The Prophet (ﷺ ) has said:
"The most dreadful sin I am afraid you may commit is minor polytheism. He was, then, questioned about it. Thereupon, he said, 'It is (offering your good deeds) in ostentation (showing off/riya)' " (Related by Ahmad)
General meaning of the hadith
Out of his pity and mercy for his nation, the prophet (ﷺ ) was so keen to guide people to the path of righteousness and warn them against all the evil. He ( ﷺ) warned Muslims not to perform devotional acts in order to show off or to get people's admiration. He deemed showing off as an act of minor polytheism, which would render all acts of worship, performed in such a way, null and void. Since people intuitively long for acquiring prominence and being praised by others, ostentation (Riya/show off) may easily permeate (spread among) righteous Muslims. Therefore, the prophet (ﷺ ) expressed his anxiety about the righteous Muslims who offer good deeds and warned against pretentious display. While minor polytheism may easily permeate (spread among) the hearts of the righteous, acts of major polytheism are hardly perpetrated by them.
Relevance of the hadith to the chapter:
This hadith warns the believers against the perpetration (committing) of minor polytheism, whereas the former two Quranic verses warn them against approaching acts of major polytheism. Thus, the present chapter elaborates on the two main categories of polytheism.
Lessons drawn from the hadith:
>> A true believer should be anxious (worried) about falling into minor polytheism, since the prophet ( ﷺ) expressed his anxiety in the aforementioned hadith and , moreover warned righteous Muslims against it.
>> The prophet (ﷺ ) was compassionate and keen to guide his nation to the straight and righteous path.
>> Polytheism is categorized into major and minor polytheism. The former (major polytheism) is defined as setting rivals to almighty Allaaah whereas the latter (minor polytheism) is confined to acts designated as polytheistic according to the Quran or the sunnah without reaching the degree of major polytheism. They may further be compared as follows:
>> The former (major polytheism) renders man's entire deeds void, whereas the latter (minor polytheism) only renders acts contaminated with impure intentions null and void.
>> While retainers of major polytheism will abide in the hellfire for eternity, perpetrators (one who commits)of minor polytheism will not.
>> A perpetrator (one who commits) of major polytheism is regarded as a repudiator (nullify) of Islam while the holder of any act or form of minor polytheism is regarded as a Muslim.
YOU ARE READING
Kitab ut Tawheed (An Islamic book)
SpiritualBismillahir Rahmanir Raheem If Tawheed (oneness of Allaah) is perfect, Allaah forgives all the sins of His servant. If there is any shirk in a person's belief, then all the amal (deeds) of the person are destroyed by Allaah ta'ala. Thus, it is OBLIG...
