In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful…

In another disastrous clip aired on Huda TV, controversial American speaker Yusuf Estes exaggerates the status of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace), walks the fine line between towheed (monotheism) and shirk (polytheism), and stumbles onto the wrong side! Speaking on behalf of Muslims, he claims that we practically worship the ground he walked on. In the presence of one of Huda TV’s assumed religious authorities who timidly tries to suggest a better expression, the spread of clear shirk essentially goes uncorrected and unedited.

Here are the exact words of Yusuf Estes, when he was asked about how Muslims should respond to those who draw cartoons of our Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace):

This is something very near and dear to me, as any Muslim, because we don’t like anybody who is going to insult our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam. And it’s very difficult sometimes for us to restrain ourselves, because you are talking about a person who is more to us, really, than uh, than Jesus is to some of the Christians. Uh, we don’t worship Muhammad, but, literally, we -and I’m not joking when I say it- we practically worship the ground that he walked on, because we go to that area to do our Tawaf, we go to the area where he walked to do Sa’ee between Safa and Marwa. So really we, we really, we worship the God that he worshipped to the extent that the Prophet is so beloved to us.

Source: This occurs at about eight minutes into part 4 of “Ask Huda with Yusuf Estes and Muhammad Salah” (uploaded to YouTube on April 28, 2011). [ YouTube | SafeShare ]  

Important Commentary:

I have six relevant and important points of commentary to offer, seeking the Help and Guidance of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted:

1. We have been strictly forbidden from exaggerating the status of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). To say that he is more to us than Jesus is to people who worship him is clearly a violation of this essential prohibition.

لا تطروني، كما أطرت النصارى ابن مريم، فإنما أنا عبده، فقولوا عبد الله، ورسوله
“Do not exaggerate my status as the Christians did to (Jesus) the son of Mary. I am merely a servant of His, so say (only): The servant of Allah and His Messenger.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

2. Violating this important rule is a slippery slope that lands people into reprehensible acts of shirk (polytheism), where acts of worship become directed to other than Allah! This is exemplified in the statement of Yusuf Estes shortly after the first transgression, “Literally, and I’m not joking when I say it, we practically worship the ground that he walked on…”

3. The phrase, “We (practically) worship the ground he walks on,” in reference to a revered person is a phrase used commonly by the polytheists to show respect. Obviously, it is a severe form of exaggerated praise, and Muslims must avoid this kind of language, even if one claims the literal meaning was not intended. As Yusuf Estes used to be a polytheist Christian, it is possible that he used this phrase before he accepted Islam, without actually intending its literal meaning. It is hoped that this usage here was merely a habitual utterance left over from his days of Christianity. In this case, the utterance would be considered an act of lesser shirk (shirk asghar). However, if he intended the actual meanings of the phrase, then it would be classified as major shirk (shirk akbar) that takes someone outside of Islam.

4. It was not permissible for anyone with the most basic understanding of tawhid (Islamic monotheism) to remain silent and cooperate in the production and broadcasting of a program including such content. While Dr. Muhammad Salah did shyly offer an alternative expression, the statement of shirk did actually go uncorrected. It was then broadcast to millions of people through the international satellite channel, Huda TV. (May Allah guide its maintainers to understand their Religion.)

5. Ikhwanis are unable to forbid clear evils. Those who follow the methodology of the al-Ikhwan al-Muslimoon Sect (the “Muslim Brotherhood”), and those who may be trying to practice Islam yet they are influenced by them, are commonly too worried about their sense of unity to correct acts of shirk directly in front of them. Instead of offering an alternate expression like, “We love the ground that he walked on,” why would they not simply behave as Muslims, fear Allah alone, and correct the statement of shirk directly and clearly?! In the authentic hadeeth:

ألا لا يمنعن رجلا هيبة الناس أن يقول بحق إذا علمه
Nay! A man must not let the status of people prevent him from speaking the truth when he knows it.” (Sunan Ibn Maajah #4007)

A Muslim who knows his Religion and fears Allah in such a situation would say something like this:

To say that we worship the ground he walked on is wrong. It is shirk. It is unacceptable, no matter what was intended. We do not worship Safa. We do not worship Marwa. No Muslim may speak like this. Rather, we can say: We walk in places he walked during some of our ritual acts of worship.

May Allah save us from becoming so weak in our Islam that we cannot clearly reject shirk in front of our faces being broadcast to millions of homes around the world!

6. Yusuf Estes is very comfortable speaking about Islam without knowledge. He makes a living off it. Openly claiming that Muslims worship the ground, like many other serious violations of basic Muslim beliefs, is a proof that Yusuf Estes does not know what it means to be a caller to Islam. Shaykh Saalih al-Luhaydaan has recently remarked that he should not even be referred to as a “caller to Islam”. (click here)

Yusuf Estes has become all too comfortable speaking about Allah’s Religion without knowledge, and sadly, TV channels like Huda TV have become all too comfortable broadcasting his misguidance to the world. Even more sadly, many Muslims around the world have become all too comfortable excusing Yusuf Estes for whatever he decides to say on behalf of Islam, no matter how blasphemous it is.

Instead of producing bumper stickers that say, “Worship the Creator, not the creation,” why not actually do that? Why not just worship the Creator, and refrain from “practically” worshipping the ground that His Creation walked on?

Please read the articles and e-books available here at YusufEstesQuran.com to gain awareness of his vile teachings, so that you can stay away from them and warn your loved ones to stay away from them as well.

And Allah knows best.

Written by: Moosaa Richardson

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