This excerpt is taken from the book of Fazilat-ul-Sheikh Abdul Salam Rustami From Denial of Hadith to Denial of Quran.
Hadith 8: How did the obligation of Salah (prayer) come about!
How the prayers were made obligatory is explained in the famous Hadith of Mi'raj.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Prayer, Chapter: How the prayer was made obligatory in Isra, Hadith: 349
The deniers of the Hadith generally raise three objections regarding this Hadith:
➊ It elevates the status of Musa (Moses) عليه السلام above that of our Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم because our Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم benefited from him regarding the reduction of prayers. He continued to act on his advice as is evident from this Hadith, which indicates that a Jew fabricated this Hadith to elevate the status of their Prophet Musa عليه السلام.
➋ Allah Almighty first made fifty prayers obligatory; did Allah Almighty and the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم not know that the last Ummah could not bear this burden until Musa عليه السلام drew attention to it?
➌ When finally five prayers remained and Allah Almighty said:
مَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَيَّ
"There is no change in My words."
Whereas here the command had to be changed several times.
Answer to the first objection:
Consulting someone or giving advice to someone does not necessarily involve any defect or fault. Allah Almighty has commanded His Messenger ﷺ in the Holy Quran:
وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ
"And consult them in affairs."
Reference: (3-Al Imran:159)
Similarly, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ consulted the Companions رضي الله عنهم regarding the prisoners of Badr and acted upon the advice of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه. He consulted the Companions رضي الله عنهم about the accusation against Aisha رضي الله عنها and acted upon the advice of Usama, Barirah, and Zainab رضي الله عنهم. When Musa عليه السلام advised the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he acted upon his advice, this does not imply that the status and rank of our Prophet ﷺ appear inferior to Musa عليه السلام. Moreover, Allah Almighty said regarding the Prophets عليه السلام:
تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ
"These are the Messengers; some of them We have preferred over others."
Reference: (2-Al Baqarah:253)
This indicates partial preference of some over others, while the overall superiority belongs to the Noble Prophet ﷺ, but this does not mean that Allah Almighty did not grant partial preference to any other Prophet.
Answer to the Second Objection:
When Allah Almighty gives a command and then mitigates it, there are many wisdoms in it:
➊ A person should plead and supplicate before Allah Almighty for mitigation.
➋ It is an expression of Allah Almighty’s generosity.
➌ It demonstrates Allah Almighty’s complete authority and control.
The same wisdoms exist in the abrogation of rulings, which cannot be denied. The objection of the Jews was to attribute ignorance to the Sheikh, so Allah Almighty answered this in the verse of abrogation.
Answer to the Third Objection:
لا يبدل القول لدي This phrase is mentioned at the end of this hadith. So, الْقَوْلُ does not mean the command of fifty prayers, but rather it means giving ten times the reward for one righteous deed. Accordingly, it was stated:
مَن جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا
"Whoever does a good deed will receive ten times as much."
Reference: (6-Al-An'am:160)
يا قول refers to these words mentioned in the hadith: هن خمس وهن خمسون They are five in performance, while their reward and recompense are fifty, and the clearest point is that لا يبدل القول لدي refers to these five prayers, meaning that after the five were prescribed, there will be no further change in them.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Prayer, Chapter: How the prayer was prescribed during Isra, Hadith: 349
