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:

As per the quran it is not allowed to worship an idol or a stone or a picture. We must worship only to GOD. We must not bow to anyone else other than Allah. Muslims pray in the direction of kaaba. Well kaaba itself is a stone and we bow to it or in its direction. Well one of my non-muslim friend told me that even muslims do idol worshipping since we pray and bow towards kaaba which is a stone. Can you please explain why ?? And why is it not idol worshipping ?? Thanx in advance for your reply. I will pray that GOD gives you enough strength to show us the light of islam and help us know the true path. 

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Answer:

Why bow to Kaaba

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.

Your Question: As per the quran it is not allowed to worship an idol or a stone or a picture. We must worship only to GOD.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verses 22-23:

22 Take not with Allah another object of worship; or thou (O man!) wilt sit in disgrace and destitution.

23 Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him Alone.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 12 Surah Yusuf verse 40:

40 "If not Him (Allah), ye worship nothing but names which ye have named ye and your fathers for which Allah hath sent you no authority: the Command is for none but Allah: He hath commanded that ye worship none but Him Alone: that is the right religion but most men understand not...

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imraan verse 64:

64 Say: "O people of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah Alone; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not from among ourselves Lords and Patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back say: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will)."

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 13 Surah Raad verse 36:

36 …. Say: "I am commanded to worship Allah Alone and not to join partners with Him. Unto Him do I call and unto Him is my return."

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 30 Surah Rome verse 40:

40 It is Allah Who has created you: further He has provided for your sustenance; then He will cause you to die; and again He will give you life. Are there any of your (false) "partners" who can do any single one of these things? Glory to Him (Allah)! And High is He above the partners they attribute (to Him)!

Dear and beloved brother, indeed the very pivot around which the approved way of life Al-Islam revolves is the Absolute Oneness and Uniqueness of the Lord Who Created or the concept ‘Tawheed’; there is none, and I reiterate absolutely none worthy of worship except the One and Only God Lord Who created. This concept of ‘Tawheed’ is the very essence of Al-Islam.

Your Question: Muslims pray in the direction of kaaba. Well kaaba itself is a stone and we bow to it or in its direction. Well one of my non-muslim friend told me that even muslims do idol worshipping since we pray and bow towards kaaba which is a stone. Can you please explain why ??

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 148:

Everyone has a direction towards which he turns in Prayer. So try to excel one another in good works. Allah will find you wherever you may be, for nothing is out of Allah’s reach.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 144:

We have seen you, (O Mohamed), turning your face over and over again towards the heaven! Now, therefore, We turn you towards the Qiblah that you like best. So turn your face towards the Masjid-e-Haraam! Henceforth, wheresoever you may be, turn your face at prayer towards it.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 125:

And remember We made this House (The Kaabah) the center and sanctuary for mankind and enjoined the people to dedicate to worship the place where Ibrahim used to strand for prayer, and We urged Ibrahim and Ismael to keep My House (The Kaabah) pure for those who would go around it, and those who would retire to it for devotion and prayer, and for those who would bow down and prostrate themselves there in worship (to Me).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 26:

Recall to mind the time when We assigned the site of this House (the Kaabah) to Ibrahim, saying, “Do not associate anything as a partner to Me; keep My House (the Kaabah) clean and pure for those who go around it, and for those who stand and bow down and prostrate (in worship to Me).

Everyone has a direction towards which they turn in prayer, and none other than the Lord Creator Himself has Commanded His believers and worshippers that they turn towards the Kaaba in prayer, wheresoever they may be.

The Kaaba is but a location determined by the Lord for the believers to turn to in prayer. It is definitely not an object of worship.

The ‘mushriks’ or polytheists on the other hand worship images or idols of their so-called gods; and each of these images or idols have a personality behind them. Regardless of where they place the idols or images of their gods, they turn towards that idol or image in prostration and worship; they invoke these self-created idols and images and seek favors from them!

There is absolutely no personality behind the Kaabah… It is only a stone and walled cubicle, built only as a direction for every muslim to turn his face in prayer. We worship and invoke none but the Lord of the Worlds, Allah Subhanah Alone! We do not ask the Kaabah or the Black Stone for any favors or anything else… They are nothing but a direction of prayers as commanded by Allah clearly in His Glorious Quran!

Also note that the Kaabah is only in Makkah. When we pray away from Makkah, in our mosques, in our homes, in our countries, there is no Kaabah. We only face the direction of the Kaabah when we perform our prayers. But the ‘mushriks’ who worship their idols and images bow down and perform their religious rites of worship in the presence of their self-created idols and images, wheresoever it may be placed…in their temples, in their houses, on the streets, etc.!!!

If the Kaaba was not a cubicle built of stone, but was a circle, or a semi-circle, or of any other shape or size……or if the Kaaba was not built of stone, but was built from wood, or cloth, or steel, or plastic….it would absolutely make no difference at all!!! Even if the place where the Kaaba is built was simply marked by a stick or a stone or by a boundary…..it would remain no more than a Symbol where the believers are to turn their faces and direction towards prayer; for it is not the Kaaba that is worshipped by the muslims, for they are commanded to worship none but their Lord God Who Created wheresoever they may be, turning their direction towards the place appointed by Him when in prayer and prostration.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 177:

177 It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces toward East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for Him for your kin for orphans for the needy for the wayfarer for those who ask and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing.

Thus beloved brother, it is not the Kaaba to whom the believers bow, prostrate, or worship….but the Kaaba is only a marked symbol and a direction towards which the believers turn their direction when they perform any rite in the worship of their Unseen Lord Who Created.

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