The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 126
PREFACE ESSENCE OF ISLAM 125 [revelation]. Therefore, it would be extremely shameless to even enter- tain such a belief in your heart. AUTHOR'S MARGIN NOTE Pious ancestors believed that all sayings and deeds of the Holy Prophet as were revelational Shaikh Abdul-Haqq, the Muḥaddith of Delhi, says on page 83 of his book Madárijun-Nubuwwat that all the words and sayings of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, were [a form of] subtle waḥy, with only a few exceptions—for example: his treatment of the prisoners of war taken at the Battle of Badr, the narration concerning Mariyah and honey, and [the narration of] the cross-fertilization of the date trees-which are rare and insignificant. Then, in the same place, he states that Auzā'ī reports on the authority of Hassan bin 'Atiyya that the descent of Jibra'il was not necessarily limited to the revelation of the Quran; rather, every sunnah [estab- lished practice of the Prophet sas] is based upon the descent of Jibra'il. Even the ijtihād [personal reasoning] of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is a form of waḥy. Then, he writes on page 87 that the Companions of the Holy Prophetsas regarded every one of his sayings and actions—regardless of whether they were few or many, minor or major—as waḥy [rev- elation]. They did not hesitate or engage in any argument in acting upon them. They were eager to learn everything the Holy Prophet sas did in privacy and in seclusion. There is, therefore, no doubt that any- one who were to reflect upon the life of the Companions-how they regarded everything, all the words and deeds of the Holy Prophetas, to be binding religious obligations, and who believed that every moment, every instant, and every breath of the Holy Prophet as was immersed in waḥy-would feel ashamed before God and fear even entertaining the thought that Jibrā’il could ever leave the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and return to the heavens. But alas, our ulema, who are also regarded as muḥaddith [scholars of Hadith], show no fear whatsoever. If abandoning their beliefs is