Combining the statement of Allah the Exalted, “Nor does He speak from desire,” with the ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) of the Prophet
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: How do we reconcile the statement of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He,[An-Najm 53:3] with the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) may exercise ijtihad in certain matters? If Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, approves it, it becomes a Shari'ah ruling; if Allah does not approve it, the ruling is lifted, as in the story of the blind man in Surat Abasa and what is mentioned in Surat al-Tahrim.
The Shaykh:
How, what?
The questioner:
How do we reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted,[An-Najm 53:3-4] with what is reported, and what the scholars have mentioned, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) may exercise ijtihad in certain matters? If Allah approves it, it becomes a Shari'ah ruling; if Allah does not approve it, the ruling is lifted, as in the story of the blind man in Surat Abasa and the story in Surat al-Tahrim [At-Tahrim 66:1]?
The Shaykh:
These are actions, not words. “Nor does He speak from desire” refers to speech, but an action is not speech. The Messenger may do something based on his ijtihad, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, may correct him, or if Allah, Exalted and Majestic is He, does not approve it, He alerts the Messenger to it. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: How do we reconcile the statement of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He,
Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination.
وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰThe Shaykh:
How, what?
The questioner:
How do we reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted,
(3) Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. (4) It is not but a revelation revealed,
وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىٰO Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful for you
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَThe Shaykh:
These are actions, not words. “Nor does He speak from desire” refers to speech, but an action is not speech. The Messenger may do something based on his ijtihad, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, may correct him, or if Allah, Exalted and Majestic is He, does not approve it, He alerts the Messenger to it. Yes.
Source
المنتقى من أخبار سيد المرسلين 29-05-1433هـ — alfawzan.live (1:04:27)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.