General Dought & clear, - * Ibraaheem al-Khaleel (peace be upon him) is the best of the Prophets after our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and he has nothing to do with any polytheists

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When was hinduism born? I heard that after the disappearance of prophet Idrees, her wife and children were given a statue by Shaytan and told to worship that statue. Since that time, the number of mushrikeen started to increase. Is it true?
Also, has the Brahmins anything to do with Prophet Ibraheem and is it true that Prophet Ibrahim was the second greatest creature ever after Propher Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?
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Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
Hinduism is a name given to a highly varied religious legacy that developed in India during the last three thousand years. Currently it represents the beliefs and practices of more than five hundred million Hindus, most of whom live in India and represent eighty percent of the total population.
Variation is the key to understanding the religious life of Hindus, because Hinduism is not a monolithic religion and it does not have a founder or a single set of beliefs or a single religious text that is accepted by all followers, and it does not have a single moral code or clergy system that all follow, or a single concept of God that forms the foundation of the religion. Rather it is a huge collection of traditions, practices and beliefs. End quote.
Mu‘jam al-Adyaan, ed. by John R. Henleys, (p. 306f).
For more information on Hinduism and its beliefs, please see:Mawsoo‘at al-Adyaan al-Hayyah, vol. 2,Adyaan Ghayr as-Samaawiyyah(2/52f);Adyaan al-Hind al-Kubraby Dr. Ahmad Shalabi.
On this website we have previously given a brief description of this man-made, polytheistic religion. Please see the answer to question no. 126472.
Secondly:
Brahmanism derives its name from two things:
1. It is named after Brahma, their god whom they worship; he is regarded as the supreme power and ultimate reality of this universe.
2. The status of the priestly caste, the Brahmins, who are the highest social caste in Hinduism.
See:al-Mu‘taqadaat ad-Deeniyyah ‘inda ash-Shu‘oob, by Jeffrey Barindar (385-386).
There is no connection between the Close Friend of the Most Gracious (Khaleel ar-Rahmaan) Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) and the Hindu Brahmins or any other polytheistic people, for Hinduism is a man-made religion, therefore it is to be included under the heading of religions that were not divinely revealed (non-Abrahamic religions).
See:Mawsoo‘at al-Adyaan al-Hayyah, R. S. Zeiner, vol. 2
They do not believe that Allah is the Lord of the Worlds, or that He sent down Books to mankind or that He sent Messengers to them, whether Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) or any other Messenger. So how can they be named after the Close Friend of the Most Gracious (Khaleel ar-Rahmaan) Ibraaheem (peace be upon him)?
Moreover, the adjectival form derived from the name of Ibraaheem is Ibraaheemi (Abrahamic), not Brahmin.
Thus it is clear that this attribution is wrong, both in terms of the meaning and in terms of the history of this religion, first of all, and in terms of the linguistic root of the word.
Ash-Shahrastaani (may Allah have mercy on him) pointed this out a long time ago, when he said:
There are some people who think that the Brahmins are named after Ibraaheem (peace be upon him), but that is wrong, for these people in particular deny the Prophets and Prophethood completely, so how can they believe in Ibraaheem (peace be upon him)?
End quote fromal-Milal wa’n-Nihal(2/1270), Fathullah Badraan edn.
Allah protected His Prophet Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) and raised him in status lest any polytheists be associated with him or he with them, even by way of lying, just as He declared him to have nothing to do with any disbelieving nation, and He chose him for Himself, to be His Close Friend (Khaleel). Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Ibrâhim (Abraham) was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim Hanifa (Islâmic Monotheism - to worship none but Allâh Alone) and he was not of Al-Mushrikûn”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:67]
“Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrâhim (Abraham) and those with him, when they said to their people: ‘Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allâh, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever, until you believe in Allâh Alone’”
[al-Mumtahanah 60:4].
Thirdly:
What the questioner mentioned about the Prophet of Allah Idrees (peace be upon him) disappearing, and that the Shaytaan made a statue of him and commanded his wife and children to worship it, is a comment for which there is no basis, as far as we know.
The Holy Qur’an does not tell us the details of the message of Idrees (peace be upon him), or any details of his life; rather it only tells us that he was one of the Prophets of Allah. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) met him in the fourth heaven during his Night Journey (Isra’). Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And mention in the Book (the Qur'ân) Idris (Enoch).Verily! he was a man of truth, (and) a Prophet.
And We raised him to a high station”
[Maryam 19:56, 57].
See also question no. 136890
What is well-known is that shirk first appeared on earth among the people of Nooh (peace be upon him). It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said concerning the verse (interpretation of the meaning),
“And they have said: ‘You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwâ', nor Yaghûth, nor Ya'ûq, nor Nasr (these are the names of their idols)’”
[Nooh 71:23]:
These were the names of righteous men among the people of Nooh. When they died, the Shaytaan inspired their people to set up idols in the place where they used to gather, and call them by their names. So they did that, but those idols were not worshipped then, until those people died and knowledge was forgotten and lost, then they were worshipped.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4920).
With regard to what the questioner mentioned, we do not know of any basis for it.
Fourthly:
Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) is the best of the Prophets and Messengers after our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The best of the Prophets after Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is Ibraaheem al-Khaleel, as is proven inSaheeh Muslimfrom Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is “the best of mankind.” The scholars said likewise, including ar-Rabee‘ ibn Khuthaym who said: I do not give precedence to anyone over our Prophet, and I do not give precedence to anyone over Ibraaheem after our Prophet. End quote.
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa(4/317)
And Allah knows best.

PUBLISHERM.NajimudeeN. MD,IRI

General Dought & clear, - * Commentary on the verse “Who made everything He has created good” [as-Sajdah 32:7]

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I have a question that I have been thinking about for a while.
What does Allah mean in verse 32:7? What does "Ahsana" mean? Does it mean that Allah made every creation good or perfect? If every creation of Allah is perfect, then what about human beings who are imperfect? Plus, if the creation is perfect, it means that it cant get better, but Allah is Almighty and can make the creation better and better and more beautiful if He wills? If all creations are good, then what about evil actions of human beings (which are also created by Allah)? Im just looking for clarity and answers, may Allah reward you.
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Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“That is He, the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.
Who made everything He has created good, and He began the creation of man from clay”
[as-Sajdah 32:6-7].
What is meant by making everything good here is making it perfect and making it properly; it does not refer to beauty of form. So this verse is like the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“The Work of Allah, Who perfected all things”
[an-Naml 27:88].
Some of the scholars are of the view that what is referred to by making everything good, in this verse, is beauty of form. Therefore the verse applies specifically to those created things that Allah, may He be exalted, has made beautiful.
Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Who made everything He has created good” means that He made it with precision and perfectly, so He made it properly in order to fulfil the purpose for which it is intended.
Ibn ‘Abbaas and ‘Ikrimah also referred to this meaning when they said: A monkey’s rear end is not beautiful, but it is made well and made perfectly.
Ibn Abi Najeeh narrated that Mujaahid said: “Who made everything He has created good” means: He made it with precision.
This is like the verse in which Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Our Lord is He Who gave to each thing its form and nature, then guided it aright”
[Ta-Ha 20:50].
That is, He did not create man in the form of an animal, and He did not create animals in the form of man.
It was said that this is general in wording but specific in meaning, and what is meant is that He is the One Who made good everything that He created. End quote.
Tafseer al-Qurtubi(14/90).
The verse quoted in the question is like the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and [Allah] has given you shape and made your shapes good (looking)”
[Ghaafir 40:64].
There are two views among the commentators concerning this verse.
An-Nasafi said in hisTafseer(3/436):
“and [Allah] has given you shape and made your shapes good (looking)” that is, He has made you the most beautiful and good-looking of animals, on the basis of the fact that man does not wish for his image to be like that of any other creature. Part of his good image is that he was created to stand upright, not facing downwards, and whoever is regarded as ugly, deformed and bad-looking does not look so bad in reality, but beauty is of varying degrees, so the one who is regarded as ugly is less beautiful than the one who is of a higher level of beauty, therefore he is not regarded as being beautiful, but he is still within the range of beauty. Wise people say that there are two things that have no limit: beauty and eloquence. End quote.
See:Tafseer ar-Raazi(15/365);Tafseer an-Neesaboori(7/196).
Based on that, what is meant by the words, “Who made everything He has created good” is: He made it perfect, with precision. This does not contradict the fact that some creatures are ugly or distorted.
It may be that what is meant here is beauty of outward form.
This is not contradicted by the fact that there are some distorted or ugly creatures, because they are still within the range of what is made good or well-made, and being made good and being beautiful may be of various levels. So these creatures are more beautiful than those that are less than them in terms of beauty, but the beauty of the latter is not apparent, because we are comparing it with something more beautiful than it. If we were to compare it with something that is less beautiful, then its beauty would become apparent.
Secondly:
With regard to the idea that the images of any created being could be better than it is now, then yes indeed, Allah, may He be exalted, has the power to do all things. He has created the angels in the best, most perfect and most beautiful of forms, so we cannot ask: Why didn’t Allah create all creatures in the form of angels? Because this is contrary to the wisdom of Allah, may He be exalted. Allah, may He be exalted, has created every type of creature for a specific reason and to fulfil a specific purpose, according to His will. Therefore He created every creature in the form that would fulfil that wisdom and purpose, and He created it well and made it good. Therefore there is no way that any creature could have been created better or more beautiful than that.
Even diseases, disasters and the evil that men or other creatures do – Allah created all of that and He did it well and with precision.
Allah created sickness in order to test the sick person: will he bear it with patience and acceptance, or not?
And He created it in order to test the one who is healthy and sound: will he show gratitude for the blessing that Allah has bestowed upon him, or not?
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And We have made some of you as a trial for others: will you have patience? And your Lord is Ever All-Seer (of everything)”
[al-Furqaan 25:20].
So He tests the rich by means of the poor and the poor by means of the rich; He tests the weak by means of the strong and the strong by means of the weak; He tests the leaders by means of the followers and the followers by means of the leaders; He tests the master by means of the slave and the slave by means of the master; He tests a man by means of his wife and his wife by means of him; He tests men by means of women and women by means of men; He tests the believers by means of the disbelievers and the disbelievers by means of the believers.
Ighaathat al-Lahfaan(2/161).
As-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on the verse:
“Fir‘awn (Pharaoh) said: ‘Who then, O Moosa (Moses), is the Lord of you two?’
[Moosa (Moses)] said: ‘Our Lord is He Who gave to each thing its form and nature, then guided it aright’”
[Ta-Ha 20:49-50]:
that is, our Lord is the One Who created all things, and gave each created thing its form and nature that befits it and is indicative of His perfect artistry in His creation, such as the size of its body, whether it is great or small or in between, and all its other attributes.
Then He guided every created being to the purpose for which He created it. This guidance in general terms can be seen in all created things; hence you see every creature striving for the purpose for which it was created of attaining benefits and warding off harm, to the extent that Allah, may He be exalted, has even given animals sufficient intelligence to be able to achieve that.
This is like the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says: “Who made everything He has created good” [as-Sajdah 32:7]. The One Who has created all things, and created them well, such that no one with any reason could think that there could be anything better than them in design, and He guided them to that which is in their best interests, is indeed the true Lord. Denying Him is denying the greatest of all that exists; in fact it is arrogance and a blatant lie. End quote.
Tafseer as-Sa ‘di(p. 507).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
So the created being, on the basis of the purpose for which it was created, is good and proper, even if it has some evil aspects, because the evil is secondary and partial, and it is not pure evil; rather the evil that is intended for a good purpose, that outweighs the evil, is something good on the part of the Doer, the Most Wise, even though it is bad on the part of the one who did it.
With regard to the one who thinks that the intended purpose that is based on wisdom could be achieved if the bad thing was not there, he only said that because he does not know the real nature of things and how things are interconnected. For when the Creator creates a thing, He must inevitably create the requirements thereof, because for something to exist or be created without its requirements is not possible. End quote
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa(8/512).
He also said:
Although Allah, may He be exalted, is the Creator of all things, He is also the One Who created good and evil, because of His divine wisdom on the basis of which everything He does is good and proper, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Who made everything He has created good, and He began the creation of man from clay”
[as-Sajdah 32:6-7]
“The Work of Allah, Who perfected all things”
[an-Naml 27:88].
Hence evil on its own cannot be attributed to Him; rather it is either to be implied in general terms or it is to be attributed to its cause, or it is to be referred to in the passive. End quote.
Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah(3/142)
And Allah knows best.

PUBLISHERM.NajimudeeN. MD,IRI

Names and Attributes of Allaah, Dought & clear, - * The Salafi way of interpreting the divine attributes and refuting the pantheistic interpretation of the hadith “I will be his hearing”

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Allah, may He be exalted, says in the hadith qudsi: “So when I love him I will be his hearing with which he hears, his vision with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks.” How can we avoid falling into the pantheistic interpretation of the hadith, and what is the way of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah in dealing with the verses that speak of the divine attributes? I hope that you will explain, because some of those who deny the divine attributes have tried to cast aspersions on the Salafi way of interpreting the divine names and attributes, based on the claim that taking the text literally will cause us to fall into the false belief of incarnation (hulool).
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Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
The way of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah with regard to understanding the divine attributes is that every attribute of their Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, that they affirm, they affirm it on the basis of a text from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), whilst confirming that Allah, may He be exalted, is not like His creation in any way, because He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“There is nothing like unto Him” [ash-Shoora 42:11]. This verse contains a refutation of the idea of likening Allah to His creation, and the following words (interpretation of the meaning),“and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing”form a refutation of those who deny the divine attributes and believe that sharing a description or attribute means that the divine and the human are alike.
In the answer to question no. 155206, we discussed some useful principles with regard to the names and attributes of Allah. In the answer to question no. 34630you will find a detailed discussion of the meaning of belief in the divine names and attributes, and four points to avoid, namely distorting, denying, likening Allah to His creation, and discussing how the divine attributes are. If anyone falls into one of these, he is not believing in the divine names and attributes as he should.
In his bookal-Qawaa‘id al-Muthla fi Sifaat Allah wa Asmaa’ihi al-Husna, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) discussed some useful guidelines concerning the attributes of Allah, may He be exalted. You can find his book via the following link:
http://www.ib nothaimeen.co m/all/books /article_16822.s html
Shaykh al-‘Alawi ibn ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Saqqaaf (may Allah preserve him) mentioned twenty-one guidelines for understanding the attributes of Allah, may He be exalted, in his bookSifaat Allah ‘azza wa jall al-Waaridah fi’l-Kitaab wa’s-Sunnah. You can check this book on his website via the following link:
http://dorar.ne t /book.asp?boo k_id=2939
The hadith mentioned by the questioner is part of a hadith that was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Verily Allah, may He be exalted, says: ‘Whosoever shows enmity to a close friend of Mine, I shall declare war on him. My slave draws not close to Me with anything more loved by Me than the obligatory religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory works so that I will love him. So when I love him I will be his hearing with which he hears, his vision with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to seek refuge in Me, I would surely grant him it.’’ Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6137).
We should point out that it is the pantheists (al-ittihaadiyyah) who quote this hadith as evidence for their false belief, and not those who believe in incarnation (al-hulooliyyah). For information on the difference between pantheism and incarnation, please see the answer to question no. 147639. They said that this hadith is indicative of the union between the Creator and the created being, if the latter draws close to Allah, may He be exalted, by doing obligatory religious duties, whereupon the slave – we seek refuge with Allah from such notions – becomes part of the essence of God, and hears with the hearing of Allah and sees with His vision! In other words, the Creator becomes one with the created being, and they become one and the same! Undoubtedly this is kufr (disbelief) that puts one beyond the pale of Islam. The hadith that they quoted as evidence is in fact evidence against them, because it affirms that there are two separate entities, namely the Creator and the created being, and highlights the difference between them; it affirms that there is a worshipper and an object of his worship, and highlights the difference between them; it affirms that there is a lover and a beloved, one who asks and One who responds. There is nothing in it to indicate that the two become one.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The heretics and pantheists quote it as evidence for their belief, because Allah says (in this hadith qudsi): “I will his hearing, his vision, his hand and his foot.” But the hadith constitutes evidence against them in numerous ways, including the following:
· Allah says: “Whoever shows enmity to a close friend of Mine is declaring war on Me.” Thus it affirms that there is someone who is challenging Allah, and a close friend of Allah who is someone other than the challenger, and in it Allah, may He be glorified, affirms for Himself that He has one who is close to Him and one who is challenging Him.
· He says: “My slave draws not close to Me with anything more loved by Me than the obligatory religious duties I have enjoined upon him.” This affirms that there is a slave who seeks to draw close to his Lord, and there is a Lord Who enjoined those obligatory religious duties.
· He says: “and My slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him”. Thus He affirms that there is one who seeks to draw close and one to Whom closeness is sought; there is one who loves and a beloved who is distinct from him. All of this contradicts their view that all existence is one.
· He says: “So when I love him I will be his hearing with which he hears, his vision with which he sees…” Allah grants these things to His slave after He loves him, but in the view of the pantheists this is the case both before and after He loves him.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa(2/371, 372)
And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Then Allah says: “Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to seek refuge in Me, I would surely grant him it.” Thus He differentiated between the one who asks and the One who is asked, between the one who seeks refuge and the One who grants him it. He describes the slave as asking of his Lord and seeking refuge with Him.
This hadith combines many sublime meanings.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa(17/134)
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in his commentary on the hadith, explaining its meaning in different ways:
Whatever the case, the argument of the pantheists cannot be based on it, and neither can that of those who believe that everything that exists is one, because in the latter part of the hadith, Allah says: “Were he to ask [something] of Me,… were he to seek refuge in Me”. It is as if this is a clear refutation of them.
End quote fromFath al-Baari(11/345)
Imam ash-Shawkaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after quoting the words of Ibn Hajar:
With regard to what Ibn Hajar pointed out of this hadith being a refutation of some misguided people regarding the meaning of the words “Were he to ask [something] of Me,… and were he to seek refuge in Me”, this means that there is one who asks and one who is asked, one who seeks refuge and One in whom refuge is sought.
Perhaps Ibn Hajar did not examine this hadith and ponder its meaning as he should have. If he had pondered its meaning, he would not have limited his argument to what he mentioned about asking and seeking refuge; rather the entire hadith is a refutation of their view. The words “Whoever shows enmity to a close friend of Mine” are a refutation of their view, because they imply the existence of one who shows enmity and one to whom enmity is shown and one for whose sake that believer was taken as an enemy. The meaning implies the existence of someone who is declaring war and someone against whom war is declared, the existence of someone who seeks to draw close and One to whom closeness is sought; a worshipper and One who is worshipped, a lover and One who is loved – and so on until the end of the hadith.
All of it is a refutation of the pantheists who base their argument on it, without realising that the entire hadith is a refutation of their argument. In fact, the issue becomes even clearer when we examine the words of Allah in this hadith: “I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about (taking in death) the soul of the believer.” This implies the existence of One who hesitates and one concerning whom there is hesitation; one who does an action and one to whom the action is done. It implies the existence of a soul concerning whom there is hesitation, which is the soul of the believing slave, and the existence of One who is hesitant, namely the One who will take his soul; the existence of one who dislikes death, who is the believer, and One who hates to upset him, who is the Lord, may He be glorified.
In conclusion, any rational person would realise that the view of the pantheists is false, and there is no need to look hard for evidence that they are wrong. The reason for their confusion is the influence of those who believed in dualism. They believed that there were two gods, a god of good and a god of evil; the god of good was light and the god of evil was darkness, and they regarded them as the original of all existing beings. If the light prevails, a person will be enlightened, but if the darkness prevails, then a person sinks in darkness.
They did not realise that this view that is based on kufr (disbelief) would refute their argument from the outset, for darkness is not light.
End quote fromQitr al-Waliy ‘ala Hadith al-Waliyby ash-Shawkaani (419-421)
And Allah knows best.

PUBLISHERM.NajimudeeN. MD,IRI