Between Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606H) and Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud (d. 1218H) on Seeking Shafaa'ah From Other Than Allaah
Thursday, August 18 2011 - by Abu.Iyaad
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We have established in the articles above that:

Al-Razi, the Ash'ari scholar of the 6th and early 7th centuries, affirmed: a) That shafaa'ah (intercession) belongs to none but Allaah alone, and intercession can never take place except with Allah's permission - (see this article), b) That du'a (supplication) is the loftiest of the stations of al-ubudiyyah (servitude, worship), is the most excellent of the types of worship, and the reality of du'a is such that incorporates other forms of worship such as humility (dhull), servitude (uboodiyyah), incapacity (inkisaar), poverty, need (maskanah) - (see this article), c) That none of the pagans ever intended to worship the statues or idols, rather the acts of worship they performed were directed to those in the graves, and their reason was that they were intending to solicit their intercession - (see this article and this article), d) That many were found in the time of al-Razi who flocked to the graves and venerated them with the desire of soliciting the intercession of the righteous dead - (see here), e) That no nation in history ever believed in Ruboobiyyah for other than Allaah (with an exception for the Dualists) and that none of those who worship other than Allaah believe that what they worship has any independent power or control. And that what actually led people to worship things were certain philosophical and other reasons and from them were the soliciting of the intercession of the pious, righteous dead. And further, that whatever they took as focal points of worship (pictures, idols, statues, graves, tombs) were never intended for worship at all, rather they were simply focal points to allow the direction of worship to the righteous dead - (see here), f) Finally, that seeking intercession from other than Allaah is something which deprives a person from receiving intercession at all (see here).

In this article we want to compare the above with the aider of the Sunnah, Abd al-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud (d. 1215H) in his short treatise al-Risalah al-Diniyyah Fee Ma'naa al-Ilaahiyyah ( A Religious Treatise on the Meaning of Ilaahiyyah, 2nd edition, 1429H, Dar al-Tawhid). He said (p. 55):

That which is specifically designated upon every Muslim is to direct his concern and and his firm resolves in his affair to his Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, by turning towards Him, relying upon Him, and performing the right of servitude (uboodiyyah) to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. Thus, when he dies as a pure monotheist (muwahhid), his Prophet will seek to intercede with Allaah for him. Contrary to the one who neglects and abandons that, and falls into its opposite of turning to other than Allaah and relying upon him, hoping from him in [such affairs] whose existence is only found through Allaah, and by recoursing to that other (person, entity), seeking his intercession, relying upon it, and seeking it (directly) from the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) or otehr than him, aspiring to him with respect to it, abandonding that which is specifically required of him (of soliciting only from Allaah) for which He was created (in the first place). This is the very act of the pagans and their very belief...

As we stated before, if you take all those seven articles above about Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and put all of the points found within them together into a short risalah, you've essentially got the first half of Shaykh Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhhab's "Kashf al-Shubuhaat"(!)


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