Quran 98:6 Are the disbelievers the worst creatures ?

Holy Qur’an teaches us that the created human being, if he seeks slavation, should not consider himself totally free/independent to disobey his maker. He should have belief in his heart that he is obedient and servant of the most Potent and Powerful Lord, God Almighty, Who has created him and all those things which have been scattering around him. And everything has been running according to His prescribed laws. One of the basic teachings of Islam is that God does not have a favorable opinion of those who knowingly deny His right to be worshiped alone (as He alone is responsible for our creation, our sustenance, and our judgement) and reject any of His messengers.

Out of creatures, the human beings are seen most arrogant and rebellious. Some of them are those; who do not accept that law; which He has prescribed for the humankind; and want to choose their own way.It is commanded that the worst people on the earth are those; who do not believe in Allah (God) Almighty and deny His Revelations, and there is no hope that they will believe in future. Obviously, those people; who do not believe in God Almighty; they cannot be faithful to their covenant. Moreover, whenever they get opportunity, break their treaty. These are the people who are the worst in entire creatures of God Almighty.

8:55  Verily, the vilest creatures in the sight of God are those who are bent on denying the truth and therefore do not believe.

In the present instance, it should be noted, the particle fa at the beginning of the phrase fa-hum Ia yu'minun has the meaning of "and therefore" ("and therefore they do not believe"): thus showing that lack of belief in spiritual verities is a consequence of one's being "bent on denying the truth". Expressed in positive terms, this amounts to the statement that belief in any ethical proposition depends on one's readiness to consider it on its merits and to admit the truth of whatever one's mind judges to be in conformity with other-empirically or intuitively established-truths. As regards the expression alladhina kafaru, the use of the past tense is meant here, as so often in the Qur’an, to stress the element of intention, and is, therefore, consistently rendered by me - wherever the context warrants it - as "those who are bent on denying the truth" (see also surah 2, note 6).  Similarly, the vilest citizens in your city are those who are bent on violating the traffic rules, those who do not believe in the laws of the land. Those who drink and drive make hell for themselves and for others.

98:6.  Those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book and the idolaters will be in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein. They are the worst of creatures.

In this ayah the reference to those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book is to those later ones who rejected the clear evidence, that is, the messengership of the Holy Prophet (sas) when it came to them. Therefore, as they rejected the complete and perfect message that had come to them, they made themselves deserving of punishment, and for this reason they were called the worst of creation because they deliberately refused to benefit from the Messenger of Allah and the clear evidence he brought. Instead they increased in unbelief and polytheism. So who can doubt that they truly earned the description of the worst of creatures? Without doubt, by their own evil deeds they made themselves asfala safilin (the lowest of the low).

In the former verses, it was mentioned that the people of the Book and the polytheists were waiting for clear evidence to be sent by Allah, but when it came they were dispersed and everyone went his separate way.

In the following verses, from the point of Faith in truth, people are divided into two groups believers and disbelievers, and then the fate of each is pointed out.

At first it says:

"Surely those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book and the polytheists shall be in the fire of Hell, therein dwelling forever, they are the worst of all creatures.”

The term /kafaru/ ‘they disbelieved', here refers to their blasphemy rather than their being Muslim, otherwise their previous infidelity was not a new matter.

The phrase

“They are the worst of all creatures"

is a startling statement which shows that among all the living and non-living creatures there is nothing worse than those who left the right path and went astray after the truth became clear and the argument and reason became complete.

This is, in fact, like that which is mentioned in Surah Anfal, No. 8, verse 22:

"For the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are the deaf and the dumb. Those who understand not”.

Or similar still, to what Surah A'raf, No. 7, verse 179 says after referring to the people of Hell with the same characteristics:

“...they are like cattle, nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning)”.

There is also a point in the current verse which goes beyond these matters, because it introduces them as

“The worst of all creatures",

and this is, indeed, a statement of evidence for their perpetual stay in the fire of Hell.

And why not! They were the worst of all creatures, because all the means of salvation were being prepared for them, but they refused it intentionally, due to their pride, deceit and enmity.

In this verse, again, the phrase 'the People of Book' is mentioned prior to 'polytheists' perhaps for the reason that they had heavenly Books and learned men among them and also possessed some signs and information about the Prophet of Islam which were clearly mentioned in their Books. Therefore, their rejection was more hideous and indecent. 

Those who disbelieved after receiving clear proof are the worst creatures of all, while those who believe and do good deeds are the best. Hence the two receive totally different rewards. Since clear evidence was given to them formerly in their own religions through their own prophets, and since clear evidence was given to them again, full of life, in the form of a messenger from God reciting pure revelations, and offering them a clear and simple faith, then the true path becomes very clear. So does the destiny of unbelievers, as also that of believers.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the last messenger, and Islam, which he preached, the final message. Messengers from God came successively every time corruption spread in human life. Their objective was to make mankind return to righteousness. Those who deviated from the right path had one chance after another to correct their behaviour. But now that God had willed to close His messages to earth by this final, comprehensive, perfect and accomplished message, then the last chance was also given. This entailed either the adoption of faith leading to salvation, or the denial of faith ending in destruction. For disbelief now is an established evidence of unlimited evil, while accepting the faith is proof of goodness which goes to its absolute end.

Here is a brief note on the etiquette  of the wise person towards his creator:

 

Kitman and its significance in Islam !

Let's check the dictionary for the definition of this word:

كتمان [عامة]	concealment
كتمان [مالية]	Non - disclosure; Nondisclosure; Secrecy
كِتْمان [طبية]	confidentiality
كتمان [سياسية]	concealing, concealment
كتمان الخيانة [قانونية]	Misprision of treason
بالكتمان الشديد [سياسية]	The negotiation is still shrouded in great secrecy
كتمان الشهادة [مالية]	‎Non - disclosure
‏ كتمان الشهادة ‏ [اسلامية]	Withholding testimony
كتمان وقائع [قانونية]	Disguise of facts
عدم كتمان السر [قانونية]	Breach of secrecy

We find that this word used, Islamically, to describe who withhold his testimony, which is forbidden in Islam.

 

• Keeping affairs secret is recommended to avoid envy

ll perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

Regarding urging people to be secretive about their affairs, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,  said: 

استعينوا على إنجاح الحوائج بالكتمان ، فإن كل ذي نعمة محسود

“Resort to secrecy for the fulfillment and success of your needs for, verily, every one who has a blessing is envied.” [reported by At-Tabaraani, Abu Nu'aym, and Al-Bayhaqi in Ash-Shu‘ab; narrated by Mu'aath] [Al-Albaani graded it Saheeh (sound)]

Allaah Knows best

Source

• What is the meaning of kitman from the Islamic perspective? 

 

This answer was kindly provided by brother Ahmad Sa`d, a member of "Islam online Ask About Islam (AAI) Editorial Staff"
 

"In reality, the word kitman comes from the verb katama, which means to hide, to conceal.

As it appears from the different English equivalents of the word, it touches on so many aspects - some of which are good and others are bad. 

Starting with the good aspects, we can say that a good type of kitman (concealment or hiding) is when you hide things still in process till they are complete. In our life, we may meet people who look with a malevolent eye to what we have, who are jealous that we have this and that, who are envious that we are blessed with this and that. Driven by their envy, hatred and dark intentions, they may plot for us or weave some traps. In order to be saved from their traps, we should keep hush-hush on things that are still in preparation. To this type of hiding, kitman is the best policy. In this regard, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says in the hadith: “Seek fulfillment for things you want to finish in kitman.” استعينوا على إنجاح الحوائج بالكتمان ، فإن كل ذي نعمة محسود

He himself gave the best example of such a type in the early days of Islam. When the number of Muslims was still small and the community was still weak, there was a big need for concealment or secret call (kitman) so as to save the cause of da`wah (inviting people to Islam) from the fierce enemies.When migrating to Madinah, no one was aware of the time of the Prophet’s departure from Makkah except two individuals - his Companion and fellow traveler Abu Bakr, and their guide Ibn Urayqit. Of course, it helped them a lot to get saved from the traps of the pagans. 

Kitman is of much greater importance when we realize that it is a type of trust. When one discloses some of his secrets to you and asks you to keep them secret from others, then it is your duty to keep them secret as required by that person. Even between the two spouses, they have to practice kitman, i.e. they are in no way allowed to talk to others about the details or generalities of their conjugal life or intimate relations. Kitman may extend to cover the secrets of the whole state at the time of war and peace where a person who is loyal to his people cannot divulge to anyone or tell the enemy about his country’s affairs. 

Now, let’s turn to the bad type of kitman, namely, withholding or hiding. An example of this type is the image of a person whom Allah has gifted with knowledge so as to benefit people with it. However, such a person practices the kitman of knowledge by hiding it. To such type of people the Prophet hints in one of his hadiths in which he states that their knowledge will be like a bridle for them in Hell. 

Another ignominy of ignominies is that type of people whom Allah gives wealth and properties. Yet, they practice kitman of money, by withholding zakah and not offering charity. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, warns them: “Whomever Allah gives money but refrains from paying the zakah on it. This money will turn into a big snake, on the Day of Judgment, which will seize him by cheeks saying, ‘I am your money, I am your treasure’” Stinginess is thus a type of kitman, as is clear from the above. Hoarding goods and forcing people to buy them at high prices is also a type of kitman which should never be the trait of a Muslim.

The word, in its pure sense of a word, never stops to generate new meanings. It echoes in the mind and gives life to images hidden in the back corridors of the memory. But this is language, words from words."

God knows best !

Refuting " Myths of Muhammad:The Meccans were the First to Break Their Hudaibiya Treaty with Muhammad"

1- Muslims violated the treaty by refusing to send believing women back !

The Hudaybeya treaty was at the end signed stipulating that both sides will cease fighting, and if any of the Quraysh’s men were coming over to the Muslims, they had to send them back. And if a Muslim man came to the Quraysh’s side, they would not be sent back to Muhammed. In this, all parties agreed.

 

As the evidence shows, the Quraysh specified in the treaty that it was binding on men only. Women were not part of this. 

This was very evident too in  Abu Dawud Hadith 2, #2759, we find that the agreement of the treaty was in regards to men. Women were not part of this.

 "...Suhail then said: And that a MAN WILL NOT COME TO YOU FROM US, even if HE follows your religion, without you sending him back to us..."

وَعَلَى أَنَّهُ لاَ يَأْتِيكَ مِنَّا رَجُلٌ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَى دِينِكَ إِلاَّ رَدَدْتَهُ إِلَيْنَا

 Bare in mind that the incident of Umm Kulthum and treaty happened hours or days from each other. This is one of the reasons the Quraysh did not make a big fuss because the treaty agreement specified men only. They continued the treaty agreement for nearly two years. If the Quraysh did believe that the Prophet (p) broke the treaty, they would not have continued the treaty agreement for two years until the incident of Banu Bakr, and Banu Khuza’a tribe occurred. (Source 1, Source 2)

2- Muslims were murdering Meccans after the treaty signing and prior to the revenge killings between the allied tribes! 

The "Muslims" referred to here have a story:

When the Prophet (ﷺ) returned to Medina, Abu Basir, a new Muslim convert from Quraish came to him. The Infidels sent in his pursuit two men who said (to the Prophet (ﷺ) ), "Abide by the promise you gave us." So, the Prophet (ﷺ) handed him over to them. They took him out (of the City) till they reached Dhul-Hulaifa where they dismounted to eat some dates they had with them. Abu Basir said to one of them, "By Allah, O so-and-so, I see you have a fine sword." The other drew it out (of the scabbard) and said, "By Allah, it is very fine and I have tried it many times." Abu Basir said, "Let me have a look at it." When the other gave it to him, he hit him with it till he died, and his companion ran away till he came to Medina and entered the Mosque running. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saw him he said, "This man appears to have been frightened." When he reached the Prophet (ﷺ) he said, "My companion has been murdered and I would have been murdered too." Abu Basir came and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), by Allah, Allah has made you fulfill your obligations by your returning me to them (i.e. the Infidels), but Allah has saved me from them." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Woe to his mother! what excellent war kindler he would be, should he only have supporters." When Abu Basir heard that he understood that the Prophet (ﷺ) would return him to them again, so he set off till he reached the seashore.

 However, Islamophobes like to deceive the readers, as usual !

3- Muslims can break their oaths and make expiations !

We need to understand this in light of the other Hadith which condemn someone who breaks his word.

"The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks his promise and when he is entrusted he betrays the trust." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Now you see it is not permissible for me to make an oath to someone and then break it. For example, lets say that I promised someone that I will definitely sell my car to him for 5,000 dollars and I gave him my word that I would not sell it to someone else. However, someone comes and offers me 6,000 dollars for the car. I can't go and say that the situation is better so I can break my oath.

You also have to understand the context of the Hadith. The reason why the Prophet gave the oath in the first place was because he did not have the means of providing the individual with any means of conveyance. However, then the Prophet did have the means after the war booty came and therefore the whole situation changed and therefore gave the means of conveyance to the people. This was for the benefit of everyone.

There are similar hadith regarding this issue and here is the commentary on them.......

The essence of all these Hadith is that if one comes to realize that, after taking an oath, his oath was wrong, then he must break the oaths. For instance, if one has taken an oath that he will drink alcohol, it will be obligatory for him to break his oath. Or if one takes an oath to not to do a thing which is desirable, or taken an oath to do something which is not desirable, then it will be desirable for him to break the oath. Similarly, if one takes an oath to not to do something permissible then the act of breaking the oath will also come in the category of permissible. 

The expiation of an oath is necessary. This can be done by means of feeding ten poor persons, or by providing clothes to a similar number of persons, or by setting a slave free. If one does not have the capacity to do any of the three acts, then he should observe fast for three days. (Riyad-us-Saliheen, Commentary of Hadith no. 1716,1717 and 1718, p1273)

So the Hadith needs to be understood properly. This does not give anyone the write to break an agreement between himself and another person.(Source)

Allah knows best !

Did Lady Khadija, Prophet Muhammad's wife, tested Angel Gabriel's revelations ?

Some sources quote the following story:

Testing by Khadija

Ibn Ishaq recorded that when the spirit came another time, Khadija tested him:

Isma`il b. Abu Hakim, a freedman of the family of al-Zubayr, told me on Khadija's authority that she said to the apostle of God, 'O son of my uncle, are you able to tell me about your visitant, when he comes to you?" He replied that he could, and she asked him to tell her when he came. So when Gabriel came to him, as he was wont, the apostle said to Khadija, 'This is Gabriel who has just come to me.' `Get up, O son of my uncle,' she said, `and sit by my left thigh.' The apostle did so, and she said, `Can you see him?' `Yes,' he said. She said, `Then turn around and sit on my right thigh.' He did so, and she said, `Can you see him?' When he said that he could she asked him to move and sit in her lap. When he had done this she again asked if he could see him, and when he said yes, she disclosed her form "tahassarat" and cast aside her veil while the apostle was sitting in her lap. Then she said, `Can you see him?' And he replied, `No.' She said, `O son of my uncle, rejoice and be of good heart, by God he is an angel and not a satan.' (Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, tr. Guillaume, 1967, p. 107)

She was covering her face, "tahassarat" means to expose her face. The thought is that an angel respects a woman's modesty, while devils don't.

Chain of narration examined: 

The chain of narration is severed. Isma`il b. Abu Hakim didn't hier from the mother of the believers, Khadija. She died 3 years before Hijrah while he died 130 H. Another chain of narration says that Fatimah bint Hussein heard the story from Khadija, however she didn't hear from her either so, the chain is cut

الرواية هي من سيرة ابن هشام و هي ضعيفة سندا لعلة الانقطاع بين اسماعيل بن ابي حكيم و بين ام المؤمنين خديجة رضي الله عنها . فاسماعيل بن ابي حكيم توفي سنة 130 هجرية و اما خديجة رضي الله عنها فتوفيت في السنة العاشرة من البعثة اي 3 قبل الهجرة :

This is Imam Albani's comments saying the chain of narration is severed:

.أولاً : يحيى بن سليمان بن نضلة المديني فيه كلام من جهة حفظه ، قال ابن
عدي (7/2710) :
"قال ابن خراش : لا يسوى فلساً . (قال ابن عدي) : يروي عن مالك وأهل
المدينة أحاديث [عامتها] مستقيمة" .
وقال ابن أبي حاتم (4/2/154) عن أبيه :
"شيخ ، حدث أياماً ثم توفي" .
ويعني أنه في المرتبة الثالثة عنده ؛ أي : يكتب حديثه وينظر فيه ؛ أي : أنه
يستشهد به ؛ لأنه قبل المرتبة الرابعة وهي من قيل فيه : متروك الحديث ، أو
كذاب ، ونحو ذلك .
ولما ذكره ابن حبان في "الثقات " (9/269) قال :
"يخطئ ويهم " .
قلت : فمثله لا يحتج بحديثه ؛ إذا لم يتابع كما يفيده قول الطبراني عقبه :
"تفرد به يحيى بن سليمان " .
فكيف به وقد خولف ، وهو قولي :
ثانياً : فقال ابن إسحاق في "السيرة" (1/257) ومن طريقه الطبري في
"التاريخ " (1/208) ، وكذا البيهقي في "الدلائل " (2/151 - 152) : وحدثني
إسماعيل بن أبي حكيم مولى آل الزبير : أنه حدثه عن خديجة رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا ...
الحديث نحوه . قال ابن إسحاق : وقد حدثت عبد الله بن حسن هذا الحديث ؛
فقال : قد سمعت أمي فاطمة بنت حسين تحدث بهذا الحديث عن خديجة ،
إلا أني سمعتها تقول :
أدخلتْ رسول الله صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بينها وبين درعها ؛ فذهب عند ذلك جبريل ، فقالت
لرسول الله صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إن هذا لملك وما هو بشيطان .
قلت : وهذا أصح من الأول ، رجاله ثقات ، ولكنه منقطع من الوجهين ؛ فإن
إسماعيل بن أبي حكيم ؛ ثقة من السادسة عند الحافظ ؛ فهو تابع تابعي ، وفاطمة
بنت حسين ؛ فهي تابعية لم تدرك خديجة رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا ، وقد أشار شيخ الإسلام
ابن تيمية إلى ضعف الحديث في رسالته "لباس المرأة في الصلاة"
سلسلة الأحاديث الضعيفة" رواية 6097

The story also contradicts the authentic one mentioned in Saheeh Albukhari'

.....Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones." Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal.... (Sahih Bukhari)

 About Ibn Ishaq and similar books:

These books contain some strange or awkward narrations which are not considered authentic, even by those who narrated them. So, these books are not authoritative because they contain many reports with incomplete chains of narration. Such history books at his time did not pay attention to tracing the chain of transmitters for their stories. Ibn Is’haaq’s specialty was history/seerah therefore he was abandoned by the scholars of hadeeth (such as Bukhari and Muslim) when it came to narrating hadeeth and a reason for this might be because he might include those weaker/severed narrations while he narrated the hadeeth.

And Allah knows best