"Or he denies His Lordship or His Oneness"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :"Or he denies His Lordship" Denial is not shirk (associating partners with Allah), because shirk involves affirming two things, but this is denial. He says that Allah the Exalted is not a Lord and that people have no Lord. May Allah keep us safe.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : This denial is like that of whom?
The questioner : The communist.
The Shaykh : Like the communists, the materialists, a group of secularists, and those similar to them. These people deny the Lord and say, as their predecessors said,[Al-Jathiyah 45:24] May Allah keep us safe. Allah has turned their hearts away from certainty and from witnessing the signs [Yunus 10:101] [Yusuf 12:105] Otherwise, how can a person of intellect deny the Lordship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic? The one who denies Allah denies himself before he denies Allah. Why? Because we ask him, "Who created you? Did your father create you? Did your father create this flowing water that constitutes the fetus? Did your mother create these eggs in which these sperm enter to become humans?" Either he says no, or he says yes. If he says yes, we ask, "In what laboratory did your father or mother make them? Explain it to us." He will be at a loss. If he says, "My father and mother did not create them," we ask, "Who created them?" He will say, "They were created..." Yes, of course he will say no. Who created them? The result is that he will say Allah, whether he likes it or not, unless he is stubborn. If he is stubborn, there is no benefit in speaking with him. This is Pharaoh, who knew that it was Allah who revealed the Torah to Moses, did he not?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And he addressed Moses with this address[Al-Isra 17:102] and he did not say "I did not know," but he remained silent. However, he said to his people [An-Nazi'at 79:24] [Al-Qasas 28:38] He said that out of what? Certainty and belief, or out of stubbornness?
The questioner : Out of stubbornness.
The Shaykh : Out of stubbornness. So, there is no benefit in dealing with the stubborn one. Otherwise, how can any person of intellect who reflects, even slightly, deny the Lordship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic? This great universe, with its sky, earth, stars, sun, moon, seas, rivers, trees, mountains, and... can anyone create it? If all of creation gathered to create the smallest star or planet in the sky, they would not be able to do so. If all the equipment of creation, all the machinery, came to send this wind, this air that covers the area, and to bring this stormy wind that uproots trees and destroys tents, could they do it or not?
The questioner : They cannot.
The Shaykh : They cannot. Who brought it? None but Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. But I tell you, there is no benefit in arguing with the stubborn, defiant one, because he will say, "I do not submit," and he will turn away. There is no benefit. So, the one who denies the Lordship of Allah is certainly... and this is greater than the one who associates partners with Allah, because the polytheist affirmed some truth, but this one denied all truth. So, whoever denies the Lordship of Allah, there is no doubt in his disbelief (kufr). And likewise, whoever denies His Oneness. Perhaps the author means by "Oneness" here the Oneness of Worship (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), because if he meant by "Oneness" shirk, meaning if he meant by denying Oneness shirk, it would be a repetition of his statement "whoever associates partners with Allah." But since he mentioned Lordship, then Oneness, then Attributes, it appears that he means by Oneness here the Oneness of Worship. That is, whoever denies that the only God is Allah alone has committed disbelief. For example, believing, saying, or doing something that indicates he sees a deity other than Allah, a deity worthy of worship other than Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Like whom? Like the one who... with al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat, worships them, drawing near to them by slaughtering, bowing, and prostrating. As for supplication, supplication is worship and is related to Lordship. So, if he says that there is something among the created things that deserves to be deified and worshipped, he is a disbeliever and an apostate.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : This denial is like that of whom?
The questioner : The communist.
The Shaykh : Like the communists, the materialists, a group of secularists, and those similar to them. These people deny the Lord and say, as their predecessors said,
There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time.
مَا هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلَّا الدَّهْرُBut of no avail will be signs or warners to a people who do not believe
وما تغني الأيات والنذر عن قوم لا يؤمنونAnd how many a sign within the heavens and earth do they pass over while they, therefrom, are turning away.
وَكَأَيِّنْ مِنْ ءايَةٍ فِي السَّماواتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْها وَهُمْ عَنْها مُعْرِضُونَThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And he addressed Moses with this address
You have already known that none has sent down these [signs] except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as evidence
لقد علمت ما أنزل هؤلاء إلا رب السماوات والأرض بصائرI am your most exalted lord."
أنا ربكم الأعلىO eminent ones, I have not known you to have a god other than me
يا أيها الملأ ما علمت لكم من إله غيريThe questioner : Out of stubbornness.
The Shaykh : Out of stubbornness. So, there is no benefit in dealing with the stubborn one. Otherwise, how can any person of intellect who reflects, even slightly, deny the Lordship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic? This great universe, with its sky, earth, stars, sun, moon, seas, rivers, trees, mountains, and... can anyone create it? If all of creation gathered to create the smallest star or planet in the sky, they would not be able to do so. If all the equipment of creation, all the machinery, came to send this wind, this air that covers the area, and to bring this stormy wind that uproots trees and destroys tents, could they do it or not?
The questioner : They cannot.
The Shaykh : They cannot. Who brought it? None but Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. But I tell you, there is no benefit in arguing with the stubborn, defiant one, because he will say, "I do not submit," and he will turn away. There is no benefit. So, the one who denies the Lordship of Allah is certainly... and this is greater than the one who associates partners with Allah, because the polytheist affirmed some truth, but this one denied all truth. So, whoever denies the Lordship of Allah, there is no doubt in his disbelief (kufr). And likewise, whoever denies His Oneness. Perhaps the author means by "Oneness" here the Oneness of Worship (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), because if he meant by "Oneness" shirk, meaning if he meant by denying Oneness shirk, it would be a repetition of his statement "whoever associates partners with Allah." But since he mentioned Lordship, then Oneness, then Attributes, it appears that he means by Oneness here the Oneness of Worship. That is, whoever denies that the only God is Allah alone has committed disbelief. For example, believing, saying, or doing something that indicates he sees a deity other than Allah, a deity worthy of worship other than Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Like whom? Like the one who... with al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat, worships them, drawing near to them by slaughtering, bowing, and prostrating. As for supplication, supplication is worship and is related to Lordship. So, if he says that there is something among the created things that deserves to be deified and worshipped, he is a disbeliever and an apostate.