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Faizah · **Re: A Critical Analysis of Shirk -** 06-21-2007

The Futility of Shirk

The dangers of Shirk are different than the futility. The futility of something can be compared to taking a road that does not lead to your desired destination. Shirk combines both dangers and futility, it is ‘Baatil’. It does not make any sense.

The futility of Shirk can be proven in four ways.

1. Qur’an:

You can divide the ways that Allah has shown the futility of Shirk in to three categories.

 By using Ruboobiyyah to prove the futility of Shirk, i.e., since Allah is the one who created you, sustained you, and since Allah controls everything, it is absolutely useless to turn to other than Allah. Once you admit that Allah is your Rabb, then why do you turn to other than Him? This does not make any sense. This can be shown in the following ayaat;

“If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, "Allah". How are they then deluded away (from the truth)?”

[Al-Ankaboot 29:61]

“And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends down rain from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death, they will certainly reply, "Allah!" Say, "Praise be to Allah!" But most of them understand not.”

[Al-Ankaboot 29:63]

 By giving examples in the Qur’an:

“He does propound to you a similitude from your own (experience): do ye have partners among those whom your right hands possess, to share as equals in the wealth We have bestowed on you? Do ye fear them as ye fear each other? Thus do we explain the Signs in detail to a people that understand.”

[Ar-Room 30:28]

So Allah gives the example of a slave who has one owner, and a slave who has many owners. Which one will make more sense? The slave who has many owners will not be able satisfy any of the owners, as the demands will be too many.

“Being true in faith to Allah, and never assigning partners to Him: if anyone assigns partners to Allah, is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its prey) and thrown him into a far-distant place.”

[Al-Hajj 22:31]

Ibnul-Qayyim explains the above ayah. He says that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala compares Tawheed with the heavens, and He compares Shirk with falling down from the vast, wide and beautiful heavens to the lowest of the earths. And He compares one’s desires to the wind, where ever his desires take him; he will follow it, like a feather in the wind. And He compares the shayateen to the birds. Every single shaytaan gets a piece of the flesh, and they are happy with him. So the punishment is in this entire ayah; the man falling to his death, the wind blowing him to a far away a place and the birds plucking at his meat.

“O men! Here is a parable set forth! Listen to it! Those on whom, besides Allah, ye call, cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met together for the purpose! And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. Feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition!”

[Al-Hajj 22:73]

Ibnul Qayyim says this is the most powerful analogy in the Qur’an, with regards to Shirk. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is saying that all of these idols, if theoretically they were to combine together, they could create the smallest of creation; a small fly. Therefore, what about Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala who is One, and has Created the fly, and everything besides? So who has more of a right to be worshipped? And Allah states that if this fly were to take something very small and miniscule from them, these idols would not be able to take it from it. So know that scientists will never be able to create anything. What they see as creation is not creation. They cannot create something from nothing, and give it life. And till this day, a scientist would not be able to take back a crumb of bread from a fly, after it has eaten it. Look at the beautiful analogy here. How can an object that cannot even protect itself from a fly, how can it protect you from a fly, or anything greater than that?

 Through the stories of the previous nations:

“Say: "Travel through the earth and see what was the end of those before (you): Most of them worshipped others besides Allah."”

[Ar-Room 30:42]

Allah is telling us to look around us, and see the end of the previous nations. So of what use is Shirk when the end result will be destruction in this Dunyaa and in the Aakhirah?

2. The Sunnah

There are many ahadeeth that show the futility of Shirk. I shall quote one as an example.

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Tirmidhi have narrated from al-Harith al-Ash’ari that the Prophet SalAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, that Yahya ibn Zakariya said to Bani Isra’eel;
‘Verily, God, Blessed and Exalted, has commanded me with five words to act upon and to call on you to act upon it. The first of them is that you worship God and associate none with Him. For verily, the one who associates partners with God is like the man who buys a servant with his won wealth, be it gold or silver, and says to him, ‘This is my house and this is the work I have for you. So do it and render me its fruits.’ But the servant does it and renders the fruits to another. Which of you would be pleased with such a servant?’

The analogy is clear. Allah created you, and gave you your rizq, your house, and everything that you have. Is it proper then that you should worship other than Allah, through hope, fear, love, awe, du’a and all other types of worship? So in this way, the futility of Shirk is shown in the Sunnah.

3. The Fitrah

“"It would not be reasonable in me if I did not serve Him Who created me upon the Fitrah, and to Whom ye shall (all) be brought back.”

[Ya-Seen 36:22]

So the human Fitrah knows the futility of Shirk, and this is because of the Mithaaq.

4. ‘Aql/Common sense

Allah is the One who Created you. Does it not make sense to worship only Him?

“Is then He Who creates like one that creates not? Will ye not receive admonition?”

[An-Nahl 16:17]

Are the two the same? Indeed, they are not. So when almost all of creation affirms that Allah is the Khaliq, how can they compare the Khaliq with the makhlooq (created)? How can they compare God to Jesus? How can they compare the Supreme Being with any other beings? When you realise that Allah is the Khaliq, then does it make sense to worship anything else?

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Faizah Min Ahlil Hadeeth Status: Offline Posts: 7,268 Reputation: 28039 Rep Power: 61 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: ~ Daar as-Sa'aadah ~ Gender: Way of Life: Muslim	Re: A Critical Analysis of Shirk - 06-21-2007 The Futility of Shirk The dangers of Shirk are different than the futility. The futility of something can be compared to taking a road that does not lead to your desired destination. Shirk combines both dangers and futility, it is ‘Baatil’. It does not make any sense. The futility of Shirk can be proven in four ways. 1. Qur’an: You can divide the ways that Allah has shown the futility of Shirk in to three categories.  By using Ruboobiyyah to prove the futility of Shirk, i.e., since Allah is the one who created you, sustained you, and since Allah controls everything, it is absolutely useless to turn to other than Allah. Once you admit that Allah is your Rabb, then why do you turn to other than Him? This does not make any sense. This can be shown in the following ayaat; “If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, "Allah". How are they then deluded away (from the truth)?” [Al-Ankaboot 29:61] “And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends down rain from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death, they will certainly reply, "Allah!" Say, "Praise be to Allah!" But most of them understand not.” [Al-Ankaboot 29:63]  By giving examples in the Qur’an: “He does propound to you a similitude from your own (experience): do ye have partners among those whom your right hands possess, to share as equals in the wealth We have bestowed on you? Do ye fear them as ye fear each other? Thus do we explain the Signs in detail to a people that understand.” [Ar-Room 30:28] So Allah gives the example of a slave who has one owner, and a slave who has many owners. Which one will make more sense? The slave who has many owners will not be able satisfy any of the owners, as the demands will be too many. “Being true in faith to Allah, and never assigning partners to Him: if anyone assigns partners to Allah, is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its prey) and thrown him into a far-distant place.” [Al-Hajj 22:31] Ibnul-Qayyim explains the above ayah. He says that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala compares Tawheed with the heavens, and He compares Shirk with falling down from the vast, wide and beautiful heavens to the lowest of the earths. And He compares one’s desires to the wind, where ever his desires take him; he will follow it, like a feather in the wind. And He compares the shayateen to the birds. Every single shaytaan gets a piece of the flesh, and they are happy with him. So the punishment is in this entire ayah; the man falling to his death, the wind blowing him to a far away a place and the birds plucking at his meat. “O men! Here is a parable set forth! Listen to it! Those on whom, besides Allah, ye call, cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met together for the purpose! And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. Feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition!” [Al-Hajj 22:73] Ibnul Qayyim says this is the most powerful analogy in the Qur’an, with regards to Shirk. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is saying that all of these idols, if theoretically they were to combine together, they could create the smallest of creation; a small fly. Therefore, what about Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala who is One, and has Created the fly, and everything besides? So who has more of a right to be worshipped? And Allah states that if this fly were to take something very small and miniscule from them, these idols would not be able to take it from it. So know that scientists will never be able to create anything. What they see as creation is not creation. They cannot create something from nothing, and give it life. And till this day, a scientist would not be able to take back a crumb of bread from a fly, after it has eaten it. Look at the beautiful analogy here. How can an object that cannot even protect itself from a fly, how can it protect you from a fly, or anything greater than that?  Through the stories of the previous nations: “Say: "Travel through the earth and see what was the end of those before (you): Most of them worshipped others besides Allah."” [Ar-Room 30:42] Allah is telling us to look around us, and see the end of the previous nations. So of what use is Shirk when the end result will be destruction in this Dunyaa and in the Aakhirah? 2. The Sunnah There are many ahadeeth that show the futility of Shirk. I shall quote one as an example. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Tirmidhi have narrated from al-Harith al-Ash’ari that the Prophet SalAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, that Yahya ibn Zakariya said to Bani Isra’eel; ‘Verily, God, Blessed and Exalted, has commanded me with five words to act upon and to call on you to act upon it. The first of them is that you worship God and associate none with Him. For verily, the one who associates partners with God is like the man who buys a servant with his won wealth, be it gold or silver, and says to him, ‘This is my house and this is the work I have for you. So do it and render me its fruits.’ But the servant does it and renders the fruits to another. Which of you would be pleased with such a servant?’ The analogy is clear. Allah created you, and gave you your rizq, your house, and everything that you have. Is it proper then that you should worship other than Allah, through hope, fear, love, awe, du’a and all other types of worship? So in this way, the futility of Shirk is shown in the Sunnah. 3. The Fitrah “"It would not be reasonable in me if I did not serve Him Who created me upon the Fitrah, and to Whom ye shall (all) be brought back.” [Ya-Seen 36:22] So the human Fitrah knows the futility of Shirk, and this is because of the Mithaaq. 4. ‘Aql/Common sense Allah is the One who Created you. Does it not make sense to worship only Him? “Is then He Who creates like one that creates not? Will ye not receive admonition?” [An-Nahl 16:17] Are the two the same? Indeed, they are not. So when almost all of creation affirms that Allah is the Khaliq, how can they compare the Khaliq with the makhlooq (created)? How can they compare God to Jesus? How can they compare the Supreme Being with any other beings? When you realise that Allah is the Khaliq, then does it make sense to worship anything else? __________________