Part 3

2 This topic will only be briefly touched upon in this book. The reader is referred to the master’s dissertation by al-Arisi on the topic.

Tawhid is the Unification of Allah in His Existence and Lordship (known as Tawhid al-Rububtyyah), in His Perfect Essence and Attributes (Tawhid al-Asma wa al-Sifat), and in His right to be worshipped (Tawhid alUlihtyyah). Tawhid is the essence of Islam, and the first and final call of all of Allah’s prophets. The reader is referred to Dr. Bilal Philip’s Fundamentals of tawhid (al-Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution, United Kingdom, 1999), for further details.

When one makes a du‘@ to Allah, one is implicitly acknowledging that Allah exists, and that He is the true Lord. The person so doing is stating by his actions that Allah controls all matters, for only Allah has the power and capability to respond to his du‘ a. He is admitting that Allah is the Nourisher, Sustainer, Creator and Master of the entire creation, and all of this is the essence of Tawhid al-Rubabiyyah. Even when a non-Muslim makes a du‘a@ to Allah (even if it is by another name), he affirms all of these concepts as well. It is because of this affirmation that it is possible that a nonMuslim’s dw‘ a isanswered as well, for the response of a dud relates to Tawhid al-Rubibiyyah. Allah mentions in numerous verses in

_the Qur’an (some of which will be mentioned later) that disbelievers call out to Him at times of need, and yet, when He responds to their du’ a, they worship others besides Him. So the point is that Allah does respond to the du‘a of the afir (unbeliever) as well as the Muslim, for both turn to Allah recognising that only Allah can grant them what they desire. However, the du‘ a of the Muslim has a greater chance of being accepted, for he calls out only to Allah, whereas the fafir calls out to others besides Allah, turning to Allah only when he is in great distress. Also, the fact that Allah responds to the du‘ a of the Rafir does not in any way imply that He is pleased with him, or that he will be saved from the fire of Hell. Rather, it shows that Allah is the Radé, the true Lord of both the Muslim and Rafir, and it shows that He is al-Rahman, the Ever-Merciful, for He shows Mercy to the Muslim in this life and the Hereafter, and He shows some Mercy to the Xafir in this life. Were it not for this Mercy, the kafir would not even be blessed with a morsel of food or a sip of water. And this general mercy entails that Allah responds occasionally to the du’ a of a kafir, especially when it emanates from a heart that has turned sincerely and desperately towards Allah.

Du‘ a also necessitates that only Allah deserves to be worshipped (Tawhid al-Ulihiyyah), for if only Allah has complete control over creation, and if only He can respond to the call of the one in distress, then only He deserves our complete submission and worship.

dua@ also obligates that Allah has the most Perfect Names and Attributes (Tawhid al-Asma wa al-Sifat). For only He can hear the whispering plea of the servant, no matter where the servant is, and only He can understand the situation that the servant is in. His knowledge is far more complete than the knowledge of the servant himself concerning the plight that he is in. Likewise, only Allah has the complete power and ultimate authority in granting what the servant desires.

So du'@ is a powerful indication of tawhid in all of its three aspects.

4. dua to other than Allah is Shirk

From what has preceded, it is clear that du’ a can only be directed towards Allah alone.

Say (O Muhammad): “I make du'@ only to my Lord (Allah

To make du‘ @ to other than Allah is pure shirk (associating partners with Allah), which is the one sin that Allah will not forgive.

This is due to the fact that the one that makes a dua to other than Allah is in fact attributing to a created object charactersitics and attributes that only Allah has. So, the person who makes a du‘ a to a saint, or rock, or idol, believes that that object can hear him, . and has eternal life, and is capable of responding to his invocation, and has knowledge of his situation, and can see the state that he is in, and has mercy upon him, and has the power to grant him what he wishes. Yet, the perfection of all of these attributes is only with Allah. It is only Allah that can hear everything, in fact, Allah knows our very thoughts even if we do not vocalise them. It is only Allah that knows our situation perfectly, and has a Divine Mercy for us, and is All-Powerful in responding to our requests. Allah describes all other objects which du‘ a is made to in the following verse:

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If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call, and even if they were to hear (you), they could not grant your (request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad) like Him Who is the All-Knower (of each and everything)” So the object that is called upon besides Allah, whether it is an ‘idol or a dead saint, cannot hear such calls in the first place. They do not have the perfect Attribute that al-Sami’ (The Hearer of Everything) has, and even if they are alive and have a sense of hearing, this sense is extremely limited, for they can only hear within a very small distance, if the voice is loud enough. Can such restricted hearing be compared in any way to the attributes of al-Sami ? Allah then states that, even if they could hear such calls, they would not be able to respond to them. Thus because these objects simply do not have the power or capability to respond to any requests. Allah describes these worshipped objects as:

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nergs: NES 48g owed BSS AG ve ries Hebets sb cite He calls besides Allah that which hurts him not nor profits him. That is a straying far away. He calls unto him whose

harm is nearer than this profit: certainly, an evil mawdla (patron) and certainly an evil friend!

> seerah al-Fatir, 14 *6 Sarah al-Hajj, 12-13

So the person calling an object besides Allah is in reality calling something that can neither benefit him nor harm him in this world. Although these objects can, in and of themselves cause no harm, by calling them instead of Allah, a person brings harm upon himself by committing shirk, so what an evil and foolish act it is. As Allah says:

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cm aiheny’s aly rae ANG Sab gles op CA ad Ae eS And who is more astray than one who makes a du‘a to other than Allah - who will not answer him until the Day of Resur-

rection, and who are (even) unaware of their du‘as to them? ”

The object that is called besides Allah does not even know it is being called, and if du’ @ were made to them until the Day of Judgement, nothing would occur!

In fact, look at the example that Allah gave of the one who calls to other than Allah:

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Say (O Muhammad (3%)): “Shall we invoke others besides Allah (false deities), that can do us neither good nor harm, and shall we turn on our heels after Allah has guided us? Like one whom the devils have made to go astray, confused (wandering) through the earth, his companions calling him to guidance (saying): ‘Come to us.” Say: “Verily, Allah’s Guidance

27 Sorah al-Ahgaf, 5

is the only guidance, and we have been commanded to submit

So from all this it is apparent that anyone who makes a dua to other than Allah has committed a form of major shirk, rather, the greatest form of shirk!

0 TEKS] ere jose ay ao Lil And whoever makes a du‘ a to (or worships) other than Allah, any other god, of whom he has no proof, then his reckoning is

only with his Lord. Surely, the disbelivers will not be successful.”

It is irrelevant what excuses, or distorted logic, those that make dua to other than Allah use to try to justify this shirk, for the reality of an act is not affected by invented names given to it. So you find some of them claiming that they are only calling out to ‘holy’ people, whereas others use the concept of intercession (shafa' ah) to justify this shirk. Yet others pervert the correct understanding of tabarruk (seeking blessings from an object), while others use the concept of tawassul (seeking a means of nearness to Allah). No matter what means a person seeks to use, the fact should be clear to everyone that to call upon a dead person, or an angel, or a prophet, or a rock or stone, or a deity other than Allah, is the essence of shirk, concerning which there is no difference of opinion amongst Muslims. This type of shirk is the worst type, for it is directing the greatest act of worship to other than Allah. A person who commits this type of shirk has removed himself from the fold of Islam, and this act of his is no different from prostrating to an idol.”

Despite the clarity of this type of shirk, it is appalling to note that such acts are rampant amongst many Muslim societies and cul-

tures. It is possible to hear a person who believes that he is Muslim, and might even be praying or fasting, call out, ‘O ‘Abd al-Qadir alJilani! Save me!’ And here is another one that makes a du‘ a, ‘O Badawi! O Tijani! O Rifa'ai!’! Guide me! Help me! Give me my sustenance! Take care of my needs!’ And yet a third might say, ‘O Muhammad, (#8)! Grant me a righteous child!’ So they call out to ‘pious’ saints, believing that these saints have the power to respond to their du’ as, or that they have a right over Allah that Allah answers their prayers.