Clarifying the Meaning of Associating Partners with Allah
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Q: What is shirk (associating partners with Allah), and what is the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surah al-Ma'idah: 35].
A: Shirk, by its name, is associating other than Allah with Allah in worship, such as calling upon idols or others, seeking aid from them, making vows to them, praying to them, fasting for them, or slaughtering for them. It is like slaughtering for al-Badawi or al-'Idrus, or praying to so-and-so, or seeking aid from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or from 'Abd al-Qadir, or from al-'Idrus in Yemen, or from other dead or absent people. All of this is called shirk. Likewise, if one calls upon the stars or the jinn, seeks aid from them, or asks them for help, or does something similar, then if one performs any of these acts of worship with inanimate objects, or with the dead or the absent, this becomes shirk with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [Surah al-An'am: 88]. And He the Exalted said: [Surah al-Zumar: 65].
And among shirk is worshipping other than Allah with complete worship; this is called shirk and it is called kufr (disbelief). So whoever turns away from Allah completely and makes his worship for other than Allah, such as trees, stones, idols, or jinn, or some of the dead whom they call the awliya (close friends of Allah), worshipping them, praying to them, fasting for them, and forgetting Allah completely, this is the greatest kufr and the most severe shirk. We ask Allah for safety. Likewise, whoever denies the existence of Allah and says there is no deity, and that life is matter, like the communists and the atheists who deny the existence of Allah, these are the most disbelieving of people, the most astray, and the greatest in shirk and misguidance. We ask Allah for safety. The point is that the people of these beliefs and similar ones are all called shirk, and they are called kufr with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
Some people may err due to their ignorance and call calling upon the dead and seeking aid from them a "means" (wasilah), thinking it is permissible. This is a great error, because this act is among the greatest shirk with Allah, even if some ignorant people or polytheists call it a "means." It is the religion of the polytheists for which Allah has criticized them and blamed them, and He sent the messengers and sent down the books to deny it and warn against it. As for the "means" mentioned in the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Surah al-Ma'idah: 35], the intended meaning is drawing near to Him the Exalted through obedience to Him. This is its meaning according to all the scholars of knowledge. So prayer is a means of drawing near to Allah, and it is a wasilah. Slaughtering for Allah is a wasilah, such as the 'Id sacrifices and the sacrificial animals of the pilgrimage. Fasting is a wasilah. Charities are a wasilah. The remembrance of Allah and recitation of the Qur'an are a wasilah. This is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: [Surah al-Ma'idah: 35], meaning seek the means of drawing near to Him through obedience to Him. This is what Ibn Kathir, Ibn Jarir, al-Baghawi, and other imams of tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis) said. The meaning is: seek the means of drawing near to Him through obedience to Him, and seek it wherever you are, in what Allah has prescribed for you, such as prayer, fasting, charities, and others.
And likewise His saying in the other verse: [Surah al-Isra: 57]. Thus the messengers and their followers draw near to Allah by the means He has prescribed, such as jihad, fasting, prayer, remembrance, and recitation of the Qur'an, among other forms of means. As for the belief of some people that the wasilah is clinging to the dead and seeking aid from the awliya (close friends of Allah), this is a false belief. This is the belief of the polytheists about whom Allah said: [Yunus 10:18]. So He the Exalted responded to them by saying: [Surah Yunus: 18].
O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَA: Shirk, by its name, is associating other than Allah with Allah in worship, such as calling upon idols or others, seeking aid from them, making vows to them, praying to them, fasting for them, or slaughtering for them. It is like slaughtering for al-Badawi or al-'Idrus, or praying to so-and-so, or seeking aid from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or from 'Abd al-Qadir, or from al-'Idrus in Yemen, or from other dead or absent people. All of this is called shirk. Likewise, if one calls upon the stars or the jinn, seeks aid from them, or asks them for help, or does something similar, then if one performs any of these acts of worship with inanimate objects, or with the dead or the absent, this becomes shirk with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.
وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَAnd it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers."
وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنََّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَAnd among shirk is worshipping other than Allah with complete worship; this is called shirk and it is called kufr (disbelief). So whoever turns away from Allah completely and makes his worship for other than Allah, such as trees, stones, idols, or jinn, or some of the dead whom they call the awliya (close friends of Allah), worshipping them, praying to them, fasting for them, and forgetting Allah completely, this is the greatest kufr and the most severe shirk. We ask Allah for safety. Likewise, whoever denies the existence of Allah and says there is no deity, and that life is matter, like the communists and the atheists who deny the existence of Allah, these are the most disbelieving of people, the most astray, and the greatest in shirk and misguidance. We ask Allah for safety. The point is that the people of these beliefs and similar ones are all called shirk, and they are called kufr with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
Some people may err due to their ignorance and call calling upon the dead and seeking aid from them a "means" (wasilah), thinking it is permissible. This is a great error, because this act is among the greatest shirk with Allah, even if some ignorant people or polytheists call it a "means." It is the religion of the polytheists for which Allah has criticized them and blamed them, and He sent the messengers and sent down the books to deny it and warn against it. As for the "means" mentioned in the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He):
O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَfear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him and strive in His cause
اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِAnd likewise His saying in the other verse:
Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment
أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُAnd they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هؤلاء شفعاؤنا عند اللهSay, "Do you inform Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth?" Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him
قُلْ أَتُنَبِّئُونََ اللَّهَ بِمَا لا يَعْلَمُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلا فِي الْأَرْضِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.