2.16 It Is Not Allowed On The Part Of The Messenger Pbuh That He Be A Mujtahid

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2.16 It Is Not Allowed On The Part Of The Messenger Pbuh That He Be A Mujtahid - The Islamic Personality | Quran Course

As for the rational reason, it is because the Prophet PBUH used to wait for the revelation in many rules despite the urgent need to clarify the ruling of Allah . If ijthad was allowed for him he would not have delayed in giving the ruling but he would have performed Ijtihād. Because he  used to postpone giving the ruling until the revelation was sent down. This indicates he did not make Ijtihād. It also indicates that it was not allowed for him  to make Ijtihād. Had it been allowed he  would not have put off giving the ruling despite the need to do so. Also, it is obligatory to follow the Prophet , if he exercised Ijtihād it would be possible for him to make a mistake. If he made a mistake we would be obliged to follow him so the matter would necessitate that we follow a mistake which is not valid because Allah  did not order to follow a mistake. Furthermore, the Messenger PBUH is infallible (ma'sum) from making mistakes in the conveyance of the Message. It is absolutely impossible on his  part to make a mistake in the conveyance of (Allah's Message). Since allowing the Messenger PBUH to make a mistake negates the (concept of) Messengership and prophethood. So the affirmation of Messengership and Prophethood determines that the Messenger is not allowed to make mistakes. Regarding the conveyance of the Message it necessitates that he is protected from making mistakes in the conveyance. So it is impossible on the part of the Messenger PBUH to err in what he conveys from Allah . Consequently, it is not allowed on his part to exercise Ijtihād. Everything conveyed by him from the rulings, in his  saying, action and silence is revelation from Allah  and nothing else.

It should not be claimed that Allah  will not allow him  to remain on the mistake. And that he  will swiftly clarify it to him . This is because the mistake in Ijtihād when it occurs from the Messenger PBUH becomes fard on the Muslims to follow until the clarification comes. Then this clarification would have reestablished another ruling different to that of the first ruling. The Muslims would be ordered to follow this ruling and leave the former ruling which is a mistake. This is invalid, it is not possible on Allah's  part the He  order the people to follow a mistake and then order them to leave it and follow the correct one. Similarly, it is not allowed on the part of the Messenger PBUH that he conveys a ruling and then say to the people that this ruling is a mistake because it is from me, and the correct ruling is what has come to me from Allah  and inform them that they should leave the first ruling because it is a mistake and inform them of the correct ruling.

It should not be said that this is a rational evidence for a Sharī’ah matter as that is not allowed, the reason is that the Sharī’ah matter requires a Sharī’ah evidence, since the Sharī’ah matter whose dalīl has to be only a Sharī’ah evidence is the Sharī’ah rule. As for beliefs, their evidence can be rational or a Sharī’ah evidence. The subject whether the Prophet  is a mujtahid or not is from the beliefs and not from the Sharī’ah rules. So its evidence can be a rational or Sharī’ah evidence.The fact that it is not allowed for the Messenger PBUH to be a mujtahid is proven by the rational evidence and the Sharī’ah evidence. It is one of the beliefs.

It should not be claimed that the Messenger PBUH actually performed Ijtihād in various rules and that Allah  did not recognise his Ijtihād, and that He  corrected the messenger’s  Ijtihād and revealed verses which clarified the correct opinion. That should not be claimed because the Messenger PBUH did not exercise any Ijtihād in conveying any rule of Allah . Rather what is proven by the Qur’ānic text and the sound Sunnah is that he used to convey to the people from revelation. He  did not convey anything in terms of legislation, beliefs, rules and the like, except if it had come via the revelation and that he would wait until the revelation for a particular incident was not revealed.

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As for the verses that are cited by those who say that the Messenger PBUH actually performed Ijtihād, and in which they assume Ijtihād took place. There is no ayah in which Ijtihād took place. For example, His  saying:

And other such ayats and hadīth, this is not due to his  exercising Ijtihād regarding a ruling and conveying it to the people. Rather, it is by way of a mild rebuke for undertaking actions which are contrary to what is more befitting for the Messenger PBUH to do. It never happened that the Messenger PBUH conveyed a specific ruling to the people and then an ayah came to clarify the error of the ruling which he had conveyed and clarify the mistake in his Ijtihād and demand that he  convey the correct opinion regarding this ruling. Rather the matter of truth is that the Messenger  undertook an action in applying a Sharī’ah rule from the rules of Allah  which had previously been sent down in the revelation and the Messenger PBUH had already conveyed it to the people. The Messenger PBUH acted in a manner contrary to what was more befitting for him to have done in accordance with this ruling. Thus, he was mildly reproached for this contradiction. This mild reproach is not a legislation of a new ruling. So the ruling has already been revealed, and its application had been ordered and the Messenger PBUH had already conveyed it. Thus, in these incidents mentioned in these verses he  undertook an action in accordance with what Allah  had ordered, except that his  performance of this action was contrary to what was best, thus he was mildly rebuked for this. Therefore, these ayat mildly rebuke the Messenger PBUH for undertaking what was contrary to the best action. They are not ayat which legislate new rules which had not been legislated earlier. Nor do they correct an Ijtihād or legislate another ruling which is at variance with the ruling the Messenger PBUH had already made Ijtihād for. From the Sharī’ah and rationally it is allowed for the Prophets and Messengers to do what is contrary to the best because the meaning of doing what is contrary to the best is that it is a permissible (mubah) issue, however, some actions are better than others. Or, there is a matter which is preferable (mandub) but there are actions which are better than others. Thus, it is permissible for a person to live in the city or in the village. But living in the city is better than living in the village for the one who wishes to see to the matters of ruling and accounting the rulers. If he lives in the village he has done contrary to what is the best. Giving sadaqa openly or discreetly is a preferable matter (mandub) but giving sadaqa secretly is better than giving it publicly. If he gives it in public, he has acted contrary to what is best. So, it is allowed for the Messenger PBUH to undertake what is contrary to the best, rather it is allowed for him to do everything that is not considered sinful. He  infact undertook what was contrary to the best so Allah  mildly censured him for it. The one who thinks deeply about these verses that they cite will find that the wording of the verse, its understanding and meaning indicates this.

Thus, His  saying:

announced (just) another thing to humiliate them. This took place during the campaign against them in order to destroy them. So this ayah, the ayah before it and the ayah after it clarify the rules regarding the hypocrites and the manner in which they should be treated by showing them contemp, humiliating them and lowering them them from the status of the believers. There is nothing in the ayah which indicates that the Messenger PBUH made Ijtihād regarding a ruling. The ayah came showing the contrary. Rather it is the preliminary legislation with respect to the hypocrites. It is in line with the other verses regarding the hypocrites repeated in the same Sura. Nothing appears in it, whether explicitly, by way of indication, by wording or understanding, or giving cause for any semblence (shubha) (of such a meaning) that it corrects an Ijtihād or draws attention to a mistake. As for what has been narrated regarding the reason for revealing this ayah in terms of reports, they are solitary reports (akhbar ahad) and are not admissable as evidence for ‘aqīdah (creed) and nor can they contradict the definite text which restricts the Meseneger's PBUH conveyance of rulings to that what he  brought through revelation and nothing else. He  did not follow anything but the revelation. Let alone that these ahadīth should make 'Umar bin al Khattab  try to prevent the Messenger PBUH from praying the janazah. So either he wanted to prevent him from doing an action legislated as a ruling or he wanted to prevent the Messenger PBUH from undertaking a worship according to a legislated Sharī’ah rule and the Messenger PBUH was silent about it. Then he  reverted to 'Umar's opinion after the revelation of this ayah, This is not allowed in respect to the Messenger PBUH. Acting upon this hadīth contradicts the fact the Mesenger  is a Prophet, so the hadīth is rejected in terms of meaning (dirayatan). The hadīth indicates that the Messenger PBUH gave his shirt to 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy and that he tried to pray (janaza) for him though he was the head of the munafiqin. 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy was exposed by Allah  after the battle of Bani al-Mustaliq, his son came to the Messenger PBUH to find out if the Messenger  had taken the desicion to kill him so that he may himself kill his father. Allah  revealed Sura al Munafiqin after the battle of Bani al-Mustaliq and He  said to the Messenger PBUH regrading it:

and the ayāt that follow, they do not indicate any Ijtihād..The Messenger PBUH is ordered to convey the Da’wah to all the people and to teach Islam to the Muslims. It is for the Messenger PBUH to undertake both the orders all the time. 'Abd Allah ibn Umm Maktum became a Muslim and learnt Islam. He came to the Messenger of Allah  while he was with the leaders of Quraysh; 'Utbah and Shaybah (the two sons of Rabi'ah), Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, al-'Abbas ibn al-Muttalib, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, al-Walid ibn al-Mughira. He  was inviting them to Islam in the hope that others would embrace Islam if they entered its fold. Ibn Umm Maktum said to the Prophet  while he was in this situation: Oh Messenger of Allah! Teach me to read and teach me what Allah  has taught you'. He repeated this not knowing that the Prophet  was busy (speaking) with these people. The Messenger of Allah  did not like the interruption in his conversation and so he frowned and turned away, and so this verse was reveled. The Messenger  is ordered to convey (the Da’wah) and ordered to teach Islam. So he undertook the convayance of the Call and turned away from teaching the one who asked to be tought due to being preoccupied with the convayance of the Da’wah. It was better for him to teach Ibn Umm Maktum  what he had asked for. But he  did not do this so Allah  mildly rebuked him  for that. Since his  The Islamic Personality Vol.1 113

turning away from Ibn Umm Maktum  was contrary to the best action, so Allah  mildy rebuked him  for undertaking what was contrary to the best. In this there is no Ijtihād concerning a ruling or a correction of an action. It was only the application of Allah's  ruling upon a certain incident which was contrary to the best action for which Allah  mildy censured him.

Thus, there is no indication in the aforementioned ayat of the occurance of Ijtihād from the Messenger PBUH . Since no Ijtihād came from him  regarding what he conveyed from Allah , Ijtihād is not allowed for him  whether rationally or according to the Sharī’ah. The Messenger  was not a mujtahid and it is not allowed in respect to him  that he be a mujtahid. It was only a revelation revaled to him by Allah  and this revelation (wahy) is either by wording and meaning as in the Noble Qur’ān or it is meaning only which is given expression by the Messenger  either with his own words or by his silence which alludes to a ruling or by doing an action and that, all of it, is the Sunnah.