Question 75 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 2

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, the Imams and the Mahdis, and grant them abundant peace. 1. A few verses after this verse, in the same surah, the Exalted said: ‘When there comes to them a matter concerning security or fear, they spread it about. Had they referred it to the Messenger and to those vested with authority among them, those among them able to draw conclusions from it would have known it. Were it not for Allah’s bounty upon you and His mercy, you would have followed Satan, except for a few’ (^[122]). In this verse Allah commanded that it be referred to those vested with authority (a), and this is sufficient for one who listens and bears witness. 2. Referring it to the Messenger (s) after him means referring it to them (a), because they are the continuation of his divine call. Otherwise this verse-‘If you dispute over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and best in outcome’ (^[123])-would have died with the death of the Messenger of Allah (s), and there would be no ruler governing by Allah’s command to whom disputes could be referred. Referring them to the Messenger and to Allah, Glorious is He, would then cease. 3. Far exalted is He, Glorious and Exalted, above neglecting His servants. Why would He appoint for them someone to whom they could return in their disputes in one age and then neglect them in another? Is this divine justice in their view? If they say, “After him we return to the Quran and the Sunna of the Messenger (s),” they have persisted in stubbornness and obstinacy. Was there not a revealed Quran and a Sunna of the Messenger (s) before this verse was revealed? Why did He, Glorious is He, not command that these alone suffice? Rather, every event has its discourse, and every new occurrence has a ruling from Allah known by the Messenger of Allah and those vested with authority-the family of Muhammad (a), the Imams and the Mahdis whom Allah commanded the people to obey. If they say that after Muhammad (s) the religion was completed by the Quran and the Prophetic Sunna that they possess and that there is no dispute after him (s), I will not direct them to their disputes over rulings for hundreds of years, with one declaring the same thing lawful and another declaring it unlawful. Their Imams even declared one another disbelievers over the well-known issue of whether the Quran was created. Instead, I wish to present the calamity over which they disagree today: the calamity of declaring the breastfeeding of an adult lawful. Aisha falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah (s) that he permitted it-far exalted is he, may Allah’s prayers be upon him and his family, above this corruption that Aisha daughter of Abu Bakr falsely attributed to him. No one acted upon it with her except Hafsa daughter of Umar. They were not deterred when Allah set forth for them the example of the wives of Noah (a) and Lot (a), and this example only increased them in transgression: ‘Allah sets forth an example for those who disbelieve: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They were under two righteous servants from among Our servants, but they betrayed them, and those two availed them nothing against Allah, and it was said, “Enter the Fire with those who enter”’ (^[124]). The greatest catastrophe is that they regard this narration as authentic and that al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated it. Here is the text of this calamity. The head of the Hadith Department at al-Azhar University issued a ruling permitting the breastfeeding of an adult: ‘Dr. Izzat Atiyya, head of the Hadith Department in the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion at al-Azhar University, issued a ruling that a working woman may breastfeed her male colleague at work in order to prevent unlawful seclusion if they are together in a closed room whose door can be opened only by one of them.’ ‘Atiyya affirmed to AlArabiya.net that breastfeeding an adult consists of five nursing sessions, permits seclusion, and does not prohibit marriage. A woman at work may remove her veil or uncover her hair before the man whom she breastfed. He called for this breastfeeding to be documented in writing and officially, with the contract stating that so-and-so woman breastfed so-and-so man. In statements to AlArabiya.net, Member of Parliament Khalaf Allah said that the error in this matter was that it had not been addressed in a scholarly or academic way. Had that happened, the issue would have been different; instead, it was raised in the media in a mocking way, as though there were people who wanted indecency to spread. However, Sheikh al-Sayyid Askar, former deputy of the Islamic Research Academy-the highest jurisprudential body at al-Azhar-and a member of parliament for the Muslim Brotherhood, rejected this opinion. He affirmed that it departs from the consensus of the nation’s scholars and that analogy may not be drawn from a special case. He called for it to be confronted because it contributes to spreading vice among Muslims. Dr. Izzat Atiyya had told Al-Watani Al-Yawm, the newspaper speaking in the name of the ruling party whose members dominate the People’s Assembly, that breastfeeding an adult “provides a solution to the problem of seclusion, because protecting honor is among the fundamental objectives of the Sharia and many rulings are built upon it.” He called for the breastfeeding to be documented in writing and officially, with the contract stating that so-and-so woman breastfed so-and-so man, “and we call Allah to witness that, and we are among the witnesses.” He then repeated this in an interview with the state-run Nile Cultural Channel. He added that Lady Hafsa sent her nephew Salim ibn Abdullah ibn Umar to nurse from the sister of Lady Aisha so that he could enter upon her. He nursed three times, became tired, and did not complete five nursing sessions, so Lady Aisha did not admit him, and she died before that could occur.’ This is some of what appeared in the media concerning this ruling in May 2007. Anyone can consult the ruling and the controversy surrounding it in the media and on the Internet. Consider what Sheikh al-Sayyid Askar, former deputy of the Islamic Research Academy, says: ‘… calling for it to be confronted because it contributes to spreading vice among Muslims.’ It is as though he failed to notice that this which contributes to spreading vice among Muslims appears in al-Bukhari and Muslim, and that the one who falsely attributed it to the Messenger (s) was Aisha. But can he say that what Aisha daughter of Abu Bakr and Hafsa daughter of Umar did, as narrated in al-Bukhari and Muslim, ‘contributes to spreading vice among Muslims’? In any event, this is a calamity, and I consider it a calamity, but they consider it a disputed issue and they are in disagreement over it. To whom do they refer it? Let the Sunni sister give them her ruling; perhaps she can settle the people’s dispute. If she says “to Allah,” meaning the Quran, because there is no prophet or vicegerent among the people, and “to the Messenger,” meaning the Sunna or the hadith narrated by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, she thereby supports Dr. Izzat Atiyya, head of the Hadith Department in the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion at al-Azhar University, in his ruling. The people found nothing in the Quran prohibiting breastfeeding an adult, found in al-Bukhari and Muslim that which permits breastfeeding an adult, and found that Aisha daughter of Abu Bakr and Hafsa daughter of Umar acted upon the falsely attributed narration about breastfeeding an adult (^[125]). The people are also discussing referring the matter to the Egyptian parliament to resolve their dispute, or pressuring Atiyya by force to withdraw his ruling. So please hasten to give them your ruling as to whom they should return! I await the answer of the Sunni sister who raised the aforementioned objections, and I hope she will be fair in answering if she seeks the truth. I remind her of the words of the Messenger of Allah (s) to Abu Dharr. Abu Dharr al-Ghifari said: My beloved, the Messenger of Allah (s), said to me, ‘Speak the truth, O Abu Dharr. I spoke the truth, and the truth left me no close friend.’ 4. It is narrated from Burayd al-Ijli that he said: I asked Abu Jafar (a) about the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, ‘Indeed, Allah commands you to deliver trusts to their people, and when you judge between people, to judge with justice.’ He said: ‘He meant us: that the first should deliver to the Imam after him the books, knowledge, and weapon. “And when you judge between people, to judge with justice”-that which is in your hands. Then He said to the people, “O you who believe, obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those vested with authority among you.” He meant us in particular. He commanded all believers until the Day of Resurrection to obey us. If you fear a dispute over a matter, then refer it to Allah, to the Messenger, and to those vested with authority among you. This is how it was revealed. How could Allah, Mighty and Majestic, command them to obey those vested with command and then permit disputing with them? This was said only to those who were commanded and to whom it was said, “Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those vested with authority among you”’ (^[126]). This narration clarifies how the verse was sent down from Allah, Glorious and Exalted.