|
The manipulation of 59:7
.
"So take what the Messenger assigns to you,
and refrain from what he withholds from you"
59:7
These Quranic words which form part of verse 7 of Sura 59 have been badly
manipulated by those who wish to find any justification for granting prophet
Muhammad legislative powers. According to these so called scholars they interpret
these words to mean that we must uphold everything and every word spoken by the
prophet as law and refrain from everything he prohibits. With this allowance
they have elevated Muhammad to being a Law maker besides God. This is sharp
violation to many Quranic verses such as 6:114,
42:21 and 66:1.
One of the more common routes for Quranic manipulation is to isolate one verse, or
part of a verse, from the verses that come before it or after it. By doing so, a
totally misleading meaning can be arrived at.
Let us look at the following
very simple example:
"O you who believe, do
not approach the Salat
(prayer) while
intoxicated, so
that you know
what you are
saying."4:43
Now let us
read the first
few words of
this verse
without the
remainder, we
get:
"O you who
believe, do
not approach
the Salat
(prayer)"
Here we have
material for
manipulation,
since these
Quranic words
command us
not to observe
our prayers!
Obviously this
manipulation
was possible
only because
we quoted
part of a
verse and
omitted the
remainder.
The same
principle can
also
sometimes
apply when we
quote one
Quranic verse
in isolation
without
reading the
verses
immediately
before or or
after it. This
is exactly
what this has
applied to
59:7 in order
to proclaim
the prophet as
a law maker!
It is true that
the words
used by the
manipulators
say that we
should accept
what the
messenger
gives us and
refrain from
what he
withholds
from us. But
what exactly
is God
speaking
about here?
Do these
words mean
that the
messenger
has the
authority to
legislate and
we to accept
him as a law
maker? What
do the words
before these
words in 59:7
say? Well, by
reading the
whole verse
the picture
becomes
totally
different from
what the
manipulators
are claiming:
Sura 59,
verses 6-7:
Whatever
God restored
for His
messenger
was not the
result of your
war efforts,
whether you
fought on
horses or on
foot. God is
the One who
sends His
messengers
against
whomever He
wills. God is
Omnipotent.
That which
God gives as
spoil unto His
messenger
from the
people of the
townships, it
is for God and
His
messenger
and for the
relatives, the
orphans and
the needy and
the traveling
alien. Thus, it
will not
remain
monopolized
by the strong
among you.
So take what
the
Messenger
assigns to
you, and
refrain from
what he
withholds
from you. You
shall
reverence
God. God is
strict in
enforcing
retribution."
Immediatley
we find that
59:6 and 59:7
speak of the
spoils of war
that are
restored by
God unto the
messenger.
We also see
the exact
method God
authorises for
the
distribution of
these spoils of
war: "for the
relatives, the
orphans, the
needy, and
the traveling
alien."
Following
these words,
God says that
the believers
should accept
what the
messenger
gives them
and refrain
from what is
not given to
them. In other
words, God is
telling the
believers not
to grumble
and moan, but
accept
whatever is
given to them.
|