By Aboo Iyyaad Amjad Rafiq
A chilling discussion about the most ugliest, filthiest sin which a person can commit.
Who can appreciate Tawheed without knowing Shirk? Anyone who does not know shirk
will not be able to appreciate Tawheed.
Part 1:
Allaah the Exalted said:
Verily, Whoever associates partners with Allaah, Allaah has forbidden to him paradise and his abode will be the Hellfire. And of helpers there are none for those who do wrong (Dhaalimoon) [5:72]
He also said:
Indeed Allaah does not forgive that partners are associated with him (in worship) but He forgives what is lesser than that to whomsoever He wills. And whoever associates partners with Allaah then he has strayed far away. [4:116]
This Khutbah is about Shirk - the grave sin of associating partners with Allaah in any form or fashion.
One of the ways Allaah uses in the Qur'aan is to explain things by giving their opposites, or mentioning their opposites along with them. For example He said:
Say: Are those equal those who know and those who do not?
Also:
And the seeing and the blind are not alike, nor the darknesses and the light.
Also:
Not alike are the companions of the Hellfire and the companions of Paradise.
This principle (of opposites) is something which we see all around us, in front of our eyes and something around which the whole world revolves around.
Who can appreciate the day if there was no night and vice versa?
Who can appreciate happiness if there was no misery?
Who can appreciate affluence if there was no poverty?
Who can appreciate well-being/fitness if there was no illness
Who can appreciate life if there was no death?
Allaah has explained both Tawheed (worshipping Allaah in His Oneness or Uniqueness, in the manner which He has required from His creation) and its opposite, Shirk, in a most comprehensive manner.
Who can appreciate Tawheed without knowing Shirk? Anyone who does not know shirk will not be able to appreciate tawheed. A poet said:
And by their opposites are things made manifest/clear. [Wa bididdihaa tatabayyan ul-ashyaa]
So we will explain both Tawheed and Shirk to get to know the reality of Shirk. We will begin by Tawheed.
Tawheed is:
FIRSTLY: To believe that Allaah is the CREATOR, OWNER and REGULATOR of the whole of creation. He created everything from nothing and no one helped Him in this. He alone owns the whole of creation and no one shares with Him in respect to this. He alone regulates the affairs of the universe such as giving and taking life, sending the rain down, giving sustenance, alternating the night and the day, raising someone, giving him honour and humiliating someone, lowering him.
Allaah said:
Allaah is the Creator of every single thing.
He also said:
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth.
He also said:
He arranges/regulates every affair from the heavens to the earth.
So Allaah is ALONE, UNIQUE in all of these three matters, CREATING, OWNING and REGULATING. He has no partners that help Him or who are equal or rivals to Him in any of these affairs.
SECONDLY: To direct all forms of worship to Allaah alone since His being the sole Creator, Owner and Regulator justifies such worship for Him. All forms of worship, whether actions of the heart (that is love, fear, hope, reliance, etc...) statements of the tongue (praising, dhikr, seeking help etc...) or actions of the limbs (prayer, supplication, sacrificing, repenting etc...)
NOTE: Just merely believing in Him in the way described above is not sufficient to make one a Muslim in the proper sense of the word since the mushriks (pagans) of Mecca whom the Prophet fought against and whom Allaah declared as disbelievers too affirmed these matters. They affirmed that Allaah is the creator of the heavens and the earth, gives and takes life, that He alone sends down rain from the sky, has power over sight and hearing, regulates the affairs of the universe, that He is the Lord of the Throne, that He is al-Azeez and ar-Raheem, even affirming some of His Names! But that did not enter them into the fold of Islam since they refused to direct their worship solely and exclusively to Him.
The above is contained in Surah Ikhlaas, the surah that is known to be equal to one-third of the Quran (in its meaning)
Say He is the Allaah, the Unique - He is as-Samad (Eternal, Self-Sufficient Master which the whole of creation needs and depends upon) - He begets not nor is he begotten (He does not come out of or from anything and nothing comes out of or from Him) - And there is none co-equal or comparable to Him.
It is due to this Tawheed that the Muslims GAIN SUCCESS, VICTORY and AUTHORITY in this world and the next.
To the extent that the muslims as individuals fulfill this Tawheed, this requirement, this purpose of existence, to that same extent will Allaah aid them, help them, give them victory, rule and authority and the land.
To the extent that the Muslims fail in this Tawheed and go wrong, to that same extent will humiliation become their lot, will Allaah remove blessings from them, abandon them and punish them.
This is a very important point, the relevance of which we shall investigate in light of what is and constitutes Shirk.
Part 2:
Allaah the Exalted said:
And most of them do not believe in Allaah except while they commit shirk (illaa wahum mushrikoon)
Shirk can be in terms of a BELIEF, a WORD or STATEMENT, and an ACTION. We will list examples of each one and I would like you to reflect upon how widespread some of these beliefs and actions are in the Muslim ummah. People would think them to be from Islam and in reality Islam is totally against them.
So with respect to Belief then:
1. To hold the belief that Allaah is everywhere in His Essence, or that everything is Allaah and Allaah is everything (wahdatul-wujood). This is a widespread belief and you may get called a disbeliever for believing its opposite, that Allaah the Sublime and Most High is above the seven heavens. In fact this point of belief that Allaah is above the seven heavens, separate from His creation is the only one which has more than a thousand beliefs, either direct or indirect in the Qur'aan. Allaah says:
or that everything is Allaah and Allaah is everything (wahdatul-wujood). This is a widespread belief and you may get called a disbeliever for believing its opposite, that Allaah the Sublime and Most High is above the seven heavens. In fact this point of belief that Allaah is above the seven heavens, separate from His creation is the only one which has more than a thousand beliefs, either direct or indirect in the Qur'aan. Allaah says:
And He is al-Qaahir, above His servants
Also:
And ar-Rahmaan has ascended the Throne
and how many times does Allaah say: The angels arise up to him, the angels descend, He sends down the rain, that He sent down the Qur'aan, and other such statements which make clear this belief that Allaah is separate from His creation and high above them. Furthermore, the verses of the Qur'aan, sayings of the Messenger (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam), sayings of the Companions, their successors and those scholars who followed in their way, which establish this belief are numerous and easily accessible for the one who is in need of them for clarification.
2. To believe that it is not possible to reach Allaah directly, rather we have to go through intermediaries! And where does this belief stand in relation to the speech of Allaah:
rather we have to go through intermediaries! And where does this belief stand in relation to the speech of Allaah:
And when My servants ask you concerning Me then verily, I am near. I respond to the call of the supplicant when He calls upon Me. Let them therefore obey Me (respond to Me) and believe in Me so that they may be led aright.
In fact this is the claim of the pagans of old, those of Mecca, since they said, as Allaah the Sublime quotes them:
We do not worship them except that they may bring us closer to Allaah.
3. To hold the belief that any individual has power, capability of bringing sustenance, or providing protection, granting offspring, etc... regardless of whether he is a pious person, an angel or a prophet. The Messenger of Allaah was commanded to say by Allaah:
capability of bringing sustenance, or providing protection, granting offspring, etc... regardless of whether he is a pious person, an angel or a prophet. The Messenger of Allaah was commanded to say by Allaah:
Say: I do not have any control over any benefit or harm over myself except what Allaah wills
Yet the number of so called 'Pirs' and 'Walees' who are resorted to for help, sustenance, male offspring and other such matters can be counted on the hairs on ones head! The number of tombs of dead people visited for the same matters is also staggering. It is a widespread practice in many of the Muslim lands.
A few days before the Messenger of Allaah died he said: May Allaah curse the Jews and the Christians for taking the graves of their prophets as places of worship.
He also said: Those before you took the graves of their prophets as places as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship for verily I forbid you to do so.
4. To hold the belief that anyone besides Allaah has knowledge of the unseen. Allaah commanded the Messenger (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) to say:
Allaah commanded the Messenger (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) to say:
Say: None who is in the heavens and the earth knows the Unseen except Allaah.
The Messenger of Allaah also said: The prayer of one who visits a fortune teller will not be accepted for forty days.
This would include things such as reading the stars or having ones fortune told by the various methods current in the present time. All such people are really imposters who derive their knowledge from the jinn. The jinn themselves try to get this knowledge from the angels in the sky. What they get is mixed with a hundred lies and this is what is passed on to the diviners and fortune-tellers.
Now we'll instances of Shirk which are can occur by our words
1. Swearing by other than Allaah
2. Saying for example, if it had not been for the pilot we would surely have crashed, or if it had not been for the dog, the burglar would have stolen everything, or if it had not been for you... and so on. Similar statements were said in the time of the Messenger of Allaah and he put and end to them. It was said to him (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam): What you willed, and he replied: No, say what Allaah willed then what Muhammad willed, and there are other such examples. This is equivalent to setting up partners and rivals to Allaah the Exalted
or if it had not been for the dog, the burglar would have stolen everything, or if it had not been for you... and so on. Similar statements were said in the time of the Messenger of Allaah and he put and end to them. It was said to him (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam): What you willed, and he replied: No, say what Allaah willed then what Muhammad willed, and there are other such examples. This is equivalent to setting up partners and rivals to Allaah the Exalted
And now some instances of Shirk which occur by our actions
1. Directing any of the acts of worship to other than Allaah, such as supplicating, sacrificing, tawaaf etc... whether to an idol, a stone, an angel, a dead person, a prophet etc..
such as supplicating, sacrificing, tawaaf etc... whether to an idol, a stone, an angel, a dead person, a prophet etc..
2. Wearing talismans, charms, hanging a horseshoe, touching wood, throwing salt behind your shoulder and other such matters. All these things constitute shirk.
hanging a horseshoe, touching wood, throwing salt behind your shoulder and other such matters. All these things constitute shirk.
Talismans is a multi rupee business amongst the Asians (especially the Pakistani and Bangladeshi peoples). How many a pir has had an early retirement due to the fortune he has made from the ignorant masses? 'A ta'weez for all needs'
The Messenger of Allaah said: Whoever hangs/wears a talisman has committed shirk (man alaqa tameematan faqad ashrak). He also said: Verily, spells talismans and charms are shirk. He also said: May Allaah cause unrest and failure to whoever wears a talisman and wears it on others.
3. Accepting as lawful what the scholars make lawful despite the fact it is unlawful, and accepting as unlawful what the scholars have made unlawful despite the fact that it is lawful. Just like Allaah said:
and accepting as unlawful what the scholars have made unlawful despite the fact that it is lawful. Just like Allaah said:
They have taken their priests and their rabbis as Lords besides Allaah.
Thus there are people nowadays who allow such things as music, shaking hands with women, and other such matters. And the people follow them in that, because these are things which their souls desired in the first place
4. Seeking protection in other than Allaah. Such as calling on dead people for help, thinking that they can help. Asking them for help in those matters which Allaah alone can help.
Such as calling on dead people for help, thinking that they can help. Asking them for help in those matters which Allaah alone can help.
5. Doing actions for other than the sake of Allaah, such as worldly motivations, seeking praise, honour etc...
such as worldly motivations, seeking praise, honour etc...
This has been a short and not an extensive list of matters which constitute shirk.
Many if not most of the things which we have mentioned are WIDESPREAD amongst the Muslims. These things have become their accepted faith, the deen of Islam and this is because Islam to them is to acknowledge Allaah's ruboobiyyah, that His creatorship, ownership and regulation of the universe and that is it.
I hope we can see now why the ummah faces problems. Allaah has explained quite clearly to us that any good that befalls us is from Him and any evil that befalls us is from our ownselves, due to our sins. And what is the biggest sin???! And is the Muslim ummah free from it?? We all know with certainty that the Muslim ummah is rampant with it!!
And now we can understand why the Muslims suffer and are oppressed in the variety of ways that we can see and perceive. It is not because we do not have a leader! Nor because we do not have a Muslim state, these may be symptoms but certainly not the cause for the one who has eyes to see and a heart with which to perceive the truth. Allaah said:
If you aid Allaah, Allaah will aid you and establish your feet firmly (upon the ground).
Ibn Katheer explains that aiding Allaah means to worship Him (alone).
And He also said:
Allaah has promised to those amongst you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will of a surety give them succession in the earth just like he gave it to those before them and He will grant them the authority to practice their religion that which He has chosen for them. And He will surely give them in exchange, a safe security after their fear (provided) they (the believers) worship Me (ya'budoonanee) and DO NOT ASSOCIATE ANYTHING IN WORSHIP WITH ME (walaa yushrikoona bi shai'aa). But whoever disbelieved after this then they are the faasiqoon (rebellious).
So four conditions have been mentioned in this verse for Allaah's promise to be fulfilled and amongst them is not committing shirk. And have we fulfilled this condition?? Then why do we lament over our problems and worries and calamities when the cause is in front of our own hands and we can see it clearly, like the daylight???
The way to remedy this is to increase our knowledge. The starting point for every individual is to increase his knowledge of tawheed and shirk. The first type of knowledge that is obligatory upon every Muslim is to know and understand the meaning of the kalimah - laa ilaaha illallaaha. Under this there are many issues, some of which we have touched upon today and which need to be clearly understood by all Muslims so that this unforgivable sin of is shirk is understood and recognised and eventually rooted out from our hearts and actions.
University of Essex. Colchester, Essex, U.K.
Friday 1st December 1995
|
Home 
