Can you explain the trustworthiness of God's Messenger
with concrete examples?
The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, was trustworthy to the utmost
degree in his mission as a Prophet and in his general behaviour towards
God�s creatures. As he did not show any disloyalty to his cause, neither did
he cheat anybody in his life.
The Prophet�s trustworthiness concerning his
mission
The Messenger was chosen by God for his trustworthiness so that he would
be totally devoted to delivering the Message truthfully. He was so concerned
about his duty that he used to repeat the verses while Gabriel was reciting
them to him until God revealed:
Move not your tongue concerning (the Qur�an) to make haste
therewith. It is for Us to collect it, to establish it in your heart and
enable you to recite it. So, when We have recited it to you, then follow you
its recital. Then it is also for Us to make it clear to you. (75:16�9)
As the Qur�an was given to him as a trust, he did his utmost to convey it
to people in the best way possible. He dedicated his life to this sacred
cause, constantly aware of the weight of his responsibility. In the last
year of his life, he made his farewell pilgrimage, during which he gave a
sermon on the hill of �Arafat. He communicated to people the Commandments of
God once more and at the end of each sentence, he told the pilgrims, They
will, in the near future, inquire of you about me, and asked them: Have I
conveyed the Message to you? Each time the Muslims answered, �Yes, you have
conveyed�, he repeated, O God, be the witness!1
God�s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, never thought of
concealing even a word of the Divine Revelation. We read in the Qur�an that
God admonished him mildly for a few actions of his. Were he not the
Messenger of God and � God forbid the thought! � were he the author of the
Qur�an, there would have been no such admonition in it.
The society in which the Messenger was raised was a primitive one. Many
of the prevalent customs contradicted reason and sociological and scientific
facts. For example, adopted children enjoyed the same legal status as
natural children and it followed that a man could not legally marry, for
example, the widow or former wife of an adopted son. This practice was to be
abolished, as adoption can never create a relationship comparable to the
relationship with biological parents. God chose to solve this problem, as
always, through the ideal example of His Messenger in order to separate a
�legal� fiction from a natural reality, and established a new law and
custom.
Zayd, who was an emancipated slave and servant of God�s Messenger whom he
addressed as �my son�, had married Zaynab, the daughter of Jahsh. It was
God�s Messenger himself, upon him be peace and blessings, who had arranged
this marriage. Nevertheless, it soon became clear that the marriage would
not last long. Zayd admitted that he was spiritually inferior to his wife.
He concluded that it was better for him to divorce her. In the end, the
Qur�an commanded Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings:
We gave her in marriage to you (al-Ahzab, 33.37).
The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, was obliged by this Divine
command to marry her. This was, of course, against the established
traditions of the time, and was difficult for God�s Messenger to carry out,
as the hypocrites would use this opportunity to defame him, so he delayed
announcing the Divine decree, for which he received the following
admonition:
Then, you said to him on whom God bestowed grace and you
have done favour, �Keep your wife to yourself and fear God�. But you did
hide in your heart that which God was about to make manifest because you
feared the people [that they would speak slander against you], whereas God
had a better right that you should fear him. (al-Ahzab, 33.37)
�A�isha, Mother of Believers, later commented on the event:
If God�s Messenger had been willing to conceal any Revelation, he would
have concealed that verse.2
If Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, had not been a trustworthy
Messenger, he would, as �A�isha rightly said, have concealed that verse.
However, concealing it would have been contrary to his character and
mission. Furthermore, the verse 67 of sura al-Ma�ida contains a clear,
decisive order for the Prophet not to conceal anything of the Qur�an, for
concealment of even a single Revelation would amount to mean that he did not
deliver his Message. The verse reads:
O Messenger, deliver what has been sent down to you from your Lord; for
if you do not, you will not have fulfilled your task of His Messengership.
God will protect you from men. God guides not the people of the unbelievers.
So, God�s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, communicated to
people whatever was revealed to Him by God.
1. Abu Dawud, Manasik, 56; Ibn Ma�ja, Manasik, 84;
Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 5.173.
2. Bukhari, Tawhid, 22; Muslim, Iman, 288.
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