Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in praising the son of Mary, for I am only His slave. So, call me the slave of Allah and His Messenger
Chapter: The Statement of Allah Taa'la: "And mention in the Book, the story of Maryam..."
Authentic
hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari
Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim)Sahih al-Bukhari 3445
حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الزُّهْرِيَّ، يَقُولُ أَخْبَرَنِي عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، سَمِعَ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ يَقُولُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ "
‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say:
"Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in praising the son of Mary, for I am only His slave. So, call me the slave of Allah and His Messenger."
Reported by Al-Bukhari (No. 3445, 2462, 6830), Muslim (No. 1691a, 1691b), Abu Dawud (No. 4418), At-Tirmidhi (No. 1432), Malik (No. 1510), Ahmad (No. 149, 159, 265, 313, 368) and Ad-Darimi (No. 2219, 2665).
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prohibits immoderateness and exceeding the Shariah-prescribed limit in praising him and forbids ascribing to himself the peculiar attributes and actions of Allah or knowledge of the unseen, or that he should be supplicated to along with Allah, as the Christians did with Jesus, the son of Mary (peace be upon him). Then, he made it clear that he is one of the servants of Allah and commanded us to call him: the servant and Messenger of Allah.
Lessons
It warns against exceeding the Shariah-prescribed limit in extolling and praising, for this leads to polytheism.
What the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) warned about did take place within this Ummah, as a group of people went to extremes regarding the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and another group did the same regarding the members of his household and another group did it for the pious figures. So, they fell into polytheism.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) described himself as a slave of Allah, thus pointing out that he is merely His slave, and it is not permissible to devote to him anything of the Lord's characteristics.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) described himself as the Messenger of Allah, thus pointing out that he is a messenger sent by Allah, and so we are obligated to believe and follow him.
Explanation in Arabic
ينهى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الإفراط ومجاوزة الحد الشرعي في مدحه ووصفه بأوصاف الله تعالى وأفعاله الخاصة به، أو أنه يعلم الغيب، أو يدعا مع الله، كما فعلت النصارى مع عيسى ابن مريم عليه السلام.
ثم بين أنه عبد من عباد لله، وأمر بأن نقول عنه: عبد الله ورسوله.
التحذير من مُجاوزةِ الحد الشرعي في التعظيم والمدح؛ لأن ذلك يُفضي إلى الشرك.
ما حذَّر منه النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قد وقع في هذه الأمة، فغَلَتْ طائفة بالرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وطائفة في أهل البيت، وطائفة في الأولياء، فوقعوا في الشرك.
وَصَفَ رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نفسَه بأنه عبدُ الله؛ ليبيِّن أنه عبدٌ مَربوبٌ لله لا يجوز أن يُصرفَ له شيءٌ من خصائص الرب.
وَصَفَ رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نفسه بأنه رسولُ الله؛ ليبين أنه رسولٌ مُرسلٌ من عند الله فيجبُ تصديقُه ومتابعتُه.
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, while he was sitting on the Prophet's pulpit, said: "Verily Allah sent Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth and sent the Book down to him. Part of what was revealed to him was the verse on stoning. We recited…
اللَّهَ قَدْ بَعَثَ مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالْحَقِّ وَأَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ فَكَانَ مِمَّا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةُ الرَّجْمِ قَرَأْنَاهَا وَوَعَيْنَاهَا وَعَقَلْنَاهَا فَرَجَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله…
Narrated by Umar ibn al-KhattābExplained
AuthenticMuttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim)Sahih Muslim 1691b
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَعَثَ مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالْحَقِّ وَأَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ فَكَانَ فِيمَا أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةُ الرَّجْمِ فَقَرَأْنَاهَا وَوَعَيْنَاهَا وَرَجَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم…
Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattāb
AuthenticMuttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim)Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1432
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَعَثَ مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالْحَقِّ وَأَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ فَكَانَ فِيمَا أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةُ الرَّجْمِ فَرَجَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَرَجَمْنَا بَعْدَهُ وَإِنِّي…
Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattāb
See all 17 versions
AuthenticMuttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim)Muwatta Malik 1510
الأحاديث المائة للحافظ العلامة محمد بن علي بن طولون (7)لا تُطْرُونِي كَمَا أَطْرَتِ النَّصَارَى عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ ، وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولَهُ