What is the ruling on directing any form of worship to other than Allah?
2026-09-20
F04 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn
الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The complete answer illustrates worship with sacrifice directed to another being as an act of veneration, submission and seeking nearness. Its advice to repent, the promise of forgiveness, replacement of bad deeds with good deeds, and final encouragement are retained together.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
فضيلة الشيخ، ما حكم صرف شيء من أنواع العبادة لغير الله سبحانه؟
الجواب
هذا ربما يفهم الجواب مما سبق آنفا حيث قلنا: إن توحيد العبادة إفراد الله سبحانه وتعالى بالعبادة، بأن لا يتعبد أحد لغير الله تعالى بشيء من أنواع العبادة، ومن المعلوم أن الذبح قربة يتقرب به الإنسان إلى ربه؛ لأن الله تعالى أمر به في قوله: ﴿فصل لربك وانحر﴾ [الكوثر:2]، وكل قربة فهي عبادة، فإذا ذبح الإنسان شيئا لغير الله تعظيما له، وتذللا، وتقربا إليه، كما يتقرب بذلك ويعظم ربه عز وجل، كان مشركا بالله سبحانه وتعالى، وإذا كان مشركا فإن الله تعالى قد بين أن المشرك حرم الله عليه الجنة وأن مأواه النار.
وبناء على ذلك نقول: إن ما يفعله بعض الناس من الذبح للقبور قبور الذين يزعمونهم أولياء، شرك مخرج عن الملة، ونصيحتنا لهؤلاء: أن يتوبوا إلى الله عز وجل مما صنعوا، وإذا تابوا إلى الله، وجعلوا الذبح لله وحده، كما يجعلون الصلاة لله وحده، والصيام لله وحده، فإنه يغفر لهم ما قد سبق، كما قال الله تعالى: ﴿قل للذين كفروا إن ينتهوا يغفر لهم ما قد سلف﴾ [الأنفال:38]، بل إن الله سبحانه وتعالى يعطيهم فوق ذلك، فيبدل الله سيئاتهم حسنات، كما قال الله تعالى: ﴿والذين لا يدعون مع الله إلها آخر ولا يقتلون النفس التي حرم الله إلا بالحق ولا يزنون ومن يفعل ذلك يلق أثاما يضاعف له العذاب يوم القيامة ويخلد فيه مهانا إلا من تاب وآمن وعمل عملا صالحا فأولئك يبدل الله سيئاتهم حسنات وكان الله غفورا رحيما﴾ [الفرقان:68–70].
فنصيحتي لهؤلاء الذين يتقربون إلى أصحاب القبور بالذبح لهم، أن يتوبوا إلى الله من ذلك، وأن يرجعوا إلى الله، وأن يبشروا إذا تابوا بالتوبة من الكريم المنان، فإن الله سبحانه وتعالى يفرح بتوبة التائبين.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited complete Arabic answer; not an official translation.
Original question
Esteemed Shaykh, what is the ruling on directing any form of worship to other than Allah, Glorified be He?
Answer
The answer may be understood from what was just explained, when we said that singling out Allah in worship means directing worship to Allah alone, Glorified and Exalted, so that no one worships anyone other than Allah through any form of worship. Slaughtering is known to be an act of devotion through which a person draws near to his Lord, because Allah commanded it in His statement, “Pray to your Lord and sacrifice” [al-Kawthar 108:2]. Every act of devotion is worship. Therefore, if someone slaughters something for other than Allah out of veneration, humble submission and a desire to draw near to that other being, just as he draws near to and venerates his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, he has associated a partner with Allah, Glorified and Exalted. Allah has explained that the person who associates a partner with Him is forbidden Paradise and that his abode is the Fire.
Accordingly, we say that what some people do by slaughtering for graves—the graves of those they claim to be awliya—is shirk that takes a person outside Islam. Our advice to them is to repent to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for what they have done. If they repent to Allah and dedicate slaughter to Allah alone, just as they dedicate prayer and fasting to Allah alone, their past conduct is forgiven. Allah says, “Tell those who disbelieve that if they desist, what has previously occurred will be forgiven them” [al-Anfal 8:38]. Indeed, Allah, Glorified and Exalted, gives them more than that: He replaces their bad deeds with good deeds. Allah says, “Those who do not invoke another deity alongside Allah, do not kill a soul Allah has made inviolable except with right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. Whoever does that will meet a penalty: the punishment will be multiplied for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will remain in it humiliated—except those who repent, believe and do righteous deeds. For them, Allah will replace their bad deeds with good deeds, and Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful” [al-Furqan 25:68–70].
My advice to those who seek to draw near to the occupants of graves by slaughtering for them is to repent to Allah for that and return to Him. If they repent, they should receive the glad tidings that their repentance is accepted by the Most Generous Bestower. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, rejoices at the repentance of those who repent.
Source and editorial notes
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt, 13th edition, 1441 AH, question 11, pp.29–30
فقه العبادات
Fiqhul ʿIbaadaat
Full original question and entire answer transcribed and collated from Ibn Uthaymeen Foundation 13th edition 1441 AH, printed pp.[29, 30]; source-completion replaces the historical excerpt, preserving F04.