Refutation of the Extreme-Level Error of al-Ghazali by Taqi ud-Din al-Subki

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥-𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐢 (𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡) 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐪𝐢 𝐮𝐝-𝐃𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥-𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐤𝐢 (𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡).

Taj ud-Din al-Subki said:

سمعت شيخي ينكر قول الغزالي عند ذكر خصائص رسول الله ﷺ: وقالوا: إذا وقع بصره على امرأة فوقعت منه موقعاً؛ وجَبَ على الزوج تطليقها؛ لقصة زيد، ولعل السر فيه من جانب الزوج امتحان إيمانه بتكليفه النزول عن أهله، ومن جانبه ﷺ ابتلاؤه ببلية البشرية، ومنعه من خائنة الأعين، ومن إضمار ما يخالف الإظهار؛ ولذلك قال تعالى: ﴿وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٣٧] (٣)، انتهى لفظ «الوسيط»، وذكره الرافعي عنه ساكنا عليه.

قال لنا الشيخ الإمام مرات: «هذا منكر من القول، ولم يكن رسول الله ﷺ لتعجبه امرأة أحدٍ من الناس، وقصة (٤) زيدٍ إنما (٥) جعلها الله تعالى – كما صرح به في سورة الأحزاب من أولها إلى آخر القصة – قطعًا لقول الناس: إنَّ زيدًا ولد

رسول الله ﷺ، وإبطالاً للتبني في الإسلام، وإليه الإشارة بقوله تعالى: ﴿مَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِنْ قَلْبَيْنِ فِي جَوْفِهِ﴾ أي: مِنْ أبوين في الإسلام، إلى قوله تعالى: ﴿وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَاءَكُمْ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ ذَلِكُمْ قَوْلُكُم بِأَفْوَاهِكُمْ﴾، إلى أن قال: ﴿ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٤، ٥] (١).

ثم ساق الله تعالى السورةَ إلى أن قال: ﴿وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٣٦] تحريض على امتثال أمره تعالى في طلاق امرأة زيد، ثم قال تعالى: ﴿وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٣٧]، يعني: من أمر زيد بطلاق امرأته وتزوجك أنت إيَّاها، لا من محبتها، معاذ الله، ثم معاذ الله، ثم معاذ الله.

ثم بيَّنَ الله تعالى بالقول الصريح بعد التعريض الطويل أنَّ السر في ذلك إبطال التبني ونسخه (٢)، ورفعه بالقول والفعل؛ ليعلم الناس أنه لو كان ولدًا له لما تزوَّج امرأته، فقال تعالى: ﴿لِكَيْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِي أَزْوَاجِ أَدْعِيَا بِهِمْ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٣٧]، ثم قال تعالى بعده: ﴿مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِّجَالِكُمْ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٤٠].

فمن تأمل السورة، وعرف شيئًا من حال رسول الله ﷺ تيقن بالعلم القاطع أن تزوج امرأة زيد إنما كان لذلك لا لغيره، وأنه ﷺ كان أكره الناس – بالطباع البشرية – لزواجها، عكس ما توهمه الغزالي، وكان يشق عليه ذلك، وما كان ليُمكنه أن يخفي شيئًا مما أنزله الله، وإليه الإشارة بقوله: ﴿وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ

﴿مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٣٧]، فنزلت الآية آمِرَةً له بإظهار ما أمر الله من زواجها؛ لإبطال التبني وإن كان زواجها أشق شيء عليه (١))

I heard my father (Shaykh Taqi ud din al Subki) 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥-𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐢 when he mentioned the special characteristics of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “They said: If his gaze fell upon a woman and she found favor in his eyes, it became obligatory for the husband to divorce her, based on the story of Zayd. Perhaps the secret behind this, from the husband’s side, was a test of his faith by requiring him to give up his wife. From the Prophet’s side ﷺ, it was a trial with the affliction of human nature, and a prevention from secret glances and from concealing anything contrary to what is outwardly shown. That is why Allah said: {And you concealed within yourself what Allah would bring to light.} [Al-Ahzab: 37].” This is the end of the text from Al-Wasit, and Al-Rafi’i mentioned it from him (Al-Ghazali) without objecting to it.

Our teacher, the Imam (Taqi ud din al Subki), said to us on multiple occasions: “𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 ﷺ 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞. The story of Zayd as Allah explicitly states in Surah Al-Ahzab from its beginning to the end of the narrative was only made to occur by Allah Almighty to cut off the people’s claim that Zayd was the son of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and to abolish the practice of adoption in Islam.

Then Allah continued the Surah until He said: “It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have [any] choice in their matter” [Al-Ahzab: 36] an encouragement to comply with His command regarding the divorce of Zayd’s wife. Then Allah said: “And you concealed within yourself what Allah would bring to light” [Al-Ahzab: 37], 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐙𝐚𝐲𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 (𝐎 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝) 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝.

Then Allah, after a long preamble, clearly explained with explicit statement that the secret behind this was to abolish and annul adoption, and to remove it by word and deed, so that people would know that if he (Zayd) were his (the Prophet’s) son, he would not have married his wife. Allah said {so that there would be no blame upon the believers concerning the wives of their adopted sons} [Al-Ahzab: 37], then Allah said after that {Muhammad is not the father of any of your men} [Al-Ahzab: 40].

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 ﷺ, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐙𝐚𝐲𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 ﷺ, 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐥-𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝. This matter was difficult and burdensome for him. It was not possible for him to conceal anything that Allah had revealed, and to this points His saying: {And you concealed within yourself what Allah would bring to light} [Al-Ahzab: 37]. Thus the verse was revealed, commanding him to publicly undertake the marriage that Allah had ordained, in order to nullify adoption, even though marrying her was the most difficult thing for him ﷺ.

Kitāb Tarshīḥ al‑Tawshīḥ wa Tawḍīḥ al‑Tarjīḥ by Taj al Din al Subki Rahimahullah page 819

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: This is the exact issue that non-Muslims often raise regarding the Prophet ﷺ, na‘udhu billah. Alhamdulillah, the Ash‘ari Sufi scholar Taqi ud-Din al-Subki refuted al-Ghazali on this matter. It should be noted that al-Ghazali (rahimahullah) returned to the Sunnah and abandoned Ilm al-Kalam towards the end of his life. May Allah forgive his mistakes, May Allah have mercy upon him through his good deeds. intentions of al ghazaali were love of prophet peace be upon him but he did extreme level mistake

𝐏.𝐒. Zaynab was not newly known to Prophet (Peace be upon him), as she was the daughter of Umaymah, his paternal aunt ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had proposed to her that he marry her to Zayd, his freed slave and adopted son, without compelling her to do so. After their marriage, the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted Zayd to keep her, but Zayd wanted to divorce her, and Allah willed that the tradition that an adopted child is not your biological son be broken. He ﷺ was led to conceal this for reasons including his fear that some people might say: “He has married his son’s wife,”. Then Allah Almighty abolished the pre-Islamic practices of adoption through a command more effective in nullifying it than any other: the Prophet’s marriage to the wife of the one who was called his son.

Al-Tirmidhi and others narrated in Al-Sunan (3212). Anas said: “When this verse {And you concealed within yourself what Allah would bring to light and you feared the people} was revealed concerning Zaynab bint Jahsh, 𝐙𝐚𝐲𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫, and he sought permission from the Prophet ﷺ. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 ﷺ 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝: {𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡.}” This is a strong chain. Al-Tirmidhi said after it: “This hadith is hasan sahih.”

When Allah Almighty revealed His saying: {So when Zayd had completed his purpose with her, We married her to you} [Al-Ahzab: 37], the Prophet ﷺ made it public and recited it to the people as part of the Qur’an. This proves that had the Prophet ﷺ been attached in his heart to women, this would have manifested itself in him marrying many women before the age of fifty solely out of desire and love for women. However, he ﷺ was the furthest of people from inclining towards whims and desires and from indulging in pleasures.