The interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And most of them do not believe in Allah except while they are associating partners with Him."
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Question:
The questioner, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted[Yusuf 12:106], asks: What is the meaning of this verse?
Answer:
It means that they believe in the oneness of lordship, but they associate partners with Allah in the oneness of worship. These are the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and likewise those who resemble them among the grave worshippers. They believe in the oneness of lordship but associate partners with Allah in the oneness of worship. Some believers may have some of this in them, in which case they commit minor shirk (associating partners with Allah).
Minor shirk, even though he is a believer and a monotheist. Therefore, when Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) saw a man wearing a thread from the hamra (a type of plant), meaning he was using it to ward off the hamra, he cut it (may Allah be pleased with him) and said:[Yusuf 12:106], intending by this minor shirk. A person may have tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and yet have some minor shirk in him. Yes.
The questioner, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted
And most of them believe not in Allah except while they associate others with Him.
وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَAnswer:
It means that they believe in the oneness of lordship, but they associate partners with Allah in the oneness of worship. These are the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and likewise those who resemble them among the grave worshippers. They believe in the oneness of lordship but associate partners with Allah in the oneness of worship. Some believers may have some of this in them, in which case they commit minor shirk (associating partners with Allah).
Minor shirk, even though he is a believer and a monotheist. Therefore, when Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) saw a man wearing a thread from the hamra (a type of plant), meaning he was using it to ward off the hamra, he cut it (may Allah be pleased with him) and said:
And most of them believe not in Allah except while they associate others with Him.
وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [983- 4717] تفسير قوله تعالى:﴿وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون﴾ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.