Explanation of the Author's Statement: The Chapter on Fear of Associating Partners with Allah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : The first chapter is "Establishing the Oneness of Allah" and the second chapter is "Whoever establishes the Oneness of Allah enters Paradise without reckoning or punishment" and this is the third chapter... by him (may Allah have mercy on him), because a person may think that he has established the Oneness of Allah when he has not. A person may think that he has established the Oneness of Allah when he has not. For this reason, some of the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said: "I have not striven against my soul for anything as I have striven against it for sincerity" And this is true, and that is, O Ibrahim, because the soul is attached to this world. The soul is attached to this world and seeks its desires, whether wealth, status, or leadership. One may seek the Hereafter through one's deeds but actually seek this world, and this diminishes sincerity. Few are those whose aim is the Hereafter in all their deeds; this is very rare. Therefore, the author followed the two preceding chapters with this chapter, which is the fear of shirk (associating partners with Allah). A person may associate partners with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) without knowing it, and this is very common in the Ummah today. If we were to conduct a survey of those who seek knowledge in the colleges, we would find that they number in the thousands, in the thousands. Is that not so?
The student: In the millions.
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: In the millions, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : No, not in the hundreds; we are in the hundreds. Yes. If we were to take another, thorough look, why are you studying in these universities? This is the only point. Is it to learn the Shari'ah of Allah and support it with your words, deeds, and da'wah (calling others to Islam), or for some other specific reason? It could be this and that, but the most common, the most common, is the job. So, truly, I am sorry for those who submit theses to obtain degrees, called Master's... and such things, yes, and Doctorates and so on. In reality, it appears to us, and Allah knows best, that most of them are not intended for the face of Allah. I am sorry for those who wrote them; they do not know what they wrote, they do not know what they wrote. Perhaps if a high school student came and tried hard, he would write something better than what this person wrote for the sake of wanting a doctorate. Therefore, this matter is serious, even for our culture and our deeds, and for documenting our politics, if one wants to reach the chairs of administration and execution. People like these ignorants display their culture simply by a card they are given, stating that so-and-so has obtained a doctorate with a grade of excellent, or good, or such, and they do not know. This is a calamity, truly. This is one of our greatest calamities today, and we suffer from it. But do people like these help? I do not accept supervising any thesis from these people. Yes.
The student: Why?
The Shaykh : Why? Because first, it is attributed to a person for something more important than this. Second, not everyone who attributes themselves to it has a good intention or aims for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). I do not say that this ruling applies to all those who submit these theses, no, but some are established as not having intended the face of Allah for it... in their behavior and the methodology of their lives, and in what they wrote and submitted. And we ask Allah for safety. For this reason, the blessing was removed from... before this time, you would find one scholar in the country by whom Allah would benefit a scholar, yes. But now, how many scholars there are, yet the benefit and utility are few. The benefit and utility are few. And this is as 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "Many are the readers, and few are the jurists" The important thing, O my brothers, is that I advise myself before you, and I advise you, to fear shirk (associating partners with Allah), and that a person should not feel secure, because the matter is very delicate. For this reason, the author (may Allah have mercy on him), as part of his advice, when he mentioned tawhid (the oneness of Allah), the virtue of tawhid, and its establishment, mentioned the fear of shirk, so that a person does not be deluded and say, "That's it, I have established tawhid." He said, and the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic):
The student: In the millions.
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: In the millions, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : No, not in the hundreds; we are in the hundreds. Yes. If we were to take another, thorough look, why are you studying in these universities? This is the only point. Is it to learn the Shari'ah of Allah and support it with your words, deeds, and da'wah (calling others to Islam), or for some other specific reason? It could be this and that, but the most common, the most common, is the job. So, truly, I am sorry for those who submit theses to obtain degrees, called Master's... and such things, yes, and Doctorates and so on. In reality, it appears to us, and Allah knows best, that most of them are not intended for the face of Allah. I am sorry for those who wrote them; they do not know what they wrote, they do not know what they wrote. Perhaps if a high school student came and tried hard, he would write something better than what this person wrote for the sake of wanting a doctorate. Therefore, this matter is serious, even for our culture and our deeds, and for documenting our politics, if one wants to reach the chairs of administration and execution. People like these ignorants display their culture simply by a card they are given, stating that so-and-so has obtained a doctorate with a grade of excellent, or good, or such, and they do not know. This is a calamity, truly. This is one of our greatest calamities today, and we suffer from it. But do people like these help? I do not accept supervising any thesis from these people. Yes.
The student: Why?
The Shaykh : Why? Because first, it is attributed to a person for something more important than this. Second, not everyone who attributes themselves to it has a good intention or aims for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). I do not say that this ruling applies to all those who submit these theses, no, but some are established as not having intended the face of Allah for it... in their behavior and the methodology of their lives, and in what they wrote and submitted. And we ask Allah for safety. For this reason, the blessing was removed from... before this time, you would find one scholar in the country by whom Allah would benefit a scholar, yes. But now, how many scholars there are, yet the benefit and utility are few. The benefit and utility are few. And this is as 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "Many are the readers, and few are the jurists" The important thing, O my brothers, is that I advise myself before you, and I advise you, to fear shirk (associating partners with Allah), and that a person should not feel secure, because the matter is very delicate. For this reason, the author (may Allah have mercy on him), as part of his advice, when he mentioned tawhid (the oneness of Allah), the virtue of tawhid, and its establishment, mentioned the fear of shirk, so that a person does not be deluded and say, "That's it, I have established tawhid." He said, and the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic):