Would the Holy Prophet(sa) Concoct Revelation According to His Own Will?

Mr. Muir and Margoliouth have also taunted that the Holy Prophet(sa) invented revelation as per his own desire on this occasion. In other words, when he desired to marry Zainab(ra) in order to make it legal and save himself from the objection of people, the Holy Prophet(sa) hid behind ‘revelation’. In doing so, they have both hinted that the Holy Prophet(sa) was not a recipient of divine revelation, etc.; rather, God-Forbid, the Holy Prophet(sa) would craft his own revelation and attribute it to God. In my capacity as a historian, I have nothing to do with the religious aspect of this question, but from a historical perspective it is false and contradictory to the facts to assert that the Holy Prophet(sa) always received revelation according to his own wishes. The life of the Holy Prophet(sa) is full of examples where many a time he would receive revelation at odds with his own personal desire. As such, this very account is a shining example in itself. The Holy Qur’ān clearly states that the Holy Prophet(sa) was fearful of marrying Zainab(ra) and desired to avert this marriage. However, Allāh the Exalted commanded him to accept, and even slightly reprimanded him saying:

“O Messenger! You are afraid on account of the people, whereas God is the only One Who has right to be feared.”1

Hence, if one contemplates, the very account under which Mr. Muir has raised an allegation on the basis of a false narration, establishes its falsehood. Similarly, it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān that on the occasion of the Ghazwah of Tubūk, when the Holy Prophet(sa) permitted various hypocrites to remain behind, a revelation was received saying:

“O Messenger! Allāh forgive you. Why did you grant them permission? On this occasion, We had desired to separate the believers from the hypocrites.”2

In the same manner, when the Holy Prophet(sa) had lead the funeral prayer of ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy bin Sulūl, chief of the hypocrites, and the Holy Prophet(sa) believed that there was no harm in doing so, the following divine revelation was sent down:

“From now on, do not offer the funeral prayer of anyone from among these hypocrites, nor stand by his grave in prayer, because they are actually disbelievers and have died in a state of disobedience to God.”3

Further still, it is narrated in Bukhārī that when the Holy Prophet(sa) was wounded in the Ghazwah of Uḥud, and he prayed in a manner which was somewhat against the Quraish, the following Qur’ānic verse was revealed:

“You have no relation in respect to who we forgive and who we punish.”4

In the same manner, when the wives of the Holy Prophet(sa) reached a number which was necessary in divine estimation, the Holy Prophet(sa) received the revelation, ‘Now you are not permitted to marry any further.’5 Therefore, it is an absolutely false and baseless notion that the Holy Prophet(sa) would have revelation sent down according to his own fancy. Such an allegation can only be levelled by a person who is completely ignorant of Islāmic history. Then, it is even stranger to note that on the marriage of Zainab(ra), Mr. Muir and Margoliouth raise the objection that the Holy Prophet(sa) invented revelation to his own liking. However, the Ḥadīth relates that on this occasion, the Holy Prophet(sa) received revelation which was completely against his own will and intention. Thus, if he had wished to conceal any part from among his revelation, he would definitely have hidden this one in particular, which in addition to being against his own will, also possessed a tone of reprimand. As such, the words as they are related in the Ḥadīth are as follows:

“If the Holy Prophet(sa) was one to conceal his revelation, he definitely would have hidden this particular one.”6

The allegation, therefore, that the Holy Prophet(sa) would craft revelation to his own liking is absolutely false and without foundation. As far as the matter is concerned that often times revelation would be sent down in line with his own thoughts - this is correct. However, this is not a point of objection, rather, this very fact is proof of the truth and excellence of the Holy Prophet(sa). In the Holy Qur’ān, Allāh the Exalted states:

“O Prophet! Set yourself towards the service of Islām, the religion of God, in an upright and straightforward manner - a religion which has been fashioned according to the nature in which He has created mankind.”7

In terms of rationality as well, this is exactly the course that should have been employed, in that the nature of man should have been created in line with the Sharī‘at, or in other words, the Sharī‘at should have been revealed in accordance with human nature. Hence, a correlation between a pure disposition and the Islāmic Sharī‘at must exist, and the greater extent to which a person’s nature is undiluted and pure from external influences, the more such a person is closer to the essence of the Sharī‘at. Therefore, it was necessary for the natural inclinations of the Holy Prophet(sa) to be at greater accord with the Islāmic Sharī‘at, as compared to other people. In normal circumstances, the views of the Holy Prophet(sa) would follow a course which was in line with the revelation of the Sharī‘at. However, it is absolutely incorrect to assert that this always occurred, because after all, the Holy Prophet(sa) was a human being and human necessity required that on certain occasions there be a variance as well. In addition to this, since Allāh the Exalted desired to clearly manifest that the source of the revelation sent upon the Holy Prophet(sa) was above and beyond his heart and mind; and was sent from a Being of hidden depths, under His wise power, He left no dearth of such examples where the Holy Prophet(sa) thought one thing, but something else was revealed, or the desire of the Holy Prophet(sa) was one thing, but something different was revealed. Therefore, the allegation of Mr. Muir and Mr. Margoliouth is absolutely incorrect and baseless.