Does the saying of Allah the Exalted, “And We were not to punish [any people] until We sent a messenger,” include the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? And do the people of the period of ignorance (ahl al-fatra) exist?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : If I may, Shaykh, there is an objection that comes to mind regarding your answer on the issue of the verse: . Your objection is that no warner has come to us, meaning we say: We are the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), so the warner is present in that we are attributed to his Ummah, and therefore we are warned. Also, the apparent meaning of the verse: means, in the sense of not being warned, and this is its apparent meaning, and Allah knows best, not in the sense of... I mean, distinguishing between the broad meaning of warning as you mentioned, meaning I do not see its evidence clearly, and Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : Okay, so we have entered into a new specification, meaning the verse:[Al-Isra 17:15] does not include us either, so in your opinion, there are no people of the period of ignorance (ahl al-fatra) today?
The questioner : I mean those to whom it did not reach...
The Shaykh : It does not need interpretation. The people of the period of ignorance (ahl al-fatra) are those to whom the call did not reach. Do they not exist today?
The questioner : They might exist in the remote areas of Africa or in...
The Shaykh : Excuse me, keep your answer brief, and do not say “might,” because every word “might” is countered by its opposite, meaning it is possible this way and it is possible that way, and this is not an answer. But I want you to be clear with me as you were with me before. Does your new specification of the verse:[Al-Isra 17:15] mean that this verse does not include the Ummah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and that as a result, in the remote areas of Africa as you said, there are people to whom the call of the Messenger did not reach, perhaps they did not hear the name of Muhammad, perhaps they did not hear the name of Islam, so these people are punished on the Day of Resurrection based on the new specification because we are the followers of Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
The questioner : I say we are the followers of Muhammad, so we are warned, and that is if...
The Shaykh : Please do not repeat the previous words, because they are understood and clear in eloquent Arabic, but I want an answer to what I asked.
The questioner : I did not understand your question.
The Shaykh : This is the answer, this is the answer. Do the people of the period of ignorance (ahl al-fatra) exist today or not, to whom the call of the Messenger did not reach? Do they exist or not?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : How can they not? Shaykh, may Allah guide you, how can they not? Where did you go with those in the remote areas of Africa?
The questioner : ... I said they might be, I say for the most part, most people are those to whom the call has reached.
The Shaykh : Shaykh, may Allah guide you, I told you to be clear with me. You say “most people,” and I say to our brothers whom Allah has blessed us with: O our brothers, take this as a rule: any question that is answered with an answer that forces...The questioner : ... to rephrase the question in another way, meaning it forces him to philosophize, on whom? On the answerer. But the responsibility is on whom? On the answerer. On the rule: The wall said to the nail, “You have not pierced me,” it said, “Ask the one who drives me.” So you say “the majority,” okay, and the minority? The second question now, and the minority?
The questioner : I mean no warner came to them.
The Shaykh : So say it from the beginning, may Allah bless you, because it is not our topic now whether it is the majority or the minority. Are there people to whom the call did not reach or not?
The questioner : Yes, there are.
The Shaykh : Okay, may Allah bless you, this is it. Okay, do these people fall under the verse:[Al-Isra 17:15] or not?
The questioner : They fall under it.
The Shaykh : Do they fall under the hadith:?
The questioner : There is no doubt they fall under it.
The Shaykh : Okay, so there remains no special status for us, the people of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), in this area. We and those before us all fall under the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Isra 17:15] Therefore, the warning mentioned in the verse must be understood in the broad circle that I explained earlier, meaning it must be either direct or through the transmission of the call. For example: Let us return to Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them). If one of the disciples heard the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) from Jesus (peace be upon him), and transmitted it to his son, to his friend, to his relative, and so on, did the argument (hujjah) become established against him or not?
The questioner : Yes, indeed.
The Shaykh : Okay, by indirect means or directly?
The questioner : By indirect means, of course.
The Shaykh : By indirect means. So, may Allah bless you, we must observe this broad meaning, otherwise we will be astray, far from the truth. And with that, I think the answer is complete, if Allah wills.
The questioner : Regarding the verse:, does “warner” mean general?
The Shaykh : Any warner.
The student : I mean, can we also say that the call of Ibrahim did not reach them, because he is also a warner, the generality of the forms of warning, meaning the warner who is the Messenger or any warner of the call itself?
The Shaykh : No, here one might say—and although I do not adopt this view—that one might say:Sahih al-Bukhari 438 The Arabs were sent a warner from among them, Ismail (peace be upon him); the Jews were sent Musa, then Isa, and so on. So there is room here to answer with from among them. And although I do not restrict myself to this, I say this out of caution.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, I say in this, my intention is that the warner of the Arabs, who are the people of the Messenger of the Arabs, is Ibrahim and Ismail.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: But, the form of warning?
The Shaykh : I mean, it is as if you want to say that the warner does not mean the Prophet?
The questioner : I mean, the one who carries the call.
The Shaykh : Now clarify your intention. You intend that the warner is not to be interpreted as meaning the Prophet. This can be said, this...
To warn a people to whom no warner had come.
لتنذر قوما ما أتاهم من نذيرTo whom no warner had come.
ما أتاهم من نذيرThe Shaykh : Okay, so we have entered into a new specification, meaning the verse:
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وما كنا معذبين حت نبعث رسولاThe questioner : I mean those to whom it did not reach...
The Shaykh : It does not need interpretation. The people of the period of ignorance (ahl al-fatra) are those to whom the call did not reach. Do they not exist today?
The questioner : They might exist in the remote areas of Africa or in...
The Shaykh : Excuse me, keep your answer brief, and do not say “might,” because every word “might” is countered by its opposite, meaning it is possible this way and it is possible that way, and this is not an answer. But I want you to be clear with me as you were with me before. Does your new specification of the verse:
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وما كنا معذبين حت نبعث رسولاThe questioner : I say we are the followers of Muhammad, so we are warned, and that is if...
The Shaykh : Please do not repeat the previous words, because they are understood and clear in eloquent Arabic, but I want an answer to what I asked.
The questioner : I did not understand your question.
The Shaykh : This is the answer, this is the answer. Do the people of the period of ignorance (ahl al-fatra) exist today or not, to whom the call of the Messenger did not reach? Do they exist or not?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : How can they not? Shaykh, may Allah guide you, how can they not? Where did you go with those in the remote areas of Africa?
The questioner : ... I said they might be, I say for the most part, most people are those to whom the call has reached.
The Shaykh : Shaykh, may Allah guide you, I told you to be clear with me. You say “most people,” and I say to our brothers whom Allah has blessed us with: O our brothers, take this as a rule: any question that is answered with an answer that forces...The questioner : ... to rephrase the question in another way, meaning it forces him to philosophize, on whom? On the answerer. But the responsibility is on whom? On the answerer. On the rule: The wall said to the nail, “You have not pierced me,” it said, “Ask the one who drives me.” So you say “the majority,” okay, and the minority? The second question now, and the minority?
The questioner : I mean no warner came to them.
The Shaykh : So say it from the beginning, may Allah bless you, because it is not our topic now whether it is the majority or the minority. Are there people to whom the call did not reach or not?
The questioner : Yes, there are.
The Shaykh : Okay, may Allah bless you, this is it. Okay, do these people fall under the verse:
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وما كنا معذبين حتى نبعث رسولاThe questioner : They fall under it.
The Shaykh : Do they fall under the hadith:
There is no man from this Ummah, whether a Jew or a Christian, who hears of me and then does not believe in me, except that he will enter the Fire
ما من رجل من هذه الأمة من يهودي أو نصراني يسمع بي ثم لم يؤمن بي إلا دخل النارThe questioner : There is no doubt they fall under it.
The Shaykh : Okay, so there remains no special status for us, the people of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), in this area. We and those before us all fall under the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وما كنا معذبين حتى نبعث رسولاThe questioner : Yes, indeed.
The Shaykh : Okay, by indirect means or directly?
The questioner : By indirect means, of course.
The Shaykh : By indirect means. So, may Allah bless you, we must observe this broad meaning, otherwise we will be astray, far from the truth. And with that, I think the answer is complete, if Allah wills.
The questioner : Regarding the verse:
To warn a people to whom no warner had come before you
لتنذر قوما ما أتاهم من قبلك من نذيرThe Shaykh : Any warner.
The student : I mean, can we also say that the call of Ibrahim did not reach them, because he is also a warner, the generality of the forms of warning, meaning the warner who is the Messenger or any warner of the call itself?
The Shaykh : No, here one might say—and although I do not adopt this view—that one might say:
Every Prophet used to be sent to his nation exclusively but I have been sent to all mankind.
ما من نبي إلا بعث إلى قومه خاصة وبعثت إلى الناس كافةA warner
من نذيرThe questioner : Our Shaykh, I say in this, my intention is that the warner of the Arabs, who are the people of the Messenger of the Arabs, is Ibrahim and Ismail.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: But
a warner
من نذيرThe Shaykh : I mean, it is as if you want to say that the warner does not mean the Prophet?
The questioner : I mean, the one who carries the call.
The Shaykh : Now clarify your intention. You intend that the warner is not to be interpreted as meaning the Prophet. This can be said, this...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.