Shirk is an act of associating partners with Allah in any form. It is considered the gravest sin in Islam, as it directly contradicts the core concept of Tawhid, which is the oneness and uniqueness of Allah. Shirk involves ascribing divine attributes to others besides Allah or attributing God's exclusive rights to any being or thing. Yet despite many cautions in Qur'an and Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, many a believers, who otherwise proclaim faith in Allah, turn to saints (generally those who have died), angels, or any other entities, for redress of their grievances and fulfillment of their wordily desires and needs.
Many a devotees of dead saints in the Indian sub continent still flock the graves of their saints and seek their help of "conveying" their woes to Allah. This is despite the fact that Allah promises His servants that He is close to their jugular vein and listens to their grievances.
This is the most detestable act in the eyes of Allah and He strictly forbids such practices. This is the theme of the 5th verse of Surah 46 Al Ahqaf (The Sand-Dunes) in which Allah warns those who turn to others than Him for fulfilment of their needs and cautions them to leave such practices for those dead in graves do not even know that they are being called upon.
وَمَنۡ اَضَلُّ مِمَّنۡ يَّدۡعُوۡا مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ مَنۡ لَّا يَسۡتَجِيۡبُ لَهٗۤ اِلٰى يَوۡمِ الۡقِيٰمَةِ وَهُمۡ عَنۡ دُعَآئِهِمۡ غٰفِلُوۡنَ
(46:5) Who is farther strayed from the Right Path than he who calls upon others than Allah that cannot answer his call till the Day of Resurrection, the while they are not even conscious that callers are calling upon them?
The verse make it very clear that the wordily deities whom they call do not possess the powers by virtue of which they could give decisions on the prayers and petitions of their devotees. The these wordily deities do not possess the powers by virtue of which they could give decisions on the prayers and petitions of their devotees. “Until the Day of Resurrection” means that as long as the world lasts they will get no answer to their supplications and prayers from their deities, but when Resurrection will have taken place, the deities will turn hostile to their worshipers themselves, as becomes explicit from the next verse.
6 ) And when the people are gathered [that Day], they [who were invoked] will be enemies to them, and they will be deniers of their worship.
That is, they will say: We had neither told the people to invoke us for help, nor are we aware that they used to invoke us. They themselves had presumed that we could fulfill their needs and so had started invoking us.
Let us now expand this verse and see its implications for the strayed Muslims:
Futility of Worshiping Others Besides Allah:
- The verse highlights that those who are invoked besides Allah have no power to respond to the calls or prayers of those who worship them. They are unable to provide any benefit, relief, or guidance to their worshipers.
- These entities, regardless of their nature, are completely powerless compared to Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
The Condition of the Invoked Beings:
- The verse points out that these entities are not even aware that they are being invoked. This could refer to idols, which are inanimate and have no consciousness, or to deceased humans or other beings, who have no awareness of the prayers directed towards them.
- The verse thus illustrates the absurdity of calling upon those who neither hear nor can respond, emphasizing that such acts of worship are baseless and misguided.
Ultimate Misguidance:
- The verse begins by questioning, "Who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah?" This rhetorical question implies that there is no one more misguided than a person who engages in this type of worship.
- The misguidance is profound because it represents a departure from the fundamental truth of monotheism (Tawhid) — the belief that Allah alone is worthy of worship and that only He has the power to respond to prayers.
The Day of Resurrection:
- The verse mentions that these entities will not be able to respond until the Day of Resurrection. On that Day, all false beliefs will be exposed, and those who worshiped others besides Allah will realize their error. However, by then, it will be too late for them to rectify their misguidance.
Supporting verse from Qur'an:
"For Him [alone] is the supplication of truth. And those they call upon besides Him respond to them not at all, except as one who stretches his hands toward water [calling it] to reach his mouth, but it will never reach it. And the supplication of the disbelievers is not but in error [i.e., futility]." (Surah Ar-Ra’d, 13:14)
This verse uses the metaphor of someone trying to reach water by stretching their hands towards it, but it never reaches their mouth, to illustrate the futility of calling upon anyone other than Allah. The verse emphasizes that only Allah can truly respond to prayers, while invoking others besides Him is utterly ineffective, just like trying to reach water by merely stretching out one's hands without making any actual effort to grasp it.
Supporting Hadiths:
The message of this verse is reinforced by several Hadiths that emphasize the importance of Tawhid and the futility and danger of associating others with Allah (shirk).
- Hadith on the Prohibition of Shirk: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
Narrated by `Abdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said one statement and I said another. The Prophet (ﷺ) said "Whoever dies while still invoking anything other than Allah as a rival to Allah, will enter Hell (Fire)." And I said, "Whoever dies without invoking anything as a rival to Allah, will enter Paradise."(Sahih Al-Bukhari 4497). This hadith underscores the seriousness of shirk, the act of associating partners with Allah, and indicates that it leads to severe consequences in the Hereafter.
- Hadith on the Exclusivity of Worship to Allah: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also said:
"The right of Allah over His servants is that they should worship Him alone and not associate anything with Him." (Sahih Al-Bukhari 2856, Sahih Muslim 30). This hadith emphasizes that the primary duty of every human being is to worship Allah alone, without associating partners with Him in any form. It aligns with the message of the verse by stressing the exclusivity of Allah's right to be worshiped.
Surah Al-Ahqaf, verse 5, highlights the utter misguidance of those who invoke beings other than Allah, beings that are powerless and unaware of the invocations directed at them. This verse serves as a strong reminder of the importance of Tawhid, the foundational concept of worshiping Allah alone. The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as reflected in various Hadiths, further reinforce this message, warning against the grave sin of shirk and emphasizing that only Allah is deserving of worship and capable of answering prayers.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may read more posts on similar theme in our series of posts related to: Compiled verses from Qur'an on specific subjects: Religion
You may read more posts on similar theme in our series of posts related to: Compiled verses from Qur'an on specific subjects: Faith in Allah
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
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