The word of sincerity is of no benefit except to one who says it knowing its meaning
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Fatwa number ( 15610 )
Q: What is your opinion regarding the statement of the Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan al-Shaykh in (Fath al-Mujid, p. 45): (And this is different from the one who says it: (And it is: There is no god but Allah) while he calls upon other than Allah, and seeks aid from a dead person or an absent one who neither benefits nor harms, as you see most of creation doing. So these people, even if they say it,
they have been afflicted with what contradicts it, so it does not benefit its speaker except with knowledge of its meaning in negation and affirmation.) Does the ruling differ among people from time to time and place to place, or is the ruling fixed and does not require interpretation?
A: The statement of the Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) is clear that the word of sincerity does not benefit its speaker unless he says it knowing its meaning and acting in accordance with its implications, thereby affirming that worship is pure for Allah the Exalted. As for the one who seeks aid from other than Allah, calls upon other than Allah, or believes that the dead hear the supplication of those who call them and intercede for them, and that they are intermediaries between him and Allah, and he slaughters for them, vows for them, seeks aid from them, and turns to them for the removal of hardships, and calls upon them besides Allah, and believes in the benefit of their intercession, then this is contrary to the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and its doer and believer is one who associates partners with Allah in major shirk, and the rulings of disbelievers apply to him in this world. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his companions.
Q: What is your opinion regarding the statement of the Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan al-Shaykh in (Fath al-Mujid, p. 45): (And this is different from the one who says it: (And it is: There is no god but Allah) while he calls upon other than Allah, and seeks aid from a dead person or an absent one who neither benefits nor harms, as you see most of creation doing. So these people, even if they say it,
they have been afflicted with what contradicts it, so it does not benefit its speaker except with knowledge of its meaning in negation and affirmation.) Does the ruling differ among people from time to time and place to place, or is the ruling fixed and does not require interpretation?
A: The statement of the Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) is clear that the word of sincerity does not benefit its speaker unless he says it knowing its meaning and acting in accordance with its implications, thereby affirming that worship is pure for Allah the Exalted. As for the one who seeks aid from other than Allah, calls upon other than Allah, or believes that the dead hear the supplication of those who call them and intercede for them, and that they are intermediaries between him and Allah, and he slaughters for them, vows for them, seeks aid from them, and turns to them for the removal of hardships, and calls upon them besides Allah, and believes in the benefit of their intercession, then this is contrary to the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and its doer and believer is one who associates partners with Allah in major shirk, and the rulings of disbelievers apply to him in this world. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.