Polytheism and evil

Praise be to God, and may God’s prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions. Now then: Associating partners with God – which is equating someone other than God with God in matters that are exclusively His – is the greatest of major sins and the most serious of transgressions . God Almighty says: { And [mention] when Luqman said to his son while he was advising him, “O my son, do not associate with God. Indeed, association is great injustice. “} [Luqman: 13]. God did not send down the Books and send the Messengers except to nullify polytheism and establish its opposite, which is monotheism . God Almighty says: { And We have certainly sent among every nation a messenger, [saying], “Worship God and avoid Taghut. “} [An-Nahl: 36]. Major shirk is distinguished from all other sins by three things: First: It is not forgiven. Allah the Almighty says: { Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. } [ An-Nisa’ : 48]. Second: It nullifies all deeds. Whoever worships someone other than Allah, all his deeds will be nullified. Allah the Almighty says: { And if they had associated others with Him, all that they used to do would have been in vain (88) } [Al-An’am]. Third: It causes eternity in Hell for whoever dies while committing major shirk. He will be immortal in Hell. God Almighty said: { Indeed, those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creation (6) } [Al-Bayyinah]. Our Sheikh Al-Barrak mentioned this in his explanation of the Three Principles (pp. 16-17) and others. This is why texts came one after the other warning against polytheism. The early Muslims feared for themselves from major and minor polytheism. Ibrahim al-Taymi used to tell stories and say in his stories: Who feels safe from affliction after the friend of God, Ibrahim, when he said: “My Lord, protect me and my sons from worshipping idols?” Tafsir al-Tabari (13/687-688). This is one of the things that frighten a servant. If the friend of God, peace be upon him, who is the leader of the monotheists, and he broke the idols with his hand, feared falling into polytheism, then how can someone who is several ranks lower than him feel safe from falling into it? It is appropriate for the seeker of knowledge and others to learn Tawheed and to devote themselves to studying the books of creed , in order to be safe and save themselves and others from this net. They should ask their Lord and supplicate to Him to spare them from polytheism. It was narrated on the authority of Ma’qil ibn Yasar that he said: “I went with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said: ‘ O Abu Bakr! Polytheism among you is more hidden than the creeping of an ant .’ Abu Bakr said: ‘Is polytheism anything other than associating another god with Allah?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘ By the One in Whose hand is my soul, polytheism is more hidden than the creeping of an ant. Shall I not guide you to something which, if you say it, will remove from you both a little and a lot? ’ He said: ‘ Say: O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating anything with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do not know .’” (Narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (716) and authenticated by al-Albani .) In our time, unfortunately, we do not see any attention paid to the issue of polytheism and warning against it, nor to explaining monotheism, its proofs and its complements. Rather, many repeat, whether in words or actions: We do not need to study monotheism and polytheism, the issue is clear and easy. The words of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, as stated in Kashf al-Shubuhat (p. 127, ed. al-Qasim), are true for many of them: But this story (i.e., the story of Dhat Anwat) indicates that a Muslim – indeed a scholar – may fall into types of polytheism that he is unaware of. So, it indicates learning, caution, and knowing that the ignorant person’s saying: “We have understood monotheism” is one of the greatest forms of ignorance and a deception of Satan . Most people are distracted from this major issue: the issue of monotheism and polytheism, by marginal issues and daily events. They think that they are in the midst of the change process and are merely a spectator. Thus, they neglect the most important duties of learning monotheism, seeking Islamic knowledge, calling people to God, purifying the soul , and taking care of the deeds of the heart . I conclude with what Ibrahim Al-Sakran concluded his book “Current Events” – Al-Hadara edition – (p. 328), saying: Because of this immersion in daily events, the breath of time has come to an end empty, the heart’s association with God has been scattered, the books purchased have remained the same for ages, reform production has frozen, and the matter has come to “a lot of talk and little action.” There is nothing sadder than for the current to imagine that he is in the heart of the process of change and the jurisprudence of reality while he is merely an observer and spectator, nothing more. We seek refuge in Allah from this cell phone that distracts us from writing. We ask Allah to grant everyone success in adhering to the seriousness of prioritizing and working within the sphere of influence, not within the sphere of interests or the sphere of current events and trends. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and may God’s prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his companions. _