How to reconcile Allah’s saying: “The words are not changed with Me.”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Your Eminence, how do we reconcile Allah’s (Mighty and Majestic) saying: [Qaf 50:29], with the Messenger’s return to his Lord in the hadith of the Ascension to reduce the prayer from fifty to five prayers? May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : Yes, first read the first verse!
The questioner :[Qaf 50:29].
The Shaykh : Did it say “We do not change the words”?
The questioner : No, it said:[Qaf 50:29].
The Shaykh : Yes:, [Yunus 10:64].
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : No one is able to change the words of Allah. And if we say that the verse is constructed in the passive voice, implying that it includes Himself, meaning He does not change what He (Mighty and Majestic) said, then we say: The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) return to his Lord regarding the prayer was that the decree He first established was that it would be five, but He (Mighty and Majestic) legislated it for His Prophet as fifty for a wisdom, which is the extent of the Messenger’s (peace and blessings be upon him) acceptance of the obligation from one aspect. The second thing is that the reward of fifty prayers is recorded for this Ummah, because we now pray five, but we are like one who prays fifty. This is not from the aspect that a good deed is rewarded ten times over, for in every righteous deed the good deed is rewarded ten times over, but from the aspect that one prayer is recorded for us as how many?
The questioner : Ten times.
The Shaykh : Ten prayers. And this is a blessing, and this is from the wisdom and mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So the original is the first word that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) approved, that it would be five, but He made it obligatory as fifty for this wisdom:
The first: the extent of the Messenger’s (peace and blessings be upon him) acceptance, and there is no doubt that he is the most accepting of people regarding what Allah obligated him with.
And the second: in order that the reward of what is recorded for the Ummah? Answer yourself?
The questioner : Fifty prayers.
The Shaykh : Because I am afraid you have strayed.
The questioner : No, no, I am with you, but I was thinking.
The Shaykh : But I am thinking this does not require thinking, hehe, okay, in order that fifty prayers are recorded for the Ummah in reality, yes.
The questioner : Did you say that He made it obligatory as five first, does that mean?
The Shaykh : No, no, He made it obligatory in the first instance, meaning His first decree that He determined beforehand, because Allah wrote everything before the creation of the heavens and the earth by how much?
By fifty thousand years. It does not mean that He made it obligatory as five and then added fifty, no, on the contrary, He decreed it as fifty until it became five, yes.
The word will not be changed with Me, and never will I be unjust to the servants."
مَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِThe Shaykh : Yes, first read the first verse!
The questioner :
The word will not be changed with Me, and never will I be unjust to the servants."
مَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِThe Shaykh : Did it say “We do not change the words”?
The questioner : No, it said:
The word will not be changed
مَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُThe Shaykh : Yes:
The words are not changed
مَا يُبَدَّلُNo change is there in the words of Allah
لا تَبْدِيلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : No one is able to change the words of Allah. And if we say that the verse is constructed in the passive voice, implying that it includes Himself, meaning He does not change what He (Mighty and Majestic) said, then we say: The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) return to his Lord regarding the prayer was that the decree He first established was that it would be five, but He (Mighty and Majestic) legislated it for His Prophet as fifty for a wisdom, which is the extent of the Messenger’s (peace and blessings be upon him) acceptance of the obligation from one aspect. The second thing is that the reward of fifty prayers is recorded for this Ummah, because we now pray five, but we are like one who prays fifty. This is not from the aspect that a good deed is rewarded ten times over, for in every righteous deed the good deed is rewarded ten times over, but from the aspect that one prayer is recorded for us as how many?
The questioner : Ten times.
The Shaykh : Ten prayers. And this is a blessing, and this is from the wisdom and mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So the original is the first word that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) approved, that it would be five, but He made it obligatory as fifty for this wisdom:
The first: the extent of the Messenger’s (peace and blessings be upon him) acceptance, and there is no doubt that he is the most accepting of people regarding what Allah obligated him with.
And the second: in order that the reward of what is recorded for the Ummah? Answer yourself?
The questioner : Fifty prayers.
The Shaykh : Because I am afraid you have strayed.
The questioner : No, no, I am with you, but I was thinking.
The Shaykh : But I am thinking this does not require thinking, hehe, okay, in order that fifty prayers are recorded for the Ummah in reality, yes.
The questioner : Did you say that He made it obligatory as five first, does that mean?
The Shaykh : No, no, He made it obligatory in the first instance, meaning His first decree that He determined beforehand, because Allah wrote everything before the creation of the heavens and the earth by how much?
By fifty thousand years. It does not mean that He made it obligatory as five and then added fifty, no, on the contrary, He decreed it as fifty until it became five, yes.