What is the Minimum Age at which the Appointment of a Mujaddid / Reformer in Islam is Possible?
The Webmaster
Dear Readers,
Assalamu Alaikum wa-Rakhmatullah hi wa-Barakatahu (May peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be on you),
There is an interesting question that comes to mind:
What is the Minimum Age at which the Appointment of a Mujaddid / Reformer in Islam is Possible?
On the topic of the age of maturity, the Holy Quran states:
وَ وَصَّیۡنَا الۡاِنۡسَانَ بِوَالِدَیۡہِ اِحۡسٰنًا ؕ حَمَلَتۡہُ اُمُّہٗ کُرۡہًا وَّ وَضَعَتۡہُ کُرۡہًا ؕ وَ حَمۡلُہٗ وَ فِصٰلُہٗ ثَلٰثُوۡنَ شَہۡرًا ؕ حَتّٰۤی اِذَا بَلَغَ اَشُدَّہٗ وَ بَلَغَ اَرۡبَعِیۡنَ سَنَۃً ۙ قَالَ رَبِّ اَوۡزِعۡنِیۡۤ اَنۡ اَشۡکُرَ نِعۡمَتَکَ الَّتِیۡۤ اَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَیَّ وَ عَلٰی وَالِدَیَّ وَ اَنۡ اَعۡمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرۡضٰہُ وَ اَصۡلِحۡ لِیۡ فِیۡ ذُرِّیَّتِیۡ ۚؕ اِنِّیۡ تُبۡتُ اِلَیۡکَ وَ اِنِّیۡ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِیۡنَ ﴿۱۵﴾
And We have enjoined on man the doing of good to his parents. His mother bears him with trouble and she brings him forth in pain. And the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months. Till, when he attains his maturity and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord, grant me that I may give thanks for Thy favour, which Thou has bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do good which pleases Thee; and be good to me in respect of my offspring. Truly I turn to Thee, and truly I am of those who submit. (46:15) [bold type by the author of this post]
Maulana Muhammad Ali writes in ‘The English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran’:
It would appear from this that the spiritual maturity of man usually takes place at the age of forty. Evidence of this is also found in the fact that the Holy Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] received the Divine message for the regeneration of mankind at the age of forty. [bold type by the author of this post]
In his Urdu work of the Holy Quran, the Maulana has amply proven that all Prophets received their Divine appointment after the age of forty years.
This observation is also validated when we study the history of the Mujaddids / Reformers that have appeared in Islam at the ‘head of every century’. However, the Holy Book refers to the norm and would not always state the exception. With this in mind, we see an exception in the case of Hazrat Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who was the Mujaddid of the First Century Hijrah. He was born in 682 CE (CE: Christian Era) and passed away in February 720 CE. This would have made him around 38 years of age at the time of death. In other words, Allah appointed him as a Mujaddid before the age of 40 years and he was able to fulfill the Divine mission that he was made responsible for within his short life. May Allah bless his soul.
I leave you in Peace.
Was-salaam,
Webmaster