In a gathering with friends I stated that there is a hadith according which the Holy Prophet (sws) directed some farmers (probably date planters) to adopt a certain practice. They followed his direction and suffered loss.
One of my friends differed strongly with me saying that he could not believe it. He asked me to provide full reference. Would you please help me out with the complete hadith and references?
Answer
Here is a translation of the portion of Mr Ghamidi’s Mizan which treats the issue and quotes the hadith.
The sunan must be religious practices. Any worldly and mundane thing cannot be accepted and practiced as a sunnah. The Holy Qur’an very clearly states that all the Messengers of God were raised to deliver the religion of God. The knowledge they brought and the practices they performed were confined to this sphere. They were not interested in practicing or preaching anything external to the religion of God. There is no denying the fact that they were the Divine Messengers chosen from among the human beings. They had human relations and were bound in human limitations including blood ties, and social, political, regional, cultural and familial roles. Their personal role and identity as human beings has to be accepted. There were the Prophet Irahim b. Azar, the Prophet Musa b. Imran, the Prophet Isa b. Maryam and the Prophet Muhammad b. ‘Abdullāh. This relation to certain historical figures entails that they had roles other than the Messengers of God. However, it must remain clear that in this capacity, they never commanded obedience of their followers. The obedience they demanded from the believers was based on their position as the representatives of the Lord. And as the Messengers of God, their primary duty was to communicate the Divine religion to the people they were sent to. Their responsibilities and duties did not go beyond this. The Almighty says:
He ordained for you the same religion that which He determined for Noah, that which We revealed to you O Prophet, and which we commanded Abraham and Moses and Jesus commanding them to hold fast to the religion and do not fall into dispersion in this regard.
We know that the Messenger of God, Muhammad (sws) used swords, arrows and spears in the battles he fought. He rode camels in his travels. He thatched roof of the Mosque he built. He ate foods used in this time and culture. He expressed likeness for some cuisines and did not have a taste for some others. He attired himself in a specific dress as was consonant with the prevalent culture. In all his preferences in the above related issues his personal taste meant a great deal. It must remain clear that nothing of these is part of the religion; nothing of these is the sunnah. No knowledgeable person can term the Prophet’s personal preferences as the sunnah. These issues the Prophet (sws) has not left for us to decide. In no unclear terms did he declare:
انما انا بشر، اذا امرتکم بشيء من دينکم فخذوا بهواذا امرتکم بشيء من رأيـی فانما انا بشر… فانی انما ظننت ظناً فلا تؤاخذونی بالظن ولکن اذا حدثتکم عن اللّٰه شيئًا فخذوا به فانی لن اکذب علی اللّٰه انتم اعلم بامر دنياکم.
I too am a human being. When I command you to do something relating to your religion, follow it. And when I give you a command based on my personal opinion then know that I am but a human being. [ ….] I had said something based on my assessment of the issue. You may not take me into account for such things of mundane nature said based on conjectures and personal opinion. When I command something on behalf of God Almighty follow it. For I shall not ascribe lies to God. You are better judges in your worldly businesses. (Muslim, No: 6126, 6127, 6128)
