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Mufti Taqi 'Uthmani explains the Hadith mentioned in the first post in his book, The Authority of the Sunnah:
The Prophetic Authority in Worldly Affairs
Another point of view often presented by some westernised circles is that the authority of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) is, no doubt, established by the Holy Qur’ân even for all the generations for all times to come; But, the scope of this authority is limited only to the doctrinal affairs and the matters of worship. The function of a prophet, according to them, is restricted to correct the doctrinal beliefs of the ummah and to teach them how to worship Allâh. As far as the worldly affairs are concerned, they are not governed by the prophetic authority. These worldly affairs include, in their view, all the economic, social and political affairs which should be settled according to the expediency at each relevant time, and the Prophetic authority has no concern with them. Even if the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) gives some directions in these fields, he does so in his private capacity, and not as a Messenger. So, it is not necessary for the ummah to comply with such directions.
To substantiate this proposition, a particular tradition of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) is often quoted, though out of context, in which he said to his companions:
"
You know more about your worldly affairs".
Before I quote this tradition in its full context, the very concept upon which this proposition is based needs examination.
In fact, this view is based on a serious misconception about the whole structure of the Islâmic order.
The misconception is that Islâm, like some other religions, is restricted only to some doctrines and some rituals. It has no concern with the day-to-day affairs of the human life. After observing the prescribed doctrines and rituals, everybody is free to run his life in whatever way he likes, not hindered in any manner by the divine imperatives. That is why the advocates of this view confine the Prophetic authority to some doctrines and rituals only.
But, the misconception, however fashionable it may seem to be, is a misconception. It is an established fact that Islâm, unlike some other religions which can coincide and co-exist with the secular concept of life, is not merely a set of doctrines and rituals. It is a complete way of life which deals with the political, economic and social problems as well as with theological issues. The Holy Qur’ân says,
"
O those who believe, respond to the call of Allâh and His Messenger when he calls you for what gives you life". (8:24)
It means that Allâh and His Messenger call people towards life. How is it imagined that the affairs of life are totally out of the jurisdiction of Allâh and His Messenger? Nobody who has studied the Holy Qur’ân can endorse that its teachings are limited to worship and rituals. There are specific injunctions in the Holy Qur’ân about sale, purchase loans, mortgage, partnership, penal laws, inheritance, matrimonial relations, political affairs, problems of war and peace and other aspects of international relations. If the Islâmic teachings were limited to the doctrinal and ritual matters, there is no reason why such injunctions are mentioned in the Holy Qur’ân.
Likewise the sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) deals with the economic, social, political and legal problems in such detail that voluminous books have been written to compile them. How can it be envisaged that the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) entered this field in such detailed manner without having any authority or jurisdiction? The injunctions of the Holy Qur’ân and sunnah in this field are so absolute, imperative and of mandatory nature that they cannot be imagined to be personal advices lacking any legal force.
We have already quoted a large number of verses from the Holy Qur’ân which enjoin the obedience of Allâh and the Messenger (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) upon the believers. This “obedience” has nowhere been limited to some particular field. It is an all-embracing obedience which requires total submission from the believers, having no exception whatsoever.
It is true that in this field, which is termed in the Islâmic law as “
mu’âmalât” the Holy Qur’ân and sunnah have mostly given some broad principles and left most of the details open to be settled according to ever-changing needs, but in strict conformity with the principles laid down by them. Thus the field not occupied by the Qur’ân and sunnah is a wider field where the requirements of expediency can well play their role. But it does not mean that the Qur’ân and sunnah have no concern with this vital branch of human life which has always been the basic cause of unrest in the history of humanity, and in which the so-called “rational views” mostly conflicting with each other, have always fallen prey to satanic desires leading the world to disaster.
Anyhow, the fallacy of this narrow viewpoint about Islâm which excludes all the practical spheres of life from its pale, rather, to be more correct, makes them devoid of its guidance, cannot sustain before the overwhelming arguments which stand to rule it out totally.
The Event of Fecundation of the Palm-Trees
Let me now turn to the tradition which is often quoted to support this fallacious view. The details of the tradition are as follows:
The Arabs of Madînah used to fecundate their palm-trees in order to make them more fruitful. This operation was called
ta’bîr which is explained by E. W. Lane (Arabic English Lexicon) as below:
“He fecundated a palm-tree by means of the spadix of the male tree, which is bruised or brayed, and sprinkled upon the spadix of the female; or by inserting a stalk of a raceme of the male tree into the spathe of the female, after shaking off the pollen of the former upon the spadix of the female.”
Keeping this in view, read the following tradition, as mentioned by Imâm Muslim in his
Sahîh:
The blessed companion Talhâ (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) says:”I passed along with the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) across some people who were on the tops of the palm-trees. The Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) asked, ‘What are they doing?’ Some people said, ‘They are fecundating the tree. They insert the male into the female and the tree stands fecundated.’ The Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said, ‘I do not think it will be of any use.’ The people (who were fecundating the trees) were informed about what the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said. So, they stopped this operation. Then the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) was informed about their withdrawal. On this, the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said, ‘If it is in fact useful for them, let them do it, because I had only made a guess. So, do not cling to me in my guess. But when I tell you something on behalf of Allâh, take it firm, because I shall never tell a lie on behalf of Allâh.”
According to the blessed companion Anas (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam), the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) has also said on this occasion:
"
You know more about your worldly affairs".
The words of this tradition, when looked at in its full context, would clearly reveal that the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) in this case did not deliver an absolute prohibition against the fecundation of the palm trees. There was no question of its being lawful or unlawful. What the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) did was neither a command, nor a legal or religious prohibition, nor a moral condemnation. It was not even a serious observation. It was only a remark passed by him by the way in the form of an instant and general guess, as he himself clarified later. “I do not think it will be of any use.” Nobody can take this sentence as a legal or religious observation. That is why the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) did not address with it the persons involved in the operation, nor did he order to convey his message to them. It was through some other persons that they learned about the remark of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam).
Although the remark was not in the form of an imperative, but the blessed companions of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) used to obey and follow him in everything, not only on the basis of his legal or religious authority, but also out of their profound love towards him. They, therefore, gave up the operation altogether. When the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) came to know about their having abstained from the operation on the basis of what he remarked, he clarified the position to avoid any misunderstanding.
The substance of his clarification is that only the absolute statements of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) are binding, because they are given in his capacity of a prophet on behalf of Allâh Almighty. As for a word spoken by him as a personal guess, and not as an absolute statement, it should be duly honoured, but it should not be taken as part of
Sharî’ah.
As I have mentioned earlier, there is a vast field in the day-to-day worldly affairs which is not occupied by the
Sharî’ah, where the people have been allowed to proceed according to their needs and expedience and on the basis of their knowledge and experience. What instruments should be used to fertilise a barren land? How the plants should be nourished? What weapons are more useful for the purpose of defence? What kind of horses are more suitable to ride? What medicine is useful in a certain disease? The questions of this type relate to the field where the
Sharî’ah has not supplied any particular answer. All these and similar other matters are left to the human curiosity which can solve these problems through its efforts.
It is this unoccupied field of
mubâhat about which the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) observed:
"
You know more about your worldly affairs".
But it does not include those worldly affairs in which the Holy Qur’ân or the Sunnah have laid down some specific rules or given a positive command. That is why the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam), while declaring the matter of the palm-trees to be in the unoccupied field, has simultaneously observed, “But when I tell you something on behalf of Allâh, take it firm.”
The upshot of the foregoing discussion is that the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) is the second source of Islâmic law. Whatever the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said or did in his capacity of a Messenger is binding on the ummah. This authority of the Sunnah is based on the revelation he received from Allâh. Hence, the obedience of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) is another form of the obedience of Allâh. This prophetic authority which is established through a large number of Qur’ânic verses, cannot be curtailed, neither by limiting its tenure, nor by exempting the worldly affairs from its scope".
["
The Authority of Sunnah" -
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani -
http://www.central-mosque.com/fiqh/asunnah1.htm]