The student’s attribution of his academic excellence to his studying, the school’s administration, and the teacher
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some school students, when they achieve excellence or distinction, say that this is due to their good studying and staying up late, or that the credit for it belongs to the school’s good administration or the teacher’s explanation. Similarly, famous people in various fields of life, such as trade or knowledge, say, “I have carved my history and fame into stone.” Is this considered shirk (associating partners with Allah) and kufr (disbelief) regarding blessings?
The Shaykh:
The question is long; give us the beginning.
The questioner:
And some school students, when they achieve excellence or distinction, say that this is due to their good studying and staying up late, or that the credit for it belongs to
The Shaykh:
That is wrong. Do not attribute this to your studying. A person may strive with his own effort and not be successful, or a person may be negligent in his studying and staying up late and yet be successful. All of this is attributed to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Staying up late and studying are merely one of the causes. If Allah wills, it will be beneficial; if He wills, it will not be. Allah is the One who arranges the results of causes. Staying up late and studying are causes that may be beneficial or may not be. So attribute the credit to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The questioner:
Or his saying that this happened thanks to the school’s administration or thanks to the teacher’s explanation.
The Shaykh:
Likewise, this is not permissible. It is not permissible to attribute the credit to the school’s administration or to the teacher. The credit is attributed to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and one should thank the school and the teacher only for the extent of their effort, only for the extent of their effort. But the credit is not attributed to them; it is attributed to Allah. One says, “The school administered well, and the teacher explained well, but as for the success, that is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic).” Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some school students, when they achieve excellence or distinction, say that this is due to their good studying and staying up late, or that the credit for it belongs to the school’s good administration or the teacher’s explanation. Similarly, famous people in various fields of life, such as trade or knowledge, say, “I have carved my history and fame into stone.” Is this considered shirk (associating partners with Allah) and kufr (disbelief) regarding blessings?
The Shaykh:
The question is long; give us the beginning.
The questioner:
And some school students, when they achieve excellence or distinction, say that this is due to their good studying and staying up late, or that the credit for it belongs to
The Shaykh:
That is wrong. Do not attribute this to your studying. A person may strive with his own effort and not be successful, or a person may be negligent in his studying and staying up late and yet be successful. All of this is attributed to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Staying up late and studying are merely one of the causes. If Allah wills, it will be beneficial; if He wills, it will not be. Allah is the One who arranges the results of causes. Staying up late and studying are causes that may be beneficial or may not be. So attribute the credit to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The questioner:
Or his saying that this happened thanks to the school’s administration or thanks to the teacher’s explanation.
The Shaykh:
Likewise, this is not permissible. It is not permissible to attribute the credit to the school’s administration or to the teacher. The credit is attributed to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and one should thank the school and the teacher only for the extent of their effort, only for the extent of their effort. But the credit is not attributed to them; it is attributed to Allah. One says, “The school administered well, and the teacher explained well, but as for the success, that is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic).” Yes.
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين في تحقيق دعوة الأنبياء والمرسلين، باب قول الله - تعالى - : { يَعْرِفُونَ نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنْكِرُونَهَا وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ } — islamhouse.com (51:12)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.