What Is Monasticism, and Did Allah Ordain It for the Christians?
ما هي الرهبانية، وهل فرض الله تعالى الرهبانية على الناس؟
Monasticism is seclusion from people and abandoning them in monasteries and places of worship to worship Allah.
Monasticism is something which the people imposed upon themselves for which Allah never gave them any warrant.
(Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allah. But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.) Al-Hadid 57:27
(We did not prescribe it for them:) It means that Allah has not prescribed it, instead they did that themselves, they innovated it, vowed it, and then prescribed it for themselves.
(But they did not observe it with due observance): means they did not carry out Allah’s commands, and Allah gave whoever fulfilled his pledge a great reward, and many of them did not deserve the reward as they did not fulfill their pledge.
الرهبانية هي اعتزال الناس والانقطاع عنهم في الأديرة والصوامع ودور العبادات لعبادة الله.
الرهبانية فرضها الناس على أنفسهم دون أمر من الله.
ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِم بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْإِنجِيلَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَّا ابْتِغَاءَ رِضْوَانِ اللَّـهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا ۖ فَآتَيْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ﴿٢٧﴾
الحديد 57: 27
مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ: لم يفرضها الله عليهم لكنهم ابتدعوها ونذروها وفرضوها على أنفسهم.
فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا: أي لم يقوموا بأمر الله كما نذروا فأعطى الله من أوفى بنذره أجرا وكثير من أولئك لم يستحق أجرا لأنه لم يوف بما نذر.
1. The Quranic Exposure of Invented Monasticism | البيان القرآني لبدعة الرهبانية المخترعة
In Surah Al-Hadid, the Quran explicitly states that monasticism was never a divine commandment. It was an innovation the Christians invented (ibtada'uha); Ibn Kathir explains "We did not prescribe it for them" as: they took it on themselves. On "seeking the approval of Allah," he reports two readings: that they intended Allah's pleasure by it (Sa'id ibn Jubayr and Qatada), or that Allah prescribed for them only the seeking of His pleasure.
وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَّا ابْتِغَاءَ رِضْوَانِ اللَّـهِ (سورة الحديد: 27)
صرح القرآن في سورة الحديد بأن الرهبانية لم تكن شريعة فرضها الله على أتباع عيسى، بل كانت بدعة استحدثوها من عند أنفسهم: "ورهبانية ابتدعوها ما كتبناها عليهم"؛ قال ابن كثير: "أي: ما شرعناها لهم، وإنما هم التزموها من تلقاء أنفسهم"، وفي قوله (إلا ابتغاء رضوان الله) قولان: أنهم قصدوا بذلك رضوان الله، أو: ما كتبنا عليهم إلا ابتغاء رضوان الله.
2. The Human Failure to Uphold Self-Imposed Extremism | عجز المبتدعين عن رعاية ما أوجبوه على أنفسهم
The verse adds: "But they did not observe it with due observance." Ibn Kathir explains that they did not keep what they had bound themselves to, and that this blames them in two ways: for inventing in Allah's religion what He did not command, and for failing to keep what they claimed would bring them near to Him.
فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا فَآتَيْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ (سورة الحديد: 27)
قال تعالى: (فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا)، قال ابن كثير: "وهذا ذم لهم من وجهين، أحدهما: في الابتداع في دين الله ما لم يأمر به الله. والثاني: في عدم قيامهم بما التزموه مما زعموا أنه قربة يقربهم إلى الله عز وجل".
3. Prophetic Prohibition of Monastic Renunciation | النهي النبوي الصريح عن الرهبانية والتبتل
The Prophet ﷺ refused the wish of Uthman ibn Maz'un (may Allah be pleased with him) to give up marriage for worship (at-tabattul); Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Had he permitted him, we would have castrated ourselves" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5073). The Quran likewise tells the believers not to forbid the good things Allah has made lawful for them (Al-Ma'idah 5:87).
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّـهُ لَكُمْ (سورة المائدة: 87)
رد النبي ﷺ على عثمان بن مظعون رضي الله عنه التبتل، قال سعد بن أبي وقاص: "ولو أذن له لاختصينا" (صحيح البخاري 5073). ونهى القرآن المؤمنين أن يحرموا طيبات ما أحل الله لهم (المائدة 5: 87).
4. The Prophetic Rejection of Unnatural Asceticism | الرد النبوي على المتشددين والانتصار للفطرة
Three men asked the Prophet's wives about his worship; one resolved to pray all night, another to fast without break, and a third never to marry. The Prophet ﷺ said: "By Allah, I fear Allah more than any of you and am the most mindful of Him, yet I fast and break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5063, Sahih Muslim 1401).
وَكُلُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّـهُ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا (سورة المائدة: 88)
جاء ثلاثة رهط يسألون عن عبادة النبي ﷺ، فقال أحدهم: أصلي الليل أبدا، وقال آخر: أصوم الدهر ولا أفطر، وقال آخر: أعتزل النساء فلا أتزوج أبدا، فقال ﷺ: "أما والله إني لأخشاكم لله وأتقاكم له، لكني أصوم وأفطر، وأصلي وأرقد، وأتزوج النساء، فمن رغب عن سنتي فليس مني" (صحيح البخاري 5063، صحيح مسلم 1401).
5. Balanced Islamic Spirituality | شمولية التزكية الإسلامية وتوازن الروح والجسد
Islam makes lawful daily life a means of reward: the Prophet ﷺ counted among acts of charity even a man's intimacy with his wife (Sahih Muslim 1006), and the Quran tells the believer to seek the Hereafter with what Allah has given him "without forgetting your share of this world" (Al-Qasas 28:77).
وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّـهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا (سورة القصص: 77)
يجعل الإسلام المباحات سبيلا إلى الأجر: فقد قال النبي ﷺ: "وفي بضع أحدكم صدقة" (صحيح مسلم 1006)، وأمر القرآن بابتغاء الدار الآخرة دون نسيان النصيب من الدنيا (القصص 28: 77).
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What is monasticism (rahbaniyyah)?
The scholar's answer defines it as withdrawing from people into monasteries and places of worship to worship Allah; Allah did not prescribe it, the Christians took it on themselves (Surah Al-Hadid 57:27).
Did Allah prescribe monasticism for the followers of Jesus?
No, the Quran explicitly states in Surah Al-Hadid (57:27) that Allah did not prescribe it for them; it was an innovation they invented themselves.
What does "they did not observe it with its true observance" mean?
Ibn Kathir explains that they did not keep what they had bound themselves to (Surah Al-Hadid 57:27).
Is monasticism permitted in Islam?
Islam rejects monastic renunciation of marriage and of lawful good things as worship: the Prophet ﷺ refused Uthman ibn Maz'un's wish to give up marriage (Sahih al-Bukhari 5073), and the Quran forbids making unlawful the good things Allah has made lawful (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:87).