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  • Difference Between Statues And Idols

    Posted by Sameer Namole on February 16, 2022 at 7:12 am

    There seems a clear difference between statues and idols.

    Idols are made of deities while statues are just like a pictures and photos.

    They’re kept to remember our loved one’s or maybe those whom people take inspiration from.

    If people are not worshipping a statue, there don’t seem any reason to see it as a shirk if people are just giving tributes to their great personalities by making their statues or conveying them love and respect by putting flowers garland.

    What are your opinions sirs

    Afia Khan replied 2 years, 9 months ago 3 Members · 10 Replies
  • 10 Replies
  • Difference Between Statues And Idols

  • Umer

    Moderator February 17, 2022 at 3:17 am

    It is the rationale/ideology behind that idol or statue which makes it shirk, not the idol or statue itself.

    Please watch:

    Discussion 27393 • Reply 27778

    Discussion 33306 • Reply 33580

  • Sameer Namole

    Member February 17, 2022 at 5:11 am

    Read both of it sir, As Ghamidi sahab said ‘As Allah is haq and we make a symbol of it, then there’s no problem. In actual it’s those personalities whose statue or idol we create and then start worshipping or supplicating to it’.

    He gave example of a flag of nation.

    So if people don’t make deities of gods or goddesses and create a symbol for the one true God what will be the ruling on it?

    In Islam we muslims know that Kaaba is a masjid because Allah clarified about it in Quran itself, what if a Hindu brother or a Christian brother tells they’ve been told in their scriptures that these particular symbols are created in order to remember Allah or God or Ishwar whatever we call it.

    The prime example Ghamidi sahab gave was of Namaz, he said if we’re thinking about someone else in sujood, instantly that salah will become a part of shirk.

    This makes sense.

    What will be our responses if they come with some verses about their deities in their holy books?

    • Umer

      Moderator February 18, 2022 at 7:24 am

      Since country/nation state and patrotism have to do with man made concepts, therefore, one can come up with any symbol to remind themselves of those concepts. As far as the symbol of God is concerned, it needs to come form God himself. We pray toward Kaaba or inside any other mosque because we have been explicitly asked to do so. We do create mosques, but we cannot perform anything in place of Salah as a symbol of our worship, because Salah has been prescribed by God himself.

      As far as their verses (Hinduism and Christianity) are concerned, I am not aware of any such verse which promotes polytheism or gives a polytheistic symbol of God in their holy scriptures, instead, their scriptures also talk about monotheism and how God can have no image etc. It would be helpful if you could instead share some verses depicting such symbols.

      Following article with regards to Christianity will be helpful in this regard:

      http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=597

  • Sameer Namole

    Member February 18, 2022 at 7:52 am

    Yes sir even I’ve read much of vedas and I’ll be reading Bhagwatgita too and they are always calling people towards one God but I was just asking about the common idea that muslims held about non muslims doing shirk, hindus for that matter.

    The question is normal people don’t ask why do they bow down in the direction towards Kaaba, even though it has been given by Allah but for most of muslims, they don’t see it if it has been come from Allah or not and they just follow what majority of muslims are following. If this attitude is right what’s wrong with the attitude of hindus or majority of them if they’re just bowing down infront of idols because overwhelming majority and their religious figure is doing so.

    Like sir if we seek direct commandments from Almighty about what is his symbol or what’s not , this attitude is same in muslims and non muslims. Both of them don’t go towards their religious books by themselves rather they follow popular opinion of their community.

    The advantage muslims got seems just that they’re born in right community otherwise even they don’t question why do we prostrate infront of Kaaba and expect Hindus to ask questions to themselves.

    What do you think sir, for hindus, this doesn’t seem ‘Jante buzte shirk karna’.

    • Umer

      Moderator February 19, 2022 at 4:14 am

      For a Muslim to succeed in the hereafter and Non-Muslim to be held accountable for His deeds, their belief should be based on conscious understanding of their belief, otherwise there is no difference between the two. Just being born in a Muslim family and following what majority of Muslim are doing, is not a good enough reason for redemption. A Muslim needs to consciously become a Muslim after reaching age of maturity for him to succeed in the hereafter.

      Following is a very useful response in this regard:

      Discussion 37854 • Reply 37863

      Please also listen to this response again:

      Discussion 33306 • Reply 33580

  • Afia Khan

    Member February 18, 2022 at 8:01 am

    The History of Idol‐Worship

    It has been narrated in various ahadith: ʺThere were righteous people who lived in the period between Adam and Nuh and who had followers who held them as role‐models. After their death, their followers who used to love them said: ʹIf we make pictures of them, it will be more pleasing to us in our worship and will remind us of them.ʹ So they made pictures of them, and, after they had died and others came after them, Iblees crept into their minds encouraging them to make statues of them. He taught them to bow down to these statues out of respect. Then when the next generation came, he whispered in their minds saying: ʹYour forefathers used to worship them, and through that worship they got rain.ʹ So they began worshipping these idols.ʺ

  • Sameer Namole

    Member February 18, 2022 at 8:06 am

    The interfaith organisation of which I’m a part of has come to a conclusions that Nuh a.s. was sent to india and he’s known as ‘Swyambhu Manu’ in scriptures where great flood ‘Maha pralay’ happened so these can be the start of polytheism in south asia but here I am talking about the ‘Attitude of following majority’ which is common in both muslims and non muslims but muslims are privileged to be born in a community which is worshipping by standing towards the right symbol.

  • Sameer Namole

    Member February 20, 2022 at 12:46 am

    Ok I got it sir.

    One last question on this topic.

    Consider if Allah didn’t mention to worship towards facing Kaaba in Quran, would this practise be shirk?

    • Umer

      Moderator February 21, 2022 at 6:48 am

      If Muslims start to ask help from Kaaba or consider it a symbol of another deity other than God, then it would be shirk.

      Kaaba is a mosque chosen by Allah for direction of salah and for hajj and umra.

      If Allah didn’t mention to worship towards facing Kaba and Muslims started to do that, that would be biddat, not shirk.

  • Afia Khan

    Member February 21, 2022 at 7:02 am

    Another thing when we face to Kaa’ba we worship Allah only not Kaaba. It is only for unity Alhamdulillah . When Allah commanded the direction or Qibla was Bait al Maqdas.

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