Assalamu Alikum,
Repeatedly we are asked this question by Non Muslims and what should be a convensing answer to them?
Muslims do not believe in ideal worship, we pray in the direction of Kabba
and Kabba is only symbolic and for the direction. The question is if so
why do tawaf (if we say our Prophet did and ask as to do, they say same is
the case with us too). They say we know god is not in stone and its only
symbolic.
Secondly, they say we luugh at them because they worship stone, but they
claim that we Muslims not only pray and do tawaf of kabba, but made a
symbolic piller or a wall for Shaitan and through stone at it. They say
you know shaitan is not there but you do. If you believe in Allah, the why
should you do all this.
Please give an answer which will conviences them.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
As Muslims, our fundamental purpose in this life is to submit to the rules and commands of Allah Ta’ala, our Creator, The Al-Hakeem (The All Wise).
Sometimes the benefit of rulings is evident to all; at times not. When the benefit or wisdom is not immediately evident, one believes that reward of obedience to Allah and fulfilling His commands is achieving His pleasure and eternal success in the Hereafter. Allah Ta’ala says:
وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَخْشَ اللَّهَ وَيَتَّقْهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ
“Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him (and His injunctions), those are the successful ones.” (Qur’an, 24:52)
As far as your query, do Muslims worship the Kaaba by merely prostrating towards it and doing Tawaaf around it? As Muslims our core fundamental is that we worship only Allah Ta’ala. Actions such as praying towards the Kaaba and doing Tawaaf around it are fulfilling the commands of Allah, not worshiping the object itself. There are major differences between facing the Kaaba and worshiping idols. Consider the following,
Hadhrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thaanvi (rahmatullah alayhi) carefully probes the matter by providing logical and simple facts.[1]
- We explicitly deny worshipping the Kaaba nor the structure of the Kaaba. Hence, no worshipper (in his right frame of mind) can deny the thing he or she worships. The Kaaba is only a direction of worship. An idol worshipper does not deny worshipping the idol.
- If at any time the structure of the Kaaba is destroyed then too, it will
be compulsory to perform Salah facing the direction of the Kaaba.
Therefore, we can say without a shadow of doubt that Muslims do not worship its stone structure, otherwise by its destruction Salah would immediately come to a stop. That is not the case with worshipping idols. If the idol is destroyed, no one worships it. - If a person decides to perform Salah on the roof of the Kaaba, the
Salaat will be valid. Therefore had we worshipped the Kaaba then Salah performed above it would be incorrect; because firstly, the thing worshipped must appear in front and secondly, it is utterly disrespectful and disgraceful to the thing worshipped by standing on top of it. Imagine anyone standing above their Creator and Maker of
this universe. In the case of idols, no one stands on the idol to worship it.
- Why do we face one direction, and not many directions? Imagine if there was no one direction to face then everyone would have faced all directions which may have caused dissent and disunity in the heart of the Muslims. Therefore it was essential to provide a common direction for the Muslims throughout the world.
Your second query pertaining to Rami (pelting the Shaitan), the Jamaraat are pillars representing the place where the Shaitaan tried to distract Prophet Ibrahim (Alaihi Salaam). The pelting of the pillars is to humiliate the Shaitan and to serve as a reminder to us that whenever the Shaitan approaches us with his evil whispers and temptations, we should not listen to him, but to stone him by our firm resolution to ignore his evil temptations, as Ibrahim (Alaihi Salaam) did.[2]
We must understand that the purpose behind obeying the commands Allah Ta’ala lies not in understanding them or grasping the wisdom behind them. Rather the purpose lies in their being enjoined by Allah Ta’ala. We must obey His Ordinance without trying to philosophize matters based on our limited weak minds. Since Allah Ta’ala has commanded, there must be a wisdom that we may or may not know. There are many secrets in the universe we know nothing about.[3]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Arshad Ali
http://fatwa-tt.com
Trinidad
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.