Shirk

Invitation to ISLAMIC MONOTHEISM After the creation of Adam, just one original message has been repeatedly delivered to mankind. Thus, to remind people about it and bring them back on track, many prophets and messengers including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed (peace be upon all) were sent by the only true God to convey this original message, which is summarized as follows. THE TRUE GOD IS ONE WORSHIP HIM ALONE AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS God sent messengers and prophets to accomplish several tasks and missions, some of which are: 1. To receive guidance from God and deliver it to their people. 2. To convey the message that ''GOD IS ONE" to their people. 3. To be good examples to their people. 4. To instruct their people to fear God and keep His commandments. 5. To teach their followers important things like religious and moral matters. 6. To Guide those who deviated, disobeyed God, or worshipped other gods or idols. 7. To tell people about their final destination (the Last Day) and what leads to Paradise or Hellfire Unfortunately, some of the practices prevalent among the pre-Islamic society (days of ignorance) in Arabian Peninsula, are gradually becoming accepted religious practices of the present day Muslims. It is our duty to identify these anti Islamic practices, create awareness amongst the Muslims and encourage them to only follow the God approved way of life of our beloved Messenger of Allah. As Muslims, with our conscious mind, we never would like to have any relationship with the practices of the days of Ignorance, which is called the Ayyamul Jahiliyya, the period when our beloved Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, started his mission in Makkah. In the light of the Quranic revelation, it is interesting to note that the Mushrikoon (polytheists) of Makkah, believed in Allah, so much so that they accepted Him as the Supreme Lord and Almighty God. They acknowledged Him as the Creator of the universe and everything therein and considered Him to be the Sovereign and Provider of sustenance and the One who rules and regulates the universe as mentioned in the following verses. 'And if you were to ask them: 'Who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon?' they will surely reply: 'Allah'. How then are they deviating (as polytheists and disbelievers)?' Quran 29:61 'And if you were to ask them: 'Who sends down water (rain) from the sky, and give life therewith to the earth after its death?' They will surely reply: 'Allah'. Say: 'All the praises and thanks be to Allah!' Nay, most of them have no sense' Quran 29:63 'Say (O Muhammed): 'Who provides for you from the sky and the earth? Or who owns hearing and sight? And who brings out the living from the dead and brings out the dead from the living? And who disposes the affairs?' They will say 'Allah'. Say: 'Will you not then be afraid of Allah's punishment (for setting up rivals in worship with Allah)?' Quran 10:31 'Say: 'In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything (i.e. treasures of everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector (i.e. if Allah saves anyone, none can punish or harm him; and if Allah punishes or harms anyone, none can save him), if you know? They will say: '(All that belongs) to Allah'. Say: 'How then are you deceived and turn away from the truth?'. Quran 23: 88-89 Doesn't it astonishing to note that their belief was exactly the same as ours? Why were they then called Mushrikoon, if they believed in the one true God, Allah? In spite of their correct belief they deviated from the sincere worship of Allah by seeking the help of idols of good, pious people who lived before. Laat, Uzza, Manat and many other idols were installed within the Kaaba to remember the good pious people lived earlier. In fact they had idols in the name of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail (peace be upon both of them). The Holy Quran explains why they erected idols and performed many rituals. 'And they worship besides Allah things that harm them not, nor profit them, and they say: 'These are our intercessors with Allah'. Say: 'Do you inform Allah of that which He knows not in the heavens and 1

on the earth?' Glorified and Exalted is He above all that which they associate as partners (with Him)!' Quran 10:18 'Surely, the religion (i.e. the worship and the obedience) is for Allah only. And those who take Auliya (protectors, helpers, lords, gods) besides Him (say): 'We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah'. Verily, Allah will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever.' Quran 39: 3 It is abundantly evident that a true believing community was called Mushrikoon (polytheists) mainly because they sought the help of dead pious saints to intercede with and to bring them near to Allah. From these, it is easy for us to draw a parallel with some of our practices with the Jahiliyya community. Our present day practices of building shrines for the dead saints (Auliya), expecting to seek help, to intercede with and to bring us near to Allah the Most Exalted through them are exactly the practices of the Mushrikoon of the days of Jahiliyya. The difference may be that they erected statues for the saints, while in present days we build tombs and shrines for them for the same purpose. May Allah save all of us from this unpardonable sin. '…Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers.' Quran 5:72 Narrated Abdallah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said one statement and I said another. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 'Whoever dies while still invoking anything other than Allah as a rival to Allah, will enter Hell (Fire)'. And I said: 'Whoever dies without invoking anything as a rival to Allah, will enter Paradise' Sahih Bukhari 6/4497 In fact, Allah is warning His Messenger, peace be upon him, through the following verse not to indulge in Shirk (associating partners with Allah), which is to be a lesson for all of us. 'And indeed it has been revealed to you (O Muhammed), as it was to those (Allah's Messengers) before you: 'If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely, (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will be certainly be among the losers' Quran 39:65 'Verily, Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship) with Him, but He forgives whom He wills, sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away' Quran 4:116 We generally believe that all dead pious saints will be dwelling in the Paradise in their lives of the Barzakh (life between the time of death and the Day of Judgment) and they will be able to hear all our supplications and pleadings. This belief is erroneous as it is part of the unseen and the knowledge thereof is only with Allah. The following verse reiterates that even the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did not possess the knowledge of the unseen and it is an attribute exclusively with the Lord of the Worlds only. 'Say (O Muhammed): 'I possess no power over benefit or harm to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe' Quran 7:188 'And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (unseen), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record' Quran 6:59 Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (unseen) except Allâh, nor can they perceive when they shall be resurrected." Quran 27:65 2

On the other hand, our supplications and pleadings to the dead saints are part of the unseen for the buried saints and they have no knowledge of all the Jahiliyya practices that we perform near their tombs. In fact the Book of Allah testifies that the dead will not hear our supplications and pleadings. 'Nor are (alike) the living (i.e. the believers) and the dead (i.e. the disbelievers). Verily, Allah makes whom He wills to hear, but you cannot make hear those who are in graves' Quran 35:22 'Verily, you cannot make the dead to hear nor can you make the deaf to hear the call (i.e. benefit them and similarly the disbelievers), when they flee, turning their backs' Quran 27:80 '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 Muhammed) like Him Who is the All Knower (of everything)' Quran 35:14 According to another narration in Sahih Bukhari, it is very clearly stated that after the death of our beloved Messenger of Allah, may peace be upon him, he did not have any knowledge of the happenings in this world and he was not in a position to save even some of his men, who did go astray from the teachings of Islam. Narrated Asma bint Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her: The Prophet said, 'I will be standing at the Haud (Al Kauthar) so that I will see whom among you will come to me, and some people will be taken away from me, and I will say, 'O Lord, (they are) from me and my followers'. Then it will be said, 'Did you notice what they did after you? By Allah, they kept on turning on their heels (turned as renegades)'. The sub narrator, Ibn Abi Mulaika, may Allah be pleased with him, said 'O Allah, we seek refuge with You from turning on our heels, or being put to trial in our religion'. Sahih Bukhari If this is the situation with regard to the chosen Messenger of Allah, how could we possibly assume that any Auliya would possess any extra power to know the worldly affairs after their death? In another very famous incident, where Abdallah Bin Ubai spread a slander against the mother of the believers, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, our beloved Messenger of Allah, did not know the truth until the fact of her innocence was revealed in a Divine Message Quran 24: 11-26. Let us see another incident recorded in Sahih Bukhari. Narrated Kharija bin Zaid bin Thabit Um Al-'Ala an Ansari woman who had given a pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle told me, "The Muhajirin (emigrants) were distributed amongst us by drawing lots, and we got 'Uthman bin Maz'un in our share. We made him stay with us in our house. Then he suffered from a disease which proved fatal. When he died and was given a bath and was shrouded in his clothes. Allah's Apostle came, I said, (addressing the dead body), 'O Aba As-Sa'ib! May Allah be Merciful to you! I testify that Allah has honored you.' Allah's Apostle said, 'How do you know that Allah has honored him?' I replied, 'Let my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle! On whom else shall Allah bestow His honor?' Allah's Apostle said, 'As for him, by Allah, death has come to him. By Allah, I wish him all good (from Allah). By Allah, in spite of the fact that I am Allah's Apostle, I do not know what Allah will do to me.' " Um Al-'Ala added, "By Allah, I will never attest the righteousness of anybody after that." Sahih Bukhari Say (O Muhammad): "I invoke only my Lord (Allâh Alone), and I associate none as partners along with Him." Say: "It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to the Right Path." Say (O Muhammad): "None can protect me from Allâh's punishment (if I were to disobey Him), nor should I find refuge except in Him. (Mine is) but conveyance (of the truth) from Allâh and His Messages (of Islâmic Monotheism), and whosoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger, then verily, for him is the Fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever ." Quran 72: 20-23 3

Verily, Allâh! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allâh is AllKnower, AllAware (of things). Quran 31:34 Our beloved Messenger of Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, in fact had at many occasions talked about many hidden and unseen matters, including about ten Sahabis who were blessed with Paradise while walking the face of the earth. All these were informed by him, may Allah be pleased with him, only with the Divine Inspirations received by him. With these authentic evidences, it is possible for someone to rush to an erroneous conclusion that we are trying to belittle our beloved Messenger of Allah. In an authentic narration, he, may Allah be pleased with him, has said 'None of you will have faith unless I am dearer to him than his father and his son and all of mankind'. By Allah! We love him, we respect him and we follow him, but we will never associate any divine attributes to him. 'Verily, those whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves like you. So call upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful' Quran 7:194 'O mankind! A similitude has been coined, so listen to it (carefully): Verily, those on whom you call besides Allah, cannot create (even) a fly, even though they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly snatches away a thing from them, they will have no power to release it from the fly. So weak are (both) the seeker and the sought' Quran 22:73 To believe that someone more pious and saintly would be able to save us is to act completely against the teachings of Islam. Prophet Lut, peace be upon him, was unable to save his wife from the punishment. 'Then we saved him (Lut) and his family, except his wife; she was of those who remained behind (in the torment).' Quran 7:83 Prophet Noah, peace be upon him, was unable to save his unrighteous son and wife. 'And Noah called upon his Lord and said: 'O my Lord! Verily, my son is of my family! And certainly, Your promise is true, and You are the Most Just of the Judges. He said: 'O Noah! Surely, he is not of your family; verily, his work is unrighteous, so ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge! I admonish you, lest you should be one of the ignorant'. Noah said: 'O my Lord! I seek refuge with You from asking You that of which I have no knowledge. And unless You forgive me and have Mercy on me, I would indeed be one of the losers'. Quran 11:45-47 Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was unable to save his father as he was not a believer in the Islamic Monotheism. On the Day of Judgment Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, will intercede with Allah for the pardon of his father and Allah would reply 'I have forbidden Paradise to the heathens' (Sahih Bukhari). So saying, the intercession of Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, will be rejected. Who does not know that Abu Talib, the uncle of our beloved Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, after he was ordained with prophet hood, how he helped and protected him in difficult situations? Against the extreme pressure and oppression of the Quraish of Makkah, he stood like an iron wall to protect the Messenger of Allah. During the Messenger's confinement in the ravine called Shaab – e – Abu Talib, he extended every sort of assistance. When Abu Jahl decided to kill the Prophet, Abu Talib collected all the young men of the tribes of Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib and took them to the Holy Kaaba and challenged Abu Jahl for a fight. Thus, during his whole lifetime he always stood by the Prophet, peace be upon him. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, declared the year of his death as the year of grief. In spite of his blood relationship and his unflinching cooperation in the Prophet's mission Abu Talib will enter Hell, simply because he did not accept Islamic Monotheism. 4

Narrated Al Musaiyab, when Abu Talib was in his death bed, the Prophet went to him while Abu Jahl was sitting beside him. The Prophet said, "O my uncle! Say: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, an expression I will defend your case with, before Allah." Abu Jahl and 'Abdullah bin Umaya said, "O Abu Talib! Will you leave the religion of 'Abdul Muttalib?' So they kept on saying this to him so that the last Statement he said to them before he died was: "I am on the religion of 'Abdul Muttalib." Then the Prophet said, "I will keep on asking for Allah's forgiveness for you unless I am forbidden to do so." Then the following Verse was revealed: "It is not fitting for the Prophet and the believers to ask Allah's Forgiveness for the pagans, even if they were their near relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire." Quran 9:113 The other Verse was also revealed: "(O Prophet!) Verily, you guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He will..." Quran 28:56 (Sahih Bukhari 5-223) Relationship to a dead saint or even to our Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, will not save anyone, unless he/she believed in Islamic Monotheism and directed all worship to Allah alone. Reported by Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, that when the verse 'And warn your tribe (O Muhammed) of near kindred' Quran 26:214, was revealed the Prophet, peace be upon him, called his relatives and addressed them in the following manner: 'O the progeny of Ka'b bin Luwai! Save yourselves from (the torment of) the Hell Fire, for I will not help you in rescuing you from the torment of Allah! O the progeny of Murrah bin Ka'b! Save yourselves from (the torment of) the Hell Fire, for I will not avail you in (the matter of) rescuing you from the torment of Allah! O the progeny of Abd Shams! Save yourselves from (the torment of) the Hell Fire, for I will not avail you in (the matter of) rescuing you from the torment of Allah! O the progeny of Abd Manaf! Save yourselves from (the torment of) the Hell Fire, for I will not avail you in (the matter of) rescuing you from the torment of Allah! O the progeny of Hashim! Save yourselves from (the torment of) the Hell Fire, for I will not avail you in (the matter of) rescuing you from the torment of Allah! O the progeny of Abdul Muttalib! Save yourselves from (the torment of) the Hell Fire, for I will not avail you in (the matter of) rescuing you from the torment of Allah! O Fatima! Save yourself from the (torment of) Hell Fire! Take whatever you like to take of my property, because I shall not be able to rescue you from the torment of Allah at all' Sahih Bukhari/Muslim. Following authentic evidences, we believe, would be of very relevant and useful. 'It is not for the Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah), to maintain the mosques of Allah (i.e. to pray and worship Allah therein, to look after their cleanliness and their building), while they witness against their own selves of disbelief. The works of such are in vain and in Fire shall they abide' Quran 9:17. 'Narrated by Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said in his last illness before death: 'The curse of Allah be upon the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as places of worship'. He is also reported to have said (in his prayers): 'Do not make my grave into an idol for (people) to worship' Sahih Bukhari/Muslim. Reported by Jandub Bin Abdallah Al Bajli, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saying five days before his death: 'Those who went before you took the graves of their prophets as mosques. I definitely forbid you to do that' Sahih Bukhari. Reported by Marthad Al Baghwi that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 'Do not sit on the graves, and do not pray keeping them in the front' Sahih Muslim. Abu Dawood has recorded in his Sunnan at the report of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 'Forbid plastering the graves and putting up inscriptions on them'. Muslim has narrated in his Sahih from Abu Al Hayyaj Al Asadi that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him: 'Should I not send you on a mission just as the Prophet sent me saying: 'Leave no statue without destroying it, and no raised grave without leveling it''. The recitation of the Quran in graveyards is not allowed as neither Prophet, peace be upon him, nor his companions were known to do so. Particularly since the Prophet's wife Aisha, peace be upon her, asked him what to say when visiting graveyards and he told her to give 'Salaams' and a prayer (supplication) but did not tell her to recite Al Fathiha or any other chapter from the Quran. The Prophet, peace be 5

upon him, forbade the white washing of graves, the building of structures over them, writing on them, or raising them above the ground level. As most of the people visit graves of Auliya to make Du'a, let us see the Islamic rulings on this. Du'a (supplication) is undoubtedly a part of worship, as Ibn Abbaas said, "The best form of worship is the du'a" [Munthir and Ibn Haakim]. To Allah belong certain rights, among these including slaughtering 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 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 origin of the Shirk of Mankind. Since the dead has his deeds cut off from him, and he cannot cause upon himself any good or 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" Qur'an 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." Quran 39: 3. Similarly, the Walis (saints) and Sheikhs and Prophets are still called upon by those seeking need, in the hope that they could fulfill their needs. Yet this practice was never done by the righteous predecessors or the companions, but rather was done by Hindus and other pagans who Muslims came in contact with during later conquests. And if the dead could indeed help anyone, they would help themselves. Take for example Saad Bin Muath, the Sayyid (Leader) of the Ansar, upon whose death the Throne of Allah shook, this exemplary model himself faced the closing in of the grave, yet he had no power to stop this. So the one who does this faces the torment of death, and the punishment of the grave, and dwells in Hell, for Allah says: "When our Messengers (the angels) come to them to take their souls, they will say: 'Where are those whom you used to invoke and worship besides Allah, 'they will reply, 'They have vanished and deserted us. 'And they will bear witness against themselves, that they were disbelievers." Qur'an 7: 37. Yet many will swear that upon asking the dead or those far away for assistance, their Du'a is answered. This is no proof for their statements however, and in reality, this is true also of other religions, who worship idols and animals and planets, for they too find their supplications answered. Rather, and as the Scholars have explained, any such occurrence is merely a coincidence or an act of the Jinns who seek to deviate Muslims. They rush to fulfill their desires, thus making this act fair-seeming and correct in the eyes of the Muslim. During the time of the Prophet, there was a hypocrite who was causing harm upon the Believers. So some of them said "Let us go to the Prophet (s.a.w) and ask him to Istagheeth (seek for the removal of 6

harm) for us from this hypocrite." So the Prophet (s.a.w) replied "Verily, Istighaathah cannot be requested from me, rather, from Allah." Although it was within the Prophet's (s.a.w) ability and power to supplicate to prevent the harm from the hypocrite, and although their request was Islamically valid, he stressed on the importance of using such terms for Allah only, because of the consequent damage it could cause to the Tawheed of his Ummah, had it been used to other than Allah. Nonetheless, a myriad of Muslims still persist in this vice, even though the Scholars of Ahlus Sunnah have agreed upon its impermissibility. Ibn Taymiyyah commented in this regard: "But whoever takes them (Sheikhs, Awliyaa', Pirs etc..) as intermediaries between Allah and His creation... So that they are the ones to pass on to Allah the needs of His creations, since (they believe that) Allah gives the guidance and the sustenance because of their intercession, so that the people would ask them (the intermediaries), who will then ask Allah, just as the kings' intermediaries present people's needs to the kings because they are closer to them from the need-seeker. Whoever takes them as intermediaries in this manner, then such person is Kaffir and Mushrik, and should be asked to repent, and should be punished if he refuses; such people are Mushabbiha (resemblers), who have resembled the Creator to His creation, and have adopted partners with Him". 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 (O Muhammed) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright" Qur'an 2: 186. 'When harm touches man, he calls to Us (for help); then when We have (rescued him from that harm and) changed it into a favour from Us, he says: 'Only because of knowledge (that I possess) I obtained it'. Nay, it is only a trial, but most of them know not!' Quran 39:49 'Say: 'Tell me if Allah's Torment comes upon you, or the Hour comes upon you, would you then call upon anyone other than Allah? (Reply) if you are truthful! Nay! To Him Alone you would call, and, if He wills, He would remove that (distress) for which you call upon Him, and you would forget at that time whatever partners you joined (with Him in worship)' Quran 6: 40-41 'O mankind! Verily, there has come to you a convincing proof (Prophet Muhammad SAW) from your Lord, and We sent down to you a manifest light (this Quran)'. Quran 4:174. 'And strive hard in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving is due to Him; He has chosen you and has not laid upon you any hardship in religion; the faith of your father Ibrahim; He named you Muslims before and in this, that the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you, and you may be bearers of witness to the people; therefore keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and hold fast by Allah; He is your Guardian; how excellent the Guardian and how excellent the Helper!' Quran 22:78 'And fear the Day when ye shall be brought back to Allah. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly'. Quran 2:281 Let us go to DEWATAGAHA and other places of SHIRK to explain the TRUTH which will pave the way for all believers to have SUCCESS in the Hereafter. 7

Shirk

by gotabaya on Oct 07, 2009

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Shirk Document Transcript