Whoever Seeks Blessing From a Tree, Stone, or Any Such Thing
Allah (swt
), says:
" Have
you seen Al-Laat and Al-`Uzzaa?
and another, the third, Manaat? What! Is the male sex
for you and the female for Him? That would indeed be a
most unfair division!" (Qur'an 53:19-22)
Allah (swt
), Most High, reviles all idol-worshipping polytheists
in general and in particular, those who worship the
three idols: Al-Laat,1
the idol of the people of Taa'if,2Al-'Uzza,3worshipped by the people of Waadi Nakhlah, and Manaat,4
the idol of the people of Al-Mushallal, near Al-Qadeed,5
and He challenges them concerning these idols: Can they
benefit them in any way, by bringing good or protecting
from harm? Or are they simply names which they have
given themselves, not sanctioned by Allah (swt )? Allah
(swt ) also reviles their unfair division: That they
appoint those whom they despise, especially the weak
females, as children for Allah (swt ), the Almighty, the
All-powerful, while they prefer for themselves sons,
embodying the characteristics of manliness, strength and
power.
That
being the case, if this is injustice to women, then how
about Allah (swt )? Allah (swt ) is far above that which
they attribute to Him from sons and daughters.
Benefits
Derived From These Verses
1. The
obligation to reject the forbidden.
2. The
falseness of idol-worship.
3. The
obligation to reject the attribution of sons and
daughters to Allah.
4. The
corruption of the fitrah6
in the polytheists, who attributed daughters to Allah,
even though they despise them for themselves; and they
claimed that their idol-worship was only to bring them
closer to Allah.
Relevance
of These Verses to the Subject of the Chapter
That they
prove that the worship of these idols by the polytheists
was a means of seeking protection from harm; and anyone
who seeks blessing from a tree, a grave or worships any
other created thing seeking benefit or protection from
harm is imitating them and commits an act of Shirk
like them.
Important
Note
It has
been said concerning Al-Laat that he was a pious
man who used to prepare saweeq7
for the pilgrims to Makkah, and that when he died, they
began to worship at the site of his grave.
It was
also said that it was a name given to a carved stone;
and in reconciling these two statements, we may say that
the carved stone was near to the grave (which is often
marked with a stone), and the edifice erected covered
both of them, thus making them into one object of
worship.
..ooOOoo..
It is
reported on the authority of Abu Waqid Al-Laithi (ra )
that he said: "We were travelling with the Prophet
(saas ) to Hunain, when we had only recently abandoned
disbelief and the polytheists had a lotus-tree at which
they used to worship and upon which they used to hang
their weapons. They called it: Zaatu Anwaat. So
we said to Allah's Messenger (saas ):
"Make
for us a Zaatu Anwaat like theirs," at
which the Messenger of Allah (saas ) said: "Allaahu
Akbar! Verily, that which you have said - by Him
in Whose Hand is my soul - is the same as was said by
the Children of Israel to Moosa: "Make for us a
god such as the gods which they (the polytheist
Egyptians) have." Then he (saas ) said:
"Verily, you are an ignorant people who will
follow the way of those who were before you."
(Narrated
by At-Tirmizi, who declared it authentic)
Abu
Waaqid Al-Laithi (ra ) informs us in this Hadith that he
accompanied the Prophet (saas ) on a journey to the
Battle of Hunain, and that they (the Companions) knew
that the polytheists had a lotus-tree from which they
used to seek blessings and at which they would remain to
worship; and because of the fact that they were new to
Islam, and because they did not fully realize its goals
(i.e. to call people to worship Allah swt , Alone), they
asked the Prophet (saas ) to designate a tree like it
for them that they might also seek blessings from it and
worship in its vicinity like the pagans. At this, the
Prophet (saas ) exclaimed, in vexation: "Allaahu
Akbar!", 8
then he explained to them that such ignorance was the
same as that displayed by the people of Moosa (as ) who
asked him to make for them an idol like those of the
pagan Egyptians which they might worship and this was
after Allah (swt ) had saved them from Fir'aoun9
and his people. Then he informed them that this Ummah
will do as the Jews and Christians do in everything,
including Shirk.
Benefits
Derived From This Hadith
1. The
virtue of making clear that which would refute the
charge of back-biting, by saying: "...when we had
recently abandoned disbelief..."
2. The
difficulty man experiences in removing ingrained habits.
3. That
devotion (i'tikaaf) to a particular place is an
act of worship.
4. That
the ignorant person is excused by virtue of his
ignorance so long as he ceases his mistake once
knowledge comes to him.
5. The
prohibition of imitating the ignorant people such as the
polytheists and others.
6. The
permissibility of saying: "Allaahu Akbar!"
when one is surprised.
7. The
obligation to close off all possible routes leading to Shirk.
8. That Shirk
will occur in this Ummah.
The
permissibility of invoking Allah's Name, when
delivering a legal verdict.
10. The
permissibility of swearing without the intention of
making an oath for good reason.
11.
That this Ummah will do all that the Jews and
Christians do.
12.
That all the evil deeds done by the Jews and
Christians should serve as a warning to us.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That it
proves that taking trees as a source of blessing, and
carrying out devotions in their vicinity is Shirk
and it includes every tree, stone or other object of
worship from which blessings are invoked.
Important
Note
It has
become very common nowadays for people to invoke
blessings by the sweat of the righteous, or by touching
them or their clothes or by their tahneek10
of children, which they base upon the action of the
Prophet (saas ); but this is unacceptable because this
was something purely and solely for him (saas ), not a
sunnah for all the Muslims. His Companions - who
were the best of people in following him and
implementing his Sunnah did not do so, either in
his lifetime or after his death.
Footnotes
1.
Al-Laat: Derived from the word: Al-Ilaah, which means:
the Deity.
2.
Ta`if: A city in the mountains east of Makkah, in
present-day Saudi Arabia.
3.
Al-'Uzzaa: Derived from the name: Al-'Azeez, which means
the Almighty and said to be the name given to a tree in
Waadi Nakhlah, which is on the road between Makkah and
Ta`if. The pagans had erected a building over it, and
covered it with curtains and a gate and it was
worshipped by Quraish and the tribe of Banoo Kinaanah.
4.
Manaat: Derived from Al-Manaan, which means the
Benefector, it was a structure in Al-Mushallal, near to
the town of Al-Qadeed; it was worshipped by the tribes
of Khazaa'ah, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, and they used to
use it as a starting point when making pilgrimage to
Makkah.
5.
Al-Qadeed: A town lying between Makkah and Madinah in
present-day Saudi Arabia.
6.
Fitrah: The natural state in which we are born, i.e.
believing in the Oneness of Allah (swt).
7.
Saweeq: A kind of porridge made from wheat or barley.
10.
Tahneek: Putting juice and saliva into the mouth of an
infant: It is reported on the authority of 'Aa`ishah
(may Allah be pleased with her) that: "The first
child born in the Islamic State (Madinah) amongst the
Muhaajiroon (Emigrants) was 'Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubair.
They brought him to the Prophet (saas). The Prophet (saas)
took a date and after chewing it, put its juice in to
his mouth. So the first thing that went into the child's
stomach was the saliva of the Prophet (saas)."
(Narrated by Bukhari)