The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that it is not permissible to prostrate to Allah in front of a person; what is the evidence for this?

The questioner : The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says in *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim*: "For this reason, one is forbidden from prostrating to Allah in front of a man, even if the one prostrating does not intend that, because it resembles prostrating to other than Allah." Is there evidence for this prohibition, the prohibition of praying in front of a man? That is what I understood.

The Shaykh : Is your question related to what you quoted from Ibn Taymiyyah?

The questioner : Yes, he said, "For this reason, one is forbidden from..." naturally, in a long passage, he said, "For this reason, one is forbidden from..."

The Shaykh : Repeat the statement.

The questioner : "For this reason, one is forbidden from prostrating."

The Shaykh : No, no, the beginning of his statement.

The questioner : That is how I quoted it.

The Shaykh : Fine, read it.

The questioner : "For this reason, one is forbidden from prostrating to Allah in front of a man, even if the one prostrating does not intend that, because it resembles prostrating to other than Allah." Is there evidence for this prohibition?

The Shaykh : First, let me tell you what I understood from Ibn Taymiyyah's words, and then you ask, because you turned prostration into prayer, and it does not mean prayer; it means prostration, correct?

The questioner : What comes to my mind!

The Shaykh : I know that, which is why I wanted to draw your attention to this. It means prostration, that a person prostrates in front of someone. So we do not look at his intention here, because it is an apparent polytheistic act. And without a doubt, this refers to the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), that he traveled to Sham, and when he returned and met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the first thing he did when he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was to fall down to prostrate to him, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him and said: He excused himself by saying that when he went to Sham, he found the Christians prostrating to their priests and leaders, and he said, "So you, O Messenger of Allah, are more deserving of prostration than they are." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from that, and this is the hadith. The point is regarding apparent matters. Now we enter into answering your question regarding apparent matters. In apparent matters, we do not look at intentions unless the text indicates otherwise. Many Muslims are confused when it is said, "Do not do this because it involves imitating the disbelievers," and they say, "I do not mean to imitate; I do not mean it in my heart." But it is meant by his action. That is, this appearance is imitation, whether he means it in his heart or not; that is a matter between him and his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He). The meaning of this statement is that we imagine two people, each imitating the disbelievers. One intended the imitation, and the other did not intend the imitation. The first is more sinful before Allah than the second, but the second does not escape sin because he is actually imitating. In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him, and he said: In some narrations, he took them and lit the oven with them, so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from wasting wealth, and he should have spent it on his family. The point is that we must observe that violations of the Shari'ah are sometimes practical and sometimes internal. The practical one is lighter than the internal one, and the internal one is more sinful than the practical one. There are many, many examples of this. I brought you the hadith of Muslim just now: When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) gave a sermon one day, a man from among his Companions stood up and said to him, "What Allah wills and what you will." This was not what he intended by what he uttered, so he resembled the disbelievers in his wording, "What Allah wills and what you will." The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not look at his intention or his heart; he knew that his heart was pure and clean, because he did not believe in Allah and His Messenger except fleeing from shirk (associating partners with Allah). But nevertheless, he said to him: Refining words is exactly like refining appearances; it is necessary whether the intentions are good or bad.
This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.