From the tremendous merits of Tawheed
Question:
"Brother Sa'd says: “Oh virtuous Shaykh! Please tell us us about the merit of Tawheed. And is someone who falls into major shirk and he is ignorant his whole life, he does that and dies upon this, excused due to his ignorance? And what is the rule with regards to excuse for ignorance?”"
Answer:
“The merit of Tawheed, is a tremendous merit, because it takes one out from kufr and shirk into Allah’s Tawheed and singling Him out in worship. Hence a Muslim lives upon worshipping Allah and upon light from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
And whatsoever he performs by way of good, he will be rewarded recompensed for it, when it happens with tawheed. And as for the Mushrik; then no action will be accepted from him. And righteous actions are of no benefit for him, as long as he is upon shirk. This shows the merit of tawheed.
And from the greatest merits of tawheed is that it saves you from the Fire and enters you into Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. Thus you will be from the people of Paradise, as opposed to the mushrik, for he will be from the people of the Fire:
{...whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) there are no helpers.} [Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:72]
And after the sending of the Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and the sending down of the Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah, and the presence of knowledge and the scholars… ignorance disappeared, and all praises and thanks are Allah's.
Therefore, whoever lives amongst the Muslims, reads the Qur’an, hears the Ahadeeth, sermons, admonitions, lectures and lessons; this one is not ignorant about the affair of shirk. Shirk belongs to the plain and clear matters, to which Allah threatens with the greatest of threats; the matter is therefore apparent and clear. Therefore, whoever lives amongst the Muslims, and hears the Qur’an, the Ahadeeth, the texts and informative programs about aqeedah; the Da’wah has reached him and the proof has been established upon him. He is therefore not excused for his remaining upon ignorance and shirk, in an affair which is plain and clear.
The one who is excused for ignorance, is someone who lives far away from the Muslims and didn't hear anything from the Qur’an and from knowledge. This is the one, who is excused for ignorance, and is like the people of al-Fatrah, whose affairs are entrusted to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
And this is rare amongst the people, especially now after the communication media has grown and reached the entire world, until it reached a point where everyone hears and reads it, and this is from Allah’s Wisdom, as to establish the proof. In the beginning, Islam spread through jihad and by da’wah to Allah. And then when the jihad became weak, or it became less or respectively disappeared, and the da’wah to Allah upon knowledge became weak; the modern media came to be from those things with which Allah establishes the proof upon His servants/slaves. Therefore, there does not remain anyone, who does not know anything about Shirk and Tawheed and about Paradise and the Hellfire.
Nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of adultery, nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of shirk, nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of interest, nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of alcohol and intoxicants. These are clear matters. And nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of killing people unjustly. All of these are clear matters. Therefore, man is not excused for claiming to be ignorant about them. Because they are clear. The individual hears and reads about them. And he lives in an Islamic community; so how can he claim to be ignorant! This one is not excused for ignorance.
Ignorance till when? And this one has the opportunity to ask and to learn, and subsequently his ignorance would disappear, but he falls short and is negligent. So he is therefore to be blamed for this. Yes”
Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan, may Allah preserve him
Translated by Salafi-Dawah.com.
Use the player below or download the MP3 here.
"Brother Sa'd says: “Oh virtuous Shaykh! Please tell us us about the merit of Tawheed. And is someone who falls into major shirk and he is ignorant his whole life, he does that and dies upon this, excused due to his ignorance? And what is the rule with regards to excuse for ignorance?”"
Answer:
“The merit of Tawheed, is a tremendous merit, because it takes one out from kufr and shirk into Allah’s Tawheed and singling Him out in worship. Hence a Muslim lives upon worshipping Allah and upon light from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
And whatsoever he performs by way of good, he will be rewarded recompensed for it, when it happens with tawheed. And as for the Mushrik; then no action will be accepted from him. And righteous actions are of no benefit for him, as long as he is upon shirk. This shows the merit of tawheed.
And from the greatest merits of tawheed is that it saves you from the Fire and enters you into Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. Thus you will be from the people of Paradise, as opposed to the mushrik, for he will be from the people of the Fire:
{...whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) there are no helpers.} [Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:72]
And after the sending of the Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and the sending down of the Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah, and the presence of knowledge and the scholars… ignorance disappeared, and all praises and thanks are Allah's.
Therefore, whoever lives amongst the Muslims, reads the Qur’an, hears the Ahadeeth, sermons, admonitions, lectures and lessons; this one is not ignorant about the affair of shirk. Shirk belongs to the plain and clear matters, to which Allah threatens with the greatest of threats; the matter is therefore apparent and clear. Therefore, whoever lives amongst the Muslims, and hears the Qur’an, the Ahadeeth, the texts and informative programs about aqeedah; the Da’wah has reached him and the proof has been established upon him. He is therefore not excused for his remaining upon ignorance and shirk, in an affair which is plain and clear.
The one who is excused for ignorance, is someone who lives far away from the Muslims and didn't hear anything from the Qur’an and from knowledge. This is the one, who is excused for ignorance, and is like the people of al-Fatrah, whose affairs are entrusted to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
And this is rare amongst the people, especially now after the communication media has grown and reached the entire world, until it reached a point where everyone hears and reads it, and this is from Allah’s Wisdom, as to establish the proof. In the beginning, Islam spread through jihad and by da’wah to Allah. And then when the jihad became weak, or it became less or respectively disappeared, and the da’wah to Allah upon knowledge became weak; the modern media came to be from those things with which Allah establishes the proof upon His servants/slaves. Therefore, there does not remain anyone, who does not know anything about Shirk and Tawheed and about Paradise and the Hellfire.
Nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of adultery, nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of shirk, nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of interest, nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of alcohol and intoxicants. These are clear matters. And nobody is ignorant about the prohibition of killing people unjustly. All of these are clear matters. Therefore, man is not excused for claiming to be ignorant about them. Because they are clear. The individual hears and reads about them. And he lives in an Islamic community; so how can he claim to be ignorant! This one is not excused for ignorance.
Ignorance till when? And this one has the opportunity to ask and to learn, and subsequently his ignorance would disappear, but he falls short and is negligent. So he is therefore to be blamed for this. Yes”
Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan, may Allah preserve him
Translated by Salafi-Dawah.com.
Use the player below or download the MP3 here.
السؤال: حدثونا عن فضل التوحيد ، وهل من وقع في الشرك الأكبر وهو جاهل طول عمره يفعل هذا ومات عليه ، هل يُعذر بالجهل ، وما هوضابط الجهل بالعذر ؟
الجواب للشيخ الفوزان: فضل التوحيد فضلٌ عظيم ، لأنه يُخرج من الكفر والشرك إلى توحيد الله وإفراده بالعبادة ، فيعيش المسلم على عبادة الله ،وعلى نورٍ من الله سبحانه وتعالى ، وكل ما عمل من خير فإنه يثاب عليه ويؤجر عليه مع التوحيد ، وأما المشرك فلا يُقبل له عمل ، ولا ينفعه عملٌ صالح ما دام على الشرك ، فهذا يدل على فضل التوحيد ، ومن أعظم فضائل التوحيد أنه يُنجيك من النار و يُدخلك الجنة يوم القيامة ، فتكون من أهل الجنة ، بخلاف المشرك فإنه يكون من أهل النار ، (إنه من يشرك بالله فقد حرَّم الله عليه الجنة ومأواه النار وما للظالمين من أنصار) ، وبعد بعثة الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم ونزول القرآن الكريم والسنة النبوية و وجود العلم والعلماء زال الجهل والحمدلله ، فالذي يعيش مع المسلمين ويقرأ القرآن ويسمع الأحاديث والخطب والمواعظ والمحاضرات والدروس هذا لا يجهل أمر الشرك، الشرك من الأمور الظاهرة الواضحة التي توعد الله عليها بأشد الوعيد ، فأمره واضح جلي، فالذي يعيش مع المسلمين ويسمع القرآن ويسمع الأحاديث والنصوص ، ويسمع البرامج الإعلامية في العقيدة ، هذا بلغته الدعوة وقامت عليه الحجة ، فلا يُعذر ببقائه على الجهل وعلى الشرك في أمرٍ ظاهر واضح ، إنما يُعذر بالجهل من عاش بعيداً عن المسلمين ، ولم يسمع القرآن ولم يسمع شيئاً من العلم ، فهذا هو الذي يُعذر بالجهل ويكون مثل أصحاب الفترة الذين يُوكل أمرهم إلى الله سبحانه وتعالى ، وهذاقليلٌ في الناس خصوصاً الآن بعدما قويت وسائل الإعلام وبلغت المشارق والمغارب ،فصار كلٌ يسمعها ، وكلٌ يقرأها ، وهذا من حكمة الله لإقامة الحجة ، كان الإسلام في الأول ينتشر بالجهاد والدعوة إلى الله ، ولما ضعُف الجهاد أو قل أو انعدم ، وضعُفت الدعوة إلى الله على بصيرة ، صارت وسائل الإعلام مما أقام الله بها الحجة على عباده ، فلا يبقى أحدٌ لا يدري عن الشرك وعن التوحيد وعن الجنة وعن النار ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الزنا ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الشرك ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الربا ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الخمر والمسكرات ، هذه أمورٌ واضحة ، ولا أحد يجهل تحريم قتل النفوس بغير حق ، هذه كلها أمورٌ واضحة ، فلا يُعذر الإنسان بدعوى الجهل فيها لأنها واضحة والإنسان يسمعها ويقرأها ، ويعيش في مجتمعٍ مسلم ، فكيف يدَّعي أنه جاهل ، فهذا لايُعذر بالجهل ، إلى متى الجهل ؟ ، وهذا بإمكانه أن يسأل ، بإمكانه أن يتعلم ،فيزول جهله ، ولكنه قصَّر وفرط ، فهو الملوم في هذا
الجواب للشيخ الفوزان: فضل التوحيد فضلٌ عظيم ، لأنه يُخرج من الكفر والشرك إلى توحيد الله وإفراده بالعبادة ، فيعيش المسلم على عبادة الله ،وعلى نورٍ من الله سبحانه وتعالى ، وكل ما عمل من خير فإنه يثاب عليه ويؤجر عليه مع التوحيد ، وأما المشرك فلا يُقبل له عمل ، ولا ينفعه عملٌ صالح ما دام على الشرك ، فهذا يدل على فضل التوحيد ، ومن أعظم فضائل التوحيد أنه يُنجيك من النار و يُدخلك الجنة يوم القيامة ، فتكون من أهل الجنة ، بخلاف المشرك فإنه يكون من أهل النار ، (إنه من يشرك بالله فقد حرَّم الله عليه الجنة ومأواه النار وما للظالمين من أنصار) ، وبعد بعثة الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم ونزول القرآن الكريم والسنة النبوية و وجود العلم والعلماء زال الجهل والحمدلله ، فالذي يعيش مع المسلمين ويقرأ القرآن ويسمع الأحاديث والخطب والمواعظ والمحاضرات والدروس هذا لا يجهل أمر الشرك، الشرك من الأمور الظاهرة الواضحة التي توعد الله عليها بأشد الوعيد ، فأمره واضح جلي، فالذي يعيش مع المسلمين ويسمع القرآن ويسمع الأحاديث والنصوص ، ويسمع البرامج الإعلامية في العقيدة ، هذا بلغته الدعوة وقامت عليه الحجة ، فلا يُعذر ببقائه على الجهل وعلى الشرك في أمرٍ ظاهر واضح ، إنما يُعذر بالجهل من عاش بعيداً عن المسلمين ، ولم يسمع القرآن ولم يسمع شيئاً من العلم ، فهذا هو الذي يُعذر بالجهل ويكون مثل أصحاب الفترة الذين يُوكل أمرهم إلى الله سبحانه وتعالى ، وهذاقليلٌ في الناس خصوصاً الآن بعدما قويت وسائل الإعلام وبلغت المشارق والمغارب ،فصار كلٌ يسمعها ، وكلٌ يقرأها ، وهذا من حكمة الله لإقامة الحجة ، كان الإسلام في الأول ينتشر بالجهاد والدعوة إلى الله ، ولما ضعُف الجهاد أو قل أو انعدم ، وضعُفت الدعوة إلى الله على بصيرة ، صارت وسائل الإعلام مما أقام الله بها الحجة على عباده ، فلا يبقى أحدٌ لا يدري عن الشرك وعن التوحيد وعن الجنة وعن النار ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الزنا ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الشرك ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الربا ، لا أحد يجهل تحريم الخمر والمسكرات ، هذه أمورٌ واضحة ، ولا أحد يجهل تحريم قتل النفوس بغير حق ، هذه كلها أمورٌ واضحة ، فلا يُعذر الإنسان بدعوى الجهل فيها لأنها واضحة والإنسان يسمعها ويقرأها ، ويعيش في مجتمعٍ مسلم ، فكيف يدَّعي أنه جاهل ، فهذا لايُعذر بالجهل ، إلى متى الجهل ؟ ، وهذا بإمكانه أن يسأل ، بإمكانه أن يتعلم ،فيزول جهله ، ولكنه قصَّر وفرط ، فهو الملوم في هذا