The Benefit of the Story in Being Cautious and Learning About Shirk (Associating Partners with Allah)

The questioner:
It serves to teach and to be cautious, and to know that the ignorant person says, "We have understood tawhid (the oneness of Allah)?"

The Shaykh:
Yes, this story serves to be cautious. It teaches the Muslim that he should be cautious of these phrases and avoid them. How much more so if he acts, avoiding these things and fearing shirk (associating partners with Allah)? Yes.

The questioner:
It serves to teach and to be cautious.

The Shaykh:
It serves to teach. A person learns tawhid (the oneness of Allah). He does not say, "I am a Muslim," as they say today. And that is not sufficient. "I am a Muslim." Do you teach us tawhid (the oneness of Allah) while we are Muslims? They say so. They establish tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in schools, and they are Muslims. They say so now. The one who does not learn falls into shirk (associating partners with Allah) because of ignorance. He must learn so that he knows tawhid (the oneness of Allah) from shirk (associating partners with Allah) and avoids these matters. Yes. Otherwise, ignorance leads him to fall into shirk (associating partners with Allah), whether he intended it or not. Yes.

The questioner:
Does it serve to teach and to be cautious, and to know that the ignorant person says, "We have understood tawhid (the oneness of Allah)?"

The Shaykh:
Yes, in the time of the Shaykh, when he called to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and repeated it, they would say, "What is this? Is it his concern? What is this teaching? We understand tawhid (the oneness of Allah). We understand tawhid (the oneness of Allah)." And if you tested them with the smallest thing, if you tested them with the smallest thing from the issues of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), they would not know it. And they say, "We understand tawhid (the oneness of Allah)." Can one understand tawhid (the oneness of Allah) without learning? That is not possible.