In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.
All Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. And prayers and peace be on The Most Noble of Prophets and Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and on his family and all of his Companions.
To proceed:
This is a brief treatise regarding some principles by which a Muslim will be able to differentiate between his great Deen and the new paganism -- the modern Shirk called Secularism (al-‘Ilmaniyyah) -- so that the Muslim can renounce and steer clear of it and its followers, the Secularists (al-‘Ilmaniyyun).
Also, so that the Muslim can be free (Baraa’ah) from them, reject them (Takfeer), have hostility (‘Adawah) towards them, despise them (Baghdha’), and wage war (Jihad) against them whether they are academics, educationists, politicians, rulers, journalists, the wealthy, representatives, or theories, governments, and organizations, etc.
So these Four Principles are:
The First Principle:
The Mushrikun to whom the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sent, they also believed that none has Rububiyyah except Allah.
Allah says:
قُلْ مَن يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَمَّن يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَمَن يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَمَن يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ ۚ فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّـهُ ۚ فَقُلْ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ
Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): "Who provides for you from the sky and from the earth? Or who owns hearing and sight? And who brings out the living from the dead and brings out the dead from the living? And who disposes the affairs?" They will say: "Allah." Say: "Will you not then be afraid of Allah's Punishment (for setting up rivals in worship with Allah)?" [Yunus 10:31]
Allah also says:
قُل لِّمَنِ الْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهَا إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٨٤﴾ سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّـهِ ۚ قُلْ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴿٨٥﴾ قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ﴿٨٦﴾ سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّـهِ ۚ قُلْ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ﴿٨٧﴾ قُلْ مَن بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ يُجِيرُ وَلَا يُجَارُ عَلَيْهِ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٨٨﴾ سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّـهِ ۚ قُلْ فَأَنَّىٰ تُسْحَرُونَ ﴿٨٩﴾
Say: "Whose is the earth and whosoever is therein? If you know!" They will say: "It is Allah's!" Say: "Will you not then remember?" Say: "Who is (the) Lord of the seven heavens, and (the) Lord of the Great Throne?" They will say: "Allah." Say: "Will you not then fear Allah (believe in His Oneness, obey Him, believe in the Resurrection and Recompense for each and every good or bad deed)." Say "In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything (i.e. treasures of each and everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector, (i.e. if Allah saves anyone none can punish or harm him, and if Allah punishes or harms anyone none can save him), if you know." They will say: "(All that belongs) to Allah." Say: "How then are you deceived and turn away from the truth?" [al-Mu'minun 23:84-89]
Allah also says:
وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّـهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ
And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him (i.e. they are Mushrikun). [Yusuf 12:106]
But even while having belief in the Rububiyyah of Allah alone, this did not enter them into Islam. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) fought them, and made takfeer of them (declared them to be kuffar).
And the secularists -- not including the extremists (atheists) -- also believe in the Rububiyyah of Allah. They even have some of the ‘Ibadaat, but still this does not enter them into Islam. As for the extremists, they are more severe because they say “Laa Ilaah, Laa Rabb” (No One worthy of worship, No God) and that life is only material.
The Second Principle:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to a people who had with them various legislations and laws which they used to judge with between themselves during dispute and at other times; they also had ignorant customs (customs from the Days of Ignorance) which they used to follow. But they did not accept the orders of Allah, nor His Guidance.
So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) rejected them and fought against them, and did not consider them as Muslims.
And from their legislation is what is found in Allah’s saying:
وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ اسْمُ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ ۗ وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ
Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allah's Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the animal), for sure it is Fisq (a sin and disobedience of Allah). And certainly, the Shayateen (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you obey them [by making Al-Maytatah (a dead animal) legal by eating it], then you would indeed be Mushrikun (polytheists). [al-An'am 6:121]
And Allah also said regarding Quraysh and those who followed them:
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُم مِّنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَن بِهِ اللَّـهُ...
Or have they partners with Allah (false gods), who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not allowed... [ash-Shura 42:21]
And the secularists, they too have fabricated legislations, laws, and courts-provincial, national, as well as international. They use these to judge between themselves. And they also have ignorant customs that they call “civilized”, “enlightment”, and “development”. But they haven’t accepted the orders of Allah, nor His Guidance. Thus no path exists, except to make takfeer of them, and disavowal them.
The Third Principle:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to a people who made the Deen lesser than it actually was. For example, they worshipped Allah alone in times of severity. But when they were in times of ease, they committed Shirk.
Allah informs us about them saying:
فَإِذَا رَكِبُوا فِي الْفُلْكِ دَعَوُا اللَّـهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ إِذَا هُمْ يُشْرِكُونَ
And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him only, but when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others. [al-Ankabut 29:65]
And just like that, they used to dedicate things for Allah, and other things for their idols, as is in Allah’s saying:
...فَقَالُوا هَـٰذَا لِلَّـهِ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَهَـٰذَا لِشُرَكَائِنَا...
...And they say: "This is for Allah according to their pretending, and this is for our (Allah's so-called) partners."... [al-An'am 6:136]
As for the secularists, they worship Allah in the Masjid in Ramadan, during marriage and divorce, and other particular moments. And besides these, they return back to their own legislations, and their astray customs.
The Fourth Principle:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to the Mushrikeen while they worshipped many different things. There were those who worshipped images and idols. There were those who worshipped angels and jinn. There were those who worshipped stars and fire. There were those who worshipped ‘Isa bin Maryam (عليه السلام) and other Prophets (عليهم السلام) and righteous dead people.
But the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not differentiate between any of them. Rather, all of them were labelled with Kufr, and they were all fought against.
The secularists are just like which, they have many things that they worship. And they are parties (groups) who label themselves with the name of their Ma’bعd (those that they worship). There are those who worship the Americans. There are those who worship the Europeans. There are those who worship the Russians. There are those who worship the New World Order. There are those who worship the rulers, and theories. There are those who worship patriotism, nationalism, and their race. There are those who worship their leadership. And there exists no difference between them in Kufr, nor Apostasy (with the Pagan Arabs).
Another Issue:
Similar to the above, another misguided sect emerged in our times, and they are the bridge of the secularists, their tails and lackeys. They are the modernists. They are from the Murji'ah extremists in the matter of iman and takfeer; and in the matter of fiqh they are people of whims, desires, and unrestraint. They submit to the current realities and compromise to the point of becoming zanadiqah (extreme heretics).
In Closing:
We would like to add the words of Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Muhammad ad-Dawsari (رحمه الله). He was, to the best of my knowledge, one of the first to expose this new idol and dreaded contemporary shirk named secularism. He mentioned at the end of his notes on the book Kashf ash-Shubuhat (First Edition, 1385) by Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhab where he (رحمه الله) revealed the veil from the new idol, the contemporary shirk, just as Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhab revealed the shirk in his time. Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ad-Dawsari said that Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhab, in his book Kashf ash-Shubuhat dealt with the shirk that was in the form of calling upon the dead, the absent, and the sanctification of the graves. Then he made mention of the types of shirk that popped up with names and titles to fool the ignorant, which was what those who started it intended. Then he said they allied with the Jews and Majus when they feared the rise of the pure authentic Islam which Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhab and his supporters established.
And in this time, they have garnered supporters from those who look like us. Thus they inflamed the ignorant with exciting slogans of nationalism in each part of the Islamic nation. The modern shirk then appeared with its worship of materials and desires, and sanctifying the self. Under the pretext of nationality and patriotism, a new apostasy formed in the Islamic and in particular Arab world with its nationalistic principles and schools of thought, colorfully decorated with its apparent titles such as mercy, while it is a hidden punishment.
After this introduction, Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ad-Dawsari spoke about the meaning of ilahiyyah and its foundations; they are:
- Disbelief in everything that is worshiped.
- Singling out Allah with all acts of worship and submitting to His rule.
Then he spoke about the reality of worship, loving for the sake of Allah, and hating the enemies of the deen. Then he spoke about the reality of the Millah of Ibrahim (عليه صلاة والسلام). And he said, with it (i.e., knowing the Millah of Ibrahim), you come to the realization that the majority of those who ascribe themselves to Islam have sunken into the modern shirk and what they have brought of Western principles and its materialistic outlooks. They placed the borders (hudud) of the nation to be above the borders (hudud) of Allah and gave themselves the right to choose their legislations and rulings from what opposes what Allah and His Messenger have judged. They followed those who misled them from the ones they worshipped with love and exaltation and considered them lords beside Allah, such as Arabism, nationalism, and what they include of materialistic perspectives.
Then he mentioned the one who thought the nation to be a lord beside Allah with the statement of one of them:
Your country, establish it over any religion - break fast and be deaf for its sake.
And that they permitted allying with the enemies of Allah with the excuse of race and country, and suspended ruling by the Sharww‘ah with the excuse of corrupt “development”, worshiping every taghut for that reason. And from their false principles:
- The principle that the deen is for Allah and the country is for all.
- The principle that the deen is the relationship between the slave and his Lord only, and it has nothing to do with other aspects of life.
- The principle that the will of the people is from the will of Allah.
And he mentioned that the graduates of these colonial schools assure these principles and concepts in [the minds of] the different layers of the Islamic nation; and he said that the first means the colonists used in order to compel upon us their culture were through these schools. Then he said,
It is obligatory upon the Muslimin, the youth and elderly, governments and peoples, to resist this modern shirk and new idol.
May Allah send salah upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions altogether.