Tauheed

TRANSLATED BY : YASER AMINUDEEN ABU BAKAR

MANZOOR KHAN

وحيدمقرر الت ترجمة الداعية المكتب

أبو بكر ياسر أمين الدين

منظور خان

إعداد :

قسم البحث والترجمة بالمكتب

First Edition Jamad-II, 1426H هـ 1426جمادى الثاني الطبعة األولى

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بسم هللا الرمحن الرحيم Merits of Knowledge

Islam is the religion of knowledge. The first aayah of the Qur’aan to be revealed enjoined

reading, which is the key to knowledge. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists).

He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood).

Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.

Who has taught (the writing) by the pen.

He has taught man that which he knew not”

[al-‘Alaq 96:1-5]

The scholars occupy a noble status in Islam, and which is higher than the position of others in

this world and in the Hereafter. Allah says:

الهذين ءامنوا منكم والهذين أوتوا العلم درجات ي رفع الله“Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted

knowledge” [al-Mujaadilah 58:11]

Because of the importance of knowledge, Allah commanded His Messenger to seek more of it.

Allah says:

وقل رب زدن علما“And say: ‘My Lord! Increase me in knowledge’” [Ta-Ha 20:114]

Islam calls us to seek knowledge. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

made seeking knowledge an obligation upon every Muslim, and he explained that the

superiority of the one who has knowledge over the one who merely worships is like the

superiority of the moon over every other heavenly bodies. He said that the scholars are the

heirs of the Prophets and that the Prophets did not leave behind dinars and dirhams (i.e.,

money), rather their inheritance was knowledge, so whoever acquires it has gained a great

share. And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that seeking knowledge is a way

to Paradise. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever follows a path in the

pursuit of knowledge, Allaah will make the path to Paradise easy for him.” (Narrated by al-

Bukhaari, Kitaab al-‘Ilm, 10)

Islam calls us to learn all kinds of beneficial knowledge. Branches of knowledge vary in status,

the highest of which is knowledge of sharee’ah, then knowledge of medicine, then the other

fields of knowledge.

The best of all branches of knowledge are the sciences of sharee’ah through which man comes

to know his Lord, and the Prophet PBUH and religion. This is the knowledge with which Allah

honored His Messenger; He taught it to him so that he might teach it to mankind:

“Indeed, Allah conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger

(Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the Qur’ân), and

purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the

Qur’aan) and AlHikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet (i.e. his legal ways,

statements and acts of worship)], while before that they had been in manifest error”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When Allah wishes good for a

person, He makes him understand the religion.” (Agreed upon. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 69)

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Knowledge brings a great reward. The one who points the way to something good is like the

one who does it. When the knowledgeable person dies, his reward with Allah does not cease

when he dies, rather it continues to increase so long as people benefit from his knowledge. The

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When a man dies, all his deeds come

to an end except for three – an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge or a righteous son who

will pray for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1631)

If the scholar spreads his knowledge among the people, he will have a reward like that of those

who follow him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever calls

people to right guidance will have a reward like that of those who follow him, without it

reducing from their reward in the slightest, and whoever calls people to misguidance will have a

burden of sin like that of those who follow him, without it reducing from their burden in the

slightest.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2674)

For our benefit, we must acquire knowledge of Islam and teach it to others. We must always

remember that Islam is the right religion but most men do not know it. It is therefore

mandatory that we share our knowledge to others in order to guide them to righteousness. We

have to teach Islam to others, especially the non-Muslims, to the best of our capacity. We

must remember that when we guide others to Islam, we expect rewards from Allah the

Almighty.

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The rise of deviation in the life of Humanity.

Innate inclination towards Tawheed.

Allah created the creatures for his worship, and prepared for them what will aid them for this

i.e. sustenance. Allah says.

نس إله لي عبدون وما خلقت النه وال هم م ن ر زق وما أريد أن يطعمون ما أريد من

And I Allah created not the Jinn and Mankind except that they should worship me (alone). I

seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me (i.e. feed themselves

or My creatures). Surah Zariyat: 56&57.

And the soul in its nature if not corrupted it confesses the existence of Allah, loves him and

worships him alone without ascribing partners for him. Thus Tawheed is the innate nature of

the soul whereas Shirk (ascribing partners with God) in something foreign and alien. Allah says

ها ل ت بديل للق الله ين حنيفا فطرت الله الهت فطر النهاس علي فأقم وجهك للد So set you O Muhammad (peace be upon him) your face towards the religion of Hanif (pure Islamic monotheism) Allah's Fitrah (Allah's instinct meaning inclinaton towards Islamic monotheism) with which he has created mankind. No change let there be in khalq-illah (the creation of Allah). Surah Zumar : 30

عليه وسلهم ما من مولود إله يولد على الفطرة فأب واه ي هو دان عن أب هري رة أنهه كان ي قول قال تج البهيمة رسول الله صلهى الله سانه كما ت ن ه وي نص رانه ويج تم فطرة الله الهت ف بيمة جعاء هل تسون فيها من جدعاء ثه ي ها ل ت بديل للق الله قول أبو هري رة واق رءوا إن شئ طر النهاس علي

صحيح البخاري كتاب النائز ابب إذا أسلم الصيب فمات هل يصلى عليه وهل يعرض على الصيب السالم 1292ر ابب معن كل مولود يولد على الفطرة وحكم موت أطفال الكفهار وأطفال المسلمنيصحيح مسلم كتاب القد 2658

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No one

is born except upon natural instinct, then his parents turn him into a Jew or Christian or

Magian. As an animal produces their young with perfect limbs, do you see anything defective?”

Abu Huraira said, “Recite the verse if you wish: Direct your face toward the religion, inclining to

truth, the nature of Allah upon which He has created the people. No change should there be in

the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.”

The rise of Deviation in the Life of humanity

The first deviation that originated in the life of humanity in their creed is the people of Noah

(peace be upon him). He was the first messenger of Allah, Allah says

نا إل نوح والنهبي ني من ب عده إ نا إليك كما أوحي نه أوحي Verily we have sent the revelation to you (O Muhammad) as we sent the revelation to Nuh

(Noah) and the prophets after him. 4:163.

Ibn Abbas said: between Adam and Nuh (peace be upon them) was ten centuries and all of

them were Muslims.

And the reason for the rise of the deviation and polytheism in its first time was the

exaggeration over the righteous people and elevating the creatures to the level of creator. It

was narrated in the Sahihain by ibn Abbas regarding Allah's statement

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آلتكم ول تذرنه ودا ول سواعا ول ي غوث وي عوق ونسرا وقالوا ل تذرنه And they have said: you shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa, nor

Yaghuth, nor Yau'g, nor Nasr. [Surah Nooh:23]

He said these were the names of the righteous people from the people of Nuh and when they

passed away Shaitan whispered to their people that they should give their names to the places

where they used to sit and they did it , and they were not worshipped until they died and the

knowledge was forgotten. Because of this Allah forbade exaggeration When He said:

ي أهل الكتاب ل ت غلوا ف دينكم O people of the scriptures (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion. [4:171]

And the reason for this is mixing between the right and the wrong, and this has happened

because of two things.

1. Loving the righteous, due to this they shaped their statues because of their devotion and

they like to see their statues

2. The scholars and those who intended good to motivate them in the worship but this intention

soon changed for those who came after them.

From that we can take, whoever wanted to strengthen his religion with Bid'ah (invention), its

harm is more than its benefit, same as this is those who exceeds the limits in the Prophet

(peace be upon him) and they make Mowlid (birthday) for him, such people they intended for

good in inventing this Bid'ah , but its harm became more than its benefit, and the prophet

(peace be upon him) said :

ل تطرون كما أطرت النصارى ابن مرمي، إمنا أن عبد فقولوا عبد هللا ورسولهDo not raise me more than I deserve, as Christians raised and transgressed in Jesus (peace be

upon him) so call me Allah's servant and prophet. (Reported by Bukhari)

He also said:

عليه وسلهم ين : " قال رسول الله صلهى الله لكم الغلو ف الد ا أهلك من كان ق ب ين ، فإمنه كم والغلوه ف الد إيه " I warn you not to exceed the limits in your religion, for what destroyed those before you was

the exceeding of the limits (agreed upon).

Arabs were on the religion of Abraham (peace be upon him) until Amr ibn Luhay Al Khuzaii

came and changed the religion of Abraham, and brought Idols to the land of Arabs and

especially in the land of Hijaz, and they worshipped Idols and thus polytheism spread in this

Holy land and its neighbors, until Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him), the seal of

prophets. He called peopled to the Tawheed and to follow the religion of Abraham, and he

strived in the way of Allah in spreading this message and the worship of Allah alone, in this way

the true Tawheed and the religion of Abraham was brought back and the idols were destroyed,

and Allah perfected his religion and completed his favors upon the humankind.

And the righteous three generations followed this from the beginning of this Ummah, until

ignorance spread in the late generations of this Ummah and alien things crept into their religion

from other religions. Thus polytheism came once again because of those who call for deviation

and because of building of graves which is meant to elevate their righteous people originating

from the claim for their love until they built on their graves and made them worshipped besides

Allah with different forms of worships i.e. invocations, asking help from them, and slaughtering

Animals for them.

And they called this polytheism as (tawasul) seeking intercession of the dead righteous people

and displaying their love while not worshipping them as they claim, and they have forgotten

that this was the claim of the early polytheists when they said

والهذين اتهذوا من دونه أولياء ما ن عبدهم إله لي قر بون إل الله زلفى We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah) [Surah Zumar 39:3]

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On top of that the polytheists found in humanity both previous and present, most of them they

believe in the Divinity of Allah, only that they commit Shirk (associate partners) in his worship

as Allah said

وما ي ؤمن أكث رهم ابلله إله وهم مشركون And most of them believe not in Allah, except that they attribute partners unto him. [Surah

Yusuf 12:106]

Questions

1. Why Allah created the humans? Give a proof for your answer?

2. Choose the correct answer from the following

a) Human beings are good and bad by nature ( )

b) Between Adam & Noah was twenty centuries gap and all of them were Muslims ( )

c) Qusai ibn Kilab came and changed the religion of ibrahim which the Arabs used to believe

in ( )

d) The first people who worshipped idols and brought it into Arabian Peninsula was the

Khuza'ah tribe ( )

3. What is the meaning of Iman in the verse?

وما ي ؤمن أكث رهم ابلله إله وهم مشركون

4. Those who ask from awliya, pious and dead people, sacrifice by their name and they believe

what they are doing is out of love and one of the way of tawssul. How you will refute with

authentic proof from Shariah,

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What has been Narrated regarding The prophet (peace be upon him) protection of Tawheed and his closing every path that leads to Ash-shirk.

The prophet (S.A.) closed all the paths that lead to shirk, and he warned strictly against it,

among this is.

1- Prohibition of Ghulu (exceeding the proper bounds)

He has warned against Ghulu (exaggeration) in praising or criticizing or worshipping. Extremism

originally means to go beyond the proper limits, or to exceed them, or to overstep all bounds.

Accordingly, extremism (Ghulu) in the religion is defined as the act of exceeding the proper

bounds or limits in the religion and showing harshness in its practices.

Same thing is happening to the people of the Scripture, Allah said:

ي أهل الكتاب ل ت غلوا ف دينكم O people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion. [4:171]

The Christians they exceeded the limit in praising Jesus when they said: He (PBUH) is the Son

of God, or one of the three, and the Jews they exceeded the limits in degrading him when they

said his mother was not chaste, or he was born illegally. Both of them they exceeded the limits.

In this hadith two reasons mentioned about ghulu;

1. Prophet Muhammed SAWS has strictly warned against ghulu

2. Ghulu is the main reason for destruction of a nation and previous nations were destroyed

due to ghulu. They were destroyed because of their major sins.

And exceeding the limits results has many disadvantages.

1- It is putting the one praised above his level if it is praising or otherwise degrading

someone by insulting him.

2- It leads to the worship of the person who is praised.

3- It stops the praise of Allah, because the person is busy with false praise.

4- if extravagant praising is done for a living person then it leads to pride and arrogance

in him and on the other hand if there is excess of criticism it increases malice and enmity.

There are numerous types of Ghulu (exceeding the limits).

-In the Belief- Extremism related to the Creed, which means overstepping the bounds of the

correct and proper beliefs in a particular religion. Like what is said by the philosophers in the

names and attributes of Allah till this resulted in incorrectly describing or negating Allah’s

Names and Attributes. But the balanced approach is adopted by those who didn’t go to either

extreme whether in affirming them or negating them. For example, Shia’s extremism about Ali

bin Abi Ta'lib (may Allah be pleased with him), whereby some of them claimed him to be God,

while others believe that he is infallible.

Extremism of some Sufis about the holy prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)

when they claimed he was created from the light and that the whole universe was created from

his light. Also, they believe that the last prophet has the ability to effect the universe and to

influence anything in the heaven and the earth as he wishes.

-In the worship- It’s making extreme in implementing them, such as believing any small

mistake in it to be (equivalent to) disbelieving and going outside the fold of Islam like some

sects (Khawarij and Mu’atezalah) who believe in this. Murjiah believes that Iblees is a believer

because he believes in Almighty which is clearly extremism and the middle stand is the stand of

the Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaah, who believe that faith increases and decreases, and the one who

committed a major Sin will not go out of Faith totally but it will reduce to the extent of his Sin,

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except that major sin which the Shari'ah made it clearly known that whoever commits it will be

a disbeliever.

Examples of exceeding the limits in the implementing the Shari'ah is burdening oneself while

practicing the worship, since this was prohibited, like increasing the original worships e.g.

throwing more and big pebbles at Jamarat in Hajj, or recitation of many Azkaars that is not

prescribed after the obligatory prayers and it was advised not to exceed the limits or avoid

extremism.

Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Extremism manifests, at

times, by making what is neither obligatory nor recommended in worship obligatory or

recommended. And at times by placing what is neither prohibited nor disapproved (out of good

things permitted by Allah) in the position of prohibited and disapproved things"

The Prophet (S.A.) prohibited exceeding the limits in praising the righteous people, because this

will lead to worshipping them. On the authority of Anas (R.A.) some people came to the Prophet

(PBUH) and said to him “You are the best among us and the Son of the Best among us, our

master”. At this he said “O people the shaytan should not deceive you, I am Muhammad the

messenger of Allah and His Slave, I like not to be raised above my level which Allah has given

me.” (Musnad Ahmad classified sahih by Shaikh Albaani)

Exceeding the limits in the transactions, and this is by being extreme in making unlawful even if

it is a rightful means and that it is not allowed for the person to spend more than his basic

needs and this is the way of Sufis. In contrast to this is those who said that everything that will

invest the wealth is Lawful even Usury and gaining wealth in illegal ways, this group went to

the other extreme in making easy what was prohibited by Allah and the middle stand is to say

transactions will be permissible or prohibited according to the Islamic Shari'ah.

Prohibition of building a mosque over a grave:

Prophet SAWS warned his Umah from building on the graves, as narrated by Abu Hayaj Al Asdi

he said Ali (R.A) stated that “I send you on the what the prophet (S.A.) sent me: do not leave

any statue unless you destroy it or any raised grave unless you level on the earth” (Muslim

1609) and he prohibited plastering of it and building on it. On the authority of Jabir Ibn

Abdullah (R.A) who said: “the prophet (S.A.) prohibited from plastering the graves, or sitting on

it, or building over it” (narrated by Muslim), also lighting or candling them. On the authority of

Ibn Abbas (R.A) who said: “the prophet (S.A.) cursed the women who visit graves, who take

them as mosques and who light candles on them.

He also warned from praying near the graves. On the authority of Jundub (R.A) who said “I

heard the prophet (S.A.) saying those before you used to take the graves of their prophets as

mosques, do not take the graves as mosques I warn you from this” (narrated by Muslim). And

taking them as mosques means praying near or towards them even if the mosque is not built

on them.

It is permitted to visit the graves, and the buried people are much in need of Duaa

(supplications), and therefore it is lawful to pray for them and as a reminder, it is permitted to

visit graves and not to benefit from them (as intercessors). Therefore the visitation which is

meant for praying to the dead ones is Bid’ah (innovation), but the visitation which is meant to

pray for the dead and ask Allah to forgive them, then its Sunnah.

Ibn Saadi may Allah have mercy on him said what is done in the graves are of two types.

Firstly: permitted one, visiting the grave without the intention to travel for it, and intending to

follow the Sunnah, and to remember the life of the hereafter

Secondly: prohibited one, this is the one which leads to Polytheism (Ash Shirk) like rubbing

over them, asking their intermediation, lighting them, building over them, exceeding the status

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of the dead and raising their levels which they have not reached. This is Major Shirk which

further leads to actions like asking the dead, requesting aid and help from them and to provide

their needs as done by those who worship idols.

He also warned against frequent visitation to his grave on habitual basis for the

intention of Supplication and commanded us only to send salutation and salaam on him as

much as we can wherever we are because it will reach him. And one needs to ponder for a

moment that if he has prohibited his grave to be taken as a fest that people gather near it then

the rest of the graves are more strictly prohibited. On the authority of Ali ibn Hussein RA: he

saw a man who used to come somewhere near the grave of the prophet (S.A.) and pray by it

always. He warned him and said: “should I teach the Saying that I heard from my father, from

my grandfather (Ali, R.A) from the prophet (S.A.) he said: do not take my Grave as a fest nor

your houses as a grave, your payers will reach me wherever you are.”

He forbade us the imitation of the disbelievers in their signs, their festivals, shapes, their

dress and any other thing that is special for them. Thus he put Muslims away from resembling

them outwardly which is a means for resembling them inwardly which is Shirk. E.g. he

prohibited praying of Nafl (Sunnah) prayer in the place where the disbelievers worship their

gods for fear of resembling them and thus falling to what was prohibited by Allah, also he

forbade from slaughtering for the sake of Allah in a place where the polytheist used to slaughter

for their idols or the place where there was an Idol even after it was removed, even though it is

not intended to imitate them. It is reported on the authority of Thabit Ibn Adh-Dhahhak that he

said: "A man vowed to sacrifice a camel at a place called Bawanah, and he asked the Prophet

(S.A.) about it. He (S.A.) said to him: "Does the place contain any of the idols from the time of

the Jahiliyyah?" They said: "No." He (S.A) then asked: "Did the disbelievers hold any of their

(religious) festivals there?" They replied: "No." So the Messenger of Allah (S.A) said: "Then

fulfill your vow, for verily, vows, which entail disobedience to Allah (s.w.t) or that which is

beyond the capacity of the son of Adam, should not be fulfilled." (Narrated by Abu Dawood,

with a Sanad that meets the conditions of acceptance laid down by Bukhari and Muslim)

Prohibition of honoring of the statues, monuments and pictures, the Prophet (S.A.)

prohibited making the pictures of living beings especially the pictures of the honored people like

the righteous people, kings, great people, whether by carving it or by painting his picture on a

board, or paper, or on the wall by Carving and making it like a shape of a statue because this is

a means that leads to Shirk, and the cause for the first Shirk on this earth was making statues.

Thus in the people of Prophet Nuh (A.S.) there were righteous people and when they passed

away their people grieved for them. Shaytan inspired them that they should make their statues

and put them in the places where they used to sit and also give their names. They did it but

they were not worshipped, till when their generation passed away and the knowledge faded.

Thereafter they were worshipped.

Look the result of taking monuments and statues for remembrance which resulted in the Shirk

and worshipping them besides Allah, thus they got the anger of Allah and they were punished

with floods. This shows the danger of making pictures and statues, and the prophet (S.A)

cursed those who make pictures. On the authority of Abi Juhaifah (R.A) he said “the prophet

(S.A) cursed the Tattooed and person doing the tattoo, and the person eating the usury and the

person giving others to eat, and he prohibited spending of the money from selling a dog, and

the gain of a prostitute, and he cursed those who make pictures”, in another Hadith he said

“those who will have the most painful torment are those who make pictures. He also said the

angles will not go in a house where there are pictures.”

He also prohibited using words that smelled of shirk (polytheism), or those that

referred to veneration towards others other than Allah, those that showed lack of respect

towards Allah. He commanded the use of the right words.

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He prohibited seeking blessings from stones, trees, because the Shaytan entices to

worship them through seeking blessing. Abu Waqid Al Leithi reported that “we went out with

prophet (S.A) in the battle of Hunain while we had newly embraced Islam, we passed the

disbelievers bowing to a tree named zata Anwad and hanging their Weapons on it, in order to

seek its blessings. We asked the prophet to make for us a tree like their tree, then he said

“Allah is the greatest, you said the same as the children of Israel said to Musa, Make for us a

god like their god, he replied you are ignorant people, soon you will follow the footsteps of

those before you”. The disbelievers used to hang their weapons on the tree merely seeking its

blessings, and the companions requested the Prophet to make for them such a tree on which

they could hang their weapons and arms, merely as a source of blessings. The Sahaabah did

not intend to worship that tree but to merely seek its blessings because to seek blessing with

the intention of worship is major shirk.

Seeking blessings (tabarruk) is of two types:

Permitted Tabaruk

a) Intending to get blessings from actions, sayings, which when the Muslim performs in pursuit

of Blessings and followed according to the way of the Sunnah will get what he intended for.

Among these sayings is the remembrance of Allah, recitation of the Holy Qur’an for Allah said in

the Qur’an “(this is) a book (the Qur’an) which we have sent down to you, full of blessings)”

38:29. Among the blessings of the Qur’an the reward of one letter of it is manifolded ten

Hasanah (good points), also it is a cure for the people, guidance and mercy for them and will

intercede for its reciters in the day of judgement among etc.

And among the deeds which will be a reason for having blessings is seeking for knowledge,

among its blessings is to get high level in this world, and in the hereafter. Also praying with the

Jamaah (in congregational), among its blessings is to have your good deeds Manifolded, and

the expiation of your sins, etc.

Similarly eating food together in a large plate and while doing so taking from what is in front of

oneself, reciting Bismillah before eating and licking the fingers after finishing; all these actions

are sources for obtaining blessings.

b) getting the blessings from the places which Allah blessed, if the person makes his intention

sincerely for Allah, and follows the traditions of the prophet (S.A) when doing it, among them

the mosques, praying with the Jamaah in them, staying in them, meditating in them, attending

lectures and gatherings in them. But obtaining the blessings doesn’t include rubbing oneself on

their walls and taking their sand for Barakah (blessings).

Among the blessed places that have special virtues are, the Holy mosque in Makkah, the

Prophet’s mosque in Medina, the Aqsa mosque in Quds, Makkah, Medina, Sham, the Holy

places like Arafat, Mina, etc.

The blessed times with special virtues, and forgiveness of sins, among this are the Laylatul

Qadr (Night of decree), the last ten days of Ramadan, the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, the

Friday, the last third of the night, etc. Finding blessings in these times is practicing what the

prophet (S.A) guided us to perform therein.

The foods for which the prophet (S.A) mentioned blessings in them or mentioned in the Qur’an

are the Olive oil, milk, the Black seed, Zamzam water, etc.

The blessed animals i.e. the Horse.

The trees for which blessings are mentioned in them like the Date-Palm tree.

And all the other things, that the prophet (S.A) mentioned blessings in them but it should be

limited to what the Shari'ah permitted.

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The prohibited way of searching the blessings are

-seeking blessings from the blessed places in a way different from the permitted ways, like

kissing the doors of the Mosques and taking the sand from it, rubbing oneself in the wall of the

Ka'bah or the stand of Ibrahim (A.S) etc.

Unfortunately they took their worships only for blessings, like rubbing themselves in the Yemeni

corner of the Ka'bah for blessings, meaning they are only in search for blessings and not for

worship and this is ignorance. Omar (R.A) said when he was kissing the black stone, “I know

that you are a mere stone you can’t harm or benefit and were it not that the prophet (S.A)

kissed you I would have not done it“. Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.

-Visiting the graves not for praying for them, but by the intention of praying to them and

getting blessings from them, believing Supplicating by the graves is blessed.

- going to the mount of Hera to pray and make Supplications in it, or to Mount Sinai or other

places, and its known that if visiting these places was recommended then the prophet S.A.

would teach his Umah to do it, but it is an innovated Bid’ah

- also places where the prophet (S.A) prayed whether he was on journey or not, and he did not

mean in giving them any special privileges, it is not permitted to search for special rewards and

draw close to Allah by praying in such places, because it was not meant by itself. Also the

blessed times like the month of Ramadan, the night of decree, Friday etc it can be searched for

its blessings by performing the permitted worship and not the innovations (Bid’ah).

- also practicing special festivities at specific times like the day the prophet was born, and the

day of Al-Isra and Al mi-raj , the Hijrah day, battle of badr, the day Makkah was conquered by

Muslims, among other Innovations practiced.

- The prohibited Tabaruk also is believing that the belongings of righteous people who died

have got blessings. It was not reported that any one took the hair, clothes, of Abubakar (R.A)

as a blessings, nor Omar, Uthman or Ali (R.A), but the companions used to take the remains of

the water that the prophet used to make wudhu, or parts of his body i.e. his hair, his sweat and

clothes, and this is limited to the prophet (S.A). We cannot give it to other righteous people,

because the Tabaruk is a worship that is based on Islamic Shari'ah and following the Sunnah of

the prophet (S.A) and not by innovations.

QUESTIONS

1. The Prophet (S.A) closed every path that leads to Ash shirk and warned from it, mention

three of them?

2. What the rule of the following.

- Exceeding the status of the righteous people beyond the limit

-Slaughtering in those places where the polytheists used to celebrate their festivals or

worship their idols.

-Making pictures of living things.

-Placing candles near graves

3. When was the first time when shirk appeared on this earth and what was the reason?

4. There are two types of Tabaruk, which is the one leads to Shirk?

5. Mention three types of permitted Tabaruk and the types of the prohibited one?

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The virtue of Tawheed and its expiation of sins.

Allah said in the Qur’an “it is those who believe (in the oneness of Allah and worship none but

him alone) and confuse not their belief with Zulm (wrong i.e. by worshipping others besides

Allah), for them (only) there is security and they are the guided.” 6:82. Ubadah ibn Samit

(R.A.) states that the Prophet of Allah (S.A) said ”Whoever believes that there is no God worthy

of worship except Allah and ascribes not partners with him, and Muhammad is his slave and

messenger , and Essa (Jesus) is his slave and messenger and his word which he bestowed on

Mary and a spirit (Ruh) created by him, and the paradise is true, and the Hell is true, Allah will

(eventually) grant him entrance into paradise regardless of the deeds that he performed”.

Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.

On the authority of Abu Said Al Khudri (R.A), the Prophet (S.A) said “Moses (Alleyhi Salam)

said: O Allah Teach me something that I remember you with and worship you with”, Allah said

“O Musa say: La illaha ila llah”. Musa said “O Lord all of your Servants say this”. He said “O

Musa if the seven Heavens and whatever is in them other than me and the seven Earths are put

in one pan (of the weighing balance) and La illaha ila llah on the other pan, then La illaha will

outweigh them all“ narrated by Ibn Hiban and Al Hakim.

This verse and the two Hadiths clearly shows that the Shirk (ascribing partners to Allah) is

something that will invalidate the deeds if it is the Major one and will reduce them if it is the

Minor one. And those who committed sin among the believers will not live in Hell eternally or

forever, and that any kind of deeds will not be valid unless it is sincerely for Allah and according

to the practice of the Prophet (S.A).

The definition of Tawheed (monotheism) and the Testimony of La illaha ila llah

Allah (s.w.t) said in the Holy Qur’an “those whom they call upon, desire (for themselves) means

of access to their Lord (Allah) as to which of them should be the nearest, and they hope for His

mercy and fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord is (something) to be afraid of!”

17:57.

In this verse there is a clear proof that the Messengers, and the Righteous people do not

worship besides Allah any one, because they are His servants and they are in constant heed of

Him.

Allah Said in another verse “and (remember) when Ibrahim (Abraham) said to his father and

his people: “verily, I am innocent of what you worship, Except Him (i.e. I worship none but

Allah alone) who did create me and verily He will guide me“43:26-27.

In this verse there is clear proof that the meaning of La illaha illallah is to single out Allah alone

for his worship and shun away Shirk (ascribing partners with Allah in his worship), and the

Prophet (S.A) said “Whoever says La illaha illallah and shuns away whatever is worshipped

other than Allah, his blood and wealth is protected and his account is with Allah“agreed upon.

In this Hadith there is a clear proof that killing a person and taking of his wealth will not

become prohibited (Haram) except by two things

1- Saying La illaha illallah 2- Shun whatever (false gods) is worshipped besides Allah , if he is

sincere in his heart Allah will reward him his paradise, and if he is a hypocrite Allah will punish

him with severe Torment in the Hereafter, but in this World we consider him a Muslim according

to his outer appearance.

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QUESTIONS

1. Mention two evidences for the virtue of Tawheed?

2. Clarify the correct sentence from the false one in the following.

a) Shirk is a Zulm (wrong) that nullifies the faith if it is major or minor.

b) The wrong doers among the Believers will not abide in the Hellfire forever.

c) For the acceptance of the deeds it must be sincerely for Allah.

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Shirk and it’s Explanation

Definition: Shirk (Polytheism) is to believe in a partner for Allâh in His Rububiah (Lordship) and

Uluhiah (Worship). And the most commonly occurring is the polytheism in His Uluhiyyah

(Worship) in such a way that they invoke someone else with Allâh or perform some kind of

worship to this partner, such as, slaughtering, vow, fear, hope, love. As a matter of fact, Shirk

(Polytheism) is the greatest sin, and this is because:

1. It is a likening of the Creator to His creature in Divine characteristics, because whoever

joins others in worship with Allâh has, in fact, assimilated Him to this claimed partner.

And this is the greatest Zulm (wrong deed), Allâh said,

عظيم لظلم الش رك إنه “Verily, ash-Shirk (Polytheism) is indeed the highest wrongdoing” Surah Luqman, verse

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And Zulm (wrong) is to put something in another place than its right place. So if someone

joins a partner in worship with Allâh, then he has put his worship in a wrong place and

has performed his duty to this who does not deserve it, and this is the gravest sin.

2. Allâh informed that He would not forgive this great sin for those who do not repent

from it. Allâh said, “

ل ي غفر أن يشرك به وي غفر ما دون ذلك لمن يشاء إ نه الله “Allâh forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else

whom he wants.” Surah Nisa, verse 48

3. Allâh informed that Paradise is forbidden for him who joins a partner with Allâh in

worship and Hellfire will be his adobe eternally settling in there. Allâh said

عليه النهة ومأواه النهار و ما للظهالمني من أنصار إنهه من يشرك ابلله ف قد حرهم الله “Whoever joins other gods with Allâh, Allâh will forbid him the Paradise, and the Fire will be his

abode. There will for the wrongdoers be no one to help.” Surah Maeda, verse 72.

4. It (Shirk) causes all pious deeds to be in vain, Allâh said:

هم ما كانوا ي عملون ذلك هدى الله ي هدي به من يشاء من عباده ولو أشركوا لبط عن “This is the Guidance of Allâh: He gives that guidance to whom He pleases of His

worshippers. If they were to join other gods with Him, all that they did would be vain for

them.”

And said,

"الاسرين من ولتكوننه عملك ليحبطنه أشركت لئن ق بلك من الهذين وإل إليك أوحي ولقد “But it has already been revealed to you, - as it was to those before you - If you were to

join (gods with Allâh), truly fruitless will be your work (in life), and you will surely be in

the ranks of those who lose (all spiritual good).” Surah Al Zumar, verse 70.

5. The blood (life) and the property of the one who joins others with Allâh in worship is un

proscribed, Allâh said,

فاق ت لوا المشركني حيث وجدتوهم وخذوهم واحصروهم واق عدوا لم كله مرصد “Then fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer

them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war).”

And the Prophet said,

“ مرت أن أقاتل الناس حىت يقولوا ل إله إل هللا و يقيموا الصالة و يؤتوا الزكاةأ ”

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“I have been commanded (by Allâh) to fight against people till they testify that, ‘Lâ ilâha

illallâh’, i.e. ‘there is no truly worshipped god but Allâh, and that Muhammad is the

Messenger of Allâh’, perform Prayer, and pay Zakat. So if they do that, their blood and

property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their

affairs rest with Allâh.”

6. Shirk is defect and a fault, which Allâh deemed himself far above. Therefore, whoever

joined with Allâh others in worship has approved to Allâh features that Allâh deemed

Himself far above, and this is an extreme contradiction and opposition to Allâh.

It is narrated on the authority of 'Abdur-Rahman bin Abu Bakra that his father said: "We

were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) that he observed: 'Should I not

inform you about the most grievous of the grave sins?' (The Holy Prophet) repeated it

three times, and then said: 'Associating anyone with God, disobedience to parents,' the

Prophet (PBUH) was reclining (on a pillow), [but] then he sat up and said, 'And I warn

you against giving a false witness', and he repeated it so many times, 'I warn you against

giving a false testimony, I warn you against a false utterance' that we wished that he

should become silent”. (Sahih Muslim 87, Book 1, Hadith 165. Sahih al-Bukhari 2654,

Book 52, Hadith 18).

Therefore, Shirk (Polytheism) is the greatest Zulm (Wrong deed/injustice), and the Tawhîd

(Monotheism) is the fairest justice. And whatever contradicts with this ultimate fact the most,

then it is the greatest Zulm (wrong) and Allâh has forbidden Paradise for those who join with

Him others in worship and He unproscribed their lives, properties, and wives in favor of those

who worship Him alone. And then allowed for the latter to keep the former as slaves because of

their polytheism. Moreover, Allâh refused to approve any single deed for the polytheist, or to

accept any intercession from anyone. Or even accept a call from him on the Day of

Resurrection. This is because the polytheist is the most ignorant man for he adopted with Allâh

a partner, and this is in fact not a mere ignorance, but the greatest Zulm (injustice) which is

committed is not against Allâh, it is against himself.

QUESTIONS

1. Shirk is the greatest sin, provide two reasons?

2. From below sentences identify the correct one also correct the wrong one?

a) Associating partner in Rububiah of Allah is considered as Shirk (---------------)

b) The blood and wealth of Polytheist (Mushrik) is Halal (---------------)

c) The greatest sin is polytheism (Shirk) (---------------)

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Shirk Akbar (Major Shirk)

Definition: This means ascribing to someone other than Allah something that belongs only to

Allah, such as Lordship (ruboobiyyah), divinity (uloohiyyah) and the divine names and

attributes (al-asma’ wa’l-sifaat).

Ash-Shirk al-Akbar (Major Polytheism), causes a person not to be/remain a Muslim anymore

and to settle eternally in the Hellfire if he died without repenting. It is to perform any of the

known forms of worship towards another one other than Allâh, such as to invoke to and

approach this claimed partner with slaughtering and vows directed towards graves, jinn, and

devils. And such as the fear from the dead or jinn or devils not to harm or cause sickness, or to

hope from them what could not be got except from Allâh. Below are examples of Major Shirk;

1- Slaughter Dedicated to Other Than Allah:

It has two types;

First One - Allah, Most High, commands His Prophet, Muhammad (may Peace Be Upon Him) to

inform the polytheists who worship gods beside Allah that his (the Prophets) prayers - both

obligatory and supererogatory - his slaughter of animals, everything which he does in his life,

and the correct beliefs [in Islamic Monotheism] and righteous deeds upon which he will die are

all purely for Allah, Alone, without partners, and that he was the first of this Ummah to submit

himself to the Will of Allah , the Almighty, the All-powerful.

Allah says:

قل إنه صالت ونسكي ومياي ومات لله رب العالمني "Verily, my prayer, my slaughter, my life and my death are [all] for Allah, the Lord of the

worlds. He has no partner: This am I commanded, and I am the first of those who submit"

(Surah Al An’am 6:162-163)

Also Allah says:

وانر فصل لرب ك "Therefore pray to your Lord and slaughter [animals in His Name only]" (Kauther:2)

It is reported from Tariq Ibn Shihab (ra) that the Prophet (May Peace Be upon Him) said:

"A man entered Paradise because of a fly, while another entered the Fire because of a fly."

They asked: "How was that possible, oh, Messenger of Allah (May Peace Be upon Him)?" He

replied: "Two men passed by a people who had an idol, which it was not permissible for anyone

to pass without making a sacrifice to it. They (the people) said to the first man: "Sacrifice

(something)." He said: "I have nothing with which to do so." They said: "Sacrifice some-thing,

even if it were only a fly," and so he did so, and they allowed him to continue on his way and so

he entered the Hell-fire. Then they said to the second man: "Sacrifice (something)." But he

said: "I will not sacrifice anything unless it be to Allah, the Almighty, the All-powerful," so they

struck his neck (and he died) and entered Paradise." (Narrated by Ahmad)

The second type is to slaughter an animal for a party/feast in order to please or honor a guest.

This is permitted and sometime it’s recommended. However, while slaughtering Allah’s name

should be pronounced.

2- Fear of other than Allah

Below are few categories;

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a- Fear found in worship, humbleness and humility, such fear towards anything besides Allah is

not correct. If someone has directed this fear towards anything other than Allah then he has

committed major shirk. Example if someone is having fear of Idols and dead people similar to

fear of Allah.

b- If someone avoids any religious obligation such as struggle in the way of Allah (Jihaad) and

enjoining what is good and forbidding what is wrong because of fear of other than Allah then he

has committed minor shirk and it is outright haraam. This is also the purpose of revelation of

the following verse:

الهذين قال لم النهاس إنه النهاس قد جعوا لكم فاخشوهم Those (i.e. believers) unto whom the people (hypocrites) said, "Verily, the people (pagans)

have gathered against you (a great army), therefore, fear them." [Imran: 173]

And in another place Allah says;

ا ذ لكم الشهيطان يو ف أولياءه فال تافوهم وخافون إن كنتم مؤمنني إمنه It is only Shaitan that instills in you the fear of his Auliya so fear them not, but fear Me, if you

are (true) believers. [Surah Aale Imran: 175]

Those who have weak faith will indulge in such fear and those who have strong faith will not

fear anyone other than Allah SWT.

نة النهاس كعذاب الله ومن النهاس من ي قول آمنها ابلله فإذا أوذي ف الله جعل فت Of mankind are some who say: "We believe in Allah." But if they are made to suffer for the

sake of Allah, they consider the trial of mankind as Allah's punishment; [Surah Al Ankaboot:

10]

On the authority of `A`ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) it is reported that Allah's

Messenger (saas) said: "Whoever seeks Allah's Pleasure at the expense of men's displeasure,

will win Allah's Pleasure and Allah (swt ) will cause men to be pleased with him. And whoever

seeks to please men at the expense of Allah's Displeasure, will win the Displeasure of Allah

(swt) and Allah (swt) will cause men to be displeased with him." (Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his

Saheeh)

c- Natural Fear - such as fear of enemy or monster or fire this kind of fear is valid. Allah says:

ها خائفا يتقهب فخرج من So he escaped from there, looking about in a state of fear. (Surah Al Qasas: 21)

But if this fear is to abandon obligatory act then it is not permitted. Missing the obligatory

prayer because of any fear is not permitted. If someone forced him to do a forbidden act and it

is known to him then such fear also is not permitted because it leads to a forbidden act.

Khashiyat is one of the categories of fear and it’s of two types

1- Only knowledgeable people have Khashiyat Makhshi (reverent fear) of Allah.

من عباده العلماء ا يشى الله إمنهIt is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that have Khasiyat (Makhshi) (reverent

fear) of Allah.

This a Khashiyat Makhshi leads to greatness and elevation in rank

2- The second reason of Khashiyat (fear) is the weakness of someone and not that the one who

is threatening is strong enough to threaten him. Such a fear is not of the above category.

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3- Hoping from other than Allah

Hoping from anyone besides Allah which they are not capable and can’t fulfill is major shirk. E.g

seeking help from dead (grave worship) to remove the difficulties, fulfilling the needs which is

happening now days at the Mazaars (mausoleums /tombs).

قولون ه ؤلء شفعاؤن عند الله وي عبدون من دون الله ما ل يضرهم ول ينفعهم وي And they worship besides Allah things that harm them not, nor profit them, and they say:

"These are our intercessors with Allah." [Yunus: 18]

But hoping some help from someone who is capable of providing it then there is no harm and is

allowed.

Abu Hurayra narrated that when the verse:

وأنذر عشريتك الق ربني "And warn thy nearest kindred" (26:214)

Was revealed, the Prophet said: "O assembly of the Quraysh! Ransom your souls from Allah,

for I can avail you nothing in front of Allah! O sons of `Abd al-Muttalib, I can avail you nothing

in front of Allah! O my uncle Abbas, I can avail you nothing in front of Allah! O my aunt Safiyya,

I can avail you nothing in front of Allah! O my daughter Fatima, ask me what you will from the

belongings of the world, but I can avail you nothing in front of Allah!”

There are many people who do not perform good deeds and instead of asking from Allah they

want to seek refuge of Muhammad SAWS and with his intercession want to be successful.

These are people whom Shaytan had deceived and kept away from the straight path. Such

people follow blindly those who don’t know Shariah very well. So-called scholars are misled by

shaytaan and they mislead common people, those who follow them blindly (Taqleed)

Hum to Dube Hai Sanam Tumhe Bhi Le Dubenge (I am drowning dear, but I will also drown you

with me).

In this connection you must have heard many couplets / poems which eulogize the beliefs of

such misguided people. They believe that Muhammad SAWS is having all powers and he will

convey to Jannah anyone whom he likes. But he does not have that power, if he had that power

then why did he need to fight war with his enemies while he could have defeated his enemies

with that power. Or at least he could have saved himself from physical harm and humiliation

but it didn’t happen.

Anas RA narrated Muhammad SAW’s teeth were broken in the Battle of Uhurd, and at that time

he said how the nation could be successful when its people hurt their messenger and then Allah

reveled this verse.

ليس لك من المر شيء Not for you (O Muhammad) is the decision. (But it is for Allah). Surah Aale Imran: 128

4- Seeking Refuge in Other Than Allah: If one is seeking protection from someone who is not capable and strong enough to provide

then it is forbidden. Allah say;

نس ي عوذون برجال م ن الن ف زادوهم رهقا وأنهه كان رجال م ن الAnd verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the jinn,

but they (jinn) increased them (mankind) in sin and transgression. [Surah Al Jinn: 6]

Allah, Most Glorified, Most High, informs us in this verse that there were men from among the

human race who turned to the men from among the jinn, seeking protection with them, but

18

their supplications only caused to increase the jinn in pride and injustice, and they caused the

jinn to increase mankind in fear and misguidance.

This proves the prohibition of seeking shelter or protection with other than Allah, because doing

so is an act of worship, and dedicating worship to other than Allah is Shirk. Whoever seeks

protection from other than Allah, will be disappointed, and he will be guilty of injustice against

the one who deserves being called upon.

It is reported on the authority of Khawlah Bint Hakeem (may Allah be pleased with her) that

she said: "I heard Allah's Messenger (May Peace Be upon Him) say:”

"Whoever camps at a location and says: ’I seek refuge in the Most Perfect Words of my Rabb,

from the evil of what He has created,’ no harm shall befall him until he departs from that

place." (Narrated by Muslim)

Khawlah Bint Hakeem informs us that the Prophet (may Peace Be Upon Him) has approved as a

sunnah for the Muslims that when they visit a dwelling, they should seek shelter with Allah

rather than with the jinn or others, from the evil of His creatures; and he informed us that

whoever seeks refuge and shelter in the Most Complete and Perfect Words of Allah , which are

free from every defect and imperfection, Allah will be sufficient protection for him from every

evil present in His creatures until he leaves that place.

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "There will be afflictions (in the near future) during

which a sitting person will be better than a standing one, and the standing one will be better

than the walking one, and the walking one will be better than the running one, and whoever will

expose himself to these afflictions, they will destroy him. So whoever can find a place of

protection or refuge from them, should take shelter in it." (Bukhari Book#88 Hadith #202)

Seeking protection from someone who is capable to provide then it is permitted as mentioned

in above hadith. And there are various proofs regarding it.

As per command of Prophet Muhammad SAWS companions moved from Makkah to King of

Habsha and took protection from him who was not a believer at that time.

5- Seeking Aid From Other Than Allah

Seeking aid for matters which are beyond the limit of someone is not permitted and is a sin.

Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) said: One day, I was behind the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi

wa sallam) so he said to me: “O young man, I am going to teach you some words. Be mindful

of Allah, and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him facing you. If you

ask, then ask of Allah. If you seek aid, then seek aid in Allah. Know that if the entire Ummah

(all mankind) were to gather in order to benefit you with something, they could not benefit you

with anything except with that which Allah has written for you. And if the entire Ummah (all

mankind) were to gather in order to harm you with something, they could not harm you with

anything except with what Allah has written against you. The pen has been lifted and the pages

have dried.” [Tirmidhi - Stated as Hadith Hasan Sahih] And in another narration of Tirmidhi it is

stated: “Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. Become acquainted with Allah

in prosperity and He will become acquainted with you in adversity. Know that whatever

surpassed you was not going to reach you, and whatever reached you was not going to surpass

you. Know that help comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship.”

With regard to that which no one can do except Allah, and that which is unique to His Lordship,

such as giving life, causing death, and granting provision. All of that is not to be sought from

anyone except Him, may He be glorified. Whoever seeks help from anyone other than Allah

with regard to such matters has committed shirk (association of others with Allah).

With regard to that which created beings are able to do, there is nothing wrong with asking for

it from those who are able to do it, or seeking their help with regard to it, subject to two

conditions: that the one whose help is sought is alive and present, and that he is able to do that

thing.

19

ف علت فإنهك إذا م ن الظهالمني ول تدع من دون الله ما ل ينفعك ول يضرك فإن And invoke not besides Allah, any such that will neither profit you nor harm you, but if (in case)

you did so, you shall certainly be one of the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers). [Yunus:

106]

مهن يدعو من دون الله من له يستجيب له إل ي وم القيامة وهم عن دعائهم غافلون ومن أضل And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes) besides Allah, such as will not answer

him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to

them? [Surah Al Ahqaf: 5]

وت عاونوا على الب والت هقوى ول ت عاونوا على الث والعدوان Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help

one another in sin and transgression. [Maeda’ah: 2]

على الهذي من عدو ه فاست غاثه الهذي من شيعته The man of his (own) party asked him for help against his foe, [Surah Al Qasas:15]

6- Whoever Seeks Blessing from a Tree, Stone, or Any Such Thing? Allah Says:

ت والعزهى أف رأي تم الالهHave you then considered Al-Lat, and Al-'Uzza (two idols of the pagan Arabs)

ومناة الثهالثة الخرى And Manat (another idol of the pagan Arabs), the other third?

ألكم الذهكر وله النثى Is it for you the males and for Him the females?

تلك إذا قسمة ضيزى That indeed is a division most unfair!

تموها با من سلطان إن ي تهبعون إله الظهنه وما توى النفس و إن هي إله أساء سهي م الدى أنتم وآابؤكم مها أنزل الله لقد جاءهم م ن رهب They are but names which you have named - you and your fathers - for which Allah has sent

down no authority. They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas

there has surely come to them the Guidance from their Lord! [Surah Al Najm: 19-23]

Allah, Most High, reviles all idol-worshipping polytheists in general and in particular, those who

worship the three idols: Al-Laat, the idol of the people of Taa'if, Al-'Uzza, worshipped by the

people of Waadi Nakhlah, and Manaat, the idol of the people of Al-Mushallal, near Al-Qadeed,

and He challenges them concerning these idols: Can they benefit them in any way, by bringing

good or protecting from harm? Or are they simply names which they have given themselves,

not sanctioned by Allah? Allah also reviles their unfair division: That they appoint those whom

they despise, especially the weak females, as children for Allah, the Almighty, the All-powerful,

while they prefer for themselves sons, embodying the characteristics of manliness, strength and

power. That being the case, if this is injustice to women, then how about Allah? Allah is far

above that which they attribute to Him from sons and daughters.

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That they prove that the worship of these idols by the polytheists was a means of seeking

protection from harm; and anyone who seeks blessing from a tree, a grave or worships any

other created thing seeking benefit or protection from harm is imitating them and commits an

act of Shirk like them.

It is reported on the authority of Abu Waqid Al-Laithi (ra) that he said: "We were travelling with

the Prophet (may Peace Be Upon Him) to Hunain, when we had only recently abandoned

disbelief and the polytheists had a lote-tree at which they used to worship and upon which they

used to hang their weapons. They called it: Zaatu Anwaat. So we said to Allah's Messenger

(May Peace Be upon Him):

"Make for us a Zaatu Anwaat like theirs," at which the Messenger of Allah (May Peace Be upon

Him) said: "Allaahu Akbar! Verily, that which you have said - by Him in Whose Hand is my soul

- is the same as was said by the Children of Israel to Moosa: "Make for us a god such as the

gods which they (the polytheist Egyptians) have." Then he (May Peace Be Upon Him) said:

"Verily, you are an ignorant people who will follow the way of those who were before you."

(Narrated by At-Tirmizi, and classed as authentic)

Abu Waaqid Al-Laithi (ra) informs us in this Hadith that he accompanied the Prophet (may

Peace Be Upon Him) on a journey to the Battle of Hunain, and that we (the Companions) knew

that the polytheists had a lote-tree from which they used to seek blessings and at which they

would stay by to worship; and because of the fact that we were new to Islam, and because we

did not fully realize its goals (i.e. to call people to worship Allah swt , Alone), we asked the

Prophet (may Peace Be Upon Him) to designate a tree like it for us that we might also seek

blessings from it and worship in its vicinity like the pagans. At this, the Prophet (may Peace Be

Upon Him) exclaimed, in vexation: "Allaahu Akbar!", then he explained to us that such

ignorance was the same as that displayed by the people of Moosa (as) who asked him to make

for them an idol like those of the pagan Egyptians which they might worship and this was after

Allah had saved them from Fir'aoun and his people. Then he informed us that this Ummah will

do as the Jews and Christians do in everything, including Shirk.

That it proves that taking trees as a source of blessing, and carrying out devotions in their

vicinity is Shirk and it includes every tree, stone or other object of worship from which blessings

are invoked.

It has become very common nowadays for people to invoke blessings by the sweat of the

righteous, or by touching them or their clothes or by their tahneek (chewing of a date by a

religious person before putting it in the mouth of a baby) of children, which they base upon the

action of the Prophet (may Peace Be Upon Him); but this is unacceptable because this was

something purely and solely for him (may Peace Be Upon Him), not a Sunnah for all the

Muslims. His Companions - who were the best of people in following him and implementing his

Sunnah did not do so with each other, either in his lifetime or after his death.

7- Love for Other Than Allah

Love may be divided into mahabbah khaassah (specific love) and mahabbah mushtarakah

(general love).

Mahabbah khaassah (specific love):

Specific love may be divided into types that are halaal and types that are haraam.

Halaal love includes:

(1) Love of Allaah, which is the most important obligation, as it is the basis of Islam. By

perfecting one’s love of Allaah, one perfects one’s faith. If one’s love of Allaah is lacking, then

one’s Tawheed is also lacking. The daleel (evidence) for this is the aayaat (interpretation of the

meaning):

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“. . . But those who believe, love Allaah most of all . . .” [Surah al-Baqarah 2:165]

“Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you

have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight .

. . are dearer to you than Allaah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His cause,

then wait until Allaah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allaah guides not the people

who are faasiqoon (rebellious, disobedient).” [al-Tawbah 9:24]

There are also other similar proofs in the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

Love of Allaah may also take the form of preferring what Allaah loves and wants of His slave to

what the slave himself might love and want. So he loves what Allaah loves, hates what He

hates, takes as friends or regards as enemies for His sake, and adheres to His laws. There is

much that may strengthen this love.

(2) Love of Allaah’s Messenger, which is also one of the most important duties of Islaam.

Indeed, faith is not complete until a person loves the Messenger of Allaah more than he loves

himself, as in the ahaadeeth:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more

beloved to him than his child, his father and all the people.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 44).

‘Abdullaah ibn Hishaam said: “We were with the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he was

holding the hand of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab. ‘Umar said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allaah, you are

dearer to me than everything except my own self.’ The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘No

(that is not right), by the One in Whose hand is my soul, until I am dearer to you than your

own self.’ ‘Umar said to him, ‘Now, by Allaah, you are dearer to me than my own self.’ The

Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Now (you are right), O ‘Umar.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari,

no. 6632).

This love is part of loving Allaah and is manifested by following the Prophet (peace be upon

him) and preferring his opinion over that of others.

(3) Love of the Prophets and the believers. This is obligatory because loving Allaah dictates that

one should love the people who obey Him, in other words the Prophets and righteous people.

The daleel (evidence) for this is the hadeeth “Whoever loves for the sake of Allaah and hates

for the sake of Allaah, gives for the sake of Allaah and withholds for the sake of Allaah, will

have perfected his faith”. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood

Obedience to Allaah is based on love of Allaah. Faith cannot be perfected except in this way,

even if one has a lot of prayer and fasting to one’s credit. As ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: “You

have seen us at the time of the Messenger of Allaah: none of us would think that he had more

right to his own money than his Muslim brother.”

Forbidden love:

This includes love which constitutes shirk, which is when a person loves something instead of

Allaah or as much as Him. In such a case he has taken that thing as a rival to Allaah. This is the

shirk of love, and most people have taken things as rivals to Allaah in love and glorification.

There are also types of forbidden love which do not go to the extent of shirk, such as loving

one’s family, wealth, tribe, business or house, and preferring those things, in whole or in part,

over doing the duties that Allaah requires of him, such as hijrah (migration for His sake),

jihaad, etc. The daleel (evidence) for this is the aayah quoted above (“Say: If your fathers,

your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the

commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight . . . are dearer to

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you than Allaah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His cause, then wait until

Allaah brings about His Decision (torment).” [Surah Al-Tawbah 9:24])

Mahabbah mushtarakah (general love):

General love is of three types:

(1) Natural love, such as the love of a hungry person for food, or a thirsty person for water.

This does not involve any kind of glorification, so it is permissible.

(2) Love based on mercy and pity, such as the love of a father for his small child. This also

involves no kind of glorification, so there is nothing wrong with it.

(3) Love based on acquaintance and friendship, such as that between those who share a

common profession, or scholars in the same field, or people one meets on a daily basis (such as

fellow-commuters), or people one does business with, or travelling-companions. This type of

appropriate love between people, or brotherly love, does not imply shirk or associating anyone

else in one’s love for Allaah.

ومن النهاس من ي تهخذ من دون الله أندادا يبونم كحب الله And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They

love them as they love Allah. [Surah Al Baqarah: 165]

ارة تشون كسادها ومساكن ت رضونا أحبه إليكم م ن الله ورسوله قل إن كان آابؤكم وأب ناؤكم وإخوانكم وأزواجكم وعشريتكم وأموال اقتف تموها وت ل ي هدي القوم الفاسقني هاد ف وج بمره والله سبيله فتبهصوا حىته يت الله

Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you

have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight

are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause,

then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who

are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah). [Tawbah: 24]

There are four kinds of love, which we must differentiate between, and those who go astray do

so because they do not make this distinction. The first of them is love of Allah, but this alone is

not sufficient to save a person from the punishment of Allah and to earn him His reward. The

Mushrikeen (idolaters), worshippers of the cross, Jews and others all love Allah. The second is

love of that which Allah loves. This is what brings a person into Islam and out of disbelief. The

most beloved of people to Allah is the one who is most correct and most devoted in this kind of

love. The third kind is love for the sake of Allah, which is one of the essentials of loving that

which Allah loves. A person’s love of that which Allah loves cannot be complete until he also

loves for the sake of Allah. The fourth is love for something alongside Allah, and this love has to

do with shirk (paganism). Everyone who loves things alongside Allah but not for the sake of

Allah has taken that thing as a rival to Allah. This is the love of the Mushrikeen (pagan). There

remains a fifth kind of love which has nothing to do with our topic; this is the natural love which

is a person’s inclination towards that which suits his nature, such as the love of a thirsty person

for water or of a hungry person for food, or the love of sleep, or of one’s wife and children.

There is nothing wrong with this unless it distracts a person from remembering Allah and keeps

him from loving Him. Allah says (interpretation of the meanings):

“Oh you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance

of Allah” [63:9]

“Men whom neither trade nor sale (business) diverts from the remembrance of Allah” [24:37]

The difference between loving for the sake of Allah and loving something alongside Allah is one

of the most important distinctions. Everyone needs to make this distinction and is indeed

obliged to do so. Loving for the sake of Allah is a sign of the perfection of faith, but loving

something alongside Allah is the essence of shirk (paganism). The difference between them is

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that a person’s love for the sake of Allah is connected to his love of Allah; if this love becomes

strong in his heart, this love dictates that he will love that which Allah loves. If he loves that

which his Lord loves and he loves those who are the friends of Allah, this is love for the sake of

Allah. So he loves His Messengers, Prophets, angels and close friends because Allah loves them,

and he hates those who hate them because Allah hates those people. The sign of the love and

hatred for the sake of Allah is that his hatred for the one whom Allah hates will not turn into

love merely because that person treats him kindly, does him a service or meets some need he

has; and his love for those whom Allah loves will not turn to hatred simply because that person

does something that upsets or hurts him, whether it is done by mistake or deliberately, in

obedience to Allah or because the person feels that he has a duty to do it for some reason, or

because the person is a wrongdoer who may yet give up his wrongdoing and repent. The entire

religion revolves around four principles: love and hatred, and stemming from them, action and

abstinence. The person whose love and hatred, action and abstinence, are all for the sake of

Allah, has perfected his faith so that when he loves, he loves for the sake of Allah, when he

hates, he hates for the sake of Allah, when he does something, he does it for the sake of Allah,

and when he abstains from something, he abstains for the sake of Allah. To the extent that he

is lacking in these four categories, he is lacking in faith and commitment to religion. This is in

contrast to the love of things alongside Allah, which is of two types. One is diametrically

opposed to the principle of Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and is shirk; the other is opposed to

perfection of sincerity and love towards Allah, but does not put a person beyond the pale of

Islam.

The first kind is like the love of the Mushrikeen for their idols and gods. Allah says

(interpretation of the meaning):

“And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They

love them as they love Allah” [2:165]

These Mushrikeen love their idols and gods alongside Allah as they love Allah. This love and

devotion is accompanied by fear, hope, worship and supplication. This love is pure Shirk which

Allah does not forgive. Faith cannot be perfected unless a person regards these idols as

enemies and hates them intensely, and hates the people who worship them, and regards them

as enemies and strives against them. This is the message with which Allah sent all His

Messengers and revealed all His Books. He created Hell for the people of shirk who love these

rivals, and He created Paradise for those who strive against them and take them as enemies for

His sake and to earn His Pleasure. Anybody who worships anything from the vicinity of the

Throne to the lowest depths of the earth and takes a god and a supporter besides Allah and

associates other beings in worship with Him, will be disowned by the object of his worship when

he is most in need of it [i.e., on the Day of Judgement].

The second kind is love for the things which Allah has made attractive to people, such as

women, children, gold, and silver, branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. People

love them with a kind of desire, like the love of the hungry person for food and the thirsty

person for water. This love is of three kinds. If a person loves them for the sake of Allah and as

a means of obeying Allah, he will be rewarded for that; it will be counted as a part of love for

the sake of Allah and a means of reaching Him, and he will still find enjoyment in them. This is

how the best of creation [i.e. the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)] was, to

whom women and perfume were made dear in this world, and his love for them helped him to

love Allah more and to convey His Message and fulfil His commands. If a person loves them

because they suit his nature and his own desires, but he does not give them preference over

that which Allah loves and is pleased with, and he gets them because of his natural inclination,

then they come under the heading of things which are permissible, and he will not be punished

for that, but his love of Allah and for the sake of Allah will be lacking somewhat. If his sole

purpose in life is to get these things, and he gives priority to that over that which Allah loves

and is pleased with, then he is wronging himself and following his own desires.

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8- Offering Vow on the Shrine, distributing food on Shrine, slaughtering animal and venerate grave

Du’aa too is a form of worship. Therefore, to visit graves to make Du’aa for oneself believing

that Du’aa is more acceptable at the graves of the righteous is also taking graves as places of

worship.

During the early era of Islam visiting graves was prohibited. The reason behind this prohibition

was that Shirk originated among the previous nations with the veneration of righteous people

and their graves. To avoid confusion and misguidance, visiting graves was only made

permissible when the Sahabah (radhi allahu anhu) thoroughly understood the Islamic concept

of Tawheed (Allah’s Oneness). Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “I used to

forbid you from visiting graves, but now you should visit them, for surely they are reminders of

the next life.” – So whoever wishes to visit may do so, but don’t say anything false.

The visitor may be reminded of his death and the Hereafter. Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi

wa-sallam) said: “I used to forbid you from visiting graves, but now you should visit them, for

surely they are reminders of the next life.” [Muslim]

The visitor may benefit the deceased by making Du’aa for him. The wordings of this Du’aa is,

“Peace be upon the Believers and Muslims among the inhabitants of these dwellings. May Allah

have mercy on those who have gone ahead of us, and those following us. And we shall, Allah-

willing, be joining you.” [Muslim]

Sahih Muslim Number 1080: Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon

him) said: Let Allah destroy the Jews for they have taken the graves of their apostles as places

of worship.

Hadith says: The Messenger of Allah may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O Allah!

Do not make my grave an idol that is worshipped. The anger on those who took the graves of

their Prophets as places of prostration was terrible." [Related by Ahmad (no. 7352,)Mawatta

Book 9, Number 9.24.88]

Sahih Muslim Number 1079: Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him)

said during his illness from which he never recovered: Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians

that they took the graves of their prophets as mosques. She ('A'isha) reported: Had it not been

so, his (Prophet's) grave would have been in an open place, but it could not be due to the fear

that it may not be taken as a mosque.”

Sahih Muslim Chapter 200: IT IS FORBIDDEN TO PLASTER THE GRAVE OR CONSTRUCTING

ANYTHING OVER IT Book 004, Number 2116. Jabir said: Allah's Messenger (May peace be upon

him) forbade that the graves should be plastered or they be used as sitting places (for the

people), or a building should be built over them.

9- A Vow to Another besides Allah (SWT)

Definition of Vow: An act which someone is making binding on himself in order to please Allah

SWT. It has three types;

1- A Vow to Another besides Allah – Like someone make a vow that if his work is completed

successfully then he will sacrifice an animal on the grave of Awliya. Such kind of vow is a sin

and major shirk. Repentance shall be done and completing such a vow is not permitted. Allah

says:

ي علمه وما أنفقتم م ن ن هفقة أو نذرت م ن نهذر فإنه الله

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And whatever you spend for spending (e.g., in Sadaqah - charity for Allah's Cause) or whatever

vow you make, be sure Allah knows it all. [Baqarah: 270]

This is why fulfillment of a vow is considered to be an act of worship, and dedicating an act of

worship to other than Allah (SWT) is an act of Shirk.

Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet said, "Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should

remain obedient to Him; and whoever made a vow that he will disobey Allah, should not

disobey Him." (Bukhari Book #78, Hadith #687)

This proves the obligation to fulfill one's vow so long as it does not entail disobedience to Allah

(SWT). This means that fulfilling a vow is an act of worship, and dedicating an act of worship to

other than Allah (SWT) is Shirk.

2- Second type is to make a vow for committing the bad deeds. For example if a person takes

an oath to disobey parents, drink alcohol or do any bad deeds then in such case completing the

vow is a sin. He has to break his vow and offer compensation (kaffarah) whereas there is no

compensation kaffarah of vow taken for Allah because it needs to be fulfilled.

3- Third type is vow of obedience, in this case a person makes a vow on absolute basis like he

will fast for 3 days or conditional vow like if he will be successful then he will spend 100 riyals in

charity. In both the cases implementing the vow is obligatory rather Allah has praised those

who complete their vow. Allah says;

يوفون ابلنهذر ويافون ي وما كان شره مستطريا They (are those who) fulfil (their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil will be wide-spreading.

[Dahr/Insaan: 7]

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: The Prophet forbade the making of vows and said, "It (a vow)

does not prevent anything (that has to take place), but the property of a miser is extracted

with it." (Bukhari Book #78, Hadith #684)

Therefore it is not a good thing and some scholars have declared it Haraam because a person

who makes it does not completely rely on Allah SWT and believes that without spending in

charity he will not get what he wants. Such people make a vow when they are disappointed and

feel there is no other way left therefore such vow is forbidden or highly disliked but to fulfill is

obligatory.

10- Intercession besides Allah (SWT)

Intercession means mediating for someone else to gain some benefit or ward off some harm.

It refers to those whom they worshipped among the angels, righteous people and others, and

intending that they would intercede for them with Allaah.

Contemporary mushrikoon say “the awliya’ (‘saints’) intercede for us; we cannot ask of Allaah

(directly) so we ask them and they ask of Allaah.” And they say that the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) and all the Prophets and righteous people were given the

power of intercession, and we call upon them and say, intercede for us as Allaah has given you

the power of intercession.

ما ن عبدهم إله لي قر بون إل الله زلفى We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah. [Zumar: 3]

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إنهكم وما ت عبدون من دون الله حصب جهنهم أنتم لا واردون Certainly you (disbelievers) and that which you are worshipping now besides Allah, are (but)

fuel for Hell! (Surely), you will enter it. [Surah Al Ambiya: 98]

يعا قل لل ه الشهفاعة جSay: "To Allah belongs all intercession.” [Surah Al Zumar: 44]

In the same way, they give the example of kings in this world, and say that the kings of this

world can only be approached through intercession; if you need something, you go to their

friends and those who are close to them, their ministers, gatekeepers, servants, etc., to

intercede for you so that the king can deal with your matter; so we reach Allaah by approaching

and asking His awliyaa’ and the Sayyids who are close to Him. By doing this they fall into the

same shirk as those who came before them, and they compare the Creator to His creation.

Intercession is of two types:

The first type: intercession that will take place in the Hereafter, on the Day of Resurrection.

The second type: intercession concerning matters of this world.

With regard to the intercession that will take place in the Hereafter, it is of two types:

The first type: exclusive intercession, which will be granted only to the Messenger (peace and

blessings of Allah be upon him), and no one else in creation will have a share in that with him.

This is of various kinds:

1 – The greater intercession. This is the station of praise and glory (al-maqaam al-

mahmood) which Allah has promised to him, when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

And in some parts of the night (also) offer the Salaat (prayer) with it (i.e. recite the Qur’aan in

the prayer) as an additional prayer (Tahajjud optional prayer Nawaafil) for you (O Muhammad).

It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaam Mahmood (a station of praise and glory, i.e.,

the honour of intercession on the Day of Resurrection). [Surah Al-Isra’ 17:79]

What this intercession means is that he will intercede for all of mankind when Allah delays the

Reckoning and they have waited for so long in the place of gathering on the Day of

Resurrection. Their distress and anxiety will reach a point where they can no longer bear it, and

they will say, “Who will intercede for us with our Lord so that He will pass judgement amongst

His slaves?” and they will wish to leave that place. So the people will come to the Prophets,

each of whom will say, “Nafsee Nafsee (today I fear for myself, today I fear for myself),” until

when they come to our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he will say,

“Ummatee Ummatee (My Ummah, my Ummah).” So he will intercede for them, that judgement

may be passed. This is the greater intercession, and it is one of the things that belong

exclusively to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

There are many ahaadeeth which speak of this intercession, in al-Saheehayn and elsewhere,

such as the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (1748) from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah

be pleased with him): “The people will fall on their knees on the Day of Resurrection, each

nation following its Prophet, saying, ‘O So and so, intercede!’ until intercession is granted to the

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). On that Day Allah will resurrect him to a

station of praise and glory.”

2 – Intercession for the people of Paradise to enter Paradise.

It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) said: ‘I will come to the gate of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection and

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will ask for it to be opened. The gatekeeper will say, “Who are you?” I will say, “Muhammad.”

He will say, “I was commanded not to open it for anyone before you.”’” (Narrated by Muslim,

333).

According to another report narrated by Muslim (332), “I will be the first one to intercede

concerning Paradise.”

3 – The intercession of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for his uncle

Abu Taalib:

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) that mention was

made of his uncle Abu Taalib in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him). He said, “Perhaps my intercession will benefit him on the Day of

Resurrection, and he will be placed in a shallow part of the Fire which will come up to his ankles

and cause his brains to boil.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1408; Muslim, 360).

The second type: general intercession. This will be granted to the Messenger (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) and others – angels, Prophets and righteous people – will

share in it as Allaah wills. This is of various kinds:

1 – Intercession for some people who have entered Hell that they might be brought forth from

it. There is a great deal of evidence for this, for example:

The marfoo’ hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) in Saheeh

Muslim (269): “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, none of you can be more insistent in

asking Allah to restore his rights against his opponent than the believers who will ask Allah, on

the Day of Resurrection, (to grant them the power of intercession) for their brothers who are in

the Fire. They will say, ‘Our Lord, they used to fast with us and pray and perform Hajj.’ It will

be said to them, ‘Bring out those whom you recognize, so the Fire will be forbidden to burn

them.’ So they will bring out many people… And Allah will say: ‘The angels have interceded,

and the Prophets have interceded, and the believers have interceded. There is none left but the

Most Merciful of those who show mercy.’ Then He will seize a handful of the Fire and bring forth

from it people who never did anything good.”

2 – Intercession for people who deserve Hell, that they may not enter it. This may be

indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “There is no

Muslim who dies and forty men who associate nothing with Allah pray the funeral prayer for

him, but Allah will accept their intercession for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1577). For this

intercession happens before the deceased enters Hell, and Allah will accept their intercession

concerning that.

3 – Intercession for some of the believers who deserve Paradise, that they may be

raised in status in Paradise. For example, Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated

(1528) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed for Abu Salamah

and said: “O Allah, forgive Abu Salamah and raise his status among those who are guided, and

take good care of his family that he has left behind. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the Worlds,

make his grave spacious for him and illuminate it for him.”

Conditions of this intercession:

The evidence indicates that intercession in the Hereafter will only happen if the following

conditions are met:

1) Allaah must approve of the one for whom intercession is made, because Allaah says

(interpretation of the meaning):

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“And they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased” [Surah Al-Anbiya, 21:28]

This implies that the one for whom intercession is made must be a believer in Tawheed,

because Allaah is not pleased with the mushrikeen. In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (97) it is narrated

from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: “It was said, ‘O Messenger

of Allaah, who will be the most blessed of people by your intercession of the Day of

Resurrection?’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I

thought, O Abu Hurayrah, that no one would ask me about this hadeeth before you, because I

have seen how keen you are to learn hadeeth. The people who will be most blessed by my

intercession on the Day of Resurrection are those who say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah sincerely from

the heart.’”

2) Allaah must give permission to the intercessor to intercede, because Allaah says:

من ذا الهذي يشفع عنده إله بذنه “Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission?” [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255]

3) Allaah must approve of the intercessor, because Allaah says:

لمن يشاء و ئا إله من ب عد أن يذن الله ي رضى وكم م ن مهلك ف السهماوات ل ت غن شفاعت هم شي “…whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allaah has given leave for whom He wills

and is pleased with” [al-Najm 53:26]

And the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has stated that those who

curse much will not be intercessors on the Day of Resurrection, as Muslim narrated in his

Saheeh (4703) that Abu’l-Darda’ (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “I heard the

Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Those who curse much

will not be witnesses or intercessors on the Day of Resurrection.’”

The second type of intercession is that which has to do with matters of this world.

This is of two types:

1 – That which is within a person’s ability to do something. This is permissible, subject to

two conditions:

1) That it should have to do with a permissible thing. It is not correct to intercede

concerning something that will result in the loss of people’s rights or in wrong being done to

them. It is also not correct to intercede concerning something that is haraam, such as those

who intercede concerning those who deserve the hadd punishment, asking that it not be carried

out on them. Allaah says:

Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help

one another in sin and transgression. [Surah Al-Maa’idah 5:2]

According to a hadeeth narrated by ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), Quraysh were

concerned about a Makhzoomi woman who had stolen, and they said, “Who will speak to the

Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning her? Who better

than Usaamah, the beloved of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him)?” So Usaamah spoke to him, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) said, “Are you interceding concerning one of the hadd punishments prescribed by

Allaah?” Then he stood up and addressed the people, and said, “O people, those who came

before you were only destroyed because if one of their nobles stole they would let him off but if

one of the weak stole they would carry out the punishment on him. By Allaah, if Faatimah the

daughter of Muhammad were to steal, I would cut off her hand.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,

3261; Muslim, 3196).

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In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (5568) and Saheeh Muslim (4761) it is narrated that Abu Moosa (may

Allaah be pleased with him) said that if someone came with a need to the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he would turn to those who were sitting with him

and say, “Intercede, and you will be rewarded, and Allaah will decree what He wills through the

lips of His Messenger.”

2) In his heart, the person must depend on Allaah alone to realize his aim and ward off

what is disliked. He should know that this intercessor is no more than a means which Allaah has

permitted to us, and that benefit and harm are in the hand of Allaah alone. This meaning is

expressed clearly in the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him).

If either of these two conditions is not met, then the intercession is not allowed.

2 – That which is not within a person’s ability to do something, such as seeking

intercession from the dead and occupants of graves, or from a living person who is absent,

believing that he is able to hear and meet one’s need. This is the kind of intercession that

constitutes shirk, which is clearly forbidden in many verses of the Qur’aan and ahaadeeth from

the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because it ascribes to them attributes

which belong only to the Creator, for He is the Ever-living who never dies.

Their specious argument is that the awliya’ (“saints”) and Sayyids intercede for their relatives

and for those who call on them and take them as friends and love them, and because of that

they ask them for intercession. This is exactly what Allaah described the early mushrikeen as

doing, when they said, “These are our intercessors with Allaah” [Surah Al Yoonus 10:18]

فما تنفعهم شفاعة الشهافعني So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them. [Surah Al-Muddaththir 74:48]

From the above it is clear to every fair-minded person that the correct kind of intercession is

intercession that depends on the permission and approval of Allaah, because all intercession

belongs to Him. That also includes asking for intercession from living people who are able to do

that concerning worldly matters, for which Allaah has granted permission. It should be pointed

out here that this kind of intercession is permitted because Allaah has given permission for it,

since it involves no kind of emotional attachment to the person, rather the point is that it is a

means, like all other means which Islam permits us to use. The kind of intercession which is

forbidden is asking someone other than Allaah to do something that no one is able to do except

Allaah, because intercession belongs to no one besides Allaah, and no one can do it unless

Allaah grants him leave and approves of him. So whoever seeks intercession from anyone else

has transgressed upon the exclusive preserve of Allaah and has wronged himself, and has

exposed himself to being deprived of the intercession of the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) on the Day of Resurrection.

11- Invocation (Duaa) besides Allah

Islam teaches that the only Being to whom prayers and Du’aa have to be directed is Allah.

Directing one’s prayer and Du’aa to any being other than Allah is Shirk or polytheism, and Shirk

is the worst of sins committed against Allah

Visiting graves for the purpose of calling upon their occupants, seeking their help, offering

sacrifices to them and making vows to them. This is forbidden and is a major form of Shirk

(shirk akbar). Connected to this is the practice of visiting graves to offer du'aa', perform salaah

and read Qur'aan there. This is all bid'ah and is not prescribed in Islam.

م الوسيلة أي هم أق رب وي رجون رمحته وياف ت غون إل رب ون عذابه أول ئك الهذين يدعون ي ب

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Those whom they call upon [like 'Îsa (Jesus) - son of Maryam (Mary), 'Uzair (Ezra), angels]

desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah), as to which of them should be the

nearest; and they ['Îsa (Jesus), 'Uzair (Ezra), angels and others] hope for His Mercy and fear

His Torment. [Israa: 57]

لكون من قطمري والهذين تدعون من دونه ما ي And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmir (the thin

membrane over the date-stone). [Surah Al Faatir, verse 13]

عوا ما استجابوا لكم وي وم القيامة يكفرون بشرككم ول ي نب ئك مثل خبري إن تدعوهم ل يسمعوا دعاءكم ولو س If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in case) they were to hear,

they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown

your worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad Peace be upon Him) like Him

who is the knower (of everything). [Surah Al Faatir : verse 14]

With regard to asking a righteous person to make du'aa' for you when he is still alive - this is

permissible, because there is the hope that his du'aa' may be answered because of his

righteousness. The evidence for this is:

(a) It was reported from 'Uthmaan ibn Haneef (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a blind

man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: "Pray to Allaah

to heal me." He said, "If you wish, I will pray for you, and if you wish, I will delay that, and that

will be better." (According to another report: "If you wish, be patient - that will be better for

you.") He said, "Pray for me." So he commanded him to do wudoo' and to do it well, and to

pray two rak'ahs…" (Narrated by Ahmad, 4/138; al-Tirmidhi, 5/569; Ibn Maajah, 1/441; it is a

saheeh hadeeth).

(b) It was reported that Anas said: whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him) was giving the khutbah (sermon) on Friday, a man stood up and said, "O Messenger of

Allaah, the horses have died and the sheep have died. Pray to Allaah to give us rain." So he

spread his hands and prayed (made du'aa'). (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 890; Muslim, 897).

If a wali or Prophet dies, it is not correct, according to the sharee'ah, to ask him to make du'aa'

for you, because he has been cut off from this world. This is a kind of shirk which is not

committed by any of the righteous people of this Ummah, the Sahaabah and those who follow

them.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes) besides Allâh, such as will not answer

him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to

them? And when mankind are gathered (on the Day of Resurrection), they (false deities) will

become their enemies and will deny their worshipping. [Surah Al-Ahqaaf, verse 5-6]

Allaah has commanded all people to pray to Him and call on Him, and He has commanded them

all to say (interpretation of the meaning):

"You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). [Surah

Al-Faatihah, verse 5].

And He has told us that the Mushrikeen say:

We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allaah. [Surah Al-Zumar 39, verse 3]

And Du'a (supplication) is undoubtedly a part of worship, as Ibn Abbas said, "the best forms of

worship is the du'a" [Munthir and Ibn Haakim].

To Allah belongs certain rights, among these including to slaughter in His Name, to prostrate

before no one but Him, and to direct Du'a to no one but Him. In this regard, the scholar Ibn

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Rajab said: "Know that it is an obligation to invoke Allah Alone in Du`a, and not His creation...

Admitting (and showing) humility and meekness can only be revealed to Allah, Alone, for this is

the essence of worship."

Ibnul Qayyim said: "And from the types of Shirk, requesting needs from the dead, and

Istighaathah from them and direction (of the call) to them, and this is the original of the Shirk

of Mankind. Since the dead has his deeds cut off from him, and he cannot cause upon himself

any good nor bad, let alone whoever seeks help from him, or asked him to seek intercession

from Allah on his behalf. "

Calling upon the dead represents a hollow attempt to seek help from a creature who can benefit

the caller nothing. Allah Says: "If you call upon them, they hear not your call, and if (in case)

they were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of

Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them" [35: 14]

The argument of the Quraish was similar to that of today's people: they only invoked their idols

as a means or intermediary towards reaching Allah "We only worship them so that they may

bring us closer to Allah." [39: 3]. Similarly, the Walis (saints) and Sheikhs and prophets are still

called upon by those seeking need, in the hope that they could fulfil their needs. Yet this

practice was never done by the Companions nor their predecessors, but rather was done by

Hindus and other polytheists who Muslims came in contact with during later conquests.

The ways of the Prophets was to call Mankind to the worship of Allah, to seek His Help in every

way, for He is the All-Hearer and All-Seer: "And when My slaves ask you concerning Me, then

(say) I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So

let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led a right." [2: 186].

12- Completely Trusting (Tawakkul) besides Allah

Tawakkul is a light for our hearts and a means for us to seek nearness towards Allah (SWT) in a

manner that absolutely nothing else can achieve. The essence of this quality of the heart is built

upon two very important pillars: dependence upon Allah and trust in Allah.

The Prophet stated “If you had all relied on Allah (SWT) as you should rely on Him, then He

would have provided for you as He provides for the birds, who wake up hungry in the morning

and return with full stomachs at dusk.” [At-Tirmidhi]

We may often trust a person, without necessarily depending upon them, and likewise we may

depend upon a person without fully trusting them. However when it comes to Our Lord (SWT),

both exist simultaneously in perfection.

Have full Tawakkul (trust) in Allah (SWT) and never belittle that trust. For the trust we have in

Allah is a path to success and a means to achieving victory. Never lose hope and always

remember that the situation of a true believer is always one of goodness: For when they are

granted a blessing from Allah (SWT) they praise Him and due to that they are rewarded and

their blessings increase and when a calamity strikes they patiently persevere, and as a result of

which they are rewarded and granted something better than what they lost.

Put your trust in Allah. Allah loves those that trust in Him. [Surah Aale-Imraan 3: verse 159]

Know that Allah (SWT) is pleased with those servants who persevere and He (SWT) loves those

that trust in Him. Build a strong foundation of trust and allow for it to accompany you in all that

you do. For it is a quality that will remain sufficient for you in the matters of this world, your

deen (religion) and in the Aakhira (hereafter).

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And give good news to those who persevere, those who say, when a misfortune strikes them,

“Surely to Allah we belong, and surely to Him we will return”, these are the ones on whom

blessings from their Lord descend, and mercy, and these are the ones who are rightly guided.

[Surah Al-Baqarah 2: verse 155-157]

Let us take a moment to ponder over one ayah in the Qur’an, yes, just one ayah

ك نستعني ك ن عبد وإيه إيهYou Alone we worship and You Alone we ask for help. [Surah al-Faatihah: verse 5]

This ayah clearly establishes the tawakkul of the believer. Some of the Salaf (early believers)

have said, “Al-Faatihah is the essence of the Qur’an, while these words are the essence of Al-

Faatihah.” So how can we stand before Allah day in and day out, uttering such perfect words of

tawakkul, and yet not sincerely mean them? For belief, undoubtedly, must be followed by

action.

Our Lord (SWT) With His Hikmah, Love and Rahmah knows exactly what is good for us, so let

us not be amongst the sinful servants of Allah (SWT) who suspect Him of wrongdoing. So the

next time you stand before Allah (SWT) and consult Him in your affairs, don’t think He’ll give

you what is good for you; know with certainty that He (SWT) will:

Say: "Nothing will befall us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is our Protector. In Allah

let the believers put their trust." [Surah At-Tawbah: 51]

13- Bad Omens

What is proven in the Sunnah is that it is forbidden to believe in bad omens (tatayyur) or warn

others about them, and that this is a kind of shirk. For example, al-Bukhaari (5776) and Muslim

(2224) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no ‘adwa (transmission of infectious disease

without the permission of Allaah) and no tiyarah (superstitious belief in bird omens), but I like

optimism.” They said, “What is optimism?” He said, “A good word.”

Ahmad (4194), Abu Dawood (3910), al-Tirmidhi (1614) and Ibn Maajah (3538) narrated that

‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him) said: “Tiyarah (belief in evil omens) is shirk.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh

Abi Dawood.

Allah the Most Exalted said: "Verily, their evil omens are with Allah but most of them know

not". (7:131)

Allah the Most Exalted said: "They (Messengers) said: Your evil omens be with you! (Do you

call it "evil omen") because you are admonished? Nay, but you are a people Musrifun

(transgressing all bounds by committing all kinds of great sins, and by disobeying Allah".

)36:19(

Ahmad (7045) and al-Tabaraani narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said: The Messenger of

Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever lets tiyarah stop him from

doing something is guilty of shirk.” They said, “What is the kafaarah for that?” He said, “To say:

Allaahumma la khayra illaa khayruka wa laa tayra illaa tayruka wa laa ilaaha ghayruka (O

Allaah, there is no good except Your good, no birds (omens) except from You, and there is no

god beside You).” [Classed as hasan by al-Arna’oot and as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-

Jaami’, no. 6264]

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Al-Tabaraani narrated in al-Kabeer from ‘Imraan ibn Husayn that the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “He is not one of us who practices augury

[seeking omens in birds] or has that done for him, or who practices divination [seeking omens

in arrows] or has that done for him, or who practices witchcraft or has that done for him.”

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 5435.

With valid Isnad, Abu Dawud reported that Uqbah bin Aamir (May Allah be pleased with him)

said:

At-Tiyarah (taking bad omens) was once mentioned before Allah's Messenger (May the peace

and blessing of Allah be upon him) and he (May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him)

said, "The best form of it is Al-Fa'l (optimism or the expectation that an event will occur by

Allah's Permission). It does not prevent a Muslim from his object. Whenever any of you sees

something he dislikes he should pray: 'O Lord, none but You bring good things! None but you

prevent evil things! There is no power and no strength except in You" '.

It is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) in a Marfu` Hadith: "At-Tiyarah

is Shirk, At-Tiyarah is Shirk. There is none among us who does not feel something in his heart

about At­Tiyarah. But Allah, due to deep trust in Him, removes it".

QUESTIONS

1. What is Major Shirk? What is its ruling? Give 3 examples?

2. What is the ruling of sacrificing animal beside Allah SWT? Explain in detail?

3. From below sentences Identify the correct one also correct the wrong one?

a. Celebrating Eid e Milaad is from rights of Nabi Muhammad SAWS (---------------)

b. Seeking refuge from Jins is prohibited because it will not benefit rather it

increases fear (---------------)

c. Laat: was name of pious person. Uzza: was an Idol situated between Makkah &

Taif. Mannat: was an Idol situated between Makkah & Madinah (---------------)

1. Match the following

Love of Worship Taking bad omen by looking or listening

something

Offering Sacrifice Vow, animal sacrifice and eating and distribution

Vow Taking intercession for benefiting someone or

saving from loss

Bad Omen This is the thing which makes obligatory

2. Fill in the blank and complete the sentence.

a. To slaughter animal for the party purpose when guest comes is ________ and

sometime its __________.

b. There is no Muslim who dies and ____ men who associate nothing with Allah pray

the funeral prayer for him, but Allah will accept their intercession for him

c. If you had all _____ on Allah (SWT) as you should ______ on Him, then He

would have provided for you as He provides for the _______, who wake up

hungry in the morning and return with full stomachs at dusk

d. There is no ‘adwa’ (transmission of infectious disease without the permission of

Allaah) and no ___________

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SR# Topic Page#

1 Deviations in human life 3

2 Monotheism (Tawheed) is nature 3

3 When deviation occurred from Monotheism in human history 3

4 The cause of the disaster 4

5 To completely protect monotheism, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) closed all the ways leading to Polytheism (Shirk)

6

6 Prohibition of extremes 6

7 Prohibition of building mosques over graves 7

8 Prohibition of visiting the Prophet’s PBUH grave frequently and holding Urs and festivals over it

8

9 Prohibition of imitation of Kuffaar 8

10 Prohibition of making pictures, monuments and statues of living things having souls

8

11 Prohibition of using words of shirk 9

12 Prohibition of taking blessings / relics (Tabarruk) via Trees and Stones

9

13 Tabarruk is of two types 1) Permitted tabarruk 9

14 2) Prohibited type of Tabarruk 10

15 Importance of Monotheism (Tawheed) 12

16 Commentary of Tawheed and testimony of la ilaha illallah 12

17 Shirk and its explanation 14

18 Polytheism (Shirk) is the biggest sin 14

19 Types of Shirk 1) Major Shirk & 2) Minor Shirk 14

20 Major Shirk Examples 1) Slaughter Dedicated to Other Than Allah 16

21 2) Fear of other than Allah 17

22 3) Hope of receiving benefits other than Allah 18

23 4) Seeking Refuge in Other Than Allah 19

24 5) Seeking Aid From Other Than Allah 20

25 6) Whoever Seeks Blessing from a Tree, Stone, or Any Such Thing 21

26 7) Love for Other Than Allah 22

27 8) Offering a Vow at a Shrine, distributing food on Shrines, slaughtering animals and venerate graves

25

28 9) A Vow to Another besides Allah (SWT) 26

29 10) Intercession besides Allah (SWT) 27

30 11) Invocation (Duaa) besides Allah 32

31 12) Completely Trusting (Tawakkul) besides Allah 34

32 13) Bad Omens 35