Membantah Syubhat Habib Ali Jifri

The Hadith: “I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah”



Habib Ali Jifri tried to deny that Shirk can happen in this community by quoting the Hadith below:

Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59 [al maghazi - the battles], Number 374:
Narrated Uqba bin Amir:

Allah's Apostle offered the funeral prayers of the martyrs of Uhud eight years after (their death), as if bidding farewell to the living and the dead, then he ascended the pulpit and said, "I am your predecessor before you, and I am a witness on you, and your promised place to meet me will be Al-Haud (i.e. the Tank) (on the Day of Resurrection), and I am (now) looking at it from this place of mine. I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah, but I am afraid that worldly life will tempt you and cause you to compete with each other for it." That was the last look which I cast on Allah's Apostle.

Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59 [maghazi], Number 411:
Narrated Uqba:

One day the Prophet went out and offered the (funeral) prayer for the people (i.e. martyrs) of Uhud as he used to offer a funeral prayer for any dead person, and then (after returning) he ascended the pulpit and said, "I am your predecessor before you, and I am a witness upon you, and I am looking at my Tank just now, and I have been given the keys of the treasures of the world (or the keys of the world). By Allah, I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah after me, but I am afraid that you will compete with each other for (the pleasures of) this world."



This Hadith is also narrated by Imam Muslim. Below are some explanations of An-Nawawi and ibn Hajar of this Hadith as quoted in the webpage http://almijhar.net/la_shirk.htm



Imam An-Nawawi wrote in “Sharh Muslim”:



“This Hadith contains miracles of the Messenger of Allah (saw), as the meaning of this narration is that his community will possess the treasures of earth, and this occurred, and that it will not apostate as a whole, and Allah protected it from such, and they will only compete for this world, and this occurred.”



So for Imam An-Nawawi, the community will not apostate as a whole, not that each individual will not apostate.



Hafiz ibn Hajar mentioned in his “Fathul Bari” in the chapters of “Funerals” about this Hadith:



“His saying: “. I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah” means as a whole, because this (Shirk) occurred from some, May Allah (Ta'ala) protect us from such, and this Hadith contains miracles from the Prophet (saw), this is why the author mentioned this in the chapter of “Signs of Prophethood””



So here Ibn Hajar gave the same explanation as An-Nawawi, that the community will not gather upon Shirk, as for individuals then Shirk occurred. Ibn Hajar gave a second explanation, he wrote in the chapter of “Signs of Prophethood”:



“He informed in this Hadith that he will be their predecessor at the Hawd, and this will occur as such, and that his companions will not commit Shirk after him, and this occurred as such, and he warned about competing for this world and this occurred, and this meaning has been mentioned in the Hadith of Amr ibn Awf in a Marfu' way: “I do not fear poverty for you, but I fear that this world will be presented for you as it was presented for those before you” and the Hadith of Abu Sa'id in the same meaning, and this occurred as well as they conquered many lands and the world spread for them in great quantity, and more will be mentioned about this in the chapters of heart softeners (Riqaq)”



Comment: So here we see two important point:



First Ibn Hajar considered to speech for the Sahabah, meaning that none of them will commit Shirk after him, and not that all the community is protected from Shirk.



Secondly, the Prophet (saw) also said that he does not fear poverty for them, meaning companions, so does it mean for Habib Ali Jifri and his fellow Mushriks that none of the Muslims will ever face poverty? So are Muslims rich in Palestine, Sudan, Mauritania, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Syria, Egypt and many other lands?



It is narrated in “Sunnan Tirmidhi”, chapter “Description of Judgment Day”, Eng trans. Darussalam, v 4 p 468, Hadith 2462:



Al-Mustawrad bin Makhramah narrated that 'Amir bin 'Awf informed him- and he was an ally of Banu 'Amr bin Lu'ay who had participated with the Messenger of Allah (saw) at (the battle) of Badr, he said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) had dispatched Abu Ubdaidah bin Al-Jarrah, so he arrived with the wealth from Al-Bahrain. When the Ansar had heard of the arrival of Abu 'Ubaidah they were attending Salat al-Fajr. So the Messenger of Allah (saw) performed the Salat and when he finished, they assembled before him. The Messenger of Allah (saw) smiled when he saw them, then he said: 'I think that you heard that Abu 'Ubaidah has arrived something?' They said: “'Yes O Messenger of Allah!' He said: 'Then receive good news, and hope for what will please you. By Allah! It is not poverty that I fear for you, but what I fear for you is that the world will be presented for you just as it was presented for those before you, then you will compete for it, and it will destroy you, just as it destroyed them.”



Zubayr Ali Zay wrote in Takhreej: Agreed upon, narrated by Muslim in Zuhd wa Riqaq from hadith of Yunus ibn Yazeed. And Al-Bukhari n 3158 from the Hadith of Az-Zuhri



Will Al-Jifri and his fellow Mushriks say that poverty is impossible in the community?



The Hadith: “Shaytan has indeed given up all hope that the Musaloon (praying people) will worship him in the Arabic peninsula”



Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn AbdirRahman Aba Bateen was asked about the Hadith: “Shaytan has indeed given up all hope that the Musaloon (praying people) will worship him in the Arabic peninsula” (Muslim) and that people used this Hadith as a proof to justify the impossibility of Shirk in the Arabic Peninsula, and he replied as mentioned in “Durar us Saniyah fi Ajwibah An-Najdiyah” v 12 p 113 and after:



“It is said to him first: It is known by necessity that Allah (SubhanaHu wa Ta’ala) has send Muhammad (saw) to call to Tawhid, and this is the Tawhid of Uluhiyah (worship) and to forbid Shirk and this is worship of other than Allah. As for Shirk in Rububiyah (Lordship), it is known from the texts of the Book that the polytheists to whom the Prophet (saw) was send and whom he fought were accepting Tawhid Ar-Rububiyah, and their Shirk was in the Tawhid of ‘Ibadah (worship), and this is Tawhid Al-Uluhiyah, which is contained in the testimony of La Ilaha Ila Allah. So they worshiped besides Him others to seek their intercession towards Him, in their seeking help, sustenance and others as Allah said informing about them: "We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allâh." (Zumar : 3) and "These are our intercessors with Allâh." (Yunus : 18)



So Allah send His Messenger Muhammad (saw) to forbid from this form of Shirk, and he called him to Tawhid of worship (Ibadah), and this is the call of Prophets from the first to last, He (Ta’ala) said: “And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allâh (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Tâghût (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Tâghût besides Allâh)” (Nahl : 36)



And He (Ta’ala) said: “We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad SAW) but We inspired him (saying): Lâ ilâha illa Ana [none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allâh)], so worship Me (Alone and none else)."” (Anbiya : 26)



And this is the purpose for which Allah created all the humans and Jinns, He (Ta’ala) said: “And I created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).” (Zariyat: 56)



…



So when the person knows the reality of Shirk, then he knows with certainty that Shirk occurred a lot in the Peninsula at the graves and mausoleums in Hijaz and Yemen, like invocations to dead and absent people, and seeking their help for the attainment of needs and removal of hardships, and like getting close to them with religious vows (Nadhr), sacrifices, and likewise sacrifices for the Jinns and seeking their help, and this is known in a Mutawatir way for those who did not see this.



So when the person knows this, then he knows that the Hadith: “Shaytan has indeed given up all hope that the Musaloon (praying people) will worship him in the Arabic peninsula” does not oppose this great fundamental, which is the fundamental of all fundamentals, and there is no proof in it to justify the impossibility of the occurrence of Shirk.



The one who uses this Hadith to say that Shirk is impossible in the land of the Arabs, we ask him: explain us the meaning of Shirk that Allah forbade and that Allah does not forgive? And if he explains this by Tawhid Ar-Rububiyah (meaning Allah is the creator, sustainor), then the texts refute his claim, as Allah informed us that the polytheists believed in Tawhid Ar-Rububiyah, as in His (Ta’ala) saying: “And indeed if you ask them, "Who has created the heavens and the earth?" They will surely say: "The All-Mighty, the All-Knower created them." (Zukhruf : 9) And there are many similar verses.



And if he explains Shirk by some forms of Shirk without others, then it is a great mistake, and it is feared for these people that they are those having deviation in their hearts, those who follow the ambiguous and leave the clear proofs (Al-Muhkam), though there is nothing in this Hadith constituting a proof for them neither a doubt of proof, and the meaning of the Hadith is only that he (Shaytan) despaired that they will gather upon Kufr.



Ibn Rajab said about this Hadith: “The meaning is that he has lost hope that the community as a whole will gather upon Kufr” And Ibn Katheer pointed at this explanation in his exegesis of His (Ta’ala) saying: “This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion” (Maidah : 3) Ibn Abbas said: they have lost hope that you will leave your religion, and similarly has been said by ‘Ata, As-Sudi and Muqatil.



He (ibn Katheer) said: “And according to this came the authentic Hadith: “Shaytan has indeed given up all hope that the Musaloon (praying people) will worship him in the Arabic peninsula””



So he pointed at this Hadith as having the same meaning as the verse, and that the meaning of the Hadith is that he (Shaytan) has given up all hope that the Muslims will return from Islam to their (former) religion.



Many scholars of Tafseer have said that the polytheists hoped that the Muslims will return to their religion, and when Islam became strong and spread, they gave up all hopes of they will leave Islam and return to Kufr. And likewise is the meaning of the despair of Shaytan, when he saw the spread of Islam and its firmness in their hearts and perfection, so the Hadith does not prove that Shaytan gave up all hopes that Shirk will never exist in the Arabic peninsula.



What we have mentioned is strengthened by the Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad from Ibn ‘Abbas that when the Prophet (saw) conquered Makkah, Shaytan lamented in such a manner that all of his army gathered around him and he said: lose hope that the community of Muhammad (saw) will return to Shirk after this day, but try to tempt them in their religion and spread in them lamentations.”



Also despair has been attributed to Shaytan in a active form and not passive (he has been made lost of all hopes) so if we suppose that Shaytan gave up all hopes that he would not be worshiped in the Arabic peninsula as a permanent fact, then this is based on conjecture and approximation and not on knowledge, as he does not know Ghayb (hidden matters and future), and this Ghayb, none knows it except Allah (SubhanaHu wa Ta’ala): “He Alone) the All-Knower of the Ghâ'ib (unseen), and He reveals to none His Ghâ'ib (unseen), except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has chosen…” (Jinn : 26) So He informs him (the Messenger) of what He wants from matters of Ghayb.



And He (Ta’ala) said: “No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die” (Luqman : 34) meaning no person knows what he will earn from good or bad, and this is among the keys of the invisible that only Allah knows…



And the Shayateen and Jinns used to claim that they know Ghayb at the time of Dawud and Sulayman, and when Sulayman died, they were not aware of his death during one year, and they remained submitted to him in difficult works in this year, and when they came to know his death, it became clear to them that they did not know Ghayb. And the humans also came to know that the Jinns do not know Ghayb, He (Ta’ala) said: “When when We decreed death for him [Sulaimân (Solomon)], nothing informed them (jinns) of his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his stick, so when he fell down, the jinns saw clearly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment.” (Saba: 14)



And our Prophet (saw) informed us that some people of his community will come to him on judgment day and they will be thrown to hell, and he would say: “My companions, my companions” and it will be said to him: “You do not know what they innovated after you” So how can one say that Shaytan knows the perpetual state of the community, actions of good or evil, Kufr and Islam, this Ghayb is only known by Allah and those He informed among His Messengers?



So it becomes evident from what we have mentioned that there is no proof in this Hadith to justify the impossibility of the occurrence of Shirk in the Arabic peninsula, and this is highlighted by the fact that many of them return to Shirk and worship of idols and many believed in the claim of prophethood of Musaylamah and others.



And the one who obeys the Shaytan in any category of Kufr has indeed worshiped him, and this is not restricted to the categories of Shirk, because of His saying; “Did I not ordain for you, O Children of Adam, that you should not worship Shaitân (Satan). Verily, he is a plain enemy to you” meaning do not obey him as obeying him means worshiping him.



This is explained by the explanation of the Prophet (saw) of the saying of Allah (Ta’ala): “They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allâh (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allâh)” (Tawbah : 31) that they followed them in their Tahleel and Tahreem (declaring Halal and Haram), and Allah called this Shirk and as worship of rabbis and monks.



Also it is authentically narrated from the Prophet (saw) that “Resurrection will not happen until Lat and Uza are worshiped” and “The Hour will not be established till the buttocks of the women of the tribe of Daus move while going round Dhi-al-Khalasa." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)



(English translation of Al-Bukhari: Volume 9, Book 88, Number 232: Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established till the buttocks of the women of the tribe of Daus move while going round Dhi-al-Khalasa." Dhi-al-Khalasa was the idol of the Daus tribe which they used to worship in the Pre Islamic Period of ignorance.)



And this was an idol they used to worship at the time of Jahiliyah and the Prophet (saw) sent Jarir ibn Abdillah to destroy it, so this proves that the worship of Shaytan will occur after his death (saw) in the Arabic peninsula, and this will occur during last times as in these established texts…” End of Shaykh Aba Bateen’s words



Will the Quburis say that the verse: "This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion” (Maidah : 3) means that it is impossible for Muslims to leave their religion, while we see Abu Bakr fought apostates and followers of Musaylamah that left the religion of Islam?



Clear Ahadith telling that some people of this community will commit Shirk



Shaykh Salih Ale Shaykh wrote in his “Hazihi Mafahimuna”:



“It is narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad (5/275, 284), Abu Dawud in his Sunnan (4252), Ibn Majah (3952), Al-Hakim (4/449) and others from Thawban that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “The Hour will not come until some tribes of my community join the polytheists and until some tribes of my community worship the idols”, these words are those of Ahmad and Abu Dawud and the Isnad is authentic according to standard of Muslim…Also Muslim narrated from Aishah in a Marfu way: “The night and day will not disappear until Lat and Uza are worshiped”



So when the Prophet (saw) clearly told that Shirk will occur in the Arabic peninsula, how can people like Al-Jifri or Muhammad ibn Alawi Al-Makki deny this?







May Allah send Salah and Salam on the Prophet (saw), his fanily, companions and those who follow them



Compiled by Ali Hassan Khan di umm-ul-qura.org