Author : Abu Arif Al Alawi
Brother Zakir
Naik ! Scholars of Ahlus Sunnah Wa Zama’t are in absolute agreement that Wasila
of The Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi wa sallam and Allah’s pious servants is
permissible as per the rulings of Al Quran and Holy Hadithes. But in order to to
split the Muslim Ummah into vested
firqas and to imprison the younger generation in false egotism
in the name of tawheed, extremist elements brand it as shirk and declare the
Ahle Sunnah Muslims Mushriks for
believing in Wasila. Brother ! You too deem wasila impermissible. But What is
dismaying is your reference in refutation of wasila appears to be lie and
deceptive. You say, “Quran
majeed may kam se kam pachchees Aayatein hein jiss may likhaa hai shiffa!
Shiffa matlab Shifaarish/Wasilah haram hain.” Translation : "there
are 25 verses in Quran Mazeed where it is written that Shifa meaning waseelah/ shifaarish is
Haraam". [link: http://www.cifiaonline.com/apps/videos/show/10778621 ]
Appeal No 01
to Zakir NaikTo Rectify His aqidah on Tawassul: Brother Zakir
Naik ! You say, “There
are 25 verses in Quran Mazeed where it
is written that Shifa
meaning Wasila Shifaarish is haram.” Brother! This is lie.Would you
kindly oblige us by quoting these 25 Quranic verses? Let me very humbly brief you
that The Arabic words
'Shifa' and Shafa'a are two different words. We should not trick
innocent Muslims to believe that both these words are same. The actual meaning
of 'Shifa' is 'cure or healing'. And the word 'Shafa'a' means
- 'Mediation (Waseelah)' or 'Recommendation (Sifaarish). If you verify The Holy Quran, you will see that
‘Shifaa’ means cure, not Wasila and this word is written
in about three verses, not in twenty five as you say.We are presenting below these
three verses in Quran which contain the word 'Shifa' and we are providing their English meanings as
well. In none of these verses shifa means wasila:
Meaning: -“O'
mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,
and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy” (Yousuf Ali)
Meaning: -“O'
mankind! there hath come to you an admonition and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts, -and
for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy” (Saudi Salafi IFTA)
Verse No. 02: Allah
Subhanahu Taala mentions (شِفَآءٌ ) in Al Quran in Surah Al
Israa, Surah No. 17, Verse No. 82 which means cure and not Wasila:
Meaning: “We send down
(stage by stage) in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who
believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss.” (Yousuf Ali)
Meaning: “We send down
(stage by stage) of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who
believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss.” (Saudi Salafi IFTA)
Verse No. 03: Allah Subhanahu Taala mentions (شِفَآءٌ ) in Al Quran in Surah Fussilat , Surah No. 41, Verse No. 44 which means cure and not Wasila:
Meaning: “Had We sent this as a Qur'an (in the language) other than
Arabic, they would have said: "Why are not its verses explained in detail?
What! (a Book) not in Arabic and (a Messenger an Arab?" Say: "It is a
Guide and a Healing to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there
is a deafness in their ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes): They are (as
it were) being called from a place far distant!" (Yousuf Ali)
Meaning: “Had We sent this as A Qur'an (in a language) other than Arabic, they would have
said: "Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! A foreign (
tongue ) And (a Messenger ) an Arab?" Say: "It is a Guide and a Healing
to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there is a deafness in
their ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes): They are (as it were) being
called from a place Far distant!" (Saudi Salafi IFTA)
So Brother Zakir
Naik ! You see in these verses “Shifa” does not mean “Wasila Shifaarish” as you teach. If indeed you are
well-wisher of Muslim Ummah, you will
provide reference in support of your bold claim that, “There are 25 verses in Quran Mazeed where it is written that Shifa meaning Wasila Shifaarish is haram.”. We will wait
for your response thirstily. Please no logic ! No argument!
No Quarrelling! Only reference, my dear brother. Allah says: Say: ‘People who invent
lies against Allah will not be successful.’ (Qur'an 10:69). Al Quran instructs
: “...Say, ‘Produce your evidence if you are telling the truth.’ (Qur'an 2:111)
Appeal No 02 to Zakir NaikTo Rectify His aqidah
on Tawassul: Brother Zakir
Naik ! How can tawaassul be shirk or haram? There is
no single Quranic verse or blessed hadeeth
prohibititing or condemning tawassul through The Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa sallam
and Allah’s pious Servants . Shaykh Abdul Wahab Nazdi and his followers picked the verses of Al
Quran revealed exclusively about the Mushriks who worshipped idols and applied
them to the Muslims.For example, they take this verse of Al Quran about the
Mushriks who said ‘we do not worship them except
that they might bring us near to Allah’ (Surat al-Zumar, 3). This verse does not condemn tawassul. Rather this
noble verse is clear in its severe condemnation of the polytheists for their
worship of idols as gods besides Allah, the Exalted, and their association of
them with Him, claiming that their worship of these idols is nothing more than
a means of drawing closer to Allah. The kufr and shirk of their action stems
from their worship of these idols, and their belief that they are lords besides
Allah. This is the key feature of
Kharizism. They made self-made tafsir of these verses and on the basis of these
verses declare Ahle Sunnat Wa zamaat Mushrik and spread fitna, firqaparasti and
disunity among Muslims. Imam Bukhari
relates from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (Allah be well pleased with him) "Ibn
`Umar considered the Khawarij and the heretics as the worst beings in creation,
and he said: They went to verses which were
revealed about the disbelievers and applied them to the Believers.[Sahih Bukhari, Chapter of Killing the Khawarjites and
Mulhideen, Volume No. 6, Page No. 2539]
Appeal No 03 to Zakir NaikTo Rectify His aqidah
on Tawassul: Brother Zakir
Naik ! How can tawaassul be shirk or haram? Shirk is to
combine others in the oneness of Allah , to believe that another entity is
worthy of worship as is the case with idols, or believe that something is like
Allah while tawassul and Waseelah
is to make a request or supplicate through a means. The lexical meaning of
tawassul is 'nearness' or a 'means' through which to reach a certain goal (
Lisan al-'Arab, Asas al-Balaghah and Tartib al-Qamus al-Muhit). Tawassul
in no way rejects the fact that everything is under Allah's sovereignty. When
we use the means of approach toward AllahSubhanahu Taala , it does not mean we
are worshiping that means. If
you can quote “25 verses in Quran Mazeed
where it is written that Shifa meaning Wasila Shifaarish
is haram” as you claim, we’ll instantly make tawba InshaAllah and accept your
standpoint.
Appeal No 04 to Zakir
NaikTo Rectify His aqidah on Tawassul: Brother Zakir Naik ! How can tawaassul be shirk or haram? There is not a single Quranic
Verse prohibititing or condemning
tawassul whereas a number of Quranic Verses justify its permissibility. Let alone Shirk which is capital crime, in which
Quranic Verse or Hadith, Tawassul and seeking help from Prophets and Awliyas,
are declared as merely undesirable or
impermissible ? The acts which are not
declared even “disliked”or “undesirable” by Shariah, how can you declare them
as Shirk ? Allah Almighty commands :
“O believers! Fear Allah and seek means (وَ ابْتَغُوْۤا اِلَیْهِ الْوَسِیْلَةَ ) of approach unto Him, And
strive in His cause, that you may prosper” [surah Al-Mā’idah,
Surah No. 05, Verse No.35)The instruction of this verse on seeking wasila
is general and this wasila may be of various forms : Wasila through good deeds,
wasila through the names and attributes of Almighty Allah and
wasila through Allah’s beloved servants.Some people say that Allah Almighty Himself declares that only Wasila through good deeds and through the
names and attributes of Almighty Allah are permissible and waasila through The
Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa sallam oy Awliyas are Shirk. Why Brothers? In
which verse of Al Quran or in which Hadeeth such differentiation are mentioned
? Having failed to answer, these brothers say, wasila through alive persons are
permissible but through deceased persons are shirk. This differentiation too is
self-coined and has no connection with Al Quran and Al Hadeeth. Allah Almighty
declares that He allows His chosen people to intercede. Allah Almighty says,"Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the
earth is His; who is he that can intercede with Him but by his permission"
(Surah Baqarah, Surah No. 02 , Verse No. 255). The words "but" and
"except" in suggest clearly
that Allah’s chosen Servants whom Allah allows can intercede . Allah
Subhanahu Taala declares:"On that Day the intercession
of any one will not avail but of him whom the Most Affectionate has permitted
and whose word He liked”. [ Surah Taha, Surah No. 20, Verse No. 109]. Allah Subhanahu Taala declares : "On that day shall no intercession avail
except of him whom the Beneficent God allows and whose word He is pleased
with" (20:109) Allah Subhanahu Taala
declares :"And intercession will not avail aught with Him save of
him whom He permits" (34:23). Allah Subhanahu Taala declares:"And
how many an angel is there in the heavens whose intercession does not avail at
all except after Allah has given permission to whom He pleases and
chooses" (53:26). Allah Subhanahu Taala
declares :"...And they do not intercede except for him whom He
approve..." (21:28). Allah Subhanahu Taala
declares: "And those whom they call upon besides Him have no
authority for intercession, but he who bears witness of the truth and they know
(him)" (43:86) . In Chapter Nisaa', permissibility of tawassul
becomes more specific. In Surah Nisaa' Allah explains: “ If they
(hypocrites) when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you (
Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and begged Allah’s forgiveness and the
Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allah
All-forgiving ( one who forgives and accepts repentance), Most Merciful.” [ Surah Nisaa’, Surah No. 04 , Verse No:64]
Brother Zakir Naik ! Hafidh Ibn Kathīr, Most-Respected Mufassir of Your Salafi Scholars, proves tawassul from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 emphatically. Hafidh Ibn Kathir writes: “(In this Qur'anic verse) Allah is exhorting the sinners and evildoers that when they commit sins and errors they should call on the Messenger of Allah and ask forgiveness from Allah. They should also request the Messenger of Allah to pray for them. When they do so, Allah will turn to them and forgive them and He will show mercy to them. That is why He used the words la-wajadullāha tawwāban-rahīmā (they (on the basis of this means and intercession) would have surely found Allah the Granter of repentance, extremely Merciful. [Ref : Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr-ul-Qur'an al-‘azīm , Under the Verse 4:64] .
Imam Ibn Kathir
continues:
"Jama'at (Many scholars) have stated this
tradition. One of them is Abu Mansur al-Sabbagh who writes in his book
Al-Shamil Al-Hikayat-ul-mashhurah that, according to ‘Utbi, once he was sitting beside the Prophet’s grave when a bedouin
came and he said, “Peace be on you, O Allah’s Messenger. I have heard that
Allah says: ‘(O beloved!) And if they
had come to you, when they had wronged their souls, and asked forgiveness of
Allah, and the Messenger also had asked forgiveness for them, they (on the
basis of this means and intercession) would have surely found Allah the Granter
of repentance, extremely Merciful.’ I have come to you, asking forgiveness for my sins and I make
you as my intermediary before my Lord and I have come to you for this
purpose.” Then he recited these verses: “O, the most exalted among the
buried people who improved the worth of the plains and the hillocks! May I
sacrifice my life for this grave which is made radiant by you, (the Prophet,)
the one who is (an embodiment) of mercy and forgiveness.” Then the bedouin went away and I fell asleep. In my dream I
saw the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). He said to me: O ‘Utbi, the bedouin
is right, go and give him the good news that Allah has forgiven his sins. [Ibn Kathir,
Tafsir-ul-Qur'an al-azim Volume 004, Page No. 140, Under the Verse 4:64]
Brother Zakir Naik ! Great Hadeeth-specialist Imam an-Nawawi
proves the legitimacy of Tawassul from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 categorically. He writes: "(The
pilgrim) should turn towards the face of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and make him a means (tawassul)
for the sake of himself and also seek his intercession (shafa'at) towards
reaching God. In this regard “THE BEST OF SAYINGS” is the Hikayat of Imam al-Marwadi (rah) and Qadhi Abu
at-Tayb (rah) and “ALL
MY OTHER ASHAAB (I.E. SHAWAFI)” the narration of Utbi “AND THEY CONSIDERED IT
HASAN/RECOMMENDED (مستحسنين له)” i.e. Bedouin who visited the Prophet's
grave and sat beside it said: Peace unto you O Messenger of Allah, I have heard
Allah has said:
Had they, when they had wronged themselves, come to you and
asked Allah's forgiveness and the Apostle had asked forgiveness for them, they
would certainly have found Allah Most-Propitious, Most-Merciful. (Holy
Qur'an 4: 64).
Therefore,
I have come to you for forgiveness of my sins and seeking your intercession
with Allah" [Imam an-Nawawi in Al-Majmu', Volume No. 8, Page No. 274]
Brother Zakir Naik ! Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti proves
the legitimacy of Tawassul categorically from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 in "Dur al-Manthur". He writes:
Imam al-Bayhaqi (rah) has
narrated from Abi Harb al-Hilali who said:... (and then he mentioned the
incident of Araabi) [Tafsir Dur al Manthur
under 4:64)]
Brother Zakir Naik ! Imam
Qurtubi proves
the legitimacy of Tawassul categorically from Surah Nisaa’s Verse No:64 In
His Tafsir. He
writes: "Its related from Abu
Sadiq (ra) that Imam Ali (ra) said: "Three days after burying the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) arab
did came and did throw himself on the grave of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him),
took the earth and throw it on his head. He said: "Ya Rasulallah! (Peace
Be Upon Him) You did speak and we did hear, you learned from Allah and we did
learn from you. Between those things which Allah did send you, is following:
(4:64) I am the one, which is a sinner and now I did
came to you, so that you may ask for me." After that a call from the grave
did came: "Theres no doubt, you are forgiven!" [Tafsir al-Qurtubi, al-Jami li Ahkam
al-Quran Volume 006, Page No. 439, Under the Verse, 4:64]
Brother Zakir
Naik ! This
incident of the Bedouin is related also by Bayhaqi in Shu‘ab-ul-Imaan (Volume
no: 3, Page no:495-496, Hadith No#4178), Ibn Qudamah in
al-Mughni- (Book : Kitab Al Hajj Chapter : Wa Yustahabbu Ziyarat Qabr An NABI
SAW Volume : 5 Page : 465) , Ibn ‘Asakir in Tahdhīb tarikh Dimashq
al-kabir popularly known as Tarikh/Tahdhib Ibn ‘Asakir as quoted by Imam
as-Subki in Shifa’-us-siqam fī ziyaat khayr-il-anam (pp. 46-7), Tafsir
al-Bahr al-Muheet by Imam Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi (3/282, Dar al Fikr edition)
or Book : Tafseer bahr Al Muheet Volume : 3 Page : 269 Under : Sorat An Nisa
Ayat number 64 , Imam al-Mutaqi al-Hindi in Kanz ul
Amaal (1/714 #10422) or Book : Tafseer bahr Al Muheet Volume : 3 Page :
269 Under : Sorat An Nisa Ayat number 64 , Imam al-Nawawi again in his al-Majmu' (8/202-203) and Ibn Hajar Haythami in al-Jawhar-ul-munazzam (p. 51).
Brother Zakir
Naik ! These references prove without any shadow of
doubt that great Muhaditheen not only authenticated this very report but also
considered the action as Mustahab . None of these Imams called it shirk or Bidah. Most importantly, no
Quranic Verse, No Hadeeth, NoTafsir-Master and No Hadith-Master endorse that the significance and
operational range of this holy
verse was restricted only to the earthly existence of the Holy Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi wa sallam. Did Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Nawawi, Imam Qurtubi and other
Mufassirins or Hadith-Masters commit shirk
? Did they become Mushriks? However, if you can quote “25 verses in Quran Mazeed where it is written that Shifa meaning Wasila Shifaarish is haram”
as you claim, we’ll instantly make tawba InshaAllah and accept your standpoint. Wa Maa Alaina Illal Balaag.
( To Be
Continued)
[ ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED : This writing is
taken from Abu Arif Al Alawi's "An Open Letter To Brother Zakir Naik
Demanding Reference On His Claim That 25 Quranic Verses say Shifa Or wasila Is
Haram".
The author holds
copyrights on this work. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.
Please Contact us if you wish to sponsor the printing of a book for the
EsaaleSawaab of the marhooms in your family. Sponsor
the printing of a book and send the sawaab to your marhoom family members. This
is Sawaab-e-Jaariyah and a means of educating the Ummat . Email-
abuarifalalawi63@gmail.com
One may download the entire book ""An Open Letter To Brother Zakir
Naik Demanding Reference On His Claim That 25 Quranic Verses say Shifa Or
wasila Is Haram" from:
http://islamicresearchmission.blogspot.in/2012/11/an-open-letter-to-brother-zakir-naik.html ]
http://islamicresearchmission.blogspot.in/2012/11/an-open-letter-to-brother-zakir-naik.html ]
