Ruling on Entertaining Evil Thoughts About the Prophets
Source: Fatāwā Amnpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amnpūrī
❖ Question
What is the ruling on entertaining bad thoughts about the Prophets (عليهم السلام)?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
- Entertaining evil thoughts about any Prophet is kufr.
- The Prophets are maʿṣūm (infallible) and protected by Allah from sins.
✿ Evidence from Ḥadīth
Sayyidah Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy (رضي الله عنها) reported:
When she came to visit the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was in iʿtikāf during the last ten days of Ramaḍān, she spoke with him for a while, then she stood up to return. The Prophet ﷺ stood with her to accompany her back. When they reached the gate of the mosque near the door of Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها), two men from the Anṣār passed by and greeted the Prophet ﷺ. He said to them:
“Wait, she is Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy.”
They said: “SubḥānAllāh, O Messenger of Allah!” (showing that this thought was heavy on them). The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed Shayṭān flows through the son of Ādam like blood, and I feared he might cast something (evil suspicion) into your hearts.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2035, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2175)
✿ Statement of Ḥāfiẓ al-Nawawī (رحمه الله, d. 676H)
“Having evil suspicion about the Prophets is kufr by consensus. Major sins are not possible for them. This ḥadīth is proof that whoever holds such suspicion about the Prophet ﷺ commits kufr.”
(Sharḥ al-Nawawī 14/156)
◈ Conclusion
- Having bad thoughts about the Prophets (عليهم السلام) is kufr by consensus.
- Prophets are safeguarded from major sins, and Allah protects them with ʿiṣmah.
والله أعلم بالصواب
