Clear water cannot come from a filthy spring — would you not agree? For the Muslims, the soul and person of the Messenger of Allah SAWW are a soul and person that are exalted, clean, pure and beloved. That is acknowledged not only by Muslims but by the followers of other religions. The holy verses of the Qur’an and the historical record support this view as well. Such an exalted person surely cannot have been formed just so; he must have passed through a process of guidance from childhood, and come from pure seed. It is much to be regretted that of late various theories and opinions have appeared claiming that both parents of the Messenger of Allah SAWW were unbelievers. One of them is set out in a book entitled “Were the Parents of the Messenger of Allah Unbelievers?”, published by Pustaka As-Sunnah and written by Ali bin Sulthan Muhammad Al-Qaari. This book was also reviewed by one of the leading newspapers, Republika, in its issue of Friday 15 April 2005, in an article headed “Setting straight the position of the Messenger of Allah’s parents”. Why has such a view appeared? What is the basis of the argument? And how should we respond to it? Those are some of the questions we need to answer here.

In the article carried by the newspaper Republika on Friday 15 April 2005 it is said:

“The two parents of the Messenger of Allah, namely Abdullah and Siti Aminah, died before the Prophet brought the message of Islam. In other words, both died in a state of unbelief. Yet many Muslims cannot bring themselves to say that the parents of the Messenger of Allah died in unbelief and will therefore enter the Fire.”

How are we, as Muslims, as the community of Muhammad, to respond to that argument? The answer may seem easy: either accept it or reject it. But on what basis will we accept or reject it? It would be well for us here to use the holy verses of the Qur’an as our guide and our solution. ALLAH SWT says in surah Al-Isra (17) verse 12:

وَجَعَلۡنَا ٱلَّيۡلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيۡنِۖ فَمَحَوۡنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلَّيۡلِ وَجَعَلۡنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلنَّهَارِ مُبۡصِرَةٗ لِّتَبۡتَغُواْ فَضۡلٗا مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ وَلِتَعۡلَمُواْ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلۡحِسَابَۚ وَكُلَّ شَيۡءٖ فَصَّلۡنَٰهُ تَفۡصِيلٗا

“ ..And We would never punish until We had sent a Messenger”

Did not both parents of the Messenger of Allah die when he was eight years old, while Muhammad was only sent as a Messenger when he was forty? How then could his parents Abdullah and Aminah be punished in the Fire? Where is the justice of ALLAH as set out in surah Al-Isra verse 12?

وَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى ٱلۡعَزِيزِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

In surah Asy-Syu’araa (QS 26:217-219) ALLAH SWT says:

ٱلَّذِي يَرَىٰكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ

“And put your trust in ALLAH, the Almighty, the Most Merciful. Who sees you when you stand (for prayer), and your movement among those who prostrate themselves”

وَتَقَلُّبَكَ فِي ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ

Here we can see that ALLAH SWT guarded the movement of the Messenger of Allah’s seed from one loin to another. And those loins in which it rested were none other than those of people who prostrate themselves (who believe). Can we still accept that the parents of the Messenger of Allah SAWW were unbelievers?

In another paragraph of the article carried by Republika it is put forward:

“This book (Were the Parents of the Messenger Unbelievers?) sets out the arguments for and against among the scholars regarding the position of the Messenger of Allah’s parents, among them Imam Suyuthi………In this book it is explained that the Messenger of Allah SAW stated without hesitation that both his parents died in a state of unbelief. When visiting his mother’s grave, the Messenger of Allah said, ‘I asked leave of my Lord to seek forgiveness for my mother but was not permitted; then I asked leave to visit her grave and was permitted’”

It would be very strange to accept this view just as it stands. Was it not the Messenger of Allah SAWW who taught us always to pray for our parents with the supplication “Robbifirli waliwalidaya warhamhuma kama Rabbayana shohiro”, the supplication small voices recite for their beloved parents once the maghrib call to prayer has been given? If that is so, was the Messenger of Allah not the first to do it? If that is so, why would he pray for his parents Abdullah and Aminah if their place in the Fire were already settled? Could the Messenger of Allah do something futile? Plainly not. In another report put forward by Imam Suyuthi (the same reference) in his well-known work Durul Manthur, it is related from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah SAWW said:

“I was moved from pure loins into wombs that were kept safe”

Besides this, many reports tell that the Bani Hasyim (the wider family of Abdullah, father of the Messenger of Allah) were keepers of the Ka’bah and followers of the teaching of the prophet Ibrahim A.S. Is it fitting for us to call the parents of the Messenger of Allah SAWW unbelievers after learning of these statements?

Clear water cannot come from a filthy spring. That sentence describes, near enough, the Messenger of Allah and his parents. It would be well for us to study the family of the prophet Muhammad SAWW more deeply, and to examine our own standing before ALLAH SWT and before His beloved Messenger. Then we would not so readily put out unbecoming opinions and be caught in a storm of misunderstanding that keeps opening up like this. May it be of benefit.