Thursday, March 28, 2024
Assalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatahu

Shirk and its Emergence.

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful

Assalamo Alykum Wa Rehmatullahe wa Barakaatuh

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Shirk and its Emergence.

Praise be to Allâh and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet of Allâh, the

Members of his Family and his Companions and on all those who proceed on his path.

There are three basic reasons behind the emergence of Kufr and Shirk practices:

1) an incorrect concept of Allah, 2)incorrect concept of worship, and 3)an incorrect understanding of the relation between the Creator and His creation. In the

following pages we will discuss some of these misguided concepts, explaining

them in the correct light of the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Kinship between Allah and His Creation

Some people suggest the very pious and devout people become so close to Allah that He treats them as his own sons, wives or daughters. Conversely speaking, these .relatives. of Allah are able to change and influence His actions just as a wife may influence her husband or a son may influence his father. Such people are obviously in a position of considerable power, and so to pray to them rather than to Allah Almighty directly is just as rewarding. The Qur'an has forcefully rejected this concept.

.And exalted is the Majesty of our Lord: He has taken neither a wife nor a son.. (Al-Jinn: 3)

In another place we read:

.The Jews say Uzair is the son of Allah, and the Christians say Christ is the son of Allah. This is a saying from their mouth; in this they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be upon them; how they are deluded away from the truth!.(Al-Taubah: 30)

The belief that Allah regards the angels as His daughters has also been rejected.

Has then your Lord preferred for you sons, and taken for Himself

daughters among the angels? Truly you utter a most dreadful saying!.(Bani Israel: 40)

Allah's infatuation with His creation

A Similar belief is that when a person becomes so devout that he has absolutely no interest left in the concerns of the world, Allah Almighty not only falls madly in

love with him but is completely and utterly infatuated by him. And like any mortal lover, Allah Almighty is prepared to grant any whim and any wish of His beloved. These beloved are thus in a position to plead for forgiveness for their followers who pray to them.

This belief is utterly without foundation and it is an insult to our Creator. Passionate love and infatuation are faults found among mankind which make them blind to reality and justice. Allah Almighty is above such base human emotions and He is perfect. When describing the relationship between the creator and His Creation, the Qur'an and Sunnah have used the concept of love. But Allah's love is like all His other characteristics: it is

pure, unique, and impossible for the mortal mind to comprehend fully. The fact that Allah loves someone simply means that Allah guides him, forgives his faults and gives him success in this world and in the Hereafter.

The concept of Tawassul (Intercession)

The Mushrik Arabs used to worship Allah, but they also honored and worshipped all these creatures not because they considered them to be Allah but because they considered them to be intercessors in the court of Allah.

.If indeed you ask them: Who has created the heavens and the earth, and subjected the sun and the moon. They will certainly reply, Allah. How are they then deluded away from the truth?.(Al-Ankabut: 61)

These and other verses of the Qur'an show the following:

The Arab un-believers believed in Allah but also believed in other

deities which were supposed to have the role of intercessors.

There is no difference between worshipping a deity as God or

worshipping it as an intercessor, and both are Haraam.

Worshipping someone other than Allah can never be a way of winning

Allah.s pleasure as it is Shirk, and Shirk only invites Allah's wrath.

Allah listens to all of His creatures all the time, regardless of the

language they speak. His throne is guarded by no guards and no

gatekeepers; there are no lawyers and no interpreters in His court. He

directly listens and responds to all of His creation.

People have invented the concept of using Prophets and saints as

intercessors, but they have never been able to agree on the same

intercessors. There is severe animosity between the followers of the

various saints. Not only every town, but every village and every

community has its own mentors.

Allah Almighty has never told us to worship creatures other than Him.

In fact He has expressly forbidden it, just as the Prophets and the very

saints, who are being worshipped, have forbidden it.

And Allah has never told us to pray to Him invoking the name of a dead

saint. It is, however, acceptable to invoke the name of a pious servant

of Allah who is alive and has agreed to praying on your behalf. People

usually ignore this requirement and invoke the memories of the dead

who have no idea that they are thus being remembered. Their graves

have become places of mediation, although the Qur'an tells us,

.O you who believe! Fear Allah and seek the means of approach to Him.. (Al-Ma.idah: 35)

.Say: If you do love Allah, follow me: Allah willl love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Forgiving, Most merciful..(Al-Imran: 31)

It is thus clear that the intercession we have been told to find is total adherence to the Prophet,s Message. The one, who ignores this source of

mediation, will permanently be astray.

Allah Almighty has no need for mediators

Mushrik nations have compared Allah's rule to the rule of ordinary kings. They think that just because mortal rulers need officials, guards and advisors to run their tiny empires, so Allah needs a retinue of officials to help control the universe. Such comparisons are offensive to Allah as they belittle His power and bring Him down to the level of insignificant human beings. Allah Almighty is incomparable and His method of rule is perfect and incomparable as well.

.Invent not similitudes for Allah: for Allah knows, and you know not.. (An-

Nahl: 74)

The practice of praying to prophets and Saints in order to win their intercession in front of Allah has been denounced as Shirk in the Qur'an.

.Why then was there no help from those whom they worshipped instead of Allah, as a means of access to Allah? Indeed, they left them in the lurch:

That was their falsehood and their invention.. (Al-Ahqaf: 28)

Worthless were the magnificent tombs built to win the intercession of the dead; wasted were the gifts to the memories of saints; useless were the chants in the names of various deities. When Allah sent down His hurricanes and floods, all the false gods and supposed mediators were annihilated along with their

followers. This was because the whole building of Tawassul and Shirk was built on a foundation of lies and distortion and so brought the wrath of Allah on its constructors.

The annals of history record the story of the Muslims of Bukhara immediately after World War one (1) when they were told of an impending attack by the socialist forces. Instead of preparing a defense as the Qur'an instructs Muslims to do, these misled people replied, .Shah Naqshaband is the guardian of this and no enemy will ever conquer it.. History is a living proof that in 1920 the Bolsheviks attacked this country, demolished its mosques, slaughtered its scholars, imprisoned its inhabitants, and so brought three hundred magnificent

of Muslim rule to a sudden end. Today, almost seventy years later, the

Muslims are still under the yoke of Communist rule, unable to free themselves.

Ignorance

When such misguided people saw the brilliant sun that is essential for plant growth, the clouds that send life-giving rain, the trees that provide fruit, they that these were the gods of nourishment and so forgot the real

Nourisher and Provider.

When these people saw the ferocious animals that can tear man from limb to, the erupting volcanoes that can destroy entire villages, the diseases and plagues that bring mankind down to its knees, their fear knew no bounds. In order to appease these angry and destructive gods, they built memorials in their name to which they sacrificed and offered gifts. Their state of fear was such that they bowed in worship to anything and everything, to the extent that they almost lost count of the number of their gods. when these people saw the miracles of the Prophets, they assumed that these were divine characters who had influence over the running of the world.

Allah Almighty has rejected all such beliefs and has stated the following in order to guide His creatures:

.So glory to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things: and to Him you all be brought back.. (Ya Sin: 83)

Everything is under the total control of Allah

The first thing taught by Islam is that nothing in the universe can of its own will harm or benefit man. Each and every drop of water, each grain of sand, each leaf on a tree is under the command of the creator who formed it and gave it life.

Mankind is the best creation of Allah

Islam gives human beings the birth-right of being the best creation of Allah, better than the rest of creation. It is because of his actions that man falls to the lowest of the low.

.We have honoured the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and favoured them over a great part of Our creation.. (Bani Israel: 70)

Mankind has no lord or master except Allah

.And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate not to the sun not to the moon but prostrate to Allah Who created them, if it is Him you wish to worship.. (Fussilat: 37)

The Prophets are the creatures of Allah

Islam has taught that the Prophets and Messengers were ordinary human beings who were chosen to receive and spread the faith of Allah. They had to devote

their lives to the worship of Allah just as all other human beings are required to do.

.All that is in the heavens and the earth must come to Allah Most Gracious as a servant..(Maryam: 93)

Miracles are the work of Allah alone

The fifth lesson given by Islam is that miracles performed by Prophets are not their works but are the acts of Allah. He uses miracles to show the truth of the being preached by His servants.

.We did send Messengers before you, and appointed for them wives

. And it was never the part of a Messenger to bring a sign except as

Allah permitted. For each period is a Book (revealed). (Ar-Ra.bd:38)

In the Qur'an the word .Sign. signifies a miracle. During the mission of the

Prophet Muhammed the Arab non-believers demanded that he

perform a miracle if he was a true Prophet in the tradition of Prophet Musa who performed the miracles of the parting of the seas and the white hand, and Prophet .Isa who healed the lepers and the blind. Allah the Almighty answered these people by saying that Prophets had no control over his miracles and that He only performed them when He so wished.

.It is not you who slew them but Allah slew them; when you threw (a

handful of dust) it was not your act, but Allah.s.. (Al-anfal: 17)

The verses refer to the battle between the Muslims and non-Muslims, at the beginning of which the Prophet (SAWS) threw a fistful of sand towards the non-believers shouting .May their faces become disfigured.. At the same time, he gave the order for the battle to commence; and the companions threw themselves into the fighting with such vigour that they easily defeated the enemy.

In this incident the miracles were the throwing of the sand and the huge numbers of non-believers who were killed. The Prophet (SAWS) may have thrown the sand, and the companions may have killed the enemy, but all these were the acts of Allah.

May Allah guide us all to His straight and true path which leads to Pardise? Ameen.

By: Fadllur Rahman Kalim Kashmiri

Compiled, edited and adapted by Khalid Latif- e,tabligue

 

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