Revealing Allah’s Partner in Praise and Honor Pt. 3

Surely We have sent thee as a witness, good tidings to bear, and warning, that you may believe in God and His Messenger AND SUCCOUR Him (watuazziroohu), and reverence Him, and that you may give Him glory at the dawn and in the evening. S. 48:8-9 Arberry

In order that you (O people!) may believe in Allah and His Messenger and that you may help and honor Him, and celebrate His Praises morning and evening. Syed Vickar Ahamed 

“This sentence is disrupted because of a sudden shift from addressing Muhammad to addressing other people. Apart from this, the accusative pronoun in ‘succour Him, and reverence Him’ refers, beyond doubt, to Muhammad, who was mentioned earlier, not to God as the English translator understood it. But ‘give Him glory’ refers to God. The entire verse is chaotic. The reader cannot be expected to understand its true meaning from the arrangement of words. It is kufr (‘unbelief’) to say ‘succour Him, and reverence Him, and that you may give Him glory at the dawn and in the evening’ about Muhammad, since glory should be given to God alone. It is also kufr to make such a statement with reference to God, since God almighty is not in need for succour or help! (‘Abdallah ‘Abd al-Fadi, Is the Qur'an Infallible? [Light of Life, PO Box 13, A-9503 Villach, Austria], pp. 182-183; bold emphasis ours)

That ye (mankind) may believe in Allah and His messenger, and may honor h/Him, and may revere h/Him, and may glorify h/Him at early dawn and at the close of day" (48:9). Al-Nawawi said that the scholars of Qur'anic commentary have given this verse two lines of explanation, one group giving the three personal pronouns "HIM" a single referent, namely, either Allah ("Him") OR THE PROPHET ("him"); the other group distinguishing between two referents, namely, the Prophet (SAWS) for the first two ("honor and revere him"), and Allah for the last ("glorify Him"). Those of the first group that said the pronouns ALL REFER TO THE PROPHET explained "glorify him" (tusabbihuhu) here to mean: "declare him devoid of inappropriate attributes and pray for him." (The Prophetic Title "Best of Creation"; bold and capital emphasis ours)

The Command to say Salah upon the Prophet

Al-Bukhari said: “Abu Al-`Aliyah said: ‘Allah's Salah is HIS PRAISING HIM BEFORE THE ANGELS, and the Salah of the angels is their supplication.’” Ibn `Abbas said: “They send blessings.” Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi said: “This was narrated from Sufyan Ath-Thawri and other scholars, who said: ‘The Salah of the Lord is mercy, and the Salah of the angels is their seeking forgiveness.’” There are Mutawatir Hadiths narrated from the Messenger of Allah commanding us to send blessings on him and how we should say Salah upon him. We will mention as many of them as we can, if Allah wills, and Allah is the One Whose help we seek… (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 33:56; capital and underline emphasis ours)

“An understanding of the word ilah, therefore, is crucial in order for this phrase to properly understood.

“Ibn ‘Abbas stated that it means, ‘…one whom everything turns to, and whom everyone worships.’¹¹³ The famous commentator on the words of the Qur’an, al-Raghib al-Asbahani (d. 425) stated: ‘Ilah is a name given to every object that is worshipped.’¹¹⁴ The famous lexicographer of the Arabic language, Ibn Manur (d. 711), defined it as, ‘…any object that is taken as an object of worship,’¹¹⁵ and al-Fayruzabadi said: ‘Every object that is worshipped is an ilah for the one that worships it.’¹¹⁶ Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 A.H.) wrote: ‘The meaning of ilah is not “One who has the capability to create”, as many philosophical groups presume. For they believe that godship (ilhaiyyah) is the ability to create, and that whoever affirms that Allah is the One Who creates, without any creator, has testified to La ilaha illa Allah. But indeed, the mushrikun used to testify to this as well, and they were still considered mushrikun. So the true ilah is the one that is worthy of worship…and tawhid implies worshipping Allah alone, without any partners. And shirk is to make with Allah other objects of worship.’¹¹⁷

“So we find that these scholars all defined ilah as an object of worship, and none of them mentioned that an ilah must be a creator, or an all-powerful entity. In fact, none of the scholars of tawhid, or of the Arabic language, ever stated that an ilah was a lord or creator in the eyes of the one who believed in it.

“The significance of this simple fact is indeed profound. When a Muslim negates the existence of an ilah besides Allah, he or she is actually negating that any other object will be worshipped besides Allah. One who bears witness to the shahadah will negate that there is any other purpose in his or her life except to achieve Allah’s pleasure. This implies that all desires that go against the commands of Allah must be rejected. 

“It is, therefore, incorrect to translate this testimony as ‘There is no Creator (or Lord) except for Allah.’ Had this been the understanding, the Jahiliyyah Arabs would have accepted it and followed the Prophet, for they too believed that there was no Lord and Supreme Master except Allah. But they understood the precise meaning of ilah as an object that is worshipped, and realised that, if they bore testimony to this phrase, they would have to give up their idolatry, and change their way of life. Due to this realisation, they rejected the Prophet’s message.” (An Explanation of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Wahhab’s Kashf al-Shubuhat – Critical Study of Shirk, translation and commentary by Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi [Al-Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution, Birmingham, UK], 13. An Explanation of Kashf al-Shubuhat, The Clearing of Doubts, pp. 93-94)

¹¹³ Tafsir al-Tabari, 1/54.

¹¹⁴ Al-Mufradat, p. 21

¹¹⁵ Lisan al-Arab (1/188).

¹¹⁶ Al-Qamus, p. 1603.

¹¹⁷ Majmu’ al-Fatawa, 3/101. (Ibid., p. 93)

“So these Muslims deny that their actions fall under worship, thus trying to escape from the charge of shirk that they deserve. However, the ruling on an act or concept IS NOT DEPENDENT ON WHAT PEOPLE CALL IT, IT IS DEPENDENT ON THE REALITY AND ESSENCE OF IT. If someone were to call riba (interest) ‘benefit’, it would not change the reality of the fact that it is interest. Likewise, if someone were to call alcoholic drinks ‘spirits’ or ‘refreshments’ it does not change the fact that these drinks are alcoholic, and thus prohibited in Islam. If one understands this rule, he will see that these acts, of calling out to dieties, and asking for supernatural help, and seeking a means of pleasing them, all fall under the Islamic concept of ‘ibadah. It does not matter whether people refer to them as acts of ‘ibadah or not; the ruling is based on the reality of the matter, not its name.

“The point is that the Jahiliyyah Arabs realised what they were doing, and admitted it. They openly called their acts directed towards their idols acts of worship. So they were more frank and honest in this regard than the ignorant Muslims who try to change the reality of what they are doing by merely attaching a different label to it.” (An Explanation of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Wahhab’s Four Principles of Shirk: Taken from the works of ‘Abdullah ibn Jibrin, Salih Al al-Shaykh and others, translation and commentary by Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi [Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, Birmingham, UK 2002], pp. 47-48; bold emphasis ours)