8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
Allah the All Glorious created His servants upon a natural disposition of Tawheed until the devil deviated them and trifled with their convictions to the effect that shirk appeared among mankind. For this reason, Allah sent the Prophets as admonishers and bearers of glad tidings in order to warn people of the truth. No one warns more than Allah so that an authority is presented upon creation. All Prophets of those sent ordered their communities with the realisation of Tawheed and warned them of shirk, as Allah the All Exalted said:
| [النحل:٣٦] |
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وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ |
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For We assuredly sent amongst every People an apostle, (with the Command), "Serve Allah, and eschew Evil": [16:36]
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
The earliest appearance of shirk appeared in the nation of Noah PBUH as is popularly acknowledged. The children of Adam were upon the religion of their father PBUH for approximately 20 centuries as is mentioned by Ibn Abbas ® and others in the explanation of the verse:
| كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ وَأَنْزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ |
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| فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْياً بَيْنَهُمْ فَهَدَى اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ |
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آمَنُوا لِمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِ وَاللَّهُ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ |
Mankind was one single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear Signs came to them, did not differ among themselves, except through selfish contumacy. Allah by His Grace Guided the believers to the Truth, concerning that wherein they differed. For Allah guided whom He will to a path that is straight. [2:213]
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
This is because the devil-Allah curse his name-forever remained seriously diligent and knuckled down in his enmity towards the children of Adam PBUH ever since their father was in the form of clay. When Allah breathed in him from His spirit and taught him the names of all things and then ordered the angels to prostrate to him which they all prostrated except Lucifer who rejected arrogantly and was among the disbelievers, he said:
| [الإٍسراء:٦١] |
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أَأَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِيناً |
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He said, "Shall I bow down to one whom Thou didst create from clay?" [17:61]
And
| [الحجر:٣٣] |
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قَالَ لَمْ أَكُنْ لأَسْجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ مِنْ حَمَأٍ مَسْنُونٍ |
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(Iblis) said: "I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom Thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape." [15:33]
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
And Allah the All Exalted said:
| [الأعراف:١٢] |
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قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ |
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((Allah)) said: "What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?" [7:12]
So the vile replied proud of his origins and slandering the wisdom and justice of his Lord:
| [الأعراف:١٢] |
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قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِنْ نَارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ طِينٍ |
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He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire and him from clay." [7:12]
So the Compeller treated him with the opposite of that which he had intended so he belittled him and disfigured his body. His proud arrogance resulted in his eternal shame that knows no honour.
| [الأعراف:١٣] |
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قَالَ فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَنْ تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ |
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((Allah)) said: "Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures)." [7:13]
And
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
| [ص:٧٧-٧٨] |
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قَالَ فَاخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ رَجِيمٌ* وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكَ لَعْنَتِي إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ |
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((Allah)) said: "Then get thee out from here: for thou art rejected, accursed."And My curse shall be on thee till the Day of Judgment." [38:77-78]
So he requested respite that he may take his revenge on Adam and his progeny rebelliously, not knowing that by it he merits the anger and tribulation of the Compeller. He was fully aware that he has no recourse to him PBUH or his progeny only upon his team and its followers from among the disbelievers of whom he (the cursed) is their leader in their arrogance and egression from the obedience of Allah.
| [الحجر:٣٦-٣٨] |
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قَالَ رَبِّ فَأَنْظِرْنِي إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ* قَالَ فَإِنَّكَ مِنَ الْمُنْظَرِينَ* إِلَى يَوْمِ الْوَقْتِ الْمَعْلُومِ |
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(Iblis) said: "O my Lord! Give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised." ((Allah)) said: "Respite is granted thee "Till the Day of the Time appointed." [15:36-38]
Allah the All Exalted answered his request to test His servants as a test and trial.
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
| [الملك:٢] |
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لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً |
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That He may try which of you is best in deed: [67:2]
He (the cursed) accepted disbelief and defined the meaning of true loss and failure. He swore that he would spend his life engrossed in misleading the progeny of Adam who was the cause of his expulsion as he rejected prostrating to their father. This is obviously because of his arrogant refusal of his Lord’s command but his wretched being opined his Lord to be misled in his enmity and quarrel with his Lord:
| قَالَ فَبِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي لأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ* ثُمَّ لآتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ |
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| [الأعراف:١٦-١٧] |
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وَعَنْ شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ |
He said: "Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on thy straight way: "Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)." [7:16-17]
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
The cursed did not say ‘from above them’ in due knowledge that Allah the All Exalted is above them. Allah the All Exalted says:
| [الحجر:٤١-٤٢] |
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قَالَ هَذَا صِرَاطٌ عَلَيَّ مُسْتَقِيمٌ* إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ |
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((Allah)) said: "This (way of My sincere servants) is indeed a way that leads straight to Me. "For over My servants no authority shalt thou have. [15:41-42]
When Adam PBUH died, his trustee was Seth PBUH. The time mentioned earlier past upon which all mankind was upon the law of truth as is narrated by Ibn Abbas ® said: “Between Noah and Adam elapsed 20 centuries all of which was spent upon the law of truth after which they (mankind) differed. Allah then sent the Prophets as admonishers and heralds of glad tidings.” The devil-the cursed-made idol worship attractive to the people of Noah. He first began by making grave worship appealing. This is explained by what is reported by al-Bukhari-may Allah have mercy upon him-Ibn Abbas ® said regarding Wad, Suwa’, Yaghooth, Ya’ook, and Nasr: “These are names of the righteous from the people of Noah, when they passed away the devil inspired the people to mark the places in which the righteous gathered so they did but they were not worshiped, until they too passed away and the knowledge of (the true circumstances) were forgotten and thus they were worshipped.)
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
When Allah the All Glorious sent to them Noah PBUH, he lived amongst them for a long period in which he invited them to Allah the All Exalted whilst they remained arrogant to truth Allah destroyed them with the Deluge. After them man returned to worshipping deities along with Allah among them “Huda, Sada, Samooda” So Allah then sent to them Hud PBUH who remained with his people for the designated time in which he invited them to Allah and Tawheed. When their deserved punishment was due, Allah the All Exalted destroyed them with a severe wind.
Then follows Thamood to whom Allah sent Salih PBUH. They falsely rejected him so they were destroyed with a shrieking wind. Then the people of Ibrahim worshiped the sun, moon and stars along with a number of idols. Allah narrates the stories of the nations and their Messengers in detail in His Book. The early children of Israel worshipped the calf and the last of them worshipped Uzayr. The Christians worshipped the Messiah PBUH whilst the Magians worshipped fire whilst a group worshipped water. All nations worshipped what the devil makes appealing to them according to the capability of their intellects. All this took place in earlier nations but their equivalent can be found in later nations. The idols that existed in the people of Noah PBUH have migrated to the Arabs in the time of Amr ibn Luhay-may Allah curse him, as is mentioned by Ibn Abbas ®: “As for ‘Wad’ it belonged to the tribe of Kalb in Dowmah al-Jandal, and ‘Suwa’’ belonged to Hamdhan, as for ‘Nasr’ it belonged to Hameer of Al Zi al-Kalla’”.
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
The story of the idols introduced by Amr ibn Luhay is mentioned by al-Kalbi in hi book “Idols” wherein he said: “Amr ibn Luhay was a priest who had a Jinn advisor who said to him: hastily but safely depart for al-Tuhamah, go to an elderly women with whom you will find crafted idols, bring her to al-Tuhamah and do not give away the idols, if you invite the Arabs to their worship they will answer your call. So he reached a river where he met the old women and brought her back to al-Tuhamah. When the Hajj came, he began inviting the Arabs to idol worship. ‘Awf ibn ‘And ibn Zayd al-Laat answered his call and was given ‘Wad’ so he brought it back to a village of Dawmah al-Jandal, he also named his son ‘Servant of Wad’ who was the first to be named after it. ‘Wad’ was an idol of man as a sigh of the greatest a man could be. Two ornaments were engraved on it one venerating it while the other rejects it. He holds a sword and a bow over his shoulders. Between his hands is a lance with a flag. Amr ibn Luhay then gave ‘Suwa’’ to a man from the tribe of Huzail who was from the land of palms. An Arab person says about him:
You see them around their Qiblah devout
Like Huzail was devout to Suwa’
He then gave ‘Yaghooth’ to a man from Mathhaj who were located in Yemen and was worshipped by Mathhaj and their successors. ‘Ya’ook’ was given to a person from Hamdaan who along with their successors worshipped it in Yemen. The tribe of Hameer answered his call and a person by the name of Mu’id Yakrib was given ‘Nasr’ who were located in a place in the land of Saba’ by the name of ‘Balkh’’. These idols remained being worshipped until Prophet Muhammad PBUH came and destroyed them. It is established that the Messenger PBUH destroyed 360 idols that were in and around the Ka’bah after the conquest of Makkah the holy site of Allah the All Exalted.
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
Ibn Hisham-may Allah show him mercy-reports from a few of the knowledgeable: “Amr ibn Luhay left Makkah to Sham for some personal reasons. When he reached M’aab in the region of al-Bulqaan wherein there resided at the time the Ammleeks who are the childres of Amlaaq who is: Amleek ibn Laawth ibn Saam ibn Noah. He saw them worshipping idols and said to them: what are these idols I see you worshipping? They replied: these are idols that we worship, we ask from it rain and it rains, we ask for its help and it comes to our aid. So he said to them: will you not give me an idol so that I can take it to the land of the Arabs so that they can worship it? So they gave him an idol by the name of ‘Hubal’. It was brought to Makkah wherein he fixed it and ordered people to worship and venerate it.”
Ibn Ishaaq says:
“They then took ‘Isaaf and Naailah’ as idols in the place of Zamazm in wherein they sacrificed for them. Isaaf and Naailah were man and woman from the tribe of Jurhum. He is Isaaf ibn Baghy and she is Naailah bint Deek. Isaaf fornicated with Naailah in the Ka’bah so Allah turned them both into stone. Abu Talib says regarding this:>
And as the Asha’roon kneel in their stirrups
by way of inundation from Isaaf and Naail
8.1 Early Appearance of Shirk
The tribe of Bani Kanaanah has an idol named ‘Sa’ad’ which is a rock in the wilderness of their region. A person came on an injured camel to seek blessings, when the camel saw it with blood gushing from its wounds it fled moving in all directions. The person became angry and took a stone and threw it saying: “You enjoy not the blessings of Allah as my camel fled from you” he then left looking for his camel, when he found it he said:
We went to Sa’ad so that we may prevail
Sa’ad separated us so we are not from Sa’ad
What is Sa’ad if only a rock in the wilderness
That invites neither to error nor right