Meaning of "Take What The Messenger Gives You"
DUTY
Shias and Sunnis, and other Hadith followers usually take this portion of the verse and quote that part only, out of context, in an attempt to deceive people that the messenger has forbidden more things not found in the Qur'an. They do this to form a completely different meaning than the one intended by God to serve their own personal agenda and to manipulate people.
This is a small part of a whole verse quoted in isolation, out of context. The verse in full form is in the context of a war and reads:
"Whatever gains God has turned over to His messenger from the inhabitants of the villages belong to God, the messenger, kinsfolk, orphans, the needy, and the traveler. This is explained so that you do not just circulate it among those of you who are rich, take what the messenger gives you and abstain from what he forbids you. Be mindful of God, God is severe in punishment." (Qur'an 59:7)
It is clear that the portion: "take what the messenger gives you and abstain from what he forbids you" is referring to the booty of war recovered which the messenger will distribute to those in need.
God says the following with regards to deceivers who take portions of God's verses, then deliberately hide or twist their meanings for vain gains:
"Among them is a group who distort the Book with their tongues so that you think it is from the Book when it is not from the Book. They say, 'it is from God', but it is not from God. They tell a lie against God and they know it." (Qur'an 3:78)
Even if one were to follow along with their misunderstanding that this part is referring to absolutely everything the messenger forbade and permitted, then the "messenger" does not forbid or command anything other than what is found in his "message", the Qur'an, and what is against the Qur'an is against the messenger:
“Messenger (رسول / Rasul)! Proclaim everything that has been sent down to you from your Lord - if you do not, then you will not have communicated His message (رسالة / Risala) ” (Qur’an 7:2)
"This [Qur'an] is sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. If [the Prophet] had said anything against Us, We would certainly have seized his right hand and cut off his artery, and none of you could have defended him." (Qur'an 69:43-47)
The one occasion when the Prophet forbade something outside of the Qur'an, is also reprimanded:
"Prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful to you, in your desire to please your wives? Yet, God is forgiving and merciful..." (Qur'an 66:1)
Another verse that is claimed to support following hadiths, is the fact that the Qur'an says that Muhammad is an excellent example to follow:
"Certainly, the messenger of God is an excellent example for whoever seeks God and the Last Day, and remembers God frequently." (Qur'an 33:21)
The context of the verse is a battle where Muhammad’s courage and devotion to God serves as an excellent example for the believers, both at the time of the revelation, as well as for future generations, since the Quran is timeless. This “excellent example” provided by the prophet during a battle has simply nothing to do with the fact that you would have to follow questionable Hadiths attributed to Muhammad and written down two centuries after his death.
A very simple proof that traditional Muslims quote 33:21 completely out of context is the following verse where “Abraham and those with him” are also said to be “good examples”:
"Certainly, there is for you a good example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people, "We disown you and the idols that you worship besides God. We denounce you, and you will see nothing from us except animosity and hatred until you believe in God alone." (Qur'an 60:4)
Does 60:4 imply that we should follow the hadiths and sunnah of “Abraham and those with him”? We obviously do not have hadiths and sunnah of “Abraham and those with him”. The good example provided by “Abraham and those with him” is no other than the example narrated by the Qur'an itself; by the way, verse 60:4 mentions a mistake that he made regarding praying for his father’s forgiveness.
Muhammad and Abraham are therefore both shown providing good (and sometimes bad) examples in the Qur'an and this is certainly not a hint that we should follow the hadiths and sunnah of the prophet other than what is mentioned in the Quran itself. Again, we are witnessing how Muslims manipulate the meanings of the Quran to further an agenda. Such agenda works to divert true seekers further from God and his revelation (the Quran), and instead, closer to contradictory texts written by Persian fanatics (ie the Hadith).
The Qur'an provides numerous times the clear command to “follow God and follow the messenger”.
For example: (3:32) Say: “Obey God and the messenger”; and if they turn away, then indeed God does not love the ungrateful.
"These are God’s limits; and whoever obeys God and His messenger, he will admit him to gardens below which there are flowing streams." (Qur'an 4:13)
Look no further than the Christian world when it comes to unquestionable beliefs, the anthropomorphization of God through the trinity became a mandatory belief after centuries of persecution. In a similar way, the same has happened to those that call themselves Muslim. Just like it is the case for the trinity in Christian circles, every Muslim is taught from childhood that all hadiths are unquestionable; anyone who does not believe in them is considered an infidel.
In reality, there is not one court of justice in the world that would give any credit to a testimony that has been passed down orally for two hundred years before it was eventually written down. Why wasn’t that testimony written down right away to begin with if it is that reliable?
The masses have a strong tendency to follow the crowd, and this is why people fail to see how impossible and ridiculous such a claim is.
Do any of the many verses of the Quran which command to “Obey God and the messenger” tell us to “follow God and the hadiths and sunnah which were going to be written down 200 years after Muhammad passed away”? Of course not.
On the contrary, such verses tell us that:
- (1) When Muhammad was alive, the believers had the obligation to obey him.
- (2) Now that Muhammad is dead, we have to obey God and the messenger’s teachings that are clearly preserved directly in the Qur'an itself, and certainly not within unreliable fables written down 200 years or more after his death.
The Qur'an conveys the prohibition of falling for fanatical books written by deceivers looking to push the Qur'an out of the limelight:
(69:40) Indeed this [Qur'an] is the utterance of an honorable messenger;
(69:41) Not the utterance of a poet; [but] rarely do you believe.
(69:42) And not the utterance of a soothsayer; [but] rarely do you take heed.
(69:43) It [this Qur'an] is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.
(69:44) and had he uttered on our behalf any sayings,
(69:45) We would have seized him by the right hand;
(69:46) Then, We would assuredly have severed the main artery [of his heart].
Muhammad would have been destroyed if he had asked for his own sayings (other than those already part of the Quranic revelation) to be considered as part of the divine revelation:
(17:73) "They almost diverted you (O Muhammad) from what we revealed to you; If you had invented on our behalf anything else, they would have assuredly considered you as a friend.
(17:74) And If it were not that we strengthened you, you would certainly have slightly leaned towards them.
(17:75) We would then have made you taste double [the punishment] in this life, and double [after] death; You would then have found no one as a protector against us."
Similarly, If we look at the context of verse 4:80, one of the many verses where believers are enjoined to “obey God and the messenger”, we see in 4:82 that the message of the Qur'an was the only thing Muhammad delivered, because it is a message without any contradiction:
(4:80) Whoever obeys the messenger, has surely obeyed God; to whoever turns away: We have not sent you as a guardian over them.
(4:81) And they say: “[We pledge] obedience!” Then, when they are no longer in your presence, a group among them plots during the night against what you say. But God records what they plot during the night. So turn away from them and put [your] trust in God. God suffices when it comes to trust
(4:82) Why do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it were from other than God, they would have found in it numerous contradictions.
The verse does not tell us to reflect about the Qur'an and hadiths delivered by the Prophet Muhammad, rather instead, to simply reflect about the Qur'an because it is a message without any contradiction, unlike what is from a human being, including the Prophet himself.
This implies that the religious message that the last prophet delivered was the Qur'an, the whole Qur'an, and nothing but the Qur'an. Muhammad’s own imperfect sayings would have at times interfered with the flawless divine revelation. We will prove in the next section that even though Muhammad was a messenger of God, he was an imperfect man; even if we had had authentic hadiths from him written at the time he was alive (other than those cited by the Qur'an), following them and some of their mistakes would have been a scenario of disaster.
Now that the Prophet Muhammad is dead, we obey him by following all the authentic hadiths and examples found within the Qur'an, since this is the divine source itself.
Furthermore, the language of the Qur'an is very specific and we are never told to “follow God and follow Muhammad”, but instead to “follow God and follow the messenger”. This is because when the Prophet was alive, Muslims had to follow him directly as a messenger who was reciting the Arabic Qur'an, not to follow his own personality. This cult of personality is not advocated by God in the Qur'an. In addition, we are left with a complete revelation which stands as a testament for humanity; it is detailed for what God wants us to follow.
If the Qur'an does provide plenty of good examples of Muhammad’s behavior and exemplary character, Muslims conveniently forget that it also points at the fact that Muhammad (and other messengers) made some substantial mistakes, like anyone:
(80:1) He (Muhammad) frowned and turned away.
(80:2) When the blind man came to him.
(80:3) But what makes you know, if he doesn’t wish to purify himself,
(80:4) Or to be reminded, so the reminder would benefit him?
(80:5) As for the wealthy;
(80:6) You gave to him your attention,
(80:7) Even though it is not up to you if he purifies himself.
(80:8) but as for the one who came to you full of eagerness,
(80:9) And was fearful,
(80:10) You ignored him.
Muhammad’s above regrettable behavior is a common mistake we witness every day in life: People have a blind tendency to be impressed and respectful of the wealthy, powerful, or seemingly highly educated people, regardless of their real human qualities; on the contrary, they look down on people who do not have a high social status.
(33:37) Recall that you said to the one who was blessed by God, and blessed by you, "Keep your wife and reverence God," and you hid inside yourself what God wished to proclaim. Thus, you feared the people, when you were supposed to fear only God. When Zeid was completely through with his wife, we had you marry her, in order to establish the precedent that a man may marry the divorced wife of his adopted son. God's commands shall be done.
(66:1) O you prophet! Why do you prohibit what God has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? God is Oft Forgiving, Merciful.
In 33:37, Muhammad made a mistake as he knew about God’s command regarding the right to marry the wife of an adopted child after a divorce, but did not divulge it because he was afraid of the response from people. A similar sin is mentioned in 66:1, as Muhammad prohibited what God had made lawful, seeking to please his wives.
In spite of several verses of the Qur'an showing that Muhammad was just an imperfect human being like everybody else (this is not to say he was not gifted by God and worthy of an exemplary status), many Muslims choose to ignore what is read countless times a day.
Furthermore, let us assume that the hadiths were correctly reported despite a gap of at least two centuries between the time they were uttered and the time they were written down.
We still read in the Qur'an to avoid such, since the Quran alone is part of the religion (17:46). It is also why God ordered Muhammad to publicly acknowledge his own fallability:
(18:110) Say, (O Muhammad): "I am no more than a human being like you...."
(7:185) Have they not looked at the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all the things that God has created? And does it ever occur to them that the end of their life may be near? Then, in which Hadith (= saying/word), other than this (Quran) do they believe in?
(12:111) Verily, there is a lesson to be drawn from their stories for men who possess intelligence. This (Quran) is not a fabricated Hadith; On the contrary, it confirms that which came before it, it provides a detailed explanation of everything, as well as guidance and mercy for people who believe.
(31:6) Among the people, there are those who uphold baseless Hadiths to divert from the path of God without knowledge, and take it (the Quran) as a mockery. These have incurred a humiliating retribution.
(39:23) God has revealed [herein] the best Hadith; It is a book that is consistent, and points out both ways (to Heaven and Hell). It makes the skins of those who fear their Lord shiver; in the end, their skins and their hearts soften up at God’s remembrance. Such is God's guidance; which He bestows upon whomever He wills. As for whomever God lets go astray, there is no guide for him.
(45:6) These are God’s verses which we to you [O Muhammad] truthfully. Therefore, in which Hadith other than God and His verses do they believe?
(77:50) Then, in which Hadith, other than this (Qur'an), do they believe?
This is why we cannot blindly rely on words of opinion, even if they are from Prophets: Only God’s revelation (the Quran) is perfect and does not contain any “contradictions” as witnessed in 4:82. The Quran provides us the only authentic hadiths of past messengers.
In addition, the hadiths don't teach the Quran, God is the one who teaches it:
(55:1) The Most Gracious.
(55:2) He is the one who taught the Quran.
God did not need any of Muhammad’s sayings (other than those He chose to be part of the last revelation) to clarify the message of the Quran to mankind after he passed away. The reason is that God Himself is the one who teaches the Quran, true knowledge or gnosis of the Qur'an comes from God and not a mullah. All wisdom comes from God:
(2:151) "Like as I have sent to you a messenger from among you reciting to you Our proofs and increasing you in purity and teaching you the Writ and wisdom and teaching you what you knew not."
Muslims claim that the Quran is not enough and that it is impossible to fully understand it, largely because of the lack of details regarding this religion they've invented called Islam, which is nowhere found in its very depths. Here, I refer to Islam, as this dogmatic religion that comprises of various rites (5 daily prayers for example) and beliefs (Hajj pilgrimage) that originated 200 years after Muhammad. Perhaps, this religion wasn't authorized by God? Why would God need 200 years to pass until the religion be complete or perfected? No, rather, the religion was perfected the very moment the last verse of the Quran was revealed. The radical Muslim is left in a cycle of his own delusion and assumptions:
(6:114) Shall I seek other than God as source of law, when He is the One who revealed to you this Book (the Quran) fully detailed! And those whom We blessed with prior revelations (lit. “the Book”) know [for a fact] that it is the truth sent down from your Lord! Therefore, do not be among those who doubt.
God Himself proclaims that the Quran is detailed enough. So who should we believe? God, or the Sunni and Shia scholars?
The fact that a large amount of hadiths contain blatant contradiction with the text it competes with (the Quran), should be a warning to those that blindly accept them, for their souls will be questioned on the Day of Judgement.
The Quran also warns us about a category of people who become displeasured when the Quran, by itself, happens to be advocated:
(17:46) And we cast a veil upon their hearts, preventing them from understanding it, and deafness in their ears. And when you mention (or remember) your Lord using the Quran ALONE (wahdahu) they turn away their backs in aversion.
When God appointed Muhammad as a messenger, He did not let him speak out of his own desire. He commanded him to recite word for word a number of specific sentences that were destined to guide humanity on the right path; most notably, and no less than 332 times, God commands Muhammad to proclaim specific sentences by saying: “Qul” (Say!/Proclaim!), followed by a specific command that we have to recite and follow faithfully.
(7:203) And whenever you do not bring them a verse (for instance to answer their questions), they say: “Why didn’t you make up one?!” Proclaim (O Muhammad): “I follow exclusively (انما = “only”, “exclusively” = exclusive particle) what is revealed to me from my Lord”! This (solemn proclamation) is enlightenment from your Lord (“your” = second person plural = all Muslims), and guidance and mercy for people who believe.
Above indicates that Muhammad followed the verses that were revealed to him, this is not to say the Prophet did not have any opinions of his own, however, these opinions are not divine, and are not part of divine literature. Hence, there is the divine element, ie the Quran, and the opinion of man, which is not divine. No soul is perfect except for God, and the hadiths that we have today, of which were written 200 years after him, are largely dubious and cannot even be accurately traced back to Muhammad by any proper or legitimate analysis. The telephone game is not a science of transmission, it is hearsay.
Hadiths contradict the Qur'an in numerous ways and it would take a very long study to provide a full extensive list. However, if you would like to see some examples we've put together, go to the underlined link above.