Lessons in explaining the nullifiers of Islam

Author's name: Imam Muhammad Abdul Wahhab

Explained by Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan

The Imam, the renewer, Sheikh al-Islam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Know that the nullifiers of Islam are ten. The first is associating partners with Allah in the worship of Allah. Allah the Most High said: ((Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills)) and He the Most High said: ((Indeed, whoever associates anything with Allah - Paradise has been forbidden to him, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers)) And this includes slaughtering for other than Allah, such as slaughtering for the jinn or for the grave. The commentator (may Allah protect him) said: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the most honorable of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all of his family and companions. As for what follows, these ten nullifiers that the Imam, the renewer, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned are nullifiers of Islam. They are called nullifiers because if a person does just one of them, his Islam and religion are nullified, and he moves from being a Muslim believer to being one of the polytheists and idol worshippers. We ask Allah for safety and wellness. These nullifiers and invalidators nullify the religion, monotheism, and faith, just as the nullifiers of purity nullify purity. So if a person has performed ablution and purified himself, then urinates, defecates, or passes gas, his purity is nullified and invalidated, and he returns to being in a state of minor ritual impurity after having been in a state of ritual purity. Similarly, if a Muslim, believer, and monotheist does one of the nullifiers of Islam, his Islam and religion are nullified, and he becomes a pagan among the people of idols, after having been among the people of Islam. If he dies in that state, he becomes one of the people of Hellfire. If a person meets his Lord with this shirk, he will not be forgiven, as Allah the Almighty said: ((Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.)) And He nullifies all deeds. Allah the Almighty said: ((And if they had associated others with Him, all that they used to do would have been in vain)), and He the Most High said: ((And We will turn to whatever deeds they did and make them as dust scattered.)) Paradise is forbidden to the polytheist, as God Almighty said: ((Indeed, whoever associates others with God - Paradise has been forbidden to him, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.)) So polytheism nullifies all deeds, takes its doer out of the religion of Islam, and causes its doer to abide in the Fire forever. Paradise is forbidden to whoever meets God with it. We ask God for safety and wellness.
These nullifiers, the first of which is associating partners with Allah (swt). Whoever associates partners with Allah in any form of worship, then his Islam and religion are nullified, such as calling upon someone other than Allah or slaughtering for someone other than Allah. For this reason, the author said: “This includes slaughtering for someone other than Allah, such as someone who slaughters for a jinn, a grave, the Messenger, an angel, or someone else. Such as calling upon someone other than Allah, slaughtering for someone other than Allah, making vows to someone other than Allah, bowing to someone other than Allah, prostrating to someone other than Allah, circumambulating around someone other than the House of Allah seeking closeness to that other person, or any type of shirk. So if someone associates anyone among the creation in the worship of Allah, then his Islam and religion are nullified.” This is the first nullifier. We ask Allah for safety and well-being.