about the shirk of obedience and the definition of taghut
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The student: ...
The Shaykh : It is the shirk of following and the shirk of obedience, but that is the shirk of worship. For this reason, the best definition of taghut is what Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Whatever the servant exceeds his limit in, whether it is an object of worship, a person followed, or a person obeyed". The object of worship is the idols, the person followed is the scholars, and the person obeyed is the rulers. This is the best that can be said regarding the definition of taghut, but this is with regard to the one who commits transgression. As for the object of worship, the person followed, or the person obeyed, they are not taghut in themselves, because the scholar may not approve of this matter, and the ruler likewise, and the object of worship likewise. But with regard to the actor, they are taghut because he transgressed in them; they are the place of his transgression, and they are not taghut in themselves. So 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) is an object of worship; do we say that he is taghut? No, but he is the place of the transgression of those who worshipped him. Pay attention to this point, because some people found difficulty with the words of Ibn al-Qayyim and said, how can he say this, so 'Isa is taghut because he is an object of worship? It is said: His intention, may Allah have mercy on him, is that the place of transgression is in the object of worship, the person followed, and the person obeyed.
The Shaykh : It is the shirk of following and the shirk of obedience, but that is the shirk of worship. For this reason, the best definition of taghut is what Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Whatever the servant exceeds his limit in, whether it is an object of worship, a person followed, or a person obeyed". The object of worship is the idols, the person followed is the scholars, and the person obeyed is the rulers. This is the best that can be said regarding the definition of taghut, but this is with regard to the one who commits transgression. As for the object of worship, the person followed, or the person obeyed, they are not taghut in themselves, because the scholar may not approve of this matter, and the ruler likewise, and the object of worship likewise. But with regard to the actor, they are taghut because he transgressed in them; they are the place of his transgression, and they are not taghut in themselves. So 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) is an object of worship; do we say that he is taghut? No, but he is the place of the transgression of those who worshipped him. Pay attention to this point, because some people found difficulty with the words of Ibn al-Qayyim and said, how can he say this, so 'Isa is taghut because he is an object of worship? It is said: His intention, may Allah have mercy on him, is that the place of transgression is in the object of worship, the person followed, and the person obeyed.