Part 26

The author, may Allaah, the Most High, have mercy upon him, mentions a number of types of worship, and mentions that whoever directs anything from them to other than Allaah is a mushrik, an unbeliever, and he proves this with the Sayings of Allaah, the Most High, "And the places of Prayer (masaajid) are for Allaah alone, so do not invoke anyone along with Allaah." [surah al-Jinn (72):18] "And whoever worships along with Allaah any other object of worship has no proof for that; his reckoning will be with his Lord. Indeed the unbelievers will never prosper." [surah al-Mu'minoon (23):117] The first Aayah is a proof, since Allaah, the Most High, informs that the masaajid, which are either the places in which prostration (sujood) is made (i.e. the places of Prayer), or the limbs which prostrate, are for Allaah alone. Then He stated as a consequence of that is: so do not worship and prostrate to anything else along with Him. The second Aayah is a proof since Allaah, the one free of all imperfections and the Most High, explains that whoever supplicates and invokes something else besides Allaah is an unbeliever (kaafir), because He says: "Indeed the unbelievers will never prosper." Furthermore His Saying "(They have) no proof for that" indicates that it is not possible for there to be any proof supporting worship of other gods. So this is a description to make the matter clear and manifest, and it is not a qualifying description meant to exclude that which is supported by proof. This is the case since it is not possible for there to be any proof allowing worship of anything along with Allaah. In the hadith there occurs: "Invocation is the core of worship"* And the evidence for this is the Saying of Allaah, the Most High: "Your Lord says: O people, invoke Me and supplicate to Me making your worship sincerely for Me alone, and I will answer you, and pardon you and have mercy upon you. Indeed those who disdain to worship Me alone will enter Hell-Fire in disgrace' [69] [surah Ghaafir (40):60]. ________________________________________________________ * Translator's note: The hadith is reported with this wording by at-Tirmidhee and declared weak (da'if) by Shaykh Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee in alMishkaat (no. 2331) due to the weakness of one of its narrators, Ibn Lahee'ah. Imaam Ahmad and the four Sunan report an authentic hadith with the wording: "Invocation is Worship." (Declared authentic {sahih) by Shaykh al-Albaanee in Saheehul'Jaami' (no. 3407)). Here the author, rahimahullaah, begins to quote evidences for the types of worship which he mentioned in his saying: "And the types of worship which Allaah commanded, such as Islaam, eemaan and ihsaan, and from that is supplication (dua)..." So he began by mentioning the evidences for supplication/invocation (dua), and the proofs for Islaam, eemaan and ihsaan in detail will follow, if Allaah wills. So the author used as evidence what is related from the Prophet (M) as his saying: "Invocation is the core of worship" and he used as evidence the Saying of Allaah, the Most High, "Your Lord says: O people, invoke Me and supplicate to Me making your worship sincerely for Me alone, and I will answer you, and pardon you and have mercy upon you. Indeed those who disdain to worship Me alone will enter Hell-Fire in disgrace." [surah Ghaafir (40):60] So the noble Aayah proves that invocation/supplication (dua) is worship, and if that were not the case it would not be said "those who disdain to worship Me alone...." So whoever called upon anyone besides Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, requesting something which none but Allaah has power over, then he is a mushrik (one who worships others besides Allaah), an unbeliever (kaafir), whether the one he calls upon is living or dead. Whoever requests a living person for something which he is able to do, such as the saying: 'O so and so give me food' or 'O so and so give me a drink,' then there is no harm in that. But whoever asks a dead person or someone who is absent for that, then he is a mushrik, since the deceased or the absent cannot possibly do that. So in such a case his supplicating to them shows that he believes that they have some control over the creation, and he is therefore a mushrik. It must be noted that dua is of two types: (i) Supplication, when a request is made (du 'aa-u mas'alah) and, (ii) invocation through worship (dua-u Ibaadah). So supplication is to request ones needs, and is worship when the servant requests that from his Lord. This is because it involves showing ones poverty before Allaah, the Most High, and ones need to turn to Him, and ones certain faith that He is the one having full power, the Most Generous, the one who gives bounteously and is Most Merciful. Seeking ones needs from someone else from the creation is permissible if the one to whom the request is made is able to hear and understand it, and has the power to respond to it, like the saying: 'O so and so give me food.' As for invocation through worship, then it is that the person does an act of worship seeking reward and fearing punishment, and this is not correct unless directed to Allaah alone.