Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Kashf ash-Shubuhat fit-Tawhid, PART-18


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So, today we’ll finish the third part of the book and there’s four parts of the book as we said. So, this third part as we talked about last time, as we said is the specific evidences that the mushrikin use to try to justify performing shirk with Allah.

So, the next thing that the author says, he says,
“And those who justify shirk have yet another evidence. Which is the fact that the Prophet (saws) mentioned that on the Day of Resurrection, people will come and seek help from Adam and then from Nuh, then Ibrahim, then Musa, then ‘Isa (as) and all of them will give some type of excuse, until they finally reach the Prophet (saws).”

So, here, he’s referring to the hadith of the Shafa’a on the Day of Resurrection in which the people will go to the Prophets, seeking for them or seeking from them to ask Allah to begin the judgement, so that they can be relieved from waiting and standing in the hardships of that day. So, he mentions this hadith, then he says, or he refers to the hadith and he says,
“And they say, “That this is clear evidence that seeking help from other than Allah is not considered shirk.”

So, meaning that the fact that they go to these people and ask for their help, this shows that it wouldn’t be shirk, because how could I be approved of and how could the Prophet (saws) tell us that this would take place, and there’s no mention of it being shirk or anything like that. So, the author continues, and he says,
“The response to this is to say, “Subhan’Allah, the One who has sealed the heart of His enemies. For we ourselves don’t deny the legality of seeking help from a created object, in matter that it is capable of.”

Allah says in the verse in Surat Qasas that Allah spoke about Musa and,
“So, the one who was from his tribe [meaning the tribe of Musa] sought help from him against his enemy.” [28:15]

So, this goes to the story where Musa came to the city and saw two people fighting with each other, one was from his tribe, and one wasn’t, then Musa helped the one that was from his tribe. So, the author here is showing that, Allah mentioned Isthigatha from Musa from this person. And then says,
“And the person in battle, or any other situation seeks help from another, in matters that he could do and are not supernatural and beyond the normal capabilities of man. But, we do object to the supernatural help that is sought. The religion seeking of help that is done at the graves of the righteous, or in their absence concerning matters that none except Allah has the power to do. Once this is understood, then realise that the help that is sought from the Prophets on the Day Judgement, is that they want from them to pray to Allah to hasten the reckoning, so that the people of Paradise can be relieved from agonies of that Day. This type of asking is allowed in this world and in the Hereafter.”


And then he gives another example, and he says,
“That you go to a righteous person that is front of you and can listen to you, and then you ask him to pray for you. And this is just as the Companions used to do with the Prophet (saws) when he was alive. After his death, however, then by no means did they ask anything from him, or even ask at his graveside. Rather, the scholars of the earlier generations would rebuke those who used to pray to Allah at his grave, so what would be the response to someone who actually prayed to him.”

So, here he mentions the…he calls it an evidence, but really in reality, what he means is, it resembles or they think it’s an evidence so obviously it’s not an actual evidence for this topic, which is the hadith of the Shafa’a and asking help from a creation to help you with something. So, again, the author showed how this is invalid and how to respond to it.

So, we can break it down into the steps again like we’ve done before with a number of the misconceptions. So, the first step in refuting this would be to show that seeking help from something that’s created in something that they’re able to do, while they’re alive, and they have the ability and they can hear you, this is something that’s permissible.
 

So, if we see here, in this story, these people they went to the Prophets at that time they were alive, and they asked them for something that they were able to do. So, they were dead, obviously this is the Day of Resurrection, every living thing that will be judged is brought back to life, so they’re obviously alive.

Secondly, the thing that they asked them for is du’a to Allah, and we know that human beings can perform du’a, especially the Anbiya’ obviously, they can perform du’a, so the thing that they asked for, was something that technically, they were able to do. And the excuse each one gave was something that they had done, and that they were shy to ask for it in a number of the examples, or the number of Prophets that were mentioned, they would mention the mistake that they’d done and they were shy, and they would come to the Prophet (saws) and they would ask…

Or the fact that he…we know that the Prophet (saws) would make du’a to Allah, and we know that Allah will grant or answer this du’a, shows that he was able to do what they were asking from him, and he heard them, as opposed to someone who is dead or someone who is faraway or someone who is being asked to do something that they’re not able to do.

So, this is the first step, to show that what you’re using this hadith for, it doesn’t actually even apply to that situation.


The second step is to mention that, you are asking from these ‘Awliya or the people that you call ‘Awliya something that they’re not able to do as right now they’re dead, and we can bring the hadith in which the Prophet (saws) said, “Or if the child of Adam, then his actions are cut off…” Then he says except for three and he mentions the things that can benefit them, and none of them are actually being performed at the time by the dead person.

So, meaning if we look at the hadith that’s narrated by Muslim, An-Nasa’i and Tirmidhi and others, we see in the hadith that one of the things that would benefit the person or that the Prophet (saws) made an exception to his actions is, the du’a of a righteous child, so the person performing the du’a is the child, not the person who’s dead. Or knowledge that was left behind that people learn from, or wealth that was left behind that people benefit from.

So, all of these things were done during his life, and then he continues to benefit from them, after his death as opposed to if someone said that, the person who has died can make du’a in the grave and that they would benefit the person who’s alive, and they would benefit themselves with that du’a.

So, we see that the asking of these people, now they’re dead, so obviously it doesn’t apply and so they’re asking something that they’re not able to do for a number of reasons.

The third or the third step is what the author mentions is when he mentions in the Qur’an that Allah said,
“The one from his tribe sought help from him against the one who was his enemy.” [28:15]
And this is referring to the story of Musa. So, we see here that the person who sought something from Musa, Musa was there, as opposed to not being there, he was alive as opposed to being dead, and he was able as opposed to being unable. Because we know that he ended up hitting that person and he killed him, so obviously he was able to do the thing he was being asked, as opposed to asking someone who is dead on the other side of the world to forgive you your sins, or to cure you.
So, each of the things that were present in Musa, in this story aren’t present in the people who are being sought something from or the ‘Awliya. So, again we say that there’s a difference between this and what the people are trying to apply it to.

And the fourth thing that the author mentioned is a ‘Aql or intellectual argument or a proof, which is when he said, “This is similar to if you went to someone who is alive and he can hear you and you sat right in front of him and asked him to make du’a and then he was to do that.”

So, we see that in that situation, this person would be present, secondly they would hear you, thirdly the thing that’s being asked, they’re able to do, and they’re able to have that effect. As opposed to if you ask someone to heal you and not in a medical way, but to actually heal you through whatever power that the person attributes to them, this is something that they’re not able to do as opposed to asking someone to make du’a for you, because obviously the person is able to make du’a.

And then he finished that section by mentioning that, during the lifetime of the Prophet (saws) this is what they would do. It’s often we see that they would go to the Prophet (saws) and ask him to make du’a for them for a number of different things, so he would hear them, he was present and he was able to make that du’a, as opposed to when he would die or after he died, we see that Abu Bakr, and ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman and ‘Ali and the wives of the Prophet (saws) and the scholars and the Sahabah, none of them is it ever narrated from them, that they would make du’a to him, whether beside his grave or faraway from his grave.

So, if we see that they would specifically go to him during his lifetime and ask him to make du’a for them, there’s some benefit or there’s something special about his du’a. So, if it was permissible to do so after his death, why would they avoid doing that and either make du’a on their own, and some of them would ask other Sahabah to make du’a for them because they’re righteous people.

So, if it was still possible to do something that was great and had a great effect and was something that was accepted Islamically, then why would they turn away from that or shy away from that and no longer do it, so this shows that the Sahabah, the fact they stopped doing something that they used to do with the death of the Prophet (saws) shows that obviously they understood that either it had no effect anymore.And then he, the author concludes that by saying, not only did the Salaf, from the Sahabah, from the Tabi’in or Atba at-Tabi’in and so on, not only would they not make du’a to the Prophet (saws) but they would rebuke people for making du’a to Allah besides his grave, assuming that it was a special place as opposed to anywhere else. So, if the mere making du’a to Allah besides the grave of the Prophet (saws) was something that was rebuked, then how about if you’re not even making it to Allah, but you’re making it to the Prophet (saws).

So, we could say that this is Qiyas al-Awla, or this is showing something that if we show the invalidity of something at one level, then something that’s at a greater level than it, would be even more invalid or more deserving of being invalid.
 

So, that’s what the author says with regards to that evidence which is the hadith of the Shafa’a. 

Then, he continues and he says, and this is the last partial evidence or false evidence that he discusses. So, he says,
“And those who justify shirk have yet another evidence, and that is the story of Ibrahim, when he was thrown in the Fire that Nimrod built for that purpose then the Angel Jibril came flying to him and asked him, “Do you have any need?” So Ibrahim responded, “From you? No”

And this hadith, it’s narrated by Ibn Jarir in his tafsir, and the story was mentioned was Imam al-Baghawi in his tafsir and others as well. So, this is where the story comes from and we’ll talk about a bit about its authenticity in a little bit.

But then the author continues and he says,
“They say that this story has evidence that had seeking help from Jibril been considered shirk, then he would not have offered Ibrahim any help.”

So, meaning that if asking for help or seeking help from someone other than Allah was shirk then why would Jibril be sent by Allah to not only to a person but to a Prophet nonetheless, and have this thing offered to him. So, meaning essentially that Allah sent Jibril (as) to offer Ibrahim to perform shirk.

So, then the author he says,
“So, the response to this is exactly the same as the previous story. Because Jibril offered to help him in a matter that he was capable of, for Allah describes him as being “...of great strength.” [53:5].”

So, meaning that the thing that Jibril was offering to Ibrahim which was to help him when he was in the fire, this was something that Jibril was able to do.

So, he says,
“If Allah had given him permission to take the fire of Ibrahim, and even all that was surrounding it of the earth and the mountains, and to throw it all into the far corners of the east and the west, he could’ve done so, and if Allah had commanded him to transport Ibrahim to a faraway place, he could’ve done so. And if he had commanded him to raise him to the skies, he could’ve done so. The example of this story is like the example of a rich wealthy person who sees a poor person in need and offers him help, either by giving him a loan, or a gift with which he can fulfil his needs.”

And the author finishes this by saying,
“Instead of accepting any help, the poor person refuses his help and his content at being patient until Allah provides him with a means of sustenance in which he will not owe anyone any favour. Such is Ibrahim’s example when he relied on his Lord instead of any other being. So where is this example from seeking religious help or committing shirk, if they only understood.”

So, here he’s saying, just to do what we have done with all the other examples, that this is the same example as before. So, no-one is rejecting the fact that seeking help from someone of the creation who is able to hear you, and who’s able to provide you the help that you’re asking, that this is something that’s fine.

So, how can we say that asking someone for something that they’re able to do is proof that you can ask someone for something they’re not able to do, and asking someone who’s alive is proof that you can ask someone who’s dead. How can these things when they’re actually the completely opposite, ability for something and inability – being alive or being dead, hearing you and not hearing you. These are the complete opposites and it’s the essential description and characteristic that has the effect on the ruling itself.

So, if someone can’t hear you, as opposed to someone who can. So, we say, he helped me because he heard what I was asking him, as opposed the person who can’t hear it. The exact characteristic or attribute that’s needed in that instance isn’t even present. So, the author he mentions this.

So, the first thing to talk about this is where the hadith was. So, as we said it’s mentioned by at-Tabari in his tafsir, and al-Baghawi, and Ibn Iraq and “Tamzi ash-Shari’ah” and others. Ibn Taymiyyah said about this that it’s mawdu’ and Albani in his book, “Silsilah ahadith as-Sahih a’da’ifah”, said there’s no basis for it.

So, it has no basis to begin with, it’s not an authentic narration, and it actually has no sanad or no chain of narration to begin with. So, Imam al-Baghawi mentioned in his tafsir of Suratul Anbiya, and then he narrated it from Ka’ab al-Ahbar, which is, we know that he’s from the Tabi’in, and that he was a Rabi’ before his Islam. So, it’s attributed to him but without any sanad to begin with.

So, first of all it’s not from the Prophet (saws) and it’s not even from the Sahabi, it’s from someone later on, so already, even if it was authentic to Ka’ab al-Ahbar, it would be unusable as evidence. How about on top of that, not only is it not authentic to him, but there’s no chain even to track to see whether it’s authentic or not.

On top of this, we see that this story is confirmed, so the story of Ibrahim being put in the fire, and Jibril coming to him, Ibrahim being put in the fire is confirmed in the Qur’an and in the Sunnah and Jibril coming to him and asking him or its confirmed however that Ibrahim, his statement was “HasbunAllahu wa ni’mal Wakeel”, or Allah is sufficient for me and He is the best of those Who we would trust upon.

And this is also mentioned in the Qur’an when Allah said or described Ibrahim being put in the fire and he said this, and this was what the Prophet (saws) said when all of the groups had gathered around him on the Day of Khandaq, so we know that this is a confirmed or saying this when a person is in a time of trials and tribulations is something that’s definitely permissible and something that the person should do.

So, just to go through the steps again. So the first is to say that Jibril (as) presented something to Ibrahim that he was able to do, and he heard him and so on and so on as we talked about before. And then, second thing as the author discussed, this is similar to someone who is poor and a rich man comes to him and offers him money, and then the person refuses and he hopes that Allah would give him his rizq through working or similar means so that he won’t owe anything to anyone and that he can have complete Tawhid, and nothing that even resembles any reliance on any of the creation.

So, this is how we would understand the story of Jibril with Ibrahim (as). And then the last thing would be to show that this is an invalid story, and that even if you wanted to use it, obviously you know if you want to use something as evidence, it needs to be proven first with a sanad. So, if it’s not from the Qur’an then someone needs to prove that first of all, it has a sanad, and not only it has a sanad or chain of narration, but the chain of narration is authentic.

And just to mention that like I said, this story of Jibril coming to the Prophet Ibrahim (as) was mentioned by al-Baghawi without any chain, and Ibn Jarir mentioned the story but he didn’t actually mention Jibril coming to him and offering him this help, and actually it was a slip of the tongue, I think I had said earlier that al-Bukhari narrated and Jibril coming to him. Al-Bukhari did narrate it, and he narrated it with “HasbunAllahu wa ni’mal Wakeel”, but there’s no mention of Jibril offering him this help. It was just that when he was placed in the fire, he said this.

That was, if I had said that, and that was a slip of the tongue. So, these are the last two evidences that the author mentions and just a bit of commentary on it and insha’Allah we’ll stop there, and next time, we’ll finish the last part of the book which is kind of a summary of some of the things we talked about, also specific issues related to Tawhid or the reality of Iman, and the fact that actions are needed for Iman to be present, just like statements and beliefs are, and it’s a refutation of the group the Murji’ah and a number of their misconceptions.
 

So, insha’Allah either next time we’ll finish that or we’ll have two more talks on that. Wallahu A’lam. 

Kashf ash-Shubuhat fit-Tawhid #18 [Transcribed] - By Shaykh Haytham Sayfaddeen

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