Keeping peers with Allah
Allah is One. He does not need anyone's help. This is one of the main teachings of Islam. Therefore, it is a grave sin to set up equals with Allah or to gather others in worship which should be done only for His sake. Therefore, Luqman Alaihi Salam warned his son as follows: "O my son! Join not in worship others with Allah. Indeed, joining others in worship with Allah is a grave sin" (Qur'an 31:13).
Many people today worship Allah and celebrate the graves of
the dead and seek their help. They need to understand that this is a sin that
Allah does not forgive. To that kind of worship there is no evidence in the
Qur'an or in the hadiths of the Prophet. However many misguided people make
this mistake for a variety of reasons. As a result, they nullify their deeds done
in that way, and also they will incur the wrath of Allah.
"Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be
made equal to Him, but He forgives whomever He wills, and whoever sets up partners with Allah for worship, then he has indeed invented a tremendous sin" (Qur'an 4:48).
Going to the graves of the saints and asking through them is
equal to keeping peers to Allah. This is a great sin. That is because only to
Allah can direct the prayers of a Muslims. If that sin is done knowingly, he
will not be forgiven by Allah.
If they had not been forgiven by Allah before they died,
they would have gone to eternal hell. The Qur'an states: "And your Lord
commands that you worship none but Him" (Qur'an 17:23). Elsewhere in the
Qur'an it is stated: "They were not commanded to worship anyone but Allah
alone" (Qur'an 98: 5). In spite of this, no one else can be added to the
worship of Allah. Therefore, if the worship is done for fame or to deceive
another, it is also considered as shirk. Therefore, one should worship Allah
with a very pure intention.
From Adam to Prophet Noah, there was no grave worship.
However it began in the time of Prophet Noah. This practice was started on the
basis of respecting the saints who lived at that time and that practice ended
by making them intermediaries of Allah. However Islam points out that keeping
intermediaries to Allah is a great sin. Worshiping to the dead or interceding
for Allah through them is an offense that can exclude one from Islam.
While committing such an offense, the salah or fasting or
other meritorious deeds will not be rewarded. Because the basic condition for
accepting one's merits to Allah is that he should not equate anything with
Allah. "If you worship idols, all your deeds will be in vain, and you will
be with the losers" (Qur'an 39:65).
A Muslim should pray, do offerings and perform all kinds of
worship only to Allah. Doing these things for the sake of dead saints is a
great sin. This can be seen clearly when a Muslim reciting the sura Fatiha.
It says, "You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we
ask for help" (Qur'an 1: 5). And also when reciting Attahiyyah, We
say that every gift belongs to Allah.
Ex: Research officer at Ceylon Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research.
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