The ship that will never sink (Part 7) By Farzana Qamar A thing is distinguished by knowing its reality and being aware of it's opposite. If one falls a victim to major and minor polytheism it opposes the foundations of Tawheed, and if it is Major shirk then it expels him from the fold of Islam. Allah, The Most High says, “And verily, if you ask them, who created the heavens and the earth?” Surely they will say,”Allah (has created them).” Say, “Tell me then, the things that you invoke besides Allah – if Allah intended some harm for me, could they remove His harm? Or if He (Allah) intended some mercy for me, could they withhold His Mercy?” Say, “Sufficient for me is Allah; in Him those who trust (i.e. believers) must put their trust.” (Qur'an, 39:38) Allah, The Majestic clarifies that the powerless engraved and carved images, worshiped by polytheists cannot remove any harm which might befall a person by Allah's Decree, nor prevent any sustenance or blessings which might come to a person from Him. Then how is that some of the Muslims rely on rings, strings, pearls, a piece of iron or anything similar that is worn thinking that it can bring benefit or prevent harm. Similarly, even objects which people hang in homes, offices, cars or on small children with a strong belief that it will remove affliction. This is a minor type of polytheism because the hearts become attached to these worthless items in a partial manner. If one thinks that these worthless item actually have powers then this is committing major polytheism with Allah, The Supreme One. Allah, The All powerful negates that the helpless and powerless gods have any ability to harm or benefit. The verse implies that if the attachment to the greater deities is futile then attachment with the worthless items is completely futile. The Hadith below conveys the meaning of severe rejection of the worthless items. It is reported on the authority of Umran Ibn Husain (may Allah be pleased with him), that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) saw a man with a brass ring in his hand, and he asked him, “What is this?” He replied, “It is for protection from Al-Wahinah.” (Wahinah is a type of illness that weakens the body.) “The Prophet answered, “Remove it at once, for verily it will not increase you except in weakness, and were you to die whilst wearing it, you would never be successful.” (Ahmad) The Hadith means that if the ring has any effect, it will only be harmful on the person mentally and spiritually so much that he will not be able to deal with his weakness and illness. This is the situation of everyone who commits polytheism, he goes from one harm to another. Wearing a brass ring or hanging a string and thinking that it can independently cause benefit is the root cause of the hazards of polytheism. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever hangs a charm (putting it on himself or others) may Allah not fulfill (his objective) for him.” (Ahmed) In another narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ”Whoever hangs a charm has committed Shirk” (Ahmed) The charm, talismans or the amulets are types of pearl or anything that is hung around the neck in order to prevent evil eye and envy. In Arabic the word “Ta'alaqa” conveys the meaning, the act of hanging or the attachment of the heart to what a person wears. People wear or hang them to fulfill and complete their affairs, but our Prophet (peace be upon him) supplicated against such a person that Allah,The Most High may not fulfill his objective. It is reported by Ibn Abi Hatim, on the authority of Huzaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he saw a man with a thread in his hand to protect him from fever; he broke it and recited the Words of Allah, Most High, “And most of them do not believe in Allah, except that they associate partners with Him.” (Qur'an, 12:106) Thus, the conclusion is that the use of threads and other similar things to protect from harm is an act of Shirk. And, Shirk is present amongst the people of this Ummah, and the heart of a person may contain faith and Shirk at the same time. Protection only comes from Allah! __
