Question
Assalamualikum,
I received the following email:
START EMAIL…
Send these 5 names to 11 Muslims; believe me your biggest problem will be solved, Insha Allah.
Ya ALLAH
Ya KARIM
Ya AWWAL
Ya AKHER
Ya MUJEEB
END EMAIL……
I think it becomes shirk in believing that some problem can be solved by forwarding such an email. Would it be possible for you to share your thoughts by Quranic and Hadeeth knowledge.?
Thanks and JazakAllah for your response.
Answer
One of the most important things for us to remember is to establish our relationship with the Almighty through prayer, righteousness and fasting as outlined in the Qur’an.
…and establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan. And whatever good ye send forth for your souls ye shall find it in Allah’s Presence,- yea, better and greater, in Reward and seek ye the Grace of Allah: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. – Al Muzzammil 73:20Believers, [these are the limits set by God. You must live your life within the limits set by God. Thus,] fasting is prescribed upon you, as it was prescribed upon those before you, so that you develop piety. – Al Baqarah 2:183
God has made it clear that it is He that we are supposed to call on for help and when we reach out to Him He will respond:
And your Lord says: “Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)… – Al Ghafir 40:60
These chain mails are simply meaningless nuisances that contain false information. In fact, they seem to cause more diversions than bring one closer to God. There is nothing of worth in forwarding an email to any number of people that makes such claims. People should be prudent and ask God for help to deal with their problems. The Creator has given us intellect and we should employ it to arrive at the best possible solutions for the dilemmas we face. Far too much time and energy is wasted on these absurd beliefs that lead to nothing positive. I would not designate these emails or ascribing to them as shirk but they could lead to an unhealthy dilution of faith.
Even the words of said email have no true worth. They consist of calling out “O God, O Benevolent, O First, O Last, O Respondent,” which is not even a complete thought. If we need God’s help He will be there for us, we just have to ask.
Lastly, those who pray realize that day in and day out we repeat the very words that ask for God to aide us:
[Lord,] Only You do we worship and only You do we turn for help. – Al Fatiha 1:5
I hope this helps.
God knows best.