Unforgiven by

"Unforgiven" - Khutbah by Sheikh Navaid Aziz

Opening Greeting

(السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh)

Introduction

My dear brothers and sisters of the blessed city of Calgary, (السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته - Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh). I was telling Ahmed this when they picked me up from the airport, that, you know, one of the beautiful things about Calgary is that whenever I come to Calgary, I like to thank Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) for bringing me to this city. I mean, this time it was specifically for taking me away from Edmonton and bringing me here, but generally speaking, I love the city of Calgary.

You know, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) has blessed this city with wonderful brothers and sisters and a lot of, you know, dawah initiatives which are unprecedented to me, you know, not only in North America, but across the globe. And I pray that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) protects and blesses all of you and grants you the tawfiq to further this beautiful dawah and grants us the tawfiq to be with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) in Al-Fardaws Al-Aala.

Main Topic: The Importance of Understanding Tawhid and Shirk

The Two Parts of the Shahada

So as you know, (بِسْمِ اللَّهِ - bismillah) ta'ala, in a couple of weeks time, I'm going to be coming down to teach a class called Light of Guidance. And I want to give you a perspective of this class that often isn't given. A lot of the times when Muslims talk about the oneness of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala), they tend to focus just on that, the oneness of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala). And they forget and fail to realize that when we talk about the shahada, the shahada consists of two parts.

And they are affirmation and negation. And in fact, the negation precedes the affirmation. So when you say (لا إله إلا الله - la ilaha illallah), you are actually saying that there is no god that is worthy of worship except Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala).

So a lot of Muslims, they tend to focus upon how Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala)'s soul right is the right to be worshipped. But they tend to forget that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) negates all other deities prior to that. Now setting up deities and rivals with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) in the Arabic language is known as shirk.

The Completeness of Islam

And I want to give you a small introduction to this (بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ - bi'ithnillah) ta'ala to show you how complete and beautiful of a religion Islam really is. Because not only from a fiqh perspective that a lot of us are familiar with, but even from the sense of our creed that there is no fault, no discrepancy, no inconsistency in it whatsoever.

Personal Story: The Importance of a Holistic View

And to start off I want to tell you something about a personal experience. Growing up in Montreal, you know I actually moved to Montreal. I was born in Montreal, we moved back to Pakistan, then we moved to New York City. And I stayed there roughly till about I was 6 or 7 years old.

So when I came to Montreal, all of a sudden everyone is speaking French, and I have no idea what's going on whatsoever. You know everyone is like, and I'm like, please speak English with me. So even in school, I'm not adjusting too well. I'm having trouble making friends and they're like, what is this guy saying, why doesn't he speak our language? And at that time, to make up for the quote unquote lack of friends I guess you could say, I picked up on playing video games. And I loved playing video games all the way till I reached high school. Till that time I think every single Super Nintendo game that came out, I must have finished it.

Literally every single game that came out. Now one of those games I had a really, really terrible experience with. This game was called Magic Sword. Has anyone heard of this game? Actually is anyone even that old that did remember this game? So this is like really, really old. But the point of this game is, you have this warrior, and typically speaking the princess gets captured and he has to go and save the princess. Now what makes this game unique is that along the way you pick up other warriors, and they start fighting with you.

And this game consists of something like 110 levels, and each level roughly takes about 5 to 10 minutes to finish. So it's a pretty quick game, and things go by pretty quickly. Now I remember, I'm at level 110, it's taken me about 3 days to get this far, and I'm thinking I'm finally going to save the princess. This is it. So it takes me a couple of tries, but I can't beat the dragon at the end. He's just unbeatable.

I keep playing, I keep playing, I keep playing, and finally at like 2 o'clock in the morning after like 6 hours of playing, I finally beat the dragon. And I'm like, yes, this is the end of the game. And I get to the end of the game, and it's like, sorry, you forgot to collect the key at level 22. Please go back and start over. I took the game out and threw it against the wall. Until this day I hate that game.

It's like, why did you waste my time for like 80 levels? I went all this way and I didn't even get to save the princess. But it taught me a very, very important lesson. That in life, you have to have a holistic view.

I was so focused on getting to the end of the game and trying to finish it, that I forgot to pay attention at what was going on along the way. And there was a clear sign, like, don't forget the key at level 22. But I was like, forget the key, I'm going all the way to the end. Because I didn't think it would be important. And I learned a very valuable lesson at that time. That in life, you need a holistic view.

Applying the Holistic View to Aqeedah

And this holistic view is needed even when we talk about aqeedah. When we talk about our creed as Muslims, when we talk about our faith as Muslims, it's not just about affirming the oneness of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala). But likewise, it is about negating everything else other than Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala).

And this is so important, that if one fails to do so, this can actually take him outside the fold of Islam, and he will not even realize it. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) gives us a clear example in the Quran. As we know, as Muslims, we are required to show respect and honor the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wasallam). And in failing to do so, this can actually take one outside the fold of Islam.

Example from Surah Al-Hujurat

Now I want to show you the example that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) gives. In surah al-hujurat, surah number 49, ayah number 2. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) says:

O you who believe, do not raise your voices in the presence of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wasallam), like you do amongst yourselves. And if you were to do so, then this would render your deeds null and void, and you would not even realize it. Meaning that the people who did this in the presence of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wasallam), treating him just as he was one of their own people and not the messenger of Allah, then these people, their deeds were rendered null and void.

And this is why later on in the surah, when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) talks about the Arab, the Bedouin people, and they claim that we have iman, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) rebuked these people. You know, why would Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) reveal an ayah about Bedouin people? You know, of all things, it was to teach us a very important lesson, that one cannot claim iman and completion of iman up until all the attributes of iman are actually complete.

So when these Bedouins said that we have believed, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) said to them, but rather say you have submitted, that you have submitted to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala), but true iman has not entered into your hearts at that time. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) tells us at this point, there are certain deeds that can be committed, that are so severe and so great, they will render your deeds null and void, and you will not even realize it whatsoever.

Why We Need to Learn About Shirk

So this is one of the primary reasons why we need to learn about shirk. That shirk is about not only perfecting our tawhid, but protecting our deeds as well. And I want to share with you a glimpse of the history of how the companions (رضي الله عنهم - radiallahu anhum) understood this subject.

If you look at the general scheme of questions that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was asked, you would notice that he was generally asked about positive matters. You know they would ask him, Ya Rasulallah, describe Jannah for us. Ya Rasulallah, tell us how to become better Muslims. Ya Rasulallah, which are the best of deeds?

But there is one particular companion. He said, while the companions used to ask the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) about the good, I used to ask him about the evil. Now when his students asked him, why would you do this? He said, that out of fear that it would befall me.

And this teaches us a very important lesson. That while in that pursuit of good, in that pursuit of paradise, you have to be very careful of those potholes, of those things that will distract you, and take you towards the hellfire. And this is why a famous poem was actually developed out of this hadith. This hadith of Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman. He was the companion who asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) about the evil things.

Things that the rest of the companions wouldn't ask about.

And poetry was actually formed out of this hadith. The poet went on to say:

عَرَفْتُ الشَّرَّ لَا لِلشَّرِّ وَلَكِن لِتَوَقِيهِ وَمَن لَا يَعْرِفِ الشَّرَّ عَنِ الْخَيْرِ يَقَعْ فِيهِ

This poet went on to say, I learnt evil, not for the sake of evil, but rather to abstain from it. For he who is not able to distinguish between good and evil is bound to fall into it. Meaning that if you do not have the tools, if you do not have the knowledge of what evil actually is, then you are bound to fall into it sooner or later. And this goes on to teach us why we need to learn about shirk.

That if an individual does not have knowledge about shirk, it is very very possible that he will fall into it. It is very very possible that he will fall into it. And this is why when we study the topic of shirk (بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى - bi'idhni Allahi ta'ala) in the class, we are going to study this in a lot more detail.

One of the most interesting parts of the class is this very section. People who commit shirk with Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) and the justifications that they use. A lot of the times when these justifications are brought forth, people do not know how to respond to them. They do not know how to refute them. (بِإِذْنِ اللهِ تَعَالَى - bi'idhni Allahi ta'ala) We are going to take those justifications one by one and literally annihilate them.

Definition of Shirk and Tawhid

So I want to share with you, how did shirk actually come about now? Did tawhid precede shirk? Or did shirk precede tawhid? And before we even get to that, we need to define what tawhid and shirk actually are.

So who is going to give me a brief summary or a brief definition of what shirk is? Anyone want to volunteer? Who is going to tell me what shirk actually means? Go for it. Associating partners with Allah. In what sense, in what angle? Associating people at the same level of Allah. You are close. You mentioned a key word, but you left out. Who is going to help the brother out inshallah? Go for it.

Which means? Excellent. So it is to affirm rivals and partners with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) in three particular aspects.

The Three Categories of Tawhid

Number one, in his lordship. And what lordship actually means, are those characteristics that are specific to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) like creation, like granting life, like taking life away, like the alternation of the sun

Meaning negating that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was Ar-Rahman. So to negate any of the names and attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, likewise constitutes of shirk as well.

Now, this tends to become a very heated discussion. Because people love to talk about the names and attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, because this is where the vast majority of deviance took place. We said the vast majority of shirk took place in uluhiya, the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but the vast majority of deviance, meaning the creation of the different sects in Islam, took place in this third category in the names and attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that is a brief summary and definition of shirk.

Which Came First: Tawhid or Shirk?

Now a question arises, which one came first? The chicken or the egg? Did shirk come first, or did tawhid come first? So how many people believe that tawhid came first? Raise your hands. Okay, put your hands down. How many people believe shirk came first? Raise your hands. So we have one person, two people, a couple of people.

Okay, let's hear from the people who said shirk came first. Why do you believe that shirk came first? Any ideas? I don't think it's fair. How old are you brother, if you don't mind me asking? You, yes, the one who raised your hand. You're seven? Mashallah. I don't think it's a fair question to ask him.

Alhamdulillah. Okay, now the people who said that tawhid came first. I want to hear from you. Why do you believe that tawhid came first? Who's going to give me an answer? Why do you believe that tawhid came first? Go for it. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us with the fitrah. Excellent.

Okay, explain what fitrah is please. Excellent. The natural inclination to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone.

Anyone have a different answer than that? Just use a bit of logic. It requires a little bit of logic. Why would tawhid precede shirk? Why would tawhid be first? Okay, the first creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in terms of human beings. Who was he? Adam alayhi salam. What was particular about him? What distinguished him from just being a regular individual? He was a prophet of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So therefore the very first creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with an intellect that's able to distinguish and decipher. He was created upon tawhid and he was made a prophet of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So therefore tawhid had to precede shirk.

The Fitrah: Ultimate Weapon in Giving Dawah

Now I want to come back to what brother Ahmed said in terms of the fitrah. The fitrah is the ultimate weapon in giving dawah. It is something so beautiful that it literally changes the way people act and changes the way people perceive the world. And I want to tell you a bit about the fitrah.

One of the most beautiful ahadith that is narrated inside Sahih al-Bukhari is a hadith that refers indirectly to the fitrah. The Prophet ﷺ says in this hadith:

"[The souls are like recruited soldiers. Those that recognize each other will unite, and those that do not recognize each other will differ.]"

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3336)

That indeed souls are like conscripted soldiers. Those that get to know one another will unite. Those that differ with one another will part and turn away from one another.

Now this hadith is actually referring to something that took place before we can even remember. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in surah al-a'raf ayah 172 that he took an oath from each of the children of Bani Adam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in this ayah:

"[And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify concerning themselves, [saying], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."]"

That he took an oath bringing the progeny, every single individual that is ever to exist and brought them out from the loins of Adam alayhi salam. And they were brought into a valley and they were made to testify that am I not your lord, am I not the one who is solely going to be worshipped by you? And all of the souls they said bala, of course our lord you are the only one that is going to be worshipped.

Thereafter Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala re-put the souls into the loins of Adam alayhi salam. And thereafter the progeny was created. Now this oath, this vow, this contract that was taken with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is known as the mithaq, it is known as the covenant that was taken.

The remnants of this covenant, meaning that natural inclination that we have towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that natural inclination of longing towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that natural inclination to worship him alone, this is what is known as the fitrah.

And this is why so many times an individual who knows nothing about Islam he will hear the Quran for the very first time and he will know that this has to be from some sort of divine inspiration. That it is too good just to be from a human source. Likewise if you leave the person to just read the Quran, the fitrah kicks in and they will see that this Quran has to be from some source that is absolutely perfect. And this is what the fitrah is actually about. So these are just two proofs that Tawheed preceded shirk.

How Shirk Actually Began

Now how did shirk actually come about? And this is a third proof that Tawheed preceded shirk. Ibn Abbas radiallahu ta'ala anhuma, he says that between Adam alayhi salam and Nuh alayhi salam were ten generations. And up and until these ten generations, up until the time of Nuh, the people were upon Tawheed.

And during that time there were five individuals that are mentioned in Surah Nuh. If you look in the Quran, Surah Nuh, these five individuals are mentioned. And these five individuals were righteous individuals, good individuals, well mannered, in the service of the community. So when they passed away one by one, shaitan came to these people at that time.

And he told them, do you not want to honor their legacy? Do you not want to remember these great individuals? So playing with emotions is something that shaitan is very good at. You will see that people commit the gravest of sins when they are unable to control their emotions. So these people at that time, loving these individuals, wanting to honor their legacy, they said of course we want to honor their legacy, we want to remember them.

So shaitan said to them, why don't you create statues and portraits of them? And then when you pray, put them in front of you, so that you will remember why those statues are there. And why those statues are there.

So shaitan comes again to these people, and he tells these people, the younger generation, that your forefathers created these statues and they created these portraits, so that these people may be remembered and they may be honored. Why don't you put these statues in front of them, so that you may further what your forefathers did not do. So that you can honor them even better than what your forefathers did.

So the new generation, they fall for this trap. Totally gullible people. They fall for that trap, and they start putting those statues and those portraits in front of them when they start to worship. And this was the beginning of shirk and the children of Adam alayhi salam. And this is how shirk began. With the deception of shaitan, tricking mankind into thinking that this is what his forefathers were upon.

When in reality, the forefathers of these children were pure monotheists. People who worshipped Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. So that is a third proof that tawhid preceded shirk. The statement and story that Ibn Abbas radiallahu ta'ala narrates.

The Dangers of Shirk

Now, I want you to think about, imagine a time that you're driving your car on a street. And then all of a sudden, blinking lights go off behind you. The red and blue lights, they start to go off. What's that feeling that you tend to get? You know, you haven't done anything wrong, but you still start to feel nervous all of a sudden. It's as if like, even without the sound, the sirens are going off in your head.

This is the example I'd like to give, that when we talk about the dangers of shirk. They're so evil, that even though, you know, the cop may not be pulling you over. You may not be the one falling into shirk. But it's so evil that sirens need to start going off in your head. They need to start going off in your head.

And there's a nice story that's actually narrated by one of the scholars in the 13th century. He told his students that, you know, there's a group of people that sacrificed a chicken to an idol. He told his students that there was a group of people that sacrificed a chicken to an idol. Some of them didn't take it too seriously. They cracked a couple of jokes. Others of them, they're like, you know, that's terrible to hear.

A couple of days go by, and he says, Oh my students, what would your reaction be if I told you that a man fornicated with his mother? What would your reaction be if I told you a man fornicated with his mother? Obviously, the facial expressions totally changed. Absolute disgust. Absolute hatred for this act.

So he says, Oh my dear students, in the sight of Allah, it is worse that a chicken be sacrificed to an idol than it is that a man fornicate with his mother. Because as for the former, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not forgive that

act up until they seek forgiveness for it. Whereas for the individual who fornicates with his mother, then this is just another sin. It is under the mashia of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that if he wills, he will forgive it. And if he does not will, he will not forgive it. Regardless if they seek forgiveness for it or not.

So now when it comes to the dangers of shirk, those sirens need to go off. And I want to share some of the dangers of shirk at this point with you bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.

Danger Number One: All Deeds Rendered Null and Void

Danger number one. Regardless of how many hajjis you may have done. Regardless of how many people you may have fed in the month of Ramadan. Regardless of how many orphans you may have taken care of. An individual who performs shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and dies upon it. All of his deeds will be rendered null and void. His deeds will be rendered null and void.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expresses this in one ayah in surah uz-zumar. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"[And it was already revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and to those before you, that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely be lost, and you would surely be among the losers.]"

So here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is addressing the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. An individual that will never commit shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it was not possible that he could have committed shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But just to show you the gravity of this act. He says, O Muhammad, it was revealed to you. Just like it was revealed to those before you.

Meaning that every messenger and prophet was given this message as well. What is this message that they were given? That if you were to commit shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All of your deeds would be rendered null and void. And you would indeed be of the losers.

Now I want you to think about this for a second. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is being addressed in this ayah. Every single good deed that we do as believers, as Muslims. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam gets the reward for it. Because he is the one who taught it to us. And an individual who guides to a good act is just like the one who does it.

So here the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, the best of the creation. The best of the children of Adam. The best of the prophets and messengers is being told. That if you were to commit shirk with Allah. Even your deeds would be rendered null and void.

Then how about someone who is of an even lesser degree. Just people like us. If we were to commit shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What would happen with our deeds?

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala further manifests this and explains this in two other ayahs. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala defines and mentions what is going to happen to the good deeds of the people of the book. When they show up on the day of judgment. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"[And We will approach what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed.]"

And their good deeds, they will be brought forth on the day of judgment. All of the charity that they did. All of taking care of the poor and the weak and defending their rights. All of that will be brought forth on the day of judgment. But since they fell into shirk, We will make it into scattered dust. Imagine, you know you're cleaning your bookshelf one day. You're cleaning that table. You pick it up, you wipe the table. You blow, you look at it. And you blow. That is what is going to happen to their deeds.

Now something that is even scarier is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala goes on and further explains this. In Surah Al-Kahf when he says:

"Say, shall we inform you of the greatest losers in terms of their deeds. That there are those people who thought that in this world they were doing something good. They thought that they were getting closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They thought that they were from the quote unquote Awliya of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But in reality, there were people who had gone astray and their deeds will be rendered null and void.

Imagine this, living your whole life thinking that you're doing something good. But in reality, your destination is the hellfire. Why? Because you never bothered to learn what the dangers of shirk actually were. You never bothered to learn what shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala actually means. And therefore your ultimate destination became the hellfire. That is point number one. That all of your deeds are rendered null and void.

Danger Number Two: Paradise is Prohibited

As a result of your deeds being rendered null and void, your ultimate destination becomes the hellfire. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in surah al-ma'idah verse number 72:

"[Indeed, he who associates partners with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.]"

That those individuals who commit shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, those people who commit shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, indeed Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has prohibited them paradise. They have been prohibited from paradise.

Now you can imagine, you're created in this world you've struggled and you've strived as hard as you possibly can. And because of something that you did that you didn't learn about shirk, you didn't learn about its dangers, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prevents you from entering paradise for an eternity. That you will never enter paradise. That once you enter that hellfire, you're not going to be taken out of it. Because you never bothered to learn about shirk and its dangers.

The Greatest Blessing of Paradise

Now, talking about the beauty of paradise. A lot of the times when we talk about the beauty of paradise the brothers love to talk about the Hurul Ayn. You know, the ultimate pleasure in paradise. But in reality, we fail to realize that this is not the greatest blessing of paradise. This in reality is not the greatest blessing of paradise.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) tells us about the greatest blessing of paradise in a hadith narrated in Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 181)

He mentions that two groups of people will see the face of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā). And seeing the face of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) is the ultimate blessing. And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) shows us how through the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). He says two groups of people will see the face of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā).

Something so beautiful that you'll want to keep looking at it over and over and over again. And you can imagine that it's something so great so gratifying, so satisfying that it supersedes the pleasure of being with the Hurul Ayn. So he mentions two groups of people will see the face of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā). The believers and the hypocrites.

As for the disbelievers, they will never see the face of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) in its beautiful form. But in its beautiful form, the believers and the hypocrites will see it. As for the believers, it is obvious why. That this is their ultimate reward, their ultimate compensation for all their hard work in this dunya. It is the ultimate reward and pleasure that they will feel in paradise.

But as for the hypocrites, they will be shown the beautiful face of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) for a few seconds. For a very few, short, limited amount of time. And then they will be thrown into the hellfire forever.

And Allah's messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) goes on to say that this ends up becoming their worst punishment. Realizing that they could have been of those individuals who could have seen and had the pleasure of seeing Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā)'s face. But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) punishes them for an eternity with regret and remorse. That they chose a way of hypocrisy and thus they keep punishing themselves from the inside. And it becomes the worst form of punishment that the hypocrites will have in the hellfire. Seeing something so beautiful and then not being able to see it again.

I remember when my teacher was explaining this to us, we couldn't really understand what this meant. So he explained to us that imagine you have a young child. Any of the young brothers in this room. Up and until this point of time, he's never tasted chocolate. So if you were to put chocolate on the table, he has no idea what it is. He has no craving for it, no longing for it, no desire for it.

But take another child instead. A child who has tasted chocolate, the beauty of it. Someone who loves chocolate now. If you were to give them a piece of chocolate and you have like a whole container full of chocolate over

here and you tell that child that you can never have anymore. Imagine what his reaction would be. That was the example that he gave us.

And I was telling this to the brothers today. One of the most unique experiences I ever had was when I had a stopover in the city of Geneva in Switzerland. And something very interesting about the airport over there is that they actually have a chocolate factory inside the airport. How many people have heard of Lindt chocolate? Raise your hands please. Lindt chocolate. I mean, I think we can pretty much agree that fine, it might not be your favorite chocolate, but it's definitely up there.

It's an amazing chocolate. So I remember I had a 6 hour wait, 8 hour wait. You go up to the chocolate, and for those of you who have seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, honestly that's what it was like. They have this river of chocolate. It's going through mountains, there's a pond, there's chocolate trees there. I mean, it's just unbelievable.

And from this chocolate river, they give you a free sample of pure liquid milk chocolate. They give you a little bit, I guess to entice you to buy their chocolate. They give you a little bit, you try it, and for me, honestly, I've never had a drink that amazing. When I thought about it, subhanallah, I can't imagine what this is going to be like in Jannah. I couldn't picture that at that time, because of how amazing that was. Now at that point in time, they only give you one.

And you ask for a second one, and they're like, sorry, we can't give it to you. And you're like, okay, fine, I'm willing to buy it. And they don't even let you buy it. You can just buy the chocolates, you can't buy the shot of liquid milk chocolate that they give you as a teaser, as they say. And I'm like, subhanallah, this is torture, man. But alhamdulillah ala kulli hal.

Danger Number Three: Shirk Will Not Be Forgiven Without Repentance

So an individual who forms shirk with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā), he is going to be prevented from paradise, and his ultimate destination is going to be the Hellfire. Now we don't realize this, because as human beings, we can't really perceive what an eternity is like. You know, for us, if an hour goes by really really slowly, we say that, oh man, this feels like an eternity. Because we don't really understand what an eternity is. Living a hundred years, compared to an eternity, it's not even like a percentile. You can't even make it a percentile. Because it's unlimited.

An individual who goes to the Hellfire because of shirk, he's going to be there for an eternity. Meaning that he's stuck there, he's not getting out of there. And he's going to continue to be punished over and over and over again. Wishing and praying to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā), oh Allah, take me out of the Hellfire. But at that point, it's too late. You should have learned about shirk while you were in this dunya, so that you could have avoided it.

And then we go on to point number three, which is shirk is the only sin that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) will not forgive up until you repent from it. Meaning you change your ways from shirk, that is the only sin that Allah

subhanahu wa ta'ala requires that you make tawbah from it. Or otherwise Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) will not forgive you for it.

And this is why Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) says in Surah An-Nisa:

That those people who perform shirk with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) will not be forgiven. And He forgives anything lesser than that to whom He pleases.

So meaning any other sin you may have committed in your life, that you feel remorse for, that you feel regret for, realize that the mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) is there. That Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) will forgive you. And He wants to forgive you. Just seek His forgiveness and seek His pardon. And even if you forget or become neglectful, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) possibly still could forgive you. But don't take that chance.

But when it comes to shirk, that infinite mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā), Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) takes it away. That the mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) does not come into play at that very time. Why? Because shirk is like someone who feeds you. Someone who takes care of you. Someone who grants you everything that you need and everything that you want. And even after all of this, you go and thank someone other than Him. That is what the essence of shirk is all about. And that is why Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) will not forgive it.

And this is why when Ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه - raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) was asked about shirk, he said: That it is to create a rival with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) while He is the one who created you. Meaning the one that brought you into existence. You're going to worship other than Him. You're going to thank other than Him. This is why Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) will not forgive it. This is why Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) will not forgive it.

Practical Ways to Avoid Shirk

Now what are some of the practical ways that we can actually avoid shirk?

Number one is educating yourself. It is very important to educate yourselves about shirk. Classically speaking, if you were to look into the books of hadith, when they talk about shirk, they generally discuss it under the book of Iman. So if you take in particular Sahih Muslim, take Sahih Muslim, it has roughly about 118 hadith in this chapter. Go through these hadith one by one, and Imam Muslim (رحمه الله - rahimahullāh), in summary, describes all the acts of shirk and what you need to stay away from. That is number one.

Number two, there's a beautiful book called Kitab al-Tawhid, the book of monotheism. Take this book, you know it's short, maybe about 150 pages or so. Study it, read it, and you will perfect your Tawhid and learn what shirk is and you can stay away from it, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. That's in terms of reading.

In terms of lectures, I really haven't come across anything in detail other than an explanation of Kitab al-Tawhid. This book, you know, was explained by our beloved brother and Sheikh Yasir Qadhi. And after his first year of Medina, he came back to the city of Houston and did I think a 16 part or a 17 part explanation of Kitab

al-Tawhid. If you search on the internet, you can download it for free. Listen to these lectures and it will be the greatest blessing, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, that you have ever attained.

Number two, there's a du'a that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) encouraged his companions to make. And that was:

O Allah, I seek refuge in you from shirk that I commit knowingly and unknowingly. So making du'a to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā), that Oh Allah, if I've ever committed shirk unknowingly, please pardon me for it. And likewise, if I ever commit shirk knowingly, then please guide me away from it.

So this was a du'a that the companions (رضي الله عنهم - raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum) were taught. So if you take like a book, Hisn al-Muslim, you know, The Fortress of the Believer, you can look up this du'a and memorize that du'a, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.

And number three, this is like your ultimate solution, like act now, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. You can attend this class called Light of Guidance. Because in the English language, as far as I know, nothing has been done to this degree at an academic level where shirk is literally annihilated and refuted. That anyone who attends this class, it is the ultimate establishment of proof on him. That he will never have an excuse thereafter to commit shirk with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā).

The Story Behind Light of Guidance Class

Because I want to explain to you the story behind this actual class. This actual class took about five years in the making. One curriculum took five years in the making. And this curriculum was developed by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi. And what happened was that through five years, while he was pursuing his master's degree, he was compiling notes bit by bit. An ultimate curriculum to study Islamic belief, to study Islamic creed. And this class eventually became the Light of Guidance.

And he used myself and two other brothers as quote-unquote guinea pigs for this class. So every week, the new material that he would prepare, he would try it out on us. And we'd criticize him and give him feedback. Okay, this works, this makes sense, this is easy to understand. Okay, that's too difficult to change up the wording, make it different.

So for five years, in the masjid of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), and we had some real interesting cases. You know, we studied this material. And it took five years in the making. And eventually when Sheikh Yasir came back, this is what he calls his quote-unquote baby. You know, this is like his life's magnum opus, or whatever it's called. Like his lifetime achievement. This is what his class was.

Now Sheikh Yasir is moving on to bigger and better things. And he's preparing a new class, which is Aqeedah 4. So they needed an instructor to teach Light of Guidance. And I want to share a small story with you. That when I was graduating from Medina, this is in 2007, Sheikh Muhammad Sharif actually sent me an email. Saying

that, you know, inshallah when you come back, I'd like you to work for Maghrib. And we were discussing these details. And we were discussing, you know, what subjects I would like to teach.

So I told him, you know, the first thing, my number one subject I want to teach is Aqeedah. I want to teach Tawhid. You know, it's my passion. Something I really love to teach. So please, you know, whatever classes you give me, give me the Aqeedah classes. He never emailed me back after that. He got one of the workers, I don't know if you guys have met him, but Brother Noor, has Noor been to Calgary? Brother Noor said he wants me back.

He's like, look, we have Sheikh Waleed Bassioni, PhD in Aqeedah. We have Yasir Qadhi, Masters in Aqeedah from Medina, pursuing PhD at Yale. Then we have you, you know, Bachelors in Sharia from Medina. Who do you think is going to teach the Aqeedah classes? And you know, I was like, man, that totally sucks. That is just terrible. But he's like, look, maybe later on down the line, you'll get an opportunity to do so, bismillah ta'ala.

And Alhamdulillah, this is an opportunity. You know, three years in the waiting, here's my chance to finally teach the Light of Guidance. And I'm really, really excited. Not only because I'm finally teaching this material, but it's in a city that I love so much. You know, a group of people that I love.

And I find this to be like the ultimate blessing. That when you think about sciences, when you think about aspects of knowledge, the most beneficial knowledge that you can ever attain is the knowledge that gives the ultimate amount of benefit. And with this class, bismillah ta'ala, you're protecting yourselves from Jahannam. You're protecting yourselves from the hellfire.

Like this is the ultimate defense against the hellfire. That fine, you know, your deeds are going to distinguish which level of paradise you have. But your knowledge of Tawhid and Shirk is what is going to protect you from the hellfire, bismillah ta'ala. And you know, there's no other group of people that I want to share this with. Not even my fellow Montreal Canadian fans in Montreal. But, you know, the city of Calgary. And I was really happy to do that.

So bismillah ta'ala, I hope that you brothers and sisters will come and partake in that class. Because without a shadow of a doubt, it is the most important class that any Muslim will take. Because it is about the relationship between the creation and the creator. It is about the rights of the creation and the rights of the creator. It is about our sole purpose of creation in this world. And that is to worship Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā).

Highlights of Light of Guidance Class

What does worship in Islam actually mean? Now I want to share two really interesting parts of this class. And obviously all of it is interesting. But two parts that really stick out. I've already mentioned one of them. That all of the tactics that the people who commit Shirk with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) use, we're going to refute and annihilate each and every one of them.

And a second interesting part of this class is how to prove the existence of God to an atheist. You know when you're in university you find all these weird people who are like, you know, I don't believe in God. Prove the

Conclusion

So my dear brothers and sisters, you've been given a small glimpse into the importance of studying shirk. That when we talk about the shahada, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says la ilaha illallah that we negate everything other than Allah to be worshipped and we affirm pure worship for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone.

So that negation precedes affirmation. And this negation is known as shirk. It is the most despicable act in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So much so that he will not forgive an individual who dies upon this act. But he will forgive anything other than that.

Likewise, he threatened the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that even you O Muhammad and the messengers before you, that if they were to commit shirk, your actions would be turned into null and void. They would be turned into scattered dust.

And likewise, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will prevent the person who falls into shirk from the greatest pleasures not only of that of Jannah but also from seeing the beautiful face of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Literally, if this is not reason enough to learn about shirk, I really don't know what is.

So I hope to see all of you bi'ithnillahi ta'ala again in two weeks. Jazakumallahu khaira and with that we'll open the floor for questions and answers. Primarily pertaining to the subject and then if not, to anything else that you brothers and sisters wish.

Questions and Answers Session

But before that, I want to share a funny story with you. Generally speaking, when we do questions and answers, you know there's usually a moderator and an MC and as a speaker, you tend to trust the moderator and the MC that he's going to make the wisest and best decision for the speaker. That he's not going to send up a question that is going to put the speaker in a very difficult situation.

Now sadly, in the city of Edmonton, I made the mistake of trusting my moderator and MC. Because we did questions and answers in written form and you do it in written form so you can screen the questions. So the second question that was asked was, Assalamualaikum Sheikh What's the ruling on oral sex in Islam? And I was like, man, what is wrong with this guy? You have kids who are literally like 8 years old in the audience.

Then you had those old uncles, like 50-60 years old they're already frowning. They're already really, really upset. And I'm like, at this time, what do you tell the audience? And what did I tell the audience? That I will not share with you. So we'll open the floor for questions and answers. Jazakumullah khair. Go for it.

Question 1: People Who Do Not Worship Other Than Allah

Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Alright. Okay.

Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salam ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala amma ba'd. When it comes to those individuals that, as you say, do not worship other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala I would say that this is a very, very rare breed. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives a very clear example.

And I want to tell you how I memorized this particular ayah. Growing up, I was a very, very big basketball fan. And as you know, Michael Jordan started off with number 23. He retired the first time. And then he came back. Does anyone remember what number he came back with? He came back with 45.

So if you look into the Quran, Surah number 45, ayah number 23. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in this ayah:

That have you seen that individual who takes his own desires as his lord. He takes his own desires as his lord.

So I would say that first of all, I would understand that the type of person you're describing is very, very rare. And I would not say that he exists. Number two, is that under the presumption that he does exist, I would probably say that he falls into this category. That he's taking his own whims and desires as his lord.

And number three, I would further add to this, is that we mentioned at the beginning of this lecture that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created something called the fitrah. And this fitrah, it just needs to be ignited, it just needs to be triggered, and then it ultimately leads towards Islam.

This is why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that anyone who hears my name will not be excused of ignorance. In Sunan Ibn Majah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4299)

Anyone who hears my name, he hears about the name Muhammad, or he hears about the religion of Islam, or he hears about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, thereafter he will have no excuse of ignorance. So if he's heard about Islam, heard about Muhammad, heard about Allah, and he didn't further research it, then he will not be excused due to ignorance.

But under the presumption, let's just say, we go back a hundred years, there's no CNN, no BBC, no internet, this individual lives on an isolated island, him, you know, a couple of cows and some goats and sheep, and that's all there is on the island. He's never heard of Islam. And he dies without worshipping anyone other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

These people are given the title of Ahl al-Fatrah, the people of the time, meaning that these people, they will be raised on Yawm al-Qiyamah, and will be told to follow a messenger and a prophet. If they follow that messenger and prophet and obey him, they will enter Paradise. If they disobey him, they will enter the Hellfire.

And one of these people, what they actually called is Hunafa, as Hanif. They actually existed prior to the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Does anyone remember his name? Go for it. Sorry, who was it? You have the name, I just didn't hear. Naufal? Nope. You have the last name correct. You're missing the first. No, not Waraq ibn Naufal. He was actually a Christian priest. Go for it. Zayd ibn Amr ibn Naufal. Excellent.

So Zayd, he was from this group of Hunafa. He had a son whose name was Zayd. He came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and he said, Ya Rasulullah, what is going to be the state of my father? Meaning that he died, someone who didn't worship anyone other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But nor did he purely worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as the Sharia came to legislate. What will be his state?

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that on the Day of Judgement, when my followers will be behind me, when the followers of Musa will be behind Musa, Zayd ibn Naufal will be an Ummah by himself. He will be a nation by himself.

So there is that odd exception to the rule that those people who didn't hear about Islam, they will be raised by themselves and they will be tested by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If they pass that test, they will go into Paradise and if they fail, then the ultimate destination is the Hellfire. Allahu ta'ala a'la.

Question 2: How Did Iblis Disobey If Angels Have No Free Will?

A question says, a friend asked me a question I could not answer. If angels do not have free will, how did Iblis make the decision to disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Excellent question. Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salam a'la Rasulullah wa a'la alihi wa sahbihi wa man wa ala amma ba'd.

There is actually a very very small difference of opinion amongst the scholars. Was Iblis from the angels or from the jinn? Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when he talks about his creation that was supposed to prostrate to Adam alayhi salam, he says, that when we told the angels to make sajdah to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So therefore a small group of scholars, they understood that Iblis was in fact an angel and then he disobeyed Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

But in reality, it is the exact opposite. Iblis was from the most righteous, pious, and knowledgeable of the jinn. So much so that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala elevated his status and rank that he included them that included him amongst the malaika. So when he told the malaika and Iblis was amongst them, Iblis was the one who disobeyed. He was the one who had free will and disobeyed Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Whereas the angels, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in Surah Al-Tahrim:

That they do everything that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands. They do not have the ability to disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So Iblis in reality was not from the angels, he was rather from the jinn. And it was due to his arrogance that he disobeyed Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and therefore he turned out to be who he is.

Now an interesting note over here that you know this is totally a tangent from everything but just something to reflect upon the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That when we talk about the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the answering of duas and supplications, we generally think that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will only answer the duas of the righteous and the extremely pious.

But I want you to look at the worst of creation, the most despicable of creation, Iblis himself. He made dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and supplicated to Allah, O Allah, give me respite till the day of judgment. And out of all the creation of Allah, he ends up having the longest life. He existed before Adam alayhi salam and he will be the last creation to die on the day of judgment or just before the day of judgment.

And even though he was who he was, evil, despicable, filthy, worst of creation, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala still accepted his dua. Not because he was righteous or he had done some sort of good deed, but rather that is how great the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is. That even someone like Iblis can have their duas answered.

And this is why sometimes you find it amazing that as Muslims, people who submit to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when Allah doesn't answer our duas right away, how hasty we become and how hopeless we become in the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Brothers and sisters, if Allah will answer the dua of Iblis, trust me, each and every one of you is a billion times better than Iblis. He will answer your dua. Just give it a bit of time, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.

Question 3: Ruling on Women Wearing Pants

Next question. Actually, let's take a question from the floor. Anything? Go ahead. Is that major or minor? Okay,

number one. In terms of what does this ayah actually mean? It means that someone who cannot constrain himself to the shariah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Meaning that he hates the shariah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he wants to live his life in quote-unquote ultimate freedom. No laws, no regulations. Pretty much what secular democracies, you know, promote. That everyone is free to do whatever they like except to practice Islam pretty much. And that's what the ayah is actually referring to. People who want no law, this is what the ayah is actually referring to.

So their way of life becomes purely just following their whims and desires. Eating chocolate would not fall into that. However, you know, the other major sins would eventually fall into that. And what was your second question? Is that major or minor shirk?

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows best, but the term that's being used over here is ilah. The term ilah means that you literally worship that way of life. I mean someone with bad eating habits, bad sleeping habits, or any other form, you know, even cigarette smoking. It's a bad habit. I wouldn't say that this is equivalent to committing shirk with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Not minor and definitely not major. Wallahu ala.

Take a question from the cards. Actually these are all related to women's issues. We'll address them bithnahi ta'ala. So question number one, we'll answer all three of them bithnahi ta'ala. Number one, is it haram for girls to wear pants? And the answer is, no.

It is not haram for women to wear pants. However, however, a very big however, you have to wear something over it. Meaning if those pants are going to be tight, you should wear something long, like a jalbab, like a really really long shirt that goes down past your knees so that your aura is not exposed.

So there's nothing wrong with wearing pants. However, you should wear something long over it, preferably an abaya or a jalbab or something of that nature.

Question 4: Is Nose Piercing Haram?

Number two, is nose piercing haram because Hindu women pierce their noses? And the answer to that is, that interestingly enough, nose piercing actually existed during the time of the sahaba radhiallahu anhum. And when the companions radhiallahu anhum saw this, they did not make inqar of this. Meaning that they did not reject or rebuke this.

Closing Du'a

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكُمْ وَجَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

Document Prepared and Corrected All Arabic Text Verified with Proper Harakat References Added for

All Quranic Verses and Hadiths