Then They Deny Them"
" They know the favours of Allah, then they deny them: And most of them are disbelievers" (Qur'an 16:83)
In this verse, Allah , Most Glorified, Most High, rejects all those who recognize in their hearts that all blessings are from Allah , and yet in spite of this, they deny them by their evil deeds, worshipping other than Him and by their words, saying: "We achieved these blessings from Allah , through the intercession of our idols," or they say: "It is our inheritance from our fathers and our grandfathers." And Allah , Most High, informs us also that all those who do so are disbelievers in Allah and deniers of His Blessings.
Benefits Derived From This Verse
1. That even the pagans believed in Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyyah (i.e. that Allah is the One Rabb, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe).
2. That gratitude to Allah is not complete unless it is expressed in belief, word and deed.
3. That using the blessings of Allah for the purpose of disobedience to Him is to deny them.
Relevance of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That the verse proves that whoever attributed Allah's Blessings to other than Him has denied them.
Relevance of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed
That the verse charges those who attribute Allah's Blessings to other than Him with disbelief, because in so doing, they set up partners with Allah in the bestowal of blessings.
Mujahid said: "He (the one referred to in the above verse) is the man who says: "They (Allah's Blessings) are mine, an inheritance from my fathers and my forefathers."
Relevance of This Narration to the Subject of the Chapter
That the narration proves that Mujahid considered that whoever attributes Allah's Blessings to other than Him is a denier of those Blessings.
Relevance of This Narration to the Subject of Tawheed
That Mujahid considered any person who attributed Allah's Blessings to other than Him to be a disbeliever, because to do so is an act of Shirk.
`Aoun Ibn `Abdillaah said: "They say: "If it were not for so-and-so, such-and-such an event would not have occurred.
`Aoun Ibn `Abdillah considered that attributing events to any of Allah's creatures is kufr (disbelief), because this entails attributing benefit or harm to other than Allah , while in fact they possess no power to harm or benefit except by Allah's Will.
Relevance of This Narration to the Subject of the Chapter
That it proves that `Aoun Ibn `Abdillah considered that believing that benefit or harm may occur due to the actions of other than Allah , independent of Allah's Qadr, is kufr.
Ibn Qutaibah said: "They say: "This is due to the intercession of our gods."
Ibn Qutaibah informs us in this narration that the polytheists attribute the blessings which they receive to be achieved through the power of intercession of their idols; in doing so, they combine the sin of associating partners with Allah by worshipping others, with the sin of kufr, by attributing blessings to other than Him, the true granter of blessings.
Relevance of This Narration to the Subject of the Chapter
That the narration proves that Ibn Qutaibah considered that attributing Allah's Blessings to the intercession of idols is kufr.
After the Hadith of Zaid Ibn Khalid (page 151) in which Allah , Most High, said: "Some of My slaves this morning are true Believers in Me and others are disbelievers..." Abul `Abbas (i.e. Ibn Taymiyah) said: "Such commandments occur frequently in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Allah condemns those who attribute His Blessings to others whom they associate with Him. Some of the Salaf have said that it is like the saying of some: "The wind was favourable," or: "the sailor was skillful," etc. and the statements of many of the people are like this."
The meaning of the above-mentioned narration is that when a ship is driven by a fair wind by Allah's Command, they attribute this to the goodness of the wind or the skill of the sailor in sailing the ship, forgetting their Rabb, Who drove the ship on the sea as a mercy to them; and attributing a speedy or safe voyage to the favour of the wind or the skill of the sailor is a kin to crediting the rain to the movements of the stars and planets. Even if a person does not intend by his words to suggest that the wind is the creator or instigator of these events along with Allah , that it is only the means by which the objective was achieved, it is still not fitting to include it beside Allah , the One, for it does not befit Allah's Favour that anyone should forget that it is He Alone, Who deserves gratitude and thanks, for all good is in His Hands and He is able to do all things and it is He Who grants all blessings in this world and in the Hereafter - He is One and He has no partners.
Benefits Derived From This Narration
1. That attributing blessings to any of Allah's creatures is Shirk. In Rabbship if it is believed that he is the provider and instigator of those blessings. If it is believed that he is the means by which the blessings were attained, then this is at the very least, bad manners towards Allah , the true Provider of all blessings.
Relevance of This Narration to the Subject of the Chapter and to the Subject of Tawheed
That it proves that Ibn Taymiyah considered that whoever attributed blessings to other than Allah has denied them and is guilty of Shirk.
Kitaab At-Tawheed chapter 39
