Question

I refer to your recently posted response regarding the law of Jihad(1)

You seem to be of the opinion that the two ayahs of the Qur’an (Al-Baqarah 2: 143, Al-Hajj 22: 78) are explicitly restricted to the companions of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and they cannot be generalized for rest of the Ummah after that.

To give meanings to the referred ayahs like this is first attempt of its kind in the Muslim history. Every prominent scholar of the past took the generalized (as a whole Ummah) meanings of these verses.

Can you please prove your opinion keeping this context in mind?

Answer

To clarify my point of view regarding the meaning of the referred verses, let us begin by keeping the two verses in front of us. The related part of Al-Baqarah 2: 143 reads as:

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّ‌سُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا ۗ

And thus have We made you a group in the middle, so that you be an ultimate witness [of God’s guidance] on [other] people and the Messenger be an ultimate witness [of God’s guidance] on you.

Al-Hajj 22: 78 reads as:

وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّـهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ ۚ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَ‌جٍ ۚ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ ۚ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِي هَـٰذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّ‌سُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ ۚ

And strive in God’s way, as is due to strive [in His way]. He has chosen you and laid upon you no burdens in the observance of your religion. [He has chosen for you] the way of your father, Abraham. He named you Muslim before this, and in this [book] as well. So that the Messenger be an ultimate witness [of God’s guidance] on you and you be an ultimate witness [of God’s guidance] on [other] people.

The first addressees of these verses, without any doubt, were the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). Your question actually pertains to the point whether, after the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), the subject matter of this verse shall become applicable to all Muslims, for all times to come, or not.

In my opinion, there are certain clear indications in these verses, which point to the fact that the implication of these verses is restricted to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). For instance:

1. In Al-Baqarah 2: 143, the words ‘We have made you a group in the middle’ (that is between the Prophet (pbuh) and the rest of the world) seems to be a clear indication towards the fact that the group being referred to in this verse is that of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), who have served as the intermediaries and the connecting link between the Prophet (pbuh) and the rest of mankind, just as the prophets of God are an intermediary and a connecting link between God and their direct addressees (that is their companions). Thus the words: “Middle group”, or “Group in the Middle”, are a clear indication to the effect that the implication of this verse is restricted to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh).
2. In Al-Baqarah 2: 143, the words ‘…and the Messenger be an ultimate witness [of God’s guidance] upon you’, hold true only for the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). As is quite obvious, it was only the group of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), upon whom the Prophet (pbuh) personally clarified God’s truth to the extent that it became an ultimate witness of the truth upon them. The rest of mankind, besides the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) has been delivered the message not by the Prophet (pbuh) in his personal capacity, but, directly or indirectly, by the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). The rest of mankind, besides the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) – whether Muslims or non-Muslims – thus, are not covered by the phrase ‘… and the Messenger be an ultimate witness upon you’, but by the phrase: ‘so that you [i.e. the companions of the Prophet] be an ultimate witness [of the truth] on [other] people…’. In other words, we – the Muslims of the times succeeding that of the Prophet (pbuh) are those upon whom, not the Prophet (pbuh), but the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) have borne witness of the truth.
3. The preceding point would also apply to Al-Hajj 22: 78, restricting its implication to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh).
4. In Al-Hajj 22: 78, the words: ‘He has chosen you’, is also an indication that the subject matter of the verse is restricted to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), as they were the group directly chosen, by God for accompanying His Prophet (pbuh) and for bestowing upon them His guidance directly through His Messenger.
5. In Al-Hajj 22: 78, the words: ‘… the way of your father, Abraham’, is another indication of the fact that the implication of the verse is restricted to the group, which comprised, primarily, of the progeny of Abraham (pbuh) – i.e. the direct addressees and the companions of the Prophet (pbuh).

I do agree with you that most of the interpreters of the Qur’an seem to have generalized the implication of the said verses to the whole Muslim community, for all times to come. Nevertheless, the above points, in my opinion, provide a strong basis to restrict the implication of the verses to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). Moreover, in contrast to the commentators of the Qur’an there is almost a complete consensus among the scholars of the science of Hadith (Muhadditheen) as well as the scholars of Muslim jurisprudence and the Muslim jurists (Fuqaha) that all the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) are truthful, trustworthy and reliable. This particular point of view of these Muslim scholars is based on the verses similar to those under consideration. Khateeb Al-Baghdadiy in his book ‘Al-Kifaayah fi `ilm al-Riwaayah‘ writes:

كل حديث اتصل إسناده بين من رواه وبين النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يلزم العمل به إلا بعد ثبوت عدالة رجاله، ويجب النظر في أحوالهم سوى الصحابي الذي رفعه إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لأن عدالة الصحابة ثابتة معلومة بتعديل الله لهم، وإخباره عن طهارتهم، واختياره لهم في نص القرآن.فمن ذلك : قوله تعالى : (كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ)، وقوله : (وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيداً) .وهذا اللفظ وإن كان عاما فالمراد به الخاص. (الكفاية في علم الرواية، باب ما جاء في تعديل الله ورسوله للصحابة)

Every Hadith with an unbroken chain of narrators between the person reporting it and the Prophet (pbuh) would not necessitate action according to its contents, unless the integrity of its narrators is fully established. Thus, it is essential to take into consideration the conditions surrounding the narrators. The only exception to this rule is that of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), who report the saying from the Prophet (pbuh). The companions of the Prophet (pbuh) are an exception because the integrity of the companions is already established and well known because of God’s declaration and His information to the effect and His selecting them (to be His Prophet’s companions)(2), according to the clear stipulations of the Qur’an. God has said: “You are the best group that has been raised for [the guidance of] the people…” (Aal Imraan 3: 110) and “And thus have We made you a group in the middle, so that you be an ultimate witness [of the truth] on [other] people and the Messenger be an ultimate witness [of the truth] on you” (Al-Baqarah 2: 143). These words, even though they seem to be common are for a particular group only.

Ibn Al-Salah, in his book “Muqaddamah Ibn Al-Salah” writes:

للصحابة بأسرهم خصيصة ، وهي‏ أنه لا يسأل عن عدالة أحد منهم ، بل ذلك أمر مفروغ منه ، لكونهم على الإطلاق معدلين بنصوص الكتاب والسنة وإجماع من يعتد به في الإجماع من الأمة‏. قال الله تبارك وتعالى : (كنتم خير أمة أخرجت للناس‏) الآية‏ ، قيل‏ : اتفق المفسرون على أنه وارد في أصحاب رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – وقال تعالى : (وكذلك جعلناكم أمة وسطا لتكونوا شهداء على الناس‏) . ‏ وهذا خطاب مع الموجودين حينئذ‏. ‏(مقدمة ابن الصلا، النوع التاسع والثلاثون : معرفة الصحابة)

The companions of the Prophet (pbuh) – all of them – are an exception, insofar as their integrity is not questioned. Their integrity is accepted to be given and established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the consensus (Ijmaa`) of those, whose agreement in this Ummah is of significance. God has declared: “You are the best group that has been raised for [the guidance of] the people” (Aal Imraan 3: 110). It is said that the interpreters are in agreement that this verse is for the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). And also: “And thus have We made you a group in the middle, so that you be an ultimate witness [of the truth] on [other] people and the Messenger be an ultimate witness [of the truth] upon you” (Al-Baqarah 2: 143). Thus, these verses address only those, who were present.

It is quite obvious from the opinions cited above that the generally held principle of the established integrity of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) is actually derived from verses such as those under consideration. This fact clearly implies that all these Muslim scholars – muhadditheen and fuqahaa – interpret such verses to be restricted in their implications to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) alone. Had they interpreted the verses to be common for all Muslims for all times to come, their derivation of ‘established and declared integrity’ would not have been restricted to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), but would have been common to all Muslims for all times to come.

Moiz Amjad

UIUK

13^th June 2000

1. This reference is to the response titled “A comment on the initial spread of Islam and the law of Jihad“. []
2. As is referred to in Al-Hajj 22: 78. []

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