In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
The Text of the Chapter:
Shaikhul-Islam Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhāb said:
The Statement of Allah (the Most High):
يَعْرِفُونَ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنكِرُونَهَا وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ ٨٣
“They recognize the favour of Allah, yet they deny it, and most of them are disbelievers.” (An-Nahl 16:83)
Mujāhid said about its meaning: It is the saying of a man: ‘This is my wealth which I inherited from my forefathers.’ (Saheeh, reported by Ibn Jareer in his Tafseer).
‘Awn bin ‘Abdillāh said: “They would say, ‘If it was not for so and so person [granting me this bounty], it would not have been like this.’”
Ibn Qutaybah said, “They (the mushriks) say, ‘This [wealth and bounty] is due to the intercession of our gods.” (Reported by Ibn Jareer At-Tabari in his Tafseer 17/273)
After mentioning the Hadeeth of Zaid bin Khālid where the Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “Allah (the Most High) said: ‘From my slaves someone has become a believer in Me this morning, and another has become an unbeliever in Me…’ (Bukhari no. 846 and Muslim no. 71), Abul ‘Abbās Ibn Taymiyyah said about this narration: This occurs many times in the Book and the Sunnah, where Allah (the Most High) rebukes the one who ascribes the bounties of Allah to others besides Him, thus associating partners with Him.
One of the Salaf said, “It is like the saying of the people: ‘The wind was good (so we were carried ashore),’ or, ‘The sailor was skilful,’ and so on. So, they attribute the good that comes to them to other than Allah.”
Explanation
The intent in this chapter is the ruling regarding ascribing the favours and bounties of Allah to other than Him. This is a type of shirk, although most of those who fall into it by way of action or saying do not in actuality intend to ascribe the bounties of Allah to other than Him.
If a person intended that these bounties are from the one they associated them with and that he is the one responsible for the bounty of Allah, instead of Allah, then this is Major Shirk. For example, if by his statement, ‘The wind was good,’ he ascribes the favour to the wind itself, instead of Allah, then this is Major Shirk. However, if the bounty is associated to the wind, merely by his speech, whilst believing in his heart that Allah is the One who bestows the favours on His servants, then this is considered as Minor Shirk that does not exit a Muslim from Islām. However, he has disfigured his Tawheed, as is reported in the Hadeeth of Zaid bin Khālid where the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “Allah the Most High said:
‘From my slaves someone has become a believer in Me this morning, and another has become an unbeliever in Me. As for the one who said, ‘We were given rain by the bounty of Allah and His mercy,’ then, he has believed in Me and disbelieved in the star. Whoever said, ‘We were given rain by such and such a star,’ then he is an unbeliever in Me, and a believer in the star.’” (Bukhari no. 846 and Muslim no. 71)
The deciding factor here is what is in the heart, so, the one who knows that all of the bounties are from Allah, small and large, then he is a believing monotheist (a muwahhid). If something is uttered on his tongue which opposes that, then it is tantamount to Minor Shirk, and it pollutes the perfection of Tawheed. This is like the saying, ‘If it were not for the dog, the thief would have entered,’ or, ‘Were it not for so and so, such and such [a calamity] would have happened.’ One gets out of this difficulty of falling into Minor Shirk by beginning his saying by ascribing the bounties of Allah to Him first, and then attaching it to the created cause by using the article ‘then,’ (thumma), so, for example, he says, ‘Were it not for Allah and then the guard dog, then the thief would have entered.’
End.
From Al-ʿAllāmah Shaikh Ahmad Ibn Yahyā An-Najmi’s (rahimahullāh) explanation with added notes by Abu Khadeejah.
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
الحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم
This article was transcribed by Umm Maryam (may Allah reward her) from the classes of Abu Khadeejah (SalafiSounds.com). Please share it with others.
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