Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds, and the good end will be for pious people. Peace and blessings be upon Allah's Servant, Messenger and Khalil (beloved Servant) and the one He trusted with His revelation and the best of His creatures our Prophet, Imam (leader), and Master Muhammad ibn Abdullah, upon his family, Companions and those who follow his path and are guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgment.
I thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) for meeting Muslim brothers and dear sons. I ask Him (Glorified be He) to bless this meeting, purify our hearts and acts, and grant us good understanding of religion and steadiness on abiding by its rulings. May Allah improve the conditions of Muslims everywhere, entrust them to pious rulers, and reform their leaders. I also ask Him to increase the number of those who call to guidance amongst them, for He is AllGenerous and Bountiful.
Afterwards, I would like to thank those who are in charge of this university Um AlQura University and of this summer center headed by the honorable brother his Eminence Professor: Rashid ibn Rajih, the Director of the University, for inviting me to this session. I ask Allah (Glorified be He) by His Beautiful Names and Attributes to guide us all to whatever includes our uprightness and happiness sooner and later.
Dear Muslim brothers and honorable audiences: We all heard what our student has recited of Surah Al Hashr, we have heard noble Ayahs including an example and reminiscence, for Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
O you who believe! Fear Allâh and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is AllAware of what you do.
Up to the end of the Surah. It is wellknown that the entire Book of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) reminds of and call to every good. It reminds of the causes of safety and happiness and sets the lessons of encouragement and discouragement.
Thus, all Muslims should contemplate and understand it. They ought to recite it frequently to know the commands and prohibitions. A Mu'min (believer) becomes aware of Allah's rulings to abide by the commands and avoid prohibitions.
For Allah's Book includes light and guidance to every good and warning against every evil. It also includes the call to good morals and acts. It also warns against bad manners and actions. Allah (Glorified be He) says:
Verily, this Qur'ân guides to that which is most just and right
Say: "It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing."
(This is) a Book (the Qur'ân) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember.
this Qur'ân has been revealed to me that I may therewith warn you and whomsoever it may reach.
Therefore, my advice to myself, all people, and whoever hears or is informed of my speech is to give much care to this great Book, for it is the most noble and honorable Book. It is the Last Book revealed from heaven. Whoever contemplates and understands it seeking to know guidance and truth will be granted success and guidance by Allah.
The most important thing comprised in this great Book is the declaration of Allah's Right over His Servants and vice versa. This is the main issue discussed in the Qur'an; declaring Allah's Right (Glorified be He) over His servants to be sincerely worshipped alone with devotion.
The Qur'an also warns against the major shirk (Associating others in worship with Allah), unforgiven sins, and other kinds of Kufr (disbelief) and deviation.
If a person will get no good of pondering on this Great Book but this necessary knowledge, it would be a great welfare and bounty. How then when it includes indication to every good and warns against every evil as mentioned above.
Then, next to the Qur'an, a person should care for the the Sunnah (whatever is reported from the Prophet), for it is the second source and the second revelation. It also includes the explanation of Allah's Book and the indication to whatever might be hidden of His Words (Glorified be He), for it interprets Allah's Book. He (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﻢ) the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qur'ân)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought.
And We have not sent down the Book (the Qur'an) to you (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﻢ), except that you may explain clearly unto them those things in which they differ
The noble Qur'an was revealed to guide people to the welfare, direct them to the path of safety, and warn them against loss. Allah has ordained His Prophet (peace be upon him) to clarify for people what was revealed to them and to describe whatever was vague to them. Thus, he (peace be upon them) continued to call people, explain to them the instructions of Allah's Book and warn them against its prohibitions. However, the interval between the Prophet's mission and death was twenty three years, which were full of Da`wah (call to Allah), clarification, encouragement, and warning until he (peace be upon him) passed away.
My lecture to night discusses the most significant issue: the `Aqidah; Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah/ monotheism), and its contrast.
Tawhid is the thing for which Allah had sent messengers, revealed the Books, and created man and Jinn (creatures created from fire). All other rulings come next to it. Allah (Glorified be He) says:
And I (Allâh) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).
They were not created Haphazardly to just eat, drink, live in palaces, dig rivers, plant trees, or any other worldly missions but they were created to worship their Lord, glorify Him, abide by His Commands, forbid His Prohibitions, apply His Hudud (pl. of Had; ordained punishment for violating Allah's Law), direct people to Him, and guide them to His Right (over them).
Allah created such bounties for them to utilize in obeying Him. He (Exalted be He) says:
He it is Who created for you all that is on earth.
And has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth
Thus, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) has sent down the rain, made the rivers flow, facilitated various kinds of provisions and bounties to support people in obeying Him, and to act as a source of supply to them during their lives, so as to establish the proof on them and block the way to excuses, Allah (Exalted be He) says:
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 i.e. do not worship Tâghût besides Allâh)."
And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ) but We revealed to him (saying): Lâ ilâha illa Ana [none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allâh)], so worship Me (Alone and none else)."
And ask (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴـﻪ ﻭ ﺳـﻠﻢ) those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: "Did We ever appoint âlihâh (gods) to be worshipped besides the Most Gracious (Allâh)?"
And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him.
You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).
In addition to other Ayahs (Qur'anic verse) indicating that He (Glorified be He) created human beings to worship Him alone, ordained them to do this, and sent down the messengers to call to this matter and clarify it to people.
Therefore, people of knowledge being the successors of messengers should clarify this great matter to people, for this should be the greatest requirement. Moreover, the utmost care should be given to it, for when a person converts to Islam, whatever comes after will be subsequent to it. If Tawhid were not pure, a Mukallaf (person meeting the conditions to be held legally accountable for their actions) would not benefit from his actions and sayings, Allah (Exalted be He) says:
But if they had joined in worship others with Allâh, all that they used to do would have been of no benefit to them.
And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.
And indeed it has been revealed to you (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ), as it was to those (Allâh's Messengers) before you: "If you join others in worship with Allâh, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers."
This meaning is emphasized in the residence of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Makkah for ten years calling people to worship Allah alone before even Salah and other acts of worship were prescribed, these ten years were rife with calling to Tawhid, abandoning Shirk, deserting idols, and clarifying that both Human and Jinn (creatures created from fire) should worship Allah alone and abandon shirk adopted by their parents and ancestors.
This is why Heracules the king of Rome had asked Abu Sufyan ibn Harb during the truce while he was amongst a group coming from Quraysh to trade in Palestine. This coincided with Heracules' advent to AlQuds. So when he was informed about them, he ordered that they would be brought to him to ask them about what they knew about this Prophet whom he had heard of. This took place during the truce. However, This group was headed by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. He asked them about him and his claim to be a Prophet?!
He then ordered that Abu Sufyan would be brought and seated in the front (Heracules). He commanded that his companions should be in the back and then he told his translator to tell them that he (Heracules) would ask him (Abu Sufyan) and if he lied they should tell him the truth.
Afterwards, he asked about the Prophet (peace be upon him) and other various things mentioned in Sahih Al Bukhari and other books. He asked him about many issues including the essence of the Prophet's mission (peace be upon him).
They replied that he called them to worship Allah alone, abandon their fathers' religion, to offer Salah, be honest, maintain the ties of kinship, and be virtuous.
As then, he told them:" If he was like you said, then his rule would extend till Rome itself." This was what happened, for Allah had granted Muslims the rule over AlSham (the Levant), removed the Romans from their way, granted His prophet success, and supported his party.
What is meant here is that this origin is a great one but when people neglected it except those to whom Allah has been merciful they fell into major shirk. They claim to embrace Islam and disavow whoever deems the opposite, they fall into such shirk because of their ignorance of this significant origin, for they have taken their dead people as gods to be worshipped other than Allah; they circumambulate their graves, appeal to them, ask them to heal their patients, meet their needs, and provide them victory over their enemies. They come to say after that: This is not shirk. It is a sort of honoring the righteous and seeking their intercession before Allah. They also claim that a person should not invoke Allah directly but this should be done through the Awliya' (pious people) who act like mediators to the Lord, just as the ministers are to their kings, likening Allah to His Creatures, and worshipping them other than Him. May Allah save us!
This is attributable to ignorance and lack of knowledge of this great origin. Therefore, those who worship AlBadawy, shaykh `AbdulQadir, AlHusayn, and others are distressed for this reason. They have not recognized the truth of Tawhid, or the call of the messengers, and things have been dubious for them, leading them to fall into shirk and enjoying it. Not only that but they have also considered this to be a sort of piety and drawing closer to Allah and disavowed whoever denied their acts. It is rarely found a scholar who is conversant with thsi great great origin. Indeed, a person may be called a scholar while glorifying the graves, calling their inhabitants, appealing and vowing to them, etc.
As for the true scholars, those of Sunnah and Tawhid, they are inconsiderable in number.
Accordingly, it is the duty of the students at this university and all other Islamic universities to guard this origin and protect it well so that they can act as callers to guidance and promoters of the truth to explain to people the reality of the religion that Allah sent His Prophet (peace be upon him) and other messengers with.
This speech that I am delivering to you now is concerned with the types of Tawhid and shirk. For Tawhid means to profess the unity of Allah and admit that there is no other associate with him in His Lordship, Names, Attributes, Divinity, and Worship. He (Glorified and Exalted be He) is One even if people have not professed this. Thus, singling out Allah with worship is called Tawhid, for a servant will be worshipping Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) alone when they believe in this and act accordingly devoting worship and call to Him (Glorified be He) alone. A true servant also believe that Allah is the Disposer of all affairs, the Creator of all creatures, the Owner of the Beautiful Names and Perfect Attributes, and that He is the Only One that has the right to be worshipped.