In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
Whenever We sent forth a messenger or a prophet before you, and he was hoping for something, Satan would throw some aspersion on his wishes. But God renders null and void whatever aspersion Satan may cast; and God makes His messages clear in and by themselves. God is all-knowing, wise.
He may cause whatever aspersion Satan may cast to become a trial for all in whose hearts is disease and all whose hearts are hardened. Indeed, all who are thus sinning are most deeply in the wrong.
And those who are endowed with knowledge may realize that this (Qur’an) is the truth from your Lord, and thus they may believe in it, and their hearts may humbly submit to Him. God will surely guide those who believe to a straight path.
(The Pilgrimage, Al-Haj: 22: 52-54)
We related last week a detailed report on the alleged event leading to the revelation of these verses. This report suggests that as the Prophet was reading Surah 53 to a group of people including Muslims and idolaters, they were all touched by its power. When he finished his recitation with the verse ordering people to prostrate themselves to God Almighty, all those present did so. It is claimed that as the Prophet read the verses denouncing the main three idols worshiped by the Arabs, Satan added rhyming words praising these idols. Hence the later claim of the unbelievers that they prostrated themselves because their idols were glorified.
In his commentary on the Qur’an, Ibn Katheer says that Al-Baghawi includes several versions consolidated from reports by Ibn Abbas, Muhammad ibn Kaab and others, giving similar accounts. He then asks: "How could this take place, given that God has guaranteed the Prophet’s infallibility in conveying God’s message." He then quotes answers to this question by different people. One of the most interesting answers is that Satan could only delude the idolaters into thinking that they heard these words from the Prophet when it was not so in reality. It was all Satan’s work, not the words of God’s messenger.
Al-Bukhari reports Ibn Abbas’ explanation, making the Arabic word rendered in translation as "the Prophet’s hopes" to mean his discourse. Thus the verse would mean that when the Prophet spoke, Satan would add something into his speech, but God causes Satan’s efforts to be futile and makes His message clear. Mujahid, on the other hand, explains the reference to any of God’s messenger "hoping for something" as meaning his speech, or his recitation. Al-Baghawi says that most commentators say that it means his reading of God’s revelations. It is in his recitation that Satan may add something. Ibn Jareer describes this explanation as something like giving words special meanings.
This is a summary of this story which is known as "The story of the birds, or gharaneeq." From the point of view of its transmission, the story is very flimsy. Scholars of Hadith maintain that it was not reported by anyone who may be classified as accurate in his reporting; nor was it ever related with an uninterrupted chain of reliable transmitters. Al-Bazzar says: "We do not know that this Hadith was ever reported with a chain of transmitters worth mentioning, and leading to the Prophet. From the viewpoint of its subject matter, it is in conflict with a fundamental principle of faith, which is the infallibility of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the impossibility of Satan being able to introduce anything in his delivery of his message.
Orientalists and opponents of Islam have taken up this report, circulated it and given it much importance. The fact is that it is a false report that cannot hold its own in discussion. Indeed, it is unworthy of being a subject for discussion.
The report itself contains what refutes the claim that such a single event was the reason for the revelation of these verses, which points out a rule applicable to all divine messages and all God’s messengers: "Whenever We sent forth a messenger or a prophet before you, and he was hoping for something, Satan would throw some aspersion on his wishes. But God renders null and void whatever aspersion Satan may cast; and God makes His messages clear in and by themselves." This statement refers to a general rule indicating a characteristic common to all messengers who are, after all, human beings. This rule is not, for certain, contrary to the principle of the messengers’ infallibility.
This is what we will try to explain, with God’s help. While we acknowledge that God’s purpose is best known to Him, we will try to explain His words according to our human understanding.
When God’s messengers are entrusted with delivering His message to mankind, they would love nothing better than to see people flock to them and realize that all the goodness they are advocating comes from God, so that they would accept it. But numerous are the impediments that stand in their way. God’s messengers are human beings, with a limited lifetime. They know this fact well. Hence, they hope to persuade people to accept their message without delay. They may wish to give people a period of grace in respect of habits and traditions that are close to their hearts. They may think that if they could attract people to accept divine guidance while giving them this period of grace, they would then be able to wean them off such habits and traditions. They may also wish to compromise with them over a small portion of their desires so as to attract them to follow the faith, and hope to subsequently eliminate such lingering desires through education.
They may entertain other wishes concerning the spread of their message and its gaining supremacy. But God wants His message to follow its own principles and to be guided by its own values. People may choose to believe or not to believe. According to divine standards that are not subject to human weaknesses and mistakes, the divine message makes its true gains by following its own principles and values, even though it may lose individuals at the start. Strict adherence to principles and values will inevitably win over those people, or others better than them. What is more is that the message will remain pure, intact and faultless.
Satan may find in such hopes and wishes, as well as their expressions, a chance to plot against the message and force it out of its tried method. He endeavors to raise doubts in people’s minds about its integrity. But God makes all Satan’s endeavors come to nothing. He spells out the final ruling on people’s words and actions, instructing His messengers to make His verdict clear to people, including what the messengers themselves might have done by mistake. This was the case with regard to some actions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which were subject to clear verdicts in the Qur’an.
Thus does God foil Satan’s scheming and make His revelations clear so that the right course to be followed is clearly mapped. "God is all-knowing, wise." Those with sickness in their hearts and minds, and hard-hearted unbelievers find in such situations a fertile ground for controversy: "He may cause whatever aspersion Satan may cast to become a trial for all in whose hearts is disease and all whose hearts are hardened. Indeed, all who are thus sinning are most deeply in the wrong." At the opposite end, people endowed with true knowledge and wisdom are reassured by God’s clear verdict: "And those who are endowed with knowledge may realize that this [Qur’an] is the truth from your Lord, and thus they may believe in it, and their hearts may humbly submit to Him. God will surely guide those who believe to a straight path."