Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Burhan,

I am really thankful for your prompt responses. May Allah help youfurther in your quest for truth.Here is something that has been boiling my noodle since a few days,You have put your 26 acts of shirk a lot in your posts earlier. One of them is, " 12. Believing that anybody other than Allah can guide us is shirk" what did you really mean by "guide". Because you have alternatively used

the word guide for Prophet as the best guide. "The best speech is that which is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran; and the best *guidance* is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws)."If I were to compliment you that forum has really been helpful and has _guided_ me on the right path. By saying this, am I invoking an act of shirk?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Guidance/ Shirk

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: What did you really mean by "guide". Because you have alternatively used the word guide for Prophet as the best guide.

Allah Subhanah is the One that Created the Universe and everything that exists. Thus Only Allah Subhanah has the Right to show mankind what is the Straight Path. And it is Allah Alone who can ‘Guide’ and put ‘imaan’ or faith in our hearts. No power, or no combination of people can bring someone to the Right Path of Allah, unless Allah does not permit it! In that sense, Allah is the Only One Who guides.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 213:

…Allah, by His Grace, guided those who believed in the Prophets to the Truth about which they had differed. For Allah ‘guides’ whomever He pleases to the Siraat-al-Mustaqeem (Right Path).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 272:

(O Prophet) you are not responsible for their guidance. Allah Himself shows guidance to anyone He pleases.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 28 Surah Qasas verse 56:

You cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whomever He Pleases. And He best knows those who would accept guidance.

If someone believes that anyone other than Allah has the right to bring about a syllabus to the Right Path, that would be shirk. If someone believes that anyone other than Allah can put ‘imaan’ into the hearts, that would be shirk. If someone believes only so and so person, or only so and so book, which have absolutely no authority from Allah Subhanah, can guide to the Right Path, that would be shirk. It is the Sole Right of Allah Subhanah that He Create the Right Path and guide us to that Path. And that is what the believers pray and beg Him everytime they stand in prayer; in Surah Fateha:

(O Allah) guide us to the Siraat al Mustaqeem (Right Path of Islam).

Someone who calls and invites people to the Right Path decreed by Allah Subhanah, he also is called a ‘guide’, but he is only presenting the guidance that Allah has ordained. This is precisely what all the Prophets of Allah came to do. They came to present and invite people to follow the guidance which was revealed unto them by Allah Subhanah. Their only duty was to invite the people to the Right Path; to guide or leave someone astray was in the Domain and Power of Allah Subhanah Alone.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 42 Surah Shuraa verse 52-53:

You (O Prophet) are indeed guiding to the Right Way; the Way of Him, to Whom belongs everything in the heavens and the earth. All affairs tend to Allah Alone!

Similarly, all those who invite people to the way shown by Allah, can also be termed guides. But their duty is only to invite and call people to the guidance revealed and ordained by Allah Subhanah. It is not for them to create their own set of guidance, and rules, and a way of life. They invite only towards what is ordained by Allah Subhanah; to guide or leave astray is in the Power of Allah Alone.

Your Question: If I were to compliment you that forum has really been helpful and has _guided_ me on the right path. By saying this, am I invoking an act of shirk?

My beloved brother, that would not be ‘shirk’!! We have only done our duty as muslims, and invited our brethren to the guidance revealed by Allah Subhanah to His Messenger (saws). Someone might be the ‘sabab’ or reason for your guidance, but it is Allah Alone Who can guide and put ‘imaan’ into the hearts of the believers.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan