Openai/6966c675-8bf4-800e-a3b1-df79dc6290cb

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User: Is bowing to people an act of worship according to aswj, is this a wahhabi thing?

Is bowing to people an act of worship according to aswj, is this a wahhabi thing?

Assistant: Short answer: No — bowing to people is not automatically an act of worship in Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah ASWJ.

Short answer: No — bowing to people is not automatically an act of worship in Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah (ASWJ). Treating every bow as worship is a modern Salafi/Wahhabi framing, not the classical Sunni one.

Let me explain carefully and precisely.

1. How ASWJ defines ʿibādah (worship)

In classical Sunni theology and fiqh, worship is defined by intention + meaning, not by physical form alone.

Imām Ibn Taymiyyah (often selectively quoted by Salafis) actually said:

“Acts are judged by intentions, and worship is what is done with the intention of divinity.”

So in ASWJ:

• A movement is not worship by itself
• Intending divinity, lordship, or servitude is what makes something worship

This principle is accepted across:

• Ashʿarī
• Māturīdī
• Hanbalī (pre-modern)
• Shāfiʿī, Mālikī, Ḥanafī fiqh

2. What about bowing (rukūʿ / sujūd) specifically?

Important distinction (often erased by Salafis):

| Action | Ruling | | ------------------------------- | ------------------------- | | Sujūd (prostration) to humans | Ḥarām in Islam | | Bowing / inclining (rukūʿ-like) | Not automatically worship |

Evidence:

• The angels prostrated to Adam (Qur’an 2:34)
• Prophet Yusuf’s parents bowed to him (Qur’an 12:100)

Classical scholars explained:

This was not worship, but honour (taʿẓīm) — and it was allowed in earlier laws

In Islam:

• Sujūd to people is forbidden, but

It is forbidden because the Shariah* prohibited it, not because it is inherently shirk

That distinction matters.

3. What is the ASWJ position on bowing to people today?

Mainstream Sunni position:

• Bowing as greeting or respect is disliked or forbidden
• But not shirk unless done with intention of worship

Imām al-Nawawī (Shāfiʿī) said:

“If someone bows to another out of respect and not worship, it is sinful but not disbelief.”

Ibn ʿĀbidīn (Ḥanafī):

“Disbelief only occurs if one intends worship.”

4. Where does the “bowing = worship” idea come from?

This absolute equation is a Wahhabi/Salafi simplification.

Their framework:

• Certain forms are labeled “exclusive acts of worship”
• Any performance of that form = shirk
• Intention is sidelined

This approach:

• Collapses fiqh + aqīdah
• Turns many sins into shirk
• Allows easy takfīr or soft-takfīr

This is not the classical ASWJ method.

5. Why Salafis push this framing

Psychologically and ideologically:

• It creates clear black-and-white boundaries
• It supports a narrative that “everyone else fell into shirk”
• It delegitimizes traditional Muslim cultures (Ottoman, Indo-Malay, South Asian, African)

Historically:

• Wahhabism arose in Najd, reacting against Ottoman-Sunni religious culture
• Cultural gestures of respect were rebranded as “pagan remnants”

6. Balanced ASWJ conclusion

ASWJ holds all three points simultaneously:

1. Bowing to people is not worship by default
2. It is forbidden or disliked in Islam as a greeting
3. It becomes shirk only if done with intention of worship

That nuance is core Sunni theology.

7. Simple answer you can use in debate

“In ASWJ, worship is defined by intention and belief, not mere physical form. Bowing to people is forbidden, but it is not shirk unless done with the intention of worship. Saying otherwise is a modern Salafi reinterpretation.”

If you want, I can:

• Give direct quotes from Nawawī, Ibn ʿĀbidīn, or al-Qurṭubī
• Help you spot rhetorical tricks when this topic is used polemically
• Help you phrase a calm, non-confrontational response for discussions

Just tell me how deep you want to go.