Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ)- a second name of Deen (2)

             

In part (1) of this article we have seen that Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ) means to follow all commandments as well as our Nabi’s (ﷺ) all acts and sayings which are not in the form of commandments, except those acts which have been specifically prohibited. It means Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ) constitutes such a framework which is based on all Quranic verses as well as all sayings and acts of our Nabi (ﷺ). Because our Nabi’s (ﷺ) acts and sayings are contained in hadith, it means  Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ) envisages such a Guidance Framework/ Quranic Framework which consists of Quran and Hadith. Because this framework covers all aspects of our Nabi’s (ﷺ) life including political, social, economic, ethical, moral, legal, penal, judicial etc, it means Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ) includes all collective systems e.g. political, economic, social etc. and all these collective systems are INTEGRAL parts of Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ). In other words, Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ) is in fact second name of Deen.  

‘Munkareen e hadith’ /disbelievers say that political system is not an integral part of Deen; this is an absurd idea. If political system is not an integral part of Deen, how penal, judicial, legal, economic, and social aspects of Deen including all social services like educational, health etc. may be regulated. It may be appreciated that a human society exerts legal authority through State Apparatus ONLY; only state is vested with legal powers and no other part/organization of human society is vested with legal powers. The basic difference between a state organization and a non-state organization is that a state organization is vested with legal powers; whereas a non-state organization does not have legal powers. If there is no state/ political system, it would mean there is no legal authority to regulate collective systems like penal, legal, judicial, economic and social systems and social services in all social sectors. In short, there is no social/collective life without a political system. A state/political system came into being first time in human history when human beings first time started living social/collective life and enforced on themselves any rules/laws. Political system is an integral part of Deen. Quran says:

“Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers (al-Imran 20, 85).

These verses clearly state only Islam will be accepted as Deen/system; no other system will be accepted by Allah. It implies that  all the systems (social, economic, political etc.) which are required in  social life by humanity are integral parts of Islam; if it would not be so, Allah would have to accept a system other than Islam.

‘Munkareen e Hadith’/ disbelievers also raise objection that human needs keep on changing with passage of time so it is not advisable to follow our Nabi (ﷺ) because sayings and acts of our Nabi (ﷺ) were meant to meet the needs of his (ﷺ) time. This is a misconception to think that human needs are changeable with time. Actually human needs are the same as were developed at the time when human beings started to live a social life. It is the ways and means to meet human needs, which keep on changing with passage of time. Human needs like those related to thirst, hunger, shelter, life, property, honor, recognition, personal growth, emotional stability, communication, transportation, justice, relationship, and intellectual guidance etc. are a few broad categories of human needs (many other categories may also be found) which are the same as may be found  in the initial period of  human social life. Our Nabi’s (ﷺ) acts and sayings lead us to find out human needs and how to meet them. For instance, our Nabi (ﷺ) commands us to adopt middle way; this commandment shows that adoption of middle way is human need. Our Nabi (ﷺ) asks us to maintain modesty; it shows modesty is human need. Our Nabi (ﷺ) advises to use honey for better health; it shows health is human need. Our Nabi (ﷺ) urges Muslims to undertake jihad for certain purposes; it shows jihad is human need for certain purposes. Our Nabi (ﷺ) rode certain animals for travelling; it shows transportation is human need. Our Nabi (ﷺ) used to write letters to other people; it shows communication is human need.  In short, our Nabi’s (ﷺ) sayings and acts lead us to find out human needs and to find out different ways to meet them. There may be hundreds of Different ways mentioned in 'ahadith' to fulfill the same need. We are under obligation to follow all such Different ways and means except the Contradictory ways and means. The ways and means described in ahadith to fulfill a need may be of two kinds; Different ways and means, and Contradictory ways and means.  If our Nabi (ﷺ) adopts two contradictory ways to meet the same need, such ways and means would be taken as time specific or people specific  [for details about difference between contradictory and different, plz see article https://secondriseofislam.blogspot.com/2015/07/khilafah-and-imamah-not-contradictory.html; for concept of time specific and people specific pls see  https://secondriseofislam.blogspot.com/2015/12/enforcement-of-islam-through-muslims.html ]. 
As mentioned earlier, needs are permanent; they cannot be time specific or people specific. Only ways and means to meet a human need may be time specific and people specific, if they happen to be  Contradictory; if ways and means are Different only, they are not time specific or people specific. If ways and means happen to be time specific or people specific, we are not under obligation to follow such ways and means as they are; we are allowed to adopt other ways and means according to our own circumstances. But if ways and means are Different only (not Contradictory) we are under obligation to follow such ways and means. In other words,  the role of sayings and acts of our Nabi (ﷺ) to find out human needs and to find out Different ways and means to fulfill human needs is  unchangeable and permanent role. In other words,   acts and sayings of our Nabi (ﷺ) are essentially to be adopted by the people for identification of human needs, and for finding Different ways to fulfill human needs. However if a hadith contains time specific or people specific  ways and means to fulfill a need, such ways and means are not essentially to be adopted by the people. It may be appreciated that ahadith containing time or people specific ways and means  are not so many; 99% ahadith contain ways and means which are not time and people specific. 

One may ask if ways and means to fulfill human needs keep on changing with passage of time, why should we keep on following Different ways and means contained in 'ahadith'. Actually there is no bar in discovering or inventing new ways and means for meeting human needs; but there is no guarantee that such newly discovered ways and means are fully accurate. But ways and means contained in 'ahadith' are surely fully accurate because such ways and means are revealed to our Nabi (s.a.w.w) through 'wahi'. In other words, Different ways and means contained in ahadith to fulfill a human need are essentially to be followed by the people. But it does not mean newly discovered or invented ways and means to fulfill such human need may not be adopted; such new ways and means may be adopted as additional ways and means along-with Different ways and means contained in ahadith ( but of course such a combination of ways and means may be adopted only if there is no contradiction between the two types of ways and means).

We may conclude all people are under obligation to follow our Nabi (ﷺ). Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ)  is based on Quranic verses and Hadith and leads us to find out all collective and individual needs of human beings and also provides us Different ways and means to meet with such individual and collective human needs.  Itba,a e Nabi (ﷺ) is a second name of Deen (concluded).