Explanation of the author's statement: And his saying: "Say: 'Call upon those you claim [as gods] besides Allah. They do not possess the weight of an atom in the heavens or on the earth.'" The two verses

The Shaykh : Then he said: "

⁽²²⁾ Say, [O Muhammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allah." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant. ⁽²³⁾ And intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He permits.

قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِنْ شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ ظَهِيرٍ * وَلَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ

[Saba 34:22-23]

" Look at the verse This is a challenge and a demonstration of their inability. Call them all, or call them in a supplication of request, meaning a supplication that can be understood as "call upon those," meaning summon them, or it can be understood as "call upon them" in a supplication of request where you seek benefit from them or ward off harm. Call them; look, do they respond? They disbelieve, saying, "We did not give them permission to associate [partners] with Us," and they disavow them. And yet, despite this great verse, some people commit shirk (associating partners with Allah) by calling upon other than Allah, seeking aid from other than Allah, seeking help from other than Allah, and so on. Let us look: The weight of an atom, they do not possess it, and what is less than an atom?
The student: Is all the more so.

The Shaykh : No, it is not a matter of "a fortiori" (a fortiori argument). However, when something is intended for exaggeration, whether in smallness or largeness, it has no specific legal implication. The intended meaning is the general ruling. For example, Allah the Exalted said: Here we say, "They do not possess the weight of an atom." Why was the weight of an atom mentioned? For the exaggeration of diminishment. Accordingly, they do not possess anything, not the weight of an atom, not larger, not smaller, because this measurement is for exaggeration, and a measurement intended for exaggeration is equivalent to non-existence. So they do not possess anything, correct? Good. And it is not valid to object to this by saying that Allah the Exalted affirmed ownership for humans, because the ownership of a human is limited, not comprehensive, renewed, transient, and created, unlike the ownership of Allah. Meaning, they do not possess any partnership in any way. Exclusivity is negated and partnership is negated. Is that clear? Good. If you say, "Give us an example that clarifies the difference between exclusivity and partnership," this is a house containing a room, a living room, and a yard.
These idols do not possess this or that. They do not possess anything by way of exclusivity, not the weight of an atom, and they do not possess it by way of partnership. Look, the word "share" (shirk) comes from a root indicating exaggeration in negation, meaning there is no share, not a little or a lot.
Thirdly: "And they have no helper for Him." The pronoun in "for Him" refers to Allah. "From them" refers to these idols you call upon. "Min" (from) is an extra preposition, and "helper" (zahir) is a postponed subject. "Helper" means a specific supporter, as Allah the Exalted said: And Allah the Exalted said: Meaning, a specific supporter. That is, these idols are not a specific supporter for Allah the Glorious and Exalted, assisting Him in His affairs and actions. If this is negated regarding these idols, then everything that the worshippers rely upon is negated. Everything that the worshippers rely upon is negated. So they do not possess anything by way of exclusivity, nor by way of partnership, nor by way of assistance. Because one who assists you, even if he is not your partner, has a favor over you, and you might consider him and favor him by giving him what he wants, is that not so? Yes. So we say the three causes are cut off. A fourth cause remains, which may exist without partnership, exclusivity, or assistance, and that is intercession. Allah negated it, saying: And it is known that Allah does not permit these idols to intercede. So all ties are cut off from the polytheists. Everything that the polytheists rely upon in their idols, yes, the means and causes are cut off. This is one of the greatest verses indicating that these idols are false because they do not benefit their worshippers in any way, not exclusively, not in partnership, not in assistance, and not in intercession. So their worship of them is false, and their worship of them is foolishness and misguidance. For this reason, Allah the Sublime and Exalted said: Even the sensible ones who are called upon. For this reason, He said "who" (man) and not "what" (ma), so that even the sensible ones who are called upon cannot respond until the Day of Resurrection, and they are heedless of their calling. And what about?
So all these verses, my brothers, indicate that a person must cut off all his attachments except to whom? Except to Allah the Glorious and Exalted, in worship, hope, fear, seeking help, love, and reverence, so that he becomes a true slave, a slave to Allah in reality. His desire, will, love, hatred, loyalty, and enmity are all for Allah the Glorious and Exalted, for Allah and in Allah. He does not attach himself to anything, because he was created for one thing only, which is worship. And if we were in this world and we were not created except to eat, drink, wear clothes, give sermons, and get married, yes... in this world, and then the end is only death. If that were the case, it would be the very essence of futility, the very essence of futility. But there is something beyond that, which is the worship of Allah the Sublime and Exalted in this world so that we may attain the reward in the Hereafter. Meaning, we do not command you and we do not forbid you, and you do not come to us. So we reward you. If this is your Islam, then it is an Islam of misguidance. Allah the Exalted said: .