Is Saying One’s Allegiance to the Prophet (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace) Shirk?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

Can Muslims give allegiance to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) without committing an act of shirk?

Answer

No, such a statement is not a shirk. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) is the representative of Allah. Fealty to him (Allah bless him and give him peace) means automatic allegiance to Allah.

This is understood from the verse, “Clearly, those to pledge their allegiance to you only pledge their allegiance to Allah…” (Quran, 48:10). Allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) would be to believe in him and apply his teachings. This is clearly not a shirk.

No Muslim worships the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace). He spent his life directing people to worship Allah alone – and none besides. So, no Muslims would worship him. Learn and apply his teachings as best you can, and you’ll fulfill your pledge to Allah.

May Allah make us of those who fully fulfill our pledges to Him.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields and Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.