Who will be among the worst creatures on the Day of Resurrection (Hadith Prophet Muhammad ﷺ)

There can never be two captains of a ship for the pushes and pulls among them can lead to major disasters. Likewise, the universe cannot be run by two Gods for the entire solar and celestial system may collapse if two Gods are managing the universe. It is for this very reason, we have Only One God, the unchallenged All Mighty. 

Shirk (associating any worldly deity with One True God) thus is the biggest crime that man can do with regard to the God. But man, wo is ever so ungrateful to the One and Only God, could not resist make worldly deities, which interestingly are creations of One God, and has been worshiping them. He even drew their portraits and hung them in places of worship and even homes. And when these worldly deities die, their graves become places of worship and reverence.

This is something that is most disliked by The God and on the Day of Resurrection, they will taste the severest of Godly punishment. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in one of his hadiths had indicated the people who will into this category. This Hadith is mentioned in Sahi al-Bukhārī  (Book 63 -   Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar) /  كتاب مناقب الأنصار / Chapter 37: he emigration to Ethiopia/ باب هِجْرَةِ الْحَبَشَةِ) as Hadith 3873, given herein under:

Narrated by `Aisha: Um Habiba and Um Salama mentioned a church they had seen in Ethiopia and in the church, there were pictures. When they told the Prophet (ﷺ) of this, he said, "Those people are such that if a pious man amongst them died, they build a place of worship over his grave and paint these pictures in it. Those people will be Allah's worst creatures on the Day of Resurrection. "

Arabic Text:

حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ هِشَامٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها أَنَّ أُمَّ، حَبِيبَةَ وَأُمَّ سَلَمَةَ ذَكَرَتَا كَنِيسَةً رَأَيْنَهَا بِالْحَبَشَةِ، فِيهَا تَصَاوِيرُ، فَذَكَرَتَا لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ إِنَّ أُولَئِكَ إِذَا كَانَ فِيهِمُ الرَّجُلُ الصَّالِحُ فَمَاتَ بَنَوْا عَلَى قَبْرِهِ مَسْجِدًا، وَصَوَّرُوا فِيهِ تِيكَ الصُّوَرَ، أُولَئِكَ شِرَارُ الْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ‏"‏‏.‏

Now if we read the Hadith carefully, we would find not only non-Muslims but many a Muslims around the world are committing this sin. We see Muslims bowing and prostrating in front of graves of saints and hanging their photos and worship them. This happens so because of weak faith, because of which opportunists mislead them and entice them to worship graves. 

So, my brothers and sisters in Islam, do not follow traditions of pre-Islam era when pagans of Arabia worshiped idols and graves - a practice still being followed by many non-Muslims, and sadly many Muslims too. Let us cleanse our faith from all such sinful acts and worship none but One True God, we call Allah.

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.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

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.

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 refer to our exclusive page: Collection of Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on Warnings / Cautions to read posts written on similar matters.

Please also refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah / Hadith of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

Photo: Pixabay | Source of Hadith

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What is the Reality of Shirk - the sin of idolatry or polytheism (Scholars' Viewpoint)

The essence of all Divine religions was based on monotheism - the worship of one true God as against all man-made religions which had made many gods and made their images and sculptures and take them as their saviour and protector. Unfortunately, adulteration crept into Christianity wherein they declared Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) as son of God and thus a god at par with the real and only one true God. 

In Islam, the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides Allah is called Shirk (Arabic: شرك širk) - the sin of idolatry or polytheism. In Islam Shirk is considered a great unpardonable sin and those who indulge in this practice SHALL NOT be pardoned on the Day of Judgement and their permanent abode will be the blazing fire of hell.

In the 13th verse of Surah 31 Luqman, Allah tells us how Luqman advised his son against Shirk:

Luqman's full name was Luqman bin `Anqa' bin Sadun, and his son's name was Tharan, according to a saying quoted by As-Suhayli. Allah describes him in the best terms, and states that he granted him wisdom. Luqman advised his son, the closest and most beloved of all people to him, who deserved to be given the best of his knowledge. So, Luqman started by advising him to worship Allah Alone, and not to associate anything with Him.

وَاِذۡ قَالَ لُقۡمٰنُ لِا بۡنِهٖ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهٗ يٰبُنَىَّ لَا تُشۡرِكۡ بِاللّٰهِ ؕ اِنَّ الشِّرۡكَ لَـظُلۡمٌ عَظِيۡمٌ‏ 

(31:13) And call to mind when Luqman said to his son while exhorting him: “Son! Do not associate partners with God. In reality, polytheism is a great injustice.” 

Eminent scholar Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi  explaining this verse notes that:

This particular admonition from the wisdom of Luqman has been cited here for two reasons: (1) He gave this admonition to his son, and obviously, no one can be insincere to one's own children. A person may deceive others, may behave hypocritically towards them, but no one, not even a most depraved person, will try to deceive and defraud his own children. Therefore, Luqman's admonishing his son thus is a clear proof of the fact that in his sight shirk was indeed the most heinous sin, and for that very reason he first admonished his dear son to refrain from this iniquity. (2) The second reason for this narration is that many parents from among the disbelievers of Makkah were compelling their children to turn away from the message of Tauhid being preached by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) and remain steadfast on the creed of shirk, as is being stated in the following verses. Therefore, those foolish people are being told, as if to say, The well-known sage of your own land had wished his children well by admonishing thetas to avoid shirk, now you should judge it for yourself whether you are wishing your children well or ill when you compel them to follow the same creed of shirk." 

Zulm means to deprive someone of his right and to act unjustly. Shirk is a grave iniquity because man sets up such beings as equals with his Creator and Providence and Benefactor as have no share whatever in creating him, nor in providing for him, nor in bestowing the blessings on him, which he is enjoying in the world. There could be no greater injustice than this. The Creator's right on man is that he should worship Him alone, but he worships others and so deprives Him of His right. Then, in whatever he does in connection with the worship of others than Allah, he exploits many things, from his own mind and body to the earth and heavens, whereas, all these things have been created by Allah, the One. and man has no right to use any of them in the worship of any other than Allah Then, the right of man's own self on him is that he should not debase and involve it in punishment. But when he worships others than his Creator. he debases himself as well as makes it deserving of the punishment. Thus, the entire life of a mushrik becomes Zulm in every aspect and at all times and his every breath becomes an expression of injustice and iniquity.

At many other places in Qur'an, mankind is forbidden to associate anyone with One True God for none can ever equate the power, wisdom, justice and ability to create of monotheist God, Muslims call Allah. Instead of quoting more references from Qur'an on the reality and sin of shirk, we have selected a mind-blowing lecture by the eminent Muslim scholar Dr Israr Ahmed. Dr. Israr Ahmad, (1975–2002) was a Pakistani Islamic theologian, philosopher, and Islamic scholar who was followed particularly in South Asia as well as by South Asian Muslims in the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America.

Please listen to the lecture on the Reality of Shirk to really understand the reality of shirk and must try your best not even skirt pass this unpardonable sin ever in your life:

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is our duty to convey only 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.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. 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. 

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the video above are those of the scholar concerned. We have shared this view as added information in better understanding of Islam. The reader may or may not agree with the view owing to their own perception. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

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For more Scholarly views and videos, please read our reference page: Scholars' Viewpoint on Important Issues Related to Islam. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

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Who are the Rightly Guided?

Getting into the fold of Islam is one thing but adhering to its code of conduct in the light of the Divine Commandments contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah is the actual litmus test for the reverts. One has lived long adhering to the another faith and its the habits and lifestyle really gets grinded in one's way of living. Therefore when one embraces Islam, it takes time to shed away the older lifestyle and code of conduct of the older religion and adopt the new way of life which imposes many restrictions which become hard to really accept.

One of the habits or mindset is the shirk: Holding someone equal to or an associate of Allah or still following the religious deities and running over to them for their needs. This is specially seen in the Indian subcontinent where people with weak faith / Eeman prefer asking their deities for the fulfillment of their prayers rather than seeking help directly from Allah. It is these believers who get their faith tarnished and inadvertently get lost between the real truth and falsehood.

The following verse from  Surah 6. Al-An’am ( verse 82) points towards this direction and is of special significance for the reverts who may across believers who are tainting their faith by indulging into shirk: 

اَلَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَلَمۡ يَلۡبِسُوۡۤا اِيۡمَانَهُمۡ بِظُلۡمٍ اُولٰۤـئِكَ لَهُمُ الۡاَمۡنُ وَهُمۡ مُّهۡتَدُوۡنَ

Those who believe and did not tarnish their faith with wrong-doing for them there is security, and it is they who have been guided to the right way.'

The expression 'and did not tarnish their faith with wrong-doing' led some Companions to the misapprehension that perhaps this 'wrong-doing' signified 'disobedience'. But the Prophet (peace be on him) has made it clear that this wrong-doing signifies shirk (associating others with God in His divinity). The verse means, therefore, that they alone are fully secure and rightly-guided who believe in God and do not mix their faith with any polytheistic belief and practice.

Prophet Ibrahim Abraham, peace be upon him) was the first of the prophets who found out who the real God was and his journey to the truth began with the sun and then proceeded by way of the stars to his discovery of the One True God. Initially, he not only held the sun to be his Lord but even worshipped it, and that the same happened in connection with the moon. But when the truth had reveled unto him, he did not care for the consequences and even thrown into the fire but did not budge. 

It is interesting to learn that this incident, which is the starting-point of Abraham's prophetic career, has found no place in the Bible. It is mentioned only in the Talmud. The Talmudic version, however, is different from the Qur'anic version in two ways. First, in the Talmudic version Abraham's quest for the Truth begins with the sun and then proceeds by way of the stars to his discovery of the One True God. Second. it states that Abraham not only held the sun to be his Lord but even worshipped it, and that the same happened in connection with the moon.

Ibn Kathir Explanation:

Those who worship Allah alone without partners, will acquire safety on the Day of Resurrection, and they are the guided ones in this life and the Hereafter.

Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah said, "When the Ayah, (and confuse not their belief with Zulm (wrong).) was revealed, the Companions of the Prophet said, `And who among us did not commit Zulm against himself' The Ayah, (Verily! Joining others in worship with Allah is a great Zulm (wrong) indeed.) [31:13], was later revealed.'' 

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah said, "When this Ayah was revealed, (It is those who believe and confuse not their belief with Zulm (wrong),) it was hard on the people. They said, `O Allah's Messenger! Who among us did not commit Zulm against himself' He said, (It is not what you understood from it. Did you not hear what the righteous servant (Luqman) said, (O my son! Join not in worship others with Allah. Verily! Shirk is a great Zulm (wrong) indeed.)) [31:13]. Therefore, it is about Shirk. 

Therefore, the sense of the ayah is that one who enters the bliss of emaan and then does not associate anyone with the Being and the Attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala shall remain safe from punishment and considered guided.

We must therefore guard ourselves against everything, specially the shirk, which may tarnish our good deeds and get us excluded from the rightly guided believers. 

Only those who believe in Allah and then do not go on to mix up their faith with injustice shall be the people who can hope to be safe against punishment. They are the guided ones in this life and the Hereafter. Here, Zulm [injustice] refers to Shirk [associating partners with Allah].

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

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.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:

• The plain translation has been taken from the Qur'ān officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
• 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. [2]  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the 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.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

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Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Selected Verses from Quran: The Sin of Shirk - Associating Partners with God

Shirk " شرك " an Arabic word meaning "the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides One True God."  Shirk is polytheism, the outright negation of monotheism. It is for this reason, shirk is the most disliked thing by the Almighty Allah, despite He being the Most Merciful and immensely Forgiving.

In the Qur'an, there are many verses that very clearly state that God does not share His powers with any partner and warns those who believe their idols or worldly deities will intercede for them that they, together with the worldly deities, will become fuel for hellfire on the Day of Judgment. In the following verse 33 taken from Surah 13 Ra'ad, the man has been cautioned against committing shirk:

اَفَمَنۡ هُوَ قَآئِمٌ عَلٰى كُلِّ نَفۡسٍۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتۡ​ۚ وَجَعَلُوۡالِلّٰهِ شُرَكَآءَ ؕ قُلۡ سَمُّوۡهُمۡ​ؕ اَمۡ تُنَـبِّـئُـوْنَهٗ بِمَا لَا يَعۡلَمُ فِى الۡاَرۡضِ اَمۡ بِظَاهِرٍ مِّنَ الۡقَوۡلِؕ بَلۡ زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا مَكۡرُهُمۡ وَصُدُّوۡا عَنِ السَّبِيۡلِ​ؕ وَمَنۡ يُّضۡلِلِ اللّٰهُ فَمَا لَهٗ مِنۡ هَادٍ‏ 

"Is it, then, in regard to Him Who watches over the deeds of every person that they are acting blasphemously by setting up His associates? Tell them: "Name those associates (if Allah Himself has made them His associates)! Or are you informing Allah of something the existence of which He does not even know?" Or do people arbitrarily utter empty words? Indeed, their foul contriving has been made to seem fair to the unbelievers and they have been barred from finding the Right Way. Whomsoever Allah lets go astray will have none to guide him."

That is, the disbelievers are so audacious that they set up partners with Allah Whose knowledge is All-Comprehensive and Who is aware of even the minutest details of the good and bad actions of each individual.

These are the audacious things they do. They ascribe partners and equals to Him. They believe that some of His creatures are a part and parcel of His Being, and have attributes and rights like Him. They presume that they shall not be called to account for whatever they do, even though they live in His kingdom.

You give empty names to the partners you ascribe to Him for you have no real knowledge about them. For you could get this knowledge only in one of the three following ways.

• First, you might have received some authentic information that Allah had made such and such people as His partners in His attributes, powers and rights. If it is so, let us also know their names and the source of your information.
• Second, the possibility that Allah might have remained ignorant that some beings have become His partners. Therefore you are going to inform Him about this. If it is so, say it clearly in so many words so that it may be decided whether there are some foolish people who can believe in such a nonsensical claim.
• Third, obviously the above two suppositions are absurd. Therefore the only alternative is that, you are ascribing partners to Him without any rhyme or reason, and you, without any knowledge, make one the relative of God, another the hearer of supplications, and still another the helper and fulfiller of certain needs and the ruler of a certain region etc.

Shirk has been called fraud because none of the angels, spirits, saints, heavenly bodies, to whom they ascribe divine attributes and powers or render divine rights, ever claimed to possess these attributes or powers. Neither did they ever demand these rights from the people nor told the people that they would fulfill their desires and wants if they would perform some rituals of worship before them. As a matter of fact, some clever people invented these gods in order to practice willful deception and dishonesty so that they might wield powerful influence over the common people and exploit them and deprive them of a part of their hard earned possessions. Accordingly, they made the common people credulous followers of the gods of their inventions and set themselves up as their representatives to get money, etc. from them by this fraud.

The second reason why shirk has been called fraud is that a worldly man pretends to believe in it not because he wants to believe in it but in order to free himself from all moral restraints to enable him to lead an irresponsible life of greed and lust.

In Surah 12. Yusuf, verse 40 Allah warns yet again:

'You have but to name your false gods, and you will see that they are nothing but names. There is no reality behind them, whereas Allah is the One great Reality. He penetrates everything through and through and knows all things. Do you dare to tell Him of something on earth that He does not know? Or is it just a trick or a show of words?

All pretenses and fancies seem attractive to their inventors, but alas! They are a great obstruction to the Path of Religion and Truth. However, if by their contumacy, they have cut themselves off from Allah's grace, who can guide them or reclaim them from their errors?

Here in the verse 36 of Surah Ar'ad, the mention is made of the people who were earlier given Divine Scriptures and yet they associated others with God not only as partners and associates but as equals:

( 36 )   And [the believers among] those to whom We have given the [previous] Scripture rejoice at what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], but among the [opposing] factions are those who deny part of it. Say, "I have only been commanded to worship Allah and not associate [anything] with Him. To Him I invite, and to Him is my return."

This is in reply to a specific objection which was then raised by the disbelievers. They would say: If he has brought the same message that was brought by the Messengers before him (as he claims), why don’t the Jews and the Christians who are the followers of the former Prophets come forward and welcome it? The verse answers the objection and says that the true followers of the former Prophets really rejoice in the message of the Quran, but the false ones have been offended by it. Then it asks the Prophet (peace be upon him) not to worry at all about this, saying: O Prophet, you should not mind at all whether they are pleased or offended by it. Tell them plainly that this is the guidance I have received from my Lord and I will follow it at all costs.

Among all sections of the people there are persons who would receive a portion of Allah's truth but reject whatever does not suit them or fall in with their selfish aims or vain desires. The proper answer to them is: Surely, Allah's command is universal,-to worship and serve Him and refuse to bend the knee to any other; the man of God finds his staff and support in it; but he must invite all to share in its blessings; it came from Allah, and to Allah shall we all return.

In Surah 9 At Tauba, verse 31, a more specific mention of people is made who associate others with Allah:

اِتَّخَذُوۡۤا اَحۡبَارَهُمۡ وَرُهۡبَانَهُمۡ اَرۡبَابًا مِّنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ وَالۡمَسِيۡحَ ابۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ​ ۚ وَمَاۤ اُمِرُوۡۤا اِلَّا لِيَـعۡبُدُوۡۤا اِلٰهًا وَّاحِدًا​ ۚ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ​ ؕ سُبۡحٰنَهٗ عَمَّا يُشۡرِكُوۡنَ‏ 

“They (Jews and Christians) took their Rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah), and (they also took as their lord) Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded (in the Torah and the Gospel) to worship none but One Ilâh (God i.e., Allah), Lâ ilâha illâ Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He). Praise and Glory be to Him, (far above is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).”

“They have taken their rabbis and monks as their lords”. The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself explained its true significance. According to a tradition, when Adi bin Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who was formerly a Christian, came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the intention of understanding Islam, he asked several questions in order to remove his doubts. One of these was: “This verse accuses us of taking our scholars and monks as our lords. What is its real meaning. For we do not take them as our lords.”

As a reply to this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) put him a counter question: “Is it not a fact that you accept as unlawful what they declare to be unlawful, and lawful what they declare to be lawful?” Adi confessed, “Yes, it is so.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, “This amounts to making them your lords.” Incidentally, this tradition shows that those who themselves set limits to the lawful and the unlawful without the authority of Allah’s Book, assume for themselves the rank of godhead, and those who acknowledge their right of making laws take them as their lords.

It should be noted that they have been charged with (a) attributing sons to Allah, and (b) giving the right of making laws to others than Allah. These are to prove that their claim that they believed in Allah is false, even though they should believe in His existence. But such a wrong conception of Allah makes their belief in Allah meaningless.

And here comes the plain warning:

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَغۡفِرُ اَنۡ يُّشۡرَكَ بِهٖ وَيَغۡفِرُ مَا دُوۡنَ ذٰ لِكَ لِمَنۡ يَّشَآءُ​ ۚ وَمَنۡ يُّشۡرِكۡ بِاللّٰهِ فَقَدِ افۡتَـرٰۤى اِثۡمًا عَظِيۡمًا‏  

"Surely Allah does not forgive that a partner be ascribed to Him, although He forgives any other sins for whomever He wills. He who associates anyone with Allah in His divinity has indeed forged a mighty lie and committed an awesome sin." (4:48) 

Shirk thus is  the most unforgivable crime if it remains unpardoned before death: Allah may forgive any sin if one dies in that state except for committing shirk. Owing to the gravity of associating partners with Allah, shirk became legally equivalent to kufr (unbelief ) in fiqh (Islāmic jurisprudence), Those Muslims who profess it are considered outlaws who should be ousted from the Muslim community; all their legal rights are suspended until they denounce their polytheistic beliefs.

May Allah help us understand Qur'an and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

Photo | References : | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Reading the Holy Quran 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.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the Sūrahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:

• The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 
• The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy 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 order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Exegesis by Maulana Mufti Muhammad Sharif, revised by Justice Mufti Muhammad Taqi  Usmani
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid

In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given in each page. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

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Jewish perception of Islam as Idolatrous

I have written a few posts as to how Islam and other faiths differ. Today I just thought to find out how other faiths view Islam. And I was appalled to come across some Jewish sites which gave out a view point of the Jews about Islam and labeling it as Idolatrous.

This was something that came as a total surprise as we as Muslim while believing in the total absoluteness of Allah, God as understood by Jews and to an extent by Christians in their overall concept of Trinity, also dispel any notion of bowing in front of idols of any kind. In fact, upon conquest of Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cleansed the Ka'aba of all idols placed in there by the infidels.

But then another revelation still amazed me that speaks of the total ignorance of the Jew scholars about who we bow in front of when praying. Read the following excerpts, with special reference to the lines highlighted in bold italics:

I mentioned earlier that almost all authorities accepted Maimonides’ view of Islam. There is, however, one authority, who, while most cryptic, appears to be leaning in the opposite direction. In a medieval commentary erroneously attributed to the famous sage, Rabbi Nissim Gerondi (c.1310‑1375), but actually written by an unknown later scholar, one finds a shocking opinion, in the course of “R. Nissim’s” discussion, of Christians bowing to holy objects and Muslims bowing to Muhammad[!] Although the comment is not entirely clear, it appears to be saying that even though the Muslims do not turn Muhammad into a God, one must regard their (supposed) action of bowing down to him as idolatry, thus putting them in the category of idolaters.

Now here comes the ignorance of the Jew scholars. We Muslims while regard Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in extremely high, revered and exalted position as the last of all the prophets chosen by Allah and blessed him with the last of the holy scriptures The Holy Qur'an, we never pretend or mean to be bowing in front of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) while prostate in our prayers for he was just a human being chosen by Allah to be His last prophet. 

Say (O Muhammad), "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So, whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." (Qur'an Surah Al Kahf 18:110)

Equating someone to Allah is the biggest sin in Islam:

In Islam, shirk (Arabic: شرك‎ šhirk) is the sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism, i.e. the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides the singular God, i.e. Allah. Literally, it means ascribing or the establishment of "partners" placed beside God.

In the Holy Qur'an, Allah the Almighty at many places warn the people against equating anyone with Him, for He alone is worthy of worship, is the master of the universe and master of the Day of Judgment:

Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides Allah, as equal (with Allah.: They love them as they should love Allah. But those of Faith are overflowing in their love for Allah. If only the unrighteous could see, behold, they would see the penalty: that to Allah belongs all power, and Allah will strongly enforce the penalty. (Surah Al-Baqara, 165)

Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah. That we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will). (Surah Al-Imran, 64)

“Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with him, and forgives what is besides that to whomsoever He pleases, and whoever associates anything with Allah, he devises indeed a great sin.” (Surah an-Nisā’ 4:48) 

In the light of above commandments of Allah in the Holy Quran, we as Muslims cannot think of bowing or prostrating in front of anyone except Allah alone. We revere Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the same way Jews revere Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) and Christians who revere Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him). No one bows in front of prophets, so do we Muslims too. It is only Christians who consider Jesus as one of the Gods when they talk of Trinity. In that sense Christianity could be labelled as Idolatrous, not Islam.

Thus, calling us idolatrous is extremely absurd, highly preposterous, objectionable and detesting. I wonder how come the so called learned Jewish scholars could ever label us idolatrous, thinking we bow and prostrate in front of a human being and not in front of the Almighty Allah, the creator of this universe who has no parallel. In fact, equating someone with Allah is considered as the most unforgivable sin.

I wonder how come Jews could think or interpret Islam Idolatrous by saying that Muslims prostrate in front of a prophet who was human like all of us. In this age of technology and availability of instant and detailed knowledge about religions and faiths, one can easily find the truth. Gone are the days when religious preachers, in this case rabbis, could mislead their people through their sermons.

However, there are some Jewish scholars who view the above mindset as incorrect. Read the following views:

This is a dramatic deviation from Maimonides’ view, and it is shocking that “R. Nissim” does not even refer to his predecessor. In any event, the authentic R. Nissim did not hold to this view, and we are in possession of a *responsum of his in which he declares unambiguously that Islam is not a form of idolatry.

* a written reply by a rabbi or Talmudic scholar to an inquiry on some matter of Jewish law 

In fact, some scholars believe that:

Hardly any attempt is made in the classical Jewish sources to distinguish between different kinds of pagan or primitive worship such as animism, fetishism, and polytheism. All forms of worship that are not purely monotheistic are treated together as idolatry and severely condemned. 

I hope I have tried to put across the view point of us Muslims and that of those who think that Islam has been misunderstood and being followers of a monotheist Allah, we cannot be labeled as Idolatrous.   

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.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

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.

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.

For more Q&A about Understanding Islam, please refer to our reference page: Understanding Islam - Frequently asked Q&A

Reference Sources: | 1 | 2 | Read more verses of Qur'an condemning those who equate someone with Him HERE

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If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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