How can we respond to those who say that tawaaf is like worshipping idols?.
Praise be to Allaah.
First of all it is essential to define the essence of the
message to which Islamic sharee’ah calls, and how it differs from the
idolatry of Jaahiliyyah. Then we will be able to understand whether tawaaf
around the Ka’bah is a manifestation of idolatry or of Tawheed and Islam.If we refer to the Book of Allaah, may He be exalted, we will
see that the essence of the Islamic religion is submission to the commands
of Allaah and taking Him as our only Lord and God, and rejecting all others
who are worshipped unlawfully.Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning):“But no, by your Lord,
they can have no Faith, until they
make you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم)
judge in all disputes between them,
and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept
(them) with full submission”[al-Nisa’ 4:65]
“And whosoever submits
his face (himself) to Allaah, while he is a Muhsin (good doer, i.e. performs
good deeds totally for Allaah’s sake without any show-off or to gain praise
or fame and does them in accordance with the Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger
Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), then he
has grasped the most trustworthy handhold [Laa ilaaha illAllaah (none has
the right to be worshipped but Allaah)]. And to Allaah return all matters
for decision”[Luqmaan 31:22]
“And turn in
repentance and in obedience with true Faith (Islamic Monotheism) to your
Lord and submit to Him (in Islam) before the torment comes upon you, (and)
then you will not be helped”[al-Zumar 39:54]
As for ignorant
idol-worship, it means submitting to something other than Allaah, and
turning to something other than Allaah, be it a rock, an idol or a “wali”
(“saint”), as a weak and humble slave filled with hope and fear. These
things – in Islam – can only be for Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):“They
(Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords
besides Allaah (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful
according to their own desires without being ordered by Allaah), and (they
also took as their Lord) Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and
Christians) were commanded [in the Tawraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)]
to worship none but One Ilaah (God — Allaah) Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has
the right to be worshipped but He). Praise and glory be to Him (far above is
He) from having the partners they associate (with Him)”[al-Tawbah 9:31]
“(It
will be said): This is because, when Allaah Alone was invoked (in worship)
you disbelieved (denied), but when partners were joined to Him, you
believed! So the judgement is only with Allaah, the Most High, the Most
Great!”[Ghaafir 40:12]
“They
have no Wali (Helper, Disposer of affairs, Protector) other than Him, and He
makes none to share in His Decision and His Rule”[al-Kahf 18:26]
Once this is established,
we will be able to differentiate between the Muslim who affirms the Oneness
of Allaah and the idolatrous mushrik in matters which may appear outwardly
to be similar. For example:The Muslim who affirms
the Oneness of Allaah loves the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him); he venerates him, respects him, sacrifices
himself and his wealth in support of him and obeys his commands, and all of
that is in obedience to the command of Allaah in the verse (interpretation
of the meaning): “So
those who believe in him (Muhammad صلى الله
عليه وسلم), honour him, help him, and follow the light (the Qur’aan)
which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful”
[al-A’raaf 7:157].As for the idolatrous
mushrik, you see him coming to the grave of the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), asking him to meet his needs and seeking
his aid to relieve his worries, and calling upon him with utter humility,
regarding him as something divine. He may believe that in his hand are the
stores of the heavens and earth, and that al-Lawh al-Mahfooz is part of his
knowledge, and other things that are said or believed by some of the
ignorant. In this case the mushrik is not following the command of Allaah
and he is not submitting himself to Allaah, rather he is submitting to
something other than Allaah and obeying the shaytaan in that.Another example:
The Muslim who affirms
the Oneness of Allaah obeys the commands of Allaah in submission to His
greatness, may He be glorified and exalted. If He were to command him to
prostrate to a human being, or to venerate a human being or a rock, then he
would obey that as an act of worship to Allaah and in submission to His
command and wisdom, as the angels did when Allaah commanded them to
prostrate to Adam (peace be upon him), and they prostrated.As for the idolatrous
mushrik, he prostrates to a human being or a rock out of respect for the
person or rock itself, and in submission to what he imagines they possess of
the power to benefit or harm, turning to them with hope and fear and
humility. In doing that he is not paying any attention to the command of
Allaah, or to His rulings, rather he is directing his submission and worship
to something other than Allaah on the basis of his own whims and desires.Hence Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:As for submission,
devotion of the heart and acknowledgement of divinity and Lordship, these
can only be directed towards Allaah alone, and if directed towards anyone or
anything else they are utterly false. As for prostration it is connected to
the commands of Allaah, because Allaah has commanded us to prostrate to Him,
and if He had commanded us to prostrate to any of His creation other than
Him, we would have prostrated to that one in obedience to Allaah if He
wanted us to venerate the one to whom we were prostrating. As He has not
commanded us to prostrate, then we should not do it at all. The prostration
of the angels to Adam was an act of worship to Allaah, obedience to Him and
a means of drawing closer to Him, and it was a way of honouring and
respecting Adam. And the prostration of Yoosuf’s brothers to him was a
greeting. End quote.Majmoo’ al-Fataawa
(4/360, 361).Thus we may differentiate
between many cases in which actions may appear outwardly to be similar, but
in fact one is Islam, Tawheed and faith, whereas the other is shirk, kufr
and idolatry.That includes tawaaf
around the Ka’bah:The Muslim who affirms
the Oneness of Allaah obeys the command of Allaah in all matters, great and
small. When he hears the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning),
“and
circumambulate the Ancient House (the Ka‘bah at Makkah)”
[al-Hajj 22:29],
he cannot help but obey them, so he circumambulates the sacred House out of
love for Allaah and in obedience to Him, hoping for mercy from Allaah and
fearing His punishment. And he does not go beyond what he has been commanded
to do of tawaaf, so he does not touch the stones of this House or think that
it can bring benefit or cause harm.As for the idolatrous
mushrik, he is the one who circumambulates rocks or shrines, venerating
them, hoping that they will relieve his distress and answer his prayers,
weeping out of fear of them, beseeching them, and seeking to draw closer to
them by means of different acts of worship such as prostration, sacrifices,
circumambulation and supplication. In doing so he is not obeying the command
of Allaah or the laws of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), rather he is obeying his own whims and desires and the shaytaan.So there is a great and
clear difference between the actions of those who believe in Tawheed and
Islam, and the manifestations of idolatry and shirk. The one who does not
pay attention to this difference will become confused, and will no longer be
able to differentiate between kufr and faith.We hope that the
difference between the two is now clear.And Allaah knows best.