EXPLANATION OF THE FOUR RULES REGARDING SHIRK, of Imām Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahāb rahimahullah! A MUST READ!!!!!! (PART 2) Explanation of the Four Rules Regarding Shirk: By Shaykh Sālih bin Muhammad Al-Luhaydān Shaykh al-Islām says,...when they are tested they are patient; and when they sin they seek forgiveness (from Allāh). These things will allow you to achieve complete happiness and prosperity. So we ask Allāh, the Most Generous, that all of us may be from those who Allāh relieves from trials and tribulations and from those who He gives to. We ask Allāh to grant us the ability to be grateful for what He has given us. And we ask Him to grant us the ability to continuously seek His forgiveness so that we may achieve what He has prepared for those who seek His forgiveness. Know, may Allāh direct you to His obedience, that the pure and upright religion of Ibrāhīm is that you worship Allāh alone, making the Religion sincere for only Him, as Allāh says, And I (Allāh) did not create the Jinn and Mankind except to worship Me (Alone). [Surah Adh-Dhāriyāt: 51:56] The pure and upright religion of Ibrāhīm (Hanīfiyyah) is that which has not deviation in it. It is an open Hanīfiyyah, which means that people worship their Lord alone without associating any partners with Him. So Hanīfiyyah means to worship Allāh alone and not associate partners with Him, since whoever associates partners with Allāh whilst performing a deed, Allāh abandons him and his Shirk. As He says in a (Qudsī) Hadīth: I am the most free of all partners from Shirk (polytheism). Whoever performs a deed in which he associates Me with others, I abandon him and his Shirk. [Muslim: 2985]. Furthermore, Shirk poses a great danger as it is a sin that is not forgiven unless one repents to his Lord for it before he dies. If one dies upon major Shirk there is no hope that he will be forgiven; he will reside in Hell forever. It is possible for every sin to be forgiven except Shirk. [Allāh says,] Verily Allāh does not forgive that partners be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives what is less than that to whom He Wills. [Surah An-Nisā: 4:48]. [And He says,] Verily, whoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allāh, Allāh has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And the wrongdoers will have no supporters. [Surah al-Māidah: 5: 72]. No Messenger was sent during any period of time in which human beings existed except that he ordered the people to worship Allāh alone and forbade them from Shirk, ever since the time of (Prophet) Nūh, since Shirk only came about after Ādam and lasted for as long as Allāh willed. So when the people fell upon Shirk, Allāh sent Nūh to call them to Allāhs Religion. The story of Nūh (as mentioned in the Qurān) constantly mentions how he called his people to the point where he lost hope in them and supplicated to his Lord not to leave any disbeliever on earth. (Refer to Surah Nūh: 71: 5-9, 21-22, and 26-27). So when you come to realise that Allāh created you in order to worship Him, then know that worship is not called worship unless it is accompanied by Tawhīd (Islamic Monotheism), just as prayer is not called that unless it is accompanied by (ritual) purity. Worship, which consists of prayer and all of the other acts done seeking nearness to Allāh in compliance with His command and hoping for His reward and protection from punishment, should not be considered worship in and of itself. This is since there are many acts of worship performed by those who worship idols, jinn and angels and stars but these acts are not considered worship as they are not acts based on Tawhīd, i.e. they are not done specifically for Allāh alone without partners. This means that no part of worship can be directed to someone else as He is the only One that deserves and has the right to be worshipped since He is the One who created the servants and everything they need in their daily and nightly affairs. He protected them from everything except for what He ordained for them. So this worship is not to be regarded worship (if it contains Shirk). Shaykh al-Islām is referring to the beneficial type of worship since he was well-aware that there existed people who would worship the jinn, some would worship trees, others would worship flowing streams of water, and individuals that would make idols with their own hands and then worship them. The Arabs acknowledged that they were performing worship, as is evident in the statement they made about their idols, We only worship them so that they may bring us closer to Allāh. [Surah Az-Zumar: 39:3]. So they acknowledged that they would worship them, but claimed that they only did this so that it would bring them closer to Allāh. So if Shirk enters into ones worship, it ruins it, just like impurity when it enters into the (ritual) purity. Shaykh Al-Islām uses the prayer as an example to explain his point, which is that worship is not considered worship unless it is directed solely to Allāh. This is since everyone knows that prayer is not valid if a person is not in a ritual state of purity until he first purifies himself (through ghusl or wudū) or performs tayammum. If he prays without these, it cannot be called prayer. Rather it is only considered useless movements. The same applies to the word worship in the sense that it can only be applied to one who worships Allāh alone, i.e. who singles Him out for worship and does not associate any partners with Him in worship. So when you come to realise that Shirk - when mixed into ones worship - spoils it, invalidates ones actions, and makes the person who possesses it into one who will reside eternally in the Hell-Fire, you will know that the most important thing that is binding upon you is to gain knowledge of that, so that perhaps Allāh may absolve you from this trap, which is ascribing partners to Allāh (i.e. Shirk) about which Allāh said, Verily Allāh does not forgive that partners be ascribed to Him in worship, but He forgives what is less than that to whom He Wills. [Surah an-Nisā: 4:48]. The Prophets and Messengers were only sent to take people out, by Allāhs leave, from darkness to light. The destructive darkness in which one cannot see his path clearly refers to Shirk or associating partners with Allāh in worship, since no deed will be of benefit to one who associates partners with Allāh if he dies upon this state. No matter what acts of benevolence and assistance a person does, it is all dependant on a critical factor. If the deed comes from a monotheist, it will benefit him tremendously, but if it does not come from a monotheist it will not benefit him. So for example, if someone were to extract water for people, distribute funds to the poor, and gather together doctors to treat the sick, but did not make this worship sincerely for Allāh alone, doing all of these things will be of no benefit to him. Allāh says, And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did and make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust. [Surah Al-Furqān: 25:23]. And He says, If you join others in worship with Allāh, then surely all your deeds will be in vain. [Surah Az-Zumar: 39:65]. No matter what deed a person does, if he commits Shirk, this deed of his becomes invalidated. But if he repents and makes his deed solely for Allāhs sake, Allāh is able to give him back the deeds he lost due to this Shirk. A person is in need of repenting and seeking refuge with Allāh in all situations in order for Allāh to protect and reinforce him. A person does not remain upon the truth due to the firmness of his conviction and steadfast intellect since these things are only beneficial if Allāh makes them beneficial. There is a saying that states, The firmness of (my) conviction has preserved me from idle chatter, and the adornment of virtue has beautified me in the face of destitution. [This statement was made by Muīd-ud-Dīn At-Taghrāī d.513H]. You will not be able to achieve these things unless Allāh grants you the ability and success to achieve that. If Allāh did not envelop many of the intellectuals who have deep insight with His Generosity they would be lost. This is the case with many heretics since the thing that led them to heresy was the fact that their intellects would guide them in judging in matters, hidden and apparent. This can be achieved by knowing Four Rules that Allāh has mentioned in His Book. The First Rule: You must know that the disbelievers whom the Messenger of Allāh fought against agreed that Allāh was the Creator and the Administrator. But this (belief) did not cause them to enter into the fold of Islām. The proof for this is Allāhs saying, Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): Who provides for you from the sky and from 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: Allāh. Say: Will you not then be afraid of Allahs Punishment (for setting up rivals in worship with Allāh)? [Surah Yūnus: 10:31]. This is the first rule. The Arabs whom the Messenger of Allāh صلى الله عليه وسلم was sent to affirmed and acknowledged that Allāh was the Creator and He brought out the living from the dead. Allāh says, 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: Allāh. [Surah Al-Ankabūt: 29:61]. If they were to be asked who created this mighty and accurate creation and who brought into existence this earth, which the people walk upon, plant upon, and build upon, raise their cattle upon, and eat from its produce, they would say Allāh. They would never on any day say that the one who brings forth vegetation, yields produce and livestock, and brings into existence all these things was Al-Lāt, Al-Uzzā or Manāt! This was because they affirmed Allāhs Lordship and claimed that they only worshipped these false gods to bring them closer to Allāh. So they would only direct their worship to them, hoping to achieve nearness to Allāh, and seeking the results of this nearness. But even though they affirmed this, it did not benefit them since they are required to worship the One who brought all these things into existence. They must particularise Him and single Him out for worship, ...Making the worship sincerely to Him alone. [Surah Az-Zumar: 39:2]. If they do not do this then Allāh has no need for them and their worship. Human beings need collaboration since their desired results in most cases cannot be achieved without some of them assisting others. This is especially the case since people do not possess complete control and intrinsic knowledge over all things. But as for Allāh, the Creator and All-Knowing, He is the Owner of the dominion, Creator of everything that exists, and Administrator of all affairs. He does not need anyone. He only created His servants so that they may worship Him. He created the jinn and mankind to worship Him. So it does not harm Him if they disobey Him nor does it benefit Him if they worship Him. This is just something that Allāh Willed. So if the servants wish to benefit themselves, they should make their worship sincerely for Him and not associate anything (in worship) with Him, and they should be aware of their worship being a cause for them to enter the Hell-Fire. Source: ahlulsunnahwaljammah.files.wordpress/2013/04/an-explanation-of-the-four-rules-regarding-shirk.pdf
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 18:20:34 +0000
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