"Except the Messenger of Allah" has gone viral on social media, and there was a lot of debate on this issue. What is the ruling of Sharia on it and is it wrong to use it?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
"Except the Messenger of Allah" has spread on social media in continuation for the defense of our Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him. It reflects profound love to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and has turned into a slogan uniting Muslims-from different schools of thought, opinions, and races-over a greater purpose, which is defending the Prophet, peace be upon him, who symbolizes Islam as well as divine messages and was sent to guide all creatures to the righteous path.
From a linguistic point of view, there is nothing wrong with the signification of this phrase. " Except the Messenger of Allah," the exception has been deleted and, in syntax, this is called discharger exception/interrupted exception. For more details, kindly check {Awdah Al-Masalik, V.2:222}.
On this basis, this exception is intended to glorify the sanctity of the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, and to defend him. However, it doesn`t mean that we defend none but him. On the contrary, we defend Allah the Almighty, His messengers, the believers, and whoever has a right. Thus, it should be understood according to the allegorical rather than the literal meaning. Thus, it isn`t valid to claim that whoever says this phrase doesn`t defend Allah or the Quran or Islam since such thing would never cross the mind of a Muslim. Moreover, this phrase was mentioned in a particular context, which is the continued insults of the Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him by some western publications. These facts help the receiver understand this phrase in line with its allegorical meaning.
In conclusion, "Except the Messenger of Allah" should be understood according to the intention of the person saying it and the context in which it was said. Actually, the context is continued insults of the Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him and the phrase is intended to glorify the sanctity of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and defend him. In addition, there is nothing wrong with this phrase from the perspective of Sharia or language. We advise Muslims to avoid division and dispute and unite over all that pleases Allah in terms of word and deed. And Allah the Almighty knows best.