Sheik Shrieked Shirk: And your Lord is Allah

During the time of the Prophet ﷺ and the early pious predecessors, Tawheed (the absolute Oneness of Allah) was fully understood. Later on, it became necessary to explain it in terms of its components.

From the essence of Tawheed is Ar-Rububiyyah, which is the firm belief that Allah alone is the Creator of the universe and its Designer. He gives life and death as He wills. He is the Provider, the All-Powerful, and the Possessor of infinite strength.

“And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: Allah. How then are they turned away (from the worship of Allah, Who created them)?”

[Surah Az-Zukhruf: 87]

“Say: Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Great Throne? They will say: Allah...”

[Surah Al-Muʾminūn: 86-87]

None denies Allah’s Lordship except the atheist, who claims to reject His existence while knowing deep down that He exists. They may substitute terms such as “nature,” “force,” or “the force of nature” to mask the truth. This denial is not based on evidence but on obstinacy.

“And they say: There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except time (Ad-Dahr). And they have no knowledge of it; they only conjecture.”

[Surah Al-Jāthiyah: 24]

Because these truths are self-evident, atheists and deniers of Allah’s existence fall into confusion and are unable to respond convincingly to the arguments of the monotheists.

Tawheed Al-Uluhiyyah (Oneness of Allah’s Worship)

Another aspect of Tawheed is Al-Uluhiyyah, meaning that none deserves to be worshipped except Allah. All acts of worship must be directed to Him alone.

ʿIbaadah (worship) is defined as everything Allah loves and is pleased with, whether words or actions, inward or outward. Worship is based upon three inseparable pillars:

1. Love of Allah

2. Fear of Allah

3. Hope in His mercy

Whoever neglects one of these pillars does not perfect worship.

“And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (alone).”

[Surah Adh-Dhāriyāt: 56]

Forms of Worship

Acts of worship include:

• Ṣalāh (prayer), Zakāh, Ṣawm (fasting), and Ḥajj

• Truthfulness, enjoining good and forbidding evil

• Kindness to animals, orphans, the needy, and travellers

• Supplication, calling upon Allah in times of need, and reciting the Qur’an

• Loving Allah and His Messenger ﷺ

• Obeying Allah’s commands and practising the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ

All these must be done sincerely for Allah alone.

The Danger of Shirk

Directing any act of worship to other than Allah constitutes major shirk. Whoever prays to others besides Allah, sacrifices for them, or seeks aid from the dead or absent has committed shirk. If one dies upon this without repentance, it is an unforgivable sin.

“Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives anything else to whom He wills. And whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship has indeed committed a tremendous sin.”

[Surah An-Nisāʾ: 48]

Sadly, many who are supposed to be Muslims now glorify the graves of clerics, seeking their intercession. This is shirk. Even the Messenger of Allah ﷺ cannot be called upon for intercession in our supplications.

“And they worship besides Allah things that harm them not nor benefit them, and they say: ‘These are our intercessors with Allah.’ Say: ‘Do you inform Allah of something He knows not in the heavens or on the earth?’ Glorified and Exalted is He above all that which they associate as partners with Him.”

[Surah Yūnus: 18]

The Greatest Calamity

No catastrophe has afflicted the people greater than disbelief. Nothing harms faith more than worshipping other than Allah. Shirk remains the greatest evil that must be forbidden.

We ask Allah, as Prophet Ibrāhīm (alayhi salām) did, to protect us and our loved ones from associating partners with Him in worship.

{From Sheikh Sālih Al-Fawzan's (الإ رشاد إلي صحيح الإعتقاد) Guide To Sound Creed}

by Muhammad O.S