The Shaykh’s talk on the shirk (associating partners with Allah) into which the ummah (the Muslim community) has fallen due to its ignorance

The Shaykh : How can a Muslim who testifies that there is no god but Allah in the correct sense—let us assume this—then practically disbelieve in that meaning? We said that he worships other than Allah. How can one conceive of a Muslim who worships other than Allah? Or the millions of Muslims who worship other than Allah, by the millions? Now, every person who prays must, at least in the witr (the odd-numbered night prayer) rak'ah (a unit of prayer)—the only rak'ah—recite Surat al-Fatihah for his prayer to be valid, and he says in Surat al-Fatihah, “O Lord, ” meaning, You alone we ask for help, not anyone else. What do you think of the millions of Muslims today who come to Baghdad for the sake of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir, whom they call al-Ba'az, and they come to al-Husayn and Zaynab in Egypt, and I don’t know what else, yes?

The questioner : They seek help from them.

The Shaykh : Ah, they go there for what? “Help, O Master Ahmad! Help, O Badiwi!” and so on. Where is ? They do not understand what worship is, this which he restricts to Allah when he says . He does not know that if he prostrates in reverence to a person, he has worshipped him besides Allah. He does not know this meaning at all. He does not know that if he makes a vow to Lady Zaynab, or al-Khidr, or Shu'ayb, or I don’t know what you have, he does not know that this slaughter is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and disbelief in His worship. Why? Because he is not taught. He is illiterate, he cannot read or write, that is fine, but we said that teaching takes two forms: either if he is capable of understanding from the Book and the Sunnah, then directly from the Book and the Sunnah, or ? Where are the people of knowledge? If you asked the people of knowledge this question today, they would not answer you with this detail, and they would not explain to you tawhid (the oneness of Allah) or what worship is. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an, and we recite this verse, but most of us do not understand it, and consequently do not practice it: . My prayer is understood. What does “my sacrifice” mean? My slaughter. Well, this person says, “I vowed a sacrifice for our Master Shu'ayb, and this for Abd al-Qadir, and Lady Zaynab, and al-Husayn, and so on.”

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : All of this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because Allah coupled sacrifices with prayer, saying: . And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So take millions of Muslims who testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and they pray and fast, and perhaps they stand in prayer at night while people are sleeping, but their creed is ruined and desolate. What is the benefit of prayer when he has associated partners with Allah? Because originally, the testimony by which the Muslim entered Islam, he did not understand it. We accepted from the disbeliever that he enters Islam with the testimony that there is no god but Allah, but this Muslim—Muslim son of Muslim son of Muslim—his grandfather might be a Companion from the followers of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). What is the benefit of living all these years without understanding the meaning of “There is no god but Allah”? And even if he understood it, he disbelieved in it practically. Why? Because he did not understand what worship is that is not done for anyone but Allah. What is this worship? And how often do you see now people swearing by other than Allah, over trivial matters, at the slightest occasion in their life, the life of their son, the head of their father, the head of their grandfather, and so on. Perhaps there is not one person who has not read the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . So this faith, which is the first pillar, when Jibril asked the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), “What is faith?” he said, “Faith is that you believe in Allah.” The first belief in Allah is that you believe in His oneness in His essence, in His worship, and in His attributes.