إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

"You alone we worship, and from You alone we seek help," [Surah Fatiha]

According to the great commentator and Companion `Abdullah ibn `Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: May Allah be pleased with him, this means that one worships Allah alone and no one else, and that one turns for help to Allah alone and to no one else. (Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Jarir)

It has been reported from certain great scholars and saints of the earliest centuries of Islam that the Surah al-Fatihah is the secret (i.e., the gist) of the entire Holy Qur'an, and this verse is the secret of the whole Surah, for the first sentence of the verse is a declaration of one's being free from Shirk, or from all desire to associate anyone with Allah, and the second sentence is an expression of one's being exempt from all wish to trust in one's own power and will. Such an affirmation would naturally lead to putting oneself in the hands of Allah in all concerns.

The Holy Qur'an again and again commands us to do so: 'Worship Him, and put your trust in Him.' (11:123); 'Say He is the All-Merciful. We believe in Him, and we put all our trust in Him.' (67:29); 'He is the Lord of the East and the West; there is no god but He; so take Him for a guardian.' (73:9). All these verses come to mean simply this -- a true Muslim should, in anything that he undertakes, rely neither on his own faculties nor on the help of a fellow creature, but should entrust himself completely to Allah, for He alone is All-Powerful, and He alone is the absolute helper.

Two doctrinal points emerge from this discussion. Firstly, it is totally forbidden to worship anyone except Allah, and associating anyone else with Him in worship is a deadly and unforgiveable sin. As we have already explained, `Ibadah (worship) signifies an utmost humility and willing self-abasement before someone out of the deepest love and veneration. If one behaves in this manner in relation to any created being, it is called shirk (association) in Islamic terminology. It basically follows from this definition of "worship" that "association" does not merely consist in attributing divine power to figures made out of stone or metal as idolators usually do; but obeying or loving or venerating someone to the degree which is reserved for Allah is also an "obvious association" (al-shirk al-Jalii). In recounting how the Jews and the Christians indulge in shirk (association), the Holy Qur'an says: 'They have taken their religious scholars and their monks as lords apart from Allah.' (9:31)

The Companion `Adi Ibn Hatim, who was a Christian before accepting Islam, asked the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him with reference to this verse as to why the Holy Qur'an should blame the Christians for having taken their religious scholars as lords when they were never guilty of worshipping them. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him in his turn asked him if it was not a fact that their scholars had declared many things as forbidden although Allah had permitted men to eat them, and that conversely they had declared as permissible what had been forbidden, and that the Christians obeyed their scholars in both the respects. `Adi admitted that it was so. Therefore, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him remarked that this was exactly how they 'worshipped' their scholars.

This goes to prove that Allah alone has the right to establish what is permissible and what is forbidden. If one associates somebody else with Allah in this respect and, in spite of being familiar with the divine injunctions regarding what is permissible (halal) and what is forbidden (haram), goes against them, believing that someone other than Allah too can demand obedience in these matters, one is virtually worshipping him and being guilty of the sin of association (shirk).

But, in order to guard against a possible misunderstanding, we may remark that this verse of the Holy Qur'an, which condemns the worship of religious scholars, does in no way apply to the generality of Muslims who, not being qualified to understand the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah by themselves or to deduce the injunctions of the Shari'ah from them, naturally depend on an Imam, a Mujtahid, a Mufti or a religious scholar and follow his instructions in these matters.

In fact, such Muslims are only acting in accordance with the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, and obeying divine commandments. For the Holy Qur'an itself says: "Ask the men of knowledge, if you yourselves do not know." (16:43)

Another thing which comes under the category of association (shirk) is to make votive offerings to someone other than Allah; so does praying to someone else in time of need or distress, for, according to a Tradition (Hadith), praying is also an act of worship. Similarly, adopting such practices as are in general considered to be the signs or symbols of association also constitute the same sin. For example, the Companion 'Adi ibn Hatim Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him, relates that when he embraced Islam and presented himself before the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him with a cross hanging round his neck, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him asked him to remove this idol. Although at this time the cross did not have the kind of signification for 'Adi which it has for Christians, yet he was asked to shun a symbol of association' externally as well.

Among the symbols of `association' are included practices like bowing (ruku') or prostrating (sajdah) oneself before anyone except Allah, or going round a person or thing in the prescribed manner of the tawaf (circumambulation) of the Ka`bah. Avoiding all such symbols of 'association' is a necessary part of the pledge of fidelity to Allah made in the phrase: 'You alone we worship'.

Seeking Allah's Help Directly and Indirectly

The other doctrinal point we mentioned is that one must turn to Allah alone for help and to no one else. This requires some clarification.

There is a kind of help which every man does seek from other men. The physical aspect of the universal order being what it is, it has to be so, and not otherwise. A tailor or tinker, a carpenter or a blacksmith, each is serving others, and everyone is obliged to seek his help. Seeking help of this kind neither is nor can be forbidden by any religion, for it is part and parcel of the network of physical means provided to men by Allah. In the sphere of non-physical means too, it is quite permissible for one to seek the help of a prophet or a saint by asking him to pray to Allah in one's behalf, or to mention, while praying directly to Allah, the name of a prophet or a saint by way of a medium (wasilah) for drawing divine mercy upon oneself. Explicit Traditions (ahadith) and implicit indications of the Holy Qur'an fully justify this practice, and it would be wrong to condemn it as being forbidden or to include it among the various forms of association (shirk).

Now, what sort of supplication for help is it which can be addressed exclusively to Allah and to no one else? And, when does one fall into the sin of shirk (association) in asking someone other than Allah for help? In reply to the second question, we may say that in this context the sin of shirk or association arises in two forms. Firstly, one becomes guilty of association, if one seeks the help of an angel or prophet or saint or any creature believing him to be omnipotent like Allah. It is such an obvious heresy that even idolaters and associators in general consider it as such, for even they do not look upon their idols and gods as being omnipotent like Allah. The second is the form adopted by idolaters and associators. They admit that God alone is Omnipotent, but also believe that He has delegated a part of His power to an angel or a prophet or a saint or to a smaller god who exercises a full and independent authority in that area, and to whom one may pray for help in matters within his jurisdiction. This is the supplication which the Holy Qur'an forbids, and against which it warns us in the phrase (to You alone we pray for help).

There is a simple reason for misunderstanding in this regard. Allah appoints many angels to perform quite a large number of functions even in the physical order of the universe; or, He makes many things happen through the prophets which are beyond the powers of man and which are called miracles (mujizat), as also other incredible wonders through the saints which are called karamat. The appearance may easily lead a careless observer to ignore the reality, and to conclude from what he has seen that the angels or the prophets or the saints could not have worked such wonders if Allah had not given them the necessary power and authority. This faulty argument which is no more than an illusion gives birth to the belief that the prophets or the saints enjoy absolute power and authority in their own degree. It is not so. Miracles and wonders are the direct acts of Allah, but they are manifested through prophets and saints so that people may recognize their spiritual station -- prophets and saints themselves have no powers to make such things happen.

This fact is borne out by so many verses of the Holy Qur'an. For example, the verse: 'When you threw, it was not you that threw, but Allah threw.' (8:17) refers to a miracle of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him in which he threw a handful of pebbles at an army of his enemies, and Allah willed it so that they smote the eyes of the whole army. The Holy Qur'an attributes the act of throwing pebbles, not to the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him but to Allah Himself, which clearly shows that a miracle is manifested through a prophet, but is in reality an act of Allah Himself.

Similarly, when the people of Nooh, or Noah, (alayhis-sallam, peace be upon him) demanded that, in order to establish his authenticity as a prophet, he should bring down on them the punishment and wrath of Allah, he replied: 'Allah will certainly bring it down to you, if He so wills.' (11:33), in other words, he declared that he himself could not bring down divine punishment on them by way of a miracle. Another verse of the Holy Qur'an reports what a group of prophets said to their people in reply to a similar demand: 'We cannot give you proof, except by Allah's will.' (14:11). This again was an admission that it was not in their power to produce a miracle, for all power rests in the hands of Allah. In short, it is not at all possible for a prophet or a saint to show a miracle whenever he likes and whatsoever he likes. The disbelievers used to ' demand specific miracles from the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and from the earlier Prophets (A.S) but Allah manifested only those which He Himself pleased, and not others. The Holy Qur'an presents many such instances.

An ordinary example will make the discussion clear. In your room, you receive light from a lamp and air from a fan, but the lamp and the fan do not possess in themselves an absolute power to give you light and air, but need the electric current which they receive from the power house, and without which they cannot function. Giving you light and air is, in actual fact, not the work of the lamp and the fan, but of the electric current which comes from the power house. Similarly, saints, prophets and angels, all depend on Allah in everything they do; it is Allah's power and will which makes things happen, though it manifests itself through prophets and saints as the electric current manifests itself through fans and lamps.

This example would also show that although prophets and saints have no power to make these things happen or come to be, yet their presence is not altogether irrevelant to what happens, you cannot have light and air in your room without there being a lamp and a fan. Likewise, you cannot have miracles or wonders without there being a prophet or a saint. There is, of course, a certain difference between the two situations. In spite of all the wirings and fittings being intact, you cannot have light without a lamp, nor air without a fan. But, in the case of miracles, Allah has the power, if He so wills, to manifest them even without the medium of prophets and saints. The usual way of Allah has, however, been that miracles are not manifested without the medium of prophets and saints; otherwise miracles would not serve the purpose for which they are intended.

To conclude, one must have firm faith in the doctrine that everything that happens is made to happen by the power and will of Allah, but it is also necessary to recognize the need for prophets and saints, and to admit their importance. Without such an admission, one would succeed neither in obeying divine commandments in the real sense nor in attaining Allah's pleasure exactly like the man who, being ignorant of the worth of lamps and fans, disregards them, and remains deprived of light and air.
The problems we have discussed above perplex many a mind. But the answer is essentially simple. Taking prophets and saints as a medium (wasilah) for drawing divine mercy upon oneself is neither absolutely permissible nor absolutely forbidden. There is a condition attached to it. If one does so, believing a prophet or a saint to be all-powerful, it becomes an act of shirk (association) and is hence forbidden. But if one takes a prophet or a saint to be no more than a medium or a means, it is permissible. But one finds that in this matter people generally adopt either of the two extreme positions, outright rejection of wasilah or exaggerated veneration. The truth, however, lies between the two.

Success in this world and in the Hereafter

As we have said before, the prayer which the Holy Qur'an has chosen to recommend to everyone, in every situation and for everything one does, is the prayer for being guided in the straight path. Just as success in the Hereafter depends on taking the straight path which leads one to Paradise, in the same way, if you come to think about it, success in all worldly concerns too depends on keeping to the straight path -- that is, on using the means and methods which habitually lead to the attainment of one's goal. Conversely, a little reflection will reveal that failure is always due to having strayed from the straight path. In view of the need for the straight path in worldly and other worldly concerns both, this is the prayer which should constantly be on the lips and in the heart of a true Muslim -- never as an empty verbal exercise, but with a sincere intention and with the meaning of the words fully present in the mind.

[Ma'ariful Qur'an, Volume 1]

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 2nd January 2011

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