What Is Aqida and Why Study It

Have I Committed Shirk by Saying “Way in God’s Backyard”?


Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I’ve used the phrase “way in God’s backyard” to describe how far someone’s house was from mine. Did I commit a shirk, and if so, how would it have affected my Nikah?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health.

You have not uttered a statement of disbelief and shirk (association with Allah Most High). Nevertheless, it is a disrespectful statement and something that you should seek forgiveness from. It will not affect your marriage.

Shirk is to associate with Allah Most of another being who possesses the same qualities as Him, and one believes so. The things which lead one out of faith require an active choosing of disbelief. [Sawi, Hashiyat al-Sawi ‘Ala Sharh al-Kharida al-Bahiyya]

Related:
Disbelief Archives
A Reader on Tawba (Repentance)

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.