Zanb

[Syed Qaseem Ahmed]

Assalamualaikum,

Ifta: What do Ulem-e-Islam say about an imam-e-Masjid who holds the view that zanb means sin and this meanings of zanb can be associated muadhallah with Rasool-e-Karim Sallallahualaihiwasallam in ayah "Ma taqaddama min zanbika wa ma ta'khar".

This clearly means that the imam holds the belief that ma'adhallah our Rasool-e-Karim was a sinner, whereas our belief about all messengers and apostles of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is that they are kept "Ma'soom anil zanbe wal khata".

Please send me a fatwa about this imam from Quran wa
Sunnah or our prayers behind him will become futile,
null and void.

Please save us from this situation.


Syed Qaseem Ahmed.

[Imam]

Allah, Most Glorious and Sublime we Praise, and Infinite Blessings and Peace upon His Beloved and Noble Messenger, Salla Allahu alayhi wa Sallam.

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Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) has bestowed His Prophets and Messengers (Peace be upon them) with great ranks and stations. He sent them, sinless, from all types of major and minor sins, and kept them pure from all types of discrepancies. The temptations of the devil cannot even pass presence of these Prophets (Peace be upon them). This is because the specific chastity (‘asmat-e-khassah) and the Divine safeguard always preserve them, which is the reason why the issue of sin by such persons is impossible. Therefore every Prophet, whether prior to the annunciation of Prophethood or after, is kept safe from all types of major and minor sin. The noble jurists (fuqaha’-e-kiram) have unanimously ruled in their decisions, that whoever says the Prophets of Islam are sinful, or even at fault, is a misbeliever.

   Pay attention, at this point towards the following verses of the Qur’an, from which springs the light of guidance:
 
1)      ‘No doubt, those who are bondmen, you have no control over them, and your Lord suffices as Guardian.’ (Bani-Israel;65)
 
Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) expelled the devil from Paradise, and stated; Shaytan! You will spread mischief amongst people, but listen that you will have no hold on My special people, because I am sufficient for their safeguard.

   In this verse His ‘bondmen’ are referred to as the Noble Messengers, and the Great Saints, that the Messengers are sinless (ma’sum) from the chastity bestowed upon them, and the Saints are protected (mahfuz) from sin by means of My protection. There is no possibility of sin from the one who is sinless (ma’sum), yet there is the possibility of sin from those who are protected (mahfuz), but is never committed.
 
2)      ‘And if We had not kept you firm, then it was near that you would have inclined towards them a little.’ (Bani-Israel;74)
 
In this verse, the Divine Lord announces that we kept our Messenger (Peace be upon Him) firm. And also sinless (ma’sum). That is why the Messenger (Peace be upon Him) could not have inclined towards the practices or the beliefs of the misbelievers. That the Messenger (Peace be upon Him) would remain sinless (ma’sum) from all such sins.

   The author of Tafsir Jalalayn states that ‘And if We had not made you firm by making you chaste’ then you would have inclined somewhat towards the misbelievers, but because We have made you firm, by making you chaste, that is why you have never inclined towards the misbelievers. The author of Jalalayn has also stated in the exegesis (tafsir) of this verse that ;
 
‘This verse is making evident the fact that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon Him) had never been inclined towards the misbelievers, nor was he ever close to becoming inclined towards the misbelievers.’ (Tafsir-e-Jalalayn)
 
Nevertheless, there is a consensus (ijma’) upon this issue by the People of Truth (ahl al-haqq), that the Prophets are all sinless (ma’sum). That they can never commit a sin, and to declare a Prophet as a sinner, is misbelief  (kufr).

3) ‘By the lovely shining star Muhammad, when he descended from the Ascension. Your companion neither went astray, nor misled’ (an-Najm;2)
 
In this verse, the word companion means the Messenger (Peace be upon Him), who had never deluded, nor fell into misguidance. Because he was a righteous Prophet, and it is compulsory that he is free from all misguidance, and all sin, in order to be sinless (ma’sum).
 
These verses of the Qur’an are clear evidence, amongst other verses that all Prophets and Messengers are free from sin whether it be prior to announcing Prophethood, or after. Therefore under no circumstances it is permissible, for anyone to say that a Prophet was a sinner. Whoever claims this will fall into the realms of misbelief (kufr).

   Precaution must be taken, that whenever Allah (Subhanahu wa-Ta’ala) has attributed a sin to a Prophet, or a Prophet has attributed a sin to himself, then this undoubtedly means that such a deed was of a lower stature, having regard to the high status of the Prophet in question. That is why the Almighty, or the Prophet has regarded it as a sin. But in reality (haqiqah), the deed could not have been a sin, but because it was by a Prophet with such a great rank, it was considered as a low deed, that is why for them it was deemed a sin, otherwise how could a sin ever come to pass the Presence of a sinless and faultless Prophet?

Even if the Almighty had attributed a sin to a Prophet, or a Prophet attributed such words to themselves, then this still does not give us a license to proclaim the same. The Almighty has granted great stations to His men. Then He has the right to praise them and in some cases to reprimand them. They are the ones who are closest to Him as they are the ones who out of humility lower themselves in front of Him, but why we? And how? We must make our belief until the day we die, that all Prophets are sinless, and that it is impossible for a sin to be committed by them.
 
Wallahu A’lamu bith-thawab

M. Waseem Ashrafi

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