BY CHANCE OR BY CHOICE ? Understanding the purpose of creation in a complete sense is beyond man’s innate abilities. Man is a finite created being and cannot reasonably hope to fully comprehend the actions of the infinite creator. Hence, ALLAH made it a part of man’s nature to worship HIM, and HE sent prophets and books of divine revelation to clarify the aspect of the purpose of creation which was within man’s mental ability to grasp. The main message of the prophets was to worship one ALLAH and ALLAH alone. Consequently the greatest sin is SHRIK, the worship of others instead of ALLAH or along with ALLAH. Do not worship besides Allah that which can not help you nor harm you. Surah- Al- ANBIYAA, (Ch.21 Ver.66) Those on whom you call besides Allah are only slaves like yourself. Surah- Al- A’RAAF, (Ch.7 Ver.194) Being born in a Muslim family is not enough for salvation. It is our prime duty to understand the essence of ISLAM in its true aspect and then proclaim it to Non-Muslims. But Alas! Many of we Muslims could not even free ourselves from the clutches of SHRIK. Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) warned that a large part of Muslim nation would follow the Jews & Christians so closely that if they entered a lizard hole Muslims would follow in after them. (Al Bukhari-Vol.9 No. 422 ). He also said that before the last day some Muslims would actually worship idols. (Al Bukhari- Vol.9 No. 232 ). The concept of SHRIK is quiet clear in the Light of QUR’AN and HADEES, still, unfortunately many Muslims act blindly/rigidly following what ever their parents did or believe. They will have to stop now and think whether they are Muslims by CHANCE or by CHOICE and consequently get saved from the darkness of SHRIK, the SIN which is never to be forgiven as ALLAH says… Surely Allah will not forgive the association of partners with HIM (Shrik), but HE forgives (sins) less than that of Whomsoever HE wishes. Surah- An- NISAA, (Ch.4 Ver.48) Before elaborating on the point of SHRIK, we would first like the reader to bring himself to the neutral level and not hold hard and strong to the existing/inherited belief as that could be the strong hold of SATAN who would never like anyone to get librated from the chains of SHRIK. Let us analyze ourselves honestly, this will be in our own favour because we have to present ourselves before ALLAH and ALLAH alone is our savior. The only factor that makes a believing man or women truly superior to another is the level of TAQWAA (Righteousness, Piety, God Consciousness and all such meanings). As ALLAH clearly expresses in QUR’AN... Verily the most noble among you is the one with the most Taqwaa . Surah- Al- HUJURAT, (Ch.49 Ver.13) But the most pious individuals are only known to ALLAH, because the seat of Taqwaa is the heart. Man can only judge people by each others outward deeds which may or may not be misleading. ALLAH made that abundantly clear in the following verse . . . There is among people in this life, he whose speech will dazzle you. And he will call on Allah as a witness to what Is in his heart ; yet, he will be among the most vicious enemies. Surah- Al- BAQARAH, (Ch.2 Ver.204) In Christian tradition down through the ages, some individuals were highly praised for their spiritual achievements. Miracles were attributed to them and the rank of “ SAINT” was bestowed on them. In pre-Christian, Hindu and Buddhist tradition, teachers who were supposed to have climbed the ladder of spiritual excellence and who had performed supernatural feats were also given titles like Guru, Avtar, etc., indicating spiritual superiority. These designations have led the masses to either seek intersession through them or to worship them as gods. Consequently, these religious traditions have lists of saints to whom the masses fervently pray. Islam, on the other hand, opposes even the excessive praise to Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) who said, Do not praise me excessively as the Christians did to ‘ Eessa ibn Maryam, verily I am only a slave, so call me instead the slave of Allah and His messenger.( Al Bukhari- Vol. 4 No. 654) In a similar context, In QUR’AN ALLAH has designated among mankind certain types of individuals whom He considers especially close to Himself. ALLAH’S description of His Walees can be found in …. Verily His (Allah’s) Awliyaa are only those with Taqwaa, but most people do not realize that. Surah- Al- ANFAAL, (Ch.8 Ver.34) And in … Behold! Certainly no fear nor grief shall overcome the Awliyaa of Allah, those who believe and have Taqwaa. Surah- Al- YOUNUS, (Ch.10 Ver.62-63) ALLAH explains for us that the criterion for “ Walaayah “ ( divine friendship ) is Eemaan ( faith ) and Taqwaa ( piety ) and these qualities are shared by all true believers. Among the ignorant masses the main criterion for Walaayah ( Sainthood ) is the performance of miracles which are commonly called Karaamat to distinguish them from the miracles Mujizaat of Prophets. It is worth mentioning here that performing miracles is in no case the requirement for being called Walees. History has witnessed many miracle performers and even today there are many miracle performing persons and most of them are unbelievers/non-Muslims, ( E.g. Saint Tulsidas, Swami Ramakrishna Parma hams, Sai Baba of Shiridi and Kabeer etc ), so does it mean we could worship them or consider them for intercessors. Nowhere has ALLAH made the working of miracles a stipulation for being His Walees. Some sects even claim that when the state of Wusool was attained, the mundane obligations of Sharee’ah like five times daily prayers ( Salaah ), were no longer obligatory. Most of them prescribed that the prayers of ALLAH could be sent through the Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) or through the so-called saints; many also began the practice of making Tawaaf, animal sacrifice and other acts of worship around the Shrines and Toumbs of the Saints. Tawaaf can be observed today around the Grave of Zaynab and Sayyid al-Badawi in Egypt, around the tomb of Muhammad Ahmad (The Mahdi) in Sudan, and around the Darghas of countless Saints and Holy men in India and Pakistan. OUR KASHMIR IS A DEWELL OF COUNTLESS MASSES INVOLUED IN THE SHRIK OF SAINT AND GRAVE WORSHIP. The QUR’AN says that the Walees of ALLAH would only hear, see, grasp, and walk to what is lawfull (HALAAL), while conspicuously avoiding all the prohibited (HARAAM) as well as that which leads towards it. This is the only true goal worthy of dedicating one’s life and follow the route prescribed in the HADEETH. The compulsory duties have to be completely established, then the prescribed voluntary acts of worship have to be performed consistently and according to Sunnah. ALLAH emphasized this fact by telling His Prophet to inform the believers … “ Say, if you love Allah, follow me ( MUHAMMAD ) and Allah will love you ” Surah- Al- IMNRAAN, (Ch.3 Ver.31) Therefore ALLAHA”S love can only be attained by strictly following the directives ( SUNNAH ) of His Apostle (PEACE BE UPON HIM) and by carefully avoiding all innovations in religious matters. This formulae is contained in the following HADEETH in which Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) said, as reported by Abu Najeeh … “ Keep to my Sunnah and that of rightly guided caliphs. Bite on it with your molars. And beware of innovations, for verily they are all heresy ( BID’AH ) and heresy is misguidance which leads to the hell fire.” Throughout, much of human history honoring the dead through elaborate burial rites, ornate tombs and decorated graves , along with festivals of commemoration and adoration have lead to great confusion & misguidance in religion. As a result, much of mankind has become involved in some form of grave worship. It is like the graves of Holy or Saintly men among Hindus, Buddhists & Christians, have become shrines where rites of worship like prayer, sacrifice and pilgrimage are performed on large scale. Muslim rulers and the masses strayed away from the fundamental principles of the Islamic creed and began to imitate the pagan practices of the non-Islamic nations around them. Huge edifices were/are built over the graves of PIOUS people. Today many ignorant Muslims travel vast distances in order to perform religious rites & even TAWAAF around these structures/ tombs. Some even make prayer inside & outside of them, and others ‘ piously’ make sacrifices there. People are often found wiping the walls of graves and the surrounding structures, then wipe it on themselves in order to collect extra blessings. Those involved in Grave Worship direct prayers to the dead in two ways 1. Some use the dead/pious people buried there as intercessors. They prey to them in the way that Catholics (Christians) use their priests in the confession of their sins. The pre-Islamic Arabs also used their idols in a similar way. With regard to the purpose of their idols, ALLAH quoted the pagan Arabs as saying … “We only worship them so that the may bring us closer to Allah.” Surah- Al- ZUMUR , (Ch.39 Ver.3) Similarly some Grave Worshippers among Muslims pray to the dead/pious people who have died asking them to convey their requests to ALLAH for the fulfillment of their needs. As QUR’AN Writes … They worship other deities besides Allah, who can neither harm them nor benefit them, and they say ; “These are out intercessors with Allah,” O Muhammad, say to them: “Are you informing Allah of what He knows to exist neither in the heavens nor on the earth? Glory to Him! He is far above from having the partners the ascribe to Him !” Surah- YUNUS , (Ch.10 Ver.18) 2. Others pray directly to the dead begging them forgiveness for their sins. In so doing, they give dead/pious dead human beings the Attributes of ALLAH ( AT_TAWWAAB), the one to whom repentance is due; as well as that of being (AL_GAFOOR), the only one capable of forgiving sins. There are many ignorant Muslims throughout the world who direct their prayers to the Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) in this fashion. Both of these methods are totally rejected by the teachings of Islam. ALLAH commanded Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) in the QUR’AN to say to his followers : “ Say (O Prophet) I have no power to bring good or avert harm even from myself,it is only as Allah wills. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I could surely have accumulated only good and no evil would have befallen me. But I am only a Warner and a bringer of glad tidings for those who believe.” Surah- Al- ARAAF , (Ch.7 Ver.188) One of the companions, Abu Hurayarah, reported that when the verse “ Warn your nearest Kin” (Surah Ash-Shuaraa Ch.26 Ver.214) was revealed to the Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM), he said “ O PEOPLE OF QURAYISH, SECURE DELIVERANCE FROM ALLAH BY DOING GOOD DEEDS. I CANNOT AVAIL YOU AT ALL AGAINST ALLAH; O SONS OF ‘ ABDUL- MUTTALIB, I CANNOT AVAIL AT ALL AGAINST ALLAH; O (MY UNCLE) ‘ABBAAS IBN ABDUL- MUTTALIB, O (MY AUNT) SAFEEYAH, I CANNOT AVAIL YOU AT ALL AGAINST ALLAH; O FAATIMAH, DAUGHTER OF MUHAMMAD, ASK ME WHATEVER YOU LIKE, BUT I HAVE NOTHING WHICH CAN AVAIL YOU AGAINST ALLAH.” ( Al Bukhari- Vol..4 No.727,728 ), ( Muslim- Vol.1 No.402). In spite of these clear signs many Muslims even pray to MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM), not only that but also to a hierarchy of Saints. Such are these Muslims who repeat “ Eeyaaka Na budu wa Eeyaaka Nasta een – You alone de we worship and from you alone we seek help.” Seventeen times in daily prayers but still do not believe. These practices of SHRIK involving the grave Sin have managed to creep into the religious practices of the masses of Muslims today in one form or the other. In doing so they inadvertently confirm the veracity of ALLAH’S ominous statement in the QUR’AN. “ Most of them (claim) belief in Allah, while committing Shirk.” Surah- Al- YOUSUF, (Ch.12 Ver.106) On one occasion the Prophets Wife, Umm Salamah, told him about a church with pictures on its walls which she had seen in Ethopia. The Prophet (PEACE BE UPON HIM) said ,” If a righteous man dies among the those people, they build over his graves a place of worship and paint in it the pictures. They are the most evil of creation in ALLAH’S sight.” ( Al Bukhari- Vol..1 No.419 ) It indicates that such practices are forbidden for Muslims, as severely cursed by Prophet (PEACE BE UPON HIM). Ibn Mas’oud reported that the Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) said, “ The most evil of mankind are those who will be alive when the LAST DAY arrives and those who take graves as places of worship.” (Collected by Ahmad) . Included in the discussion of raising the grave are dome buildings, shrines built on graves, and erecting mosques around graves. The Prophet MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM), cursed those who did that, and even ordered the destruction of raised graves. Every lamp or lantern placed over grave must be removed. The practice of erecting building around graves and beautifying them causes corruption, which Islam seeks to eliminate. Part of such a corruption is exaggerating the importance of graves, in accordance with the superstitious beliefs of the ignorant, similar to the belief of non-believers in their idols, that these monuments can bring benefit or prevent harm. Thus they travel to these graves for fulfillment of their needs or achievement of their goals. They ask those in the graves what believers should ask only of their Lord. In general they do exactly what pre-Islamic people used to do with their idols. O Scholars of Islam! O Ulleama of Islam! What calamity of Islam is worse than disbelief ? What tribulation of this religion is worse than worshipping other deities other than Allah or along with Allah ? What misfortune of Muslims can equal this misfortune ? Is there any more serious abomination than this open Polytheism. Despite this disgraceful, reprehensible evil and hideous disbelief, how many people dare to take a stand for the cause of Allah, or evince any uneasiness for the defense of the true Din (religion) ? Where are the Scholars and the Students, and the Ulleama who are obliged to teach the TRUTH. CAN’T WE ADOPT OURSELVES TO THE TRUE BELIEF OF MONOTHEISM AND BE THE Muslims BY CHOICE.? Islamic Reflections email: peacemessage.ir@ediffmail
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 15:20:34 +0000
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