Amongst the forms of Shirk and its causes
Amongst the forms of Shirk and its causes
Exaggeration about the righteous:
Allaah The Almighty says: {O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allaah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allaah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him.} [An-Nisaa’: 171]
It is to make something seem more important, better or worse than it really is by words or belief, meaning, do not elevate the created being above the rank that Allaah The Almighty has granted him. So one may give another a rank or grade that should not be given except to Allaah The Almighty. Even if this speech and command was directed for the People of the Scripture, it is also general for the whole nation, warning them to do as the Christians did with ‘Isa, peace be upon him, and the Jews with Ezra. It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Do not unduly praise me like the Christians exaggerated over ‘Isa, son of Maryam. Verily, I am only a servant, so say, Allaah's servant and His Messenger.”[1]
The first kind of Shirk in the worldly life is cause by the exaggeration over the righteous:
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said regarding the saying of Allaah The Almighty: {And said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwaa‘ or Yaghuth and Ya‘uq and Nasr.} [Nooh: 23]
“These idols were all named after righteous men from the people of Nuh. Then when these men died, Shaytan (Satan) inspired their people to erect statues in honor of them at their gathering places where they used to come and sit, and to name these statues after these men (with their names). So they did this (as Shaytan suggested), but these statues were not worshipped until after those people (the ones who built them) had died and the knowledge was lost. Then, those statues were later worshipped.”[2]
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “More than one of the Salaf said: ‘when they died, the people started to frequent their graves, then they made statues of them, then as time passed they started to worship them.”[3]
Slaughtering for someone other than Allaah The Almighty:
It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “May Allaah curse those who dedicate sacrifice to other than Allaah.”[4]
Astrology:It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There are four matters of Jaahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period of ignorance) in my Ummah that they will not give up: pride in one’s forefathers, slandering lineages, seeking rain by the stars and wailing.”[5]
Attributing provision for other than Allaah The Almighty:
“Whoever believes that the stars send down rain”:
It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said on the behalf of the Lord of Honor: “This morning one of My slaves became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: ‘We have been given rain by the grace of Allaah and His mercy,’ that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars; and as for him who said: ‘We have been given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars.”[6]
Showing off and dedicating deeds for other than the sake of Allaah The Almighty:
Allaah The Almighty says in Al-Qudsi Hadeeth: “I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for the sake of someone else as well as for My sake will have that action rejected by Me to the one whom he associated with Me.”[7]
Obeying those who allowed what is prohibited or prohibited what is allowed:
It was narrated that ‘Adiyy ibn Haatim (He was a Christian before he became a Muslim) said: He heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, reciting the verse in which Allaah The Almighty says: {They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allaah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.} [At-Tawbah: 31] He said: “I said, O Messenger of Allaah, we do not worship them.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Do they not forbid that which Allaah has allowed and thus you forbid it, and allow what Allaah has forbidden and thus you allow it?” I said, “Yes.” He, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “This is a kind of worshiping them.”[8]
Disliking something of the religion of Islam:
Allaah The Almighty says: {That is because they disliked what Allaah revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds.} [Muhammad: 9]
Mocking at something that contains the mention of Allaah The Almighty, Quran or the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him:
Allaah The Almighty says to those who mock at anything of the religion of Islam: {And if you ask them, they will surely say, "We were only conversing and playing." Say, "Is it Allaah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?" Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief. If We pardon one faction of you - We will punish another faction because they were criminals.} [At-Tawbah: 65-66]
It was narrated that ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: "During the battle of Tabook, a man was sitting in a gathering and said, ‘I have never seen like these reciters of ours![9] They have the hungriest stomachs, the most lying tongues and are the most cowardice in battle.’ A man in the Masjid said, ‘You lie. You are a hypocrite, and I will surely inform the Messenger of Allaah.’ This statement was conveyed to the Messenger of Allaah and also a part of the Quran was revealed about it. ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar said, "I have seen that man afterwards holding onto the shoulders of the Messenger's camel while stones were falling on him, declaring, ‘O Allaah's Messenger! We were only engaged in idle talk and jesting,' while the Messenger of Allaah was reciting, "Is it Allaah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?" Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief.} [At-Tawbah: 65-66][10]
Learning magic and acting upon it:
Allaah The Almighty says: {It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved.} [Al-Baqarah: 102]
It was narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Shun the seven great destructive sins” The people inquired, "O Allaah's Messenger! What are they'' He said, (They are) Joining others in worship with Allaah, magic taking life which Allaah has forbidden, except for a just cause (according to Islamic law), …”[11]
Going to soothsayers, fortunetellers and sorcerers:
It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever goes to a fortuneteller and asks him about something and believes him, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days.”[12]
He, peace and blessings be upon him, also said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad.[13]”[14]
Tatayyur (superstitious belief in bird or other bad omens):
It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There is no ‘Adwaa [contagion, transmission of infectious disease without the permission of Allaah], no Tiyarah, no Haamah [refers to a Jaahili Arab tradition described variously as: a worm which infests the grave of a murder victim until he is avenged; an owl; or the bones of a dead person turned into a bird that could fly], and no Safar [the month of Safar was regarded as “unlucky” during the Jaahiliyyah].”[15]
Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated a Marfoo‘ (traceable Hadeeth): “Tiyarah is shirk, tiyarah is shirk” thrice and then added: but there is none of us who… but Allaah takes it away by means of trust in Him.”[16]
Hanging up amulets, string and iron ring:
It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allaah not fulfill his need, and whoever wears a sea-shell, may Allaah not give him peace.”[17]
It was narrated that Abu Basheer Al-Ansaari, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: He was with the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, on one of his journeys, and the people were at their places of rest. The Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent a messenger (saying): “No camel is to be left among any group of people with a garland of sinew or a garland, but it is to be cut off.”[18]
When a garland of sinew becomes old, the people of Al-Jaahiliyah used to take another new one and garland their camels with the old one, believing that this could ward off the evil eye from the camels.
Non-prescribed Ruqyah, amulets and love charms:
It was narrated that ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: “Ruqyah, amulets[19] and At-Tiwlah (love charms) are Shirk.”[20]
As for the non-prescribed Ruqyah, it is that contains shirk-related matters. However, the prescribed Ruqyah that is performed by reciting Quran, invocations and supplications and that are mentioned in the authentic Sunnah, then it is permissible.
As for the Amulets, they are what the people hang up on their necks and their animals such as beads, bones and the like to ward off the evil eye.
As for At-tiwlah, it is something that the woman used to do to make her husband love her. It is a kind of magic. And Allaah knows best.
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[1] Reported by Al-Bukhaari (3445-6830).
[2] Reported by Al-Bukhaari (4920).
[3] Ighaathat Al-Lahfaan (1/203).
[4]Reported by Muslim.
[5] Reported by Muslim (934), Ahmad and others.
[6] Reported by Al-Bukhaari (846-1038-4147-7403), Muslim (71) and Ahmad (4/117).
[7] Reported by Muslim (2985).
[8]Reported by At-Tirmithi in Al-Jaami‘ No. (3094) and its root reported by Ahmad in “Al-Musnad”(4/257-378) without mentioning this wording.
[9] Our reciters: They mean the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the honorable companions, may Allaah be pleased with them.
[10] Reported by At-Tabaraani (10/172) from the route of ‘Abdullaah ibn Saalih, the writer of Al-Layth. He is truthful but errs a lot; however, it is followed by Ibn Abi Haatim. So he narrated it from Yoonus ibn ‘Abd Al-A‘la from Ibn Wahb. It has a sound chain of transmission. Refer to “Hidaayat Al-Mustaneer” (303).
[11] Reported by Al-Bukhaari (2766-5764-6857), Muslim (89) and the remaining part of it is as follows: “consuming Riba (usury, interest), consuming an orphan's wealth, fleeing the battlefield at the time of fighting, and false accusation to chaste women, who never even think of anything touching chastity and are good believers.”
[12] Reported by Muslim (2230).
[13] Reported by Abu Daawood in “As-Sunan” No. (3904), At-Tirmithi in “Al-Jaami‘” (135), An-Nasaa’i in “Al-Kubra” as in “Tuhfat Al-Ash-Shraaf “(10/124), Ibn Maajah in “As-Sunan” (639), Ahmad in “Al-Musnad” (2/408-486).
[14] What makes the matter even worse and adds insult to injury is that soothsayers, sorcerers and fortunetellers became enter every house through “satellite channels” and “internet” and watched by millions. May Allaah grant us and them guidance.
[15] Reported by Al-Bukhaari (5757) and Muslim (2220).
[16] Reported by Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi in “Al-Jaami‘” (1614) and deemed it Saheeh (authentic) and Ahmad (1/389-438-440).
[17] Reported by Ahmad in “Al-Musnad” (4/154) and Al-Haakim (4/417).
[18] Reported by Al-Bukhaari (3005) and Muslim (2115) and others.
[19] It is like what is hanged up on the cars or doors of houses such as palm of the hand, horseshoe, a shoe, green bead, staining cars and houses with hands that are stained with blood, believing that all of such things may ward off evil eye and envy. This makes them commit Shirk.
[20] Reported by Ahmad and Abu Daawood.
