Did Muhammad forgive those who insulted him?

[muslimforever2012]

Assalamu alaikum.

I argued with a person on Faithfreedom and he said that Muhammad killed those who insulted him. So I want a good response.

Is there any Hadith where he forgave those who insulted him?

Thanks.

[AMuslimDude213]

http://muslimconverts.com/insulting/punishment_for_those_who_insult_prophet.htm

[AMuslimDude213]

The answer to this question may be given by addressing the two following issues:

1 – The ruling on one who insults the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

The scholars are unanimously agreed that a Muslim who insults the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) becomes a kaafir and an apostate who is to be executed. This consensus was narrated by more than one of the scholars, such as Imaam Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad, al-Khattaabi and others. Al-Saarim al-Maslool, 2/13-16

This ruling is indicated by the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

In the Qur’aan it says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The hypocrites fear lest a Soorah (chapter of the Qur’aan) should be revealed about them, showing them what is in their hearts. Say: ‘(Go ahead and) mock! But certainly Allaah will bring to light all that you fear.’

If you ask them (about this), they declare: ‘We were only talking idly and joking.’ Say: ‘Was it at Allaah, and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?’

Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed”

[al-Tawbah 9:64-66]

This verse clearly states that mocking Allaah, His verses and His Messenger constitutes kufr, so that applies even more so to insulting. The verse also indicates that whoever belittles the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is also a kaafir, whether he was serious or joking.

With regard to the Sunnah, Abu Dawood (4362) narrated from ‘Ali that a Jewish woman used to insult the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and say bad things about him, so a man strangled her until she died, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ruled that no blood money was due in this case.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in al-Saarim al-Maslool (1/162): This hadeeth is jayyid, and there is a corroborating report in the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas which we will quote below.

This hadeeth clearly indicates that it was permissible to kill that woman because she used to insult the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Abu Dawood (4361) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that a blind man had a freed concubine (umm walad) who used to insult the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and say bad things about him. He told her not to do that but she did not stop, and he rebuked her but she did not heed him. One night, when she started to say bad things about the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and insult him, he took a short sword or dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it and killed her. The following morning that was mentioned to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He called the people together and said, “I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right over him that he should stand up.” The blind man stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I am the one who did it; she used to insult you and say bad things about you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not give up her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was kind to me. Last night she began to insult you and say bad things about you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.” Thereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Bear witness, there is no blood money due for her.”

(Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 3655)

It seems that this woman was a kaafir, not a Muslim, for a Muslim could never do such an evil action. If she was a Muslim she would have become an apostate by this action, in which case it would not have been permissible for her master to keep her; in that case it would not have been good enough if he were to keep her and simply rebuke her.

Al-Nasaa’i narrated (4071) that Abu Barzah al-Aslami said: A man spoke harshly to Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq and I said, ‘Shall I kill him?’ He rebuked me and said, ‘That is not for anyone after the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) .’” (Saheeh al-Nasaa’i, 3795)

It may be noted from this that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had the right to kill whoever insulted him and spoke harshly to him, and that included both Muslims and kaafirs.

The second issue is: if a person who insulted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repents, should his repentance be accepted or not?

The scholars are agreed that if such a person repents sincerely and regrets what he has done, this repentance will benefit him on the Day of Resurrection and Allaah will forgive him.

But they differed as to whether his repentance should be accepted in this world and whether that means he is no longer subject to the sentence of execution.

Maalik and Ahmad were of the view that it should not be accepted, and that he should be killed even if he has repented.

They quoted as evidence the Sunnah and proper understanding of the ahaadeeth:

In the Sunnah, Abu Dawood (2683) narrated that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas said: “On the Day of the Conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) granted safety to the people except for four men and two women, and he named them, and Ibn Abi Sarh… As for Ibn Abi Sarh, he hid with ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, and when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called the people to give their allegiance to him, he brought him to stand before the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said, “O Prophet of Allaah, accept the allegiance of ‘Abd-Allaah.” He raised his head and looked at him three times, refusing him, then he accepted his allegiance after the third time. Then he turned to his companions and said: “Was there not among you any smart man who could have got up and killed this person when he saw me refusing to give him my hand and accept his allegiance?” They said, “We do not know what is in your heart, O Messenger of Allaah. Why did you not gesture to us with your eyes?” He said, “It is not befitting for a Prophet to betray a person with a gesture of his eyes.”

(Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2334)

This clearly indicates that in a case such as this apostate who had insulted the Prophet (S), it is not obligatory to accept his repentance, rather it is permissible to kill him even if he comes repentant.

‘Abd-Allaah ibn Sa’d was one of those who used to write down the Revelation, then he apostatized and claimed that he used to add whatever he wanted to the Revelation. This was a lie and a fabrication against the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it was a kind of insult. Then he became Muslim again and was a good Muslim, may Allaah be pleased with him. Al-Saarim 115.

With regard to proper understanding of the ahaadeeth:

They said that insulting the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has to do with two rights, the right of Allaah and the right of a human being. With regard to the right of Allaah, this is obvious, because it is casting aspersions upon His Message, His Book and His Religion. As for the right of a human being, this is also obvious, because it is like trying to slander the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by this insult. In a case which involves both the rights of Allaah and the rights of a human being, the rights of the human beings are not dropped when the person repents, as in the case of the punishment for banditry, because if the bandit has killed someone, that means that he must be executed and crucified. But if he repents before he is caught, then the right of Allaah over him, that he should be executed and crucified, no longer applies, but the rights of other humans with regard to qisaas (retaliatory punishment) still stand. The same applies in this case. If the one who insulted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repents, then the rights of Allaah no longer apply, but there remains the right of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which still stand despite his repentance.

If it is said, “Can we not forgive him, because during his lifetime the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forgave many of those who had insulted him and he did not execute them?” The answer is:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sometimes chose to forgive those who had insulted him, and sometimes he ordered that they should be executed, if that served a greater purpose. But now his forgiveness is impossible because he is dead, so the execution of the one who insults him remains the right of Allaah, His Messenger and the believers, and the one who deserves to be executed cannot be let off, so the punishment must be carried out.

Al-Saarim al-Maslool, 2/438

Insulting the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is one of the worst of forbidden actions, and it constitutes kufr and apostasy from Islam, according to scholarly consensus, whether done seriously or in jest. The one who does that is to be executed even if he repents and whether he is a Muslim or a kaafir. If he repents sincerely and regrets what he has done, this repentance will benefit him on the Day of Resurrection and Allaah will forgive him.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote a valuable book on this matter, entitled al-Saarim al-Maslool ‘ala Shaatim al-Rasool which every believer should read, especially in these times when a lot of hypocrites and heretics dare to insult the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) because they see that the Muslims are careless and feel little protective jealousy towards their religion and their Prophet, and they do not implement the shar’i punishment which would deter these people and their ilk from committing this act of blatant kufr.

[AMuslimDude213]

Actually this answer is also unclear. let me quote a more fitting answer,wait.

[AMuslimDude213]

The first thing we must do is ask Allah for forgiveness.

I say this because, the people that insult the Prophet (pbuh) have never met him or seen him BUT they know him through our actions. So we have failed to deliver the message of Islam for them to insult someone they have never seen or met.

These insults will not change the status of the Prophet (pbuh) in the least. Allah is enough to protect the name of His messenger (pbuh) BUT these insults are a warning from Allah about our failure to deliver the message of Islam

Patience is the key..

You will surely be tested in your possessions and in yourselves. And you will surely hear from those who were given the Scripture before you and from those who associate others with Allah much abuse. But if you are patient and fear Allah - indeed, that is of the matters [worthy] of determination. (Quran 3:186)
Allah in the above verse clearly says that we will hear a lot of stuff that will grieve us BUT BE PATIENT.

We have today become emotional puppets. We are insulted and we respond exactly how "they" want us to. This is because we have forgotten this verse from the Quran. We have to be calm, collected & calculative.

This is nothing new

The Quraish used to go around insulting the Prophet (pbuh) all the time. As the Islamic empire expanded the number of people insulting the Prophet (pbuh) increased BUT the Prophet (pbuh) or his companions never lost focus. They went on spreading the message.

Understand the nature of disbelief

We should understand that it is the nature of disbelief to insult the prophets(pbuh), the books of Allah & even Allah. We should not be surprised at all. Our problem will not be solved by reprimanding the disbeliever rather spread more awareness about Islam to remove disbelief.

See how the Prophet (pbuh) responded to a person urinating in masjid Annabawi

Anas reported: A Bedouin urinated in the mosque. Some of the persons stood up (to reprimand him or to check him from doing so), but the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Leave him alone; don't interrupt him. He (the narrator) said: And when he had finished, he called for a bucket of water and poured it over. (Muslim hadith 557, Book of purification)
Understand our failure

What is the reason of our failure?

Are we few in number? ... one in every five on this planet is Muslim
Don't we have the means?... we control all the natural resources under our feet.
The Prophet (pbuh) didn't build the Islamic empire with numbers or money....rather he won hearts and we have failed to do so.

Go to any masjid, you will see that we have even forgotten to smile which is one of the sunnahs of the Prophet (pbuh).

PS: I feel we should let everyone know that it is unacceptable to insult the prophet(pbuh) BUT they way to convey this needs to be better and with patience.

[AMuslimDude213]

But if we step back and answer about the Prophet SAW

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

The story references in this regard is the killing of Ka’b ibn Al-Ashraf, who was a leader among the armies that were fighting a war of extermination against the Muslims, as is made clear in the several narrations concerning this incident.

Badr ud-Din Al-Ayni, a scholar of the Hanafi school, writes:

في هذا كله أنه لم يقتلهم بمجرد سبهم وإنما كانوا عونا عليه ويجمعون من يحاربونه ويؤيده

In these narrations it is shown that they were not killed merely for their insults. Indeed, they were only killed due to their aid of the enemy and gathering together for war and supporting it.

Source: Umdat al-Qari fi Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhari 34/413

Ka’b ibn Al-Ashraf had made known his support for violence against the Muslim community, so killing him was done as a legitimate act of self-defense, not simply because he had criticized the Prophet. Rather, the Prophet condemned any assassination that violates a peace treaty or security agreement.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

الْإِيمَانُ قَيَّدَ الْفَتْكَ لَا يَفْتِكُ مُؤْمِنٌ

Faith has prevented treacherous assassination. A believer does not assassinate.

Source: Sunan Abu Dawud 2769, Grade: Sahih

In fact, the Prophet never took revenge for acts of abuse against himself, but instead he would only implement justice with due process.

Aisha reported:

وَمَا انْتَقَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِنَفْسِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ تُنْتَهَكَ حُرْمَةُ اللَّهِ فَيَنْتَقِمَ لِلَّهِ بِهَا

The Messenger of Allah did not take revenge for anything against himself, but if the sacred law of Allah was violated then he would take retribution for the sake of Allah.

Source: Sahih Bukhari 3367, Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi

There were many instances in the Prophet’s life in which he was insulted, mocked, and harmed by his enemies, and he responded with patience, forbearance, and forgiveness.

Aisha reported: A group of Jews asked permission to visit the Prophet and when they were admitted they said, “Death be upon you.” I said to them, “Rather death and the curse of Allah be upon you!” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

يَا عَائِشَةُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَفِيقٌ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ فِي الْأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ

O Aisha, Allah is kind and He loves kindness in all matters.

Source: Sahih Bukhari 6528, Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi

This was because the Prophet would apply the teachings of the Quran which council forbearance and forgiveness in the face of insults and mockery.

Allah said:

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ

Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.

Surah Al-A’raf 7:199

And Allah said:

وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا

The servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth in humility and when the ignorant address them harshly, they say words of peace.

Surah Al-Furqan 25:63

And Allah said:

وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا لَنَا أَعْمَالُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِي الْجَاهِلِينَ

When they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say: For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace be upon you, for we seek not the way of ignorance.

Surah Al-Qasas 28:55

And Allah said:

فَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ الْغُرُوبِ

Be patient over what they say and exalt the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting.

Surah Qaf 50:39

And Allah said:

وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا

Be patient over what they say and avoid them with gracious avoidance.

Surah Al-Muzammil 73:10

The tradition of patience and forbearance in the face of insults was continued by the Prophet’s companions.

Ibn Abbas reported: A man came to Umar while has was the Caliph and he said to him, “O son of Khattab! You do not give us enough, nor are you just with us!” Umar became angry and was about to strike him when Hurr said:

يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَالَ لِنَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خُذْ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ الْجَاهِلِينَ وَإِنَّ هَذَا مِنْ الْجَاهِلِينَ

O leader of the believers, Allah said to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant (7:199), and indeed, this man is ignorant.

Source: Sahih Bukhari 4366, Grade: Sahih

Ibn Abbas said, “By Allah, Umar became still when this verse was recited upon him. He always adhered strictly to the Book of Allah.”

Therefore, the Prophet did not kill anyone merely because he was insulted, but rather he performed military operations against aggressors in defense of the Muslim community.

Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.

[AhmadFarooq]

@AMuslimDude213
In my humble opinion, you have provided with quite confusing answers. Your first quoted text was absolute in its conclusion that blasphemy merits the capital punishment, then your next reply took a more lenient approach and then your third reply appeared to refute, or at-least weaken, the evidence used to support the first reply.

A previous discussion regarding the matter was made on this forum here: http://www.answering-christianity.com/blog/index.php?topic=2400.0

[Albarra]

Yes, Muhammad (SAWS) forgave people. For instance, he forgave people who insulted and threw stones at him in Ta'if. In fact, the Gabriel asked him that Angels would use big mountains to destroy all people in Ta'if, but Muhammad (SAWS) strongly rejected. (In Sahih Bukhari hadiths)

Was this merciful?