Why Did the Prophet (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace) Tell Wahshi to Hide His Face?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Why did the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) tell Wahshi to hide his face?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace), although he was a Prophet, he was still susceptible to human emotions.
Due to Wahshi (Allah be pleased with him) killing Sayyiduna Hamza (Allah be pleased with him), who was of the closest of the Prophet’s relatives – the sight of Wahshi stirred up those natural human emotions.
For this reason, the scholars mention regarding the Prophet’s statement, “Hide your face from me, if you are able.” [Bukhari] the following:
“This is a question that many of the unlearned put forth. They say: “If Islam eliminates all previous sins, then why would the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) say this? This seems to be a statement of just mere natural reaction. Where is the forbearance?
The response is that the Sacred Law does not require people to rid themselves of their human nature. It only requires that one not act according to nature in certain circumstances. Whenever the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) would see Wahshi (Allah be pleased with him), he would remember his killing of Hamza (Allah be pleased with him), and this would stir up negative emotions in him naturally. The negative emotions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) towards Wahshi could harm Wahshi, religiously. So out of his gentle care for Wahshi, he said the above statement to protect Wahshi from such harm.” [Ibn Jawzi; Kashf al-Mushkil]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
