Shirk

Category: SOUND

Imam Shafi'i (ra) stated, “I debated a scholar and beat him. Then I debated a layman and that layman beat me - he had no knowledge of the principles and texts. I had nothing to say.”

Imam Razi stated: "There is no meaning to Shirk other that a human taking a ma'bud other than Allah."
(Tafsir Kabir 16/33)

Imam Sanusi mentioned:

"Shirk is of 6 types.

-Shirk al-Istiqlal- Affirming two separate "gods" like the shirk of the Majus
-Shirk Tab'idh- To believe in a god who is made up of multiple gods, like the shirk of the Christians
-Shirk Taqrib- Worshiping other than Allah, so that they could take one closer to Allah, like the shirk of the early part of the Jahiliyyah era.
-Shirk Taqlid- Worshiping other than Allah, in emulation of someone else, like those of the later Jahiliyyah era
-Shirk al-Asbab- Attribution effect to the apparent means, like the shirk of the Philosophers etc
-Shirk al-Aghradh- Performing actions for other than Allah

The First four are Shirk by consensus, while the sixth is disobedience and there is detail concerning the fifth..."

(Sharh al-Muqaddamat Pg. 33 and 40)

Idolatry [shirk], like disbelief [kufr], is a covering up of the obvious truth.

There is "major idolatry," which expels a man from his faith, and "minor idolatry" (instances of which include ostentation and some sins), which does not.

It is therefore appropriate to quote what one of correct doctrine says about idolatry. Its kinds - may God protect us! - are six:

1. Autonomous idolatry [shirk istiqlal]. This is to affirm the existence of two autonomous dieties, as is the case with the Zoroastrians.

2. Separative idolatry [shirk tab'id]. An instance of this is the Christians who say that God is one of three, the other two being Jesus and his mother. {79}

3. Approximative idolatry [shirk taqrib]. This is to worship other that God with the purpose of drawing nearer to Him through them. Such was the belief of the early Arabs who worshipped stones, saying, "We only worship them so that they may bring us closer to God" (QURAN, 39;3)

4. Imitative idolatry [shirk taqlid]. This involves worshiping other than God in imitation of others. This also was the form of idolatry present in the pre-islamic era of ignorance. They say, "We found our fathers following a religion, and by their footsteps shall we be led" (QURAN, 43;22)

5. Idolatry of secondary causes [shirk al-asbab]. {80} An instance of this is the idolatry of the philosophers and those who believe in nature, and those who follow them.

6. Idolatry of intention [shikr al-aghrad] {81}. This is to carry our acts for other than God.

The unanimous ruling regarding the first four is that they are forms of disbelief.

The sixth is a sin but does not constitute disbelief.

As for the fifth, a distinction has to be made between, first, those who say that secondary causes [in themselves] produce effects by virtue of their intrinsic properties [as, for example, fire leading to burning, water to irrigating, and food to satiety]: such people are disbelievers; second, those who believe that they are effective through a power that God the Exalted has put in them: they are guilty of innovation [bid'a].

[TRANSLATORS NOTES]

{79}: Since the Virgin Mary is called in Christian terms "Mother of God," the implication is that she herself is divine. This is how the word "mariolatry" came into being.

{80}: The Primary Cause or Prime Mover is God Himself. To believe that creatures or secondary causes have autonomous power is to set them up as gods beside God.

{81}: Acting out of ostentation or simply to satisfy some lust or appetite is to set one's intention in competition with sincerity with God. It is to worship one's ego, passions, or appetites.


Source: SunniForum.com

The Reality of Truthfulness

Category: SOUND

The Reality of Truthfulness (Sidq)

As for truthfulness (sidq), Allah says:

"O you who believe! Have fear of Allah (taqwa) and be with the truthful." (9:120)

"Be among the truthful" because the one who sits with someone is influenced for good and evil. Nature is a thief. A man copies the one he mixes with a lot, even if he is not aware of it. Tarafa said,

"Do not ask about a man. Ask about his close companions.
Every man imitates his close companions."

This is the best path to travel for someone who wants to discipline himself. It is to mix with the perfect man so that his nature and good habits flow to him. The influence of actions is absolutely stronger than the influence of words.

Al-Qushayri noted, "Truthfulness is the basis of the matter and it is made perfect by it, and it is commanded." He said, "The least truthfulness is when what is secret and what is public are the same."

Sahl said, "The scent of truthfulness has not been smelt by any person who flatters wither himself or another person."

"Truthfulness is the sword of Allah," said Dhu'n-Nun al-Misri. "It is not applied to anything but that it cuts right through it."

Al-Harith al-Muhasibi said, "The truthful man is the one who does not care if his entire worth in the hearts of men should vanish away if it is for the sake of putting his heart in harmony. He does not like people to know about his least good actions, and he does not dislike people being aware of his bad actions. If he dislike that, it is proof that he desires to be greater in their eyes. This is not sincerity of the truthful ones."

It is said that if you seek truthfulness from Allah, He will give you a mirror in which you can see the baseless falsehood of this world and the Next.

The master, Abu'l-Qasim al-Junayd, said, "The truthful man is turned about forty times a day, while the show-off is fixed in the same state for forty years."

By this, he means that the truthful man changes direction with the truth, no matter what it is. When sees something in the Shari'a which is considered to be excellent, he promptly does it, even if it is at variance with his customary habit. If something arises in the Shari'a which is more important, but he cannot combine the two things, then he moves to the better one. He continues to behave like that. In a single day, he may have a hundred different states, or a thousand or even more, according to his mastery of gnosis, and the manifestation to him of fine points and subtleties.

The show-off, on the other hand, clings to one state alone, and if something arises which the Shari'a considers more important in some states, then he will still not do that important thing. He will hold fast to his state, because he is showing off his worship and his state to creation. He fears that people will stop loving him if he changes. He is very careful to ensure that their love continues. But the truthful one desires only the Face of Allah by his worship. Whenever the Shari'a gives greater weight to a certain state, he goes to that state, and does not turn to creation.

Source: Imam Abu Zakariyya Muhyi'd-din ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi, The Garden of the Gnostics (Bustan-ul-Arifeen)