What is the criterion for supplicating to other than Allah, and is the supplication to the flag to restore glory considered supplication to other than Allah, as in the song in the second-grade elementary book?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, what is the criterion by which we know if supplication to other than Allah is shirk (associating partners with Allah)? It has been mentioned, Your Eminence, in the second-grade elementary book, a song whose text reads:
To the sky, O flag, to the sky
Live in ascent, O flag, live in height
O flag, O flag
Then it said:
Wave over us with dreams
Renew for us our glories
Wave over us with joy
Wave, for our cheering
Greet the flag, greet the flag
Is this supplication to other than Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He)?
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that this statement is wrong, and that the flag is not the one who restores glory and honor; rather, it is holding fast to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that restores it. Indeed, this is the true cause that Allah made a cause for elevation, might, and honor. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[Al-Munafiqun 63:8], and He said: [An-Nur 24:55].
As for the supplication to the flag, if it were not for our knowledge that the one supplicating intends that the flag is a cause and not the creator, we would say that this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah. It is like the one who supplicates to the tree and the stone in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah).
But we know that this speaker does not intend that the flag itself is the one who brings might, glory, and honor, but rather that it is a cause. Therefore, it is not possible for us to rule that this is major shirk (shirk akbar). However, we say that it is a type of minor shirk (shirk asghar), where he made something that Allah did not make a cause into a cause. If you had written this to us so that we could look into the matter, it would have been better, so that the youth, especially the young ones, do not cling to such matters and forget Allah (Mighty and Majestic). May Allah reward you. Write it to us, if Allah wills.
To the sky, O flag, to the sky
Live in ascent, O flag, live in height
O flag, O flag
Then it said:
Wave over us with dreams
Renew for us our glories
Wave over us with joy
Wave, for our cheering
Greet the flag, greet the flag
Is this supplication to other than Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He)?
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that this statement is wrong, and that the flag is not the one who restores glory and honor; rather, it is holding fast to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that restores it. Indeed, this is the true cause that Allah made a cause for elevation, might, and honor. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
And to Allah belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers
وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَAllah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناًAs for the supplication to the flag, if it were not for our knowledge that the one supplicating intends that the flag is a cause and not the creator, we would say that this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah. It is like the one who supplicates to the tree and the stone in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah).
But we know that this speaker does not intend that the flag itself is the one who brings might, glory, and honor, but rather that it is a cause. Therefore, it is not possible for us to rule that this is major shirk (shirk akbar). However, we say that it is a type of minor shirk (shirk asghar), where he made something that Allah did not make a cause into a cause. If you had written this to us so that we could look into the matter, it would have been better, so that the youth, especially the young ones, do not cling to such matters and forget Allah (Mighty and Majestic). May Allah reward you. Write it to us, if Allah wills.