Q514 :You have emphasized on several occasions that
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was an ordinary human being. It is
well known that a person who acnetplishes some extraordinary things is
himself extraordinary. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) received
revelations from Allah, went to heaven, met Allah and conversed with
Him. How can he be projected as an ordinary human being? I fear that
this might be a slip into disrespect. Please netment.
A514 : I have indeed said that Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) was and continued to be an ordinary human being
throughout his life. This is indeed what he has been required to
declare to his people when they made absurd demands that he should
acnetplish some supernatural things to prove his prophet-hood. Allah
instructs him in the Qur’an: “Say: limitless in His glory is my Lord!
Am I anything but a human messenger?” (17:93). He himself made no
claim whatsoever to being anything other than a human being who has
been given a divine message to convey to mankind. If we were to claim
that he had a superhuman status, should we not ask what status would
that be? We can only think of the status of an angel, or that of God.
Far being from him to make any claim to Godhood. We should never
contemplate for a moment that anyone, including Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him), had any divine status of any sort. The only alternative
would be that he was an angel. He certainly was not, because he had all
the characteristics of human beings. Let us remember that angels have
not been given the power to choose attitudes and actions. They simply
“do not disobey Allah whatever He netmands them, and they do what they
are bidden.” It simply does not occur to an angel to disobey Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) in any situation. Human beings, on the
other hand, have always the choice of doing what Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) likes them to do or disobeying Him. This ability to
choose is the distinctive quality of human beings, which enables them
to earn admittance into heaven if they consistently choose what pleases
Allah. They certainly experience temptation to disobey Him and it is
through rising above that temptation that they prove their worth.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was certainly a human being and he
shared with all humans all their qualities and characteristics. He
could love and hate, experience happiness and distress, satisfaction
and irritation, calmness and anger, etc. The Prophet was great because
he was able to conduct his life in the way he did despite experiencing
all the feelings and emotions of human beings and working within their
limitations. You say that he was extraordinary because he did
extraordinary things. He certainly was favored with receiving Allah’s
message and being assigned the task of conveying it. That is why we are
required to declare that we believe that he was Allah’s messenger. If
we do not, then we are not Muslims. But that is as far as it goes. He
gave us a living example of what a perfect human being is like. We can
follow his example in every respect. Indeed, we should try to do so.
But we should remember that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did
not choose to have revelations, it was Allah who chose him to be His
last messenger to mankind and sent down his revelations to him. Nor did
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have any say in his Ascension to
heaven; it was Allah who wished to favor him with that to give his
reassurance, at the time when he certainly needed that reassurance. He
decidedly did not meet with Allah, nor did he converse with Him. Allah
only revealed what He wished to reveal to him through the Archangel
Gabriel. What we are told about his Ascension to heaven in the Qur’an
is that he “has seen some of the greatest signs of his Lord.” No
human being has ever spoken to Allah directly except Prophet Moses. We
must not confuse matters. When we stress the humanity of Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him), we are not being disrespectful to him.
Indeed, we love him and respect him so much because he has been the
means for us to have divine guidance which enables us to earn reward
from Allah and ensures for us a happier life in the next world.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )