ATTIU ALLAH WA ATTIUR RASOOL- Follow Allah & Follow the Rasool

ATTIU ALLAH WA ATTIUR RASOOL

 

As we know Allah has appointed many Anbiya and Rusul in order to deliver Allah’s message to humanity over the course of human history whose basic job and responsibilities were to deliver Allah’s Hidayah – the message and to practically demonstrate its implementation and to bring the people out of darkness to light through the Hidayah. The common ground of all the Allah’s Anbiya and Rusul is the common revelation, the same kitaab, the same Hidayah, which is confirmed in Quran time and time again via so many ayahs, for instance;

 

[Quran 42:13] Allah has ordained for you the same Deen as HE enjoined upon Noah, and what WE have revealed to you, and what WE enjoined upon Ibrahim, and Mosa, and Easa: “Establish (Aqemu) the Deen, and be not divided therein.” This is difficult and a big task for the Mushrikeen, what you call them to. Allah chooses to Himself whom HE wills, and HE gives Hidayah to Himself whoever turns.

 

Since the only Hikm, the only lawmaker in Deen is Allah, whoever follows any laws, other than the laws of the Deen, then that is Shirk and therefore it is Akbar, a big task, very difficult for the Mushrikeen not to be divided in sects or groups, by following other man-made laws. Above ayah is clearly telling us that, if we follow any of the kitaab of Allah, then we will be following all the Anbiya, since every Nabi and Rasool got the same hidayah, the same Kitaab. Allah’s revelations could be on different Nabi, different Rasool, different era of time, different languages, different expressions of the humanity at that point of time, but the true gyst of the hidayah, the Kitaab, the Deen was exactly the same as we have as per Quran. Therefore, we cannot pick and choose one particular Nabi to follow, we have to pick the kitaab and follow the commandments of Allah as ordained in the Kitaab. Thus, following the Kitaab actually means following all the Anbiya and Rasool of Allah.  In order to understand the concept of Atttiyu Allah wa Attiyur Rasool, it is important to keep in mind following important points as communicated to us, through Allah’s Kitaab.

 

The concept of Emaan on Allah’s Nabiyeen and Rusul- No distinction between any of Allah’s Nabi or Rasool:

Emaan (آمَنَ) on Nabiyyin and Rusul is the basic foundation of Emaan on Allah. The concept of this Emaan is closely linked to the concept of each of these Nabi and Rasool being a Bashar only – a normal human being and the messenger of Allah’s message which is to be delivered as an Amaanat/trust with complete honesty and truthfulness as it is. Emaan on Allah’s Nabi and Rasool means there could be no distinction, no difference whatsoever between any of Allah’s Nabi and Rasool. It is also linked to not making any distinction, differentiation or separation between any of Ambiya. Emaan on Allah’s Nabi and Rasool means Emaan on ALL of them on equal footings, without any distinction, differentiation between any of them. This is the basic foundations of Deen, otherwise, whoever differentiates between any of them, it means he/she is not the follower of Deen-e-Islam and this would not be acceptable to Allah. So, if we are to follow Nabi Mohammad through hadith or sunnah, what about the hadith and Sunnah of all the other Anbiyaa and Rasool? This way we are making a distinction in favor of Nabi Mohammad, by giving him more preference, then the other Anbiya and Rasool of Allah which is going against Quranic guidance and an act of Kufar.

 

We cannot make any distinction, any difference between any of Allah’s Nabi and Rasool. There are many ayahs in Quran that gives us this message for instance refer the ayah 2:136 and ayah 3:84, which are exactly similar to each other, word by word, as follows.

 

• [Quran 2:136] Say, “We have Emaan on Allah and on what was revealed to us and on what was revealed to Ibrahim and Ismael and Ishaaq and Yaquoob and their Al-As’baati and on what was given to Mosa and Easaa and on what was given to the Nabiyunna from their Rabb. We do not Nufarrequ between any of them. For we are Muslimuun to Allah.”

 

• [Quran 3:84] Say, “We have Emaan on Allah and on what was revealed to us and on what was revealed to Ibrahim and Ismael and Ishaaq and Yaquoob and their Al-As’baati and on what was given to Mosa and Easaa and on what was given to the Nabiyyuna from their Rabb. We do not Nafarrequ between any of them. For we are Muslimuun to Allah.”

 

This concept of Emaan on Allah’s Rasool and Nabil and to identify if one is as per Hidayah or not is beautifully explained in the subsequent ayah of 2:136 as 2:137 [Quran 2:137] So if they have Emaan on the like of what you have Emaan on, then they have been as per Hidayah. But if they turn away, then they are only in Shiqaaqin .. This gives a very clear criteria of judgment, whether one is as per Hidayah or has taken the route of Egoistic Shaitani Nafs- Nafs e Ammara – It doesn’t matter whatever name of the religion one is following, or whatever the person identifies him/her self, i.e., if the person is a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew etc. what matters is that if the person makes no distinction between any of Allah’s Rasool and Nabi, then that person is as per Hidayah. Otherwise, the person is Shiqaaqin – i.e. has taken a route other than that of Hidayah which is a route of dissention, rebellion and conflict under the influence of His/her ego and Shaitan.

 

The subsequent of the ayah 3:84, the ayah 3:85 gives further explanation of this concept as well  [Quran 3:85]- “And whoever desires other than Islam as Deen – never will it be accepted from him/her, and he/she, in the Akhira, will be among the losers”. This shows that the basic characteristics of Emaan on Allah’s Nabi and Rasool means Emaan on ALL of them on equal footings, without any distinction, differentiation between any of them. This is the basic foundations of Deen, otherwise, whoever differentiates between any of them, it means he/she is not the follower of Deen-e-Islam and this would not be acceptable to Allah. There are other ayahs in Quran that also highlights the significance of Emaan on Allah’s Anbiyaa and Rasool on equal footings – For instance refer to 2:285 and 4:150-152.

 

• [Quran 2:285] The Messenger has Emaan on what was revealed to him from his Rabb, and Mominoon. All of them have Emaan on Allah and Allah’s Malaik, and Allah’s Kitaab and Allah’s Messengers, “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” …
• [Quran 4:150 -152] Indeed, those who do Kufr on Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and Allah’s messengers, they say, “We have Emaan on some and reject/deny others,” and wish to adopt a way in between -Those are the kaafiroon in reality/certainty. And Allah have prepared for the kaafireen a humiliating Azaab. But to those who have Emaan on Allah and Allah’s messengers and do not discriminate between any of them – to those Allah is going to give their rewards. And ever is Allah Ghafoor and Raheem.

 

The ayahs 4:150-152 beautifully explain the whole concept of Emaan on Allah’s Nabiyeen and Rusul, through the phrase “We have Emaan on some and reject/deny others,” and wish to adopt a way in between -Those are the kaafiroon in reality/certainty´ in terms of giving a clear criteria of a Kaafir as someone who would differentiate or make any distinction between any of Allah’s Nabi and Rasool, giving preference to some and ignoring others – by wishing to adopt a way in between; is Kaafir as per clear Quranic Ayahs. Momin as per Quran is someone who makes no distinction between any of Allah’s Nabi or Rasool. Therefore, if anyone would alleviate the position/status of one Nabi or Rasool from the rest, by following only that Nabi’s statements, books, actions etc., then he/she is infact making a distinction, a difference between Allah’s Nabiyeen and Rusul- For instance if as Christian one would alleviate the position of Nabi Easa from the rest of Allah’s Nabi or Rasool, (whether or not if the status equal to Allah is assigned or not) or if a Muslim would alleviate the status of Nabi Mohammad over other Rusul and Anbiyah, or a Jew would alleviate the status of Nabi Mosa over others. In all of these cases, a distinction has been made between the chosen Nabi, (Easa, Mohammad, Mosa) and the rest of Allah’s Nabi and Rasool and this is an act of Kufr with regards to Emaan on Allah’s Rusul/ Anbiya.

 

Thus, the basic idea is to have Emaan on All of Allah’s Rasool on equal footings without making any distinction whatsoever since it was the same Kitaab, the same Hidayah that was revealed on all of them. This is the same which is explained and clarified so beautifully as per the last phrase of both these ayahs of 2:136 and 3:84 as “..We do not Nufarrequ between any of them. For we are Muslimuun to Allah.” Which shows that the only requirement of being a Muslim is to be a Muslim to Allah and Allah only.

 

It’s Attiur Rasool, It’s Not Attiun Nabiy or Attium Mohammad

Wherever Nabi is addressed in Quran, in terms of being addressed personally without the connection with the Naboo’at or Risaalat, either the word ‘Nabi’ is used in Quran (not the word Rasool) or the name of the Nabi/Rasool is used. For instance, the phrase used is ‘Ya Aiyyuhan Nabiy’ as used in the ayahs

 

• 33:28 “O Nabi say to your Azwaaj..”
• 66:1” O Nabi why do you make it Harama what Allah has made Halal for you seeking approval of your Azwaaj?…”
• 33:1 “O Nabi do Taqwa of Allah and do not obey the Kaafireen and Munafiqueen..”
• 66:9 & 9:73 “O Nabi, strive against the Kuffar…”

 

The same phrase and personal application of the word is used in many ayahs of the Quran such as 8:64-65, 8:70, 33:59, and 33:50- Which shows that whenever Allah is referring to the Nabi, in terms of his personal life or application to him for his personal specific situations and events, the word used is Nabi and not Rasool. We also know that Quran has used Nabi Mohammad’s name in Quran as well 4 times for instance ayah

 

• 3:144 “Muhammad is not but a Rasool..” ;
• 33:40 “Mohammad is not father of anyone of your Rijaal but Allah’s Rasool..” ;
• 47:2 “…Have Emaan on what is revealed on Mohammad and it is Haqq ..”
• 48:29 “Muhammad is Rasool of Allah..”.

 

Therefore, had Allah intended us to follow the Nabi, in his personal capacity or the Muhammad, instead of mentioning Attiyu Allah wa Attiyur Rasool, Allah would have mentioned Attiyu Allah wa Attiu Muhammad or Attiyu Allah wa Attiyu Nabi. Since neither the word Nabi, nor Muhammad is mentioned in this phrase, the instructions of Allah is not to follow the Muhammad in his personal capacity, but follow the Risaalat, the hidayah, the Kitaab.

 

Emaan on Rasool, means no distinction between Allah and Rasool

As Momineen we cannot make any distinction between Allah and Rasool too. Refer

• Ayahs 4:150 “Indeed, those who do Kufar in Allah and Allah’s Rasool (in plural) and wish to discriminate between Allah and Allah Rasool (in plural) …”

 

Keeping in mind that all of Allah’s Rasool were just Bashar, humans; therefore, one cannot draw any parallels between a human being and Allah on any aspect at all. The only thing that is common between Allah and Rasool, on the basis of which we cannot make any distinction between Allah and Rasool, is the Allah’s Risaalat, the message, the Kitaab – there is no other common ground between Allah and Rasool. It’s only Allah’s message the Kitaab. Therefore here, if someone picks statement of any Nabi and say that we are supposed to follow this book as well as the Kitaab, the Quran, then this is creating a difference, a distinction between Allah and Rasool.  Since the Rasool is the one who has delivered the message, those who seek to create the differentiation and discrimination between Allah and Rasool, is with regards to Allah’s Risalat. That is those who do kufar seek to discriminate between Allah and Rasool, through creating multiple books, one as a kitaab from Allah and another as a messages from the Rasool.

 

Follow the Millat of Ibrahim, not the Millat of Mohammad

Allah says in Quran to follow the Millat of Ibrahim in many ayahs- For instance refer the following

 

• [Quran 3:95] Say, “Allah has communicated the truth, so follow the Millat of Ibrahim Hanifan and he was not of Mushrikeen.”
• [Quran 3:68] “Indeed, the Awliya (أَوْلَى) of the mankind with Ibrahim are those who follow him….”
• [Quran 4:125] “Who is more Husn in Deen than the one who Aslam and Wajahat towards Allah, and who is Mohsin and who follows the Millat of Ibrahim, Hanifan, Indeed Allah has made Ibrahim a close friend”.

 

With reference to the ayah 3:95, please note that Hanifan means to leave the wrong path and take the right path and remain steadfast on the right path. It also has meanings of being persistent and perseverant in remaining on the right path. For instance, in the ayahs 22:30-31 Allah says “So stay away from the disgrace and disgust of idols, and stay away from falsehood. Hanifa Lil Allahe, without doing Shirk with Him. Whoever will do Shirk with Allah—it is as though he has fallen from the sky, and is snatched by the birds, or is swept away by the wind to a distant abyss”. Here the phrase حُنَفَاءَلِلَّ is defined within the ayahs itself meaning those who remain steadfast on the right path and who avoid shirk at all costs. Therefore, the avoidance of Shirk at all costs is inherent in the meanings of Hanifa. That is the meanings of a true Muslim is a hanifa Lil Allah means he/she would follow the laws of Allah as mentioned in Quran, as Allah is the only lawmaker in Deen and there cannot be anyone but Allah when it comes to laws of Deen. The word is mostly used for Ibrahim since he was surrounded by Idols and he found the Allah himself through the use of his own faculties and reasoning as described in the chapter no. 6- Surah Al-Anam and then in the ayah 6:79 says “Indeed I have turned Wajahat towards Allah who has created the skies and the earth, Hanifan, and I am not one of the Mushrikeen”. Similarly, in ayahs 2:135; 3:67, 3:95 the word is used for Ibrahim, since subsequent to the word Hanifan, the phrase is “he was not of the Mushrikeen” showing that the word Hanifan is used as an opposite to Shirk.

 

Not only we have been asked as Muslims and Momins to follow the Millat of Ibrahim but in fact reference 3:68, Ibrahim has been made Awliya for the whole of mankind- Walliy as allies, role models, benchmarks, guardians, defenders, benefactors, protectors, close friends and confidants. Therefore, this ayah is telling us that the Awliya of the whole of mankind is Nabi Ibrahim- as we all need to follow in his footsteps of aiming to become Hanifan Musliman and avoiding Shirk at all costs. Along with Nabi Ibrahim, all those who follow Nabi Ibrahim, in terms of following the Millat of Ibrahim, they are also the Awliya of the Mankind. In the absence of any documents or recordings of Nabi Ibrahim’s sayings and actions, how are we supposed to follow the Millat of Ibrahim. The word Millat is derived from Imla meaning dictate, writing or something being made obligatory. Therefore, the Millat of Ibrahim was made obligatory and written in the form of Deen, the Kitaab. The idea is to follow the same methods, ways and acts of following the laws of Allah as was done by Ibrahim which is well documented and mentioned in the Kitaab. Therefore, following the Millat of Ibrahim means following the Kitaab and the Deen, since it was the same Millat-e-Ibrahim, the same Deen, the same Kitaab that was revealed on each and every Rasool.

 

Rasool can be Malaik, Follow the Rasool, means Follow the Risaalat

Follow the Rasool, means following the Risaalat, the process of revelation- the Jibrael and Michael- Quran highlights the fact that Rasool can be appointed from people as well as Malaik. Being a Momin means having Emaan on Allah’s Kitaab; the process of revelations itself which was carried out by two Malaik, Jibrael and Michael.  Going against Michael and Jibrael, means going against the revelations. Not to follow the Kitaab, to conceal, reject or deny its Ayaat, or to associate anything in the name of Allah which Allah has not mentioned in the Kitaab, it is equivalent to going against the Jibrael and Michael.

 

• [Quran 22:75] Allah chooses from the Malaik Rasool and from the people”.
• [Quran 2:98] Whoever is Au’du to Allah, Malaik and Rasool, and Gabriel, and Micha’ael, then indeed Allah is Au’du to the Kafireen.

 

Even the Nabi is instructed by Allah to have Emaan on the Rasool and Follow the Rasool

Even the Nabi has to follow the Rasool- There are many ayahs in Quran that gives us this important message that even the Nabi has to follow the Rasool. In fact, as per Quran all the Anbiya have entered into a Meesaq with Allah- as highlighted in the following ayahs- including Nabi Mohammad- Refer the phrase “and when we took from the Nabiyeen the Mesaqihim (their Meesaq) and from you…”

 

• [Quran Ayah 33:7] “and when we took from the Nabiyeen the Mesaqahum (their Meesaq) and from you and from Nuh, and Ibrahim and Musa and Easa son of Maryam, And we took from them the Ghalizan (strong) Meesaq”.
• [Quran 3:81] “And when Allah took Mesaq of the Nabiyeen, “Certainly, what I have given you of Kitaab and Hikmat, then should a Rasool comes to you confirming that which is with you, you shall have Emaan in the Rasool and be among Nas’eer for the Rasool….”

 

This strong Meesaq from all the Nabiyeen is basically to have Emaan on the Rasool and be of Nas’eer for the Rasool.  In another Ayah Allah specifically highlights and instructs everyone to follow the Allah and Rasool, including the Nabi –  Shows that to follow the Rasool is enjoined upon everyone, including the Nabiyeen- this is clearly telling us that the Rasool means the Risaalat, which everyone has to follow.

 

• [Quran 4:69 ] And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – those will be the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed Na’imat and with them would be the Nabiyeen, the S’aadiqueen, the Shuhdaa and the Swaliheen. martyrs and the righteous. And Ahsaan are those as Rafeeqan.

 

Conclusion:

As is evident from arguments as mentioned above, following the Rasool, does not mean following Muhammad or any other Nabi of Allah in personal capacity. Wherever Allah says Attiyu Allah wa Attiyur Rasool, it means to follow the Risaalat, the message which is Allah’s revelation and as delivered and communicated by each and every Nabi including the last Nabi Mohammad. When Allah appoints a human being as Allah’s Envoy the person is called Nabi, however when the same person i.e., Nabi receives revelation from Allah and gives it to the people then he is acting as Rasool. The key criteria, the basic requirement of Emaan on Allah’s Nabi means there could be no distinction, no difference

whatsoever between any of Allah’s Nabi as they all came with same Message of Allah’s Wahi, the Risaalat. The common ground to hold on to the Emaan is the same kitaab, the same hidayah which was revealed on every Nabi by Allah.

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Attiu Allah wa Attiur Rasool