Explanation of the author's statement and his saying: “And of the people are those who take others besides Allah as equals, whom they love as they love Allah” (the verse).
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The Shaykh :“And His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah 2:165]” Good, we said that this verse will come up in a future chapter on tawhid (the oneness of Allah). These people made them partners in obedience. As for the rabbis, they obeyed them just as they obey Allah. Whenever they were commanded to do something, they complied, whether it contradicted the ruling of Allah or agreed with it. So the interpretation of tawhid, La ilaha illa Allah, necessitates that your obedience be to whom? To Allah alone. You do not obey but Allah. And for this reason, despite the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) emphasizing obedience to the rulers, he said: Sunan Abi Dawud 2625Sahih (Al-Albani) And he said: [Al-Baqarah 2:165] He meant by the people, Ghanim ibn 'Abdullah ibn Ghanim.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Parse it. Yes, Muhammad.
The student: I
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Who is the judge...
The Shaykh : And of the people
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Very well.
The student: Who is a relative pronoun.
The Shaykh : Error.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : That is also a mistake.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Very well.
The student: Who is a relative pronoun...
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The student: Who is a preposition, and "the people" is a noun in the genitive case, and the sentence is in the position of a nominative subject.
The Shaykh : What is the sentence?
The student: Hmm.
The Shaykh : ... with a sentence.
The student: The sentence is...
The Shaykh : Do you see this is one of the defects... You become a listener, I am not your prophet, you become a listener, you become a learner.
The student: No...
The Shaykh : ...
The student: Who is a preposition, and "the people" is a noun in the genitive case, and the sentence of the preposition and the genitive is in the position of a nominative.
The Shaykh : That is a mistake. The grammarians, both present and absent, will not accept it.
The student: It is in the position of a nominative predicate.
The Shaykh : The sentence.
The student: It is in the position of a nominative predicate.
The Shaykh : No...
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Ah, the preposition and the genitive are connected to a deleted predicate that is fronted. "Who" is the subject, meaning "the one who takes." Here he said "who takes," so he considered the wording. And he said "they love them," so he considered the meaning. Are you with me, everyone? It was mentioned to us regarding the relative pronoun that it is permissible to consider its wording and it is permissible to consider its meaning. So in this noble verse,[Al-Baqarah 2:165] "takes" considered the wording, and he did not say "they take." And "they love them," the conjunction considered the meaning, "they love them." And His saying: "min" (from) is for partiality. The sign of "min" being for partiality is that it is correct to replace it with "ba'd" (some) here. If he said "and some of the people take others besides Allah," is it correct? It is correct. And His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah 2:165] means "who makes others besides Allah." The second object is fronted, and "equals" is the first object. "Who takes equals besides Allah."
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, no.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, it is correct, but it is transitive with "min" and with other than "min." And his saying: "andada" (equals) is the plural of "nidd" (equal). An equal is a similar one and a counterpart. An equal is a similar one and a counterpart. For this reason, And his saying "they love them," this is the aspect of similarity. This is the aspect of similarity: the equality is in love. [Al-Baqarah 2:165] And here, "as the love of Allah," is "love" a verbal noun added to the object or to the subject?
The student: To the subject.
The Shaykh : No.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No.[Al-Baqarah 2:165] Here.
The student: To the object, it is clear.
The Shaykh : To the object. The object means they love them just as they love Allah. Yes, and the meaning is not "as the love of the believers for Allah." And even if we made it "as the love of the believers for Allah," it is still added to the object. Good. "They love them as the love of Allah." They made them equal to Allah in love. So what about a man who loves other than Allah more than his love for Allah? Is it more intense or not?
The student: More intense.
The Shaykh : More intense. And what about a man who loves other than Allah and does not love Allah? I seek refuge in Allah. It is uglier and uglier. If Allah, the Exalted, made it shirk (associating partners with Allah) to love other than Allah as the love of Allah, what about the one who loves other than Allah more? And this exists, unfortunately, in many of those who claim to be Muslims today. They love their awliya (close friends of Allah) more than they love Allah. You find it said to him: "Swear by Allah that you did not do such and such." He says: "I swear by Allah." (How? Do you want one oath, or three, or ten?) Here he swears. He says: "Swear by the wali (close friend of Allah)." His hair stands on end, or he cannot swear even half an oath unless he is truthful. But as for his oath by Allah, he swears a thousand oaths and he is lying, and he does not care. He is lying and he does not care about this matter. For this reason, we say these people love other than Allah more than they love Allah. There are many Muslims who come to the Hijaz, to Makkah and al-Madinah, and they come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They consider visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) greater than visiting the House of Allah. Yes, because they find in their hearts a love for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) like the love of Allah or more. And this is undoubtedly shirk (associating partners with Allah). Yes, because Allah knows that we did not love the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) except for the love of Allah for him and because he is the Messenger of Allah. We did not love him because he is Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Hashim ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib. No, but we love him because he is, here, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So we love him with the love of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Is that clear, everyone? But these people, and I seek refuge in Allah, make the love of Allah subordinate to the love of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If they love Allah, the result is that this verse is, in fact, a great trial. A great trial for many of the hearts of Muslims today who make other than Allah like Allah in love. There are also people who associated with Allah in the love of other than Him, not in the form of the known worship, but in the form of worship mentioned in the hadith, which is the love of the dirham, the dinar, the small cloak, and the large cloak. There are people today if you examined their hearts, you would find their hearts full of the love of the adornments of this world: the love of the house, the car, the woman, the bed, and the like. You do not find a connection to Allah in his heart except one in a thousand.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Good. Even the one for Allah, when he comes to pray, and the prayer is for Allah, where is he? He is now in the mosque, but the heart is there, in the shop, on the ground, in the car, in the pleasure, and so on. This is a type of worship in reality. And if a person accounts himself: why was he created? He was created for the worship of Allah. And he was also created for another abode. What is this abode? This abode is a temporary one. It is permissible for a person to move from it to another abode. The abode for which he was created, and which he must attend to by working for, is the Hereafter. I wish I knew when, on a day, a person thought: how do I work? What remains of me in this world? What did I do? What did I achieve? Just days pass and go by. I do not know if I increased in closeness to Allah or distance from Allah. I do not know what I have earned, what I have achieved. Do we account ourselves for this matter? Here.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : By Allah... True, I say it about myself, and Allah knows best about others. A person, meaning, he is negligent a lot. He sits and says: I, what did I achieve? What is the benefit of my staying from last Ramadan to this year's Ramadan? What is the difference? Yes, what is the benefit of these years that have passed me? What did I achieve from them? And am I now thinking that if I remain, I will use these days that I remain with, and these months or years, I will use them in the obedience of Allah, I will use them in progress, I will use them in scientific activity, in activity in calling to Allah, in activity in the means to Allah through worship? Yes, these are sensitive matters that we must always attend to. We must attend to them, otherwise we will find that we have become like a wheel moving by an engine that does not know where the destination is. So every rational person must have a goal. What is your goal? Here. Also, we are all seeking knowledge now, if Allah wills, the Exalted. We hope that Allah will achieve for us what we want. We seek knowledge for what? What is the goal?
The student: We draw near to Allah.
The Shaykh : Drawing near to Allah by seeking His pleasure, and also reforming ourselves and reforming others. If we have reformed ourselves, do we apply every issue we learn? We may not be able to, but in any case, we find deficiency in ourselves; we find much deficiency in this regard. Do we also, when we learn an issue, call the servants of Allah to it? Do we call our families to it? Do we call our relatives and kin to it? Do we call those who are in contact with us? Yes, this is a matter that requires us to hold ourselves accountable. The burden on the student of knowledge is not light, and by Allah, the burden on him is greater than the zakat on wealth. His burden is that he works, moves, and spreads knowledge and awareness in the Muslim community. Otherwise, it would be torn to pieces. Today, in the world, only this Kingdom remains, and otherwise, the entire Islamic world today is in deviation, except for whom Allah wills. But according to our knowledge, there is no such Kingdom today. And yet, the dogs have opened their mouths to tear it apart from every side. Who protects it from these dogs except the people of knowledge who first act upon it and secondly call to it? What benefits the student is that he comes, attends, reads in his book, or masters an issue, and becomes like a copy of the book. That is not... In reality, action is necessary, but wisdom is also necessary, and this is what is lacking in some of our brothers whom Allah has given knowledge. Wisdom means that a person is realistic and does not live in this era as if he were living in the era of the Companions, thinking that people will submit to him. Yes, he lives his life in the time of the Companions in terms of knowledge, benefiting from it, and calling to the truth. But for people to be in the state of the Companions of that day, he does not live that way. If he did... With what did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once address the women? He admonished them and ordered them to give charity. What did they do? One woman would take her earring from her ear, her ring from her hand, and her necklace from her neck and throw it into the garment of Bilal in obedience. He said to the man who had a gold ring: Then he took it from the man's hand and threw it away. It was said to him, "Take your ring and benefit from it." He said, "By Allah, I will not take a ring that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) threw away." Today, you shout and say, "Shave your beard and your fingers are in your ears, people! Gold is forbidden for men." He says, "This is an engagement ring, for the fiancée, for the fiancée." This is a defective belief. And they heard the forbidden thing, as it is said in the proverb: "A dry fig and bad measure" or a measure. Yes, this is problematic. Does anyone try to make the Ummah now like the Ummah of that time, meaning in a single moment? It is not possible. This is not possible. He must proceed with wisdom, accepting some things and overlooking others, yes, so that matters are completed, so that matters are completed. Therefore, the issue actually requires much explanation, and I fear that we have run out of time. It requires much explanation, but the wise person takes a summary from what we have mentioned and benefits from it, if Allah wills. Yes.
[At-Tawbah 9:31] to the end of it. And this is contrary to tawhid (the oneness of Allah). Which types of tawhid? Tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship).
The Student: Lordship.
The Shaykh : Yes, rububiyyah (lordship), because obedience is part of rububiyyah. So these people took them as lords besides Allah, obeying them in forbidding what Allah has made lawful and permitting what Allah has forbidden. So they made them lords, and this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) that is contrary to tawhid.
And among them is also love. In reality, as Ibn al-Qayyim said, all matters are based on love. One who loves can move. Do you, for example, move toward something unless you love it? Always, even a bite of your food, you do not eat it except out of love for it. For this reason, it was said that all movements are based on love, which is desire. So love is the foundation of action. Therefore, associating partners in love is associating partners with Allah. If you equate other than Allah with Allah in love, you have associated partners with Allah. But love has types, some of which may be contrary to the love of tawhid, and some of which are not. Every love for Allah is contrary to tawhid or not? It is not contrary to it; it is part of its perfection. The strongest ties of faith are love for Allah and hatred for Allah. And love for Allah: you love this thing because Allah loves it, whether it is a person, an action, a time, or a place. Then this is not contrary to tawhid; this is part of the perfection of love for Allah. For this reason, Majnun Layla said:
"I passed by the houses, the houses of Layla *** I greeted this wall and this wall
And it is not love of the houses that has captivated my heart *** But rather love of the one who dwells in the houses"
Yes, so loving what Allah loves is undoubtedly part of the love of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Undoubtedly, it is His love. Also, natural love that a person does not prefer over the love of Allah, is it contrary to the love of Allah or not?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, it is not contrary to the love of Allah. So a person loves his child, yes, he loves his child, he loves wealth, he loves his wife, and that does not contradict the love of Allah. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed natural love. Therefore, natural love is not contrary to the love of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And among natural love is that a person loves what benefits him, yes, from food or drink or clothing or other things. This also is not contrary to the love of Allah. But the love that is contrary to the love of Allah is when he makes this love a rival to the love of Allah, such that if it conflicts with the love of Allah in his heart, he prefers it over the love of Allah. And this is what is preferred. Therefore, those who exaggerate regarding our Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) and love him as they love Allah, what are they? They are mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah); they associate partners with Allah. Because our love for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is subordinate to the love of Allah. If he were not the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, he would have been a man from Quraysh, is that not so? But because he is the Messenger of Allah, we love him because he is the Messenger of Allah. So the love of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is subordinate to the love of Allah. Therefore, the love that is intended to be a rival to the love of Allah is shirk, such as equating him with the love of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Then this is shirk. And to this Allah pointed in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):[Al-Baqarah 2:165] And some of the people interpreted it, meaning some of the people. For this reason, the "min" (from) is for partiality. Ibn Malik said:
"It specifies, distinguishes, and begins with places with 'min' *** And it may come for the beginning of times"
The point is his saying "ba'ad" (some) with "ba'" (from), so it is for partiality. And his saying[Al-Baqarah 2:165] gathered a rival, and the rival is the like and the counterpart. [Al-Baqarah 2:165] The exegetes differed regarding his saying "like their love for Allah." It was said that the meaning is that they make the love of these idols equal to the love of Allah, so that in their hearts, according to this arrangement, there would be two loves: love for Allah and love for the idols, and they make the love of the idols like the love of Allah. Understood? So the verse, so here the source is added to the object, added to its object: they love them like their love for Allah. And it was said that the meaning is: [Al-Baqarah 2:165] What is the reality? What is the reality from them? From the believers, from the believers. But the context of the verse supports the first, supports the first, that they love them like the love of Allah. But the verse says [Al-Baqarah 2:165] Okay, the believers are more intense in love for Allah. Is there also a difference in the meaning here? Is the meaning that they are more intense in love for Allah than these people are for their idols? Or are they more intense in love for Allah than these people are for Allah?
The student: The first one.
The Shaykh : There are two opinions on this. If we say they love them as they love Allah, meaning that these polytheists love Allah and love the idols, then the meaning becomes: "And the believers are more loving of Allah than these are of Allah," because it is established that these people love Allah, but their love is conditional. As for the believers, they love Allah with pure love, and for this reason, they do not associate anyone with Allah in His love. If we say the meaning is "And the believers love them as the believers love Allah," then it becomes: "And the believers are more loving of Allah than these are of their idols," meaning the love for Allah is greater than the love these people have for their idols. So the two opinions here regarding His saying:[Al-Baqarah 2:165] branch out from the two opinions regarding His saying: . The point is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made these people who equated the love of Allah with the love of others into polytheists, making rivals for Allah. It is incumbent upon us in the love of Allah that a person loves Allah more than anyone else. If what Allah wants conflicts with what he wants, which does he prioritize? He prioritizes what Allah wants, because this is evidence that he loves Allah more. It is well known that whoever loves something prioritizes it over others. For example, we served you now a kabsa with rice, bread, chicken, and lamb. Most of you take the chicken, and some take the lamb. Why did one prioritize this over that? Because he loves it more. This one took from the rice, and this one took from the bread, and the one who took from the rice prioritized it because he loves it more. So whoever loves something must necessarily prioritize it over others. These people who took these idols prioritize what they want for their idols over what they want for Allah. Yes, in Surat al-An'am, Allah mentioned something of this. What is it? [Al-An'am 6:136] They did injustice until they equated Allah with these idols. Yes.
The student : Shaykh, what ...
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student : I say, what ...
The Shaykh : We actually mentioned a rule in tafsir, and I think you have it in mind: "If a verse can be understood in two meanings that do not contradict each other, it is to be understood as applying to both." So here, do these two contradict each other? Because the reality of the matter is that these polytheists, even if we say the verse applies to both opinions based on the two types, meaning some of the polytheists may never love Allah, loving the idols with pure love, and some may love Allah and love these idols, so the verse has the possibility of two meanings based on these two types. Yes.
The questioner : ... that Allah said:[Al-Baqarah 2:165] If He had said ...
The Shaykh : What? As their love for Allah
The student : If He had said as their love for Allah
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student : He mentioned the pronoun by saying they love them
The Shaykh : Very well.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : This does not contradict Arabic style. It is always, meaning, the omission of the object ... It is always now. If He had said "as their love for Allah," the second possibility would be precluded. It would not be valid with both meanings. It becomes clear that they love Allah, and it cannot be understood as "as the love of the believers for Allah." It cannot be understood that way.
The student : Shaykh
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : His saying, Exalted is He:[Al-Baqarah 2:165]
The Shaykh : Yes
The student :[Al-Baqarah 2:165]
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : Then He said[Al-Baqarah 2:165]
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : So the interpretation of the punishment here ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : What indicates that it is ... if they were
The Shaykh : Even if a person has love for Allah and loves others along with Allah, it does not benefit him.
The student : Yes, but Shaykh, interpreting the punishment in this manner means
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : It indicates the strength of ... associating partners with Allah, even once
The Shaykh : It is not that he is a polytheist once. The one who equates other than Allah with Allah in love is a polytheist once, a polytheist once, because it is obligatory not to make a rival for Allah in this. If a person does this, if a person does it, he is a polytheist.
The student : So there is no difference between them?
The Shaykh : There is no difference between them in terms of shirk. There is no difference between them.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, but he loves the idol like him. I have, it may be that this is more severe, because the one who loves the idol and does not love Allah, Allah, Exalted is He, remains in His knowledge, His majesty, and His elevation. But the one who says "Allah is like this idol, I love him," he has descended to the level of Allah. Okay.
And [yet], among the people are those who
ومن الناس من يتخذObedience is in matters which are good and universally recognized.
إنما الطاعة في المعروفAnd [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals
ومن الناس من يتخذ من دون الله أنداداًThe student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Parse it.
And of the people
ومن الناسThe student: I
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Who is the judge...
The Shaykh : And of the people
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Very well.
The student: Who is a relative pronoun.
The Shaykh : Error.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : That is also a mistake.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Very well.
The student: Who is a relative pronoun...
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The student: Who is a preposition, and "the people" is a noun in the genitive case, and the sentence is in the position of a nominative subject.
The Shaykh : What is the sentence?
The student: Hmm.
The Shaykh : ... with a sentence.
The student: The sentence is...
The Shaykh : Do you see this is one of the defects... You become a listener, I am not your prophet, you become a listener, you become a learner.
The student: No...
The Shaykh : ...
The student: Who is a preposition, and "the people" is a noun in the genitive case, and the sentence of the preposition and the genitive is in the position of a nominative.
The Shaykh : That is a mistake. The grammarians, both present and absent, will not accept it.
The student: It is in the position of a nominative predicate.
The Shaykh : The sentence.
The student: It is in the position of a nominative predicate.
The Shaykh : No...
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Ah, the preposition and the genitive are connected to a deleted predicate that is fronted. "Who" is the subject, meaning "the one who takes." Here he said "who takes," so he considered the wording. And he said "they love them," so he considered the meaning. Are you with me, everyone? It was mentioned to us regarding the relative pronoun that it is permissible to consider its wording and it is permissible to consider its meaning. So in this noble verse,
And [yet], among the people are those who
ومن الناس من يتخذAnd of the people
ومن الناسamong the people are those who take other than Allah as equals
من يتخذ من دون الله أنداداًThe student: ...
The Shaykh : No, no.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, it is correct, but it is transitive with "min" and with other than "min." And his saying:
equals
أنداداA man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him: "What Allah wills and what you will." He said to him: "Have I made myself a rival to Allah? Rather, what Allah wills alone."
جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال له: ما شاء الله وشئت فقال له : أجعلتني لله ندا بل ما شاء الله وحدهThey love them as they [should] love Allah
يحبونهم كحب اللهThe student: To the subject.
The Shaykh : No.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No.
They love them as they [should] love Allah
يحبونهم كحب اللهThe student: To the object, it is clear.
The Shaykh : To the object. The object means they love them just as they love Allah. Yes, and the meaning is not "as the love of the believers for Allah." And even if we made it "as the love of the believers for Allah," it is still added to the object. Good. "They love them as the love of Allah." They made them equal to Allah in love. So what about a man who loves other than Allah more than his love for Allah? Is it more intense or not?
The student: More intense.
The Shaykh : More intense. And what about a man who loves other than Allah and does not love Allah? I seek refuge in Allah. It is uglier and uglier. If Allah, the Exalted, made it shirk (associating partners with Allah) to love other than Allah as the love of Allah, what about the one who loves other than Allah more? And this exists, unfortunately, in many of those who claim to be Muslims today. They love their awliya (close friends of Allah) more than they love Allah. You find it said to him: "Swear by Allah that you did not do such and such." He says: "I swear by Allah." (How? Do you want one oath, or three, or ten?) Here he swears. He says: "Swear by the wali (close friend of Allah)." His hair stands on end, or he cannot swear even half an oath unless he is truthful. But as for his oath by Allah, he swears a thousand oaths and he is lying, and he does not care. He is lying and he does not care about this matter. For this reason, we say these people love other than Allah more than they love Allah. There are many Muslims who come to the Hijaz, to Makkah and al-Madinah, and they come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They consider visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) greater than visiting the House of Allah. Yes, because they find in their hearts a love for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) like the love of Allah or more. And this is undoubtedly shirk (associating partners with Allah). Yes, because Allah knows that we did not love the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) except for the love of Allah for him and because he is the Messenger of Allah. We did not love him because he is Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Hashim ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib. No, but we love him because he is, here, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So we love him with the love of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Is that clear, everyone? But these people, and I seek refuge in Allah, make the love of Allah subordinate to the love of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If they love Allah, the result is that this verse is, in fact, a great trial. A great trial for many of the hearts of Muslims today who make other than Allah like Allah in love. There are also people who associated with Allah in the love of other than Him, not in the form of the known worship, but in the form of worship mentioned in the hadith, which is the love of the dirham, the dinar, the small cloak, and the large cloak. There are people today if you examined their hearts, you would find their hearts full of the love of the adornments of this world: the love of the house, the car, the woman, the bed, and the like. You do not find a connection to Allah in his heart except one in a thousand.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Good. Even the one for Allah, when he comes to pray, and the prayer is for Allah, where is he? He is now in the mosque, but the heart is there, in the shop, on the ground, in the car, in the pleasure, and so on. This is a type of worship in reality. And if a person accounts himself: why was he created? He was created for the worship of Allah. And he was also created for another abode. What is this abode? This abode is a temporary one. It is permissible for a person to move from it to another abode. The abode for which he was created, and which he must attend to by working for, is the Hereafter. I wish I knew when, on a day, a person thought: how do I work? What remains of me in this world? What did I do? What did I achieve? Just days pass and go by. I do not know if I increased in closeness to Allah or distance from Allah. I do not know what I have earned, what I have achieved. Do we account ourselves for this matter? Here.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : By Allah... True, I say it about myself, and Allah knows best about others. A person, meaning, he is negligent a lot. He sits and says: I, what did I achieve? What is the benefit of my staying from last Ramadan to this year's Ramadan? What is the difference? Yes, what is the benefit of these years that have passed me? What did I achieve from them? And am I now thinking that if I remain, I will use these days that I remain with, and these months or years, I will use them in the obedience of Allah, I will use them in progress, I will use them in scientific activity, in activity in calling to Allah, in activity in the means to Allah through worship? Yes, these are sensitive matters that we must always attend to. We must attend to them, otherwise we will find that we have become like a wheel moving by an engine that does not know where the destination is. So every rational person must have a goal. What is your goal? Here. Also, we are all seeking knowledge now, if Allah wills, the Exalted. We hope that Allah will achieve for us what we want. We seek knowledge for what? What is the goal?
The student: We draw near to Allah.
The Shaykh : Drawing near to Allah by seeking His pleasure, and also reforming ourselves and reforming others. If we have reformed ourselves, do we apply every issue we learn? We may not be able to, but in any case, we find deficiency in ourselves; we find much deficiency in this regard. Do we also, when we learn an issue, call the servants of Allah to it? Do we call our families to it? Do we call our relatives and kin to it? Do we call those who are in contact with us? Yes, this is a matter that requires us to hold ourselves accountable. The burden on the student of knowledge is not light, and by Allah, the burden on him is greater than the zakat on wealth. His burden is that he works, moves, and spreads knowledge and awareness in the Muslim community. Otherwise, it would be torn to pieces. Today, in the world, only this Kingdom remains, and otherwise, the entire Islamic world today is in deviation, except for whom Allah wills. But according to our knowledge, there is no such Kingdom today. And yet, the dogs have opened their mouths to tear it apart from every side. Who protects it from these dogs except the people of knowledge who first act upon it and secondly call to it? What benefits the student is that he comes, attends, reads in his book, or masters an issue, and becomes like a copy of the book. That is not... In reality, action is necessary, but wisdom is also necessary, and this is what is lacking in some of our brothers whom Allah has given knowledge. Wisdom means that a person is realistic and does not live in this era as if he were living in the era of the Companions, thinking that people will submit to him. Yes, he lives his life in the time of the Companions in terms of knowledge, benefiting from it, and calling to the truth. But for people to be in the state of the Companions of that day, he does not live that way. If he did... With what did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once address the women? He admonished them and ordered them to give charity. What did they do? One woman would take her earring from her ear, her ring from her hand, and her necklace from her neck and throw it into the garment of Bilal in obedience. He said to the man who had a gold ring:
One of you takes a hot coal and throws it on his finger, or he said, on his hand
يعمد أحدكم إلى جمرة فيلقيها في أصبعه أو قال في يدهas lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary
أربابا من دون الله والمسيح ابن مريمThe Student: Lordship.
The Shaykh : Yes, rububiyyah (lordship), because obedience is part of rububiyyah. So these people took them as lords besides Allah, obeying them in forbidding what Allah has made lawful and permitting what Allah has forbidden. So they made them lords, and this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) that is contrary to tawhid.
And among them is also love. In reality, as Ibn al-Qayyim said, all matters are based on love. One who loves can move. Do you, for example, move toward something unless you love it? Always, even a bite of your food, you do not eat it except out of love for it. For this reason, it was said that all movements are based on love, which is desire. So love is the foundation of action. Therefore, associating partners in love is associating partners with Allah. If you equate other than Allah with Allah in love, you have associated partners with Allah. But love has types, some of which may be contrary to the love of tawhid, and some of which are not. Every love for Allah is contrary to tawhid or not? It is not contrary to it; it is part of its perfection. The strongest ties of faith are love for Allah and hatred for Allah. And love for Allah: you love this thing because Allah loves it, whether it is a person, an action, a time, or a place. Then this is not contrary to tawhid; this is part of the perfection of love for Allah. For this reason, Majnun Layla said:
"I passed by the houses, the houses of Layla *** I greeted this wall and this wall
And it is not love of the houses that has captivated my heart *** But rather love of the one who dwells in the houses"
Yes, so loving what Allah loves is undoubtedly part of the love of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Undoubtedly, it is His love. Also, natural love that a person does not prefer over the love of Allah, is it contrary to the love of Allah or not?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, it is not contrary to the love of Allah. So a person loves his child, yes, he loves his child, he loves wealth, he loves his wife, and that does not contradict the love of Allah.
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked, “Who is the most beloved of people to you?” He said, “A’ishah.” It was said, “And among the men?” He said, “Her father.”
الرسول سئل من أحب الناس إليك قال عائشة قيل فمن الرجال قال أبوهاAnd among natural love is that a person loves what benefits him, yes, from food or drink or clothing or other things. This also is not contrary to the love of Allah. But the love that is contrary to the love of Allah is when he makes this love a rival to the love of Allah, such that if it conflicts with the love of Allah in his heart, he prefers it over the love of Allah. And this is what is preferred. Therefore, those who exaggerate regarding our Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) and love him as they love Allah, what are they? They are mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah); they associate partners with Allah. Because our love for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is subordinate to the love of Allah. If he were not the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, he would have been a man from Quraysh, is that not so? But because he is the Messenger of Allah, we love him because he is the Messenger of Allah. So the love of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is subordinate to the love of Allah. Therefore, the love that is intended to be a rival to the love of Allah is shirk, such as equating him with the love of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Then this is shirk. And to this Allah pointed in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):
And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals
ومن الناس من يتخذ من دون الله أنداداً"It specifies, distinguishes, and begins with places with 'min' *** And it may come for the beginning of times"
The point is his saying "ba'ad" (some) with "ba'" (from), so it is for partiality. And his saying
among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals
من يتخذ من دون الله أنداداThey love them as they [should] love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah
يحبونهم كحب الله والذين آمنوا أشد حبا للهThey love them as they [should] love Allah
يحبونهم كحب اللهBut those who believe are stronger in love for Allah
والذين آمنوا أشد حبا للهThe student: The first one.
The Shaykh : There are two opinions on this. If we say they love them as they love Allah, meaning that these polytheists love Allah and love the idols, then the meaning becomes: "And the believers are more loving of Allah than these are of Allah," because it is established that these people love Allah, but their love is conditional. As for the believers, they love Allah with pure love, and for this reason, they do not associate anyone with Allah in His love. If we say the meaning is "And the believers love them as the believers love Allah," then it becomes: "And the believers are more loving of Allah than these are of their idols," meaning the love for Allah is greater than the love these people have for their idols. So the two opinions here regarding His saying:
But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah
والذين آمنوا أشد حبا للهas they love Allah
كحب اللهand say, "This is for Allah," by their claim, "and this is for our partners [associated with Him]." But what is for their "partners" does not reach Allah, while what is for Allah - this reaches their "partners."
فقالوا هذا لله بزعمهم وهذا لشركائنا فما كان لشركائهم فلا يصل إلى الله وما كان لله فهو يصل إلى شركائهمThe student : Shaykh, what ...
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student : I say, what ...
The Shaykh : We actually mentioned a rule in tafsir, and I think you have it in mind: "If a verse can be understood in two meanings that do not contradict each other, it is to be understood as applying to both." So here, do these two contradict each other? Because the reality of the matter is that these polytheists, even if we say the verse applies to both opinions based on the two types, meaning some of the polytheists may never love Allah, loving the idols with pure love, and some may love Allah and love these idols, so the verse has the possibility of two meanings based on these two types. Yes.
The questioner : ... that Allah said:
And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah
ومن الناس من يجعل من دون الله أندادا يحبونهم كحب اللهThe Shaykh : What? As their love for Allah
The student : If He had said as their love for Allah
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student : He mentioned the pronoun by saying they love them
The Shaykh : Very well.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : This does not contradict Arabic style. It is always, meaning, the omission of the object ... It is always now. If He had said "as their love for Allah," the second possibility would be precluded. It would not be valid with both meanings. It becomes clear that they love Allah, and it cannot be understood as "as the love of the believers for Allah." It cannot be understood that way.
The student : Shaykh
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : His saying, Exalted is He:
And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah.
ومن الناس من يتخذ من دون الله أنداداً يحبونهم كحب اللهThe Shaykh : Yes
The student :
those who believe are stronger in love for Allah
الذين آمنوا أشد حبا للهThe Shaykh : Yes
The student : Then He said
And if only they who have wronged would consider [that] when they see the punishment
ولو يرى الذين ظلموا إذ يرون العذابThe Shaykh : Yes
The student : So the interpretation of the punishment here ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : What indicates that it is ... if they were
The Shaykh : Even if a person has love for Allah and loves others along with Allah, it does not benefit him.
The student : Yes, but Shaykh, interpreting the punishment in this manner means
The Shaykh : Yes
The student : It indicates the strength of ... associating partners with Allah, even once
The Shaykh : It is not that he is a polytheist once. The one who equates other than Allah with Allah in love is a polytheist once, a polytheist once, because it is obligatory not to make a rival for Allah in this. If a person does this, if a person does it, he is a polytheist.
The student : So there is no difference between them?
The Shaykh : There is no difference between them in terms of shirk. There is no difference between them.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, but he loves the idol like him. I have, it may be that this is more severe, because the one who loves the idol and does not love Allah, Allah, Exalted is He, remains in His knowledge, His majesty, and His elevation. But the one who says "Allah is like this idol, I love him," he has descended to the level of Allah. Okay.