MASAA.IL AL-JAAHILIYYAH by Shaykh Saalih al-fawzaan CLASS 03.
: 1. SUPPLICATION TO THE RIGHTEOUS : z y x w v u t s rm: l ~ } { [1] They would perform acts of worship by mixing righteous people into their supplication and worship of Allaah. They did this desiring that these (righteous people) act as intercessors for them before Allaah, based on their assumption that Allaah loves this and that these righteous people loved [being an intermediary with Allaah], as Allaah has said: l ~ } { z y x w v u t s rm «And they worship besides Allaah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allaah.» 1 lf e d c b a `_ ~ } {m «And those who take Awliyaa` (protectors and helpers) besides Him (say): "We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allaah.» 2 This is the greatest issue of them all that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) opposed in them. He came with [the religion of] sincerity, and he informed them that it is the Religion of Allaah, which all the Messengers were sent with. And he informed us that no deeds are accepted by Allaah, except those performed sincerely for Him, alone. 3 He informed them (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) that whosoever does what these (polytheists) approved of, Allaah will declare Paradise impermissible for him, and his Final abode will be the Fire. 1 Soorah Yoonus (10):18 2 Soorah az-zumar (39):3 3 It could also be read: No actions can be accepted except the sincere and devout deeds.
lm l kj i h g fm : It is due to this very issue that the people split up into groups of believers and disbelievers. And it is due to it that animosity has taken place, and Jihaad was legislated, as the Most High said: lm l kj i h g fm «And fight them until there is no more Fitnah 4 (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allaah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allaah alone [in the whole of the world].» 5 EXPLANATION: l i h g f e d cm : The Most High said: «And I (Allaah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).» 6 - - - -. Worship is a right that belongs to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. It is not permissible that anyone is worshipped along with Him, no matter who he is. The people have Jaahiliyyah have reversed this issue, [they have understood it backwards]. They have abandoned the worship of Allaah, for which they have been created, and they have worshipped other than Him, the Mighty and Majestic, such as idols, trees, rocks, jinn, angels, righteous people, and saints. 4 As a side point, I do not know any scholar of tafseer, in the history of Islaam, who explained the word "fitnah" to be terrorism or the likes of what some of the ignorant people have explained the word "Fitnah" to be in this verse. 5 Soorah al-anfaal (8):39 6 Soorah adh-dhaariyaat (51):56
So, they dedicated acts of worship to other than Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. Some of them have not worshipped Allaah at all. They are outright disbelievers from atheists and people who believe in reincarnation. And from them are those who worship Allaah and others along with Allaah. - -. : But the ruling upon them is one. The one who worships Allaah along with others is just like the one who has not worshipped Allaah at all. This is because his worship is rejected and unacceptable, and Allaah, the Most High, is not pleased with shirk. It is also binding that when the action is done, it is done in agreement with that which Allaah, the Perfect and Most High, has legislated. Allaah does not accept the action that has any bid`ah in it just as He does not accept the action that has any shirk in it. So, the most grave of all affairs of Jaahiliyyah is shirk with Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and bid`ah. 7 - - The Shaykh [Muhammad bin `Abdul-Wahhaab] began, may Allaah have mercy upon him, with this issue because it is the most dangerous of all of the aspects of Jaahiliyyah. Similarly, because it is the very issue that the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) began with, when he began to detest and reject the actions of the people of Jaahiliyyah, and when he began to call the people to abandon these kinds of actions. - -. So, the Messenger was the first one, like others from amongst the Messengers, to begin his call ordering the people to single out Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, with all acts of worship, and to 7 The Shaykh mentions the similarity between shirk and bid`ah, that the action containing shirk is totally unacceptable to Allaah and it is rejected. Similarly, the action that is done sincerely for Allaah (ta`aala), but is against the legislation is a bid`ah, meaning it is an act of worship that is not done in accordance with the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam). Therefore, it is absolutely rejected and not rewarded, but in fact, punishable.
abandon acts of worship dedicated to anyone else. This is the initial stage of the call of the Messengers, because this is the very foundation upon which everything else is built. So, if the very foundation is corrupt, then there is no benefit in anything else. There will be no benefit, not in prayer nor in fasting, not in Hajj nor in charity; not in any act of worship. When the foundation is corrupt and Tawheed is absent, there is no benefit in any of the other actions, because the shirk that was committed has corrupted all of those actions and nullified them. : : They used to worship Allaah and many things. They used to worship righteous people and the saints, as had taken place with the people of Noah, when they had gone into excesses in the religion regarding the righteous people, Wadd, Suwaa`, Yaghooth, Ya`ooq, and Nasr. And they worshipped their images beside Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, with the reasoning that they were righteous and that they were people who were brought close to Allaah, and that they are the ones who will intercede on behalf of others with Allaah. : : : : This is how Jaahiliyyah took place with this aspect. So, they used to worship righteous people, saints, and angels, saying: "We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allaah." They were saying: "These are our intercessors with Allaah." They were not saying that these are the partners of Allaah in His Ruboobiyyah," 8 they were merely saying, "They are worshippers of Allaah. They will take an intermediary position between us and Allaah. They will intercede for us and they will bring us near to Allaah." They were not considering this action of theirs as polytheism, because the Shaytaan had beautified the action for them, so they thought it was not shirk, but rather attaining nearness through the righteous, and taking them as intermediaries. However, reality is not something based on the names of the actions we give them, rather, reality is based on what it is. This is shirk, even if they called it 8 [Ruboobiyyah: To affirm that Allaah is the Sustainer, the Creator, the One who Gives Life and Death, and the Provider]. They did not believe that these things they worshipped had any part in that.
"seeking intermediaries," and "getting closer to Allaah." It is shirk, because labeling something does not change its reality, and Allaah is not pleased that any shirk be committed in any of the acts of worship to be performed for Him alone. l ï î íì ë ê é èç æ åäã âm á : Just as the Most High said: «So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord.» 9 l u t s r q p m : The Most High further stated: «So worship Allaah (alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allaah's sake only, (and not to show-off, and not to set rivals with Him in worship).» 10 l o n m l k j i hm : And He said: «And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allaah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him).» 11 l m : And He said: «So, call you (O Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) and the believers) upon (or invoke) Allaah making (your) worship pure for Him (alone) (by worshipping none but Him and by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allaah's sake only and not to show-off and not to set up rivals with Him in worship).» 12 Acts of worship can never be acceptable or of any benefit unless they are done sincerely for Allaah and in following the guidance of the Messenger, may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace. 9 Soorah al-kahf (18:110) 10 Soorah az-zumar (39:2 11 Soorah al-bayyinah (98):5 12 Soorah al-ghaafir (40):14
This is the most important of all aspects of Jaahiliyyah; the worship of the saints and the righteous from the dead and absent ones; seeking their help, seeking refuge with them, and seeking affairs from them, like the worshippers of today are upon today precisely. [Look at] the worship of tombs nowadays, those who draw near to the dead in the graves, and calling upon them instead of calling upon Allah, and seeking help from them in times of need. This is what the people of Jaahiliyyah were upon. Just as the Most High stated: : ~ } { z y x w v u t s rm l «And they worship besides Allaah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allaah."» 13 :. It is the same thing happening now. If these Qubooriyyoon 14 are debated, [called to the truth], and forbidden from the worship of the grave, they say: "We do not worship graves; worship is for Allaah. Instead, these intermediaries are between us and Allaah. They intercede on our behalf with Him." This is exactly what Allaah, the Most High, rejected and detested from the people of Jaahiliyyah entirely. l ~ } { z y x w v u t s rm «And they worship besides Allaah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allaah."» 15 13 Soorah Yoonus (10:18) 14 People who are attached to the graves. Their acts of worships are all for the graves, to the graves, and on top of the graves and around them. 15 Soorah Yoonus (10:18)
He said: : l f e d c b a `_ ~ } {m «And those who take awliyaa. (protectors and helpers) besides Him (say): "We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allaah.» 16 They did not worship them because they thought they were partners with Allaah in creating, providing, and giving life and death. They knew and acknowledged openly that these things were for Allaah only. And they only worshipped these objects of worship to draw them closer to Allaah. :.. So, they say: "We are worshippers with sins, and those are righteous people. They have status with Allaah. We want them to intercede for us on our behalf, so that Allah may accept our acceptance." This is how the devils of mankind and the jinn had beautified for them this affair.. What is so strange [about these Qubooriyyoon] is that they read the Qur`aan and pass by these verses whilst paying them no mind, and they continue worshipping graves. This is the action of Jaahiliyyah, and this is because they have not understood what it is the people of Jaahiliyyah were upon. They did not understand that this was from the affairs of Jaahiliyyah. This is a result of ignorance with regards to the affairs of al-jaahiliyyah. 17 16 Soorah az-zumar (39):3 17 The Shaykh warned us about not having knowledge of Jaahiliyyah. He told us that we must have knowledge of Jaahiliyah to stay away from it. And he explained that the affect of not knowing about the affairs of Jaahiliyah was very serious and very dangerous. This is a prime example of what he told us about in the introduction, that people fall into the worship of other than Allaah because they do not understand the affairs of Jaahiliyyahs, what it is they were upon and what is it they were forbidden from doing.
As taught by Ustaadh Moosaa Richardson