18 - Abrogation of earlier messages

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) states an oath emphasizing a very serious matter, saying: By God, who holds my soul in His hand and who will give me life or cause my death by His will. 

2. The purport of the oath is that belief in his message is obligatory to all those who receive the Prophet’s message. This applies to every individual belonging to the nations addressed by his message, namely, mankind and the jinn, Arabs and non-Arabs, from his own generation and all succeeding generations, up to the Day of Judgement. 

Receiving the message means that the individual understands that Muhammad (peace be upon him) declared that he was a messenger of God, calling on people to believe in God’s oneness and prohibiting the association of partners with Him, explaining all this. This applies to everyone who receives the message, whether they are convinced of the same or not. It is sufficient for the obligation to be binding on any person that such a person receives a proper understanding of the existence of such a messenger. A person who does not receive the message correctly is not one whom we consider to have such an obligation.

3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions the Jews and Christians in particular because they are the ones who are best aware of the Prophet (peace be upon him). They were foretold about his prophethood. Moreover, mentioning them in particular shows that nothing is acceptable as a substitute to believing in Prophet Muhammad’s message, not even the claim that a person follows a divine religion. Needless to say, this applies more clearly to polytheists and atheists. The hadith thus provides evidence confirming that the message of Islam supersedes all earlier messages. 

4. All those who receive the message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and who are rational adults, yet die unbelievers, having refused to believe in him and the message he delivered from God, will be among the permanent dwellers of Hell. They will not benefit by any good deed they do, or by anything such as line of descent, nobility or position.

Implementation:

1. Abu Hurayrah travelled a very long distance from his place of residence to migrate and join the Prophet (peace be upon him), even though it would have been good enough for him to embrace Islam and continue to live with his own people in his own town. He became the Prophet’s companion who narrated the largest number of hadiths, despite the fact that he was a relative latecomer to Islam. We should learn from his example how much we can give for God’s sake, and how close we are to the Prophet’s Sunnah, which is his heritage. 

2. Let us give due importance to the question of faith and accept what God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) says, whether it coincides with what we desire or not. In this hadith, he swears by the One who controls his own life and death to confirm a certain principle of faith. 

3. Whoever has a Jewish or Christian relative or friend should do that person a favour, calling on him gently to accept Islam, because continuing with his own religion will not benefit him on the Day of Judgement. If he accepts Islam, both he and the one who calls on him to do so receive double rewards. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: ‘Three categories of people are given double reward: a person who belonged to the people of earlier revelations and believed in his prophet, but lived to the time of Prophet [Muhammad (peace be upon him)] and believed in him and followed him. He has double reward…’.[1]

4. A Muslim should be more proud of his faith than anyone else. People may take pride in their cultures, civilizations or faith, but the followers of all other faiths will end up losers unless they follow Islam, if they receive its message. We praise and thank God for having made us Muslims and guided us to the truth, although people hold great differences about it. 

5. The greatest act of mercy is that a person endeavours to save himself, his family and other people from everlasting punishment. The point is that no one will enter Heaven until they believe in Prophet Muhammad and his message and implement his guidance. Those who advocate the divine faith are the most merciful to all people. They strive with their advocacy, wealth and knowledge in order to save them from God’s punishment. Theirs is a high position which behoves every Muslim to join by advocating God’s message. 

6. Believers understand well that they should follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the best of mankind, because this is the way to ensure a person’s safety on the Day of Judgement.