Why did the faith of the polytheists not benefit them?
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Question:
A student asks and says: “May Allah reward you, Shaykh. I love you for the sake of Allah, and I ask you to pray for success and steadfastness for me upon this religion.”
My question is: It is mentioned in the verses the student recited, the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Yusuf:106]. What is the meaning of the verse? And what is intended by shirk (associating partners with Allah) in the noble verse?
Answer:
The Shaykh: First, may Allah love you as you have loved us for His sake. We ask Allah to rectify your heart and your deeds, and to keep us and you, along with all the listeners, upon guidance.
As for the verse: The scholars have clarified its meaning, such as Ibn Abbas and others. Its meaning is that when you ask them, “Who created the heavens? Who created the earth? Who created you?” they say, “Allah is our Lord, Allah is our Creator, Allah.” Yet despite this, they worship idols, such as al-Lat and al-Uzza and the like. They call upon them for help, they make vows for them, and they slaughter for them. This faith of theirs is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), which is nullified and corrupted by their shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah . It does not benefit them. Abu Jahl and his like believe that Allah is their Creator, their Provider, and the Creator of the heavens and the earth, but this did not benefit them because they associated partners with Allah by worshipping idols.
This is the meaning of the verse according to the people of knowledge. Ibn Abbas says: “When you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they say, ‘Allah,’ and yet they worship others besides Him. So their faith is a faith that is corrupted by their shirk (associating partners with Allah). Their belief that Allah is their Creator, their Provider, their Lord, the Creator of the heavens, and the Creator of the earth; this faith, if it were accompanied by the other two types—namely, tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship) and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes)—would have benefited them. But because their tawhid (the oneness of Allah) regarding worship was disrupted, their faith in lordship became invalid, just as all other deeds are invalidated by shirk: [Al-An'am:88]. All types of faith... and in the Hereafter, and in other matters that Allah and His Messenger have informed us of, are invalidated by shirk: [Al-An'am:88]. He, the Exalted, said: [Az-Zumar:65-66].
A student asks and says: “May Allah reward you, Shaykh. I love you for the sake of Allah, and I ask you to pray for success and steadfastness for me upon this religion.”
My question is: It is mentioned in the verses the student recited, the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And most of them believe not in Allah except while they associate others with Him.
وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَAnswer:
The Shaykh: First, may Allah love you as you have loved us for His sake. We ask Allah to rectify your heart and your deeds, and to keep us and you, along with all the listeners, upon guidance.
As for the verse: The scholars have clarified its meaning, such as Ibn Abbas and others. Its meaning is that when you ask them, “Who created the heavens? Who created the earth? Who created you?” they say, “Allah is our Lord, Allah is our Creator, Allah.” Yet despite this, they worship idols, such as al-Lat and al-Uzza and the like. They call upon them for help, they make vows for them, and they slaughter for them. This faith of theirs is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), which is nullified and corrupted by their shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah . It does not benefit them. Abu Jahl and his like believe that Allah is their Creator, their Provider, and the Creator of the heavens and the earth, but this did not benefit them because they associated partners with Allah by worshipping idols.
This is the meaning of the verse according to the people of knowledge. Ibn Abbas says: “When you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they say, ‘Allah,’ and yet they worship others besides Him. So their faith is a faith that is corrupted by their shirk (associating partners with Allah). Their belief that Allah is their Creator, their Provider, their Lord, the Creator of the heavens, and the Creator of the earth; this faith, if it were accompanied by the other two types—namely, tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship) and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes)—would have benefited them. But because their tawhid (the oneness of Allah) regarding worship was disrupted, their faith in lordship became invalid, just as all other deeds are invalidated by shirk:
But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.
وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَBut if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.
وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ(65) And 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." (66) Rather, worship [only] Allah and be among the grateful.
وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ بَلِ اللَّهَ فَاعْبُدْ وَكُنْ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.