Tauheed Vows-In The Name Of Allah Alone
“Bismillahir Rahmannir Raheem”Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salaatu was- Salaamu ‘Alaa Sayidinaa Muhammadin wa Aalihi wa Asabihi Ajma ‘een (tauheed- risalat- ahkirat and islam-iman-ihsan)
The only vows that take place are in the name of Allah Almighty alone.
Verse’s which mentions those who make false accusations and who are liars:
18/5 –No Muslim would even think of taking a vow or making a sacrifice in other than Allah’s name. This does not happen anywhere.To do anything like that is polytheism.
At the graves of many pious Muslims, there are Madrassas (Islamic semminaries) that mostly accommodate poor and orphaned children. These seminaries give the children an opportunity to receive an Islamic education. In addition to the seminary, there is usually a public building near the graves of the pious which provides accommodation for travelers who have come from afar to visit the grave. The only vows that take place are in the name of Allah Almighty alone. Many a time people make a vow with Allah that they will slaughter an animal and distribute the meat to the poor children in the seminary near such and such pious person’s grave. The vow is made with Allah. When sacrificing the animal it is in the name of Allah and when distributing the food it is in the name of Allah, the only way the name of a pious could be mentioned in a vow is if one was to specify the seminary they are going to distribute the food in.
A clear example could be -Oh Allah. Due to the month of Ramadan, I am deeply thankful for all that you have blessed me with; my child has been ill for some time and if you cure him I vow that I will take dates, milk and food into the Mosque and ensure that everyone opens their fast with what I have brought. Please accept this. It is not only the madrassa where one may want to distribute meat or anything else, it may also be the accommodation building built near the graves for travelers.There is great reward for generosity towards travelers.
Everyday during the month of Ramadan people bring food to the Mosque. They also bring food for holy events in the Mosque such as Laylatul Qadr. Is this all polytheism? This has all been mentioned in the books of the Ahl al-Sunna such as Mabsut by al-Sarkhasi, al-Hidayah by Marghinani, Fath al-Qadhir by Ibn al Humam, Fatawa Alam Ghiri by a group of Ulema mainly Mulla Nadam-u-Din, Shami by Allama Shami, Fatawa Radviya by Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Qadri, Sharh Sahih Muslim by Allamah Saidi chapter on vows.
Allah Azawajal says in the Quran:10/49 Say: “I have no power over any harm or profit to myself except as Allah willeth. To every people is a term appointed: when their term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay, nor (an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation).”
The verse means that no one can profit or harm with their own power and will; it is Allah who grants the power to anyone or anything to hurt or profit. Though Allah does hurt and profit through the means of someone or something else.
The polytheists of Makkah used to believe that their idols could directly profit and hurt them, although Allah Azawajal did not give them the power or ability to profit or hurt. He did not make them His means of approach, though Allah did curse them!
We do not say that the Prophets and pious can profit or hurt us without the help of Allah! The only way they can actually profit or hurt us is if Allah wills it and only if Allah gives them the power to do so. Allah Taala alone has the power to hurt or profit anyone, however Allah Azawajal does profit and hurt through the Prophets, angels and pious.
The Ahl al-Sunna Wa-al Jamaa believe that to attribute an act or doing of Allah to the means through which He does it, is permissible. For example one may say the food finished my hunger this does not mean that it was the food that directly finished the person’s hunger; the food was merely a means which Allah created the ability in to stop the hunger. In reality it was Allah who caused the hunger to come to an end, though it is permissible to metaphorically attribute the ending of the hunger to the food.
The Khawarij believe that to metaphorically attribute an act to the means is Kufr and Shirk, even though Allah, Himself, has attributed the ability to profit and harm to his own means, as Allah Taala says in the Quran:
2/236 -In this verse we learn that the wife will gain profit from her husband, as the husband is commanded to give her a gift. In this way she is gaining profit from her husband through the gift.
Sayyidina Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) is saying that he has power over himself and his brother:
5/25 He said: “O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother: so separate us from this rebellious people!”
If we interpret 10/49 the way you are then this must mean the Holy Quran is contradicting itself. However the Quran is not contradicting itself, as Sayyidina Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) is only attributing the possession of power to himself. Obviously a Prophet of Allah is aware that all power comes from Allah and that he cannot have any power without Allah’s will. Therefore this must mean that power has been given to humans by Allah’s leave and it is permissible to attribute the possession of power to yourself and the pious.
10/49-From this we learn that if Allah wills He can give anyone power, He can allow anyone to profit or hurt! If you believe that we cannot profit or hurt one another in any way then why is it that in this verse:
8/32-33—The blessed Rasulullah (saws) is profiting even the disbeliever From this verse we understand that Allah was going to punish the leaders of Makkah when they questioned Allah’s existence. But because Rasulullah (saws) was in their presence Allah did not punish them. Do you agree that if it wasn’t for Rasulullah (saws) being in the midst of the leaders of Makkah they would have been punished? This clearly shows that even the disbeliever profited from Rasulullah’s (saws) presence, further proving that we can profit one another with Allah’s will!
23/21–16/5 Our Gracious Lord has even created benefits out of the animals. He Azawajal explains to us in the verse that the Cow benefits us with her milk and meat. How can one think that we cannot profit from one another and from the Prophet?s and the pious when even animals can benefit us?
51/55–Allah Azawajal has told us directly in this verse that preaching the message to the believers benefits them. If humans cannot profit one another in any way then why has Allah told His beloved to preach the message to profit the believers? This clearly does not make any sense if you study these verses with the belief that we cannot profit one another.Though if you understand the verses carefully you will come to learn that with the power of Allah we can benefit others.
33/37 -In this verse Allah Almighty is telling Rasulullah (saws) that He has favoured his companion Zayd, and in this way Zayd has profited (or benefited) from Rasulullah (saws).
When I want to talk to Allah I say prayers and when I want that he talk to me I recite quran- Hazrath Ali(ra)
Make sure you forward this to others .