Learn At-Tawhid Before Your Time in This Dunya is Over

[yaa tahay]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

Allahu ta’ala said,

فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهٌ إِلَّا اللَّهُ (محمد:19)

 

„So know that there is no Ilah except Allah (nobody deserves worship except Him).” (Muhammad 47:19)

 

And He ta’ala said,

 

 

إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ (آل عمران:19)

 

„Truly, the Din with Allah is al-Islam.” (Al ‘Imran 3:19)

 

Ibnu Kathir said in his Tafsir (2/25),

 

إخبار من الله تعالى بأنه لا دين عنده يقبله من أحد سوى الإسلام، وهو اتباع الرسل فيما بعثهم الله به في كل حين, حتى ختموا بمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم

 

“(This is) a notification from Allahu ta’ala that there is no Din with Him that He would accept from anyone except al-Islam. And it (al-Islam) is to follow the Messengers in that which He has always sent them with until they were completed by Muhammad

صلى الله عليه وسلم.”

 

In order to be Muslim – may Allah guide you and let you be of the successful ones – you have to know how to worship Allah alone. Whoever worships Allah alone is a Muslim and a Muwahhid (someone who worships Allah alone through Tawhid) but whoever doesn’t do that isn’t a Muslim. All Muslims agree that without Tawhid (!) you can’t be a Muslim. But whoever commits Shirk doesn’t have Tawhid.

 

It is written in Majmu’ ul-Fatawa from Ibnu Taymiyyah (14/282) that,

 

وَلِهَذَا كَانَ كُلُّ مَنْ لَمْ يَعْبُدْ اللَّهَ وَحْدَهُ ، فَلَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَابِدًا لِغَيْرِهِ . يَعْبُدُ غَيْرَهُ فَيَكُونُ مُشْرِكًا . وَلَيْسَ فِي بَنِي آدَمَ قِسْمٌ ثَالِثٌ . بَلْ إمَّا مُوَحِّدٌ ، أَوْ مُشْرِكٌ

 

 

“And because of this is everyone who doesn’t worship Allah alone a worshipper of something else. He worships something other than Him so he is a Mushrik. And there is no third party among the sons of Adam but either he is Muwahhid (someone who worships Allah alone) or he is Mushrik.”

 

 

To be a Muslim you need knowledge and you have to practice it

 

 

Whoever wants to worship Allahu ta’ala needs to know how to do this. Not everyone who wants to be Muslim is one. It is reported in the Qur’an that Yusuf عليه السلام said,

إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ أَمَرَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (يوسف:40)

“The Hukm (the judgment) is for none but Allah. He has commanded that you worship none but Him; that is the straight Din, but most men know not.” (Yusuf 12:40)

This Ayah proofs that the straight Din is to worship Allah alone. But whoever commits Shirk follows a different Din than this one, and doesn’t follow the Prophets.

In the Tafsir of Ibnu Kathir (4/390) it says,

ثم قال: ذلك الدين القيم أي: هذا الذي أدعوكم إليه من توحيد الله، وإخلاص العمل له، هو الدين المستقيم، الذي أمر الله به وأنزل به الحجة والبرهان الذي يحبه ويرضاه. { وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ } أي: فلهذا كان أكثرهم مشركين. { وَمَا أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ } يوسف: 103

Then he said: That is the straight Din, that means: That to which I call you of Tawhid towards Allah and Ikhlas (sincerity) in the deeds (performed) for Him is the straight Din which Allah has made obligatory upon us and for which He has sent down the criterion and the clear proof, (the Din) which He loves and is pleased with. “But most men know not.” That means: Because of this most of them are Mushrikin. “And most of mankind are not – even if you desire (it eagerly) – Mu’minin (believers).” (Yusuf 12:103)

 

Can you be Muslim without submitting to Allah?

 

Here appears an important question: Can you be Muslim without submitting to Allah (= practicing Tawhid)? The answer is not difficult because no Muslim can answer this question with ‘yes’. But what exactly is Islam? The answer can be found in a Hadith from the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم which has been narrated by Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه. In this Hadith Jibril عليه السلام is asking a question and receives the following answer,

قَالَ مَا الْإِسْلَامُ قَالَ الْإِسْلَامُ أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا (صحيح البخاري, كتاب الإيمان)

He (Jibrli عليه السلام) said, „What is al-Islam?“ He (Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, „Al-Islam is that you worship Allah and don’t commit any Shirk against Him.“ (Sahih ul-Bukhariyy, Kitab ul-Iman)

Thereby it is clear what the meaning of Islam is. So let’s change the above mentioned question a bit: Can you be Muslim without worshipping Allah and without committing any Shirk? The meaning of the question didn’t even change in the least, so the answer still has to be ‘no’. If someone accepts that you can’t be Muslim without practicing Islam then he is accepting at the same time that nobody can be a Muslim if he commits Shirk. Because Islam is that you worship Allah and don’t commit any Shirk.

وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (آل* عمران:85)

 

„And whoever seeks a Din other than al-Islam, (it) won’t be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be of the losers” (Al ‘Imran 3:85)

So if someone would say, “You can be Muslim whilst committing Shirk”, then he is contradicting the mentioned statement of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. He said, “Al-Islam is that you worship Allah and don’t commit any Shirk against Him.” But someone else says, “Al-Islam is that you worship Allah even whilst committing Shirk. If you worship Allah but are committing Shirk you can be Muslim.”

Additionally: As long as someone doesn’t know that you can never be a Muslim if you don’t worship Allah alone, he can’t be Muslim as well - no matter if he has already heard about the Hadith, or not.

Of course it is correct that you’re not allowed to say something about al-Islam without knowledge. But it is also a part of talking without knowledge if you say, “Not everyone who commits Shirk is also a Muskrik. But rather many of them are Shirk-committing Muslims - that means, they commit Shirk but have fully submitted to Allah.” This is a contradiction in itself.

Who says that he never makes Takfir on those who call themselves Muslims but who are committing Shirk is saying through this that he is on the same Din as they are. Whoever doesn’t make Takfir on them (=doesn’t attribute Kufr to them) wouldn’t be following at-Tawhid himself. There are just Muslims and Mushrikun/Kuffar. So if someone doesn’t call a person a Mushrik/Kafir he is automatically calling him a Muslim.

Whoever says, “I’m Muslim but those who commit Shirk are Muslims, too, as long as they are professing Islam” – actually says that you can be Muslim if you don’t commit Shirk as well as if you commit Shirk. In fact he is talking about a new Din. In al-Islam no one can commit Shirk without leaving the Din,

وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (الزمر:65)

 

„And it has already been revealed to you and to those before you: ‘If you commit Shirk, (then) surely, (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.” (az-Zumar 39:65)

But in his Din it isn’t a condition to omit committing Shirk. But rather he is saying, “Whoever commits in my Din (which he wrongfully calls Islam) Shirk doesn’t become a Mushrik because of this. But just if he knows that it is Shirk - then he would be leaving the Din.” But how come? He leaves al-Islam although you can only become Muslim if you know the difference between Tawhid and Shirk?!

Since when can you avoid something intentionally whilst being unaware of its nature? That means that you can avoid Shirk without knowing its real meaning?! Whoever doesn’t know the difference between Islam and Shirk doesn’t know al-Islam itself. And who doesn’t know al-Islam can’t enter into it, as long as he doesn’t learn its foundation – at-Tawhid.

This is also clarified by this Hadith:

عَنْ عُثْمَانَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ مَاتَ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ

(صحيح مسلم, كتاب الإيمان)

 

It is narrated from ‘Uthmanرضي الله عنه that he said, “The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ‘Who dies while he knows that there is no Ilah (deity) except Allah will enter Paradise.’” (Sahihu Muslim, Kitab ul-Iman)

But whoever dies without knowing this won’t enter Paradise. First of all you have to know Allah then you have to know that there is no Ilah (deity) except Him and finally you also have to submit to Him. And who doesn’t fulfill all of these points can’t be a Muslim.

[yaa tahay]

You can’t be Muslim without making Takfir on every Din except on al-Islam

 

Making Takfir on every Din except al-Islam means that you are firmly convinced that every other Din is clear Kufr. Al-Islam is the message of all Prophets and everything else surely isn’t from Allah.

Every Muslim – without any exception – knows that only Islam is the Din that came from Allah.

وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (آل* عمران:85)

 

„And whoever seeks a Din other than al-Islam, (it) won’t be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be of the losers” (Al ‘Imran 3:85)

If someone isn’t sure that every other Din except Islam is false then he isn’t a Muslim. So what about the one who says, “Hinduism is false but I don’t make Takfir on the Hindus in India who are worshipping innumerable idols?”

Would he be Muslim because he “doesn’t say that Hinduism is correct but that some Hindus might have submitted fully to Allah”? Or would he rather be a Kafir because every single Hindu stands for the Din of the Hindus and because the Shirk of the Hindus wouldn’t exist if there weren’t Hindus who would be committing it? To discern the truth in this question isn’t difficult at all.

It has already been proven that every Din that isn’t established on at-Tawhid and on omitting Shirk truly isn’t a Din with which Allah is pleased. But rather he is only pleased with al-Islam. If somebody knows at-Tawhid and becomes a Muslim his Din is al-Islam. And al-Islam is binding to making Takfir on every other Din. And no one can be Muslim if he calls those who follow another Din Muslims.

Either he wouldn’t know that every other Din than Islam is Kufr – under this condition he could never have embraced Islam, or he knows it but denies this fact intentionally and says that the Kuffar have truly submitted to Allah, too. In this case he can’t be a Muslim as well. He also can’t make excuses for himself through sayings like, “I don’t have enough knowledge to make Takfir” - because this statement surely also means, “I don’t even have enough knowledge to be a Muslim.”

Ibnu Hazm said in al-Muhalla (1/2):

أَوَّلُ مَا يَلْزَمُ كُلَّ أَحَدٍ, وَلاَ يَصِحُّ الإِسْلاَمُ إلاَّ بِهِ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ الْمَرْءُ بِقَلْبِهِ عِلْمَ يَقِينٍ وَإِخْلاَصٍ لاَ يَكُونُ لِشَيْءٍ مِنْ الشَّكِّ فِيهِ أَثَرٌ وَيَنْطِقَ بِلِسَانِهِ, وَلاَ بُدَّ بِأَنْ لاَ إلَهَ إلاَّ اللَّهُ, وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

The first thing which is necessary for everyone and without which al-Islam (of the single person) is never valid is: That the person knows with his heart through knowledge of Yaqin (certainty) and Ikhlas (sincerity) - without having a single trace of doubt - and says (it) with his tongue: That there is no Ilah (deity) except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”

If he knows at-Tawhid he also knows that every other Din is false. And because of this he has to make Takfir on everyone who calls himself Muslim but who instead of practicing Tawhid commits Shirk.

If he should say, “I only make Takfir on their false Din but not on the people themselves” – then he would also have to say, “I don’t make Takfir on the Jews or Hindus but only on their Din. But I consider them to be Muslims because they are committing Shirk unknowingly. So I make Takfir on their Din but not on every single person among them, rather they are excused because of their ignorance.”

And if someone would claim that there exists a difference between the Kuffar who call themselves Muslims and between the Jews and Hindus then he is actually in doubt about something which he mustn’t doubt. Because he says, “If you don’t follow Islam as your Din you aren’t always Kafir.” But rather you would be a Kafir if you firstly wouldn’t follow the correct Din and secondly also wouldn’t say ‘La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasulullah.’

Ibnu Taymiyyah said in Majmu’ ul-Fatawa (3/93) that,

فَأَمَرَنَا أَنْ نَقُولَ : آمَنَّا بِهَذَا كُلِّهِ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ فَمَنْ بَلَغَتْهُ رِسَالَةُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ يُقِرَّ بِمَا جَاءَ بِهِ لَمْ يَكُنْ مُسْلِمًا وَلَا مُؤْمِنًا ؛ بَلْ يَكُونُ كَافِرًا وَإِنْ زَعْم أَنَّهُ مُسْلِمٌ أَوْ مُؤْمِنٌ

So He has ordered us to say, “We have Iman in all of this (in all books and Prophets) and we are Muslims for Him. So whomever reached the message of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and doesn’t confirm that with which he came - he is neither a Muslim nor a Mu’min (believer). Rather he is a Kafir even if he claims that he is Muslim or Mu’min (believer).

 

The meaning of al-Islam

 

It is written in ad-Durar us-Saniyyah (1/117) about the meaning of al-Islam,

وهو الاستسلام لله بالتوحيد، والانقياد له بالطاعة، والبراءة من الشرك وأهله

And it (al-Islam) is that you submit to Allah through Tawhid and also submit to Him through obedience and the renouncement of ash-Shirk and its people.

La ilaha illa Allah has seven known conditions (according to another definition they are eight but the result stays the same). Does a Munafiq, a hypocrite, fulfill all these conditions? Surely he doesn’t … because he isn’t honest and doesn’t have Ikhlas (sincerity).

Ibnu Taymiyyah said in Majmu’ ul-Fatawa (14/284),

فَكُلُّ مَنْ لَمْ يَعْبُدْ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصًا لَهُ الدِّينَ ، فَلَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ مُشْرِكًا عَابِدًا لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ

So whoever doesn’t worship Allah with Ikhlas (sincerity) towards Him in the Din – it is inevitable that he’s a Mushrik who is a worshipper of someone else than Allah.

A Munafiq is hiding his Kufr, but every Muslim has to know: Whoever is a hypocrite in his heart isn’t a Muslim. The Muslim doesn’t know the hidden Nifaq (hypocrisy) of the people but he knows: Allah will never let a Munafiq enter Paradise, no matter who he is. As long as they don’t repent sincerely from everything before their death they’ll enter Hellfire.

Here, while talking about Nifaq, no one would even dream about talking of preventive factors for Takfir like, “Someone is Munafiq but doesn’t know that Nifaq is Kufr so he is Muslim with Allah.” And a Mushrik doesn’t have Ikhlas as well, so we can see another time: Whoever doesn’t worship Allah alone and doesn’t have Ikhlas toward Him and doesn’t commit any Shirk – can never be a Muslim.

An ignorant Mushrik is also someone who commits Shirk, and everyone who commits Shirk is called a Mushrik. Just as everyone who practices Islam is a Muslim. So whoever knows that everyone who practices Islam is also a Muslim has to know as well that everyone who commits Shirk is a Mushrik. There are obstacles that prevent someone from becoming a Muslim. Part of them are arrogance, pride and that you love the Dunya (the worldly life) more than anything else and ignorance about Tawhid!

[Johnny B]

You can't be a Hidu,Budhist,Jewish,Mormon,Muslim,Xtian...... Nth Religion, unless you believe you're on the one and only rigtht path, following the orders of the one and only true God.

so?!