MCC Tucson Lectures
Muslim Community Center of Tucson
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October 17, 2025·Rabiʻ II 25, 1447 AH·12:38 PM·1h 6m·October 2025

Is Your Faith Secretly Polluted by Shirk?

Understanding Tawhid and Shirk: From Ancient Superstitions to Modern Subtle Forms of Polytheism

tawhidshirksuperstitionsrepentanceislamic knowledgehadithquranic storiesmonotheism
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Summary

This Islamic lecture from the Muslim Community Center of Tucson focuses on understanding tawhid (monotheism) and the various forms of shirk (polytheism) that can invalidate or diminish a Muslim's faith. The speaker explains how subtle forms of shirk manifest in both ancient Arabian pagan practices and modern society, including superstitions about lucky charms, horoscopes, haunted houses, and omens. Examples are given of contemporary superstitions similar to pre-Islamic beliefs, such as beliefs about haunted toys and unlucky numbers on airplanes. The lecture then transitions to a hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim about a man who murdered 99 people and sought repentance, but was told by an ignorant monk that repentance was impossible, leading him to commit his 100th murder. The speaker emphasizes how ignorance in Islamic knowledge is a disease that leads people astray and can have violent consequences, while also highlighting the importance of the Quranic stories for contemplation and application to one's life.

Transcript

Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.

I can't either.

[Silence]

Alhamdulillah.

[Silence]

Continuing. injed regarding the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the levels and virtues of the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and also a description of the various ious types of shik that which will invalidate a person's tohe the greatest act of worship that any human being can produce is the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala worshiping Allah alone without any partners now this may seem a given as we are Muslim And our religion revolves around the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. However, as we've mentioned before, the paganism and the idolatry of those previous nations that came before us, that preceded us. They were built and based on an entire foundation of belief. And this foundation of belief permeated their environment, permeated their way of life, their thought, their minds, and they saw the world through the worship of their idols. And so many superstitions, many beliefs, many fables and tales and mythologies have worked their way into the human being's life. And the only way a person would notice these things and recognize them for what they are and be able to reject them from their life. And for an individual to be able to clean his life and his actions and his heart from anything that would partially or entirely negate their is by learning the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in its various forms and learning that which will that which will negate a person's to heat. A person will only fully understand a concept once they have conceptualized its opposite. And so, for instance, in order for a person to fully appreciate what daytime is, they must also learn what nighttime is. This will complete their knowledge of that. Likewise, for a person to fully understand what toed is, they must also study all those things that will negate their those things which are of a shik and its major forms and its minor forms and its most subtle forms. The prophet sallall.aii Wasam told Abu Bakr. He said that the types of shik and the subtleties of shik are more discreet are more are found to be more discreet. in my nation than the footsteps of an ant on granite. Meaning, if you're not looking for it and listening for it, you will not see it. There are many superstitions that the mushrian of the ancient Arabs had. The pagans and polytheists of ancient Arabia had many superstitions which are startlingly comparable and similar to the superstitions in modern day that people have. So for instance, a Muslim will not bow down and worship an idol for sure, even the most ignorant of Muslims. However, what about the other subtle nuanced types of shik that occur such as the shik of a charm, a lucky charm. This is a type of shik or the hor horoscopes. Whoever's born in this month and this will happen. Whoever's born in this month and this will happen. This is all a type of shik. Likewise, the acts of the s suit soothsayers in likewise, which is using things as a charm for luck or using things to ward off evil spirits. And we hear this often. for instance one of the beliefs in ancient Arabia was that when a person is murdered and they die quote unquote before their time, this is what they believed. Then that person's soul would haunt the place that they were killed in until justice is received. until until justice has been had. And so they believed in hauntings and that these hauntings were the result of violent deaths. Tell me in our modern society here in America, all cases of hauntings or most of them are believed to be a result of what there were. You know, you you hear these stories. A person goes, they buy a house, a family buys a house, they find that the house is haunted. So, the house is haunted. What caused this haunting? Well, they research into the history of the house and they find out that there was some kind of violence that took place there and some people lost their life there. And now that old man who, you know, had this thing happen to him in the house, he is still roaming the hallways of his home waiting to be released into the afterlife. Right? This is all part of the shik of the mushik of ancient Arabia. It's not specific to the ancient Arabia. This is something that a shaitan whispers into the hearts of men from the inception. Or for instance there is a particular tree or a particular grave and if you or a particular toy some kind of you know some kind of teddy bear or action figure and this is a haunted toy and if you go and take the toyy's picture without its permission bad things will happen in your life. I'm not making this up. This exists right now here in America. This is very well-known case. There are hundreds of people who have posted their stories about I went to visit this toy and I took its picture without asking permission. And since then I lost my job. My wife left me. My dog ran away, right? my truck through a piston, my I keep getting flat tires, right? Whatever. And hundreds of people write apology letters to the toy asking for its forgiveness. Please forgive me and allow me to live my life again. I shouldn't have had such bad manners with you. Right? This is one instance of many. And so what kind of shik is this? This is a type of shik which is major shik in Islam. Major shik meaning that a person fears other than Allah with a fear that is only for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is not minor shik. This will invalidate a person's Islam entirely. A person fears other than Allah is going to afflict him with something only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can do. This is one example of many. So much so that the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam prohibited that a person worship Allah in a place where idols were worshiped or that they worship Allah with a type of worship that idols are worshiped wherever they had a holiday of shik etc. So the rulings of are very vast and very numerous. For this reason the prophet sallall.aii Wasam spent 13 years at the beginning of his teaching the companions the various types of and shik that which will invalidate a person's that which will partially or entirely negate a person's and Islam when we speak about the invalidation. When we speak about a person's Islam becoming invalid, a person's Islam can become invalid entirely or a person's Islam could become invalid partially. And so that which entirely invalidates a person's Islam is major major kufur. And that which partially invalidates a person's Islam invalidates a portion of their Islam are the various types of shik that come from the superstitions of the mushri. And so when the prophet sallallah.aii alaihi wasallam was sent to the people of Arabia and sent to mankind in the ancient Arabia. He came upon a people that were enveloped and engrossed in superstition and the worship of other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it had permeated every facet of their lives, even the way that they viewed the wildlife, the way that they viewed the months and the years. You cannot get married on a particular date. You should not it is not good to travel on a particular date. This particular road is haunted or ominous. This particular valley is a place that a person cannot go to at particular times. That a person should not marry during the month of Rajab. And so the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam was sent and was sent to deliberately break these superstitions. So for instance they believed that it was ominous for a person and bad luck for a person to get married during the month of Rajab. And so the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam married Zanab during the month of Rajab. They believed that if a person were to get married on a particular time or in a particular way, this would cause the failure of the marriage. And even today, many customs that the Muslims have adopted follow this line of superstition. So for instance where I come from if a person it's very distracting this is not a time to talk right to listen please.

[Arabic recitation]

Distracting to me and everyone else police. And so where I come from, one of the superstitions is that if you go to get married, you cannot fold your hands while you're getting married. You have to sit with your hands out like this while the marriage is being conducted. If you fold your hands, the marriage is going to be stricken with bad luck. As if marriage is an issue that keeping your hands open they'll even tell me I'm doing your hands are folded. Open your hands. What's in my hands? How is this going to affect a person's marriage or that a person should get married during Ramadan or the 27th of blah blah blah all of this is called considered to be a type of what type of shik this will invalidate a p a part of a person's Islam doesn't make them a disbeliever however it is a type of shikah subhanahu wa'ta'ala Or if you hear an owl at night over your house, someone in the house is going to die. This is taken directly from the mushri of ancient Arabia. Exactly. Or if there is a ghost that's going around and humbugging the village, you need to take salt and put it on the window sills and across the doorways so that the ghost is not able to come into your house. or such and such tree cannot be cut down or interfered with at all because that tree belongs to such and such and if you interfere with it you will be you know afflicted with cancer or and then they have all kinds of stories about it to the point where this will even become a national thing. Imagine in modern society in some eastern airlines there is no row number 13. There is no 13th floor. It goes 1214. There's no 13th floor. Why? Because 13 is an ominous number. 7 is a lucky number. So this is all what? This is all part of a shik that the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam was sent to rid from the hearts of humanity. The prophet sallall.aii Wasallam was once asked in the narration of he was once asked about what are you go to the person and they start to tell you about your future or tell you about something that will occur or tell you about your mother's maiden name that only your cousin Bob knows about and then people start to fear this person and believe this person. The prophet sallall.aii wasallam was asked about and so he said these people are a non- entity nothing. This is a major thing to say. Why? Because in the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam's time magicians were paid our equivalent of millions of dollars. And they were feared by people. And so they asked him, "Sallam, sometimes they tell us something and it actually happens." And so the prophet sallall.ai Wasam explained how the that work with these soothsayers stack on top of each other to listen in on the rulings and discussions of the heavens. And sometimes they are able to bring back a single thing that they overheard. And in doing so, the magician or soothsayer will then add 99 lies on top of it and then tell it to their customer. They believed in the time of ancient Arabia that there were things called al where I come from they call it a is a type of jin that is a devil and it shapeshifts and it takes people astray in the desert right etc. All of these superstitions are what will invalidate or nullify a portion of a person's Islam. They will meet Allah with a heart that is diseased with superstition and shik.

[Arabic recitation]

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Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells our messenger Sai Wasam Tell them, tell the people, tell your followers, tell your nation the stories of those who have preceded them in order that they may contemplate said stories. One of the great blessings of the Quran is that Allah Subhanahu Waaala tells us the most critical stories throughout humanity's existence from the inception and the creation of Adam up until our messengers time and even stories that have not yet occurred. that will occur in the future. These are the most critical stories. They're not legends. They're not fables. They're not contrived contrived kind of metaphorical fables. These are stories of real men and real women. stories to be taken literally in order for us to contemplate and to understand what it is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala desires of us and what it is that a shan desires of us. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has said tell them then the stories in order that they may contemplate contemplate said stories and learn to apply those stories to their individual and general lives. One of these stories is a narration that was collected by Bkari and Muslim on the authority of he tells us of an incident that occurred in which a man wished to repent to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for his wrongdoing. And the story of that repentance and how a person's intention and a person's strong will and desire to do good will carry him through to the hereafter and the mercy of Allah even if they are unable to complete that good that they set out to do. Abu narrates that the messenger of Allah. Wasam said, for.

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Narrates that the prophet sallall.aii Wasam said there was a man in the previous nations meaning amongst Bi is a man who had murdered 99 people. He had taken 99 souls. Murdered 99 people. Why did he murder them? How did he murder them? Aloha. It is inconsequential how he got to that junction, but somehow he managed to swallow all of the darkness of his time and arrive at 99 innocent souls that he had murdered. However, after all of this darkness and after all of this disobedience, in spite of that, he felt a tinge of remorse that drove him to ask about the most knowledgeable person available. He went he asked the people, the people of righteousness. He went to wherever the people of Allah reside and he asked them, I have a very important question. I would you to direct me to the most knowledgeable person on earth that you know of. Direct me to someone because I have a very critical question. And so the people directed him to a raid. They directed him to someone who was a righteous man, a man that loved Allah, a man that was in constant worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But he was confused with being a scholar. He was not a scholar. He was just a righteous man. A rahib a rahib is someone who is akin to a monk not a person of knowledge. And so he went to this man thinking that he this man is speaking on behalf of Allah and he asked him that he has killed 99 people. Is there any way that he could repent? Is there any hope for such a wretched soul? And so this rahib this monk out of his ignorance said, "No, there is no repentance for such an atrocity." And so the prophet sallall.aii wasallam said the man then killed him and completed 100 Now he's got a hundred under his belt. One of which we know was a righteous man. Notice how ignorance in Allah's religion is a disease amongst the Muslim. Look at the violence that is unleashed because of ignorance. This man came seeking redemption. was not given an exit, was not given a way to repent. And so this unleashed his violence. And that potential tells us that look how ignorance takes a people astray. This ignorance occurred way before he came to ask the monk. This ignorance occurred amongst the people of Benisel who could not differentiate between a scholar and a man of ignorance. They could not differentiate between a scholar and a monk. They thought that this monk was a scholar. They see him all the time praying and worshiping Allah. They see him all the time. They he reminds them of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. maybe he would command the good and forbid the evil. And so people started to believe that this was a scholar. So when the time came for a scholar, this man was good enough. And so what happened? Violence was unleashed. It resulted in his death. And it could have been much worse because hopelessness is one of the greatest tools that a shan uses to drive people into the flames of hell. When a person feels hopeless, when they feel there's no chance for them, there's no way to redeem themselves, they've gone too far, when they feel Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's door is closed in their face. This is when humanity at large suffers because the only thing that will keep a human being on the right track. The only thing is not surveillance, is not a bloated huge government that is in every facet of their lives watching them to make sure that they're following the law. It is not constant policing. The only thing that will save humanity from itself is their fear and love and hope in Allah. Nothing else. And when a human being loses hope in Allah, whether it's because they don't believe in his existence, whether it's they believe that they have no chance of redemption, whatever it is, when the human being becomes hopeless, violence, misery, and tragedy will ensue invariably. And so this man when this other individual came he said I have I killed 99 people. 99 people. We're not speaking about you know one incident or two incidents or he was a pilot. We're speaking about one at a time. 99. Is there any way that I can repent? This man was a man of ignorance because he looked at this sin as being too great even for Allah's forgiveness, even for Allah's mercy. It was too much. So all those years of worship, what was he really worshiping during that time? He was worshiping something that he believed that superimposed on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so 99 souls that he took, it's possible that he knew of him. Maybe he was a known criminal. And so he came and asked, "Is there any hope for me?" He said, "No, if there's no hope for me, I really don't you either." And so he killed him and completed a hundred. This is why scholarship is so dire. Not just in the world, not just amongst the Muslim one or two in a country. Scholarship is absolutely critical in every single masid in every community. There has to be men who are able to guide the people to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Men who have inherited from the prophet sallall.aii wasam. Those who remind the people when they forget. Those who are awake when the people are asleep. Those who cry when the people laugh. And those who smile when things seem hopeless because of their knowledge of Allah. The prophet sallall.aii said, he said, "The virtue that a scholar holds over a monk is the virtue that the moon holds over the rest of the stars in the sky." The prophet sallall.aii Wasam said that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not take knowledge back from a people by extracting it from the hearts of men.

[Silence]

He said rather Allah takes knowledge from a people through the death of the scholars and the scholars will continue to become more and more scarce until the people cannot find a scholar to lead them. They will then hence take an ignorant man in place of a scholar. These ignorant men will then be asked and they will then speak on behalf of Allah and they will go astray and lead the people astray with them. This is the danger. The prophet sallall.aii said, "Whomever Allah desires good for, he will grant him or them understanding of the religion." Understanding that is for individuals and communities and countries and entire nations. If Allah desires good for them, he will place amongst them men who fear Allah and who know Allah, who are scholars, who are heirs of Muhammad sallall.aii, they will then lead the people to the path of Allah. However, if Allah does not desire good for a people, he will allow them to take the ignorant as leaders, they will then speak on behalf of Allah. They will go astray and take others astray with them. There is this kind of misconception that many of us have that I don't really have to know that much. What's really the difference between a scholar and a layman? Not that much. As long as I have really, really good intentions, I can think my way to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's not how it works. There's no difference between that person and a person who says that he can accidentally build a skyscraper or he can accidentally build a Ferrari from scraps engine purring door open. That's not how it works. A person doesn't stumble into the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's not an accidental thing. This is something that is deliberate. You must know that the door is there before you can knock on it. There's no other way. And a person of knowledge holds in his heart an exaltation of Allah that cannot be had with ignorance. There are men even amongst the companions who prayed who prayed more than Abu Bakr and Omar who even number-wise maybe even prayed more than the prophet sallall.aii wasallam. But will their prayer ever ever be the prayer of Abu Bakr and Omar or the prophet sallall.aii Wasam. He tells us that the best of fasting is the fasting of dood. And the best of prayer is the prayer of dood. He used to fast one day and break his fast the next. Our prophet didn't do that. He did a third of that. Yet he is the im of the mut and doud is one of his many many followers amongst the messengers. Why? What's the difference? It's not an issue of quantity. It is an issue of quality. It's a diamond. You cannot rush that process. It comes as a result of very very very specific conditions and those conditions have to be met. Only then can a diamond be produced. Only then can a pearl be produced and only by a clam. Only by weight and pressure and friction can a diamond be produced. It's not an accidental process. The prophet sallall.aii Wasam said, "Allah came to me in my sleep." And he asked me, "Do you know what the greatest of angels compete with one another over?" I said, "No." He said,.

[Silence]

He said that Allah asked him, "Do you know what the highest ranking angels compete in?" I said, "No." He said, "Sall." Wasam. Allah then placed his hand between my shoulder blades and I felt the coolness come up between my in my chest in the center of my chest and I was shown that which is in the heavens and that which is in the earth Ibraimisam was shown. How can you compete with that kind of knowledge? Our prophet sallall.aii Wasam makes two with that heart. All of us combined cannot compete with that. There is no way to the high levels of grace with Allah except by way of knowledge. And knowledge is not something that can be had overnight. It's not information. A few Google searches and you know there's a difference a difference between knowledge and facts and information. Just you cannot accidentally build an engine you likewise cannot accidentally build a relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This man, even though he had just murdered this monk, and even though he was more ignorant or supposed to be than this monk, he still asked again, "I would you to direct me to the most knowledgeable man." And so this time he was directed to a scholar. He still had hope. Even though that monk was hopeless. Imagine being so ignorant that a murderer, a serial killer has more good thoughts about a love than a monk who spends his days and nights in worship. But that is the confusion and the delusion of ignorance. And so this time he was directed to a scholar and he asked him, "He has killed 100 men. Is there any hope for him to repent?" The scholar quickly said, he said, "Of course." And what is standing between you and repentance? For who could stand between you and repentance? No man. And then he directed him to go to a land outside of his environment. He said, "There's a people there. Go there. Make that hij that migration. Be with them and do not come back here because this is an evil place. And if you return here, you will return to your ways." The scholar didn't just give him yes, you can repent and sent him on his way. He gave him a detailed prescription. And so the man set off to the righteous land. And on his way, he died at exactly the halfway point. The prophet sallall.aii Wasam said, "The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment and torment then descended simultaneously and started to debate as to who is more rightful to this man's soul." The angels of mercy said he was on his way to repent. The angels of punishment said, "He has never done a good deed. He's never done any good in his life. This man is a nuisance to society. The angels of punishment were looking back to where he came from. The angels of mercy were looking forward to where he was going. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded them to measure the distance between him and the two lands and to whichever of those lands he was closer he is to be of its people. The prophet Sam said,.

[Silence]

The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said Allah told and commanded the path behind him to shrink and the path in front of him to grow or the path in front of him to shrink and the path behind him to grow just a handspan just enough for his scales of good to outweigh his scales of evil. And so the angels of mercy took him. Imagine how much Allah reaches out back to you. When you try to reach out to him, he will change the earth and he will change the laws of physics in order to include you into the people of paradise. Our prophet sallall.aii Wasam has said that Allah himself has said.

[Silence]

He said subhanahua that if my servant reaches out to me a handspan I will reach out to him a cubit. And if he reaches out to me a cubit, I will reach out to him an arms length. And if my servant comes to me walking, I come to him running. This is the mercy of Allah. We have all done bad things. There is not one innocent man amongst us. Not one innocent man or woman amongst us. However, what is our hope? Our hope is not in ourselves. It's not in believe in yourself, love yourself so that you all these oneliners that are useless in practical life. It is believe in Allah, find all your hope with Allah. And if a person reaches out ever so slightly, Allah will scoop him up. Allah will include him amongst the people of mercy. Allah says, "What does Allah want with your punishment if you are thankful and believe?" And indeed Allah is thankful and all knowing. Allah has described himself to us as thankful. Imagine that. Imagine Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is of such generosity that he will give you that which you can worship him with. He will then be pleased with you and he will then praise you for what he gave you in the first place. How can a per how can generosity ever reach such heights? This is our There is not one of us here who is innocent. But there is not one of us here who is hopeless. Not one of us.

[Silence]

Alhamdulillah.

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Allah All.

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For.

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Allah. for.

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Allah. foreign.

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All becommen.

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Alhamdulillahb.

[Silence]

There we go. Stand shouldertosh shoulder. Take a moment to look to either side. Make sure that your feet and your shoulders are as in line with your two neighbors as possible. The coherence of the rose and the straightness of the rose is a large part of what we are judged upon when our prayer is accepted by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Please take a moment to check your phones. Make sure that they are silent. foreign.

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Alhamdulillah. for.

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Amen. I'm just for.

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Love me. Allah holy man.

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Allahel.

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Alhamdulillah. Fore! Foreign! Foreign! for him. Amen.

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Happy.

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Send me Allah. You alone.

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Allahel. Allah out.

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Assalamu alaykum.

[Silence]

Brothers and sisters, asalam alaikum. Couple of quick announcements. First the for tomorrow inshallah will be 5:45 a.m. again tomorrow morning 5:45 a.m. The youth halaka today is after m inshallah and Quran classes just want to see everybody is no is aware of this we need some attention to that it's from 11 to 100 p.m. that's tomorrow that's every Saturday 11 to 1:00 p.m. There's Quran classes. There's a separate class for the for the girls and se another one for the boys. So please in participate in that and see if your children can benefit from it. One other thing I'd to mention and I think people may have been just concerned about some of this is there is no fee for these things any of the classes that Masid offers. So if there is any question about the the dues or anything, please talk to me or brother Ahmed Jabar and at least make sure even for the Rama Academy we have the programs available to take care of your needs. So please make sure that you are available and at least give a child your children opportunity to learn the deen inshallah and benefit from the academy. Please donate generously on the way out. Hey. Hey. How you doing?