Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah : Lesson 09 : Part A
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|English]
Allaah the Perfect and Most High is not pleased that anyone else should be associated in worship with Him
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
المَسْأَلَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ: أَنَّ اللهَ لاَ يَرْضَى أَنْ يُشْرَكَ مَعَهُ أَحَدٌ غَيرُهُ فِي عِبَادَتِهِ
The second matter: that Allaah is not pleased that anyone else should be associated with Him in worship of Him7
[7]: Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzan’s Explanation
This matter is connected to the first matter, because the first one was an explanation of the obligation of worshipping Allaah, and of following the Messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and it is the meaning of the shahaadatain (two testifications), the meaning of the testification that, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah’, and the testification that, ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah’. And the second matter is that worship, if it has shirk mixed with it, then it will not be accepted, because it is essential that worship is done purely for the Face of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic.
So therefore whoever worships Allaah, and worships something else along with Him, then the worship of him is futile or null and void. Its presence is just the same as its absence, because worship will not benefit except with ikhlaas (i.e. it is done purely for Allaah) and tawheed. So if it is mixed with shirk then it is corrupted, just as he the Most High said:
وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
And it was revealed to you (O Muhammad) and to those Messengers who came before you, that if you associate anything with Allaah then all your deeds will be rendered null and void, and then you would certainly be from the losers. [39:65]
And the Perfect said:
وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
And if they committed shirk (associated anything along with Allaah) then whatever deeds they had done would be rendered null and void. [6:88]
So worship is not called worship except along with tawheed, just as the salaah (prayer) is not called salaah except along with purification. So if shirk is mixed with worship, it corrupts it and nullifies it, just as is the case with purification, if it is mixed with one of those things which break the wudoo’ then that corrupts it and nullifies it, and therefore Allaah in many aayahs of the Qur’aan joins the command to worship Him and the prohibition of shirk.
He the Most High said:
وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا
And worship Allaah and do not associate anything along with Him [4:36]
–
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ
And they were not commanded except that they should worship Allaah making the religion purely and sincerely for Him, upon the true religion of tawheed, turning away from shirk. [98:5]
–
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ
And We did not send before you a Messenger except that We revealed to him that none has the right to be worshipped except Me so therefore worship Me alone. [21:25]
–
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ
None has the right to be worshipped except Me [21:25]
This contains two matters: it contains a negation of shirk and it contains affirmation of worship for Allaah the Most High.
–
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ
And your Lord commanded that you should not worship except Him [17:23]
–
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
And We sent a Messenger to every nation, commanding worship Allaah and avoid at–Taaghoot (all false objects of worship). [16:36]
So He joined between the worship of Allaah and avoiding the Taaghoot (all the false objects of worship), because the worship of Allaah will not be worship except with avoiding the Taaghoot, and that is shirk. He the Most High said:
فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا
So whoever rejects the Taaghoot and truly believes in Allaah, and that Allaah alone has the right to be worshipped, then he has clung on to the firmest hand-hold which will never break [2:256]
So truly believing in Allaah is not sufficient except with rejection of at–Taaghoot, otherwise the mushrikoon (the people of shirk) they believed in Allaah, however they associated others in worship with Him:
وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ
And most of them do not believe except that they associate others in their worship of Allaah [12:106]
So He the Perfect makes it clear that they had belief in Allaah, however they corrupted it with shirk (association of others in worship of Allaah), and Allaah’s refuge is sought.
This is meaning of the saying of the Shaikh (author), that whoever worshipped Allaah and obeyed the Messenger, then he may not associate anything in worship along with Allaah, because Allaah is not pleased that anything be associated with Him in His worship.
He sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said in that which he reported from his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, Allaah the Most High said:
أنا أغنى الشركاء عن الشرك ، من عمل عملا أشرك معي فيه غيري تركته وشركه
“I am the One having no need of any association of worship. Whoever does an action in which he associates anyone else along with Me, then I will abandon him and his shirk.”[1]
[1] Reported by Muslim as a hadeeth of Aboo Huraira (radiy Allaahu ‘anhu).
So there are people who pray the salaah, and they bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, and they do that plentifully, and they fast and they perform the Hajj. However, they make supplication to tombs, and they perform worship of Al-Hasan and Al-Husain and Al-Badawee and so-and-so and so-and-so, and they call for relief from the dead. Those people their worship is false and futile, because they have associated others with Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, they have mixed worship with shirk so their deeds are futile and nullified, until they single out Allaah the Mighty and Majestic with worship and they make worship purely for Him and they abandon the worship of everything else besides Him.
Otherwise they will be upon nothing, so it is obligatory to draw attention to this, because Allaah is not pleased that anything should be associated with Him in His worship, anyone no matter who it is. He the Perfect is not pleased that anyone should be associated with Him no matter who it may be, so that no-one should say, “I take the beloved servants of Allaah, the righteous people and the good people as intercessors. I do not worship the idols and images as they used to do in the times of ignorance. I only take these ones as intercessors, I do not worship them.” So we say to him: This was the saying of the people in the times of ignorance, they took them as intercessors with Allaah because they were righteous people and beloved servants from the beloved servants of Allaah. But Allaah is not pleased with this.
—
Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah. Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles of Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab by Shaykh Saalih ibn Fowzaan al-Fowzaan hafizahullaah. Translated by Daawood Burbank, rahimahullaah
Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah
—
Listen to the Full Audio Series:
Sharh Usool-ith-Thalaathah – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank
Book Study Resources – Three Fundamental Principles
Related Links:
AbdurRahman.Org 
You must be logged in to post a comment.