By: Qays Arthur
Source: http://www.qaysarthur.net/
On the authority of Umar (Allah be well pleased with him) who said:
“The Messenger of Allah (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said, ‘Do not adulate me as the Christians have adulated the Son of Mary. For I am but His slave. So say ‘slave of God, and His messenger’.‘” (Muslim)
This is one of a select group of hadith that, it may perhaps be said, is often quoted but seldom properly understood. What follows is the explanation of Mulla Ali al-Qari, the noted 11th century Hanafi scholar, from his Mirqat al-Mafatih. The quoted text in bold is from the hadith and the text that follows it is the Imam’s explanation:
Quote:
…Adulation is excessiveness in praise and extremism in extolling.
“As the Christians adulated the Son of Mary” that is, like their adulation of him. What is understood from this is that if he (peace be upon him) is adulated in some manner other than their adulation, it is permitted. May Allah bless the writer of the Burda whence he said, “Leave what the Christians claimed about their prophet then compose what you wish of praise, and implore…”.
From (Imam Baghawi’s) Sharh al-Sunna:
“…it was that the Christians were excessive in their praise of Jesus (peace be upon him) and they adulated him with falsehood and they made him a son of Allah, Most High. Thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited them (his followers) from adulating him with falsehood.”…
Al-Tibi said:
“In replacing ‘Jesus’ and ‘the Messiah’, with ‘Son of Mary’, he (Jesus) is distanced from (the notion of) divinity, meaning from the extremism in praise and adulation, and falsity that sees their making the offspring of catamenial women into a god or a son of such… ”
And because of the extremism of the Jews in denigrating the Messiah, and the Christians’ extremism in praising him, (Allah) the Most High has said:
” O People of the Book! Do not take to extremism in your Religion quite apart from the truth…” (Sura al-Ma’ida)
For the truth is in just moderation as was made clear in His (glorified is He) saying:
“…the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah…” (Sura al-Nisa)
…“I am but a slave…” that is, the elect in the station of distinction. And that, in reality, is the best praise in the sight of the noble and the accomplished. As one (poet) said, “Do not call me except with ‘O her slave’. For it is indeed the noblest of my names.’”
So for that reason Allah has mentioned him (the Prophet – Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) in places within His Book with this exclusive characteristic and magnificent bestowal (i.e. being called His slave) – among them: the station of Rapture (al-Isra’):
“Glorified is He who enraptured His slave by night from the Sacrosanct Mosque to the Distant Mosque…” (Sura al-Isra’),
and the station of sending down the Book:
“Blessed is He who sent The Criterion down on His slave…” (Sura al-Furqan),
and
“Praise is for the One who sent down on His slave the Book…” (Sura al-Kahf).
Now in all that is a subtle indication and a noble tiding that Divine solicitude is commensurate with the extent of servitude.
“So say ‘slave of God, and His messenger’.” that is, to distinguish him (the Prophet) thereby from the rest of His (Allah’s) slaves. And in mentioning those two (slave and messenger) is a hint at the caliber of his status and the far-reaching extent of his purpose…
End of quote.
So for those who do genuinely care about the explanation of the hadith, the adulation referred to by the Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) was exceeding the limits with falsehood such as the Christians’ deification of Jesus.
In fact Imam al-Baghawi, just before the passage quoted by Mulla Ali al-Qari, very clearly defines adulation (الإطراء) thus:
“Adulation: exceeding the limit in praise and lying in it.” Sharh al-Sunna
Thus in this hadith the Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) was not discouraging praise but rather he was, in his sweet and humble manner, indicating how it should be properly done.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him forever and ever.