The forgotten shirk?

Abdul-Fattah · 03-28-2008, 01:38 AM

Selam aleykum

Is vanity a form of shirk? It is something that so far I haven't seen mentioned explicitly in any Islamic books. Many Muslims know that vanity is a bad thing that is discouraged; but if it is a form of shirk then we are underestimating the severity of it. Maybe most scholars know that it is, but find it so self evident that they do not find it worthy to mention. Or maybe they hold that it could be shirk under some circumstances but isn't always necessarily the case. Maybe they recognize the possibility but aren't 100% certain so avoid the conclusion. Or maybe it never crossed their mind. I don't know which is the case. Either way, some source to consider:

* In surah al-kahf, the person who is vain regarding his gardens later says: "Woe is me! Would I had never ascribed partners to my Lord and Cherisher!"
Does the fact that this is mentioned suggests a correlation in between his vanity and shirk? Of course this leaves room for interpretation. Maybe the vanity isn't shirk in itself but a direct result of shirk. I think it's unlikely, but technically possible.

*In sahih muslim it says:
Book 001, Number 0164:
It Is narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. Mas'ud that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), observed: He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise. A person (amongst his hearers) said: Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his shoes should be fine. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: Verily, Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace. Pride is disdaining the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for the people
whereas the Qur'an says:
Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases; and whoever associates anything with Allah, he indeed strays off into a remote error.(Qur'an 4:116)
Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and forgives what is besides that to whomsoever He pleases; and whoever associates anything with Allah, he devises indeed a great sin. (Qur'an 4:48)

So if you consider this verse and the previous hadeeth again there's a suggestion that vanity is shirk. I say suggestion, because technically speaking; there's room for interpretation again. One could say that Allah subhana wa ta'ala doesn't forgive vanity, not because it's shirk but because it doesn't please him to forgive that sin to anyone.

Pk_#2 · 03-28-2008, 11:14 AM

WalaykumSalam,

I guess there are a lot of hidden shirk, May Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) save us from this, Ameen,

In a Hadith Narrated by Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) said: ?Shall I not tell you of the most serious of the major sins?? he said this three times. We said, ?Of course, O Messenger of Allah!? He replied, ?Associating anything in worship with Allah . . .?? (Hadith Bukhari),

Of course there may be room for different interpretations of these verses, but jazakAllah khair for reminder.

AsalamuALaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

IbnAbdulHakim · 04-14-2008, 07:23 AM

hmm Assalamu Alaikum

im wondering if any ulama of the salaf has arrived at that interpretation. I wonder :)

Qatada · 04-14-2008, 08:27 AM

Asalam alaikum

When you place yourself before Islam, and when you feel that your belief or opinion is better than the command of Allah - then that is kufr. I.e. when shaytan doesn't bow to Adam, and he says to Allah that "I am better than him..." (Qur'an Al Hijr 15: 33)

Some people may have mis-understood that situation and claimed that Iblis commited kufr because he disobeyed his Lord (i.e. maybe Al Khawarij & Al Mu'tazila etc), but we know that disobeying Allah (i.e. sinning) isn't kufr in of itself (generally speaking.) The reason why Iblis became a disbeliever was because Allah told him to bow to Adam (hence its showing that Iblis is lower in rank to Adam), but Iblis rejected Allah's command and said "I am better than him..." - hence he went against Allah's command and said that i don't need to do it. That is what made him commit kufr. By him saying that "i'm better than him.." he's saying that he knows better than Allah, which is kufr.

The hadith which you quoted from Sahih Muslim kind of fits in with the above description, i.e. "Pride is disdaining the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for the people."

Anyway akhi Abdul Fattah, whenever you need an explanation of a verse, according to the understanding of salaf - you should check out http://tafsir.com - i think you already know the link.. but anyway, it's better if you can confirm it from there. Since i'm sure many of the salaf would have discussed issues like these before anyway.

Allahu a'lam.

oh yeh. the link in your sig doesn't work bro, you forgot to add the http://seemyparadigm.webs. com part!

03-28-2008, 01:38 AM	#1
Abdul-Fattah Co-Administrator Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Belgium, Gent Posts: 659 Gender: Way of life: Muslim Thanks: 17 Thanked 173 Times in 123 Posts	The forgotten shirk? Selam aleykum Is vanity a form of shirk? It is something that so far I haven't seen mentioned explicitly in any Islamic books. Many Muslims know that vanity is a bad thing that is discouraged; but if it is a form of shirk then we are underestimating the severity of it. Maybe most scholars know that it is, but find it so self evident that they do not find it worthy to mention. Or maybe they hold that it could be shirk under some circumstances but isn't always necessarily the case. Maybe they recognize the possibility but aren't 100% certain so avoid the conclusion. Or maybe it never crossed their mind. I don't know which is the case. Either way, some source to consider: * In surah al-kahf, the person who is vain regarding his gardens later says: "Woe is me! Would I had never ascribed partners to my Lord and Cherisher!" Does the fact that this is mentioned suggests a correlation in between his vanity and shirk? Of course this leaves room for interpretation. Maybe the vanity isn't shirk in itself but a direct result of shirk. I think it's unlikely, but technically possible. In sahih muslim it says: Book 001, Number 0164: It Is narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. Mas'ud that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), observed: He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise. A person (amongst his hearers) said: Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his shoes should be fine. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: Verily, Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace. Pride is disdaining the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for the people whereas the Qur'an says: Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases; and whoever associates anything with Allah, he indeed strays off into a remote error.(Qur'an 4:116) Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and forgives what is besides that to whomsoever He pleases; and whoever associates anything with Allah, he devises indeed a great sin. (Qur'an 4:48) So if you consider this verse and the previous hadeeth again there's a suggestion that vanity is shirk. I say suggestion, because technically speaking; there's room for interpretation again. One could say that Allah subhana wa ta'ala doesn't forgive vanity, not because it's shirk but because it doesn't please him to forgive that sin to anyone. __________________ Check out my website Last edited by Abdul-Fattah; 04-11-2009 at 08:58 AM.*

04-14-2008, 07:23 AM	#3
IbnAbdulHakim Full Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 722 Gender: Way of life: Muslim Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	hmm Assalamu Alaikum im wondering if any ulama of the salaf has arrived at that interpretation. I wonder :) __________________ Shaqiq bin `Abdullah reported: The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) did not consider the abandonment of any action as disbelief except neglecting Salat. [At-Tirmidhi]. Commentary: The opinion of the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) was based on the information contained in the Ahadith which have been mentioned above. They did not take the Ahadith which interpreted the leaving of Salat as Kufr mere scolding or reproof. They considered slackness and negligence in Salat as Kufr and apostasy and regarded Salat a symbol of Islam.

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03-28-2008, 11:14 AM	#2
Pk_#2 Hooked On Ribena Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: UK Posts: 303 Gender: Way of life: Muslim Thanks: 3 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	WalaykumSalam, I guess there are a lot of hidden shirk, May Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) save us from this, Ameen, In a Hadith Narrated by Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) said: ?Shall I not tell you of the most serious of the major sins?? he said this three times. We said, ?Of course, O Messenger of Allah!? He replied, ?Associating anything in worship with Allah . . .?? (Hadith Bukhari), Of course there may be room for different interpretations of these verses, but jazakAllah khair for reminder. AsalamuALaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. __________________ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا !أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ "O you who believe! Be you helpers (in the Cause) of Allah.." (Surat As-Saff)

04-14-2008, 08:27 AM	#4
Qatada Administrator Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2,022 Gender: Way of life: Muslim Thanks: 79 Thanked 257 Times in 209 Posts	Asalam alaikum When you place yourself before Islam, and when you feel that your belief or opinion is better than the command of Allah - then that is kufr. I.e. when shaytan doesn't bow to Adam, and he says to Allah that "I am better than him..." (Qur'an Al Hijr 15: 33) Some people may have mis-understood that situation and claimed that Iblis commited kufr because he disobeyed his Lord (i.e. maybe Al Khawarij & Al Mu'tazila etc), but we know that disobeying Allah (i.e. sinning) isn't kufr in of itself (generally speaking.) The reason why Iblis became a disbeliever was because Allah told him to bow to Adam (hence its showing that Iblis is lower in rank to Adam), but Iblis rejected Allah's command and said "I am better than him..." - hence he went against Allah's command and said that i don't need to do it. That is what made him commit kufr. By him saying that "i'm better than him.." he's saying that he knows better than Allah, which is kufr. The hadith which you quoted from Sahih Muslim kind of fits in with the above description, i.e. "Pride is disdaining the truth (out of self-conceit)* and contempt for the people."* Anyway akhi Abdul Fattah, whenever you need an explanation of a verse, according to the understanding of salaf - you should check out http://tafsir.com - i think you already know the link.. but anyway, it's better if you can confirm it from there. Since i'm sure many of the salaf would have discussed issues like these before anyway. Allahu a'lam. oh yeh. the link in your sig doesn't work bro, you forgot to add the http://seemyparadigm.webs. com part!

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