Were the Messenger of Allah ﷺ "Mukhtār Kull"? — Clarification from Qur’ān and Ḥadīth
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol.1, p.132
Was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ "Mukhtār Kull"?
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was not Mukhtār Kull (possessor of total authority). The Qur’ān explicitly rejects this belief in many verses:
Evidences from the Qur’ān
➊ Sūrat Yūnus, 15
﴿...قُل ما يَكونُ لى أَن أُبَدِّلَهُ مِن تِلقائِ نَفسى إِن أَتَّبِعُ إِلّا ما يوحى إِلَىَّ...﴾
"Say: It is not for me to change it on my own accord; I only follow what is revealed to me..."
➋ Āl ʿImrān, 128
﴿لَيسَ لَكَ مِنَ الأَمرِ شَىءٌ...﴾
"The matter is not in your hands at all..."
➌ Al-Anfāl, 67–68
"It is not for a Prophet to have captives until he has fought thoroughly in the land..."
➍ Yūnus, 49
﴿قُل لا أَملِكُ لِنَفسى ضَرًّا وَلا نَفعًا إِلّا ما شاءَ اللَّهُ﴾
"Say: I do not possess for myself any harm or benefit except what Allah wills."
➎ Yūnus, 107
"If Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He..."
➏ Al-Taḥrīm, 1
"O Prophet! Why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you...?"
Conclusion
All these verses prove that neither the Prophet ﷺ nor any Prophet or Walī possesses absolute authority (Mukhtār Kull). Only Allah alone controls destiny, benefit, and harm.
The Prophet ﷺ himself would supplicate after every obligatory prayer:
اللهم لامانع لما اعطيت و لامعطى لما منعت...
"O Allah! None can withhold what You give, and none can give what You withhold."
Calling Imām Abū Ḥanīfah’s Book “Nonsense”
This is a grave disrespect and a major sin. A person speaking such words must repent immediately.
As for Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله, historians like Shiblī Nuʿmānī wrote in Sīrat al-Nuʿmān that no authentic book of his writings survives; if any writings did exist, they have been lost.
Ruling on Prayer in a Mosque Near an Artificial Grave
If a mosque is built alongside a false/artificial grave (with flags, stones, brooms, or a pond for so-called tabarruk), then praying in it is impermissible.
Evidences from Ḥadīth
➊ Abū Marthad al-Ghanawī رضي الله عنه narrates:
«لا تصلوا إلى القبور ولا تجلسوا عليها»
"Do not pray towards graves, and do not sit upon them."
(Reported by all except al-Bukhārī and Ibn Mājah, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/150)
➋ Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه narrates:
«الأرض كلها مسجد إلا المقبرة والحمام»
"The whole earth is a masjid except graveyards and bathrooms."
(Reported by five except al-Nasā’ī, Nayl al-Awṭār 2/148)
➌ Jundub ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنه narrates:
«ألا وإن من كان قبلكم كانوا يتخذون القبور مساجد، ألا فلا تتخذوا القبور مساجد، فإني أنهاكم عن ذلك»
"Indeed, those before you used to take graves as masjids. Verily, do not take graves as masjids — I forbid you from this."
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1/201)
Final Ruling
✿ Praying in mosques with graves (even artificial ones) is forbidden.
✿ If the artificial grave is removed but its symbols remain (flag, broom, pond), prayer there is still invalid.
✿ Only if the grave and all related symbols are completely erased, and the area is purified as part of the mosque, then prayer there is valid.
والله أعلم بالصواب
