performed after the recitation of the verse 38, and if it becomes wajib at the verse 38, then, the discharge of obligation (if it is performed after verse 38) is more obvious.

Commentary

Description and Rules of Ilhad (الحاد) - A particular kind of kufr

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا (Surely those who go crooked about Our signs are not hidden from Us….41:40) In the earlier verses, there were warnings, threats and mention of scourge for those who used to openly deny the Oneness of Allah and the prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Now a particular kind of denial is being described which is called ` ilhad'. The lexical meaning of ` ilhad' is to deviate, to incline towards one side, being crooked. In the terminology of the Qur'an and Hadith, ` ilhad' means to deviate from the verse of the Holy Qur'an. Lexically, this word is applicable to both cases of deviation, be it open denial, or through false interpretation. But, generally, the term of ` ilhad' is used for a deviation that apparently purports to have faith in the Qur'an and its verses, but attributes such self-assumed meanings to the Qur'an that are against the clear and explicit meanings accepted and recognized by the majority of the ummah, and that change the intention of the Qur'an in its entirety. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has given this very meaning of ` ilhad' in the explanation of this verse by saying: اِلحاد ھو وضع الکلام علی غیر موضعہ (ilhad' is to use a statement at an irrelevant place). The words, لَا يَخْفَوْنَ عَلَيْنَا ''are not hidden from Us" in the present verse 40 indicate that ` ilhad' was a kind of ` kufr' that they wanted to hide. So Allah Almighty said that they could not hide their kufr (infidelity) from Him.

And this verse has advised clearly that deviation from the verses of the Qur'an, whether openly in distinct words or by trying to change the injunctions of the Qur'an through false interpretations, all are ` ilhad' and kufr.

Briefly, ` ilhad' is a kind of hypocritical kufr which in appearance claims and admits to have faith in the Qur'an and its verses, but fabricates meanings of the verses of the Qur'an which are against the explicit provisions of the Qur'an, Sunnah and principles of Islam.

Imam Abu Yusuf has stated in Kitab-ul-Kharaj:

کذالک الزنادقۃ الّذین یلحدون و قد کانوا یظھرون الاسلام

"Similar are zindiqs who deviate; and they used to pretend Islam.

This tells us that zindiq and mulhid (one who practices ` ilhad' ) are one and the same. Both words are used for an infidel who outwardly claims to follow Islam, but in reality refuses to obey the injunctions through distortion in the meaning of the Qur'an against the explicit and definite meanings accepted by the Ummah as a whole.

Removal of a Misunderstanding:

One of the rules described in books of Islamic theology is that a muta'awwil (i.e. the one who adheres to a wrong belief on the pretext of a different interpretation of the Qur'an and Sunnah) should not be declared to be a kafir or a Non-Muslim. But if this rule is taken to be so general that no matter how false a pretext one applies to even an absolute and certain injunction, one would, however not become a kafir (infidel), then the inevitable consequence would be that none of the polytheists, idolaters, Jews or Christians should be called Non-Muslims or kafir, because the pretext of the idolaters is stated in the Qur'an itself:

مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّ‌بُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَىٰ

"And we do not worship them (the idols) but for the reason that they will bring us closer to Allah." (39:3)

The pretext was that they do not worship the idols themselves, but as intercessors to take us nearer to Allah Almighty and as such, in reality, they worship Allah. But the Qur'an has declared them to be kafir, despite this pretext. The pretexts of Jews and Christians are very well known, despite they have been called kafir in the explicit verses of Qur'an and Sunnah. Hence it is established that the rule of not calling a muta'awwil as kafir is not applicable so generally.

Therefore, the scholars and jurisprudents have clarified that the rule mentioned above is subject to a condition that the interpretation in matters relating to the self-evident elements (Daruriyyat-ud-din) should not be against their definite (qat'i) meanings. Self-evident elements of religion (Daruriyyat-ud-din) are those injunctions and rules of Islam which are so continuously practiced, established, and well-known that even illiterate and ignorant Muslims are aware of them, such as the obligation of salah five times a day, two rak’ at of salah in fajr and four rak‘at in zuhr and fasting during the month of Ramadan, all being obligatory duties; similarly the prohibition of riba' (usury), alcoholic drinks, pig, etc. If anyone gives such false interpretations of the verses of the Qur'an pertaining to these matters which perverts their well-known and established meanings accepted by the Muslims throughout the history by way of tawatur (uninterrupted), then such a person would, no doubt, by consensus of the 'Ummah, be a kafir, because he is, in reality, denying the teaching of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . And the definition of 'iman (faith) recognized by the consensus of 'ummah is the following:

تَصدیق النَبِّی ﷺ فیما علم مجیٔہ بہٖ ضرورۃ

"To believe in whatever is established to be the teaching of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in a self-evident manner known not only to scholars, but also to the general public.

Therefore, in comparison, the description of kufr would be the denial of any of the things mentioned above.

So the person who changes any injunction pertaining to the self-evident elements of the religion through false explanations or pretexts is actually denying the teachings of the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

Since ignorance of and negligence about religion and its injunctions have reached alarming proportions these days, many people who do not know the principles of Shari'ah, and whatever information they have about Islam is based on what they have learnt from the Western scholars, have started in our days distorting the teachings of Islam by presenting false interpretations of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. Such people often seek help from the rule mentioned above and claim that these interpretations cannot be held as kufr.

Therefore, in view of the serious need of the times, my respected teacher Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmir' (رح) has written a book on this issue, which is published with the title of Ikfar-ul-mulhidin. It has been proved in this book, on the basis of clarifications of scholars and jurisprudents of every school of thought, that in the self-evident elements of religion (Daruriyyat-ud-din) nobody's pretext is valid, and such a pretext does not protect one from being kafir. This humble writer has summarized the contents of this book in his Urdu booklet (ایمان اور کفر، قرآن کی روشنی میں) 'Iman or kufr Qur’ an ki roshni meyn'. The gist of the discussion is given in that book from a writing of Shah ` Abdul-` Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi (رح) in the following way:

He says that false interpretation of the Qur'an may be of two kinds. One, is an interpretation that goes against the definite, unambiguous texts of the Qur'an or of the mutawatir ahadith or of absolute consensus of the ummah. This kind of interpretation is kufr undoubtedly. The second kind is an interpretation against the texts that are, though clear and semi-certain, are not certain or definite in absolute terms. This kind of false interpretation is not kufr, however, it is fisq and misguidance. Apart from these two kinds, any interpretation that is based on a possible understanding of the text is the field of the jurists exercising ijtihad, and it carries reward from Allah in any case, as declared by a Hadith.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا بِالذِّكْرِ‌ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ ۖ وَإِنَّهُ لَكِتَابٌ عَزِيزٌ لَّا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ (Surely those who have rejected the advice, when it came to them [ are the ones who go crooked and are not hidden from Us ]. And surely, it is an unassailable book that cannot be approached by falsehood, neither from its front, nor from its behind. - 41:41-42) Most Exegetes have stated that the ` advice' in this verse refers to the Qur'an, and the sentence "those who have rejected the advice when it came to them" is a complement of the former phrase "those who go crooked about Our verse" and hence, according to Arabic grammar, is subject to the same predicate, and thus the meaning is that these people cannot be hidden from Us, and consequently cannot escape the scourge. Further on is stated that the Qur'an is protected by Allah. إِنَّهُ لَكِتَابٌ عَزِيزٌ (And surely, it is an unassailable book) meaning that Allah Almighty holds this Book dear and fully protected; no falsehood can enter this Book. (Narrated by Ibn ` Abbas - Mazhari)

لَّا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ (that cannot be approached by falsehood, neither from its front, nor from its behind.) Qatadah and Suddi have stated that ` batil' (falsehood) in this verse means Shaitan (Satan), and ` neither from its front, nor from its behind' means ` from any side'. To sum up, Satan's manipulation and contrivance just do not work on this Book; Shaitan cannot distort this Book by adding something to it, or deleting something from it.

The author of Tafsir Mazhari, after quoting this explanation, has added that Satan here includes the satans both from jinn and from humans - neither can carry out any change or distortion in the Qur'an. Some Rawafid1.

(1) This term is used for the extremists among the Shi'ites who tried to add ten parts (Ajza' ) and some tried to add some particular verses, but none could succeed.

Abu Hayyan has stated in Al-Bahr-ul-Muhit that the word batil (falsehood) as a word is not specific to Shaitan; any falsehood or falsifier, whether from Shaitan or from any other source, cannot succeed in the Qur'an. Then, referring to Tabari, he has mentioned that this verse means that a disbeliever can neither dare to carry out any change in this Book openly, nor can he distort its meaning through ilhad covertly.

The explanation of Tabari is very appropriate here, because there can be only two ways of introducing any distortion or ilhad in the Qur'an. First, that any disbeliever tries openly to add something to or delete something from the Qur'an. This has been denoted by the words, ` from its front'. The second way of distortion is that somebody, claiming to have faith, tries to distort the meaning of the Qur'an covertly through false interpretations. This has been referred to by the words, ` nor from its behind'.

The sense, in nut shell, is that this Book is so noble and protected by Allah that nobody has the power to bring any addition, omission or change in its words, nor can one succeed in bringing any change in the injunctions of the Qur'an by distorting its meaning. Whenever any wretched person attempted to do so, he had to face ignominy -The Qur'an remained pure and untouched by his evil plans. As for its protection from open distortion or change, everybody can see that there is no way for anyone to do it, because it is being read and recited throughout the world for the last fourteen centuries, fully memorized by hundreds of thousands of people; if anybody makes even the slightest mistake, the young, the old, the learned scholars, the illiterate - thousands and thousands of Muslims raise their voice for correction. The words ` nor from its behind' in the present verse indicate that the protection of the Qur'an that has been undertaken by Allah Almighty Himself by saying "And We are there to protect it." (15:9) is not limited to its words only; rather Allah Almighty has ensured that its meanings will remain protected as well. Allah Almighty has so safeguarded even the meaning and injunctions of Qur'an through His Messenger and his direct disciples, the noble Companions ؓ ، that if any infidel attempts to distort it through false explanations, thousands of scholars stand up to refute it, and he faces rejection. The fact is that in the verse إِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ (We are there to protect it) the pronoun ` it' points towards the Qur'an and Qur'an is not just the name of words, but is the name of both words and meanings.

It is clearly mentioned in correct ahadith that a group will always remain among Muslims, till Doomsday, who would expose the distortions of those who commit ilhad (false interpretation), and would clarify the correct meaning of the Qur'an. They may hide their kufr from the whole world, but they cannot hide it from Allah Almighty, and since Allah Almighty is aware of their conspiracy, they are bound to face punishment.