How was the Prophet (peace be upon him) "astray" before his prophethood, even though he never prostrated to an idol and was upon the religion of Abraham?
The "straying" intended in the noble verse: "And He found you astray and guided you" refers to unawareness of the divine laws and the secrets of religious sciences that cannot be known except through revelation. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was indeed unaware of these, so Allah guided him through what He revealed to him. This does not contradict his remaining upon a sound natural disposition before his prophethood. This meaning is supported by the Almighty’s saying: "You did not know what the Scripture was, nor what faith was." It has also been said that it means his getting lost as a child in the valleys of Mecca, or his getting lost during his journey to Syria, but the first interpretation is the most correct.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/175943
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 175943
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy