Explanation

by Shaikh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan "Know, may Allah guide you," this is a supplication from Shaikh (Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab rahimahullah), and it is required from the teacher to supplicate for the student in such a way. "His obedience" means compliance with His Commands and refraining from His Prohibitions. "(Know) that Haneefiyah is the religion of Ibraheem;" Allah commanded our Prophet to follow the religion of Ibraheem u, He said, "We have inspired you (O Muhammad r saying), "Follow the religion of Ibraheem Hanifa and he was not of the Mushrikoon (polytheist, idolaters, disbelievers, etc.)." [surah an-Nahl (16): 123] - 18 - Haneef is the one who accepts Allah and rejects everyone else. He accepts Allah with his heart, deeds, intentions and goals - all of it for Allah alone. Allah has ordered us to follow the religion of Ibraheem (in His Saying), "Strive hard in Allah's Cause as you ought to strive. He has chosen you and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship. It is the religion of your father, Ibraheem." [surah al-Hajj (22): 78] The religion of Allah is to worship Allah making the religion purely for Him, and this is Haneefiyyah. (therefore,) the Shaikh did not say (that the meaning of Haneefiyah is to), "worship Allah," rather He said, "making the religion sincerely for Him" which means refraining from Shirk, because if worship is corrupted with Shirk, then the worship is nullified. So, there is no worship unless it is free from major and minor Shirk as Allah, the Exalted, said, "They were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone…" [surah al-Bayyinah (98): 5] Allah has commanded all the creation with this kind worship (i.e., worship free from shirk) as He says, "I did not create the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)." [surah adh-Dhariyat (51): 56] The meaning of, 'worship Me' (in this verse) is 'to single Me out in worship.' The wisdom behind creating the creation is that they worship Allah making the religion purely for Him, (but) from - 19 - not fulfill (the wisdom) - yet, the wisdom behind their creation is this. So, he who worships other than Allah opposes the wisdom behind his creation, and (by this) he opposes the Command and Legislation (of Allah). Ibraheem u is the father of all the Messengers who were sent after him, so all of them are from his offspring and therefore, Allah said, "We bestowed on him (i.e., Ibraheem), Ishaque and Yaqoob, and ordained among his offspring Prophet-hood and the Book (i.e. Tawrah, Injeel, Qur'aan), and We granted him his reward in this world, and verily, in the Hereafter he is indeed among the righteous." [surah al-Ankabut (29): 27] So all of them are from Bani Israel, the offspring of Ibraheem u - except Muhammad r because he is from the progeny of Isma'eel u. So all the Prophets are the children of Ibraheem u as an honor for him. Allah has (also) made Ibraheem u an Imam for the people, meaning an example, "He said (to him), 'Verily, I am going to make you an Imam for mankind." [surah al-Baqarah (2): 124] i.e., an example, "Verily, Ibraheem was an Ummah." [surah an-Nahl (16): 120] meaning an example to be followed. Allah has commanded all the creation with it (i.e., to worship Allah alone) as He said, "Verily, I did not create Jinn and mankind except to worship Me (Alone)." [surah adh-Dhariyaat (51): 56] So, Ibraheem called the people to the worship of Allah (Alone) as did all the other Prophets. All the Prophets called to - 20 - said, "Verily, We have sent among every Ummah, a Messenger (proclaiming), 'Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid Taghoot (all false deities)." [surah an-Nahl (16): 36] As for the laws (Sharee'ah); i.e., the Commandment and the Prohibitions, the Halaal and the Haraam, these differed from nation to nation according to the requirements (of the people of that nation). Allah legislated a Sharee'ah (a set of laws), then abrogated it with another Sharee'ah until there arrived the Sharee'ah of Islam, and with it all the previous Sharaa'eh (pl. of Sharee'ah) were abrogated and only this Sharee'ah (of Islam) remained to be followed until the establishment of the Day of Judgement. But the basis of all the religions of the Prophet was tawhid; (this foundation) was never abrogated and will never be abrogated. Their religion is one and it is Islam - meaning sincerity to Allah through (practicing) tawhid. (So) their laws differed but tawhid and Aqeedah (have been the same) - since Adam u until the last Prophet - all of them called to the tawhid of Allah and His worship. Worship of Allah means following the Sharee'ah of Allah at all times, and if one Sharee'ah is abrogated, it becomes obligatory to follow the abrogating Sharee'ah - this is worship. Acting upon the abrogated Sharee'ah is not worshiping Allah. - 21 - Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab writes, So, if you have acknowledged that Allah has created you for His worship then know that the worship is not called worship unless it is accompanied by tawhid, just like Salaat cannot be called Salaat except with purification.