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002.213 Mankind
were one community, and Allah sent (unto them) prophets as bearers of good tidings
and as warners, and revealed therewith the Scripture with the truth that it might
judge between mankind concerning that wherein they differed. And only those unto
whom (the Scripture) was given differed concerning it, after clear proofs had come
unto them, through hatred one of another. And Allah by His Will guided those
who believe unto the truth of that concerning which they differed. Allah guideth
whom He will unto a straight path.
This verse proves
that in the beginning all of mankind had one religion and that was continuous between
Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) to Prophet Noah (peace be upon him), then after
that, the whispers of Iblis caused mankind to rebel. We pray that Allah saves us
from Iblis. Amin.
Part 2
WHAT IT MEANS TO ASK HELP FROM OTHER THAN ALLAH
***
Ali: As-salam
?alaykum Brother Qadhi. Since we last spoke, I have spoken to my shaykh and he advised
me to begin discussing a new topic with you. I have three topics that I would like
to talk with you and they are:
·
To
ask an individual to pray to Allah on your behalf
·
To
ask help from other than Allah (from either the living or dead)
·
To
make Supplication through Wasila
I will talk
to you by referencing the verses of the Qur?an only. My first question is why would
one go to a pious person and ask them to supplicate on their behalf, when Allah
can directly hear the supplication of all? He has repeatedly told us to supplicate
Him and not to involve an intermediate, as the following verses that I shall recite
prove:
002.186 And
when My servants question thee concerning Me, then surely I am nigh. I answer the
prayer of the suppliant when he crieth unto Me. So let them hear My call
and let them trust in Me, in order that they may be led aright.
040.060 And
your Lord hath said: Pray unto Me and I will hear your prayer. Lo! those
who scorn My service, they will enter hell, disgraced.
We can clearly
understand from these verses that Allah not only hears our prayers but also answers
our prayers. Do you not think that if you went to a pious person and asked him to
supplicate on your behalf, this is going against the above verses?
Qadhi: This
is true, Allah does hear and answer prayers, however not all prayers are accepted
at the same ?speed? or with the same blessing (barakah). The supplication
of pious people tend to be accepted and answered by Allah more quickly. The following
is a supplication made by Sayyidina Ibrahim (peace be upon him):
014.037 Our
Lord! Lo! I have settled some of my posterity in an uncultivable valley near unto
Thy holy House, our Lord! that they may establish proper worship; so incline some
hearts of men that they may yearn toward them, and provide Thou them with fruits
in order that they may be thankful.
This was a supplication
which Sayyidina Ibrahim (peace be upon him) made for his children and his children?s
children and so on. As expected, this supplication (along with the supplication
he made at Makkah) was accepted by Allah Most Merciful.
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It is permissible to ask someone
else
to make supplication on your behalf?
012.097
They said: O our father! Ask forgiveness of our sins for us, for lo! we were sinful.
012.098 He said: I shall ask forgiveness for you of my Lord. Lo! He is the Forgiving,
the Merciful.
In these verses,
the sons of Sayyidina Yaqub (peace be upon him) are requesting him to make supplication
to Allah to forgive them for their sins. Sayyidina Yaqub (peace be upon him) solemnly
accepts their request and makes a supplication. This proves that asking someone
more pious and humble to make supplication on your behalf is permissible. If it
was not the case, then surely Sayyidina Yaqub (peace be upon him) would not have
agreed to pray for the forgiveness of his sons
002.067 And
when Moses said unto his people: Lo! Allah commandeth you that ye sacrifice a cow,
they said: Dost thou make game of us ? He answered: Allah forbid that I should be
among the foolish!
002.068 They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what
(cow) she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith, Verily she is a cow neither with calf
nor immature; (she is) between the two conditions; so do that which ye are commanded.
002.069 They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us of
what colour she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a yellow cow.
Bright is her colour, gladdening beholders.
002.070 They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what
(cow) she is. Lo! cows are much Alike to us; and Lo! if Allah wills, we may be led
aright.
002.071 (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a cow unyoked; she plougheth
not the soil nor watereth the tilth; whole and without mark. They said: Now thou
bringest the truth. So they sacrificed her, though almost they did not.
007.134 And
when the terror fell on them they cried: O Moses! Pray for us unto thy Lord,
because He hath a covenant with thee. If thou removest the terror from us we verily
will trust thee and will let the Children of
Israel
go with thee.
We further acknowledge
from the verses that I have recited, that even the nation of Sayyidina
Musa (peace be upon him) asked him
to make supplication on their behalf, inquiring about the cow. Clearly, asking someone
to make supplication on your behalf is not wrong as Sayyidina
Musa (peace be upon him) supplicated
on behalf of his people.
009.099 And
of the wandering Arabs there is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day, and
taketh that which he expendeth and also the prayers of the messenger as acceptable
offerings in the sight of Allah. Lo! verily it is an acceptable offering for them.
Allah will bring them into His mercy. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
009.103 Take
alms of their wealth, wherewith thou mayst purify them and mayst make them grow,
and pray for them. Lo! thy prayer is an assuagement for them. Allah is Hearer,
Knower.
These verses
inform us why the Arab villagers would spend their wealth in the way of Allah. The
first reason was to please Allah and secondly they longed that the prophet would
pray for them, as commanded by Allah. This is additional proof that asking someone
to make supplication on your behalf is permissible. Allah did not condemn
this. On the contrary, He has praised it and described it as being a relief for
those in distress!
004.064 We
sent no messenger save that he should be obeyed by Allah's leave. And if, when they
had wronged themselves, they had but come unto thee and asked forgiveness of Allah,
and asked forgiveness of the messenger, they would have found Allah Forgiving,
Merciful.
This verse explains
how Allah has commanded those that sin to request the Messenger Rasulullah (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) to pray for their forgiveness, and then Allah
would forgive them. It is important to note here that even though Allah can hear
and accept all supplications, Allah did not ask the sinners to directly supplicate
for themselves, but He commanded them to ask His Rasulullah (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) to make the supplication on their behalf and then Allah would
forgive them!
024.062 They
only are the true believers who believe in Allah and His messenger and, when they
are with him on some common errand, go not away until they have asked leave of him.
Lo! those who ask leave of thee, those are they who believe in Allah and His messenger.
So, if they ask thy leave for some affair of theirs, give leave to whom thou wilt
of them, and ask for them forgiveness of Allah. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
In this verse,
Allah is commanding His Messenger to ask for forgiveness on behalf of those obedient
and righteous people. We should all notice how Allah did not ask the people to pray
for themselves, but commanded the Messenger himself to make supplication for those
righteous people. The simple reason is because the supplication of the Prophets
or pious are accepted more rapidly.
060.012 O
Prophet! If believing women come unto thee, taking oath of allegiance unto thee
that they will ascribe no thing as partner unto Allah, and will neither steal nor
commit adultery nor kill their children, nor produce any lie that they have devised
between their hands and feet, nor disobey thee in what is right, then accept their
allegiance and ask Allah to forgive them. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Once again in
this verse, Allah is commanding the Messenger to supplicate for those women who
had pledged allegiance to the Prophet and promised they would be truthful etc. Once
more, this proves that supplicating on someone?s behalf is permissible as
many Messengers were commanded to do so.
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The hypocrites did not want the
Prophets
or the Pious to pray for them
063.005 And
when it is said unto them: Come! The messenger of Allah will ask forgiveness for
you! they avert their faces and thou seest them turning away, disdainful.
This verse informs
us that the hypocrites did not want Rasulullah (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) to pray for them. Despite this and because of his kind, considerate and gracious
nature, the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) continued
praying for them, until Allah informed him that supplicating on their behalf was
not going to benefit them as in their hearts they did not believe. As Allah Almighty
says in the Qur?an:
063.006
Whether thou ask forgiveness for them or ask not forgiveness for them is all one
for them; Allah will not forgive them. Lo! Allah guideth not the evil-living
folk.-
009.080 Ask
forgiveness for them (O Muhammad), or ask not forgiveness for them; though thou
ask forgiveness for them seventy times Allah will not forgive them. That
is because they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and Allah guideth not wrongdoing
folk.
From these verses
we learn two things; firstly, that the supplication of the Prophet was beneficial
and secondly, only those who have true faith in Allah and His Messenger will be
able to benefit from it.
Even the Pharaoh (Firawn)
knew that the supplication (Du?a)
of the Prophets and Pious are accepted
043.046 And
verily We sent Moses with Our revelations unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, and
he said: I am a messenger of the Lord of the Worlds.
043.047 But when he brought them Our tokens, behold! they laughed at them.
043.048 And every token that We showed them was greater than its sister (token),
and We grasped them with the torment, that haply they might turn again.
043.049 And they said: O wizard! Entreat thy Lord for us by the pact that
He hath made with thee. Lo! we verily will walk aright.
043.050 But when We eased them of the torment, behold! they broke their
word.
These verses
discuss the period of time when Allah sent the pharaoh and his followers the punishment
of a flood. From these verses we learn a number of things; firstly that the pharaoh,
the biggest disbeliever and one of the harshest oppressors of all time even knew
that the supplication of a Prophet would quickly be accepted by Allah due to the
pact between Allah and His Prophet. It was for this reason that the pharaoh asked
Sayyidina Musa (peace be upon him) to ask his Lord to remove the punishment that
the pahorah and his people were receiving. He further vowed that if he did, they
would believe in Allah and Sayyidina Musa (peace be upon him) as the Prophet of
Allah. Once Sayyidina Musa (peace be upon him) had supplicated on behalf of the
pharaoh and his people and eased them with regards to their torment, they broke
their word and denied both Allah and Sayydina Musa (peace be upon him). We further
learn from this that even though Allah was fully aware that the pharaoh and his
people were going to break their promise, Allah still relived them of the flood
by accepting the supplication (du?a) of his beloved Prophet, Sayyidina Musa (peace
be upon him), showing them that He does accept the supplication of His Prophet?s
and pious.
Also, before you say to me that this type of asking from the Prophets to pray
for others was specific to them and if we were to ask people to pray for others
today is shirk, I would say: shirk is shirk. It is unchanged. Allah cannot allow
something to occur with His Prophet?s that we would deem as being shirk if we do
the same today.
Ali: The verses
you are presenting, only prove that the Prophet?s can make supplication on
behalf of others, there is nothing that makes mention of the pious supplicating
on the behalf of others. There are no Prophet?s anymore, so we cannot use these
verses and examples today! In addition, the Prophet?s had permission to supplicate
for their followers.
Qadhi: Brother
Ali! I am shocked at the transformation you have made. Your original claim was that
no one can supplicate on behalf of others, and now you are agreeing that
the Prophet?s can supplicate, though the pious cannot! Did it take the hypocrites
and the pharaoh to convince you that the Prophet?s can supplicate on behalf of others!
AllahuAkbar! It is true that there are
no more Prophet?s after Rasulullah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), however,
there are still those true followers of Rasulullah (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) who exist and we can ask them to supplicate on our behalf. If no one
is able to supplicate on behalf of others after Rasulullah (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) then why has Allah Almighty praised those who have come into
the faith for supplicating on behalf of others, as Allah Almighty says in the Qur?an
about the pious:
059.010 And
those who came (into the faith) after them say: Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren
who were before us in the faith, and place not in our hearts any rancour toward
those who believe. Our Lord! Thou art Full of Pity, Merciful.
In these verses,
Allah has praised the pious for supplicating on behalf of others. Will you now again
change your claim? Furthermore, Allah Azawajul
is telling us in the verse that I have recited that the pious supplicate on behalf
of others. This means that this is permissible. So, if the pious can supplicate
on our behalf then obviously there is nothing wrong in asking them to do
so. Brother Ali, do you not recite:
014.040 My
Lord! Make me to establish proper worship, and some of my posterity (also);
our Lord! and accept my prayer.
014.041 Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when
the account is cast.
in your salat
(prayers) five times a day?!
Ali: Brother
Qadhi, you have the unfortunate habit of changing the topics and making something
simple into something complex. All I am requesting for you to do is actually listen
to the verses carefully and understand it with your intellect. I would now like
to present to you another few verses of the Qur?an clearly commanding not to invoke
besides Allah, as Allah Azawajul says
in the Qur?an:
1.
010.106
And cry not, beside Allah, unto that which cannot profit thee nor hurt thee,
for if thou didst so then wert thou of the wrong-doers.
2.
026.213
Therefor invoke not with Allah another god, lest thou be one of the doomed.
3.
028.088
And cry not unto any other god along with Allah. There is no God save Him.
Everything will perish save His countenance. His is the command, and unto Him ye
will be brought back
4.
. 072.018 And the
places of worship are only for Allah, so pray not unto anyone along with Allah.
How much clearer
can these verses be? Each of these verses clearly forbids invoking anyone besides
Allah, because invoking anyone besides Allah is worship. Your actions are like that
which the polytheists of Makkah used to do. Do you now understand that asking the
Prophet?s and the pious for assistance is going against the Qur?an and therefore
Kufr and Shirk?! I have completed my duty as a brother towards you and presented
you with the verses, it is now up to you if you chose to believe them. I am just
thankful that through my Shaykh, Shaykh Yasin Allah has lifted the veil from in
front of my eyes and I now know the true guidance and light of the Qur?an.
Qadhi: AstaghfirAllah!
How dare you accuse me of invoking the Prophet?s and pious and in rivalry against
Allah! I have full faith that Allah alone should be worshipped, He Most High is
the Creator of the universe and all that is in it. He is the One who created life
and brings death, not even the leaf of a tree can move without Allah Almighty?s
Will, Only Allah is entitle to be worshipped, supplication should be made to Him
alone!
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The Polytheists approach
of seeking
assistance from other than Allah
Sadly the Khawarij
do not understand the meaning of seeking assistance from the Prophet?s and the pious.
One must acknowledge the difference between the manner in which polytheists sought
assistance from their idols, and the manner in which Muslims seek assistance from
the Prophet?s and the pious.
The polytheists
of Makkah would turn to their idols for help, believing that
they were the source that would bring benefit, comfort and ease.
For example,
take the battle of Uhud, where the polytheists asked their idols to help them defeat
the Muslims. They told the Muslims that they have their god ?uzza? and the Muslims
have nothing. (I seek shelter in Allah!). As Allah
Azawajul informs us in the Qur?an:
019.081 And
they have chosen (other) gods beside Allah that they may be a power for them.
This verse discusses
the way in which the polytheists believed that if Allah did not help them or give
them power, then their idols would instead. (I seek shelter in Allah!)
036.022 For
what cause should I not serve Him Who hath created me, and unto Whom ye will be
brought back ?
036.023 Shall I take (other) gods in place of Him when, if the Beneficent should
wish me any harm, their intercession will avail me naught, nor can they save ?
036.024 Then truly I should be in error manifest.
These verses
further inform us that they believed that if Allah punished them their idols would
save them, although Allah Azawajul informs
them that ?nor can they [the idols] save [them].?
036.074 And
they have taken (other) gods beside Allah, in order that they may be helped.
036.075 It is not in their power to help them; but they (the worshippers)
are unto them a host in arms.
This verse also
informs us of how they would worship the idols thinking that they would be able
to help them. However, Allah Most Glorious informs us the idols have no power to
help themselves or the polytheists.
012.040 Those
whom ye worship beside Him are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers.
Allah hath revealed no sanction for them. The decision rests with Allah only, Who
hath commanded you that ye worship none save Him. This is the right religion, but
most men know not.
In this verse
Allah informs us of the low status of the idols. He degrades them and tells us He
is the only One to be worshipped and His religion is the Right religion.
The Muslim meaning of asking
help
from other than
Allah
All that occurs
in the universe, from natural disasters, to the movement of a leaf is by the Will
and Power of Allah alone. Everything is under His control. If Allah willed, He could
make anything possible without the means of anyone or anything. However, we tend
to see that when Allah does something He usually does it through the means of something.
For example, Allah is the Creator of all, including humans although humans are created
through the means of their parents, just as animals are. Also, quenching one?s thirst
is achieved through the means of water. Another example would be receiving guidance
and gaining knowledge through the means of Prophet?s, scholars and pious people.
A sick person is cured by Allah, however in most cases this is achieved through
the diagnosis of a doctor and through the means of medicine. Even death occurs through
the means of the Angel Izraeel. (Angel of death) This list is only a handful of
examples but while we know that everything is granted by Allah Most Gracious, they
are administered through the means of something.
This does not
suggest for a second, that Allah Almighty needs to depend on His creation for a
means of approach (I seek shelter in Allah!). Though it does inform us that sometimes
it is His decision to use a means to approach us, we are not to question why Allah
does this. As Muslims we humbly accept that Allah is the reason anything happens
in this world. However there are means which He,
Azawajal, chooses to go through as mentioned above. Therefore it is permissible
to attribute the act to the means Allah has chosen. For example, one may say ?The
medicine cured me,? when a Muslims says this, he acknowledges from the heart that
it is Allah that has cured him but by taking the medicine, he has been cured. A
Muslim child may say out of respect or love to their parents that ?you have given
me life,? but the Muslim child knows that Allah is the giver of life. Some claim
that attributing such healing properties to medicine, life that parents have given
or even attributing the gaining of knowledge to the Prophets is polytheism (shirk).
However these people obviously have not studied the Qur?an, as nowhere in
the Qur?an does it state that attributing such acts to other than Allah is polytheism.
The polytheists
manner of asking help from their idols and the manner in which Muslims seek assistance
from the pious is completely different. Seeking assistance from the Prophets
and pious has not been called shirk anywhere in the Qur?an.
The polytheist say that their means (their idols) of are
the direct providers not Allah. As Allah Most Gracious informs us in the Qur?an:
028.078 He
said (qarun): I have been given it only on account of knowledge
I possess. Knew he not that Allah had destroyed already of the generations before
him men who were mightier than him in strength and greater in respect of following
? The guilty are not questioned of their sins.
Qarun was an
extremely wealthy man due to this ?knowledge?. In the verse that I have just recited,
Allah informs us of how Qarun wrongfully believed that his knowledge was what made
him wealthy and Allah had no part to play in causing his success (I seek shelter
in Allah!). His knowledge was merely a means through which he became successful,
though he attributed his success to his knowledge, even though Allah
Azawajal granted him his wealth. This is polytheism.
Allah condemned
the polytheists of Makkah for the following reasons
·
They credited their idols with false attributions.
·
They believed their idols were their means of approach
to Allah
·
They believed that whenever Allah did something through
a means, the polytheists thought that it was the means which was in fact providing
them with their needs, not Allah. (I seek shelter in Allah!)
·
They began to take that, which was rightful to Allah alone
and ?offer? it to their idols instead, such as sacrificing animals in the name of
Allah, they would instead sacrifice their animals using the names of their idols.
·
They would sit and cry in front of the idols, believing
that if they did so the idols would help them.
As Muslims we believe that Allah is the only provider,
if He chooses to provide to us through the means of something such as the supplication
(dua) of the Prophets and the pious, then they are simply and only a means of approach
to Allah. Most of the times Allah Graciously accepts the supplication of the Prophets
and pious and a desire is fulfilled. Whilst believing that the Prophets and the
pious are merely a means to approach Allah, Muslims understand that Allah alone is
the provider of all benefit and harm. While
seeking assistance through the means, we are also allowed to attribute the word
?help? to them, just as Allah attributes many acts to His creation as we will see
in the coming verses:
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Allah provides through the angles and other creations
003.123 Allah
had already given you the victory at Badr, when ye were contemptible. So observe
your duty to Allah in order that ye may be thankful.
003.124 When thou didst say unto the believers: Is it not sufficient for you that
your Lord should support you with three thousand angels sent down (to your
help)?
003.125 Nay, but if ye persevere, and keep from evil, and (the enemy) attack you
suddenly, your Lord will help you with five thousand angels sweeping on.
003.126 Allah ordained this only as a message of good cheer for you, and that thereby
your hearts might be at rest - Victory cometh only from Allah, the Mighty,
the Wise ?
008.009 When
ye sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): I will help you with a
thousand of the angels, rank on rank.
008.010 Allah appointed it only as good tidings, and that your hearts thereby might
be at rest. Victory cometh only by the help of Allah. Lo! Allah is Mighty,
Wise.
These verses
clearly explain the way in which Allah Almighty sent down thousands of angels to
help the brave warriors of the battle of Badr. The help provided in Badr
is attributed to the angels. One may say ?The Muslims were victorious in Badr due
to the help of the angels,? there is no harm in saying this, as it is true,
the angels did support the Muslims during Badr. However at the same time
one knows that it was Allah Most Gracious who created those very angels, who sent
those angels and who made Badr a victory, the angels were purely a means
to create that victory. This does not for one second suggest that Allah Most Powerful
was incapable of creating victory at Badr without the angels (I seek shelter
in Allah!) although it does explain to us that out of Allah?s own decision, He chose
to use those angels as a means to create victory.
It is permissible to attribute
actions to other than Allah?
008.002 They
only are the (true) believers whose hearts feel fear when Allah is mentioned, and
when His revelations are recited unto them they increase their faith, and
who trust in their Lord;
In this verse,
we learn that when the sincere and faithful hear Allah?s Revelation (the verses
of the Qur?an) their faith increases. We are fully aware, that it is Allah alone
who can increase our faith, however Allah has attributed the increasing of faith
to the verses of the Qur?an.
032.011
Say: The angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die,
then to your Lord you shall be brought back.
This verse informs us of how the angel of death will take
the souls and bring death upon everyone. We know that Allah alone is the one who
takes life, though even the taking of life has been attributed towards the Sayyidina Izraeel,
the angel of death. This means that attributing Allah?s doing to other than Him
is permissible.
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