Is the term *wathn* (idol) specific to a statue, or does it encompass everything worshipped other than Allah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is everything worshipped other than Allah considered a *wathn*, or is it specific to a statue?
Answer:
The *wathn* is broader than the *sanam* (statue). A *wathn* is anything worshipped other than Allah, such as a grave. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So it is a *wathn*. As for the *sanam*, it is what is in the form of a human or an animal. This is the *sanam*. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is everything worshipped other than Allah considered a *wathn*, or is it specific to a statue?
Answer:
The *wathn* is broader than the *sanam* (statue). A *wathn* is anything worshipped other than Allah, such as a grave. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
O Allah, do not make my grave an idol to be worshipped.
اللهم لا تجعل قبري وثنا يعبد كل ما عبد من دون الله
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [3058- 4717] هل الوثن خاص بالصنم أم عام بكل ما يعبد من دون الله؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.