. J ; ; ;J; : ,;I•; (cont.)

Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi the earlier peoples distorted their books in three different manners: (1) they distorted the meaning or interpretation of it while leaving the wording the same; (2) they distorted and changed the wording of the text; and (3) they distorted the message by concealing what Allah had revealed to them. 1 Allah says about the previous peoples, ., ;; ,,,. / ., ,,., 0 ' ,,,. y,,., / ,., ,,,. ., .. >Ԙ -gj I.ill .. ԝ·J _;Ď.--l J"t ó \" "(And remember) when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it, but they threw it away behind their backs and purchased with it some miserable gain. And indeed, worst is that which they bought" (ali-Imraan 187). One of the most important aspects that the Jews and Christians tried to conceal were the clear signs in their books of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah refers to this blatant cover up of the truth in the verse, ... ts'·ԟ Ī? 08j ;"G::t 0) F५ .. >PF४ ';\ Ĉ ,s ,,,.:";1; ѝў\ 0;j:,,; j J.;jT 0'A "Those to whom We gave the Scripture (Jews and Christians) recognize him (Muhammad) as they recognize their own sons. But, verily, a party of them conceal the truth while they know it" (al-Baqara 146). Concerning distorting the meaning or wording of their scriptures, Allah says in the Quran about the Christians, t " ; / '1.1 ; J .. J / :.._ ::1 . ; ..... ঱, J /; '1¢1 / ,J_i --. , ;-࣊ ȅ1 , J , iii 1" 1..AJ '-:- • ƕf,--, . . .... oয র'-! .... Ԡ· .. _ ;y_y-:. '....14._r-; ॶ u J ,,,. U ,... ,, ,,,. ,,.. ,,,. ,...  / / ,,,. ,,,. 8\ Ȁ " j 8\ Ȁ " x) _,Lj ': ,"џѠ\ J 0;.J:"; j ѡѢ\ 8\ ) 0) _,Lj "And verily, among them is a party who distort the Book with their tongues, so that you may think it is from the Book but it is not from the Book, and they says, 'This is from Allah,' but it is not from Allah. And they state a lie against Allah while they know it" (ali-Imraan 78). Allah has also said about the Jews, 1 For more details on these three points, see Qutb, pp. 195-20 1 . Hadith #2: The Hadith of Jibieel "So because of their [the Tribes of lsrael] breach of their covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts grow hard. They change the words from their [right] places and have abandoned a good part of the message that was sent to them. And you will not cease to discover deceit in them, except a few of them" (al-Maaidah 13).1 "His messengers" The next article of faith mentioned by the Prophet (peace be upon him) is belief in the messengers of Allah.2 A messenger is any human who was chosen by Allah to receive revelation from Him and who was commanded to pass that revelation on. A person cannot by himself, through spiritual exercises, incantations or whatever, reach the level of being a messenger or prophet. It is Allah alone who chooses His messengers and He knows best whom to choose. Allah says, • t._ ॿ . / ,,,. "' · / JJ ; tJ ; /;i -\ _,,.; I : t -\ / ; .:i J J һ ; I; 1 -\ / ࣉ ; J;Z ,, ভ C::- Ԏ ԏw ) JWJJ ୳:01 . .. . '-5­kৣ ?14-)  ୯ Öi ୮ 015" Ż ,,.. .... / ,,,. r-: ,.,. ,,.. /' "Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger and the Seal of the Prophets" (al-Ahzaab 40). It is important to note that all of these messengers and prophets were simply human beings. They did not have any divine status or attribute of any kind.2 They had no knowledge of the unseen except for that which Allah revealed to them. Their loftiest attribute is that of being a servant of Allah. Such is Allah's description of them in the Quran. Indeed, with respect to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), in reference to three of the greatest events in his life, Allah refers to him as His servant. 3 Correct belief in the messengers comprises four aspects4: First, one must believe that the message of all of them is the truth from Allah. If a person today denies any single one of them who is confirmed in the Quran or authentic hadith, then he is in fact denying all of them. Allah says about the people of Noah, "The people of Noah belied the messengers" (al-Shuaraa 1 05). However, Noah was the first messenger. This implies that, in essence, if a person denies one messenger, he is in fact denying all of them since their message is essentially one and consistent.