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In [[Islam]], the Prophet Muhammad is known as '''al-Insān al-Kāmil''' (the perfect human) and '''uswa hasana''' (an excellent model of conduct).
In the mainstream theology of Sunni [[Islam]], the Prophet Muhammad is known as '''al-Insān al-Kāmil''' (the perfect human) and '''uswa hasana''' (an excellent model of conduct). This is taken to mean that his conduct in all things, from how he prayed, how he conducted himself in business and in war, his sexual relations with his wives, slaves and concubines, and even how he cleaned himself after defecation and urination is an exemplar and model for all humans to follow at all times, regardless of historical circumstance and independent of culture.  


==Moral Relativism ==
==Historical Moral Relativism ==


Many Muslims and non-Muslims alike, often attempt to excuse away [[Muhammad]]'s immoral  behavior using moral relativism and/or a "tu quoque" defense against the actions of other religious figures from various faiths. They claim he was a “product of his time” and that he should not be judged by modern standards, but what they fail to mention is that this particular Islamic doctrine, the belief that Muhammad is the ''uswa hasana'', leaves those defenses redundant.  
Modern historians tend to approach the study of particular historical periods, governments and personages from a perspective of historical and cultural relativism. So when in the course of study it comes to light that for instance Julius Caesar sold the women and children of the Gaules he defeated into slavery and paraded his enemy Vercin Geterix like an animal through Rome before executing him (likely by strangulation), although not necessarily endorsing these actions historians will tend to offer context such as explaining that such actions were not at all unusual for other people at the time. On the other hand, when a leader such as Adolf Hitler ordered his soldiers entering the Soviet Union to specifically ignore international treaties on the treatment of prisoners of war in order to brutalize and murder as many "sub-humans" as possible or to set up industrial killing camps with the objective of physically annihilating entire ethnic groups, a idea new to the entire history of mankind, historians tend to pass judgement on these actions as being worse for breaking the contemporary norms of the times these leaders lived in, exceeding even their contemporaries' expectations of human cruelty and viciousness.  


Muhammad repeatedly told his followers to follow his [[Sunnah]] (example) and in the [[Qur'an]] we see that [[Allah]] even asserts his morality as being “sublime” ({{Quran|68|4}}), therefore Muhammad cannot be seen as simply a product of his time. To do so, would mean to also concede the fact that the Qur'an is outdated and not relevant to the modern world. From an Islamic perspective, this is unthinkable. The Qur'an is beyond the constraints of time. It is not simply 'inspired' but the very words of Allah, uttered through the lips of his final messenger. Hence, Muhammad's actions are (and always will be) morally acceptable to the Muslim.
When historians turn to the historical narratives of Muhammad offered in the Sira, tafsir and hadith traditions, many actions such as Muhammad massacring and enslaving the [[Banu Qurayza]], taking [[Safia]] as a slave-wife after executing her husband, or ordering the execution of Meccan poets who had written verses against him once he conquered Mecca are contextualized by noting that these actions were in keeping with the mores and expectations of warfare and statecraft in the Late Antique/early medieval Middle East. This is more often than not perfectly true--contemporary Arabs potentates, the Romans in Byzantium and the Sassanid Persians had no concept of "human rights", "freedom of speech", or "freedom of religion" and routinely committed what would today be called crimes against humanity against minority religious groups such as the Manicheans, flaying the flesh from their bones and crucifying them, killing prisoners of war when ransom was not received, and both empires were heavily dependent on slave labor, including the practice of creating eunuchs through forced castration.
 
It must, however, be noted that the the Islamic concept of "Uswa Hasana" stands in direct contradiction to this modern historical methodology. When Muhammad married Aisha at 6 and consumated the marriage when she was 9, this was not simply the action of a man living in a pre-modern culture where woman married and bore children very young to assist in their survival, this was the perfect conduct of the perfect man which is an example for all men of all time to follow. When Muhammad ordered the ancient pagan statues of Mecca smashed and all pagans across the Arabian peninsula given the choice of Islam or the sword, this was the proper and right conduct to be followed by all Muslims and their governments in regard to pagan "mushrikuun" of all times and all of their idols, including the ancient Buddha statues of Afghanistan which were dynamited by the Taliban, and as certain Salafi groups in Egypt argue today even including the ultra-ancient pyramids and temples of the ancient Egyptian pagans.
 
Muhammad repeatedly told his followers to follow his [[Sunnah]] (example) and in the [[Qur'an]] we see that [[Allah]] even asserts his morality as being “sublime” ({{Quran|68|4}}), therefore Muhammad cannot be seen as simply a product of his time. To orthodox Muslim eyes, admitting to a cultural relativism vis-a-vis the prophet would be blasphemy. Amongst other effects it would essentially invalidate the majority of Islamic [[fiqh]] which very often takes as its starting point the actions and attitudes of the prophet regarding a given question. From an orthodox Islamic perspective, this is simply unthinkable. The Qur'an itself though delivered by the prophet was created by god and is beyond the constraints of time, just as likewise the actions of the prophet were in every way divinely ordained and sanctioned. It is not simply 'inspired' but the very words of Allah, uttered through the lips of his final messenger who pleased his lord in every way. Hence, Muhammad's actions are (and always will be) morally acceptable to orthodox Muslim.


==Text from the Qur'an==
==Text from the Qur'an==
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uswah n.f. {{Quran|33|21}}, {{Quran|60|4}}, {{Quran|60|6}}}}
uswah n.f. {{Quran|33|21}}, {{Quran|60|4}}, {{Quran|60|6}}}}


==Effect on Islamic Morality==
==The Implications of Uswa Hasana for Muslims in the Modern World==


As we have already seen, Muslims today are encouraged to emulate Muhammad and his 7<Sup>th</Sup> century actions as closely as they can, as a form of devotion to Allah. Due to this, no other historical figures actions have effected the modern world more potently or negatively than those of Muhammad. Lets take a look at a few of the example he has set for his pious followers to emulate:
Orthodox Muslims today are encouraged by the ulemaa' to emulate Muhammad and his 7<Sup>th</Sup> century actions (as remembered by scholars writing in the 8<Sup>th</Sup>, 9<Sup>th</Sup>, 10<Sup>th</Sup>, 11<Sup>th</Sup>, 12<Sup>th</Sup> and 13<Sup>th</Sup> centuries, when Islamic doctrine and supremacy was unquestioned and unchallenged in its own lands) as closely as they can, as a form of devotion to Allah. Due to this, the actions and ideas endorsed by orthodox Islamic scholars often stand in stark contrast to modern ideas of human rights, women's rights, minority rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion inter alia. Some examples include:


Muhammad was a pedophile:
Muhammad and child marriage:
{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3310}}|A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's Apostle (Mohammad) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.}}
{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3310}}|A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's Apostle (Mohammad) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.}}
'''The effect:''' Religiously sanctioned [[Islam and Pedophilia|pedophilia]].
'''The effect:''' Religiously sanctioned [[Islam and Pedophilia|pedophilia]].


Muhammad was a mass-murdering child-killer:
Muhammad and the murder of prisoners of war, including young boys:


{{Quote|Ishaq 464|“The Jews were made to come down, and Allah’s Messenger imprisoned them. Then the Prophet went out into the marketplace of Medina, and he had trenches dug in it. He sent for the Jewish men and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were brought out to him in batches. They numbered 800 to 900 boys and men.”}}
{{Quote|Ishaq 464|“The Jews were made to come down, and Allah’s Messenger imprisoned them. Then the Prophet went out into the marketplace of Medina, and he had trenches dug in it. He sent for the Jewish men and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were brought out to him in batches. They numbered 800 to 900 boys and men.”}}
Line 48: Line 52:
'''The effect: '''Religiously sanctioned [[Persecution of Non-Muslims|slaughter of innocents]] (including children) whose only crime were being a non-Muslim.
'''The effect: '''Religiously sanctioned [[Persecution of Non-Muslims|slaughter of innocents]] (including children) whose only crime were being a non-Muslim.


Muhammad was a Slaver:
Muhammad and slavery:
{{Quote||These are the names of Muhammad's male slaves: Yakan Abu Sharh, Aflah, 'Ubayd, Dhakwan, Tahman, Mirwan, Hunayn, Sanad, Fadala Yamamin, Anjasha al-Hadi, Mad'am, Karkara, Abu Rafi', Thawban, Ab Kabsha, Salih, Rabah, Yara Nubyan, Fadila, Waqid, Mabur, Abu Waqid, Kasam, Abu 'Ayb, Abu Muwayhiba, Zayd Ibn Haritha, and also a black slave called Mahran, who was re-named (by Muhammad) Safina (`ship').<ref name="Zad al-Ma'ad">Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zad al-Ma'ad, Part 1, pp. 114-116</ref>}}
{{Quote||These are the names of Muhammad's male slaves: Yakan Abu Sharh, Aflah, 'Ubayd, Dhakwan, Tahman, Mirwan, Hunayn, Sanad, Fadala Yamamin, Anjasha al-Hadi, Mad'am, Karkara, Abu Rafi', Thawban, Ab Kabsha, Salih, Rabah, Yara Nubyan, Fadila, Waqid, Mabur, Abu Waqid, Kasam, Abu 'Ayb, Abu Muwayhiba, Zayd Ibn Haritha, and also a black slave called Mahran, who was re-named (by Muhammad) Safina (`ship').<ref name="Zad al-Ma'ad">Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zad al-Ma'ad, Part 1, pp. 114-116</ref>}}


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'''The effect:''' Religiously sanctioned [[Slavery]] which continues to this day.
'''The effect:''' Religiously sanctioned [[Slavery]] which continues to this day.


Muhammad was a homophobe:
Muhammad and homosexuality:
{{ quote | Tirmidhi  1457|It was narrated by Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There is nothing I fear for my ummah more than the deed of the people of Loot."}}
{{ quote | Tirmidhi  1457|It was narrated by Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There is nothing I fear for my ummah more than the deed of the people of Loot."}}
'''The effect:''' Religiously sanctioned executions of [[Islam and Homosexuality|homosexuals]].
'''The effect:''' Religiously sanctioned executions of [[Islam and Homosexuality|homosexuals]].


Muhammad was a wife-beater:
Muhammad and domestic violence against women:


{{Quote|{{Muslim|4|2127}}| Aisha: I said, Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransom for you, and then I told him (the whole story). He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain.}}
{{Quote|{{Muslim|4|2127}}| Aisha: I said, Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransom for you, and then I told him (the whole story). He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain.}}
Line 65: Line 69:




Of course, most “moderates” (as witnessed by their overwhelming silence and indifference) cannot speak-out against such things. To do so, would be to condemn Muhammad and (in-turn) their very faith. Also, as the “Prophet of peace” himself had said: “A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.”<ref>Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab - {{Abu Dawud|11|2142}}</ref>
In contemporary discourse modern Muslims who wish to live and practice their faith in accordance with modern norms of behaviour often condemn such actions as barbaric, and often seek to invoke Muhammad's culture context to explain them. The doctrine of Uswa Hasana, howver, makes this argument exceedingly difficult, especially when the argument is between Muslims who wish to follow modern mores and traditionalist Muslims who wish to hew to the traditional understanding of the tradition. To take one example, Muhammad himself is claimed to have said: “A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.”<ref>Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab - {{Abu Dawud|11|2142}}</ref>
 
==Challenges to Uswa Hasana from Within the Islamic Tradition==


==Responses to Apologetics==
An often mentioned counterpoint to Uswa Hasana is that the prophet himself appears to be rebuked in surah 80 and told to repent, thus proving the Muhammad was not perfect. Muhammad is rebuked in the Qur'an for turning away from a blind man, but this has not traditionally been taken as proof against the doctrine of Uswa Hasana. In Islam, prophets are ''ma'asoom'' معصوم (infallible/sinless/innocent). They may err (''Zallat'' ظلات "slips"), but this is not the same as committing a sin. Sin in Islam has traditional been seen as doing something against Allah's prescribed teachings. Muhammad did not sin because the incident involving the blind man occurred prior to Allah admonishing him. An act thus only becomes a sin only after Allah ordains it as such. For example, Muhammad and the early Muslims drank [[alcohol]], but this allowance was abrogated by a later Qur'anic revelation, and the scholars have not traditionally held that Muhammad committed a sin here.


# '''''"Muhammad is rebuked in surah 80, so Muslims don't believe he is perfect!"'''''<BR> True. Muhammad is rebuked in the Qur'an for turning away from a blind man, but this only highlights an ignorance of Islamic theology and beliefs. In Islam, prophets are ''masoom'' (infallible/sinless). They may err (''Zallat'' "slip"), but this is not the same as committing a sin. Sin in Islam is doing something against Allah's prescribed teachings. Muhammad did not sin because the incident involving the blind man occurred prior to Allah admonishing him. An act becomes a sin only after Allah ordains it as such. For example, Muhammad and the early Muslims drank [[alcohol]], but this allowance was abrogated by a later Qur'anic revelation.
# '''''"The Qur'an also says Abraham is a good example to follow, but there are no hadith collections for him!"'''''<BR> True. But if all prophets are a good model to follow, then by following Muhammad's sunnah, you're essentially following the sunnah of the prophets who preceded him. If there were Hadith collections for other prophets then they would be rendered obsolete.


{{Core Scripture}}
{{Core Scripture}}

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In the mainstream theology of Sunni Islam, the Prophet Muhammad is known as al-Insān al-Kāmil (the perfect human) and uswa hasana (an excellent model of conduct). This is taken to mean that his conduct in all things, from how he prayed, how he conducted himself in business and in war, his sexual relations with his wives, slaves and concubines, and even how he cleaned himself after defecation and urination is an exemplar and model for all humans to follow at all times, regardless of historical circumstance and independent of culture.

Historical Moral Relativism

Modern historians tend to approach the study of particular historical periods, governments and personages from a perspective of historical and cultural relativism. So when in the course of study it comes to light that for instance Julius Caesar sold the women and children of the Gaules he defeated into slavery and paraded his enemy Vercin Geterix like an animal through Rome before executing him (likely by strangulation), although not necessarily endorsing these actions historians will tend to offer context such as explaining that such actions were not at all unusual for other people at the time. On the other hand, when a leader such as Adolf Hitler ordered his soldiers entering the Soviet Union to specifically ignore international treaties on the treatment of prisoners of war in order to brutalize and murder as many "sub-humans" as possible or to set up industrial killing camps with the objective of physically annihilating entire ethnic groups, a idea new to the entire history of mankind, historians tend to pass judgement on these actions as being worse for breaking the contemporary norms of the times these leaders lived in, exceeding even their contemporaries' expectations of human cruelty and viciousness.

When historians turn to the historical narratives of Muhammad offered in the Sira, tafsir and hadith traditions, many actions such as Muhammad massacring and enslaving the Banu Qurayza, taking Safia as a slave-wife after executing her husband, or ordering the execution of Meccan poets who had written verses against him once he conquered Mecca are contextualized by noting that these actions were in keeping with the mores and expectations of warfare and statecraft in the Late Antique/early medieval Middle East. This is more often than not perfectly true--contemporary Arabs potentates, the Romans in Byzantium and the Sassanid Persians had no concept of "human rights", "freedom of speech", or "freedom of religion" and routinely committed what would today be called crimes against humanity against minority religious groups such as the Manicheans, flaying the flesh from their bones and crucifying them, killing prisoners of war when ransom was not received, and both empires were heavily dependent on slave labor, including the practice of creating eunuchs through forced castration.

It must, however, be noted that the the Islamic concept of "Uswa Hasana" stands in direct contradiction to this modern historical methodology. When Muhammad married Aisha at 6 and consumated the marriage when she was 9, this was not simply the action of a man living in a pre-modern culture where woman married and bore children very young to assist in their survival, this was the perfect conduct of the perfect man which is an example for all men of all time to follow. When Muhammad ordered the ancient pagan statues of Mecca smashed and all pagans across the Arabian peninsula given the choice of Islam or the sword, this was the proper and right conduct to be followed by all Muslims and their governments in regard to pagan "mushrikuun" of all times and all of their idols, including the ancient Buddha statues of Afghanistan which were dynamited by the Taliban, and as certain Salafi groups in Egypt argue today even including the ultra-ancient pyramids and temples of the ancient Egyptian pagans.

Muhammad repeatedly told his followers to follow his Sunnah (example) and in the Qur'an we see that Allah even asserts his morality as being “sublime” (Quran 68:4), therefore Muhammad cannot be seen as simply a product of his time. To orthodox Muslim eyes, admitting to a cultural relativism vis-a-vis the prophet would be blasphemy. Amongst other effects it would essentially invalidate the majority of Islamic fiqh which very often takes as its starting point the actions and attitudes of the prophet regarding a given question. From an orthodox Islamic perspective, this is simply unthinkable. The Qur'an itself though delivered by the prophet was created by god and is beyond the constraints of time, just as likewise the actions of the prophet were in every way divinely ordained and sanctioned. It is not simply 'inspired' but the very words of Allah, uttered through the lips of his final messenger who pleased his lord in every way. Hence, Muhammad's actions are (and always will be) morally acceptable to orthodox Muslim.

Text from the Qur'an

Original: لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرً

Translation: (It) had been for you in God's messenger a good example/model to who was hoping/expecting God, and the Day the Last/Resurrection Day, and remembered/mentioned God much.
Qur'an Text/Transliteration 33:21

Original: قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَآءُ مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّىٰ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ إِلَّا قَوْلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ لَأَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ رَّبَّنَا لَكَ وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ رَّبَّنَا

Translation: A good example/model (to follow) had been for you in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their nation: "We are innocent/separating from you, and from what you worship from other than God, we disbelieved with you, and the animosity and the intense hatred appeared between us and between you (for) ever (E), until you believe with (in) God alone." Except Abraham's word/statement to his father: "I will ask for forgiveness for you, and I do not own/possess for you from God from a thing, our Lord, on You we relied depended (on) , and to You we returned/repented , and to You (is) the end/destination."
Qur'an Text/Transliteration 60:4

Original: لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيهِمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيد

Translation: A good example/model (to follow) had been for you in them, to who was hoping/expecting God, and the Day the Last/Resurrection Day; and who turns away, so then God, He is the rich, the praiseworthy/commendable.
Qur'an Text/Transliteration 60:6

See related: Islamic Theology/Hadith and Sunnah

Lane's Lexicon

Alif-Siin-Waw: to imitate any one. uswah - model, imitation, relief, consolation, pattern, example worthy of imitation.

uswah n.f. Quran 33:21, Quran 60:4, Quran 60:6
Lane's Lexicon - Alif Siin Waw

The Implications of Uswa Hasana for Muslims in the Modern World

Orthodox Muslims today are encouraged by the ulemaa' to emulate Muhammad and his 7th century actions (as remembered by scholars writing in the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, when Islamic doctrine and supremacy was unquestioned and unchallenged in its own lands) as closely as they can, as a form of devotion to Allah. Due to this, the actions and ideas endorsed by orthodox Islamic scholars often stand in stark contrast to modern ideas of human rights, women's rights, minority rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion inter alia. Some examples include:

Muhammad and child marriage:

A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's Apostle (Mohammad) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.
Sahih Muslim 8:3310

The effect: Religiously sanctioned pedophilia.

Muhammad and the murder of prisoners of war, including young boys:

“The Jews were made to come down, and Allah’s Messenger imprisoned them. Then the Prophet went out into the marketplace of Medina, and he had trenches dug in it. He sent for the Jewish men and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were brought out to him in batches. They numbered 800 to 900 boys and men.”
Ishaq 464

The effect: Religiously sanctioned slaughter of innocents (including children) whose only crime were being a non-Muslim.

Muhammad and slavery:

These are the names of Muhammad's male slaves: Yakan Abu Sharh, Aflah, 'Ubayd, Dhakwan, Tahman, Mirwan, Hunayn, Sanad, Fadala Yamamin, Anjasha al-Hadi, Mad'am, Karkara, Abu Rafi', Thawban, Ab Kabsha, Salih, Rabah, Yara Nubyan, Fadila, Waqid, Mabur, Abu Waqid, Kasam, Abu 'Ayb, Abu Muwayhiba, Zayd Ibn Haritha, and also a black slave called Mahran, who was re-named (by Muhammad) Safina (`ship').[1]
Muhammed's Maid Slaves "are Salma Um Rafi', Maymuna daughter of Abu Asib, Maymuna daughter of Sa'd, Khadra, Radwa, Razina, Um Damira, Rayhana, Mary the Coptic, in addition to two other maid-slaves, one of them given to him as a present by his cousin, Zaynab, and the other one captured in a war.[1]

The effect: Religiously sanctioned Slavery which continues to this day.

Muhammad and homosexuality:

It was narrated by Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There is nothing I fear for my ummah more than the deed of the people of Loot."
Tirmidhi 1457

The effect: Religiously sanctioned executions of homosexuals.

Muhammad and domestic violence against women:

Aisha: I said, Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransom for you, and then I told him (the whole story). He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain.
Sahih Muslim 4:2127

The effect: Religiously sanctioned violence against women.


In contemporary discourse modern Muslims who wish to live and practice their faith in accordance with modern norms of behaviour often condemn such actions as barbaric, and often seek to invoke Muhammad's culture context to explain them. The doctrine of Uswa Hasana, howver, makes this argument exceedingly difficult, especially when the argument is between Muslims who wish to follow modern mores and traditionalist Muslims who wish to hew to the traditional understanding of the tradition. To take one example, Muhammad himself is claimed to have said: “A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.”[2]

Challenges to Uswa Hasana from Within the Islamic Tradition

An often mentioned counterpoint to Uswa Hasana is that the prophet himself appears to be rebuked in surah 80 and told to repent, thus proving the Muhammad was not perfect. Muhammad is rebuked in the Qur'an for turning away from a blind man, but this has not traditionally been taken as proof against the doctrine of Uswa Hasana. In Islam, prophets are ma'asoom معصوم (infallible/sinless/innocent). They may err (Zallat ظلات "slips"), but this is not the same as committing a sin. Sin in Islam has traditional been seen as doing something against Allah's prescribed teachings. Muhammad did not sin because the incident involving the blind man occurred prior to Allah admonishing him. An act thus only becomes a sin only after Allah ordains it as such. For example, Muhammad and the early Muslims drank alcohol, but this allowance was abrogated by a later Qur'anic revelation, and the scholars have not traditionally held that Muhammad committed a sin here.


This page is featured in the core article, Islam and Scripture which serves as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn more about this topic
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See Also

External Links

Islamic sites

Videos

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zad al-Ma'ad, Part 1, pp. 114-116
  2. ↑ Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab - Sunan Abu Dawud 11:2142
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