لاَ تَجْعَل مَعَ اللّهِ إِلَـهًا آخَرَ فَتَقْعُدَ مَذْمُومًا مَّخْذُولاً وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلاَهُمَا فَلاَ تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلاَ تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلاً كَرِيمًا وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا رَّبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِي نُفُوسِكُمْ إِن تَكُونُواْ صَالِحِينَ فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ لِلأَوَّابِينَ غَفُورًا وَآتِ ذَا الْقُرْبَى حَقَّهُ وَالْمِسْكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَلاَ تُبَذِّرْ تَبْذِيرًا إِنَّ الْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُواْ إِخْوَانَ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ لِرَبِّهِ كَفُورًا وَإِمَّا تُعْرِضَنَّ عَنْهُمُ ابْتِغَاء رَحْمَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ تَرْجُوهَا فَقُل لَّهُمْ قَوْلاً مَّيْسُورًا وَلاَ تَجْعَلْ يَدَكَ مَغْلُولَةً إِلَى عُنُقِكَ وَلاَ تَبْسُطْهَا كُلَّ الْبَسْطِ فَتَقْعُدَ مَلُومًا مَّحْسُورًا إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَيَقْدِرُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَوْلادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلاقٍ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُم إنَّ قَتْلَهُمْ كَانَ خِطْءًا كَبِيرًا وَلاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الزِّنَى إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاء سَبِيلاً وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللّهُ إِلاَّ بِالحَقِّ وَمَن قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِ سُلْطَانًا فَلاَ يُسْرِف فِّي الْقَتْلِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مَنْصُورًا وَلاَ تَقْرَبُواْ مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلاَّ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّى يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَأَوْفُواْ بِالْعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْؤُولاً وَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ إِذا كِلْتُمْ وَزِنُواْ بِالقِسْطَاسِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً وَلاَ تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِعِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولـئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولاً وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الأَرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولاً كُلُّ ذَلِكَ كَانَ سَيٍّئُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ مَكْرُوهًا ذَلِكَ مِمَّا أَوْحَى إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ الْحِكْمَةِ وَلاَ تَجْعَلْ مَعَ اللّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ فَتُلْقَى فِي جَهَنَّمَ مَلُومًا مَّدْحُورًا (17: 22-39)

Serve no other god except God, lest [on the Day of Judgement] you are left blameworthy and disgraceful. And [remember that] your Lord has enjoined you to worship none but Him, and to treat well your parents. If either or both of them attain old age in your life before you, show them no sign of impatience, nor scold them while answering; but speak to them with good etiquette and treat them with humility and tenderness and say: “Lord, be merciful to them the way they nursed me in childhood.” Your Lord fully knows what is in your hearts; if you remain obedient [to them, then you should know that] He forgives those who turn to Him. And give to the near of kin their due, and also the destitute and to the traveller. And do not squander your wealth wastefully, for the wasteful are Satan’s brothers; and Satan is ever-ungrateful to his Lord. And if you have to disregard [those in need] because you are seeking your Lord’s bounty of which you are waiting, then speak to them affectionately. And do not be miserly or prodigal [that as a result of it] you should either earn reproach or be reduced to indigence. Indeed your Lord gives abundantly to whom He pleases and sparingly to whom He pleases. He is aware of His servants and is observing them. And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them also and for you because killing them is a heinous crime.

And do not even go near adultery because it is blatant lewdness and a very evil path. And do not wrongfully kill any person whose life has been held sacred by God and [remember that] if someone is slain unjustly, We have given his heir the authority. Then he should also not exceed limits in his revenge because he has been helped. And do not approach the wealth of orphans except in a just manner, until they reach maturity. And keep your promises because you shall be held accountable for promises. And give full measure, when you measure, and weigh with correct scales. This is better and fairer as far as the consequences are concerned. And do not go after what you know not because eyes, ears, and heart – all of them shall be questioned. And do not walk conceitedly on the earth because neither can you split the earth, nor can you rival the mountains in stature. The evil of each of these to your Lord is very displeasing.

This is the wisdom which your Lord has revealed to you. [Hold on steadfastly to it] and [in the end, listen once again:] serve no other deity besides God, lest [as a result] you should be cast into Hell condemned and rejected. (17:22-39)

These verses explain the basic principle which has been concisely put earlier. They clearly state what is morally sound and what is morally unsound. A little deliberation shows that this section of verses begins with the prohibition of polytheism and also ends on its emphatic forbiddance. Such a style is adopted in the Quran to highlight the importance of something. Here, the objective is to delineate the fact that it is the belief in monotheism which is like a boundary wall that encircles the directives of religion mentioned in these verses. If this boundary wall is damaged, everything that lies within it is exposed to danger. No doubt, this is the supreme status of monotheism which these verses mention. It is the greatest and the most fundamental requisite of justice which the Quran directs its followers to dispense. For this very reason, polytheism is called a great wrong (zulmun azimun) by the Qur’an (31:13). The Quran has also clearly stated the result of this great wrong: it is an unforgivable sin in the eyes of God in retribution of which people shall be humiliated and thrown into Hell:

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا (48:4)

God will not forgive those who [deliberately] associate partners with Him; however, He will forgive lesser sins [according to His law] for whom He wills. And [without doubt] he who associates partners with God is guilty of fabricating a great sin. (4:48)

What is polytheism? Associating other gods with God Almighty is termed as polytheism (shirk) in the terminology of the Quran. It means:

a) to regard someone to have the same genre as that of God or to regard God to have the same genre as someone; or

b) to regard someone to have a role in creation or in running the affairs of the creatures and in this manner make someone God’s peer to some extent or another.

Examples of the first type of polytheism are the beliefs of Christians and the Polytheists of Arabia about Jesus (sws) and Mary (sws) and about the angels respectively. The belief of wahdat al-wujud is another example of this.

Examples of the second type are the beliefs regarding Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in Hinduism and the beliefs regarding Ghaws, Qutub, Abdal, Data and Gharib Nawaz among Muslims. Belief in evil spirits and stars and in the powers of Satan, also belong to this category of polytheism.

The Quran says:

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ (112: 1-4)

Proclaim [O Prophet!] That God is alone. He is the rock of shelter for every one. He is neither anyone’s father nor anyone’s son; and there is none like Him. (112:1-4)

إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومَ مُسَخَّرَاتٍ بِأَمْرِهِ أَلاَ لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالأَمْرُ تَبَارَكَ اللّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ (54:7)

Your Lord is the God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days and then ascended His throne. He covers the day with the night which swiftly follows it. And He created the sun and the moon and the stars which are subservient to His command. Make it clear: He is the Creator and He runs the affairs as well. Blessed is God, Lord of the Universe. (7:54)

The adherents of these views also believe that the Almighty has granted these partners of God the ability to have access to a ghayb (the unseen) and the authority to change some decision of the Almighty in this world and in the Hereafter on their recommendation. The Quran has negated both these:

About the first, it says:

قُل لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ (65:27)

Say: “No one in the heavens or on earth has knowledge of the unseen except God [and those who are given this status of having access to the unseen] do not even know when they will be raised to life.” (27:65)

About the second, it says:

قُل لِّلَّهِ الشَّفَاعَةُ جَمِيعًا لَّهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ (44:39)

Say: “Intercession is wholly in the hands of God. To Him belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. Then to Him shall you be recalled.” (39:44)

Such people would signify their superstitions in pictures and statues. The Quran has called it a filth and directed us to abstain from it: (30:22) فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ(so guard yourselves against the filth of these idols and abstain from falsehoods which you fabricate about them regarding God, (22:30)). On this very basis, the Prophet (sws) said that on the Day of Judgement those who make these portraits and statues shall be severely punished and they shall be asked to put life into the beings they considered to be living and having the authority of causing harm and benefit to human beings:

إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَصْنَعُوْنَ هذِهِ الصُّوَرَ يُعَذَّبُوْنَ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ يُقَالُ لهَمُ أَحْيَوْا مَا خَلَقْتُمْ

Those who make such pictures shall be punished on the Day of Judgement. It shall be said to them: “Put life in whatever you have made.”[1]

Charms and amulets which depict requests of help from such beings also have this filth. The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said that such incantations and blowing and charms and amulets which are used to create separation between a husband and wife are shirk (polytheism).[2]

Swearing an oath by someone other than Allah has also been regarded as shirk by the Prophet (sws) because when a person swears any oath by someone, he actually makes him a witness over some incident and in this manner it is as if the person regards him as someone who has knowledge of ghayb [the unseen] like the Almighty. It is reported:

مَنْ حَلَفَ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ أَشْرَكَ

He who swore by any one other than Allah has committed an act of polytheism. [3]

In this regard, certain polytheistic attitudes are also worth consideration:

In the Quran, God Almighty has mentioned a parable of a person whose wealth, riches, number of friends and associates and splendour and grandeur induced in him so much pride and vanity that he thought that whatever he has is as a result of his abilities and of the knowledge and intellect he possesses and shall always remain with him; the Day of Judgement would never come and if ever it would, he would find all this in store for him there – in fact much more than this. The Quran says that one day his flourishing orchard was destroyed, the baselessness of his perishable belongings became evident and he cursed his fortune and expressed his grief on associating partners with God:

وَأُحِيطَ بِثَمَرِهِ فَأَصْبَحَ يُقَلِّبُ كَفَّيْهِ عَلَى مَا أَنفَقَ فِيهَا وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا وَيَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أُشْرِكْ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًا (42:18)

And it happened that all his fruit was destroyed, and seeing his vines had tumbled down upon their trellises wrung his hands with grief at all that he had spent on the garden and cried: “Would that I had served no other gods besides my Lord!” (18:42)

Same is the case with showing-off. If endeavours which should be done merely for God are done for others, then this would mean that they have taken the place of God. The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said: “The Almighty says: ‘Of all those that are associated [with Me] I am the most indifferent towards association; so anyone who has associated someone with me in any of his works, I am not with him and he is [actually] with whom he has associated with me.’” [4]

Superstitions that human beings become target of are of this genre too. Thus the Prophet (sws) has warned people about them. He has also preventively stopped people from certain things which though do not fall in the ambit of polytheism are liable to lead to it.

Ibn ‘Abbas (rta) narrates that when one night a star fell, the Prophet (sws) asked: “What would you say about these in the age of jahiliyyah?” People replied: “We thought that this would happen at the birth or death of a great personality.” The Prophet (sws) remarked: “No, stars do not fall at the birth or death of someone.” [5]

Zayd ibn Khalid Juhani (rta) mentions that during the year of the Hudaybiyah-truce, rain fell at night. In the morning, the Prophet (sws) addressed the people after the prayer and said: “Do you know what your Lord has said?” The people said: “God and His Messenger know better.” The Prophet (sws) said: “The Almighty has said: ‘Today some of My people have woken up as believers and others as disbelievers; those who have said that this rain is a blessing from God are my believers and those who said that water rains down on us from such and such a point in the constellation, they are My disbelievers and the believers in stars.’” [6]

Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (rta) says that the Prophet (sws) said: “The solar and lunar eclipses do not take place because of someone’s death, they are two signs from among the signs of God; hence, if you see them, offer the prayer.” [7]

One of the wives (rta) of the Prophet (sws) reported from him: “A person who goes to an arraf [8] to find out about his possession and believes in him, the prayers he offers in forty days shall not be accepted.” [9]

Aishah (rta) narrates that when people asked about soothsayers, the Prophet (sws) replied: “They are nothing.” People said: “Some of their prophesies turn out to be true.” The Prophet (sws) said: “Satan is able to catch a few things and like a hen cries out in the ears of his friends. Then these people add a hundred other things to it and communicate it to people.” [10]

Abu Hurayrah (rta) says that the Prophet (sws) is reported to have said: “There is no transfer through physical contact nor misfortune nor is there any snake of hunger in the stomach and neither does a bird come out from the skull of a dead person.” [11]

Jabir (rta) narrates that besides this, he also said that there is no basis of supernatural phenomenon encountered in the wilderness. [12]

Umar (rta) says that he heard the Prophet saying: “Do not exaggerate about me the way the Nazarenes did about Christ. I am only a servant of God. So call me God’s servant and Messenger only.” [13]

Ibn ‘Abbas (rta) narrates that a person came to the Prophet and during the course of his conversation said: “Whatever God wills and you will.” The Prophet immediately corrected him and said: “You have equated me with God? Just say: “Whatever God alone wills.”[14]

i) Worshipping God:

Discussion 51767

ii) Treating Parents with Kindness:

Discussion 51771

iii) Spending in the Way of God:

Discussion 51779

iv) Moral Standards (Piety):

Discussion 51783

v) Sanctity of Human Life:

Discussion 51792

vi) Misappropriating the Wealth of Orphans:

Discussion 51796

vii) Keeping Promises:

Discussion 51799

viii) Honesty in Weighing:

Discussion 51803

ix) Following Speculations:

Discussion 51806

x) Pride and Vanity:

Discussion 51812

(Javed Ahmed Ghamidi)

(Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)

________________________________________

[1]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 1042-1043, (no. 5951). It is these portraits and pictures which the Prophet (sws) has forbidden. Pictures not made for this purpose are not prohibited.

[2]. Abu Da’ud, Sunan,vol. 4, 9, (no. 3883).

[3]. Ibid., vol. 3, 220, (no. 3251).

[4]. Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 1292, (no. 7475).

[5]. Ibid., 989-990, (no. 5819).

[6]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 137, (no. 846); Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 49, (no. 231).

[7]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 167, (no. 1042); Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 369, (no. 2121).

[8]. People who claim to have knowledge of things which get lost.

[9]. Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 990, (no. 5821); Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 5, 17, (no. 16202).

[10]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 1305, (no. 7561); Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 989, (no. 5817).

[11]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 1016, (no. 5757); Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 985, (no. 5788). These are some superstitions of pre-Islamic Arabia in which people of those times believed in.

[12]. Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 986, (no. 5795).

[13]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 580, (no. 3445).

[14]. Ahmadibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, 370, (no. 1965)