What is Taghūt ? Allah mentions the word Tāghūt in the Qur’an on several occasions. He instructs us to shun and reject the Taghūt and to not seeking judgement towards it.
Allah mentions the term on a number of occasions:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and avoid Taghut."
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَتَحَاكَمُوا إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَن يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ وَيُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَن يُضِلَّهُمْ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا
Have you seen those (hyprocrites) who claim that they believe in that which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down before you, and they wish to go for judgement (in their disputes) to the Taghut (false judges, etc.) while they have been ordered to reject them. But Shaitan (Satan) wishes to lead them far astray.
فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا
Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا هَٰؤُلَاءِ أَهْدَىٰ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا سَبِيلًا
Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They believe in Jibt and Taghut and say to the disbelievers that they are better guided as regards the way than the believers (Muslims).
الطاغوت: كل ما تجاوز به العبد حده من معبود أو متبوع أو مطاع ، فطاغوت كل قوم من بتحاكمون إليه غير الله ورسوله أو يعبدونه من دون الله أو يتبعونه على غير بصيرة من الله أو يطيعونه فيما لا يعلمون أنه طاعة لله
“The ṭāghūt is all that which causes the person to exceed the limits with regards to that which is worshipped, followed, or obeyed. So the ṭāghūt in any nation is whosoever turns to other than Allah and His Messenger for matters of judgement; or is pleased to be worshipped besides Allah; or is followed without a clear proof from Allah; or is obeyed in that which is known to be disobedience to Allah.”
— [I‘lām al-Muwaqqi‘īn 1/53]
A Taghūt can be in various forms as explained by Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab رحمه الله:
والطواغيت كثير ورؤوسهم خمسة: إبليس لعنه الله، ومن عبد وهو راض، ومن دعا الناس إلي عبادة نفسه، ومن ادعى شيئاً من علم الغيب ومن حكم بغير ما أنزل الله
“And the Tawāghīt are many, but their leaders are five:
Iblīs (may Allah curse him),
Whoever is worshipped and is pleased with that,
Whoever calls people to the worship of himself,
Whoever claims to possess anything of the knowledge of the unseen,
And whoever judges by other than what Allah has sent down.”
Thus, anyone who is worshiped besides Allah, and pleased with that, is a Taghūt. Likewise, the person who claims to possess knowledge of the unseen, as well as the scholar who is (pleased to be) blindly followed in other than that which is the guidance of the Messenger (ﷺ), and the rulers who govern and judge with other than that which Allah has revealed or replace the shari'a of Allah with their desires and man made laws or abrogate the laws of Allah and implement their own laws are all Tawaghīt, according to the Divine Sharī’ah. Therefore, in order to be considered a true believer in Allah and the Last Day the Muslim must disbelieve in and reject at-Taghūt, irrespective of the form it assumes. And this act must precede his declaration of faith, for indeed the first pillar of Tawhīd is an-Nafy (i.e. negation). For instance, the statement (لا إله إلا الله), which represents Tawhīdul-Ulūhiyyah, consists of two parts:
(There is none worthy of worship), which is an-Nafy, negates the existence of anything worthy of worship.
2. “إلا الله” (Except Allãh),
which is al-Ithbãt (affirmation), affirms that all worship is due to Allah alone.
Hence, the first obligation binding upon the slaves is disbelief in all that is worshiped besides the Most High.