It is Shirk to Seek Aid From Other Than Allah (swt)
Allah (swt
), says:
" Nor
call on any besides Allah, such can neither profit
you, nor hurt you. If you do, then you will surely be
one of the zalimun" (Qur'an 10:106)
In this
verse, Allah (swt ), Most Glorified, Most High, forbids
His Prophet, Muhammad (saas ) - and the forbiddance
applies to the whole Ummah - from performing acts
of worship, in particular supplication for any other
besides Allah (swt ), because none beside Him possesses
power to benefit or harm. Then Allah (swt ) informs His
Prophet (saas ) that should he do so, he would be one of
the Zalimun, i.e. the polytheists.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
benefit and protection from harm are only from Allah,
the Almighty, the All-powerful.
2. That
whoever called upon other than Allah, believing that he
possesses the power to benefit or harm him without
Allah, has committed an act of Shirk.
3. The
reference to Shirk as Zulm (injustice).
..ooOOoo..
Allah (swt),
says:
" If
Allah does not touch you with hurt, there is none can
remove it but He: If He designs some benefit for you,
there is none can keep back His Favour: He causes it
to reach whomsoever of His slaves He wills, and He is
the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Qur'an10:107)
In this
verse, Allah (swt ), Most Glorified, Most High, informs
His Prophet, Muhammad (saas ) that both good and evil
are determined by Allah (swt ), the Almighty, the
All-powerful, and that none of His creatures - whoever
he may be - has the power to lift harm or prevent
benefit coming to anyone; and that all power of disposal
is in Allah's Hands. He forbids whom He wills, in His
Wisdom, and He gives to whom He wills from His Bounty,
and He is Oft-forgiving to whomsoever turns in
repentance to Him; even to the one who has committed
shirk, He is Full of Mercy.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
all goodness and evil is at Allah's Disposal.
2.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Iradah
(i.e. Wish, Decree).
3.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Mashee`ah
(i.e. Will).
4.
Confirmation of the totality of Allah's Dominion and
Rulership.
5.
Confirmation of two of Allah's Names: Al-Ghafoor
(the Most Forgiving) and Ar-Raheem (the Most
Merciful to all in this world and to the Believers in
the Hereafter) and both of these names encompass the
Attributes of Forgiveness and Mercy.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That it
proves that preventing or removing harm and the granting
of benefit come only from Allah (swt ), the Almighty,
the All-powerful, and seeking them from other than Allah
(swt ) is an act of Shirk.
..ooOOoo..
Allah (swt
), says:
" You
do naught but worship idols besides Allah, and you
invent falsehood. The things that you worship besides
Allah have no power to give you sustenance: Then seek
you sustenance from Allah, worship Him and be grateful
to Him: To Him will you return" (Qur'an
29:17)
Allah (swt
), Most Glorified, Most High tells us in this verse
about Prophet Ibraheem (as ), how he made clear to his
people the truth concerning the idols which they
worshipped, that they possessed no power to harm or to
benefit, and that they had invented a lie by attributing
such powers to them, for goodness may only be sought
from Allah (swt ), and from none other; and that He,
Alone is the One Who has the right to be worshipped, and
to be praised and Who deserves our gratitude because all
creatures will return to Him when they die; then they
will be resurrected and they will receive the recompense
of their deeds.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
the original Religion of all the Prophets is Tawheed.
2. The
falseness of worshipping idols.
3. That
all goodness and evil is within Allah's power.
4. The
obligation to worship Allah and to be grateful to Him.
5.
Confirmation of the coming of the Day of Resurrection.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That it
proves that sustenance must not be sought except from
Allah (swt ), because supplicating for sustenance from
other than Allah (swt ) is an act of Shirk.
..ooOOoo..
Allah (swt
), Most High says:
" And
who is more astray than one who calls upon other than
Allah, such as will not answer him until the Day of
Resurrection, and who are [even] unaware of their
calls to them. And when mankind are gathered [on the
Day of Resurrection], they [the false deities] will
become enemies to them and will deny their
worshipping" (Qur'an 46:5-6)
Allah (swt
), Most Glorified, Most High, informs us in this verse
that none is further astray nor more ignorant than the
one who rejects the worship of the All-hearing, the One
Who answers, and instead, worships things which are
unable to answer him until the Hour comes, either
because they themselves are slaves of Allah (swt ), who
are bound to worship Him, such as the angels, the
Prophets and the righteous, or because they are
inanimate objects, such as idols. Then Allah (swt )
makes clear to us that mankind will be gathered together
on the Day of Resurrection, then the worshipers will be
shown the uselessness of their deeds because their
objects of worship will declare themselves innocent of
them and their actions; indeed they will become their
enemies, rejecting them and all that they did.
Benefits
Derived From These Verses
1. That
the most ignorant and farthest astray of all people are
those who call upon other than Allah.
2.
Confirmation that their objects of worship are ignorant
of them and cannot answer them.
3. That
this supplication is a kind of worship.
4. That
their calling upon these false gods will be the cause of
those deities' enmity towards those who worshipped them
on the Day of Resurrection.
5.
Evidence that these objects of worship will declare
themselves innocent of their worshipers on the Day of
Resurrection.
Relevance
of These Verses to the Subject of the Chapter
That they
prove that there is none more ignorant, none farther
astray than the one who calls upon other than Allah (swt
), because supplication is an act of worship, and
dedicating an act of worship to other than Allah (swt )
is Shirk.
Important
Note
The
rejection by those objects of worship, such as the
angels, the Prophets and the righteous will be by their
mouths, obviously. As for those inanimate objects, such
as idols, trees, stones, etc., it has been said that
Allah (swt ) will create for them the power of speech,
and they will speak, denouncing their worshipers and
their deeds; and it has also been said that they will
reject them by their silence and inanimity.
..ooOOoo..
Allah (swt
), says:
" Is
not He [better than your gods] Who responds to the
distressed one, when he calls Him, and Who removes the
evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth
[generation after generation], is there any deity with
Allah? Little it is that you bear in mind [the
warning]" (Qur'an 27:62)
Allah (swt
), Most High, defines some of the Attributes which are
purely for Him, and nobody else, such as responding to
those in dire straits, lifting harm from them and
protecting mankind. Then Allah (swt ), Most Glorified,
Most High, makes clear that those who will not be warned
by this, nor fear the consequences, and do not worship
Allah (swt ), Alone, will not heed any warning.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
making one's du'aa`1
purely for Allah will ensure its acceptance.
2.
Confirmation of the blessing of
Du'aa`.
3. That
goodness and evil are within Allah's power.
4. Proof
of Tawheed of worship through Tawheed of Rabbship.
5. That
Allah (swt ) answers the Du'aa` of the distressed
and the oppressed.
6.
Knowledge of Allah (swt ) through the fitrah.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject
That the
verse proves that none can answer the oppressed or the
distressed except Allah (swt ), Most Glorified, Most
High, because Du'aa` is a form of worship and
dedicating an act of worship to other than Allah (swt )
is Shirk.
..ooOOoo..
At-Tabarani
reports that: "In the time of the Prophet (saas )
there was a hypocrite2
who used to harm the Believers, and some of them said:
"Come, let us seek aid from the Messenger of Allah
(saas ) against this hypocrite." But the Prophet (saas
) said: "Aid must not be sought from me; aid must
only be sought from Allah (swt )."
The
narrator informs us in this Hadith that a man from
amongst the hypocrites used to harm the Companions in
any way he could, and so some of them went to the
Prophet (saas ) to seek his aid in stopping this harm.
And even though the Prophet (saas ) was able to do so,
he forbade them from seeking help from him and instead,
he guided them towards that which was better for them -
to seek aid from Allah (swt ), to ask Him to alleviate
their distress and protect them from their enemies in
accordance with the dictates of Tawheed.
Benefits
Derived From This Hadith
1.
Evidence that the hypocrites used to do their utmost
to harm the Muslims.
2. The
prohibition of seeking help from other than Allah (swt
) in those things which are beyond their power.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That it
proves the forbiddance of seeking aid from other than
Allah (swt ), in those things which are beyond the
capabilities of all but Allah (swt ) because seeking aid
is an act of worship, and dedicating acts of worship to
other than Allah (swt ) is Shirk.
Important
Note
There is
no contradiction between this Hadith and the Words of
Allah (swt ), Most High:
"
And the man from amongst his own people appealed to
him for aid"
(Qur'an
28:15)
Because
this verse tells us that it is permissible to seek aid
from one of Allah's creatures in those things which are
within their power. Secondly, the Hadith does not
prohibit that, but the Messenger of Allah (saas )
forbade them, seeking to guide them to that which is
better - that is to seek aid from Allah (swt ), the
Almighty, the All-powerful, for Allah (swt ) says:
"
And when my slaves ask you [O, Muhammad!] about me,
[inform them that] verily, I am near [i.e. in His
Knowledge, His Hearing and His Seeing]. I answer the
request of every supplicant when he calls upon
Me"