By Answering Islam Team
According to noted Muslim historian and
exegete al-Tabari Muhammad boasted to his companions about the meaning of his
specific names:
Muhammad b.
al-Muthanna – Ibn Abi ‘Adi – ‘Abd al-Rahman (that is, al-Mas‘udi)– ‘Amr b.
Murrah – Abu ‘Ubaydah – Abu Musa [al-Ash‘ari]: The Messenger of God named
himself to us in various ways. He said, ‘I am Muhammad [the one who is
praised], Ahmad [the most praiseworthy], al-Muqaffi [the follower], al-Hashir
[the last in succession], Nabi al-tawbah wa’l-rahmah [the Prophet of
repentance and mercy].’" (The History of al-Tabari – The Last Years of
the Prophet, [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany], Volume
IX, pp. 155-156; underline emphasis ours)
This is also found in al-Bukhari:
Narrated Jubair bin
Mutim:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have five names: I am Muhammad and Ahmad; I am Al-Mahi
through whom Allah will eliminate infidelity; I am Al-Hashir who will be the
first to be resurrected, the people being resurrected there after; and I am
also Al-'Aqib (i.e. There will be no prophet after me)." (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 732: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/056.sbt.html#004.056.732)
Narrated Jubair bin
Mutim:
I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'I have several names: I am Muhammad and I am
Ahmad, and I am Al-Mahi with whom Allah obliterates Kufr (disbelief), and I am
Al-Hashir (gatherer) at whose feet (i.e. behind whom) the people will be
gathered (on the Day of Resurrection), and I am Al-Aqib (i.e. who succeeds the
other prophets in bringing about good)." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume
6, Book 60, Number 419: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/060.sbt.html#006.060.419)
At first glance, being named "the one
who is praised" (Muhammad) and "most praiseworthy" (Ahmad) seems
rather innocent and may suggest nothing more than that the person bearing such
names is a praiseworthy and honorable individual. That is, until we examine
such names in light of the position and status which the hadith literature
gives to Muhammad and the statements of specific Quranic verses which place him
on the same level with his god Allah.
It is important that we quote from specific
Islamic references works in order to help the readers see how both the Quran
and Islamic tradition have elevated Muhammad to the level of divinity.
We begin by citing from Islamic reformer
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab’s book, hailed as one of the greatest scholars by
Salafi Muslims (http://www.ahya.org/amm/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=180;
http://www.geocities.com/kkhaan/abdulwahhab.html)(1),
which deals with the concept of Tauhid or Islamic monotheism. Abdul-Wahhab
carefully outlines various issues that Muslims must embrace or avoid if they
want to insure that they are truly worshiping Allah alone and not violating
their belief in the absolute unity of Allah.
According to Abdul-Wahhab one of the vitally
important things that a Muslim must avoid is to use the Arabic conjunction wa
("and") when speaking of Allah along with someone or something else.
A Muslim should use the conjunction thumma ("then"), or some
other formulation which will avoid associating Allah with something. He notes
that:
A Jewish man came to
the Prophet and said: "Verily, you (Muslims) commit Shirk, for you say:
‘As Allah wills AND as you will;’ and you say: ‘By the
Ka’bah!’" And so the Prophet ordered whoever wanted to swear, to say: "By
the Lord of the Ka’bah" and to say: "As Allah wills, THEN
as you will." (An-Nasaa’ee, it was declared saheeh by Albanee in as
Saheehah # 137 and declared saheeh by Adh-Dhahabee in his checking of Al
Mustadrak and declared saheeh by Ibn Hajar in Al Isaabah 4/389)
A man came to the
Prophet and he said: "As Allah AND you will," at which the
Prophet said: "Would you set me up as a partner besides Allah?
As Allah Alone Wills" (An-Nasaa’ee, declared authentic (hasan) by
Albanee in as Saheehah # 139)
On the authority of
At-Tufail the half brother of Aishah it is reported that he said: "I saw
in a dream that I came upon a number of Jews and I said to them: ‘You are
indeed a good people were it not that you claim ‘Uzair is the son of Allah.’
They replied: ‘You too are good, were it not that you say: As Allah wills AND
as Muhammad wills.’ Then, I came upon a number of Christians and I said to
them: ‘You are indeed a good people were it not that you claim the Messiah
(Jesus) is the son of Allah.’ They replied: ‘You are also good, were it not
that you say: As Allah wills AND as Muhammad wills.’ When I awoke I
told someone about this then I went to the Prophet and repeated it to him. He
asked me: ‘Have you told anyone about this?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ Then he went to the
pulpit and, after praising Allah, he said: ‘At-Tufail had a dream which he
has already communicated to some of you. You used to say something which I was
prevented from forbidding to you until now. Henceforth do not say: As Allah
wills AND as Muhammad wills, but say: What Allah Alone Wills.’"
(Ibn Maajah, Albanee mentioned it in as Saheehah # 138, Al Haythamee said in
Majma Az-Zawaaid: the men in its chain are reliable according to the conditions
of Imam Muslim) (Kitab At-Tawheed, by Sheikh ul-Islam Muhammad ibn
Abdul-Wahhab, translated by: Compilation and Research Department Dar-us-Salam
[Dar-us-Salam Publications
A renowned Muslim scholar named Qadi Iyad Ibn
Musa al-Yahsubi is another scholar who agrees that the conjunction wa
should be avoided when speaking of Allah and something else together. Yet he
makes an exception in the case of the Islamic creed or confession of faith!
Qatada said,
"Allah exalted his fame in this world and the Next. There is no speaker,
witness nor anyone doing the prayer who fails to say, ‘There is no god but
Allah AND Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’"
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri
related that the Prophet said, "Jibril, peace be upon him, came to me and
said, ‘My Lord and your Lord says, ‘Do you know how I have exalted your
fame?"’ I said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, 'When I
am mentioned you are mentioned with Me.’"
Ibn ‘Ata quoted a hadith
qudsi saying, "I completed belief with your being mentioned with Me."
And another one which says, "I have made your mention PART OF My
mention so whoever mentions Me, mentions you."
Ja'far ibn Muhammad
as-Sadiq, "No one mentions you as the Messenger but that he mentions Me as
the Lord."
The fact that
mention of the Prophet is directly connected to mention of Allah also shows
that obedience to the Prophet is connected to obedience to Allah and his name
to Allah's name. Allah says, "Obey Allah and His Messenger"
(2:32) and "Believe in Allah and His Messenger." (4:136) Allah
joins them together using the conjunction wa WHICH IS THE CONJUNCTION OF
PARTNERSHIP. IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO USE THIS CONJUNCTION IN CONNECTION WITH
ALLAH IN THE CASE OF ANYONE EXCEPT THE PROPHET.
Hudhayfa said that
the Prophet said, "None of you should say, ‘What Allah wills AND (wa)
so-and-so wills.’ Rather say, ‘What Allah wills.’ Then stop and say, ‘So-and-so
wills.’"
Al-Khattabi said,
"The Prophet has guided you to correct behaviour in putting the will of
Allah before the will of others. He chose ‘THEN’ (thumma) which implies
sequence and deference as opposed to ‘AND’ (wa) WHICH IMPLIES
PARTNERSHIP."
Something similar is
mentioned in another hadith. Someone was speaking in the presence of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Whoever obeys
Allah AND His Messenger has been rightly guided, and whoever rebels against
them both (joining them together by using the dual form) …" The Prophet
said to him, "What a bad speaker you are! Get up! [Or he said: Get out!]"
Abu Sulayman said, "He
disliked the two names being joined together in that way BECAUSE IT IMPLIES
EQUALITY." … (Iyad, Kitab Ash-shifa bi ta'rif huquq al-Mustafa (Healing
by the recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One), translated by Aisha
Abdarrahman Bewley [Madinah Press, Inverness, Scotland, U.K., third reprint
1991, paperback], pp. 7-8; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
"… He coupled
his name with His own name, and his pleasure with His pleasure. He made him one
of the two pillars of tawhid." (Ibid., p. 27)
Ibn ‘Abbas said,
"Written on the door of the Garden is: I am Allah. There is no god but Me.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I will not punish anyone who says
that." (Ibid., p. 90)
Notice that even though this Muslim jurist
candidly admitted that the conjunction implies partnership, and therefore
equality, making Muhammad a co-equal partner with Allah, he evidently did not
see how adding Muhammad’s name to Allah through the use of this very
conjunction makes this a clear act of idolatry. More specifically, the Islamic
creed causes Muslims to commit shirk, or the sin of associating partners
with the Creator which the Quran says is the unpardonable sin (cf. Q. 4:48,
116).
For more on the Muslim creed please consult
the following articles:
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/real_shahada.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_shahadah.htm
http://www.submission.org/shahada.html
http://www.submission.org/muhammed/shahada.html
Muhammad:
Co-Possessor of the World
Astonishingly, Muhammad is said to co-own the
planet since it says in a hadith that the entire earth belongs to both Allah AND
him:
VI: Expelling the
Jews from the
'Umar said that the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "We will let you
remain in that as long as Allah lets you remain there."
2996. It is related
that Abu Hurayra said, "While we were in the mosque, the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out and said, ‘Go to the
Jews.’ We went out until we came to the house of al-Midras. He said, ‘Become
Muslim and you will be safe. Know that the earth belongs to Allah AND His
Messenger. I want to expel you from this land. Whoever of you has some
property should sell it. However, the earth belongs to Allah AND His
Messenger.’" (Aisha Bewley, Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari,
Chapter 63. Chapters on the Jizya and Truces; ; bold, capital
and underline emphasis ours)
This, perhaps, explains why the Quran speaks
of Allah restoring to his messenger the plunder and possessions of the peoples:
And whatever Allah restored
to His Messenger from them you did not press forward against it any
horse or a riding camel but Allah gives authority to His messengers against
whom He pleases, and Allah has power over all things. Whatever Allah has
restored to His Messenger from the people of the towns, it is for Allah
AND for the Messenger, and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy
and the wayfarer, so that it may not be a thing taken by turns among the rich
of you, and whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and
from whatever he forbids you keep back, and be careful of (your duty
to) Allah; surely Allah is severe in retributing (evil): S. 59:6-7
It makes perfect sense to speak of restoring
the property of others to Muhammad since all that the people possess actually
belong to him seeing that he is a co-possessor of the earth and everything
within it.
And because the earth belongs entirely to
Muhammad his followers have been given permission to pray wherever they feel
like:
Narrated Jabir bin
'Abdullah:
The Prophet said,
"I have been given five things which were not given to any one else before
me.
1. Allah made me
victorious by awe, (by His frightening my enemies) for a distance of one
month's journey.
2. The earth
has been made for me (and for my followers) a place for praying and a
thing to perform Tayammum, therefore anyone of my followers can pray
wherever the time of a prayer is due.
3. The booty has
been made Halal (lawful) for me yet it was not lawful for anyone else before
me.
4. I have been given
the right of intercession (on the Day of Resurrection).
5. Every Prophet
used to be sent to his nation only but I have been sent to all mankind. (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 7, Number 331: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/007.sbt.html#001.007.331)
Muhammad’s
Knowledge
As if this weren’t bad enough, there are
specific narratives classified as sound by Sunni Muslims which use the
conjunction wa in reference to Allah and Muhammad both knowing the same
thing:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
… He [Muhammad]
ordered them to believe in Allah, and asked them, "Do you know what is
meant by belief in Allah?" They said, "Allah AND His Apostle
know best." He said, ''To testify that none has the right
to be worshipped except Allah, the One, Who has no partners with Him, AND
that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle; and to offer prayers perfectly and to
pay Zakat." … (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 91, Number 371: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/091.sbt.html#009.091.371)
Narrated Abu Dharr:
Once I was with the
Prophet in the mosque at the time of sunset. The Prophet said, "O Abu
Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets?" I replied, "Allah AND
His Apostle know best." He said, "It goes and prostrates
underneath (Allah's) Throne; and that is Allah's Statement:--
'And the sun runs on
its fixed course for a term (decreed). And that is the decree of All-Mighty,
the All-Knowing…' (36.38) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number
326: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/060.sbt.html#006.060.326)
… 'Umar bin Al-Khattab
said, "Verily he has betrayed Allah, His Apostle, and the believers! Allow
me to chop his neck off!" The Prophet said, "O 'Umar! What do you
know? Perhaps Allah looked upon the Badr warriors and said, 'Do whatever you
like, for I have ordained that you will be in
Finally:
Narrated Mu'adh bin
Jabal:
The Prophet said, "O Mu'adh! Do you know what Allah's Right upon His
slaves is?" I said, "Allah AND His Apostle know best."
The Prophet said, "To worship Him (Allah) Alone and to join none in
worship with Him (Allah). Do you know what their right upon Him is?" I
replied, "Allah AND His Apostle know best." The Prophet
said, "Not to punish them (if they do so)." (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 9, Book 93, Number 470: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/093.sbt.html#009.093.470)
Doesn’t the use of the conjunction in all of the
above narratives imply that Muhammad knows whatever Allah knows thereby making
him a co-equal partner with Allah in knowledge? Yet wouldn’t this clearly
contradict the explicit testimony of the Quran that Muhammad doesn’t know what
Allah knows and is ignorant of the unseen?
Say (O Muhammad
SAW): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah
wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have
secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I
am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe."
S. 7:188 Hilali-Khan
If so doesn’t this conclusively show that the
so-called sound narratives are contradicting the Quran?
Obedience
to Muhammad as a sign of Deification
In the above sections we had been citing from
the hadith literature to show how Muslims have violated their own concept of
Islamic monotheism by grouping both Allah and Muhammad together through the use
of the Arabic conjunction which scholars say denotes partnership, thereby
making Muhammad Allah’s equal.
Yet not every Muslim will accept these
statements from the hadith literature since there is a growing number of
Muslims who reject the hadiths altogether (http://free-minds.org/).
They may even use these same narratives to prove that Muslims have corrupted
the true religion of Islam and in the process ended up turning Muhammad into a
god.
With this in mind we want to focus our
attention on the Muslim scripture to show that the same problem exists within
the Quran itself. Let the reader recall that earlier we quoted Qadi Iyad who
made mention that obeying Muhammad is directly connected with obedience to
Allah. The Qadi was basically getting this from the Quran since it quite often
uses the conjunction wa to connect obedience and belief in Allah and
Muhammad together.
The reader should keep in mind that all of
the following citations use the conjunction wa ("and"):
And obey Allah AND
the Messenger, that you may be shown mercy. S. 3:132
These are Allah's
limits, and whoever obeys Allah AND His Messenger, He will cause
him to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them; and this is
the great achievement. And whoever disobeys Allah AND His Messenger
and goes beyond His limits, He will cause him to enter fire to abide in it, and
he shall have an abasing chastisement. S. 4:13-14
And whoever obeys
Allah AND the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has
bestowed favors from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and
the good, and a goodly company are they! S. 4:69
Obey Allah, AND
obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that
it is Our Messenger's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner. S.
5:92 A. Yusuf Ali
Fight those who do
not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah AND
His Messenger have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of
those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of
superiority and they are in a state of subjection. S. 9:29
The response of the
believers, when they are invited to Allah AND His Messenger that
he may judge between them, is only to say: We hear and we obey; and these it
is that are the successful. S. 24:51
Say: Obey Allah AND
obey the Messenger; but if you turn back, then on him rests that which is
imposed on him and on you rests that which is imposed on you; and if you obey
him, you are on the right way; and nothing rests on the Messenger but clear
delivering (of the message). S. 24:54
It is not for a
believer, man or woman, when Allah AND His Messenger have decreed a
matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever
disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error. S.
33:36 Hilali-Khan
Verily, We have sent
you as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner. In order
that you may believe in Allah AND His Messenger, and that you assist
and honour him and glorify his praises morning and afternoon. Verily, those who
give allegiance to you they are giving to Allah. The hand of Allah is over
their hands. Then whosoever breaks his pledge breaks only to his own harm, and
whosoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, He will bestow on him a
great reward. S. 48:8-10
Do you fear that you
will not (be able to) give in charity before your consultation? So when you do
not do it and Allah has turned to you (mercifully), then keep up prayer and pay
the poor-rate and obey Allah AND His Messenger; and Allah is Aware
of what you do. S. 58:13
There are many more passages that use this
formulation, e.g. 3:32, 8:1, 20, 24, 46, 9:71, 24:47, 33:33, 66, 47:33, 49:14,
64:12, and some additional ones that will shortly be discussed in more detail
because they reveal further aspects.
In Islamic and quranic understanding, the
Quran comes fully and only from Allah, not the least bit originated from
Muhammad or other human sources. Therefore, why would Muhammad's name even have
to be mentioned if this is the meaning of the phrase? It would not add anything
to "obey Allah" (in what he has commanded you in the Quran). In fact,
in that case this formulation would only confuse the concept that the Quran is
not from Muhammad in any way, suggesting that Allah and Muhammad are something
like co-authors who have to be obeyed together since they together are the
source of the Quran.
Nowhere in the Bible do we find such a
combination, "obey God and his prophet". If something is clearly the
word of God, there is no need to add the name of the messenger into the command
for obedience towards God and His word. And if it is not the word of God, then
adding the name of the messenger doesn't make it any more authoritative either.
Our conclusion is
also supported by the fact that in several instances, e.g. 5:92, 24:54 etc.,
the word "obey" is explicitly repeated, i.e. "obey Allah and
obey the messenger".
Moreover, if that latter interpretation is
correct, then one would expect to find other places in the Quran where it speaks
only about obedience to Muhammad without even mentioning Allah explicitly in
the exhortation to obey, just as it would be no surprise to find the command to
obey Allah without mentioning Muhammad. And that is indeed the case. The two
(Allah and the messenger) are nearly always mentioned together when the Quran
demands obedience from its listeners, but one can also find the command to obey
the messenger used separately as the next several quotations will show:
Only those are
believers who believe in Allah AND His Messenger, and when they
are with him on a momentous affair they go not away until they have asked HIS
permission; surely they who ask your permission are they who believe in
Allah and His Messenger; so when they ask your permission for some affair of
theirs, give permission to whom you please of them and ask forgiveness for
them from Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Do not hold the
Messenger's calling (you) among you to be like your calling one to the other;
Allah indeed knows those who steal away from among you, concealing themselves;
therefore let those beware who go against his order lest a trial afflict them
or there befall them a painful chastisement. S. 24:62-63
Only those are true believers who wait for
Muhammad's permission (not Allah's permission), and it is up to Muhammad to
give it or to withhold it (give permission to whom YOU please), i.e. whether or
not one obeys Muhammad's word determines one's state as a genuine believer.
Even stronger are these verses:
Whoever obeys the
messenger has obeyed Allah, and
whoever turns away: We have not sent thee as a warder over them. S. 4:80
Pickthall
Surely those who
swear allegiance to you do but swear allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands. Therefore
whoever breaks (his faith), he breaks it only to the injury of his own soul,
and whoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, He will grant him a
mighty reward. S. 48:10
You want to obey Allah? Good, you can do this
by simply obeying the messenger. Whoever obeys Muhammad, has already obeyed
Allah. By obeying Muhammad, one obeys Allah. Obedience to Muhammad is declared
to be synonymous with obedience to Allah. Muhammad has, for all practical
purposes, taken the place of Allah.
In fact, one’s entire salvation is determined
by one’s obedience and devotion to Muhammad:
Say, (O Muhammad, to
mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you
your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. S. 3:31 Pickthall
Allah has promised
to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them
rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them, and that He will most
certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and that
He will most certainly, after their fear, give them security in exchange; they
shall serve Me, not associating aught with Me; and whoever is
ungrateful after this, these it is who are the transgressors. And keep up
prayer and pay the poor-rate and obey the Messenger, so that
mercy may be shown to you. S. 24:55-56
Have you not seen
those who are forbidden secret counsels, then they return to what they are
forbidden, and they hold secret counsels for sin and revolt and disobedience
to the Messenger, and when they come to you they greet you with a greeting
with which Allah does not greet you, and they say in themselves: Why does not
Allah punish us for what we say? Hell is enough for them; they shall enter it,
and evil is the resort. S. 58:8
And notice that here:
Verily, those
who annoy Allah AND His Messenger (Inna allatheena yuthoona
Allaha wa-rasoolahu) (SAW) Allah has cursed them in this world,
and in the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating torment. S. 33:57
Hilali-Khan
Muslims are warned against annoying or
molesting Allah and his messenger whereas in this next verse:
Among them are men who
molest the Prophet (Wa-minhumu allatheena yuthoona al-nabiyya)
and say, "He is (all) ear." Say, "He listens to what is best for
you: he believes in God, has faith in the Believers, and is a Mercy to those of
you who believe." But those who molest the Apostle will have a grievous
penalty. S. 9:61 Y. Ali
Muhammad alone is mentioned without any
reference to his god.
What makes this all the more intriguing is what
Muhammad had to say in regard to the exegesis of the following citation:
The Jews say, 'Ezra
is the Son of God'; the Christians say, 'The Messiah is the Son of God.' That
is the utterance of their mouths, conforming with the unbelievers before them.
God assail them! How they are perverted! They have taken their rabbis and
their monks as lords apart from God, and the Messiah, Mary's son -- and
they were commanded to serve but One God; there is no god but He; glory be to
Him, above that they associate – S. 9:30-31
Regarding 9:31, Ibn Kathir noted that
Muhammad supposedly said that the way Jews and Christians deified their rabbis
and monks was by giving the latter their complete allegiance and obedience:
<They took
their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah, and the Messiah,
son of Maryam> [9:31].
Imam Ahmad,
At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Jarir At-Tabari recorded a Hadith via several chains
of narration, from 'Adi bin Hatim, may Allah be pleased with him, who became a
Christian during the time of Jahiliyyah. When the call of the Messenger
of Allah reached his area, 'Adi ran away to Ash-Sham, and his sister and
several of his people were captured. The Messenger of Allah freed his sister
and gave her gifts. So she went to her brother and encouraged him to become
Muslim and to go to the Messenger of Allah. 'Adi, who was one of the chiefs of
his people (the tribe of Tai') and whose father, Hatim At-Ta’i, was known for
his generosity, went to Al-Madinah. When the people announced his arrival, 'Adi
went to the Messenger of Allah wearing a silver cross around his neck. The
Messenger of Allah recited this Ayah;
<They took
their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah>.
'Adi commented,
"I said, ‘They did not worship them.’" The Prophet said,
((Yes they did.
They (rabbis and monks) prohibited the allowed for them (Christians and Jews)
and allowed the prohibited, and they obeyed them. This is how they worshiped
them.)) …
<They took
their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah…>
that the
Christians and Jews obeyed their monks and rabbis in whatever they allowed or
prohibited for them…" (Tafsir
Ibn Kathir (Abridged), Surat Al-A'raf to the end of Surah Yunus, abridged
by a group of scholars under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri
[Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Houston, New York, London,
Lahore; First Edition: May 2000], Volume 4, pp. 409-410: http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=9&tid=20998;
bold emphasis ours)
Yet Muhammad had no problem demanding this
very same kind of blind obedience and allegiance from his own followers! If
unquestioningly submitting to the whims and dictates of the rabbis and monks is
an act of deification, an act of worship, then Muslims are worshiping and
deifying Muhammad for giving him the very same kind of allegiance; and yet they
do so on the express and strict orders of Muhammad. Worse yet, according to
Muhammad they are actually doing so on the express orders of Allah, which means
that it is Allah who is demanding that Muslims deify and worship Muhammad!
Note: Nowhere in the Bible do we find the
command to obey rabbis or monks or even prophets in the way that obedience is
demanded for Muhammad in the Quran. The Quran goes vastly beyond anything that
is found in the Jewish or Christian scriptures.
Finally and even more amazingly, obedience to
Muhammad actually takes precedence over worshiping Allah!
Narrated Abu Said
bin Al-Mu'alla:
While I was praying in the Mosque, Allah's Apostle called me but I did not
respond to him. Later I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I was praying." He
said, "Didn't Allah say—‘Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and
to His Apostle when he calls you?’" (8.24) … (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 6, Book 60, Number 1: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/060.sbt.html#006.060.001)
CXLII: "O
you who believe! Respond to Allah, AND to the Messenger, when He calls you to
what will bring you to life! Know that Allah intervenes between a man and his
heart and that you will be gathered to Him." (8:24)
4370. It is related
that Sa'id b. al-Mu'alla said, "I was praying and the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by called me, but I did not
answer until I had finished praying. Then I went to him and he said, 'What kept
you from coming to me? Does not Allah say, "Respond to Allah, AND
to the Messenger, when He calls you to what will bring you to life!"
(8:24)?' Then he said to me, 'I will teach you a sura which is
the greatest of the suras in the Qur'an before you leave.' The Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was about to leave, so I reminded
him."
This is related from
Abu Sa'id, a man of the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace. He said "It is: 'Praise be to Allah, the Lords
worlds,' the Seven Oft-Repeated ones." (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih
Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 68. Book of Tafsir: http://bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari31.html;
bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
Muhammad sources Q. 8:24 to prove that the
Quran implicitly testifies that responding to his call immediately is more
important than praying to God! Talk about the height of arrogance and
blasphemy. Instead of commending his companion for worshiping Allah Muhammad
has the audacity to chide him for not setting aside his prayers in order to
beckon to his prophet’s call. A Muslim’s relationship to Muhammad takes
priority over his relationship to God. Which Muslim would dare to say that
Muhammad did not understand the meaning of Q. 8:24? Which Muslim would want to
claim that Muhammad misused this verse and sinned against God by behaving in an
arrogant and blasphemous way, ascribing to himself a position that the Quran
does not give to him? In any case, if this incident doesn’t convince
Muslims that Muhammad placed himself on the same level as God, or even above
him, then nothing will.
To prevent a possible misunderstanding, let
us emphasize again: Our critique is not that the Quran contains the command to
obey a prophet of God. All religions enshrine the principles to obey both civil
and spiritual authorities. Religions do not promote anarchy but seek to
establish order in society, and that necessarily needs obedience to those who
are in a position of authority. The Bible exhorts believers to be obedient to
the laws of the government (Romans 13) even though it may be a pagan
government, and it commands them to willingly follow their spiritual leaders
(Hebrews 13:17), as not to make it difficult for them to do their duty.
However, this obedience to human authorities, even spiritual authorities, is
always conditional (Acts 5:29), never absolute. The point in this whole
discussion is that in the Quran Muhammad is put on the same level as Allah,
i.e. he is conjoined to Allah through an Arabic conjunction (wa) which
Muslim sources, not Jewish, Christian or hostile sources, readily admit implies
partnership and equality. Thus, Muhammad is to be obeyed just as one obeys
Allah. The eternal destiny of the believers is made conditional upon whether
they obey the messenger in everything. Moreover, Muhammad’s knowledge is
equated with Allah’s. That is the aspect that constitutes deification, e.g. the
use of the conjunction which makes him Allah’s equal partner in obedience and
knowledge, and therefore blasphemous.
Islam:
The Religion of Submitting to Muhammad?
We saved the best (or worst) for last.
Muslims often state that Islam means submission/surrender and that a Muslim is
one who fully submits/surrenders to Allah. As the following verses make clear:
Who therefore
shrinks from the religion of Abraham, except he be foolish-minded? Indeed, We
chose him in the present world, and in the world to come he shall be among the
righteous. When his Lord said to him, 'Surrender,' he said, 'I
have surrendered me to the Lord of all Being.' And Abraham charged his
sons with this and Jacob likewise: 'My sons, God has chosen for you the
religion; see that you die not save in surrender.' Why, were you
witnesses, when death came to Jacob? When he said to his sons, 'What will you
serve after me?' They said, 'We will serve thy God and the God of thy fathers
Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, One God; to Him we surrender.' S.
2:130-133 Arberry
Yet they fail to inform people that Islam
isn’t merely centered on submission to Allah but also involves fully submitting
to Muhammad. In other words, a true Muslim is one who doesn’t only submit to
Allah but also completely submits or surrenders his entire will and all his
decisions to Muhammad! Note, carefully, the following citation:
But no, by thy Lord!
they will not believe till they make thee the judge regarding the disagreement
between them, then they shall find in themselves no impediment touching
THY verdict, but shall surrender in full submission. S. 4:65 Arberry
Here is another translation:
But no! by your
Lord! they do not believe (in reality) until they make you a judge of that
which has become a matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any
straitness in their hearts as to what YOU have decided and submit with
entire submission. Shakir
Here we are told clearly and plainly that a
Muslim must fully surrender to Muhammad with a complete submission!
Lest Muslims accuse of us distorting the
meaning of this specific citation here is how some of Islam’s renowned
commentators interpreted this reference:
But no, (fa-la,
the la is extra) by your Lord! They will not believe until they make you
judge over what has broken out, has become mixed up, between them and find in
themselves no inhibition, [no] constraint or doubt, regarding what you decide, but
submit, [but] comply with your ruling, in full submission, without objection.
(Tafsir al-Jalalayn: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=65&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
And:
(But nay, by your
lord) Allah swore by Himself and by the age of Muhammad, (they will not
believe) in secret nor deserve to be called believers when alone (until they
make thee judge of what is in dispute between them and find within themselves)
in their hearts (no dislike) no doubt (of that which thou decidest) between
them, (and submit with full submission) totally submit to you. (Tanwîr
al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=65&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
The following Sufi Muslim author writes:
When the best
generation of humankind ever to walk the earth realized that the Lord of the
Heaven was addressing them directly with His timeless Speech in the language
which they had mastered better than any human nation ever mastered a language,
they realized that not only had Allah Almighty deputized the worthiest of them
as the carrier of the final Message to humanity, but He had also made belief in
that most honorable, most distinguished, and most accomplished Messenger - our
liege-lord Muhammad - an integral condition of belief in Allah Himself by
saying repeatedly "Believe in Allah AND the Messenger."
They also heard
Allah again and again command them to "Obey Allah AND the Messenger."
They also realized that Allah Almighty stressed to them that this Messenger was
their paramount model of behavior and of belief in Allah and the Last Day. They
also heard and understood it meant they had to follow him and love him before
they could claim to follow and love Allah.
They further
understood the required levels of following the Prophet properly and truly on
which one's actual belief in Allah Most High depended: {But nay, by your Lord!
they will not believe (in truth) until they make you judge of what is in
dispute between them}. But to make the Prophet judge is not enough, this must
be done without any mental reservation toward the Prophet and his decision:
{and find within themselves no dislike of that which you decide}. Even
this unalloyed acceptance of the Prophet's judgment is not enough, there must
be full embrace of the heart, mind and soul for the Prophet: {and submit with
full submission} (4:65)! (Gibril Fouad Haddad, The Story of Hadith -
On Obeying, Following, Imitating, And Loving Prophet Muhammad: http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/sth_e.html;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
And to show what happens to any Muslim who
refuses to fully submit to Muhammad here are the comments of renowned Sunni
exegete Ibn Kathir:
One Does not
Become a Believer Unless He Refers to the Messenger for Judgment AND SUBMITS TO
HIS DECISIONS
Allah said…
<But no, by
your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you judge in all disputes
between them,> Allah swears by His
Glorious, Most Honorable Self, that no one shall attain faith until he
refers to the Messenger for judgment IN ALL MATTERS. Thereafter, whatever
the Messenger commands, is the plain truth that must be submitted to inwardly
and outwardly. Allah said…
<and find in
themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full
submission.> meaning: they adhere
to your judgment, and thus do not feel any hesitation over your decision, and
they submit to it inwardly and outwardly. They submit to the Prophet's decision
with total submission without any rejection, denial or dispute. Al-Bukhari
recorded that `Urwah said, "Az-Zubayr quarreled with a man about a stream
which both of them used for irrigation. Allah's Messenger said to Az-Zubayr…
<<O Zubayr!
Irrigate (your garden) first, and then let the water flow to your
neighbor.>> The Ansari became angry and said, `O Allah's Messenger!
Is it because he is your cousin?' On that, the face of Allah's Messenger
changed color (because of anger) and said…
<<Irrigate
(your garden), O Zubayr, and then withhold the water until it reaches the walls
(surrounding the palms). Then, release the water to your neighbor.>> So, Allah's Messenger gave Az-Zubayr his full right
when the Ansari made him angry. Before that, Allah's Messenger had given a
generous judgment, beneficial for Az-Zubayr and the Ansari. Az-Zubayr said, `I
think the following verse was revealed concerning that case…
<But no, by
your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in
all disputes between them.>’"
Another reason in his Tafsir, Al-Hafiz Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin `Abdur-Rahman bin
Ibrahim bin Duhaym recorded that Damrah narrated that two men took their
dispute to the Prophet, and he gave a judgment to the benefit of whoever among
them had the right. The person who lost the dispute said, "I do not
agree." The other person asked him, "What do you want then?" He
said, "Let us go to Abu Bakr As-Siddiq." They went to Abu Bakr and
the person who won the dispute said, "We went to the Prophet with our
dispute and he issued a decision in my favor." Abu Bakr said, "Then
the decision is that which the Messenger of Allah issued." The person who
lost the dispute still rejected the decision and said, "Let us go to `Umar
bin Al-Khattab." When they went to `Umar, the person who won the dispute
said, "We took our dispute to the Prophet and he decided in my favor, but
this man refused to submit to the decision." `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked
the second man and he concurred. `Umar went to his house and emerged from it
holding aloft his sword. He struck the head of the man who rejected the
Prophet's decision with the sword and killed him. Consequently, Allah
revealed...
<But no, by
your Lord, they can have no faith>.
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir: http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=4&tid=11591;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
A companion of Muhammad is struck down in
cold blood for simply refusing to fully submit to his prophet’s decision!
As if this weren’t shocking enough Muhammad
further commanded Muslims to love him just as much as they love Allah!
Say: 'If your
fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan, your possessions that
you have gained, commerce you fear may slacken, dwellings you love -- if
these are dearer to you than God AND His Messenger, and to struggle in
His way, then wait till God brings His command; God guides not the people
of the ungodly.' S. 9:24 Arberry
Narrated Anas:
The Prophet said, "Whoever possesses the following three qualities will
have the sweetness (delight) of faith:
1. The one to whom Allah AND His Apostle becomes dearer than anything
else.
2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake.
3. Who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the
fire." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 15: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/002.sbt.html#001.002.015)
Narrated Anas:
Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever possesses the (following) three qualities
will have the sweetness of faith (1): The one to whom Allah AND His
Apostle becomes dearer than anything else; (2) Who loves a person and
he loves him only for Allah's Sake; (3) who hates to revert to atheism
(disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the Fire." (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 9, Book 85, Number 74: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/085.sbt.html#009.085.074)
Muhammad is even supposed to be closer to
believers than their own persons:
The Prophet is
closer to the Believers than
their own selves, and his wives are their mothers. Blood-relations among each
other have closer personal ties, in the Decree of God. Than (the Brotherhood
of) Believers and Muhajirs: nevertheless do ye what is just to your closest
friends: such is the writing in the Decree (of God). S. 33:6 Y. Ali
Compare this with the true prophets of the
Holy Bible who never told anyone to love them just as much as they love Yahweh.
Instead, this is what they commanded:
"Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments
that I give you today are to be upon your hearts." Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Now it is true that Jesus demanded that his
followers love him just as much as they love God, expecting to receive from
them unconditional love:
"Anyone who
loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves
his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not
take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will
lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew
10:37-39
"Then Jesus
said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life FOR ME will find it. What good
will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or
what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:24-26
But the reason why he could make such a
demand is because, according to the NT, Jesus is God!
Muhammad, however, is just a creature, a mere
mortal, and for him to demand such love is blasphemous and idolatrous.
Now isn’t this clear proof that the religion
of Islam consists of fully, completely submitting to both Allah and Muhammad
equally, and not just to Allah? And doesn’t this further prove that Muslims
must obey and revere Muhammad in the same way and to the same degree they do
their god Allah, making Muhammad Allah’s partner and equal?
Conclusion
With the foregoing in the background it is
rather apparent that Muslims have placed Muhammad on the same level with Allah,
thereby making him a partaker and sharer in divinity.
It seems clear to us that the names Muhammad
and Ahmad are prophetic in one sense in that these noun descriptions foreshadow
the time when his followers ended up exalting him to the level of divinity,
praising him as one praises a god.
And even though Muhammad warned his followers
from over-praising him or praising him like the Christians praise the Lord
Jesus,
Narrated 'Umar:
I heard the Prophet saying, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the
Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the
Slave of Allah and His Apostle." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book
55, Number 654: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/055.sbt.html#004.055.654)
He himself set in motion the events which
inevitably led to him being given such praise since he placed in his Quran
certain statements which elevated him to the level of divinity. Hence, if
anyone is to be blamed for the Muslim deification and worship of the Islamic
prophet, it is Muhammad himself and he must therefore bear personal
responsibility for leading his followers into committing idolatry due to their
excessive praise and devotion to him.
Further
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification1.html
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification2.html
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification3.html
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification4.html
http://faithfreedom.org/challenge/narcissist.htm
http://prophetofdoom.net/Islamic_Quotes_Megalomania.Islam
http://inthenameofallah.org/Megalomania%20of%20Muhammad.html
Endnotes
(1)
Not all Muslims think so highly of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab. Instead of seeing
him as a great reformer certain Muslims actually view him as a great destroyer
of the Islamic faith. For a list of reasons why these scholars hold such a low
view and opinion of Abdul-Wahhab and his movement we recommend the following
articles:
http://abc.se/~m9783/wahtwd_e.html
http://abc.se/~m9783/fiqhi/sm1-gfh_e.html#5
http://mac.abc.se/home/onesr/f/Abu%20Zahra%20on%20Wahhabism.htm
APPENDIX
Considering
possible objections
Most Muslims will not like our conclusions and
may try to raise the following objection to our above argument that "obey
Allah and the messenger" is de facto associating Muhammad with
Allah and giving him a divine status. They may attempt to argue that Muhammad
is not unique in this by pointing to the fact that in the Quran there is not
only the command to obey Muhammad, but several of the other messengers demand
obedience from their contemporaries as well, cf. S. 3:50 (Jesus); 26:108, 110;
71:3-4 (Noah); 26:126, 131 (Hud); 26:144, 150 (Salih); 26:163 (Lot); 26:179
(Shu'aib).
There are several reasons why this comparison
does not yield the desired refutation of our thesis.
And I [Jesus] have
come confirming that which was before me of the Taurat (Torah), and to make
lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you, and I have come to you with a
proof from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me (fa-ittaqoo Allaha
wa-ateeaooni). S. 3:50 Hilali-Khan
"So fear ALLAH
and obey me (Fa-ittaqoo Allaha wa-ateeaooni);" S. 26:108 Sher Ali;
cf. 110, 123, 126, 131, 144, 150, 163, 179
And when 'Iesa
(Jesus) came with (Our) clear Proofs, he said: "I have come to you with Al-Hikmah
(Prophethood), and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) in which
you differ, therefore fear Allah and obey me (fa-ittaqoo Allaha
wa-ateeaooni), S. 43:63 Hilali-Khan
We sent Noah to his
People (with the Command): "Do thou warn thy People before there comes to
them a grievous Penalty." He said: "O my People! I am to you a
Warner, clear and open: That ye should worship God, fear Him and obey me
(ani oabudoo Allaha wa-ittaqoohu wa-ateeaooni): So He may forgive you
your sins and give you respite for a stated Term: for when the Term given by
God is accomplished, it cannot be put forward: if ye only knew." S. 71:1-4
Y. Ali
This is the second
considerable difference between these two sets of passages.
The same holds for
the passage about Jesus. Only in that case, the invented claim comes much
closer to reality, because Jesus himself actually claimed to be one with the
Father. Since Jesus is God who has taken on human flesh, he can rightfully
demand the devotion and obedience which Muhammad only usurped:
"Moreover, the
Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all
may honor the Son JUST AS they honor the Father. He who does not honor
the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him." John 5:22-23
Interestingly, this
parallelism in the claims of Jesus and Muhammad was, in fact, already
recognized by Muhammad's contemporaries:
It is related that
'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to the Prophet, "Part of your
excellence with Allah is that He has made obedience to you obedience to Him.
Allah says, 'Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah' (4:80) and 'If
you love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you.'" (3:31) it is
related that when this ayat was sent down, people said, "Muhammad
wants us to take him as a mercy IN THE WAY CHRISTIANS DID WITH 'ISA, so Allah
revealed, 'Say: Obey Allah, and the Messenger.'" (3:32) (Qadi Iyad,
p. 9)
If Muhammad is not
divine — and he is not — then the way he puts himself on the level of divine
authority is outrageous and blasphemous. His contemporaries realized that.
Muhammad apparently felt the need to make it appear as if it was not. That is
why he put a similar claim into the mouths of other prophets as well. This has,
however, failed to resolve the problem and instead incriminated him even more.
After this trick becomes exposed for what it is, it shows him to be among the
forgers of revelation. History tells us of several megalomaniacs and so-called
divinely-inspired dictators who have demanded absolute and unquestioning
obedience from their followers by putting that demand into the mouth of God,
i.e. by claiming that it is God's will that you obey me. Could it be
that Muhammad is one of them, merely the most successful of them all? It will
be up to the readers to weigh the evidence and draw their own conclusions.
A Muslim may also mention Q. 20:90 where
Aaron exhorts the Israelites to follow him and obey his orders. However, even
though the wording is slightly different from the other verses listed above
there is still nothing new in principle and the text doesn’t quote Aaron as
commanding them to obey Allah AND him. Besides, all the above
observations apply equally here.
Another objection may be raised by pointing
to this passage:
O ye who believe!
Obey Allah, and obey the messenger AND those of you who are in authority;
and if ye have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the
messenger if ye are (in truth) believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is
better and more seemly in the end. S. 4:59
Some Muslims may want to argue that in the
first part of that verse, obedience is commanded to Allah, to the messenger and
to those in authority. Nobody would get the idea from this verse that all
people in authority are therefore deified in Islam. So, the whole claim of a
deification of Muhammad falls apart.
If there had been many such verses containing
this triple command to obey, and if the verse had ended after the first half,
it may indeed have been able to weaken our thesis. However, nearly all rules
and principles have some exceptions. It would be silly to deny the rule because
of the existence of an exception. The first part is an exceptional formulation
over against the two dozen others that have been discussed above.
More importantly, the command, "refer it
to Allah and the messenger", found in the second part of the verse quickly
undoes such a hypothetical weakening again. If there are disputes and
disagreements among the believers, they are not to be brought before the elders
(any of those in some position of authority) but again to "Allah and the
messenger". (In effect, it is to be brought to Muhammad, since how are
they supposed to bring it before Allah? Does the Quran offer any way of
bringing something before Allah and leave out the messenger?)
This point can be seen more clearly when we
note the difference in the wording of the text itself:
… Obey
Allah, AND OBEY the messenger and those of you who are in
authority (amanoo ateeaoo Allaha wa ateeaoo al-rasoola wa olee
al-amri minkum)…
Notice that the citation doesn’t repeat the
word obey when speaking of those in authority, which is quite significant in
light of the fact that the author decided to repeated the word when speaking of
Allah’s messenger being obeyed. It is clear why this was done since this verse
envisions disputes arising between believers, even between common believers and
other believers who have been put into some position of authority in the Muslim
society. Their commands may possibly be disputed. In this case, the dispute has
to be brought before Allah and Muhammad. The two together will have the final
word on it:
… and if ye have a dispute
concerning any matter, refer it to Allah AND the messenger (ila
Hence, although there may be a dispute over
what those in authority do, this verse apparently does not envision any dispute
possible about what Muhammad says or does. One cannot disagree with what
Muhammad does, because one has to refer it to Muhammad. He cannot be bypassed
by going to Allah only. So, Muhammad is still the ultimate authority, which the
others are not. This verse again makes clear the inequality between Muhammad
and all others. The supreme authority of Muhammad together with Allah is again
emphasized. Instead of weakening our thesis, it is strengthened.
Finally, this verse can easily be understood
when we note that it is a relatively late "revelation" and Muhammad
recognized that this growing empire needed an authority structure (if not
immediately then certainly after his death). When his followers were few, he
may have been able to manage all their affairs directly, but when there are
Muslim communities in many cities he can't direct them anymore all by himself.
So, he commands his followers to obey the people who are in authority and
connects that with the established "obey Allah and obey the
messenger" formula. But as already pointed out, the final authority
remains with him.