𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐡𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐦

𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐡𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐦 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐥-𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐥-𝐔𝐥𝐮𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡

For newcomers: al-Wahhābiyyah insist due to the teachings in Ibn ʿAbdul Wahhāb’s books - Kashf al-Shubuhāt, al-Uṣūl al-Thalātha and Kitāb al-Tawḥīd - that the Pagan Meccans had Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah i.e. they believed Allāh is the only Creator, Sustainer, Provider and the One who gives life and death, however, they didn’t have Tawḥīd al-Ulūhiyyah i.e. they didn’t consider Him as the only worthy of worship (so they did not make shirk in Rubūbiyyah, only in Ulūhiyyah). From this false belief, Ibn ʿAbdul Wahhāb was able to make an analogy to the Muslims of his time and claim: “You Muslims also have this Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah, however, you both make Shirk in Ulūhiyyah since you worship saints by doing Istighātha and therefore you are comparable to the Pagan Meccans and must be fought.” This is literally the foundation of their deviant manhaj. Essentially, Wahhābiyyah - as expressed by Ibn al-ʿUthaymīn - don’t believe Rasūlullāh ﷺ was sent to teach Pagans that Allāh is their Creator, Sustainer, Provider etc. since they already knew this, wa l-ʿiyādhu bi Llāh (check the source in the comments).

So by citing evidence suggesting that Meccans did in fact commit Shirk in Rubūbiyyah and they considered their ‘gods’ (āliha) as their ‘lords’ (arbāb) - this will completely dismantle their creed which is our intent in this short-series in shāʿa Llāh. The overview of this series-of-posts is as following: 

► Disproving their claim from Lugha (this post)

► Disproving them in light of Qurʾān and Allāh’s judgement

► Falsifying their notion through the statements of Mufassirīn

► Falsifying their belief in light of the Sunnah

► Showcasing evidence from their own scholars who refute their creed 

► Etc... 

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐥𝐚̄𝐡 (𝐚 𝐆𝐨𝐝) 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐛𝐛 (𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝)

Lisān al-ʿArab (“The Tongue of the Arabs”): God (Ilāh) is that which is deified and worshipped and deserving of worship; 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝐺𝑜𝑑 (𝐼𝑙𝑎̄ℎ) 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑀𝑎ʿ𝑏𝑢𝑑𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟, 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑟 (𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑢𝑏𝑢̄𝑏𝑖𝑦𝑦𝑎ℎ) 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟. Whatever is not viewed in this way is not a God, even if someone is compelled to worship. Rather, this would be a piece of creation that is seeking to be worshipped [the source is in the comments below].

𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐮̄𝐛𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 (𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐥𝐮̄𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 (𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩) 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲

Sīrah ibn Isḥāq, as Siyar wa l-Maghāzī, reports that Zayd bin ʿAmr, a pre-islamic monotheist, in his poetry says:

“𝐴𝑚 𝐼 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 (𝑅𝑎𝑏𝑏) 𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑?

𝐼𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚,

I renounce al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, both of them,

as any strong-minded person would. 

I will not worship al-ʿUzzā and her two daughters.” [The source is in comments below]

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Both the famous and largest dictionary as well as the ancient pre-islamic poetry highlighting the beliefs of Pagan Meccans show us that Godship (Ulūhiyyah) was understood as identical to Lordship (Rubūbiyyah) contradicting the belief of Wahhābiyyah and 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 (𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐮𝐛u𝐛𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡)!

𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐡𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐦 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐥-𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐥-𝐔𝐥𝐮𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐

Here we will prove through the blessed verses of the Majestic Qurʾān how Allāh makes it clear that Pagan Meccans didn’t have Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah, besides the fact that Rubūbiyyah and Ulūhiyyah are inseparable to each other – all going against the very foundation of Wahhābī movement.

Before we proceed to present the verses that go against Wahhābiyyah we will quickly answer the most common objection by the cult which is the following verse they use against Ahl al-Sunnah to deem Istighātha as shirk:

“We worship them (naʿbuduhum) only so they may bring us closer to Allāh in position.” [39:3]

► The keyword here is (نَعْبُدُهُمْ); no one from Ahl al-Sunnah worships the Prophet ﷺ in order to get closer to Allāh. 

► The claim of Mushrikīn is a lie intended to absolve themselves. Allāh explicitly states that they are liars, as seen in the latter part of the same verse: "Indeed, Allāh does not guide one who is a liar and [confirmed] disbeliever." [39:3]

► The Wahhābīs claim if we do istighātha (call out for help) to Rasūlullāh ﷺ then we are rejecting Tawḥīd al-Ulūhiyyah because istighātha is a duʿā which is worship. Therefore we end up worshipping Rasūlullāh ﷺ like Mushrikīn used to worship their idols in order to get closer to Allāh. Firstly, no one makes duʿā to Rasūlullāh ﷺ, all duʿā is directed towards Allāh. Secondly, istighātha is not a duʿā, rather it's a request or an appeal to Rasūlullāh ﷺ so **he can make duʿā to Allāh** on behalf of ourselves since he ﷺ is alive in his grave and our actions are presented to him. Thirdly, even if we assume for the argument's sake that istighātha is a duʿā then every duʿā is also not necessarily worship because if this was the case then according to Najdī understanding the Companions would have become polytheists when Allāh says: “Do not make the calling (duʿā) of the Messenger among you like your calling (duʿā) of one another.” [24:63] 

The three aforementioned points teach us they don't know the meaning of ʿibādah, they don't read the entire verse and they overlook all other verses in Qurʾān concerning this.

As for the verses that rebuke their deviant doctrines – Allāh ﷻ states: 

(1) “Lord (Rabb) of the heavens and earth, and everything in between, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 worship Him (faʿbudhu)!” [19:65]

(2) “Indeed, Allāh is my Lord (Rabb) and your Lord (Rabb), 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 worship Him (faʿbudūhu). This is the Straight Path.” [43:64]

► Grammatically, in both verses the word “𝑓𝑎” (therefore) appears which is a 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 - it makes the first sentences (“Lord of the heavens and earth” and “Indeed, Allāh is my Lord and your Lord”) the 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑙 reason for the command in the second sentence (“worship Him”). So Allāh is emphasizing that Rubūbiyyah (Lordship; being the Creator, Sustainer, Provider etc.) and Ulūhiyyah (Godship; being worthy of worship) are inseparable and it is His Rubūbiyyah that makes Him worthy of worship! If the Pagan Meccans had truly acknowledged His Rubūbiyyah - as Wahhābiyyah claim - then they wouldn’t worship other idols because ‘being worthy of worship’ is an attribute of Rubūbiyyah just like being a Creator, Sustainer, Benefitter and Provider are attributes of Rubūbiyyah! So by ascribing the attribute of Rubūbiyyah - worship - to their idols, the pagans committed shirk in Rubūbiyyah!

(3) “Still they have taken other gods (āliha) besides Allāh, 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 [𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎].” [36:74]

► Here Allāh manifests the belief of Pagans that they believed their idols could help (or benefit) them. To benefit others is an attribute of Rubūbiyyah which they ascribed to their idols - hence, once again, it shows they didn’t have Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah!

(4) “And it will be said to them, ‘Where are 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂̄𝒉? 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 or even help themselves?’” [26:92-93]

 ► Here Allāh is challenging the Mushrikīn to let their idols help them now in accordance with their beliefs (as shown in the aforementioned verse). It corroborates the fact that they ascribed the attribute of Rubūbiyyah, helping/benefitting, to their idols which shows again they didn’t have Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah!

(5) “Allāh has never had [any] offspring, nor is there any god (Ilāh) besides Him. Otherwise, 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒐𝒅 (𝑰𝒍𝒂̄𝒉) 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, and they would have tried to dominate one another. Glorified is Allāh above what they claim!” [23:91]

► ‘To create’ is an attribute of Rubūbiyyah. Here Allāh states it is an attribute of Ulūhiyyah! It confirms Rubūbiyyah and Ulūhiyyah are inseparable contrary to the claim of Wahhābiyyah.

(6) “There (i.e. in Hellfire) the deviant will cry while disputing with their idols, ‘By Allāh! We were clearly mistaken, when 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃) 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒔.’” [26:96-98]

► Allāh states the Mushrikūn made their idols *equal* to Allāh (their Rabb). Two entities are equal if they share exactly the same attributes i.e. to create, benefit, provide etc. So their idols weren’t just intermediaries, they were also their Lords (Arbāb)!

(7) “𝒀𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃).” [6:1]

► Allāh states once again that the Mushrikūn made their idols *equal* to Allāh (their Rabb). Two entities are equal if they share exactly the same attributes i.e. to create, benefit, provide etc. So their idols weren’t just intermediaries, they were also their Lords (Arbāb) which is shirk in Rubūbiyyah!

(8)) “And they (Pagan Meccans) argue, ‘There is nothing beyond our worldly life. We die; others are born. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆..” [45:24]

► Allāh tells us that the Mushrikūn disbelieved in His Rubūbiyyah because they believed *the time* will cause death, not Allāh!

(9) “Do you call upon Ba’l and abandon the Best of Creators, Allāh, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃) 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃) 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔? 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 (𝒇𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒖̄𝒉𝒖), so they will certainly be brought [for punishment].” [37:125-127]

► Grammatically the ḍamīr (hu) refers back to Lord (Rabb), therefore, the verse proves the Mushrikūn rejected Allāh in His Rubūbiyyah. 

(10) “There is no god (Ilāh) except Him. He gives life and causes death. [𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔] 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃), 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃) 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑰𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 (𝒊.𝒆. 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒖̄𝒏) 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒕.” [44:8-9]

► Contextually speaking, what are they in doubt about? What was mentioned just before it - Allāh’s Rubūbiyyah!

(11) “[Now] if anything should amaze you [O Prophet], then it is their question: ‘When we are reduced to dust, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏?’ 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 (𝒊.𝒆. 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒖̄𝒏) 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃).”

► Not only are they doubting Allāh’s capability of bestowing life which is an attribute of Rubūbiyyah, but Allāh confirms Himself they have disbelieved in his Rubūbiyyah!

(12) “Say, [O Prophet], “𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒂 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 (𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃) 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂̄𝒉 while He is the Lord of everything?” [6:164]

► If it hasn’t been obvious already then Allāh telling the Prophet ﷺ to tell the Mushrikīn that there is only one Rabb should make the matter crystal clear!

Lastly, the Wahhābiyyah can object with verses from Qurʿān where the Mushrikūn ostensibly affirm the Rubūbiyyah of Allāh, however, Allāh ﷻ states:

“Ask [them, O Prophet], ‘To whom belong the earth and all those on it, if you know?’ They will reply, ‘To Allāh!’ Say, ‘Why are you not then mindful?’ [And] ask [them], ‘Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Mighty Throne?’ They will reply, ‘Allāh.’ Say, ‘Will you not then fear [Him]?’ Ask [them also], ‘In Whose Yadd is the authority over all things, protecting [all] while none can protect against Him, if you know?’ They will reply, ‘Allāh.’ Say, ‘How are you then so deluded?’ In fact, We have brought them the truth, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒔.” [23:84-90]

These verses demonstrate that the Mushrikūn were just affirming Allāh’s Rubūbiyyah **outwardly**, being mere words of theirs in contradiction to the actual belief that is in their hearts - this is why after stating the false affirmations of Rubūbiyyah by the Mushrikīn that Allāh calls them definite liars (Kādhibūn) in the end because they didn’t have Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah! This understanding is in line with the numerous other verses of al-Qurʾān which al-Wahhābiyyah overlook in order justify their bāṭil interpretation and takfīr against the Muslims. Therefore there is no analogy as suggested by Ibn ʿAbdul Wahhāb al-Najdī between Ahl al-Qiblah who make istighātha to Rasūlullāh ﷺ who is absolutely dependant upon Allāh and Mushrikīn who literally used to worship with devotion and invoke their idols that they considered as **Lords** with independent kingdoms/dominions along with Allāh. 

Ultimately, the Qurʾān is a witness against them!

𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐡𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐦 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐥-𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐥-𝐔𝐥𝐮𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟑