Allah says he can forgive ANY sin, no matter how big it is, except one: Shirk. I learned in the Friday lecture that Shirk is not just limited to believing in any God other than Allah. There’s more to that. There are different kinds and levels and I won’t go into the religious details as this is not the religion forum. I was thinking of something, that qualifies as Shirk, according to my limited knowledge, and just wanted what others think about it.
The weather man! Yes, the dude or the chick that tells us how our daily/weekly/seasonal weather will be. It’s everywhere, even in Islamic countries and don’t get me wrong, I find it okay to find out what the weather will be like before I step out of my home, so I could dress up accordingly.** This** is where the problem comes in: I’ve seen people cursing the weatherman if he (to keep the comversation simple) predicts there’s a 20% chance of rain and it doesn’t rain OR if he predicts a hurricane will hit the region and at the last minute it changes its track and hits elsewhere. People who get hit blame their weatherman who told them they’ll be okay and people who went through the long hours of evacuation process blame their weatherman who said they were going to get hit.
So, isn’t that similar to believing in the weatherman like a “God”, meaning whatever he said will happen, as if there’s no higher authority, and if it doesn’t end up happening, they blame him. During this process, people forget there’s someone in the skies who is highest and above all and can do ANYTHING AT ANY TIME.
That’s why I sometimes think all (or most) of us, including myself, have committed shirk at some point in their life times, although unknowingly. I hope Allah will forgive me because I don’t mean to do it. I try my best to take the weatherman lightly just for “general knowledge” purpose and I always know the finall call will be Allah’s call.
Do you agree or disagree with this statement that sometimes we commit shirk unknowingly when we don’t mean to commit this sin? Discuss.
That's what I think that we may, unknowingly, be commiting shirk, sometimes. **It's not like we are all-time mushrikeen. I am asking for other people's **opinions **to find out if I am the only one who thinks likewise, or if there are there other people besides me who may be wondering the same.
LOL @ Full time mushrikeen and part-time mushrikeen
Shikra you have a keen eye for observing things :k:
I agree with some of what you say. God Forbid I dont think I have ever committed Shirk intentionally
We need to be more carefull though
Well you know what I meant. That is why I was shocked when I was watching the weather one day and whatever the weatherman said didn't happen, that ticked me off. I stopped and thought about it and realized I shouldn't be depending on the weatherman because there's someone higher than him. Ofcourse we don't do it intentionally but sometimes we lose control, afterall, we are humans, khataa k putley.
dont forget that Allah ahs asked us to explore the universe n know the hidden wonders of science
so its not anything other than religion ,science is just an extension of religion
Read my original post again, I mentioned it's okay to find out what the temperature will be like before you step out, but to actually depend on it and blame the weatherman if whatever he said doesn't happen, that's wrong because in that case we give the weatherman the higher authority and forget about Allah that he can change anything at anytime.
Another example would be the palm readers. Again, only Allah knows the future, you can't tell go to a fortune teller even as a joke because it's wrong.
I personally dont think theres anything wrong with prediciting the weather....because thats based on a series of **measurements **not guesswork....
if I do a chemistry/biology experiment and due to the measurements taken, I predict the likely outcome......it doesnt mean im doing shirk....cuz im only prediciting it based on tried and tested methods and instruments.....
looking into the future many years down the line and reading palms etc and horoscopes is a different thing.....cuz its not about measurements.....its about being in touch with jinn etc.....that would come under shirk...
maybe I didnt make sense....but im just trying to say something based on measurements cannot be shirk in my opinion
Sara No. Cursing the weather itself would not be as if one is committing shirk.
Impulse I think you did not really understand my point. I admitted myself that predicting weather etc. is not wrong because Allah has mentioned in Quran something along these lines: We have created heavens and earth, go explore them. Like I said, the problem comes when people blame and curse the weatherman because he said it was going to rain and it didn't. He said it was going to snow today but it didn't. That is wrong and committing shirk because they forget Allah can change anything at anytime. Humans can not be so sure of the predictions, no matter how many measurements they take.
I live in a hurricane zone and the season has started. Too many times weathermen predict the pattern of the hurricane and it follows that pattern. However, sometimes, in fact last year, Hurricane Katrina didn't follow their pattern and it changed its direction. People were blaming the weathermen because:
Their prediction was wrong (things changed at the last minute)
He said winds were going to be so and so many miles per hours, but they were only so and so many miles.
The bottom line is: Predicting the weather and watching it in the morning before you leave your house is fine, but one should not become so depended on it because that's the time when we forget that weathermen are not Gods, they are people and just are making the predictions. Only Allah knows for sure what's going to happen. They can predict it'll rain 2 inches but only Allah knows whether it'll rain 1 inch or 3 inches. I hope I am clear this time.
When it comes to matter like this, we have to understand our own personal opinion does not count in such matters but what matters is what Allah:swt: and the prophet:saw: taught us.
Having said that, depending on a weather personell is shirk if one forgets that those are just calculations and not absolute.
Shirk is a very subtle topic and there are far more things that we do on daily basis which fall under the definition of shirk and we are totally ignorant of those. For example, if one takes longer time in sajdah so that others do not criticize them or other will appreciate the person, it is shirk. That’s just one example.
Pride of one’s ownself in a sense that “I am this and I am that” can also fall under shirk.
On a side note, Rasoolulah:saw: strictly forbade us to curse weather or the time for every thing is from Allah:swt:
May Allah:swt: guide all of us and He guides only those whom He wills, and He wills for only those people who are fearful of Him, those who always take precautions (Taqwah) in such matters. So, anyone who has an eye to watch for these little things is one who has fear of Allah:swt: in his heart. May Allah:swt: give such a heart to every one of us. Aameen.
Ameen. I guess as long as we don't do it on purpose, Allah may forgive us. But it's a totally different case if you commit shirk unknowingly because this is one sin that will not be forgiven, but ofcourse it can be if He wills.
People look to the weatherman for a PREDICTION of the weather, and it usually is right (through scientifical research and whatnot). That’s why it’s called a weather FORECAST and it only says what percent chance there is of percipitation. Now, if we looked to the weatherman and believed that he DEFINATELY knows what the weather will be like and maybe even imagine that he himself is causing the weather, then yes, it is shirk. (but how many psychopaths do you know that actually believe that? )
I was talking to my Dad once and he told me that people do sometimes commit shirk unintentionally. For example, if we’re relying solely on someone to get something done, we may think to ourselves “oh I really hope this person gets that done,” when we should have hope in Allah(swt) because all things are in his hands. (I’m not saying it’s not okay to hope someone gets something done PHYSICALLY, but we should rely on The Almighty to guide him/her through the process).
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