In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
One of the things prohibited under
Qur'aanic Verse 2:173 is وما اهل بهى لغيرالله
(that for which credit is attributed to anything or anyone other than Allah).
Based on its context of animals
being killed for food, it is generally interpreted to mean the meat derived
from an animal killed in the Name of anyone other than Allah. Sacrifices are
indeed made at the altars of other deities. Meat derived from such sacrifices
is of course prohibited.
But the phrase quoted above from
Verse 2:173 has a much wider meaning. It is not restricted to food derived from
animals only. It connotes anything, material or even non-material, the credit
for the being or emergence of which is attributed to anything or anyone other
than Allah!
Some Muslims, in the Indian
subcontinent especially, visit tombs of dead saints and pray there for some
worldly benefits to them. And if they do get any of those worldly benefits
thereafter, it is attributed to the saints whose tombs they had visited and
prayed at! The quoted phrase alludes to such attribution too!
Persons who visit such tombs bring
back home some تبرک (eatables supposedly
blessed by those dead saints) for their relatives and neighbours. Such تبرک too is covered by the said Qur'aanic
phrase!
Muslims and non-Muslims alike, do
give credit, for some public good done, to a person or a group of persons. But
that person or that group cannot by itself accomplish any good work without
divine assistance. That is why Muslims are wont to say ما شاء اللہ (with the Will of Allah) whenever they
mention such public good done. Giving credit for any good work done to anybody,
without associating therewith the essential divine assistance, does also come
under the purview of the Qur'aanic phrase we are discussing here.
It should be the duty of every
Muslim to understand the correct meaning of this phrase and of every other
edict of the Qur'aan!
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