Al-I'jaaz al-Ilmee in the Prophetic Sunnah

[Abu.Iyaad]

The Shaykh explains the types of al-I'jaaz al-Ilmee in the Prophetic Sunnah, which - leaving aside that which relates to his seerah (biography) and shamaa'il (merits, characteristics, traits, behaviours) - can be put into four broad categories: The First: What his (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam's) Sunnah comprises of far reaching eloquence (fasaahah, balaaghah). The Second: What his (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam's) Sunnah comprises of information (reports, akhbaar) regarding the unseen affairs (ghaybiyyaat) which occurred just as he informed of them. The Third: What his (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam's) Sunnah comprises of the signs (aayaat) which the Companions saw directly with their senses (hiss). The Fourth: What his (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam's) Sunnah comprises of such legislation that is outside the capacity of mankind to produce and whose suitability, truthfulness and appropriateness is testified to as each day goes by, attesting to the truthfulness of the sayings of Allaah in (3:19), (3:85), (5:3) and so on. Then the Shaykh gives examples for each one, and he expands upon the second category above and says that it is also of types: The First Type: Ahaadeeth which inform of events and signs to occur in the future, and which occurred exactly as he (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) informed of them The SecondType: What has come in his speech (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) informing of certain affairs which secular studies have revealed that he was truthful in informing of their details, and this is what is specifically referred to as al-I'jaaz al-Ilmee, and this also comprises al-I'jaaz al-Tibbee (that which relates to medicine). The Third Type: That which he informed of unseen matters regarding nations of the past. The FourthType: That which came in his speech (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) regarding affairs which occurred in his lifetime exactly as he informed of them. I have left out a lot of the details and examples given by the Shaykh due to shortage of time, but the intent here is to help us categorize what would come under the i'jaaz of the Sunnah. Of particular relevance is what relates to al-Tibb (medicine) as we will focus on that in more detail a little later inshaa'Allaah.