9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


Refutation of the Philosophical Manifestation of the First Specious Argument

Do not forget, dear brother student that this belief is precisely the belief of the first mushriks, the worshippers of idols in the past, in the attachment of their hearts to other than Allah, the Exalted. As Allah said about them:
[الزمر:٣] (( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ))

“And those who choose protecting friends beside Him (say), ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah.’” [39:3]

Intercession is a reality, but it is entirely a prerogative of Allah alone:
[الزمر:٤٤] (( قُلْ لِلَّهِ الشَّفَاعَةُ جَمِيعاً لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ ))

“Say: To Allah belongs all intercession. His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth.” [39:44]


9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


Therefore, it is not permissible to seek it from the dead, whether they are prophets or pious or other than that. It is only sought from the one who has the entire affair in His hand. And Allah informed us that it will not be attained except with two conditions:

First: Allah must give permission to the interceder to intercede; as the Exalted said:
[البقرة:٢٥٥] (( مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلا بِإِذْنِهِ ))

“Who is he that intercedes with Him except by His leave?” [2:255]

Second: The beneficiary of the intercession must be one whose statements and deeds are acceptable to Allah. That person is a believer in pure monotheism. As the Exalted said:
[الأنبياء:٢٨] (( وَلا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى ))

“…and they cannot intercede except for him whom He accepts.” [22:28]


9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


He also said:
[طه:١٠٩] (( يَوْمَئِذٍ لا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ إِلا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَرَضِيَ لَهُ قَوْلاً ))

“On that day no intercession avails except (that of) him to whom the Most Merciful has given leave and whose word He accepts.” [20:109]

Allah did not grant permission to seek intercession from angels, prophets or idols, for it is His property alone. It is to be sought from Him, for it is He who will grant permission to the interceder to intercede. If He does not grant permission, none will come forward to intercede before Him. The affair is not like that of worldly creatures that interceders may approach, even if they have not been granted permission; and (those approached) may accept their intercession, even if they are not pleased to do so, for the one who is approached may be in need of the interceder and require his help for himself and be forced by circumstances to accept the intercession even though he didn’t give permission to be approached.

As for Allah, the Exalted, He is al-Ghanee and is not in need of anyone or anything; rather, everything is in need of Him. Also, created beings are not aware of all the conditions of their subjects until interceders inform him about them.

9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


Al-Fakhr al-Raazee explained that what the disbelievers used to worship instead of Allah was of two categories:

• rational
• non-rational

As for the rational, they included Christ, Ezra and the angels, for some groups among them used to worship these. And many people used to worship the sun, the moon and the stars and believed them to be alive, able to think and speak. As for that which was worshipped without being characterized as living or able to think, it was comprised of the idols.

When this has become clear, the mushriks’ worship of their deities consisted of resorting to them, placing their hopes in them and supplicating to them so that they would intercede for them, believing that they would bring them close (to Allah). Because of this belief of theirs and their resorting (to those deities), their blood was spilled and their wealth became lawful (as spoils of war), for this resorting to idols in order to seek their intercession and placing their hopes in them, in actuality, is only valid for Allah, Majestic and Glorious. It is considered diversions to others of what rightfully belongs to Him and is, thus, considered a form of shirk.

9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


Allaamah Shukree al-Aaloosee (may Allah have mercy upon him) said in refuting this misconception:
If someone who beseeches one of the dead, “O so-and-so, do such-and-such,” says that his intent is that he seeks Allah to solve his need; when he finishes this drivel and becomes silent, I would say to him, “Based upon your position, it would be appropriate to seek from the creation everything that is sought from the Creator, and it would be fitting not to object to the idol-worshippers for seeking that which is sought from Allah, for they, too, believed that the idols are (mere) intermediaries, means and interceders.

They would say,
[يونس:١٨] (( وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ))

“These are our intercessors with Allah,” [10:18]

and they would say,
[الزمر:٣] (( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ))

“We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah,” [39:3]


9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


and similar statements. And when they were asked,

[يونس:٣١] (( مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ ))

“Who provides for you?” [10:31]

and
[لقمان:٢٥] (( مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ ))

“Who created the heavens and the earth?” they would answer, “Allah.” [31:25]

It has already been explained that the words of the extremists (ghulaat) and the words of the idol-worshippers are from a single valley and that their hearts are similar.

Allaamah Abul-‘Izz al-Hanafee (may Allah have mercy upon him) confirmed, after investigation, that this type of intercession, seeking means of approach, and taking an intermediary was the foundation of the shirk of the Arabs as well as other mushriks, such as those of India, the Turks and the Berbers.

9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


Refutation of the Manifestation of the First Specious Argument as Understood by the Common People

We mentioned earlier that the gist of this manifestation of this specious argument is that the ordinary person is not prepared for intimate discourse with his Lord and is not fit to make any request of Him directly because he is embroiled in sins and polluted with disobedience. He has no alternative but to resort to one whom he considers fit to get his needs taken care of and relieve him of distress, for this other person-whether a prophet or a saint-is outwardly pure and inwardly polished and, as such, is qualified to address Allah, the Exalted, in intimate discourse, to supplicate Him and make requests of Him.

In refutation of this manifestation of this specious argument, we quote a valuable statement of Shaykh ‘Abdul-Lateef Aal al-Shaykh:
The view that it is permissible to beseech other than Allah, to call upon the prophets and the pious, to make them intermediaries between the slave and Allah, and to attempt to draw close to them by dedicating vows and sacrificial animals to them and magnifying them by swearing oaths in their names, etc.-all of this contradicts and negates the wisdom that was the intended purpose behind the creation of the heavens and the earth, the revelation of scripture, and the sending of Messengers. It opens a door to shirk by associating (others with Allah) in love, humble submission and aggrandizement, and it is open opposition to Allah, His Messenger and every noble prophet.


9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


Souls are naturally inclined to direct those forms of worship mentioned earlier towards those whom they consider qualified to dispel hardship, relieve poverty and fulfill needs regarding those general matters that no one has the power to do except the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

The second aspect: This is precisely what the worshippers of the prophets and pious have been saying from the era of Noah until the seal of the prophets was sent to them. They added nothing to what these extremists (ghulaat) said in their professions of squalid shirk and their reprehensible statements. This is what Allah, the Exalted, said about them in His Noble Book:

[يونس:١٨] (( وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ))

“They worship beside Allah what neither hurts them nor profits them, and they say, ‘These are our intercessors with Allah.’” [10:18]

These definitive texts clearly state that the mushriks only intended (them for) their high status, their intercession, and use of them as intermediaries to bring them close to Allah and fulfill their needs (by asking) from Him, exalted be He. The Qur’an repudiated this with the sternest of repudiations and informed us that those people are the (destined) inhabitants of hell and that Allah has prohibited them from ever entering paradise, the abode of His righteous friends.

9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


The majority of those mushriks did not claim the independence (from Allah of their objects of worship) or even (their) partnership in His exclusive Lordship; rather, they affirmed and admitted that that is for Allah alone, as Allah has reported their affirmation and admission in numerous passages of His Book. The result of what they mentioned of it being permissible to beseech (them) for help, pray to them, magnify them by dedicating vows to them and swearing oaths by their names along with the negation of their independence and that Allah does (what they want) as a result of that, is precisely the claim, the reasoning and the specious argument of the mushriks. They have not added a single letter to it, except that they used the terms qurbaan (means of bringing one near) and shufa‘aa’ (interceders) while the ghulaat call that tawassul (seeking a means of approach). The rationale is one, and the reality is united.

He cited many Qur’anic verses and hadeeths of the Prophet (PBUH) as evidence to support what he said; then he continued:
The view that sets up intermediaries between the slaves and Allah strikes at the roots of this tremendous principle, tawheed, which is the central axis of faith, and destroys the foundation upon which the whole structure is erected; for what relief can there be from hardship or poverty, what harm repelled, and what blessing or happiness, intimacy or serenity can be attained when one turns (one’s heart), prays, beseeches, slaughters animals or dedicates vows to any but the Compassionate, Munificent King?


9.4 Refutation of the Philosophical and Common Manifestations of the First Specious
       Argument


It would befit us in finishing this lesson to quote some lines of poetry by one of the latter-day scholars of the Salaf that clarifies the corruption of this specious argument.

Shaykh and Haafiz al-Hakamee (may Allah have mercy upon him) said:
We will suffice with this amount in refuting these two flimsy specious arguments, but we cannot leave off refuting the specious arguments of the people of whims and caprices without praying to Allah to keep us away from shirk and whatever leads to it; and it befits us to sum up our stance with the words of the poet:

When the people enumerate their lords
Well, we have a single Lord