The Concept of Ibadah: The Understanding of Al-Mu'ayyad Billah al-Alawi al-Zaidi (d. 745 A.H.)

The below is a translation of a facebook post by Dr. Sultan al-Umayri.

Al-Mu'ayyad Billah al-Alawi al-Zaidi addressed the worship of idols, explaining that it is a false and corrupt practice, contrary to the necessities of reason. He then discussed the reasons why a large number of scholars fell into this erroneous belief, proposing five possibilities:

لعل منشأ الزلل لهم في عبادتها لأسباب عارضة , وهي : أولها : أنهم كانوا يعبدون الكواكب , وكانوا يعتقدون فيها أنها أحياء عالمة , فلما رأوها تخفى بالنهار , ويعرض لها في أوقات الليل ما يسترهم عن إدراكها بالغيوم اتخذوا لكل واحد من تلك الكواكب هياكل ... وثانيها : أهم كانوا يعتقدون في بعض الرجال النبوة والولاية ونيل الزلفة عن الله تعالى , فبِعُدَ موتهم , فاتخذوا على شكل صورهم أصناما , وعبدوها وتقربوا إليها , ليكون أولئك الأشخاص شفعاء عند الله لهم . وثالثها : أنهم معتقدهم في الله تعالى أنه جسم وله صورة كأحسن الصور , وأن له ملائكة لهم كما وحسن , والله تعالى وملائكته محتجبون بالسماء , فدعاهم ذلك إلى أن يتخذوا أصناما على صورة الله وصورة الملائكة , فعبدوها وقربوا لها القرابين , واعتقدوا فيها . ورابعها : لعلهم اتخذوا تلك الأصنام قبلة كما أن المسلمين لما سجدوا إلى جانب الكعبة , فليس المسجود له هو الكعبة , بل هو الله تعالى , لكن الكعبة قبلة للصلاة , فلعلهم يتخذون الصنم قبلة لهم في صلاتهم . وخامسها : لعلهم كانوا يتقربون إليها على سبيل اليمن والتبرك لما اعتقدوا أنها بشكل الكواكب وصورها , وأنه لا يحدث في العالم حادث إلا على قدر ما تجري عليه حركات الكواكب عن أمر الله تعالى , فتقربوا إليها وعظموها لذلك . فهذه الوجوه التي يمكن أن تحمل عليها عبادة العاقل للصنم

"Perhaps the cause of their error in worshiping idols is due to certain factors. Firstly, they worshiped the stars, believing them to be living and knowledgeable entities. When they observed these stars disappearing during the day and being obscured by clouds at night, they created idols for each of these stars… Secondly, they believed in the prophethood and sainthood of certain men, venerating them and seeking closeness to God through them. After these men died, they made idols in their likenesses, worshiped them, and sought to gain their intercession with God. Thirdly, they imagined that God and His angels have physical forms resembling the most beautiful human images, and since they believed that God and His angels are concealed in the heavens, they made idols in their likeness and offered sacrifices to them. Fourthly, they may have taken these idols as a qibla (direction of prayer), just as Muslims face the Ka’bah during prayer, where the Ka’bah itself is not worshiped but serves as a direction for prayer to God. Similarly, they may have used the idols as their qibla. Fifthly, they might have venerated these idols for good fortune and blessings, believing them to resemble the stars and their movements, and thinking that nothing happens in the world except according to God's will and the movements of the stars. Therefore, they worshiped and glorified them for this reason. These are the perspectives that might explain why a rational person would worship idols."[1]

Through al-Mu'ayyad Billah al-Alawi's analysis of the reasons that might lead a rational person to idol worship, it becomes clear that the concept of worship does not necessarily require belief in the independent divinity or influence of the object of worship. In the second reason, he noted that the primary aim is seeking intercession and closeness to God, while in the fifth reason, they do not believe the stars have independent influence but act according to God's command and management. Nonetheless, he deemed both of these practices as forms of idolatry and polytheism. If al-Alawi believed that the concept of worship required belief in independent divinity or influence, he would not have mentioned these possibilities in his analysis of idol worship, as they completely contradict such a notion.

Recommended Reading:

Polytheists Taking Idols as a Qiblah – Another Dent in Istiqlalism

Ibadah Discourse

---

[1] at-Tamheed fi Sharh Ma’alim al-‘Adl wal-Tawheed, pp. 82-83: