Review of Barelvi Arguments Regarding the Definition of Shirk
➊ Hafizur Rahman Barelvi Qadri writes:
The following points must be kept in mind in this regard.
Allah Azza wa Jal’s personal name is Allah; all others are His descriptive names. Calling any creation Allah Azza wa Jal is shirk.
Answer:
If calling a servant or any creation Allah is shirk, then the people of Makkah did not commit this shirk either; they did not call their idols Allah, yet they were still declared polytheists. They said these are all our intercessors with our Lord Allah. See the Holy Quran, Surah Yunus.
➋ Qadri Sahib writes:
That Allah Almighty’s Holy Being is Necessary Existent, meaning He is present everywhere by His knowledge and power. If such a belief is held about any of the creation, it will be considered shirk.
Answer:
Now there is no need for us to issue a fatwa of shirk on anyone; Qadri Sahib himself has decided that holding the belief that any of the creation is present everywhere will lead to shirk. Is this not the belief of the Barelvi scholars regarding the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, that you believe the Prophet, peace be upon him, is present everywhere while he is among the creation?
Entangled are the feet in the long tresses of the beloved,
Come, the hunter has fallen into your trap.
➌ Qadri Sahib writes:
Only Allah Almighty’s Being is eternally self-existent, meaning He has always existed and will always exist. Holding such a belief about any of the creation will lead to shirk.
Answer:
Qadri Sahib gave such a definition of shirk that his self-made religion could be saved. The definition of shirk is actually very comprehensive, for example: ruling over the chain of causes, fulfilling needs, removing difficulties, responding to complaints, hearing prayers everywhere, and being aware of everything in the unseen and the witnessed realms—these are all attributes specific to Allah Almighty. It is only Allah’s right that His servant considers Him the Almighty Sovereign. Before Him, one bows in acknowledgment of servitude, turns to Him in their needs, calls upon Him for help, trusts in Him, places their hopes in Him, fears Him both outwardly and inwardly. As the Owner of the Kingdom, it is also Allah’s position to set the limits of halal and haram for His subjects, to define their duties and rights, to give them commands of enjoining good and forbidding evil, and to inform them how to use the powers and resources granted by Him for which tasks and purposes. This is only Allah’s right; servants must accept only His sovereignty, consider His command as the source of law, make His decree decisive in their life affairs, and turn to Him for guidance and direction. Whoever attributes even one of Allah’s attributes to another or grants any of these rights to someone else, in reality, makes that entity a rival and partner to Allah. Similarly, whoever claims any of these attributes or demands any of these rights from humans becomes a rival and partner to Allah. This is shirk, whether or not they verbally claim divinity.
④ Qadri Sahib writes:
It is narrated from Hazrat Uqbah bin Amir (RA) that the Prophet (PBUH) offered the funeral prayer for the martyrs of Uhud eight years later as if bidding farewell to the living and the dead. Then the Prophet (PBUH) appeared on the pulpit and said, “I am your predecessor, I am a witness over you. Our meeting place is the Pond of Kawthar, and from this place, I am looking at the Pond of Kawthar.” The Master of the Two Worlds (PBUH) said, “I do not fear for you that you will fall into polytheism, rather I fear for you that you will be afflicted with the love of worldly life.” Hazrat Uqbah bin Amir (RA) says that this was my last meeting with the Prophet (PBUH), meaning shortly after this, the Prophet (PBUH) passed away.
First Answer:
In this hadith, the addressed are the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), not the entire Ummah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that after him they would not commit shirk. That is why none of the Companions committed shirk, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) strong training in the belief of Tawheed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was fully certain that they would not commit shirk. The words “the entire Ummah” are not proven from the hadith but are a self-invented philosophy of Barelvi Kalam knowledge, which has no connection with reality, as Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him) states.
وان أصحابه لا يشركون بعده فكان كذلك
That the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would not commit shirk after him. And so it happened.
Meaning, this hadith concerns the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), not the general people, because when the Prophet (peace be upon him) said this, the address was specifically to the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), not the general Ummah. Qadri Sahib added the words “the Ummah” on his own, which is a criminal act and dishonesty, whereas authentic hadiths explicitly mention that many people of the Ummah fall into shirk.
Second Answer:
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin Awf Ansari رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:
فوالله لا الفقرا خشى عليكم ولكن أخشى عليكم أن تبسط عليكم الدنيا
By Allah, I do not fear poverty or destitution for you, but I fear that wealth will be given to you in abundance.
In this blessed hadith, the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said that he does not fear poverty or destitution for you, but no Muslim scholar to date has interpreted this hadith to mean that no individual of this Ummah can be poor or destitute, or suffer from poverty. It is understood that in this hadith, the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم negates the entire Ummah collectively being afflicted by poverty and destitution, not that every individual will be free from it.
Now consider how many people in this Ummah are poor and destitute. If you do not believe it, then take a walk through every street and neighborhood on a Thursday or estimate the number of beggars at shrines; perhaps then you will believe. If this hadith is accepted even for the general Ummah, the meaning would be that the entire Muhammadan Ummah will not fall into polytheism, and in reality, this is indeed the case.
Third Answer:
Actually, the practice of the Barelvi people is not according to the mentioned hadith because in this hadith, the absentee funeral prayer was offered for the martyrs of Uhud eight years later, whereas the Barelvi sect is against the absentee funeral prayer for a martyr and opposes those who perform it. The second part of it is also against Barelvism; the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that after my death, you will not commit shirk..!!
Whereas the Barelvi people consider the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) alive and do not accept his death. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) is always alive and present among the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), then what does “after me” mean?
Fourth Answer
Sayyiduna Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه says that one day the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم was among the people when a man came to him and asked about Islam. The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم replied, Islam is that you worship Allah and do not associate anyone with Him.
Reflecting on this blessed hadith, it becomes clear that the definition of Islam given by the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم is that Islam is to worship Allah and not associate anyone with Him. Only when a person avoids shirk (associating partners with Allah) will he enter Islam; it is not possible without this.
In another instance, the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم is narrated by Hazrat Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه to have said:
Whoever, after the Fajr prayer, sits on his knees and before speaking recites لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك وله الحمد يحي ويميت وهو على كل شيء قدير ten times, ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten sins will be erased, ten ranks will be elevated, and on that day he will be protected from every evil and kept away from the reach of Satan, and no sin except shirk will harm him.
The meaning of this blessed hadith is clear that if a person recites these words ten times after the Fajr prayer at the start of the day, all his sins except shirk will be forgiven. Although he verbally declares that there is no deity except Allah, He is One and has no partner, still the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said that no sin except shirk can affect him. This means that a Muslim who performs the Fajr prayer and then recites the declaration of Tawheed ten times with his tongue can still commit shirk. Because only a Muslim, a follower of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم, will perform the Fajr prayer; Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, or other disbelievers do not do this. This shows that it is possible for the followers of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم to commit shirk, and this is indeed the reality.
In another blessed hadith, Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه says that when the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم was taken on the Mi’raj (Ascension), he was brought up to Sidrat al-Muntaha. There, three things were granted to the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم: five prayers were given to him, the last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah were given, and forgiveness was granted to every person among the Ummah who avoids shirk with Allah and major sins.
The third thing mentioned in this blessed hadith is great glad tidings for every follower of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم that if they keep themselves away from shirk and major sins, Allah will forgive them. If it were impossible for the followers of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم to commit shirk, then what need would there be to say this? The addressees in this hadith are indeed the Ummah of Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم.
In another hadith, Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما narrates that indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم say: Whoever dies as a Muslim and forty people who do not associate partners with Allah attend his funeral prayer, then Allah accepts the intercession of those people on behalf of the deceased.
It is as clear as daylight that only Muslims perform the funeral prayer; Jews, Christians, and disbelievers do not perform it. Saying that those who perform the funeral prayer should not commit shirk clearly indicates that those who perform the funeral prayer can also commit shirk. This is possible, not impossible.
In another noble hadith, it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Every prophet (peace be upon him) has one prayer that is accepted, so all the prophets (peace be upon them) hastened to ask for a specific prayer, but I have reserved my prayer for the Day of Judgment for the intercession of my Ummah. So, it will reach every person among my Ummah who does not associate anything with Allah.
From this noble hadith, it is established that the one authorized to intercede will be the one who testifies to the Oneness of Allah and whose testimony is based on knowledge and certainty. Thus, intercession will be made for the one whose end was with faith. It should be well remembered that intercession will only be for those sinners who departed this world with faith, and those whose end was in disbelief or polytheism will have no question of intercession.
A lengthy hadith is narrated from Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The Day of Judgment will not come until the tribes of my Ummah join with the polytheists and until my Ummah begins to worship idols.
In this noble hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) foretold that many tribes of his Ummah would join with the polytheists and begin worshipping idols. Idols (Awthan) is the plural of Wathan, meaning anything that is worshipped besides Allah. When this happens among the Ummah, falling into shirk (polytheism) becomes certain. Now, those people like Qadri Sahib who want to convince that the Muhammadan Ummah will not fall into shirk are either doing so unknowingly or deliberately misleading people with false hopes.
Is not the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) true? How can it be otherwise? In a hadith, it is mentioned that Jibreel (Gabriel) came to me on this rocky land and said: O Messenger of Allah, give your Ummah the glad tidings that whoever dies without associating partners with Allah will enter Paradise.
From this noble hadith, it is established that those people of the Ummah will enter Paradise whose death occurred while they did not associate anyone with Allah. Many people say that those who believe cannot be polytheists, yet Allah says:
وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَ
Most of them, despite believing in Allah, are polytheists.
Similarly, in the Holy Quran, Allah commands:
مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
Turn to Allah in repentance and fear Him, and establish prayer, and do not be among the polytheists.
In this noble verse, the believers are addressed and commanded to turn to Allah, fear Him, establish prayer, and are forbidden from becoming polytheists. If, according to Qadri Sahib, committing shirk is impossible for the Muhammadan Ummah, then what is the meaning of Allah’s command not to become polytheists? If shirk cannot happen, then why was the prohibition necessary?
The summary of the whole matter is that in the hadith mentioned by Qadri Sahib, the companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) were addressed that they would not commit shirk after him because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had made the belief in Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) so firm among the companions that even the suspicion of shirk could not arise in them. Other noble hadiths clarify that it is possible for the general Ummah to fall into shirk. May Allah protect all Muslims from shirk. آمين
Just forget the next fables.
Silence the flames of bigotry.
