HOW CAN YOU RANK gunahs of Biddah, Shirk and Gibaht. CAN YOU DEFINE CLEARLY WHAT KIND OF ACT WILL COUNT AS SUCH SINS? AND Whether such sins will be forgiven by the Allah Taa`ala?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
HOW
CAN YOU RANK gunahs of Biddah, Shirk and Gibaht. CAN YOU DEFINE CLEARLY WHAT
KIND OF ACT WILL COUNT AS SUCH SINS? AND Whether such sins will be forgiven by
the Allah Taa`ala?
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errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Sins of bida, gheebat and shirk
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 120:
Eschew all sin, open or secret: those who earn sin will get
due recompense for their "earnings."
The believers who sincerely fear Allah and the
Last Day, must strive to abstain from
all kinds of sins, whether they are major or minor! The barometer to determine the rank of the
sin and which sins fall into the ‘major’ category, and which fall into the
‘minor’ category is the terminology and the prescribed punishment of Allah
Subhanah and His Messenger (saws). The
bigger the punishment prescribed for a particular act, the bigger the enormity
of the sin in the Sight of Shariah Law and of Allah Subhanah.
If one were to rank the sins of Bida, Shirk,
and ‘geebah’ (back-biting) from low to high, then in light of the guidance of
the Quran and the Sunnah amongst the three listed sins ‘gheebah’ would be the
lowest, followed by ‘bida’ (innovation), and without an iota of a doubt, the
greatest and most heinous amongst all sins would be the abomination of ‘shirk’
(associating other gods with Allah Subhanah).
Ref: definition of
the sin of ‘gheebah’ or back-biting
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 49 Surah
Hujuraat verse 12:
12 O ye who believe! Avoid
suspicion as much (as possible), for suspicion in some cases is a sin: and spy
not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his
dead brother? Nay ye would abhor it...but fear Allah: for Allah is
Oft-Returning Most Merciful.
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 6265 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘Do you know
what is backbiting?’ They (the
Companions) said: ‘Allah and His Messenger (saws) know best. Thereupon he (the Prophet (saws)) said:
‘Backbiting implies your talking about your brother (behind his back) in a
manner which he does not like.’ It was
said to him: ‘What is your opinion about this that if I actually find (that failing)
in my brother which I made a mention of?’
He (saws) said: ‘If (that failing) is actually found (in him) what you
assert, you in fact backbited him, and if that is not in him it is a slander!.’
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4862 Narrated by AbuBarzah al-Aslami
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘O community of
people, who believed by their tongue, and belief did not enter their hearts, do
not back-bite Muslims, and do not search for their faults, for if anyone
searches for their faults, Allah will search for his fault, and if Allah
searches for the fault of anyone, He disgraces him in his house!’
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4860 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘When I was taken up
to heaven I passed by people who had nails of copper and were scratching their
faces and their breasts.’ I asked: ‘Who
are these people, O Jibrael?’ He
replied: ‘They are those who were given to back biting and who aspersed
people's honour.’
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.107b
The Prophet (saws) said, "The atonement
for backbiting is to pray for forgiveness of the person who was slandered and
to say, 'O Allah, forgive us and him'."
Ref: the
definition of the sin of ‘bida’ or innovation
A bida or innovation is something which
is invented, innovated, and added to the deen of Islam after the deen was
completed on Prophet Mohamed (saws). It especially concerns the rites and
rituals of worship, or any deed which
was not performed or endorsed by the Messenger of Allah (saws), but was added as a part of the deen after his
(saws’s) death. It also concerns any
innovated deed which one does and believes that by doing this innovated deed,
he is eligible to earn more reward from Allah Subhanah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best example
for you to follow in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks
forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imran verse 31-32:
O Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely
love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will
love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All
Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah
and His Messenger.” And if, in spite of
this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love
those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.
Dear and Beloved brother in Islam, it is the solemn belief
of every true believer who sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day, that there
was, is, or never will be anyone in the annuls of creation who worshipped Allah
Subhanah more or better than the Noble Last and Final Messenger of Allah,
Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws)!
Thus if anyone dares to comes up with any act of worship
like celebration, commemoration, or prescribes importance to any prayer, or
fast, or night or day, or invents, innovates, or adds anything in the deen of
Islam which is not endorsed by the Noble Prophet (saws), then it implies one of
three things:
- that
the person who claims that worship is due on this specific night in this
specific way loves and worships Allah more than the Noble Prophet
(saws)!!!
- or,
that the person knows more than the Noble Prophet (saws)!!!
- or,
that the person has received revelations from Allah Subhanah after the
death of the Prophet Mohamed (saws)!!!
Allah is our witness brother, if anyone in the annuls of
creation ever claims to have any of the above three qualities is nothing more
than a confirmed and manifest liar!; for Allah is our witness, no man in the
annuls of creation loved or worshipped their Lord more than Prophet Mohamed (saws),
no man in the annuls of creation had more knowledge of the Truth than the Noble
Prophet Mohamed (saws), and Allah is our witness, the Last and Final
Revelations of The Lord Most Majestic were revealed on Prophet Mohamed (saws),
and there is none who will or can receive revelations after him (saws)!
If one brings, invents, adds or innovates any act or deed
in religion which has not been specifically endorsed by Allah and His Messenger
(saws), then it has to be a ‘bida’ (innovation in the religion after the deen
was completed on Prophet Mohamed (saws)), and Allah is our witness, every
innovation in the deen of Islam is an error in the Sight of Allah
Subhanah!
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a
sermon: “The best speech is that which
is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran;
and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the
innovations (bida), and every innovation (bida) is an error.”
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4515 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “If
anyone introduces an innovation (bida in religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation (bida) or
gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (bida), he is cursed by
Allah, by His Angels, and by all the people!”
Ref: the
definition of the abomination and heinous crime of ‘shirk’
In light of the absolutely clear guidance of the Glorious
Qruan, ‘Shirk’ or associating another in God-head with Allah, has three main
parts:
1. Shirk in Allah’s Self
2. Shirk in Allah’s Attributes
3. Shirk in Allah’s Rights
Shirk in Allah’s
Self:
This would be if one were to claim that Allah has a
son, or has a mother, father, brothers, sisters,
family, children; or to claim that
someone or something originated Allah!
This is committing ‘shirk’ in Allah’s Self.
Shirk in Allah’s
Attributes:
Allah has declared 99 of His attributes in the Glorious
Quran, and Allah Alone knows how many more
there are. For example, Allah is the ‘Al Aleem’ (The All
Knowing). He Alone is the All
Knowing, of the seen and the
unseen! If we believe anybody else of
His creation knows everything, or even
has the power to know everything, then
we have wrongfully elevated someone to the position of Allah’s Attributes, and this is a clear form of shirk.
Similarly, Allah is
the ‘As Samee’ (The All Hearing). He
Alone is the All Hearing… We humans can only hear upto certain decibels; below that limit we cannot hear, and above that limit is unbearable! Allah Alone hears everything… If we believe
anybody else of His creation hears everything,
or even has the power to hear everything, then we have wrongfully elevated someone to
the position of Allah’s Attributes, and
this is again shirk.
Similarly, Allah is
the ‘Al Qader’ (The One who is Able to do all things). He Alone has the Power to do anything and
everything! If we believe that anybody
of His creation can do whatever they want,
even when Allah does not permit him,
this is shirk! Everything that
happens in this world, needs Allah’s
permission… only when He permits, can a
thing happen. To believe that somebody
can hurt us, or harm us, without the permission of Allah, is a clear form of Shirk.
Shirk in Allah’s
Rights:
The biggest Right of Allah is that being our Creator and
our Sustainer, He Alone deserves our
invocation and our worship. This is
absolutely the biggest Right of Allah.
No one deserves that we bow down to him and pray to him or call on him
to answer our prayers … This is the Sole Right of Allah Alone. If anyone goes to anybody, any person,
any idol, any grave, any shrine,
anything… and asks them to fulfill our prayers, or even to tell them to take our Message to
Allah, this is an absolute form of
Shirk! Allah Alone deserves that we
pray to Him, call on Him, serve Him,
sacrifice for Him, fear Him, obey His laws, follow His appointed Messengers, and obey and follow the commandments of His
Revealed Book! If we do any of the
above for anybody else other than Allah,
then it is Shirk.
Bowing in prostration to the grave of the Prophet
(saws), is to share a right that is due
to Allah Subhanah Alone with someone else,
no matter who that person or thing is!
The Jews shared Allah’s Rights with Moses and Uzair, and were cursed by Allah; the Christians shared Allah’s Rights with
Jesus, and were cursed by Allah! May Allah have mercy on the people who call
themselves believers, but want to share
the Right of Allah with their Prophet (saws)!
‘Shirk’ is the
absolute single biggest sin in Islam,
which Allah has Himself promised in the Holy Quran never to
forgive! This sin is so heinous and so
monstrous, that Allah has promised to
forgive any of the sins of man, except
this one sin!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verse 72:
Whoever commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with
Allah), Allah shall forbid for him
Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa
Verse 48:
Shirk (associating other deities with Allah) is the only sin that Allah does
not forgive, and He forgives, whomsoever He pleases, sins other than this. For whosoever associates any other partner
with Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumar verse 65-66:
If you commit ‘shirk’ all your works will be
rendered vain and you will be among the losers.
Therefore, you should worship
Allah Alone, and be among His grateful
servants.
All the Prophets of Allah who were ever sent warned the
believers to beware of this heinous sin of ‘shirk’, which renders all the deeds of man worthless
in the sight of Allah Subhanah.
Thus it becomes our duty to recognize and be aware of
‘shirk’ and all the manifestations of this horrendous and grave sin. Allow us to just give you some examples of
what constitutes ‘shirk’ in the Sight of Allah Subhanah:
1. Bowing down to anybody or anything
other than Allah is shirk!
2. Bowing down to the graves of any
in creation, including the Prophets of Allah is shirk!
3. Believing that the dead people in
their graves can hear and respond to supplications is shirk!
4. Believing that anybody other than
Allah can do one any harm in the unseen is shirk!
5. Believing that anybody other than
Allah can bring one any good in the unseen is shirk!
6. Believing that anybody other than
Allah knows everything is shirk!
7. Believing that anybody other than
Allah sees everything is shirk!
8. Believing that anybody other than
Allah listens to our supplications in the unseen is shirk!
9. Believing that anybody other than
Allah can help us in the unseen is shirk!
10. Believing that anybody other than
Allah can guide us in the unseen is shirk!
11. Believing that anybody can
influence Allah to give us health is shirk!
12. Believing that anybody can
influence Allah to give us wealth is shirk!
13. Believing that anybody can
influence Allah to give us children is shirk!
14. Believing that anybody can influence
Allah to help us is shirk!
15. Believing that anybody has any
power with Allah is shirk!
16. Believing that anybody has any
power with Allah to take us out of the fire of Hell is shirk!
17. Believing that anybody has any
power with Allah on the Day of Judgement is shirk!
18. Believing that anybody has any
power to change the decision of Allah is shirk!
19. To worship anybody with Allah is
shirk!
20. To invoke anybody with Allah is
shirk!
21. To raise anybody to the rank of
Allah is shirk!
22. To give or share any of Allah’s
Exclusive Attributes with anybody else is shirk!
23. To believe that anybody has the
power to bring about any miracles on his own is shirk!
24. To go to somebody to take our
message or supplication to Allah is shirk!
Your
Question: AND Whether such sins will be forgiven by the Allah Taa`ala?
Whatever deeds one might have done, if one turns to Allah
Subhanah in sincere Taubah and seeks forgiveness, Allah Subhanah has promised in the Holy Quran
that He will forgive all the sins of such a believer, even if one has committed
the gravest sin of all: ‘Shirk’! Not
only that, our Lord is so Merciful and Generous, that He not only will forgive
the sins of those who turn back to Him in repentance, He will change their evil
deeds done into good deeds!
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who
repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin!"
The conditions or ways to seek sincere Taubah or
Repentance from the Merciful Lord are:
- One
is aware that he has sinned, and
feels sorry and ashamed at his sin.
- Makes
a solemn covenant and promise with Allah that he will not repeat his sin
again.
- Turns
to Allah and seeks forgiveness,
before he has met with his appointment of death.
- Is
a believer and does righteous good deeds thereafter.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumur verses 53-54:
(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged
their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely,
Allah forgives all sins. He indeed
is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before
the scourge overtakes you; for then you
may get no help from anywhere.”
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imraan verse 135-136:
Allah likes such good people very much,
who, if ever they commit a base deed or
wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their
shortcomings. For who, but Allah,
can forgive sins? (And Allah
loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from
Allah, and with Gardens beneath which
canals flow, and they will reside
therein forever! How excellent is the
reward of those who do good deeds!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah
Furqaan verses 63-71:
The (true) servants of the Merciful are those
who walk humbly on the earth. When the
ignorant people behave insolently towards them,
they say, “Peace to you”; (And
those) who pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before
their Lord and pray, “O our Lord, save
us from the torment of Hell, for its
torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly,
but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but
Allah Alone, nor kill a soul
unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall
be punished for his sin, and his torment
shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection,
and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER
THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE
RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good
deeds, and He is very Forgiving and
Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous
deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly
should!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 54:
When those come to you who believe in Our
Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule
of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil
in ignorance, and thereafter repented
and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
But if one who commits sin and were to meet his
appointment of death without turning back to his Lord Creator seeking sincere
repentance for those sins, then the Decision of whether to forgive or punish is
in the Hands of none except the Lord Most Majestic, Most High. The one sin that the Lord Most High has
singled out as being absolutely unforgivable in the Hereafter is the
abomination and heinous crime of ‘shirk’!
If one were to commit the abomination of ‘shirk’ and were to meet his
appointment of death without seeking sincere repentance for this most heinous
of crimes, The Lord Most High Has Decreed and made it incumbent upon Himself NOT
to forgive this humongous abomination and most heinous of sins in the
Hereafter! If the Lord Most Merciful
Wills and Pleases, He may forgive any sin in the Hereafter of the one who died
without seeking repentance….but the one sin which He Himself has singled out as
absolutely unforgivable in the Hereafter is the abomination of ‘shirk’!
Hadith Qudsi 34
The Prophet (saws) said that Allah Subhanah,
High and Exalted He is, says: ‘O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and
ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not
mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to
reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would
forgive you. O son of Adam, were
you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to
face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as
great at it.’
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister