Back to 'Aqeedah

Rejecting Taaghut with Heart, Speech and Action

One of the essentials of Tawheed is to have Kufr bit Taaghut. Kufr bit Taaghut comes under negation and it means to reject and disbelieve in all that is worshiped besides Allah, the evidence for its existence is when Muhammad (saw) says,

“Whoever says there is none worthy of worship but Allah and rejects and disbelieves all that is worshipped besides Allah (swt); his wealth and blood will be protected and his account will be with Allah (swt).” Muslim, Tabarani

Muhammad (saw) mentioned ‘there is none worthy of worship’ and then repeated it again by saying “… and rejects and disbelieves all that is worshipped besides Allah (swt)”, so why is it mentioned twice? This is because it shows the significance and importance of this matter, for example, some may say they believe in Allah but may not really understand it, hence, stipulating the importance that a person’s Emaan is not complete until he does Kufr bit Taaghut.

So when Muhammad (saw) said declare disbelief it means to declare disbelief in Taaghut, Ibn Taymiyah said,

“A person cannot be Muwahid except by rejecting Ash-Shirk and declaring disassociation to it and to declare Takfeer upon the one who falls into Shirk.”

It is easy for people to worship Allah (swt), if you ask people to worship Allah they will find it easy, but the people on the other hand have the inability of rejecting and disbelieving in Taaghut, so it is vital to know that a Muslim cannot have Kufr and Emaan at the same time. Muhammad (saw) said,

“Emaan (belief) and Kufr (disbelief) cannot co-exist in the heart of a person.” [Silsalat us-Saheeha for Sheikh Albaanee no. 1050]

At this conjecture someone may ask, now we know What is Taaghut, so how do we engage in Kufr bit Taagut?

The way we say Emaan is in the heart, speech and action, in the same way we must engage in Kufr bit Taaghut by heart, tongue and action.

There are Muslims who commit Shirk and do not reject and disbelieve in Taaghut, some you will find making dua (supplication) to graves and elevating people to the status of Prophets, and others you will hear calling people to obey the British Law and participate in their elections, and some you see allying and supporting the enemies of Allah in Iraq and Afghanistan against Muslims, but Allah will cast them as disbelievers even if they were to be busy in prayer, fasting and hajj.

The pagans of Quraysh were people who worshipped Allah (swt), but Allah labeled them as disbelievers because they failed to reject and disbelieve in Taaghut with heart, speech and action. Hence, if one neglects to do Kufr bit Taaghut from his inner and outer his Emaan is incomplete and how many people in the past and present times worship Allah but fail to reject and disbelieve in all that is worshipped besides Allah? Allah (swt) says,

“If you asked them (Pagans of Quraysh) who sends down the water from the sky and with it brings the earth to life after its death? They will most certainly say, ‘ALLAH’.” [al-Ankaboot: 63]

Kufr bit Taaghut with Heart

Disapproving with the heart is to hate and have animosity to Taaghut, whether he has physical capability or not, because to neglect rejecting Taaghut with the heart indicates the disappearance of Emaan from the heart altogether. The Prophet (swt) said,

“There is no single trace of Emaan beyond this (hating evil with one’s heart).” Bukhari and Ibn Majah

The description of the heart is that it cannot be overtaken by duress, so if you do not hate it in the heart then the opposite meaning is that you are pleased with it. It remains to be added here that disapproving with the heart requires the person to be absent from the scene of evil and in the case of our apostate rulers, it means to keep distance from them. Allah (swt) says,

“And verily, we have sent among every Ummah a messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allah (alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taaghut (false deities).” [an-Nahl: 36]

Kufr bit Taaghut with Speech

You must do Kufr bit Taaghut with the tongue in the face of the Taaghut leader, make it clear, warning people from them and showing people. We are on the path of Ibrahim (as) and whoever does not follow the path of Ibrahim (as) has no mind and has made himself stupid. The Millatul Ibrahim is to speak to the people publicly. Allah (saw) says,

“There is for you an excellent example (to follow) in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people: ‘We dissociate ourselves from you and of whatever you worship besides Allah. We have rejected (kafarna) you all, and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred for ever - unless you believe in Allah alone.” [al-Mumtahina (60) :4]

The Prophet (saw) said,

“One of the best forms of Jihad is to speak a word of truth in the face of an unjust ruler.” Ahmed and Ibn Majah

Mua’wiyah bin Hayda who said,

“I said to the Prophet (saw), ‘O Prophet of Allah! What did Allah (swt) send you with to us?’ He (saw) replied, ‘With Islam’. I said, ‘And what are the signs of Islam?’ He (saw) said, ‘To say: I have surrendered myself to Allah (swt) the most High and I have forgone everything else; to establish the prayer and to pay the alms; a Muslim to another Muslim is sacred; and they help one another…” Sunan An-Nisa’i, Hadith no. 2408

A sign of someone in Islam is that he speaks out his beliefs, and this is the real meaning of Islam. A person in Islam must reject the Taaghut by speech and declare bara’ (disassociation) and to make Takfeer (proclaim them as infidels) on those who are disbelievers and who have fallen into Shrik.

It also remains to be added that ‘Whoever does not do Takfeer of the disbeliever, is a Disbeliever.’

Somebody might say we are in a time of weakness?

There is no doubt we are in a state of weakness, then the one who is disabled is excused but the one who is not and can speak has no excuse. Maybe, it is not realistic to go to the palaces of the Taaghut, but we can speak and remind friends and family and it’s linked to how much you want to be close to Allah. Allah (swt) says,

“And remind (by preaching the Qur’an); for verily, reminding benefits the believers.” [at-Taghaabun: 16]

The Prophet (saw) said “If I instruct you to do something, then do as much as you can.” Bukhari and Muslim
Kufr bit Taaghut with Action

If someone says he does Kufr bit Taaghut with heart and speech, it doesn’t mean nothing because he must come with heart, speech and action. Kufr bit Taaghut in action means to fight them and not to ally and support them. Allah (swt) says,

“And fight the leaders of Kufr” [at-Tauba (9):12]

“And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allah) and (all and every kind of ) worship is for Allah (Alone).” [al-Baqarah (2) : 193]

“And whoever makes allegiance with them is one of them.” [al-Maida (5):51]

“O ye who believe! fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you” [at-Tauba (9):123]

Our Emaan in Allah will never be accepted by Allah (swt) until we reject and disbelieve in Taaghut with heart, speech and action because Allah (swt) says,

“Whoever disbelieves in Taaghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.” [al-Baqarah (2) : 256]

From thepathtoparadise.com