What is the ruling on one who says that the polytheists of Quraysh did not acknowledge the oneness of lordship, citing as evidence that they sought rain from the stars?

The questioner : Some of the Salafis in Iraq, one of them is an amir from among their amirs.

The Shaykh : A man, what is he?

The questioner : An amir from among the amirs of the Salafis who spoke on a new issue we had not heard before. He said that the polytheists of Quraysh were not actually upon the oneness of lordship, and this caused a wide controversy.

The Shaykh : Is this a Salafi?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Do you know him as a Salafi?

The questioner : Yes, he argues that they used to seek rain from the stars, and this contradicts the oneness of lordship. He said that they claim it in words but not in action.

The Shaykh : This is great ignorance, my brother, because seeking rain from the stars is one of the matters of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance that some Muslims themselves do not leave, as came in the authentic hadith. So this does not mean that these Muslims do not believe in the oneness of lordship. And I think, and I do not know who you mean by this amir, I do not think that this is, first of all, a great scholar in knowledge.

The questioner : No, he is young.

The Shaykh : So youth often indicates shallowness in knowledge, because knowledge, my brother, takes time. What does this poet say? "My brother, you will not attain knowledge except with six things."
Al-Halabi : "I will inform you of their sum with clarity:
Intelligence, diligence, patience, eloquence, *** and the guidance of a teacher and a long time."

The Shaykh : "And a long time" is what concerns me. Today there is a new generation that promises good, but from another aspect, they promise that they were not raised on the wisdom of age, which says, "Acquire knowledge before you become leaders." So in reality, they embody the old Arab proverb that says, "Become a bee before the flower opens." This is impossible. You said just now, the amir. I want now to address something you may not have touched on before. Do you think I am an amir?

The questioner : You?

The Shaykh : He laughs.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : No, I am not an amir. Give me your attention.
Al-Halabi : You are a trustworthy one.

The Shaykh : May Allah make us among the trustworthy ones. Whenever we entered a mosque, we had a connection with some of the people there. We would feel, and the imam would be praying a prayer with loud recitation and would mention, for example, a verse containing condemnation and rebuke of the disbelievers And the bell would ring from above the imam's head. You know what they call the "Big Ben" clock of Britain. In some of the large clocks, this introductory music plays, and then the bell rings. How does this coexist with the heedlessness of the Muslims? So we would go down and disable the bell. We did this in Quba, but unfortunately, Halimah returned to her old habit. They said, "We have not heard of this in our forefathers." How many and how many of the sheikhs have prayed in this mosque? So, may Allah reward you, it must be disabled. So, may Allah reward you, I did not intend to command or claim that I am an amir. I am not an amir. It was offered to me many times to be an amir, and I said no. I am only a student of knowledge. Being an amir requires many conditions, and very many. The first is that he must be a scholar in Islam so that he knows how to direct the people under his authority. Today, how many amirs there are, and how many of these amirs who have been pledged allegiance to now, the existing parties, whether in Afghanistan or Algeria or Egypt or here, they are many and very many. And this is one of the causes of the weakness of the Muslims, because this amir has a specific methodology, and this one has a specific methodology, and this one has a specific methodology. And each of these commands a group, so the groups clash with each other because of the clash of the methodologies of their leaders. And so we advise, and recently we had in our house a man who also came from Afghanistan, and we said, among other things, that it is not permissible to pledge allegiance to an amir from among the amirs unless the Muslims agree to pledge allegiance to him. Then he would be the caliph. But here there is an amir and there is an amir. This is one of the causes of the weakness and division of the Muslims. And this is the example that exists now in Afghanistan, unfortunately. So this one you say is an amir, first of all, his error is being an amir, and this indicates that he is empty-handed in terms of knowledge.

The questioner : He was killed by the state.

The Shaykh : From a long time ago, I mean.
Abu Layla : Some Iraqi brothers came to you and mentioned him to you.

The Shaykh : The point is, he was killed, may Allah have mercy on him. So the point, my brother.

The questioner : He is not raising the banner of "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" ... .

The Shaykh : But we fear that he surely became a Muslim, if Allah wills. This is a good omen. It is fine, but among the politics, it resembles "There is no god but Allah."