Clarify the meaning of polytheism in God
Q: What is polytheism and what is the interpretation of the Almighty’s saying: O you who believe, fear God and seek the means to Him verse [المائدة:35].
A: Shirk in his name is associating other than God with God in worship, such as calling on idols or other than that, seeking help from them, vowing to them, praying for them, fasting for them, or slaughtering for them, and such as slaughtering a Bedouin or a feast, praying for so-and-so, or asking for assistance from the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, or from someone else. Abd al-Qadir or from the Eidros in Yemen or others from the dead and absent, all of this is called polytheism, and so if he calls upon the planets or the jinn or seeks help from them or asks them for help or the like, then if he does any of these acts of worship with the inanimate objects or with the dead or absent, this becomes Partner with God God Almighty said: Had they been associated, what they used to do would have been nullified for them. [الأنعام:88] Glory be to Him: And it has been revealed to you and to those before you, “If you are involved, your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.” [الزمر:65].
And from shirk is to worship other than Allah in complete worship, for it is called shirk and it is called blasphemy, so whoever turns away from Allah completely, and makes his worship to other than Allah, such as trees, stones, idols, jinns, or some of the dead whom they call saints, worships them or prays for them or fasts for them and forgets God in totality, for this is the greatest disbelief and the most severe of polytheism, we ask God for well-being, and so is the one who denies the existence of God, and says there is no god, and life is matter, like the communists and atheists who deny the existence of God, these are the people who are the most disbelieving, the most misguided, and the greatest of them is polytheism and misguidance, we ask God for well-being, and what is meant is that the people of these beliefs All of them are called polytheism, and they are called disbelief in God .
Some people may make a mistake due to their ignorance, so they call calling upon the dead and seeking their help from them as a means, and they think that it is permissible, and this is a great mistake. Because this work is one of the greatest associating partners with God, even if some ignorant or polytheists call it a means, and it is the religion of the polytheists for which God has condemned them and rebuked them for it, and He sent messengers and revealed books to deny it and warn against it. : O you who believe, fear God and seek the means to Him [المائدة:35] What is meant by it is to draw closer to Him, Glory be to Him, by obedience to Him, and this is its meaning according to all the people of knowledge. Prayer is a means of drawing near to God, for it is a means, and slaughtering for God is a means like sacrifices and sacrifices, fasting is a means, alms is a means, and remembrance of God and reading the Qur’an is a means, and this is the meaning of His saying, may He be glorified and exalted: Fear Allah and seek the means to Him and strive in His way. [المائدة:35] It means seek nearness to Him by obedience to Him. This is what Ibn Katheer, Ibn Jarir, Al-Baghawi and other imams of interpretation said, and the meaning is seek nearness to Him by obeying Him and seek it wherever you are from what God has prescribed for you, such as prayer, fasting, alms and so on.
And so he says in the other verse: Those who call seek a means of access to their Lord, whoever of them is nearer, and they hope for His mercy and fear His chastisement. [الإسراء:57] This is how the messengers and their followers draw closer to God through the means that He legislated, such as jihad, fasting, prayer, dhikr, and reading the Qur’an, to other aspects of the means. And they worship besides God that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, “These are our intercessors with God.” Allah Almighty answered them by saying: Say: Do you inform God of that which He does not know in the heavens or in the earth? [يونس:18][1].
And from shirk is to worship other than Allah in complete worship, for it is called shirk and it is called blasphemy, so whoever turns away from Allah completely, and makes his worship to other than Allah, such as trees, stones, idols, jinns, or some of the dead whom they call saints, worships them or prays for them or fasts for them and forgets God in totality, for this is the greatest disbelief and the most severe of polytheism, we ask God for well-being, and so is the one who denies the existence of God, and says there is no god, and life is matter, like the communists and atheists who deny the existence of God, these are the people who are the most disbelieving, the most misguided, and the greatest of them is polytheism and misguidance, we ask God for well-being, and what is meant is that the people of these beliefs All of them are called polytheism, and they are called disbelief in God .
Some people may make a mistake due to their ignorance, so they call calling upon the dead and seeking their help from them as a means, and they think that it is permissible, and this is a great mistake. Because this work is one of the greatest associating partners with God, even if some ignorant or polytheists call it a means, and it is the religion of the polytheists for which God has condemned them and rebuked them for it, and He sent messengers and revealed books to deny it and warn against it. : O you who believe, fear God and seek the means to Him [المائدة:35] What is meant by it is to draw closer to Him, Glory be to Him, by obedience to Him, and this is its meaning according to all the people of knowledge. Prayer is a means of drawing near to God, for it is a means, and slaughtering for God is a means like sacrifices and sacrifices, fasting is a means, alms is a means, and remembrance of God and reading the Qur’an is a means, and this is the meaning of His saying, may He be glorified and exalted: Fear Allah and seek the means to Him and strive in His way. [المائدة:35] It means seek nearness to Him by obedience to Him. This is what Ibn Katheer, Ibn Jarir, Al-Baghawi and other imams of interpretation said, and the meaning is seek nearness to Him by obeying Him and seek it wherever you are from what God has prescribed for you, such as prayer, fasting, alms and so on.
And so he says in the other verse: Those who call seek a means of access to their Lord, whoever of them is nearer, and they hope for His mercy and fear His chastisement. [الإسراء:57] This is how the messengers and their followers draw closer to God through the means that He legislated, such as jihad, fasting, prayer, dhikr, and reading the Qur’an, to other aspects of the means. And they worship besides God that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, “These are our intercessors with God.” Allah Almighty answered them by saying: Say: Do you inform God of that which He does not know in the heavens or in the earth? [يونس:18][1].
- It was published in the Arabic magazine, which is published monthly in Riyadh, in the section devoted to his grace in answering readers’ questions. (Collections of Fatwas and Articles of Sheikh Ibn Baz: 4/32)
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