F Oundation

The mushrikeen (those who commit shirk) of our time are worse in Shirk than the previous generations because the former generations committed Shirk during times of ease but they would become sincere during difficult times unlike the mushrikeen of today, whose Shirk is continuous; at times of ease and hardship. Proof is the Saying of Allah, "When they embark on a ship they invoke Allah making their faith pure for Him only, but when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others." [surah al-Ankaboot (29): 65] - 57 - by Shaikh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan The fourth and the last foundation is that the mushrikeen of our time are worse in Shirk than those amongst whom the Prophet r was sent and the cause of this is obvious; Allah informed us that the previous mushrikeen would become sincere to Allah when the situations became difficult for them. They would not invoke anyone other than Allah because of their knowledge that no one can save them from the hardships except Allah as He said, "When harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon besides Him vanish from you except Him (Allah Alone). But when He brings you safely to land, you turn away (from Him)." [surah al-Isra (17): 67] In another verse, (Allah says) "When a wave covers them like shades, they invoke Allah, making their religion purely for Him." - 58 - purely for Allah. "But when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to other." [surah al-Ankaboout (29): 65] So, those who came before committed Shirk in times of ease; calling upon the idols, rocks and trees. But when they fell into hardship and came close to destruction, they did not invoke their idols, trees, rocks or any other creation. Rather, they invoked Allah alone. So, if no one could expel their hardship except Allah, then how could they invoke others at times of ease? As for the mushrikeen of the present, meaning those who came later from the Ummah of Muhammad r, their Shirk is continuous during times of ease and hardship. They are never sincere to Allah, not even during times of hardship. Rather, whenever their affairs become difficult for them, their Shirk becomes even more severe and also their calling upon al-Hasan, al-Hussain, AbdulQadir, ar-Rifa'ee and others - this is something well-known. Their astonishing stories of the sea have been narrated, when their matters become difficult for them, they start to shout out the names of the Awliya and the Saliheen and call upon them for relief instead of Allah because the callers of falsehood and misguidance tell them, 'We will save you from the sea. If you are faced with any hardship, shout our names and we will rescue you,' as is narrated about the Masahaikh (pl. of Shaikh) of the Sufi ways. Read, if you wish, 'Tabaqaat ash-Sha'rawi.' In it is what causes the skin to shiver - they call these incidents Karamaat (miracles) of the Awliya. They rescue the people from the sea. He extends his hands to the sea and carries the whole ship and brings it to the shore, and even his - 59 - the Shirk of the present mushrikeen is continuous during times of ease and hardship, and so they are worse than the mushrikeen of the old. Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab also wrote in his book, Kashfush-Shubhat, another reason (as to why the mushrikeen of today are worse, he wrote), 'the previous generations worshiped righteous people from the Angels, Prophets and Awliya, whereas these (mushrikeen of today) worship the most deviant people and they acknowledge this (fact). Those whom they call, 'Aqtaab' (pillars) and 'Aghwaath' (helpers) (pl. of Ghawth)' do not pray or fast, they commit adultery, sodomy and disgraceful deeds because they claim that they are free from the restrictions of Halaal and Haraam, and that these restrictions are for the common masses only. Those who revere them acknowledge that their leaders do not pray or fast and they commit disgraceful deeds, and despite their knowledge, they worship the vilest people like, al-Hallaj, al-Arabee, ar-Rafaa'ee, al-Badawee and others. (So,) The Shaikh has mentioned the proof that the latter mushrikeen are more severe and worse in Shirk than the previous ones because those who came before would become sincere during times of hardship and commit Shirk during times of ease and this is proved by the Saying of Allah, "When they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their faith purely for Him." [surah al-Ankaboot (29): 65] May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his companions. - 60 -