Inna Allah yaza bil-sultan ma la yaza bil-Quran - takhrijan wa sharhan
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Inna Allah yaza bil-sultan ma la yaza bil-Quran - takhrijan wa sharhan
Inna Allah yaza bil-sultan ma la yaza bil-Quran – takhrijan wa sharhan (Truly Allah Restrains Through Authority What He Does Not Restrain Through the Quran: Hadith Documentation and Commentary) is a specialized treatise by the contemporary Saudi scholar Ibrahim bin Abdullah al-Mudayhish, completed in Riyadh on 22 Dhu al-Hijjah 1439 AH . The monograph is devoted to tracing the chains of transmission (takhrij), textual variants, and jurisprudential and linguistic meanings of the famous historical maxim: "Truly Allah restrains through authority what He does not restrain through the Quran" .
Transmission and Attributions
The author systematically documents the various ways the report has been transmitted and cited across Islamic literature:
- Attribution to the Prophet ﷺ (marfu'): The author notes that several scholars cited the report as a Prophetic hadith, though without a connected chain of transmission (isnad), including al-Mawardi in Adab al-dunya wa-l-din, Ibn al-Sikkit, Ibn Qutayba, Abu Ubayd al-Harawi, al-Turtushi, Nashwan al-Himyari, Ibn Kathir, and al-Zabidi . Al-Mudayhish observes that references to it as a "hadith" may have intended a statement of a Companion (mawquf) rather than a Prophetic tradition .
- Attribution to Umar ibn al-Khattab: Recorded by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in Tarikh Baghdad through a chain containing al-Haytham ibn Adi, whom critics graded as an untruthful narrator (kadhdhab), as well as cited from Umar by Abu Ja'far al-Nahhas and Ibn al-Tiqtaqa .
- Attribution to Uthman ibn Affan: The most prevalent attribution in classic heritage literature . It is transmitted via two main documented paths: by Ibn Shabbah in Tarikh al-Madinah through Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari, and by Ibn Abd al-Barr in al-Tamhid through Malik ibn Anas .
- Other Attributions: The statement is also reported from Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (cited by al-Shawkani, though al-Mudayhish suspects this may be an error), al-Hasan al-Basri, cited anonymously as an athar by jurists such as al-Sarakhsi, or attributed broadly to sages and scholars by literary figures including al-Jahiz, Ibn Abd Rabbih, and Ibn Faris .
Critical Evaluation
Al-Mudayhish concludes that the statement is soundly established (sahih) as a saying of the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan . Addressing the formal defect of interrupted transmission (inqita') in its chains—since neither Yahya ibn Sa'id nor Imam Malik heard directly from Uthman—the author argues that such a flaw is acceptable in this context . He justifies this on four grounds: the report arrives through two separate routes from two leading imams, it does not establish a primary legal ruling (hukm shar'i), it is widely cited and attributed to Uthman across scholarly literature, and its underlying meaning is sound . He notes that historical maxims and wisdom literature from early figures (salaf) do not require the strict critical criteria demanded of legal and Prophetic traditions .
Commentary and Conceptual Scope
The treatise provides linguistic analysis and collects classical commentaries on the maxim's governance and theological implications:
- Linguistic Meaning: The author examines the verb yaza'u (derived from w-z-ʿ), citing lexicographers and grammarians such as al-Mubarrad, Abu Ja'far al-Nahhas, and Ibn al-Athir, who define it as "to hold back", "to restrain", or "to deter" (kaffa, mana'a) .
- Role of Governance and Penal Law: The treatise incorporates extensive expositions from scholars such as Ibn Rushd, Ibn al-Arabi, Ibn Taymiyyah, and al-Shatibi . These commentators explain that while pious believers are restrained by the moral and spiritual admonition of the Quran, individuals driven by corrupt inclinations or weak faith are deterred primarily by the tangible, immediate authority of the state and prescribed legal penalties (hudud and uqubat) .
- Contemporary Rulings: The treatise concludes by citing modern rulings from scholars such as Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz and Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, who affirmed the sound meaning of the maxim and its illustration through statutory deterrents such as flogging for unlawful sexual intercourse .
Answer updated