Tabaarak (تَبَارَك) has many meanings. The root word (ba-ra-kaf; like barakah) means:
- To Remain/Linger. This is why a pool of water is called birkah in Arabic. Same word.
- To Nurture/Generate. Connotations are that it increases.
Under Shari’ah, the divine law of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), tabaarak means: the presence of divine blessings in an object, and an increase of those blessings. It also means: an increase in the amount of good in something.
All barakah comes from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone.
In Surah Imran, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:
Translation: Say: Surely all good [comes from] the hand of Allah, He gives it to whom He pleases; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing. (Surah Al-Imran, verse 73)1
Likewise, in Surah Tabaarak (Surah Mulk) Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:
Translation: Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things hath Power; (Surah Tabaarak, verse 1)2
So now, we know–only Allah has the right to blessings. But, from an ‘Aqeeda perspective, this also goes back to rububiyyah and uloohiyyah. No idol, no statue, no rock, no slipper nor hair nor anything else, can do anything for you. Barakah is from the rabb, the Lord–the one who creates and sustains–Allah. The rabb must be obeyed.
To ascribe barakah to other then Allah is to create a false rabb. Shirk-al-rububiyyah.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protect us from all kinds of shirk, large and small, hidden and overt.
(1) Shakir, trans. “Al-E-Imran (The Family of Imran).” USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 19 Apr. 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/003.qmt.html>.
(2) Muhammad, Pickthall M., trans. “Al-Mulk (The Sovereignty).” Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic Text with English Translation. One Ummah Network. 19 Apr. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/67.htm>.
(3) Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Light of Guidance. University of Toronto, Toronto. March 2006.