A Summary of ‘Kashf Ash-Shubuhat’ by Shaykh Muhammad bin ‘Abdul-Wahhab – Shaykh Muhammad bin ‘Abdur-Rahman Al-Qasim [d. 1421H]

Translated

Abu Sinan

The author replies to these doubts with a general answer, and he gives an example of a doubt with the Ayah:

“There will certainly be no fear for the close servants of Allah, nor will they grieve.”
[Surah Yunus, 10:62]

and that the Shafa’ah (Intercession) is true, and that the Prophets have a high rank with Allah.¹ The author then answers every doubt with a specific answer, or two answers, or more.

The First Doubt: That those that affirm Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah, believing that only Allah creates, provides sustenance, and controls affairs, also assert that Muhammad ﷺ, as well as ‘Abdul-Qadir [Al-Jilani] and other than him, do not have the capacity to cause harm nor confer benefit, and they only intend intercession from the righteous due to their esteemed status, so they are not Mushrikin (polytheists).

The Answer: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ fought those [Mushrikin of Quraysh] that affirmed what was mentioned [i.e., Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah], and they intended what you intend [i.e., seeking intercession through their idols].

The Second Doubt: That the Ayat were revealed regarding those that worship idols and the likes thereof, and we do not worship the idols.

The Answer: From amongst the disbelievers are those who worship idols, worship saints, invoke ‘Isa bin Maryam and his mother (peace be upon them both), and worship the angels. There is no difference between these objects of worship², all such practise constitutes Shirk (polytheism), and everyone that worships them are Mushrikin. Allah has denounced those that worship idols to be disbelievers, and similarly He denounced those that worship the righteous and angels to be disbelievers.

The Third Doubt: Seeking intercession from them is not polytheism.

The Answer: This is the exact statement of the disbelievers, when they said:

“…’We worship them only so they may bring us closer to Allah’…”
[Surah Az-Zumar, 39:3]

They did not intend anything except seeking intercession from the Rabb Al-‘Alamin, and verily He denounced them as disbelievers due to that.

The Fourth Doubt: Their denial of worshipping the righteous whilst simultaneously invoking them and slaughtering for them, despite affirming that these are acts of worship, and these acts align with the practises of the earlier Mushrikin. Whether they refuse to recognise that these are acts of worship, or are unaware of the fact, the Ayat and Ahadith elucidate the truth of the matter.

The Fifth Doubt: That whoever rejects [the polytheistic manner of] seeking intercession from the Messenger and the righteous effectively rejects the Intercession of the Messenger and is a disparager of the righteous.

The Answer: The matter is the opposite, for verily intercession belongs to Allah, and does not occur except after His permission, and Allah does not give permission except to the People of Tawhid. Seeking intercession from other than Allah constitutes Shirk, and this is the underlying reason behind its prohibition.

The Sixth Doubt: That the Prophet ﷺ is given intercession, thus it is sought from him.

The Answer: This intercession was given to him in a restricted manner (Muqayyid), not unrestricted (Mutlaq). Furthermore, his intercession is for the sinners, not for the Mushrikin. Additionally, intercession was granted to other than the Messenger, and it does not indicate that he can give it to whoever asks for it, nor to those who seek it from him.

The Seventh Doubt: Seeking refuge with the righteous is not considered polytheism, thus he is not a polytheist.

The Answer by Challenge: He is asked, ‘what is Ash-Shirk?’ and, ‘what is ‘Ibadah of Allah?’, for verily he does not know what At-Tawhid is, nor what Ash-Shirk is, that which he has fallen into.

The Eighth Doubt: His statement: Ash-Shirk is worshipping idols, and we do not worship idols.

So it is said to him: Did they [i.e., the idol-worshippers] believe that the [idols] created and provided sustenance? If he replies: ‘The one that directs his worship to wood, stone, structures on graves, or other than these, invoking it and slaughtering for it says: It draws us nearer to Allah in rank, and Allah bestows upon us His blessings.’ Then this explanation of idol-worship is correct, and it is exactly what you do, underlining Ash-Shirk is not specific to idol-worship.

The Ninth Doubt: Their statement: Verily they make Takfir of the Muslims, and they equate us to the earlier Mushrikin [of Quraysh], whilst we declare ‘La ilaha illAllah’, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and we affirm the Resurrection, and we pray and fast, and we perform Hajj and ‘Umrah, whilst they were the opposite – how can you make those that have these divisive characteristics like those who do not possess anything from them?

So he responded to them with nine answers: He clarified that these characteristics have no effect on the Qur’an, Sunnah, nor Ijma’, rather these characteristics are what makes their Kufr (disbelief) more severe! Whoever commits an act of Kufr, in affirming something from the Messenger [of Allah] whilst disbelieving in something else, or raising the creation to the level of the Creator, or exaggerating regarding one from the righteous until he claims divinity for him, or opposing the Shari’ah in some matters, such as Istihlal (declaring the permissibility) of the Nikkah of two sisters, or a branch from the branches of apostasy are found from him, or he mocks Allah or his Ayat, then he is an apostate – and it is not a condition in his apostasy to combine all types of apostasy, or combine all types of Shirk, or giving all the rights of the Rabb of the ‘Alamin to his object of worship. Verily apostasy is two types:

Unrestricted apostasy: To turn away from everything that the Messenger [of Allah] ﷺ came with.
Secondly: To disbelieve in some parts of what the Messenger [of Allah] came with.

The Tenth Doubt: That whoever says, ‘La ilaha illAllah’, cannot be declared a Kafir nor killed, whatever he does, and they use some Ahadith as evidence.

The Answer: These Ahadith are not evidence for what this person is claiming, in that the sole utterance of ‘La ilaha illAllah’ is a preventative for Takfir, rather many people say it whilst they are disbelievers, either due to a lack of knowledge regarding its meaning, or a lack of action of what it necessitates, or the existence of that which nullifies it. An example of that is the Jews who used to say it, and the companions of Musaylimah whom the Sahabah [of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ] fought, likewise those that ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) burnt to death, so the statement of it [i.e., the Shahadah] by the tongue does not suffice in protecting ones blood and wealth.

The Eleventh Doubt: Their statement: That Al-Istigatha (seeking relief) by other than Allah is not Shirk, due to Al-Istigatha by the Prophets on the Day of Resurrection being permissible, and verily the author clarified their ignorance in not differentiating between the two different types of Al-Istigatha.³

The Twelfth Doubt: Their justification that Al-Istigatha by the dead and absent is not Shirk, due to Jibril offering to help Ibrahim (Peace be upon them both).

The Answer: That verily this Al-Istigatha is one type, and that is another type, so whoever equates them has equated two different matters.

Conclusion: In clarification that At-Tawhid must exist by the heart, tongue and actions of the limbs, and if one of these are missing, then a man is not a Muslim, and we ask Allah to make these actions sincerely for His Dignified Countenance, verily He is All-Hearing, The Most Near, The One who responds to supplications, and may His Praise be upon Muhammad, his family and his companions.

Muhammad bin ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Qasim
The Muqadimmah of this book was completed on 24/4/1417H