Message To Sufism 38 Questions and Answer

Message to
Sufism
38
questions
and answer
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What is the place of sufism in Islam?
1-
The following is a comparison between the beliefs and rituals of Sufism and
Islam which is based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
Sufism has numerous branches or tareeqahs, such as the Teejaniyyah,
Qaadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa’iyyah, etc., the followers
of which all claim that their particular tareeqah is on the path of truth whilst the
others are following falsehood. Islam forbids such sectarianism. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“… and be not of al-mushrikoon (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah,
polytheists, idolaters, etc),
Of those who split up their religion (i.e., who left the true Islamic monotheism),
and became sects, [i.e., they invented new things in the religion (bid’ah) and
followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with it.” [al-
Room 30:31-32]
The Sufis worship others than Allaah, such as Prophets and “awliya’”
[“saints”], living or dead. They say, “Yaa Jeelaani”, “Yaa Rifaa’i” [calling on
their awliya’], or “O Messenger of Allaah, help and save” or “O Messenger of
Allaah, our dependence is on you”, etc.
But Allaah forbids us to call on anyone except Him in matters that are beyond
the person's capabilities. If a person does this, Allaah will count him as a
mushrik, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And invoke not, besides Allaah, any that will neither profit you, nor hurt you,
but if (in case) you did so, you shall certainly be one of the zaalimoon
(polytheists and wrongdoers).” [Yoonus 10:106]
The Sufis believe that there are abdaal, aqtaab and awliya’ (kinds of “saints”) to
whom Allaah has given the power to run the affairs of the universe. Allaah tells
us about the mushrikeen (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say [O Muhammad]: ‘…And who disposes the affairs?’ They will say.
‘Allaah.’…” [Yoonus 10:31]
The mushrik Arabs knew more about Allaah than these Sufis!
The Sufis turn to other than Allaah when calamity strikes, but Allaah says
“And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He
touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.” [al-An’aam 6:17]
Some Sufis believe in wahdat al-wujood (unity of existence). They do not have
the idea of a Creator and His creation, instead they say that everything is
creation and everything is god.
The Sufis advocate extreme asceticism in this life and do not believe in taking
the necessary means or in jihaad, but Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“But seek with that (wealth) which Allaah has bestowed on you, the home of
the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment in this world…”
[al-Qasas 28:77]
“And make ready against them all that you can of power…” [al-Anfaal 8:60]
The Sufis refer the idea of ihsaan to their shaykhs and tell their followers to
have a picture of their shaykh in mind when they remember Allaah and even
when they are praying. Some of them even put a picture of their shaykh in front
of them when they are praying. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Ihsaan is when you worship Allaah as if you can see Him, and
although you cannot see Him, He can see you.” (Reported by Muslim).
The Sufis allow dancing, drums and musical instruments, and raising the voice
when making dhikr, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a fear in
their hearts…” [al-Anfaal 8:2]
Moreover, you see some of them making dhikr by only pronouncing the Name
of Allaah, saying, “Allaah, Allaah, Allaah.” This is bid’ah and has no meaning
in Islam. They even go to the extreme of saying, “Ah, ah” or “Hu, Hu.” The
Sunnah is for the Muslim to remember his Lord in words that have a true
meaning for which he will be rewarded, such as saying Subhaan Allaah wa
Alhamdulillah wa Laa ilaaha illa Allaah wa Allaahu akbar, and so on.
The Sufis recite love poems mentioning the names of women and boys in their
dhikr gatherings, and they repeat words such as “love”, “passion”, “desire” and
so on, as if they are in a gathering where people dance and drink wine and clap
and shout. All of this has to do with the customs and acts of worship of the
mushrikeen. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Their salaah (prayer) at the House (of Allaah, i.e., the Ka’bah at Makkah) was
nothing but whistling and clapping of hands…”
[al-Anfaal 8:35]
Some Sufis pierce themselves with rods of iron, saying, “O my grandfather!”
So the shayaateen come to them and help them, because they are seeking the
help of someone other than Allaah . Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of the Most
Beneficent (Allaah), We appoint for him a shaytaan (devil) to be a qareen
(intimate companion) for him.”
[al-Zukhruf 43:36]
The Sufis claim to have gnosis and knowledge of the unseen, but the Qur’aan
shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say: ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the ghayb (unseen) except
Allaah…’” [al-Naml 27:65]
The Sufis claim that Allaah created the world for the sake of Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And I (Allaah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship
Me (Alone).” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, addressed His Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the words (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And worship your Lord until there comes unto the certainty (i.e., death).” [al-
Hijr 15:99]
The Sufis claim that they can see Allaah in this life, but the Qur’aan shows
them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“[Moosa said:] ‘O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You.’
Allaah said, ‘You cannot see Me…’” [al-A’raaf 7:143]
The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the
mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in a
conscious state (as opposed to dreams). So are they better than the Sahaabah??
The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the
mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They
say, “Haddathani qalbi ‘an Rabbi (My heart told me from my Lord).”
The Sufis celebrate Mawlid and hold gatherings for sending blessings on the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but they go against his
teachings by raising their voices in dhikr and anaasheed (religious songs) and
qaseedahs (poems) that contain blatant shirk. Did the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) celebrate his birthday? Did Abu Bakr, ‘Umar,
‘Uthman, ‘Ali, the four imaams or anyone else celebrate his birthday? Who
knows more and is more correct in worship, the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and the Salaf, or the Sufis?
The Sufis travel to visit graves and seek blessings from their occupants or to
make tawaaf (ritual circumambulation) around them or to make sacrifices at
these sites, all of which goes against the teachings of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Do not travel to visit any place but three
mosques: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this mosque of mine [in
Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].” (Agreed upon).
The Sufis are blindly loyal to their shaykhs, even when what they go against the
words of Allaah and His Messenger. But Allaah, may He be exalted, says
“O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allaah and His
Messenger…” [al-Hujuraat 49:1]
The Sufis use talismans, letters and numbers for making decisions and for
making amulets and charms and so on.
The Sufis do not restrict themselves to the specific blessings on the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that were narrated from him. They
invented new formulas that involve seeking his blessings and other kinds of
blatant shirk which are unacceptable to the one on whom they are sending
blessings.
With regard to the question of the whether the Sufi shaykhs have some kind of
contact, this is true, but their contact is with the shayaateen, not with Allaah, so
they inspire one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of
deception), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies – shayaateen (devils)
among mankind and jinns, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a
delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so willed, they would not
have done it…” [al-An’aam 6:112]
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“… And, certainly, the shayaateen (devils) do inspire their friends (from
mankind)…” [al-An’aam 6:121]
“Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the shayaateen (devils) descend?
They descend on every lying, sinful person.” [al-Shu’ara 221-222]
This is the contact that is real, not the contact that they falsely claim to have
with Allaah. Exalted be Allaah far above that. (See Mu’jam al-Bida’, 346 –359).
When some of these Sufi shaykhs disappear suddenly from the sight of their
followers, this is the result of their contact with the shayaateen, who may even
carry them to a distant place and bring them back in the same day or night, to
mislead their human followers.
So the important rule here is not to judge people by the extraordinary feats that
they may do. We should judge them by how closely or otherwise they adhere to
the Qur’aan and Sunnah. The true friends of Allaah (awliya’) are not
necessarily known for performing astounding feats. On the contrary, they are
the ones who worship Allaah in the manner that He has prescribed, and not by
doing acts of bid’ah. The true awliya’ or friends of Allaah are those whom our
Lord has described in the hadeeth qudsi narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh
(5/2384) from Abu Hurayrah, who said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Allaah said, ‘Whoever shows enmity towards a friend (wali) of Mine, I declare
war against him. My slave does not draw close to Me with anything more loved
by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined on him, and My slave
continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory (naafil) acts, so that I will
love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing
with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he
walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and
were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.’”
And Allaah is the Source of Strength and the Guide to the Straight Path
2 - .Salam, can you explan surah 4 verse 69...some

people say this is what makes sufism allowed. I have
read your answer on sufism and agree, but can you
please examplain this verse?
Praise be to Allaah.
The aayah which you are asking about is the aayah (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And whoso obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him)), then they will be in the company of those on whom
Allaah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddeeqoon (those
followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like
Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these
companions are!” [al-Nisaa’ 4:69]
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Tafseer:
This means, whoever acts in accordance with the commands of Allaah and His
Messenger, and keeps away from whatever Allaah and His Messenger forbid,
then Allaah will give him a home in the abode of His generosity, and cause him
to be in the company of the Prophets and those who come after them in status,
the Siddeeqoon, then the martyrs, then the rest of the believers, who are the
righteous who do righteous deeds secretly and openly. Then Allaah praises
them, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And how excellent these companions are!” [al-Nisaa’ 4:69]
Al-Bukhaari narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: I
heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:
“There is no Prophet who fell sick, but Allaah gave him the choice between this
world and the Hereafter.” When he fell ill with his final sickness, his voice
became very hoarse, and I heard him saying, ‘in the company of those on whom
Allaah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddeeqoon (those
followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like
Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq), the martyrs, and the righteous.’ Then I knew that he had
been given the choice.”
(Tafseer Ibn Katheer).
Then he (Ibn Katheer – may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned something
about the reason why this aayah was revealed. Then he said:
Greater than all of this is the glad tidings which were reported in the books of
Saheeh and Musnad, etc., through mutawaatir isnaads from a number of the
Sahaabah: that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was asked about a man who loves some people but cannot catch up with
them – i.e. he cannot attain the same level as them in doing righteous deeds. He
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “A man will be with those
whom he loves.” Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the
Muslims never rejoiced as much as they did when they heard this hadeeth. I
love the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
I love Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both), and I hope
that Allaah will resurrect me with them even though I did not do what they did.
So, as you can see, there is nothing in this aayah that justifies the Sufis and their
madhhab.
If the Sufis are sincere, then let them obey Allaah and his Messenger and adhere
to His Sharee’ah – as commanded in this aayah – so that they will be among the
victorious. As for their claims that the awliyaa’ (“saints”) have knowledge of
the Unseen (al-ghayb), which no one knows but Allaah, and their doing Tawaaf
around graves and praying to the dead as a means of worship and drawing
closer to Allaah – all of this in fact means that they are seeking the help of
someone other than Allaah and this is kufr and shirk. They say, “Allaah inspires
us with things which He casts into our hearts in addition to what is in the
Qur’aan and Sunnah”; and they say that the “elite” do not have to adhere to the
Sharee’ah of Islam which is obligatory for the “masses”; and they invent
adhkaar (phrases remembering Allaah) which they repeat regularly, which are
not in the Qur’aan or in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him… and after all this, they want to be among the victorious,
with the Prophets and Siddeeqoon. On the contrary, they will be with the
shayaateen (devils) and mushrikeen. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
May Allaah bless us and you with the love for His Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him and love for his noble companions, and gather us with
them in the place of honour with Him, for He is the Sovereign, the One Who is
able to do all things.
3 - Can you please reply in detail the hadith

which sufi use the hadith of Aishas in which
she tell to open a window in Prophet’s grave
for rain. ?
The hadeeth referred to was narrated by Abu’l-Jawza’ Aws ibn ‘Abd-Allaah
who said: The people of Madeenah were faced with a severe drought. They
complained to ‘Aa'ishah who said: “Look at the grave of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and make an opening facing the sky so that
there will be no barrier between him and the sky.” They did that, then it rained
until the plants grew and the camels grew exceedingly fat, and it was called the
year of the exceedingly fat animals.
Narrated by al-Daarimi (1/56), no. 92, in the chapter: How Allaah honoured His
Prophet after his death.
Al-Daarimi said: Abu’l-Nu’maan told us, Sa’eed ibn Zayd told us, ‘Amr ibn
Maalik al-Nakri told us, Abu’l-Jawza’ Aws ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: … then he
quoted the hadeeth.
This report is da’eef (weak) and is not saheeh. The scholar al-Albaani stated
that it is weak and said in his book al-Tawassul (p. 128):
This is a weak isnaad which cannot be used as evidence for three reasons:
1 – Sa’eed ibn Zayd, who was the brother of Hammaad ibn Yazeed, has some
weakness. Al-Haafiz said concerning him in al-Taqreeb: he is sadooq (truthful)
but confused. Al-Dhahabi said in al-Mizaan: Yahya ibn Sa’eed said: (he is)
weak. Al-Sa’di said: It is not evidence; they regard his hadeeth as weak. Al-
Nasaa’i and others said: He is not strong. Ahmad said: There is nothing wrong
with him; Yahya ibn Sa’eed did not like him.
2 – The report is mawqoof and stops at ‘Aa’ishah, and it is not attributed to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Even if it were saheeh it
would not count as evidence, because it may be that it comes under the heading
of ijtihaad of some of the Sahaabah who may make a mistake or get it right, so
we are not obliged to follow it.
3 – Abu’l-Nu’maan is Muhammad ibn al-Fadl who is known as ‘Aarim.
Although he is thiqah (trustworthy), he became confused towards the end of his
life. Al-Haafiz Burhaan al-Deen al-Halabi narrated it in al-Ightibaat bi man
rumiya bi’l-Ikhtilaat following Ibn al-Salaah who mentioned him among the
confused in his book al-Muqaddimah and said: The ruling concerning them is
that the hadeeth of those who learned from them before they became confused
may be accepted, but it may not be accepted from those who learned from them
after they became confused or those concerning whom it is not known whether
they learned from him before he became confused or after.
I (al-Albaani) say: it is not known whether al-Daarimi heard this report before
he became confused or after, so it is not acceptable and cannot be quoted as
evidence.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said, refuting al-Bakri: The report narrated from
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) about the opening of a hole towards
the sky so that rain could fall (onto the grave of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)) is not saheeh, and its isnaad is not proven.
Among the things which prove that it is false is the fact that during the lifetime
of ‘Aa’ishah the house did not have any opening, rather it remained as it was
during the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
some of it was roofed over and some of it was open, and the sun used to shine
into it, as it is proven in al-Saheehayn from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray ‘Asr with the sun shining
into her room when the shadow had not yet appeared. The apartment remained
like that until al-Waleed ibn ‘Abd al-Malik expanded the mosque when he was
governor, at which time the apartments were added to the mosque of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). At that time the room in
which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is buried was
incorporated into the mosque and a high wall was built around the apartment of
‘Aa’ishah which contains the Prophet’s grave. After that the opening was made
so that people could enter it when necessary in order to clean it. As for the
opening being made during ‘Aa’ishah’s lifetime, this is an obvious lie. End
quote.
Secondly:
This hadeeth is not proof for what the extreme Sufis believe about it being
permissible to seek rain by the help of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). You cannot find in the hadeeth anything
which indicates that, by any stretch of the imagination. The most that can be
said is that it shows how Allaah honoured his Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) after he died, as al-Daarimi described in his Musnad in the
chapter heading under which he included this hadeeth. This is the blessing of
his pure body and his honour before Allaah. But that does not mean that it is
permissible for the Muslims to go to him and seek his help whilst he is in his
grave. The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) did not do that, rather
they opened a hole in the roof of his room so that it might be directly open to
the sky, but none of them asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) for rain, and they did not speak to him concerning that.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Iqtida’
al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem (p. 338)
Going to graves to offer supplication beside them, and seeking a response to
du’aa’ offered there more than du’aa’s offered elsewhere, is something that was
not prescribed by Allaah or His Messenger, and was not done by any of the
Sahaabah, Taabi’een or imams of the Muslims. It was not mentioned by any of
the earlier scholars or righteous men. Rather most of what has been narrated
concerning that comes from some of the later figures, after the second century
(AH).
The companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) were faced with drought several times, and other calamities befell
them, but did they come and seek rain and seek help at the grave of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?
Rather ‘Umar went out with al-‘Abbaas and sought rain through him, i.e.
through his du’aa’; he did not pray for rain by the grave of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Indeed it was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that she
uncovered he grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
so that rain might fall on it, because it (rain) is a mercy, but she did not pray for
rain there, or seek divine help there. End quote.
Thus it is clear that there is no evidence in this report for the Sufis that it is
permissible to seek help from the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) or to seek to draw closer to Allaah by means of him or his status.
And Allaah knows best.
4 - He is asking about Sufism ?

It is important for us to understand, firstly, that the words “Tasawwuf” and
“Sufism” are modern terms which refer to something that is not automatically
approved of in sharee’ah as the words eemaan (faith), Islam and ihsaan are.
Neither is it automatically condemned like the words kufr, fusooq (immorality)
and ‘asyaan (disobedience, sin).
In such cases, we need to find out more about what is meant by such words
before we can pass comment. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: “The words al-faqr and al-tasawwuf (i.e., Sufism) may
include some things that are loved by Allaah and His Messenger, and these are
things that are enjoined even if they are called faqr or tasawwuf, because the
Qur’aan and Sunnah indicate that they are mustahabb and that is not altered if
they called by other names. That also includes actions of the heart such as
repentance and patience. And it may include things that are hated by Allaah and
His Messenger, such as some kinds of belief in incarnation and pantheism, or
monasticism that has been innovated in Islam, or things that go against
sharee’ah and have been innovated, and so on. These things are forbidden no
matter what names they are given… And it may include limiting oneself to a
certain style of clothing or certain customs, ways of speaking and behaving, in
such a way that anyone who goes beyond it is regarded as an outsider, although
this is not something that has been stipulated in the Qur’aan or Sunnah; rather it
may be something that is permissible or it may be something that is makrooh,
and this is a bid’ah that is forbidden. This is not the way of the friends of Allaah
(awliya’ Allaah); such things are innovations and misguidance that exists
among those who claim to follow the Sufi path. Similarly, among those who
claim to be servants of knowledge there are innovations that involve beliefs and
words that go against the Qur’aan and Sunnah, using phrases and terminology
that have no basis in sharee’ah. Many such things happen among those people.
The wise believer agrees with all people in that in which they are in accordance
with the Qur’aan and Sunnah and obey Allaah and His Messenger, but he does
not agree with that in which they go against the Qur’aan and Sunnah and
disobey Allaah and His Messenger. He accepts from every group that which
was taught by the Messenger… when a person seeks the truth and justice, based
on knowledge, he is one of the successful friends of Allaah and His victorious
party…
Al-Fataawa, 11/280-290.
But what Shaykh al-Islam said about the view of Sufis depending on their
situation is almost too theoretical for our times, when the objectionable matters
that he referred to have become part of the path of those who call themselves
Sufis nowadays, in addition to the different occasions they celebrate such as the
Mawlid, and their exaggeration about their living shaykhs, and their attachment
to shrines and graves, where they pray and circumambulate the graves and
make vows to them, and other well-known practices of theirs. Because of these
matters, the correct approach now is to warn against them with no reservations.
This is what was agreed upon by the Standing Committee in their answer to a
question about the ruling on the Sufi tareeqahs that exist nowadays. They said:
Usually those that are called Sufis nowadays follow bid’ahs (innovations) that
constitute shirk, as well as other kinds of bid’ah, such as when some of them
say “Madad ya sayyid (Help, O Master)”, and call upon the qutubs (“holy
men”), and recite dhikr in unison using names by Allaah has not called Himself,
like saying “Huw, Huw (He, He)” and “Ah, Ah (a contraction of the word
‘Allaah’)”. Whoever reads their books will be aware of many of their
innovations that constitute shirk, and other evils.
5 - Ruling on building mosques over graves

Some people say that there is nothing wrong
with building mosques over graves, basing that
on the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“(then) those who won their point said (most
probably the disbelievers): ‘We verily, shall
build a place of worship over them’” [al-Kahf
18:21]
? Is what they say correct? What is the
answer to that?
Building mosques over the graves of Prophets and righteous people, or over
places connected to their lives, is something which the perfect sharee’ah of
Islam came to forbid and warn against, and curses those who do that, because it
is one of the means that lead to shirk and exaggeration about the Prophets and
the righteous. Reality confirms the soundness of the message brought by
sharee’ah, and proves that it is from Allaah, and offers definitive proof that
what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
brought from Allaah and conveyed to the ummah is true. Everyone who looks at
the state of the Muslim world and the shirk and exaggeration that have come
about because of building mosques over tombs, venerating them, adorning them
and appointing custodians for them, will realize that this is indeed a means that
leads to shirk, and that one of the beauties of sharee’ah is that it forbids this and
warns against it.
Among the reports that were narrated concerning that was the hadeeth narrated
by the two Shaykhs, al-Bukhaari (1330) and Muslim (529) – may Allaah have
mercy on them both – from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who
said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: ‘May Allaah curse the Jews and the Christians, for they have taken the
graves of their Prophets as places of worship.’” ‘Aa’ishah said: “He was
warning (the Muslims) against (doing) what they had done.” And she said:
“Had it not been for that, the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) would have been made prominent but he was afraid it
might be taken (as a) place of worship.”
In al-Saheehayn it is also narrated that Umm Salamah and Umm Habeebah
(may Allaah be pleased with them) told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) about a church that they had seen in the land
of Abyssinia, and the images that were in it. He (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “When a righteous man died among them, they would build
a place of worship over his grave and put those images in it. They are the most
evil of mankind before Allaah.” (Al-Bukhaari, 427; Muslim, 528)
In Saheeh Muslim (532) it is narrated that Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah
be pleased with him) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘I stand acquitted before Allah that I took
anyone of you as a close friend (khaleel), for Allah has taken me as His close
friend, as He took Ibraaheem as His close friend. Had I taken any one of my
ummah as a close friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a close friend. Those
who came before you used to take the graves of their Prophets and righteous
men as places of worship, but you must not take graves as places of worship; I
forbid you to do that.’”
There are many ahaadeeth on this subject. The leading scholars of the Muslims,
the imams of all four madhhabs (schools of thought) and others, have stated that
it is forbidden to build mosques over graves, and they have warned against that,
following the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), sincerely advising his ummah and warning against falling into the same
trap as those who came before us, the extremists among the Jews and Christians
and their ilk among those of this ummah who have gone astray.
Some people use the story of the People of the Cave to support their specious
argument that this is allowed:
“(then) those who won their point said (most probably the disbelievers): ‘We
verily, shall build a place of worship over them’”
[al-Kahf 18:21 – interpretation of the meaning]
The answer to that is: that Allaah has told us about the leaders and powerful
people of that time, and that they said these words. That does not imply that He
liked that or approved of them, rather He said that by way of blaming them and
condemning their action. This is indicated by the fact that the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to whom this verse was revealed and who
was the most knowledgeable of people as to how it should be interpreted,
forbade his ummah to build mosques over graves, warned them against doing
so, and cursed and condemned those who did that.
If that had been permissible, then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) would not have discouraged it in such emphatic terms,
and gone to the extent of cursing those who did it, and said that they are the
most evil of mankind before Allaah. This is sufficient to convince the seeker of
truth. Even if we were to assume that building places of worship over graves
was permitted to those who came before us, it is not permissible for us to follow
their example in that, because our sharee’ah abrogates the laws that came before
it, and our Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the Final
Messenger whose sharee’ah is complete and universal. He has forbidden us to
build mosques over graves, so it is not permissible for us to go against him. We
must follow him, adhering to that which he brought and abstaining from
anything from the ancient laws that goes against that or any custom that appeals
to the one who does it but goes against that. For there is nothing more perfect
than the laws of Allaah and there is no guidance better than the guidance of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Allaah is the One Whom we ask to help us and all the Muslims to adhere
firmly to His religion and to follow the sharee’ah of His Messenger Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in all that we say and do, both
outwardly and inwardly, in all our affairs, until we meet Allaah, for He is the
All-Hearing, Ever-Near. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon His slave
and Messenger Muhammad and his family and companions, and those who
follow his guidance, until the Day of Resurrection.
From Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh
Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), 1/434.
For the ruling on praying in mosques in which there are graves, see Question
no.26324 .
6 - It is haraam to build anything over graves

What is the ruling on building a structure over
graves?
Building over graves is haraam and was forbidden by the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) because of what it involves of venerating the
occupants of the graves and because it is a means that leads to worshipping
these graves and taking them as gods besides Allah, as is the case with many of
the buildings that were erected over graves; the people began to associate the
occupants of these grave with Allah and to call upon them along with Allah,
many He be exalted.
Praying to the occupants of the graves and seeking their help to relieve distress
is major shirk and constitutes apostasy from Islam. And Allah is the One Whose
help we seek. End quote.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
Fataawa al-‘Aqeedah, p. 26
For more information see the answer to question number 83133.
7 - Visiting graves and attending occasions on

which they say that the souls of the awliyaa’ are
present
just a quick one! Could you tell me what Islam has to sat about grave visiting
and praying there. In places like Pakistan, they have things they call Urs - held
anually. It is permissable to attend? Those who participate say the deceased was
a holy man and can basically pass on our Du'aas- coming from a holy person, it
may be better accepted. If poss. can you shed some light?
1. Visits to graves fall into two categories:
(i) visits which are prescribed in Islam and are

required for the purpose of making du'aa' for
the dead, praying for mercy for them,
remembering death and preparing oneself for
the Hereafter. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Visit
the graves, for they remind you of the
Hereafter." (Narrated by Muslim, 976).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to visit graves, as did his
Companions, may Allaah be pleased with
them.
It was reported that 'Aa'ishah said that when it
was her night for the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to
stay with her, he would go out during the latter
part of the night to (the cemetery of) al-Baqee'
and say, "Peace be upon you, dwellings of the
believing people. There has come to you that
which you were promised, …, and if Allaah
wills we will follow you soon. O Allaah,
forgive the people of Baqee' al-Gharqad."
(Narrated by Muslim, 974).
(ii) the second type is bid'ah (innovation),

which is visiting graves for the purpose of
calling upon their occupants, seeking their
help, offering sacrifices to them and making
vows to them. This is forbidden and is a major
form of Shirk (shirk akbar). Connected to this
is the practice of visiting graves to offer du'aa',
perform salaah and read Qur'aan there. This is
all bid'ah and is not prescribed in Islam.
2. With regard to praying (performing salaah)

at a grave. If what is meant is Salaat al-
janaazah (the funeral prayer), this is
permissible and is not forbidden. But if what is
meant is to perform fard or naafil prayers, this
is forbidden and is haraam.
The evidence for the permissibility of praying

Salaat al-Janaazah in the graveyard:
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that a

black man or a black woman who used to
clean the mosque died. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked about
him and they said, "He died." He said, "Why
did you not tell me? Show me his grave." Or
he said, "her grave." So he went to the grave
and prayed for her. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
446; Muslim, 956).
The evidence that it is not permissible to offer

any salaat other than janaazah in the
graveyard:
(a) 'Aa'ishah and 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Abbaas

said: "When (death) approached the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), he started to cover his
face with a cloak of his. When he became
distressed he lifted it from his face and said,
"May Allaah curse the Jews and the Christians,
for they have taken the graves of their
Prophets as places of worship." [The narrator
said:] he was warning against doing what they
did." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 425; Muslim,
531).
(b) Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi said: the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Do not sit on
graves and do not pray facing them." (Narrated
by Muslim, 972).
3. With regard to the 'Urs which is held every

year: if this involves some kinds of acts of
worship, or if the people who attend think that
this will bring them closer to Allaah, or if it
involves acts of disobedience and sin, then it is
not permissible to attend it or take part in it.
Even if it is free of all these matters, you
should still not attend it, because adopting an
occasion as an "Eid" or festival (a regular
annual event) other than the Eids precribed in
Islam is bid'ah (reprehensible innovation) and
is forbidden. The belief of those present, that
the soul of the "wali" attends this 'Urs is an
innovated and forbidden belief, because in the
future this may be taken as being a part of the
religion, and it will lead people astray. So this
event must be denounced and people must be
warned against it, and you should not attend it.
And Allaah is the guide to the straight path.
4. With regard to asking a righteous person to

make du'aa' for you when he is still alive - this
is permissible, because there is the hope that
his du'aa' may be answered because of his
righteousness. The evidence for this is:
(a) It was reported from 'Uthmaan ibn Haneef
(may Allaah be pleased with him) that a blind
man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and said: "Pray to
Allaah to heal me." He said, "If you wish, I
will pray for you, and if you wish, I will delay
that, and that will be better." (According to
another report: "If you wish, be patient - that
will be better for you.") He said, "Pray for
me." So he commanded him to do wudoo' and
to do it well, and to pray two rak'ahs…"
(Narrated by Ahmad, 4/138; al-Tirmidhi,
5/569; Ibn Maajah, 1/441; it is a saheeh
hadeeth).
(b) It was reported that Anas said: whilst the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) was giving the khutbah (sermon) on
Friday, a man stood up and said, "O Messenger
of Allaah, the horses have died and the sheep
have died. Pray to Allaah to give us rain." So
he spread his hands and prayed (made du'aa').
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 890; Muslim, 897).
5. If a wali or Prophet dies, it is not correct,

according to sharee'ah, to ask him to make
du'aa' for you, because he has been cut off
from this world. This is a kind of shirk which
is not committed by any of the righteous
people of this Ummah, the Sahaabah and those
who follow them.
"And who is more astray than one who calls
on (invokes) besides Allâh, such as will not
answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and
who are (even) unaware of their calls
(invocations) to them? And when mankind are
gathered (on the Day of Resurrection), they
(false deities) will become their enemies and
will deny their worshipping"
[al-Ahqaaf 46:5-6]
Shaykh Al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah - may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: To explain further: if
what the person wants is something that none
is able to do except Allaah - such as asking for
healing from sickness, for people or animals,
or for his debts to be paid off in some manner
that he does not specify, or for his family to be
safe and sound, or to be protected from
calamity in this world or the next, or for help
against his enemy, or for his heart to be
guided, or for his sins to be forgiven, or for
him to be admitted to Paradise or saved from
Hell, or for help to learn knowledge and the
Qur'aan, or for his heart to be reformed, his
attitude to be made good, his soul to be
purified and so on - all of these are things
which it is not permissible to seek from
anyone other than Allaah. It is not permissible
to say to an angel or a Prophet or a shaykh,
whether he is alive or dead, "forgive my sin"
or "help me against my enemy" or "heal my
sick loved one" or "protect my family or my
livestock" and the like.
Whoever asks any created being - no matter
who he is - for any of these things, is a
mushrik who associates others with his Lord.
He is like the mushrikeen who worship angels,
Prophets and statues which they have created
in their image, and his prayer is like the
prayers of the Christians to the Messiah and
his mother. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And (remember) when Allaah will say (on the
Day of Resurrection): "O 'Eesaa (Jesus), son of
Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men:
'Worship me and my mother as two gods
besides Allaah?' " He will say: "Glory be to
You! It was not for me to say what I had no
right (to say)." [al-Maa'idah 5:116]
"They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis
and their monks to be their lords besides
Allaah (by obeying them in things which they
made lawful or unlawful according to their
own desires without being ordered by Allaah),
and (they also took as their Lord) Messiah, son
of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and
Christians) were commanded [in the Tawraat
(Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] to worship
none but One Ilaah (God - Allaah) Laa ilaaha
illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped
but He). Praise and glory be to Him (far above
is He) from having the partners they associate
(with Him)." [al-Tawbah 9:31]
(Majmoo' al-Fataawaa, 27/ 67, 68).
And he [Ibn Taymiyah] said:
Whoever comes to the grave of a Prophet or a

righteous man, or what he believes to be the
grave of a Prophet or a righteous man although
it is not, and asks him for something and seeks
his help, one of the three following scenarios
applies:
(i) he is asking him for something that he

needs, such as to cure his sick animals or to
pay off his debt or to take revenge on his
enemy or to protect him, his family and his
livestock, and other things which no one can
do except Allaah. This is obvious shirk and he
must be told to repent. If he repents, all well
and good, otherwise he must be executed.
If he says, I am asking him because he is
closer to Allaah, so that he can intercede for
me with regard to these matters, because I am
seeking Allaah's help through his virtue, just as
people seek the ruler's help through those who
are close to him - this is also like the actions of
the mushrikeen and Christians, who claim that
they take their priests and monks as
intercessors and ask them to intercede for them
with their requests. Allaah tells us that the
mushrikeen say:
" 'We worship them only that they may bring
us near to Allaah.'" [al-Zumar 39:3 -
interpretation of the meaning].
And Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Have they taken (others) as intercessors
besides Allaah? Say: "Even if they have power
over nothing whatever and have no
intelligence?" Say: "To Allaah belongs all
intercession. His is the Sovereignty of the
heavens and the earth. Then to Him you shall
be brought back." [al-Zumar 39:43-44]
"You (mankind) have none, besides Him, as a
Wali (protector or helper) or an intercessor.
Will you not then remember (or receive
admonition)?" [al-Sajdah 32:4]
"Who is he that can intercede with Him except
with His Permission?" [al-Baqarah 2:255].
The difference between Him and His creation

is clear: people usually ask some of their
leading figures who are in positions of honour
to intercede for them with their leaders, so that
intercessor asks the leader and he meets the
person's request because he hopes to gain
something thereby, or because he is afraid of
him, or because he is too shy to refuse, or
because he is being friendly towards him, etc.
But no one intercedes with Allaah, may He be
glorified, until He gives permission to the
intercessor. He only does what He wills, and
the intercession of the intercessor is only made
by His permission. The entire matter rests with
Him… The idea of many misguided people,
that this person is closer to Allaah than I am,
and I am far away from Allaah and cannot call
upon Him except through this mediation etc.,
all of these ideas are ideas of shirk. Allaah says
"And when My slaves ask you (O
Muhammad ) concerning Me, then (answer
them), I am indeed near (to them by My
Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of
the supplicant when he calls on Me (without
any mediator or intercessor)" [al-Baqarah
2:186]
In al-Saheeh it was reported that when they

were on a journey, they were saying Takbeer
("Allaahu akbar") in loud voices, and the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said:
"O people, take it easy! You are not calling
upon One Who is deaf or absent; you are
calling upon One Who is All-Hearing and Ever
Near. The One upon Whom you are calling is
closer to any one of you than the neck of his
camel."
Allaah has commanded all people to pray to

Him and call on Him, and He has commanded
them all to say (interpretation of the meaning):
"You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we
ask for help (for each and everything)." [al-
Faatihah 1:5].
And He has told us that the Mushrikeen say:

" 'We worship them only that they may bring
us near to Allaah.'" [al-Zumar 39:3 -
interpretation of the meaning].
Moreover, it may be said to this mushrik: if

you call upon this person, that means you think
that he knows more about your situation, is
more able to grant you what you ask for and is
more merciful towards you. This is ignorance,
misguidance and kufr. If you know that Allaah
has more knowledge and is more able and
more merciful, then why do you fail to ask
Him, and instead turn to others? Have you not
heard what al-Bukhaari and others narrated
from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him),
who said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to teach
us to pray Istikhaarah (du'aa' seeking guidance
from Allaah) in all our affairs, just as he taught
us the Surahs of the Qur'aan.
Even if you know that this person is closer to

Allaah than you and of a higher status than
you, this may be true, but what you are
implying is wrong. Even if he is indeed closer
to Allaah and of a higher status, that only
means that Allaah will reward him and give
him more than you. It does not mean that if
you call on him, Allaah will answer your
prayer more than He would do if you called
upon Him yourself. If you are deserving of
being punished and of having your
supplication rejected, for example, because
your du'aa' is offered in an improper manner,
then no Prophet or righteous person will help
you to do something that Allaah dislikes and is
angry with. Even if that is not the case, then
you should ask from Allaah because Allaah is
more merciful.
(Majmoo' al-Fataawaa, 27/72-75
We advise our brother to learn more about this

matter by referring to the books mentioned
above.
8- Why is the Prophet’s grave in his mosque even

though it is forbidden to take graves as places of
worship?
The hadeeth says, “May Allaah curse the Jews, for
they have taken the graves of their Prophets as
places of worship”. So how come the grave of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) is inside his mosque in Madeenah?
The scholars have discussed this issue, in the past and more recently, and they
refuted those who quote the fact that the grave of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is inside his mosque as evidence that it is
permissible to take graves as places of worship, or to include graves in
mosques. We will quote the fatwas of some of our prominent scholars, which
discuss in detail the matter raised in the question.
1 – Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There is a specious argument put forward by those who worship graves, namely
the fact that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) is in his mosque. The answer to that is that the Sahaabah (may Allaah be
pleased with them) did not bury him in his mosque, rather they buried him in
the house of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her). When al-Waleed ibn
‘Abd al-Malik expanded the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) at the end of the first century, he incorporated the room
into the mosque, but he did wrong thereby, and some of the scholars denounced
him for that, but he believed that there was nothing wrong with it for the sake of
expanding the mosque.
It is not permissible for a Muslim to take that as evidence that mosques may be
built over graves, or that people may be buried inside mosques, because that
goes against the saheeh ahaadeeth, and because it is a means that may lead to
shirk by associating the occupants of the graves in worship with Allaah. End
quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 5/388, 389.
2 – Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on
him) was asked about the ruling on praying in a mosque in which there is a
grave.
He replied:
Praying in a mosque in which there is a grave falls into two categories:
(i) Either the grave was there before the mosque, and the mosque was built
over the grave. It is essential to shun this mosque and not pray therein,
and the one who built it must knock it down; if he does not do so, then
the Muslim authorities must knock it down.
(ii) Or the mosque was there before the grave, and the deceased was buried
after the mosque was built. In the case the grave must be dug up, and
the remains taken out and buried with the people (in the graveyard).
As for praying in such a mosque, it is permissible so long as the grave
is not in front of the worshipper, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying in the direction of
graves.
With regard to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) which is incorporated into his mosque, it is well known that the Mosque of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was built before his
death, and was not built over his grave. It is also well known that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not buried in the mosque,
rather he was buried in his house which was separate from the mosque. At the
time of al-Waleed ibn ‘Abd al-Malik he wrote to his governor in Madeenah,
who was ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez, in 88 AH, ordering him to dismantle the
Prophet’s Mosque and add to it the rooms of the wives of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). ‘Umar gathered the prominent people
and fuqaha’, and read the letter of the caliph al-Waleed to them. That caused
them distress, and they said: “Leave it as it is, that is better.” And it was
narrated that Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib denounced the incorporation of
‘Aa’ishah’s room into the mosque, as if he feared that the grave would be taken
as a place of worship.
Umar wrote a letter to that effect to al-Waleed, and al-Waleed sent word to him
ordering him to carry out his instructions, so ‘Umar had no other choice. So
you see that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was not placed in the mosque, and the mosque was not built over it, so
there are no grounds for those who try to quote this as evidence that people may
be buried inside mosques or that mosques may be built over graves.
It is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“May the curse of Allaah be upon the Jews and the Christians; they have taken
the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” He said that as he was dying,
as a warning to his ummah against doing what they did. When Umm Salamah
told him of a church that she had seen in Ethiopia and the images therein, he
said: “Those people, if a righteous man among them died, they would build a
place of worship over his grave. They are the most evil of people before
Allaah.” And it was narrated from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Among the most evil of people upon whom the Hour will come when they are
still alive are those who take graves as places of worship.” Narrated by Imam
Ahmad with a jayyid isnaad.
The believer should not accept to follow the ways of the Jews and the
Christians, or to be among the most evil of people.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 12/question no. 292
9 - Following the funeral processions of those who

worshipped graves
“It is not (proper) for the Prophet and those who believe
to ask Allaah’s forgiveness for the Mushrikoon, even
though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them
that they are the dwellers of the Fire (because they died
in a state of disbelief).” [al-Tawbah 9:113]
The apparent meaning of this aayah is that it is not
allowed to ask for forgiveness for mushrikeen even if
they are close relatives. Many of us Bedouin Arabs have
parents and relatives who are accustomed to offering
sacrifices at graves, seeking a means of reaching Allaah
through the occupants of those graves, fulfilling vows to
offer sacrifices at their graves, and seeking the help of
the occupants of the graves to alleviate distress and heal
disease. They have died in this state, for no one reached
them who could teach them about Tawheed and the true
meaning of Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, or who could teach
them that vows, supplications and worship are not right
unless they are directed to Allaah Alone. Is it correct to
walk in their funeral procession, to pray over them, to
make du’aa’ and seek forgiveness for them, to perform
Hajj on their behalf and to give charity on their behalf?
If someone dies in the state which you describe, it is not permissible to walk in
their funeral procession, or to pray over him, or to make du’aa’ and seek
forgiveness for him, or to perform Hajj on his behalf or give charity on his
behalf – because the actions mentioned (sacrificing at graves, etc.) are actions
of Shirk, and Allaah has said, in the Soorah quoted above (interpretation of the
meaning):
“It is not (proper) for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allaah’s
forgiveness for the Mushrikoon, even though they be of kin” [al-Tawbah 9:113].
And it was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “I asked my Lord for permission to pray for forgiveness for my
mother, and He did not grant me permission. Then I asked Him for permission
to visit her grave, and He granted me permission.”
(Narrated by Ahmad, 2/441, 5/355, 359; Muslim, 2/671, no. 976; Abu Dawood,
3/557, no. 3234; al-Nasaa’i, 4/90, no. 2034; Ibn Maajah, 1/501, no. 1572; Ibn
Abi Shaybah, 3/343; Ibn Hibbaan, 7/440, no. 3169; al-Haakim, 1/375-376, 376;
al-Bayhaqi, 4/76).
They cannot be excused by saying that no one came to them who could explain
that the things which they did were shirk, because the evidence to that effect in
the Qur’aan is very clear, and there are knowledgeable people among them
whom they could have asked about whether what they were doing was shirk –
but they turned away and were content with what they were doing.
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad
and his family and companions, and grant them peace.
10 - Islamic Guidelines for Visitors to the

Prophet’s Mosque
I know a group of brothers who are going to visit
the Prophet’s Mosque after they do Hajj this year.
They would like some advice and guidelines from
you.
O you who come to the City of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), you have come to a good place and you are going to earn
great reward. May Allaah accept your righteous deeds and fulfil your greatest
hopes. Welcome to the land of Hijrah and victory, the land of the Chosen
Prophet, the land to which the righteous Sahaabah migrated and the home of the
Ansaar.
There follow a few words of advice to those who want to visit the Mosque of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
1 – O you who come to Madeenah, you are in a place which, after Makkah, is
the best and noblest of all places, so respect it as it should be respected; honour
its sanctity and holiness and observe the best etiquette therein. Know that
Allaah has warned of the severest punishment for those who commit evil
therein. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Madeenah
is a Haram (sanctuary), so whoever commits evil therein or gives protection to
an evildoer, the curse of Allaah, the angels and all of mankind may be upon
him. Allaah will not accept any obligatory or naafil deed from him on the Day
of Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1867; Muslim, 1370.
So whoever commits any evil action or offers protection to any evildoer who
seeks his help is exposing himself to a humiliating punishment and the wrath of
the Lord of the Worlds.
One of the most serious of evil deeds that violate its purity is openly doing acts
of bid’ah and spoiling its atmosphere with myths and false ideas, and
contaminating its pure land with the spread of articles which promote bid’ah,
books which contain shirk, and all kinds of reprehensible and haraam actions
which go against Islamic sharee’ah. The evildoer and the one who gives him
protection are equally guilty of sin.
2 – Visiting the Prophet’s Mosque is an act that is Sunnah; it is not an
obligatory action and has nothing to do with Hajj, nor is it an action that is
required in order for Hajj to be complete. All the ahaadeeth which say that it is
connected to Hajj or that say that visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is connected to Hajj are fabricated and false.
Whoever travels to Madeenah for the purpose of visiting the Mosque and
praying therein, his intention is acceptable and his efforts will be rewarded.
Whoever travels there only for the purpose of visiting the graves and seeking
the help of their occupants, his intention is haraam and his actions are
reprehensible. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not travel to visit any
mosques except three: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this Mosque of mine
[in Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].” Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
1189; Muslim, 1397.
It was narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The
best places to which a person may travel are this Mosque of mine, and the
Ancient House (i.e., the Ka’bah).” Narrated by Ahmad, 3/350; classed as saheeh
by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1648.
3 – Prayers offered in the Mosque of Madeenah bring a multiple reward, both
obligatory and naafil prayers according to the more correct of the two scholarly
opinions. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “One
prayer in this Mosque of mine is better than one thousand prayers offered
anywhere else, except al-Masjid al-Haraam.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1190;
Muslim, 1394.
But offering naafil prayers at home is better than offering them in the mosque,
even if the reward for offering them in the Mosque is multiplied, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “The best prayers are
those that a man offers in his home, apart from the prescribed [obligatory]
prayers.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 731; Muslim, 781.
4 – The visitor to this great Mosque should note that it is not permissible to seek
blessing (barakah) from any part of the Prophet’s Mosque, such as the pillars,
walls, doors, mihraab or minbar, by touching or kissing them. It is also not
permitted to seek blessing from the Prophet’s hujrah (chamber) by touching it,
kissing it, or wiping one's clothes against it or to circumambulate it. Whoever
does any of these things has to repent and not repeat it.
5 – It is prescribed for the one who visits the Prophet’s Mosque to pray two
rak’ahs in the Rawdah or whatever he wants of naafil prayers, because it is
proven that there is virtue in doing so. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The area
between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens (riyaad, sing. rawdah)
of Paradise, and my minbar is on my cistern (hawd)” Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
1196; Muslim, 1391.
And it was narrated that Yazeed ibn Abi ‘Ubayd said: “I used to come with
Salamah ibn al-Akwa’ and he would pray by the pillar which was by the mus-
haf, i.e. in the Rawdah. I said, ‘O Abu Muslim, I see that you are keen to pray
by this pillar!’ He said, ‘I saw that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) was keen to pray here.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 502; Muslim, 509.
Being keen to pray in al-Rawdah does not justify being aggressive towards
people or pushing the weak aside, or stepping over their necks.
6 – It is prescribed for the visitor to Madeenah and for the one who lives there
to go to the Mosque of Quba’ and pray there, following the example of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and seeking the reward of
‘Umrah. It was narrated that Sahl ibn Haneef said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes out until he
comes to this mosque – meaning the Mosque of Quba’ – and prays there, that
will be equivalent to ‘Umrah.” Narrated by Ahmad, 3/437; al-Nasaa’i, 699;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1180, 1181.
According to Ibn Maajah: “Whoever purifies himself in his house, then comes
to the Mosque of Quba’ and prays there, he will have the reward of ‘Umrah.”
Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1412.
In al-Saheehayn it is narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used to go to the mosque of Quba’ every Saturday,
walking or riding, and he would pray two rak’ahs there. Narrated by al-
Bukhaari, 1191; Muslim, 1399
7 – For the visitor to Madeenah, it is not prescribed to visit any other mosques
in the city apart from these two, the Mosque of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Mosque of Quba’. It is not
prescribed for the visitor or anyone else to head for a particular spot, hoping for
blessing or to worship Allaah in that place, when there is no evidence from the
Qur’aan or Sunnah concerning visiting that place and no evidence that the
Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) did that.
It is not prescribed to go to the places and mosques in which the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or the Sahaabah prayed in order to pray
there or to worship Allaah by offering du’aa’s there etc., because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not enjoin that or encourage
people to visit these places. It was narrated that al-Ma’roor ibn Suwayd (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: We went out with ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, and
we passed by a mosque on the way. The people hastened to pray there, and
‘Umar said, “What is the matter with them?” They said, “This is a mosque in
which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
prayed.” ‘Umar said, “O people, those who came before you were doomed
because they followed such practices, until they established places of worship
in such locations. If a time for prayer comes when you are there, then pray, and
if it is not the time for prayer, then move on.” Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in
al-Musannaf, 7550.
When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that there were people who came to the tree
under which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had
received the bay’ah (oath of allegiance), he ordered that it be cut down.
Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf, 7545.
8 – It is prescribed for men who are visiting the Prophet’s Mosque to visit the
grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the
graves of his two companions Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with them), and to send salaams upon them and make du’aa’ for them. But for
women it is not permissible for them to visit graves according to the more
correct of the two scholarly opinions, because of the hadeeth narrated by Abu
Dawood (3236), al-Tirmidhi (3236) and Ibn Maajah (1575) from Ibn ‘Abbaas
(may Allaah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the women who visit graves. Classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Islaah al-Masaajid.
And al-Tirmidhi (1056) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed women who visit
graves. Al-Tirmidhi said it is hasan saheeh. It was also narrated by Ahmad,
2/337; Ibn Maajah, 1574; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi,
843; Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 1770.
The way in which the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) is to be visited is that the visitor should come to the grave and face it
and say “Al-salaamu ‘alayka ya Rasool-Allaah (Peace be upon you, O
Messenger of Allaah).” Then he should move about a yard to his right and say
salaams to Abu Bakr by saying, “Al-salaamu ‘alayka ya Aba Bakr.” Then he
should move a little further to his right, about a yard, and say salaams to ‘Umar
ibn al-Khattaab, by saying, ‘Al-salaamu alayka ya ‘Umar.”
9 – It is prescribed for men who are visiting Madeenah to visit the people
buried in Baqee’ al-Gharqad and the martyrs of Uhud, to send salaams on them
and to make du’aa’ for them. It was narrated that Buraydah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) used to teach them, when they went out to the graveyards, to say,
“Al-salaamu ‘alaykum ahl al-diyaar min al-mu’mineen wa’l-muslimeen, wa
innaa in sha Allaah bikum laahiqoon. Nas’al Allaah lana wa lakum al-‘aafiyah.
(Peace be upon you, O dwellers of these abodes, believers and Muslims. We
will, when Allaah wills, join you. We ask Allaah to grant salvation to us and
you).”
10 – Visiting the graves is prescribed for two great purposes:
(i) So that the visitor may receive a lesson and reminder.
(ii) So that the person visited will benefit from the du’aa’s and
prayers for mercy and forgiveness that are offered for him.
Permission to visit graves is subject to the condition that no false words are
spoken, the worst of which are shirk and kufr. It was narrated from Buraydah
from his father that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “I used to forbid you to visit graves, but now whoever wants to
visit them let him do so, but do not utter any falsehood.” Narrated by al-
Nasaa’i, 2033; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 886.
Muslim narrated this also (no. 977), but without the phrase, “but do not utter
any falsehood.”
It is not permitted to circumambulate these graves or any others, or to pray
towards them or amongst them, or to perform acts of worship beside them such
as reading Qur’aan, making du’aa’, etc, because these are means of associating
others in worship with the Lord of all creation and taking them (graves) as
places of worship , even if no mosque is built over them. It was narrated that
‘Aa’ishah and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them
both) said: When death was approaching the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), he put a cloak over his face, and when he felt
hot he removed it and said, “May Allaah’s curse be upon the Jews and
Christians, for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship” –
warning against doing what they did. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 436; Muslim,
529.
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The most evil of
people are those upon whom the Hour will come when they are still alive and
those who take graves as places of worship.” Narrated by Ahmad, 1/405. It is
also narrated by al-Bukhaari in a mu’allaq report in Kitaab al-Fitan, Baab
Zuhoor al-Fitan, 7067. Also narrated by Muslim in Kitaab al-Fitan, Baab Qurb
al-Saa’ah, 2949, without mentioning the taking of graves as places of worship.
It was narrated that Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi said: I heard the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, “Do not sit on graves
or pray facing towards them.” Narrated by Muslim, 972.
And it was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said, “All of the earth is a place of prayer apart from graveyards and
bathrooms.” Narrated by Ahmad, 3/83; al-Tirmidhi, 317; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 1/320.
According to a hadeeth narrated by Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him, the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade people to pray
between graves. Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1698. Al-Haythami said in Majma’ al-
Zawaa’id (2/27), Its men are the men of saheeh.
It is not permissible to prostrate on graves, rather that is a kind of idolatry and
ignorance, and a sign of intellectual deviation and backwardness. It is not
permissible for the visitor to those graves or anyone else to seek blessings from
them by touching them, kissing them, clinging with any part of the body to
them, or to seek healing from its dirt by rubbing one’s hands or face with it or to
take anything from them in order to dilute it with water and wash oneself with
it. It is not permissible for visitors to the grave or others to bury any part of their
hair or body or handkerchiefs in them, or to put their pictures or anything else
that they may have with them in their soil in order to seek blessing (barakah). It
is not permissible to throw money or any kind of food such as grains etc. on
them. Whoever does any of these things has to repent, and not do it again. It is
not permissible to perfume them, or to swear to Allaah by their occupants. It is
not permissible to ask of Allaah by virtue of their occupants or their status,
rather that is a haraam kind of beseeching Allaah and is one of the means that
lead to shirk. It is not allowed to build up the graves or erect any structure over
them, because this is a means of veneration that leads to shirk. It is not
permissible to sell food or perfume etc to one who it is known will use them for
such seriously wrong actions.
Seeking the help of the dead or asking them for support or calling upon them
and asking them to meet needs and to help alleviates calamity and to bring
benefits and ward off hardships are all forms of major shirk which put a person
beyond the pale of Islam and make him a worshipper of idols, because no one
can relieve a person of worries and distress except Allaah alone with no partner
or associate. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Such is Allaah, your Lord; His is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke
or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmeer (the thin membrane over
the date stone).
If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in case) they
were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of
Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform
you (O Muhammad) like Him Who is the All-Knower (of everything”
[Faatir 35:13-14]
“Say (O Muhammad): ‘Call upon those — besides Him whom you pretend [to
be gods like angels, ‘Eesa (Jesus), ‘Uzayr (Ezra) and others]. They have neither
the power to remove the adversity from you nor even to shift it from you to
another person.’
Those whom they call upon [like ‘Eesa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary), ‘Uzayr
(Ezra), angel and others] desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord
(Allaah), as to which of them should be the nearest; and they [‘Eesa (Jesus),
‘Uzayr (Ezra), angels and others] hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment.
Verily, the Torment of your Lord is (something) to be afraid of!”
[al-Isra’ 17:56-57]
11 - Ruling on praying in a mosque in which

there is a grave Is it correct to pray in mosques
in which there are graves ? Praise be to Allaah.
Prayers should not be offered in mosques in which there are graves. The graves
should be dug up and the remains transferred to the public graveyards, with
each set of remains placed in an individual grave as with all other graves. It is
not permissible for graves to be left in mosques, whether that is the grave of a
wali (“saint”) or of anyone else, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) forbade that and warned against that, and he cursed the
Jews and Christians for doing that. It was narrated that he (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians, for
they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” ‘Aa’ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) said, “He was warning against what they had
done.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1330, Muslim, 529.
And when Umm Salamah and Umm Habeebah told him about a church in
which there were images, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“When a righteous man died among them, they would build a place of worship
over his grave and put those images in it. They are the most evil of mankind
before Allaah.” (Saheeh, agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 427; Muslim, 528)
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those who came
before you took the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as places of
worship. Do not take graves as places of worship – I forbid you to do that.”
(Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, 532, from Jundab ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-
Bajali). So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade
taking graves as places of worship and he cursed those who do that, stating that
they are the most evil of mankind. So we must beware of that.
It is known that everyone who prays at a grave is taking it as a place of worship,
and whoever builds a mosque over a grave has taken it as a place of worship.
So we must keep graves far away from the mosques and not put graves inside
mosques, in obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and so as to avoid the curse issued by our Lord against
those who build places of worship over graves, because when a person prays in
a mosque in which there is a grave, the Shaytaan may tempt him to call upon
the deceased or to seek his help, or to pray to him or prostrate to him, thus
committing major shirk; and because this is the action of the Jews and
Christians and we are obliged to differ from them and to keep away from their
ways and their evil actions. But if the graves are ancient and a mosque was built
over them, then it should be knocked down, because this is an innovated thing,
as was stated by the scholars, and so as to avoid the means that may lead to
shirk. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
12 - There is no secret knowledge in Islam that is only

for the awliyaa’ (“saints”)
What is the ruling on one who claims that the rulings of
the Qur’aan apply to the Prophets and the masses, and
that esoteric, mystical knowledge (al-‘ilm al-laduni)
which the awliyaa’ receive through mystic intuition is
only for the awliyaa’?
Al-Shanqeeti said:
Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Our Shaykh, Abu’l-‘Abbaas, said: some heretics who followed batiniyyah
(esoteric teachings) wanted to follow a path that did not enjoin these shar’i
rulings. They said: these general shar’i rulings are obligatory upon the Prophets
and the masses only. As for the awliyaa’ and the elite, they do not need those
texts. Rather what is required of them is what they receive in their hearts
through intuition and the thoughts that dominate their minds. They said: this is
because their hearts are free of anything that may cause distraction and of
thoughts of anything other than Allaah. In this manner divine knowledge
becomes manifest to them, and they discover the secrets of creation and learn
the rulings concerning minor issues, thus they are no longer subjected to the
holistic shar’i rulings. This is what happened in the case of al-Khidr who, by
means of the knowledge that was made manifest to him was rendered
independent of the knowledge that Moosa had. One of the things that they
narrated was the words: “Consult your heart, no matter how many people give
you fatwas and advice.”
Our shaykh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: These are the words of
heresy and kufr; the one who says them should be executed without being asked
to repent, because he has denied that which is known from the sharee’ah. For
Allaah has set up the system by His wisdom in such a way that His rulings can
only be known through His Messengers who are ambassadors between Him and
His creation. They are the only ones who convey His Message and His words
from Him, explaining His laws and rulings, and He has chosen them for that
purpose.
“Allaah chooses Messengers from angels and from men. Verily, Allaah is All-
Hearer, All-Seer”
[al-Hajj 22:75]
“Allaah knows best with whom to place His Message”[al-An’aam 6:124]
“Mankind were one community and Allaah sent Prophets with glad tidings and
warnings”[al-Baqarah 2:213]
and there are other similar aayahs.
In conclusion, we know definitely and for certain, and the consensus of the
earlier and later generations states likewise, that there is no way to learn the
rulings of Allaah, which have to do with His commands and prohibitions,
except through His Messengers. Whoever says that there is another way
through which His commands and prohibitions may be known, independently
of the Messengers, is a kaafir who should be executed without asking him to
repent; there is no need to question him. For this is stating belief in Prophets
after our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), whom Allaah
has made the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, after whom there is no
Prophet or Messenger.
What that means is that whoever says that he has taken the ruling of Allaah
from his heart or from what he received in his heart through intuition, and that
he acts upon that and thus has no need of the Qur’aan or Sunnah, has claimed
for himself the unique qualities of Prophethood, because this is like what the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Holy Spirit
[i.e., Jibreel] told me in my heart…”
(From Tafseer al-Qurtubi).
What he quoted from his shaykh, that the heretic should not be asked to repent,
is the view of Maalik and those who agreed with him. We have explained the
views of the scholars and their evidence, and what is most correct according to
the evidence, in our book Daf’ Ayhaam al-Idtiraab ‘an Ayaat al-Kitaab, in the
chapter on Soorat Aal ‘Imraan.
13 - The aqtaab and abdaal in Sufi thought

I have heard and read about what are known as
abdaal and aqtaab etc. Do they really exist
amongst us? Is the hadeeth, “Do not revile the
people of Syria, for there are abdaal among them”
saheeh or not?.
Firstly:
According to Ahl al-Sunnah, the wali (in the sense of being a close friend of
Allaah) is as defined by Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, in His holy
Book, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“No doubt! Verily, the Awliya’ of Allaah, no fear shall come upon them nor
shall they grieve.
63. Those who believed, and used to fear Allaah much (by abstaining from evil
deeds and sins and by doing righteous deeds).
64. For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present world, and in the
Hereafter. No change can there be in the Words of Allaah. This is indeed the
supreme success”
[Yoonus 10:62-64]
This verse states that the wali (close friend) of Allaah is the pious believer who
fears Allaah, who loves Allaah and supports His Religion, and seeks to please
Him, who adheres to the limits He has set and supports His law and His
religion. He is one of the slaves of Allaah, and is not beyond His control and
authority, rather he does not even have the power to benefit or harm himself,
and he does not know what Allaah has decreed for him. This is the wali of
Allaah according to Ahl al-Sunnah.
The way in which a person may attain the status of being a wali is to perform
obligatory duties, then start to perform naafil acts of worship until Allaah loves
him, then when He loves him, he will be a true wali of His. In the saheeh
hadeeth it says:
“When Allaah loves a person, He calls Jibreel (A) and says: ‘I love So and so,
so love him.’ So Jibreel loves him, then he calls out to the people of heaven,
‘Allaah loves So and so, so love him.’ So the people of heaven love him and he
finds acceptance on earth”
Narrated by Muslim (2637)
Secondly:
With regard to the definition of the wali among the Sufis, it has another,
innovated meaning that is different from that understood by Ahl al-Sunnah.
Among them the wali of Allaah is one who has been chosen by Allaah, even if
he does not have the characteristics of righteousness and piety that qualify him
to be loved by Allaah. The status of wali, in their view, is a kind of divine gift
that is given for no reason and with no wisdom. Hence they believe that some
wrongdoers, evildoers, insane and immoral people etc are awliya’ simply
because they perform extraordinary feats, such as hitting their bodies with
knives, playing with snakes and fire, and so on. They even include among their
awliya’ people who drink alcohol and commit zina, and they say: The true wali
can never be affected by sin.
And they do not stop there in their definition of a wali; rather they say that the
wali controls the universe; he says to a thing “Be!” and it is. In their view, every
wali has been appointed by Allaah to control some aspect of creation. Four
awliya’ are holding the earth by its four corners, and they are called al-awtaad
(lit. tent pegs). Seven other awliya’ each control one of the seven continents of
the world, and they are called al-abdaal (because when one of them dies,
another takes his place – badalahu). There are a number of awliya’ in each
region: thirty or forty in Egypt, and a similar number in Syria and Iraq, each of
whom is appointed in charge of something. Above all of them is one wali who
is called the al-qutb al-akbar (lit. great pole or axis) or al-ghawth (source of
help), and he is the one who is running the affairs of the entire realm. Thus they
believe in an unseen realm which controls the affairs of mankind like a political
state. This state is led by the qutb or ghawth, followed by two imams or
ministers, then the four awtaad, then the seven abdaal.
This is the concept of awliya’ according to the Sufis, and it has nothing to do
with the Islamic concept of awliya’ that is mentioned in the Qur’aan. The wali
in Islam is a person whom Allaah has guided and helped, and he has earned his
Lord’s pleasure by following the rules of His sharee’ah; he fears that he may
fall into hypocrisy and meet a bad end, and he does not know whether Allaah
will accept his deeds or not. Whereas they have given the Sufi wali divine
characteristics by means of which he controls some aspect of the universe, and
he ignores whatever he wants of the laws of Allaah, and the angels are subject
to his will.
The basic principles of Sufi concept of awliya’ are taken from ancient Greek
philosophy which is based on the idea of polytheism. The first one to propose
the idea of the Sufi concept of awliya’ at the end of the third century AH was
Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Tirmidhi, whom they call al-Hakeem (the
wise). He is not the same as the imam who wrote the well known collection of
hadeeth which is called Sunan al-Tirmidhi. Then after that their views became
well known and the books of their leaders are filled with these ideas. If we start
reporting all that they have said about this issue and all their false notions, it
would take too long. But so that no one will think that we are attributing to
them things that are not true, there follow the names of some of their sources,
and you will find that what we have mentioned is the least abhorrent of their
ideas. See: al-Futoohaat al-Makkiyyah by Ibn ‘Arabi (2/455, 537); al-
Yawaaqeet wa’l-Jawaahir by ‘Abd al-Wahhaab al-Sha’raani (2/79); al-Mu’jam
al-Sufi by Su’aad al-Hakeem (189-191, 909-913). For references of Ahl al-
Sunnah see: al-Fikr al-Sufi by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ‘Abd al-Khaaliq (343-
383).
Thirdly:
The hadeeth mentioned by the questioner is a da’eef (weak) hadeeth, which is
not saheeh at all. There is nothing narrated via any saheeh isnaad which
mentions any of the degrees of awliya’ as known to the Sufis.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Manaar al-Muneef
(136):
The ahaadeeth about the adbaal, aqtaab, aghwaath, nuqaba’, nujaba’ and awtaad
are all falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). The closest of them is the hadeeth which says “Do not
revile the people of Syria, for among them there are abdaal; every time one of
them dies, Allaah replaces him with another man.” This was narrated by
Ahmad, but it is not saheeh either, because it is munqati’. End quote.
For more information on the ahaadeeth which have been narrated concerning
that and an explanation of why they are da’eef please see al-Maqaalaat al-
Qisaar by Abu Muhammad al-Alfi (69-81).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked
about the hadeeth that was narrated about the abdaal – was it saheeh or
munqati’, and were the abdaal only in Syria or were there abdaal wherever
Islam was established according to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, in Syria and
elsewhere? Was it true that a wali could be present among a group although his
body was absent? What did the ‘ulama’ say about the names used by some of
those who claim to be religious and virtuous, and who say this is Ghawth al-
Aghwaath, this is Qutub al-Aqtaab, this is Qutub al-‘Aalam, this is al-Qutub al-
Kabeer, this is Khaatim al-Awliya’?
He (may Allaah have mercy on him) replied:
As for the names that are in circulation among many of the pious people and
common folk, such as the ghawth who is in Makkah, the four awtaad, the seven
aqtaab, the forty abdaal and the three hundred nujuba’, these are names that are
not found in the Book of Allaah, nor are they narrated from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) via any saheeh or da’eef isnaad, except
the word abdaal, concerning whom there is a Syrian hadeeth whose isnaad is
munqati’; it is narrated from ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with
him) and attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
that he said: “…for among them [the people of Syria] there are abdaal; every
time one of them dies, Allaah replaces him with another man.” These names are
not found in the words of the salaf in the manner mentioned there, nor are they
narrated in this manner and with these meanings from the Shaykhs who are
accepted by the ummah in general. They are narrated in this form from some of
the middle shaykhs, who mentioned them either quoting from others or without
confirming (that they are true). As for the phrase al-Ghawth and al-Ghiyaath, no
one deserves this title except Allaah, who is the helper of those who seek help
(ghiyaath al-mustagheetheen), so it is not permissible for anyone to seek help
from anyone else, not from any angel who is close to Him or from any Prophet
who was sent. Whoever claims that the people of earth can refer their concerns,
such as asking to be spared harm or asking for mercy from the three hundred,
and the three hundred refer that to the seventy, and the seventy refer that to the
forty, and the forty refer that to the seven, and the seven refer that to the four,
and the four refer that to al-ghawth, then he is a liar who has gone astray and is
a mushrik. And Allaah tells us about the mushrikeen (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon vanish
from you except Him (Allaah Alone)”
[al-Isra’ 17:67]
“Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he
calls on Him”
[al-Naml 27:62]
How can the believers refer their concerns via many intermediaries when Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer
them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the
invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or
intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led
aright”
[al-Baqarah 2:186]
All the Muslims know that neither the common folk of the Muslims nor their
well known shaykhs conveyed their concerns to Allaah, whether outwardly or
inwardly, via these intermediaries. Exalted be Allaah above any resemblance to
His creations such as kings, and far above what the wrongdoers say. This is
akin to the Raafidi claim that in every age there must be an infallible imam who
is the proof of Allaah (Hujjat-Allaah) against those who are accountable, and
that perfect faith cannot be attained otherwise. Rather this sequence and number
of intermediaries is in some ways like the Ismaili and Nusayri etc belief in
intermediaries (such as al-saabiq, al-taali, al-naatiq, al-asaas, al-jasad, etc) for
which Allaah has not sent down any authority.
With regard to the awtaad, some say that So and so is one of the awtaad,
meaning thereby that by means of him Allaah establishes faith and religious
commitment in the hearts of those whom Allaah has guided through him, just as
the earth is made firm by its “pegs” (mountains). This meaning applies to every
scholar who met this description. Every person by means of whom knowledge
and faith became established among the masses is like the awtaad and great
mountains. Whoever has less knowledge is a lesserk inf of watad. But that is
not limited to four or more or less than that, rather limiting the number to four
is akin to the astrologers’ idea that the earth should have four awtaad.
With regard to the qutub, this is also found in their words: So and so is one of
the aqtaab, or So and so is a qutub. Everyone who is the focal point of some
religious or worldly matter, whether secretly or openly or outward, is the qutub
and focal point of that matter. This is not limited to seven or more or less than
that. But the one who is praiseworthy in this regard is one who is a focal point
for maintaining soundness in religious and worldly matters, not simply
maintaining soundness worldly matters. This is the qutub according to them.
The same applies to the word badal, which is mentioned by many of them.
With regard to the marfoo’ hadeeth, it is most likely that these are not the words
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), for faith existed in
the Hijaaz and Yemen before the conquest of Syria. Syria and Iraq were kaafir
lands, then during the caliphate of ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), it was
proven that he (peace be upon him) said: “A group will split away from the
main body of the Muslims and they will be fought by the one of the two groups
that is closer to the truth.” ‘Ali and his companions were closer to the truth than
the people of Syria who fought them. It is well known that those of the
Sahaabah who were with ‘Ali, such as ‘Ammaar ibn Yaasir, Sahl ibn Hunayf
and the like, were better than those who were with Mu’aawiyah. So how can it
be believed that all the abdaal, who are the best of creation, were all in Syria?
This is definitely false, even though there are well known reports which speak
of the virtue of Syria and its people, because everything has its own
characteristics and limits. One should only speak on the basis of knowledge and
justice.
Those who speak of the badal explain it in several ways, such as saying that
they are substitutes for the Prophets, or that every time one of them dies, Allaah
replaces him with another man, or that they change their bad attitudes, deeds
and beliefs into good ones. None of these characteristics can be limited to four
people or more or less than that, or to the people of one region of the earth. End
quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Taymiyah (11/433-444)
Fourthly:
It is mentioned in the words of some of the salaf and some of the later scholars:
So and so is one of the abdaal. For example, in al-Tareekh al-Kabeer by al-
Bukhaari (7/127), in the biography of Farwah ibn Mujaalid, it says: They did
not doubt that he was one of the abdaal. End quote. As narrated by al-
Daaraqutni in al-‘Ilal (6/29), Imam Ahmad said: If anyone in Iraq was one of
the abdaal, it was Abu Ishaaq Ibraaheem ibn Haani’. End quote.
But they did not mean thereby what the Sufis mean in their innovated baatini
terminology, rather they meant it in the linguistic sense. Whoever among the
scholars is spoken of in such terms is one of the heirs of the Prophets by virtue
of the shar’i knowledge that he has, and it is as if he is their substitute in
conveying the message of the Revelation and teaching it to the people.
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa
(4/97):
As for the scholars, they used to say that they were the abdaal, because they
were the substitutes of the Prophets, and they took their place in a real sense.
They were not people who had no knowledge or who were unknown. Each of
them took the place of the Prophets in the field in which he excelled, whether
knowledge or worship. They said that they were the group that would continue
to prevail until the Hour begins, because they are following guidance and the
true religion with which Allaah sent His Messengers, the religion which Allaah
promised would prevail over all other religions, and sufficient is Allaah as a
witness. End quote.
See also question no. 10527.
And Allaah knows best
.
14 - Asking Allaah by the virtue of So and so

What is the ruling on saying in one’s du’aa’: ‘O
Allaah, I ask You by the virtue of So and so’? Is
there any difference between this and saying to the
occupant of a grave, ‘O So and so, help me!’?
It is not permissible to ask Allaah by the virtue of anyone, not even by the
virtue of the Prophets or Messengers or awliyaa’ or righteous people. No one
can compel Allaah to do anything. It is not permissible to ask Him in any way
except by His Names and Attributes, as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allaah, so call on Him by them”
[al-A’raaf 7:180].
With regard to saying to the occupant of a grave, “O So and so, help me,” this is
obviously shirk, because it is a supplication to someone other than Allaah.
Asking by the virtue of someone is a means to shirk, and calling upon a created
being is shirk in worship.
15- Are kashf and ilham true in the light of islam?

Sufis every time claim to have the knowledge of the
unseen and they call it as kashf and ilham. Some
people justify this by saying that when umar (ra)
was once giving khutba he told that there is an
army in the battlefield. Kindly explain.
Firstly:
The kashf (intuition, insight, finding out about things that are unseen) that may
happen to a person is of several kinds. One type is psychological, which both
Muslims and kaafirs have in common. Another kind is spiritual,
which comes via revelation. A third type is satanic, which comes via the jinn.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
We do not deny that people may experience some kind of kashf, whether when
awake or in their dreams when the soul is less connected to the body, either by
means of spiritual practices or otherwise. This is the psychological kashf which
is the first type of kashf.
But it is also proven through rational evidence as well as shar’i evidence that
the jinn exist and that they tell people things about the unseen, as happens in the
case of soothsayers, those who are possessed and the like.
The second type is that which is done by outside forces, such as the jinn who
tell the soothsayers many things. This is something that is well known,
especially to those who have experienced it, and we have come to know about
these things on many occasions. This is a type of kashf that has nothing to do
with the first type, and this is the second type of kashf.
With regard to the third type, it is what is conveyed by the angels and this is the
noblest type, as is indicated by the texts and by rational evidence. Information
about the unseen may come from psychological sources, or from evil sources,
whether they are satanic or not, or it may come from angelic sources.
Al-Safadiyyah, p. 187-189
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Partial kashf is something which both believers and kaafirs, righteous and
immoral, may share, such as knowing what is in a person’s house or what is in
his hand or under his garment, or whether his wife is pregnant with a boy or girl
after the gender has been determined, or things that cannot be seen such as
things that are taking place far away, and so on. This may come from the
Shaytaan sometimes and from one's own self sometimes, hence it may happen
to the kuffaar such as the Christians and people who worship fire or the cross.
Ibn Sayyaad told by means of kashf the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) what he was hiding for him. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “You are from among the
brethren of the soothsayers.” He told him that his kashf was like the kashf of the
soothsayers. Similarly the liar Musaylimah, even though he was a kaafir of the
worst type, could tell his companions of what one of them had done in his
house and what he had said to his wife, because his shaytaan told him that so
that he could mislead the people. The same was true of al-Aswad al-‘Anasi and
al-Haarith al-Mutanabbi al-Dimashqi, who emerged at the time of ‘Abd al-
Malik ibn Marwaan, and others of their ilk, whose numbers are known only to
Allaah. We ourselves and others have seen a group of them and people have
witnessed the kashf of monks who worship the cross, as is well known.
Spiritual kashf of this type is like the kashf of Abu Bakr when he told ‘Aa’ishah
that his wife was pregnant with a girl; and the kashf of ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) when he said, “O Saariyah, the mountain!” – i.e., stay close
to the mountain. There are many such instances among the close friends
(awliya’) of Allaah.
Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 3/227, 228
Secondly:
What happened to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) is
saheeh and is well proven. Naafi’ said that ‘Umar sent out a military
detachment and he appointed a man called Saariyah in charge of them. Whilst
‘Umar was delivering the khutbah one Friday, he said, “O Saariyah, the
mountain! O Saariyah, the mountain!” And they found out that Saariyah had
moved towards the mountain at that moment on the Friday even though there
was the distance of a month’s journey between them.
Narrated by Ahmad in Fadaa’il al-Sahaabah, 1/269; classed as saheeh by al-
Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1110
This was a miracle (karaamah) bestowed upon ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him); either it happened by means of inspiration and his voice reached
Saariyah – as is the view of Ibn al-Qayyim – or it happened by means of
psychological kashf and his voice reached Saariyah – which is what we will see
below in the words of Shaykh al-Albaani. In either case, it was undoubtedly a
miracle (karaamah).
Thirdly:
With regard to what happens to the Sufis, it is not spiritual kashf, rather it is
either psychological kashf which is something that they have in common with
the kuffaar, or it is of satanic origin, which is usually the case.
Spiritual kashf only happens to the close friends (awliya’) of Allaah who
establish sharee’ah and venerate it. It is known that the Sufis do not do that.
What happened to ‘Umar, although it is correct to describe it as kashf, was
spiritual kashf.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There can be no doubt that the call mentioned was inspiration from Allaah to
‘Umar. That is nothing strange, because he was “muhaddath” (inspired) as was
narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but that
does not mean that ‘Umar was shown the situation of the army or that he saw
them with his own eyes. The use of this as evidence by some of the Sufis for the
claims that they make about the awliya’ (“saints”) having kashf and that they
can see what is in people’s hearts is utter falsehood. How can it be otherwise,
when that is one of the unique attributes of the Lord of the Worlds Who alone
has knowledge of the unseen and sees what is in people’s hearts?
I wonder, how can they make such a false claim when Allaah says in His Book
“(He Alone is) the All-Knower of the Ghayb (Unseen), and He reveals to none
His Ghayb (Unseen).
Except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has chosen”
[al-Jinn 72:26-27]?
Do they believe that those awliya’ are Messengers of Allaah so that it may be
said of them that they can know the unseen as much as Allaah tells them?!
Glory be to You (O Allaah)! This is a great lie (cf. al-Noor 24:16).
This story is saheeh and is proven. It was a miracle (karaamah) with which
Allaah honoured ‘Umar, by means of which the Muslim army was saved from
capture or destruction. But it does not mean that he had knowledge of the
unseen, as the Sufis claim. Rather it was a kind of inspiration, in the sense
defined in sharee’ah, or a kind of telepathy, which is not infallible. It may be
correct, as in this incident, or it turn out to be wrong, as usually happens to
people. Hence every close friend of Allaah (wali) must adhere to sharee’ah in
everything that he does or says, lest he do something that goes against sharee’ah
and thus lose the status of being a friend of Allaah, which Allaah has described
in comprehensive terms when He said (interpretation of the meaning):
“No doubt! Verily, the Awliyaa’ of Allaah, no fear shall come upon them nor
shall they grieve.
Those who believed, and used to fear Allaah much (by abstaining from evil
deeds and sins and by doing righteous deeds)”
[Yoonus 10:63]
And the poet said:
“If you see a man flying through the air or walking on the water, but he does not
adhere to the limits of sharee’ah,
then you should realize that this is a temptation which is leading him astray, and
he is a man of bid’ah.”
Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3/102-104
16 - The one who offers sacrifices to the jinn is not

a Muslim
If a person dies who offers sacrifices to the jinn,
and he persisted in doing so, can the funeral prayer
be prayed over him or du’aa’ be made for him?
It is not permissible to offer the funeral prayer over him, or to wash him, or to
shroud him. He cannot be considered to be one of the Muslims and he should
not be buried with them, because he is a mushrik. The same applies to one who
prays to the jinn or to the awliya’ (“saints”) or to the occupants of graves, or
offers sacrifices to them. We seek refuge with Allaah.
17 - When is slaughtering for someone other than Allaah
regarded as shirk?
Is every slaughter that is not done for the sake of Allaah
regarded as shirk? Please give details, may Allaah reward you.
Slaughter may sometimes be a sacrifice, done to glorify and venerate Allaah,
and it may sometimes be done to honour a guest or to provide meat to eat and
so on. In the first case, it is not permissible to offer this kind of glorification and
veneration to anyone other than Allaah; whoever offers that to anyone other
than Allaah has associated someone else with Him and committed major shirk
(shirk akbar), and the meat he slaughtered is regarded as maytah (dead meat).
But in the second case, this is permissible and may be required, but in all cases
it is not permissible to mention the name of anyone other than Allaah when
slaughtering the meat, otherwise it becomes maytah (dead meat) which is
haraam, so mentioning the name of Allaah when slaughtering the animal is a
separate issue from the issue of the purpose of the slaughter.
If it is said: how can we differentiate between that which is done to honour a
person and that which is an act of worship to someone other than Allaah? The
answer is: that in the case of seeking to draw closer to someone other than
Allaah, the intention is not to slaughter the animal for meat, rather the intention
is to venerate the one for whom it is slaughtered and to give the meat to other
people, such as the one who slaughters before a chief when he returns from a
journey and so on, then he gives the meat to other people to eat it. This is what
some people used to do in the past, and this sacrifice was only done in order to
venerate the chief, so it comes under the heading of major shirk.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
Slaughter means killing by shedding the blood in a specific manner, which is
done in several ways:
1 – That which is done as an act of worship with the intention of venerating the
one for whom the sacrifice is done and humbling oneself before him and
drawing closer to him. This may only be done for Allaah in the manner
prescribed by Allaah. Doing this for anyone other than Allaah is major shirk.
The evidence for that is the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my Salaah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and
my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that
exists)”
[al-An’aam 6:162]
2 – That which is done to honour a guest or for a wedding feast and the like.
This is something which is enjoined and is either obligatory or mustahabb
(encouraged), because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day, let him honour
his guest.” And he SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf: “Give a wedding feast even if it is with only one
sheep.”
3 – That which is done to provide food or to sell the meat and so on. This comes
under the heading of that which is permissible and the basic principle is that it
is allowed, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Do they not see that We have created for them of what Our Hands have
created, the cattle, so that they are their owners.
72. And We have subdued them unto them so that some of them they have for
riding and some they eat”
[Ya-Seen 36:71-72]
and it may be required or forbidden, depending on what it is a means to.
Sharh al-Usool al-Thalaathah in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 6/62.
It says in Mawaahib al-Jaleel: With regard to slaughtering sacrifices to idols,
there is no dispute that it is haraam, because this is something that is sacrificed
to something other than Allaah. (3/213).
It says in Radd al-Muhtaar (6/309):
Slaughtering an animal for the arrival of prominent figure is forbidden, whilst
slaughtering an animal to honour a guest is permissible. Then he said: The
difference is that if he offers some of the meat to the prominent figure, then the
slaughter is for the sake of Allaah and the benefit is for the guest or the wedding
feast or the purpose of making money (by selling the meat), but if he does not
offer any of it to the prominent figure and he gives it to others, then it was done
to venerate someone other than Allaah, so it is haraam.
It says in al-Majmoo’: It is not permissible for the one who is slaughtering the
animal to say “In the name of Muhammad” or “In the name of Allaah and the
name of Muhammad.” Rather it is the right of Allaah that slaughtering should
be done only in His name and vows should be made only in His name, and
prostration should be done only to Him, and no created being should be
associated with Him in that. Al- Ghazaali said in al-Waseet that it is not
permissible to say, “In the name of Allaah and Muhammad the Messenger of
Allaah (S).” because this is shirk. (8/384).
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked about the ruling on offering a sacrifice to
someone other than Allaah, and whether it is permissible to eat that meat. He
replied: Offering a sacrifice to someone other than Allaah is major shirk,
because offering a sacrifice is an act of worship, as Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)”
[al-Kawthar 108:2]
“Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my Salaah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and
my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that
exists)”
[al-An’aam 6:162]
So whoever offers a sacrifice to anyone other than Allaah is a mushrik whose
shirk puts him beyond the pale of Islam – we seek refuge with Allaah – whether
he offers that sacrifice to an angel, a Messenger, a Prophet, a caliph, a wali
(“saint”) or a scholar. All of that is shirk (associating others in worship with
Allaah) which puts one beyond the pale of Islam. People must fear Allaah and
not allow themselves to fall into that shirk of which Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allaah, then Allaah has
forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the
Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers”
[al-Maa’idah 5:72]
Eating from this meat is haraam, because it has been sacrificed to someone
other than Allaah, and everything that is sacrificed to someone other than
Allaah or slaughtered on an altar is haraam, as Allaah says in Soorat al-
Maa’idah (interpretation of the meaning):
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: Al-Maitah (the dead animals — cattle — beast
not slaughtered), blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which Allaah’s Name
has not been mentioned while slaughtering (that which has been slaughtered as
a sacrifice for others than Allaah, or has been slaughtered for idols) and that
which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall,
or by the goring of horns — and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild
animal — unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) - and that which
is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An-Nusub (stone-altars)”
[al-Maa'idah 5:3]
These sacrifices which are slaughtered for anyone other than Allaah come under
the heading of haraam food which we are not permitted to eat.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked about the ruling on offering sacrifices to
anyone other than Allaah.
He replied:
We have stated elsewhere that Tawheed means devoting worship only to Allaah
– may He be exalted – and not worshipping anyone other than Allaah with any
kind of act of worship. It is well known that offering sacrifices is a kind of
worship by means of which a person seeks to draw closer to his Lord, because
Allaah has enjoined it in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)”
[al-Kawthar 108:2]
Every act by means of which a person seeks to draw closer (to his Lord) is an
act of worship. So if a person offers a sacrifice to someone other than Allaah as
an act of veneration and humility, seeking thereby to draw closer to him, as he
seeks to draw closer to his Lord and venerate Him, then he is a mushrik who
associates others in worship with Allaah. And if he is a mushrik, then Allaah has
stated that He has forbidden Paradise to the mushrik and his abode is Hell.
Based on that, we say that what some people do, offering sacrifice to graves –
the graves of those whom they claim to be awliya’ (“saints”) – is shirk which
puts them beyond the pale of Islam. Our advice to these people is to repent to
Allaah from their actions and to make their sacrifices for Allaah alone, and their
prayer and fasting for Allaah alone; if they do that, He will forgive for them
what they did before, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief), their past
will be forgiven”
[al-Anfaal 8:38]
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa 2/148.
For more information see al-Qawl al-Mufeed ‘ala Kitaab al-Tawheed, 1/215;
Tayseer al-‘Azeez al-Hameed, 1/155; al-Durar al-Sanniyyah min al-Ajwabah al-
Najdiyyah, 1/428.
18 - Ruling on asking of Allaah by virtue of the status

of the righteous before Him
Will Allaah honour the living slave by virtue of the
righteous dead if we ask of Allaah “by virtue of the
righteousness of Shaykh So and so and his position
before You and his worship of You, to relieve me of my
distress, O Allaah” – when we know that all benefits
come from Allaah?.
Undoubtedly du’aa’ is one of the greatest acts of worship prescribed in
sharee’ah. It brings a person closer to his Lord, may He be glorified. And
undoubtedly it is not permissible for anyone to worship Allaah except in the
ways that He has prescribed on the lips of His Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). Al-Bukhaari (2499) and Muslim (3242) narrated that
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates
something in this matter of ours that is not part of it, will have it rejected.”
According to the version narrated by Muslim: “Whoever does something that is
not part of this matter of ours will have it rejected.”
Hence it may be known that turning to Allaah and beseeching Him in ways that
were not narrated from His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) in word or in deed, and in ways that were not done by the noble Sahaabah
who were the keenest of people to do good and adhere to it, is a reprehensible
innovation, which a person who loves his Lord and follows His Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) should not do and should not
worship Allaah in that manner.
If we look at what you have mentioned in your question about beseeching
Allaah by virtue of the status of the righteous, their worship and their position
before Allaah, we will notice that this is something that has been innovated and
was not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Nor was it narrated from his noble companions that they ever sought to draw
close to Allaah by virtue of the Prophet’s position and status before his Lord,
whether during his lifetime or after his death. Rather during his lifetime they
used to beseech Allaah by virtue of his du’aa’ for them, and when he (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, they sought to draw closer to Allaah by
virtue of the du’aa’s of the living righteous, and they stopped seeking to draw
closer to Him by virtue of the Prophet’s status. This clearly indicates that if
beseeching Allaah or seeking to draw closer to Him by virtue of the Prophet’s
status were something good and prescribed in Islam, they would have done it
before us. Who dares claim that he is keener than ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may
Allaah be pleased with him) to do good when he turned away from seeking to
draw closer to Allaah by virtue of the status of His Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and sought to draw closer to Him by virtue of the du’aa’
of the paternal uncle of the Prophet, and the Sahaabah witnessed that and did
not denounce him or object to that? It is narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari (954)
from Anas ibn Maalik that if a drought came, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may
Allaah be pleased with him) would ask al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib to pray
for rain. He would say: “O Allaah, we used to beseech You by means of (the
du’aa’ of) Your Prophet for rain and You would give us rain; now we beseech
You by means of (the du’aa’ of) the paternal uncle of Your Prophet, so grant us
rain.” Then it would rain.
What is meant by their beseeching Allaah by mean of the du’aa’ of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or of al-‘Abbaas is beseeching
Him through their du’aa’, based on what is said in some versions of this
hadeeth, that Anas said: “If drought came at the time of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), they would ask him to pray for rain, and he
would pray for rain for them, then it would rain. During the caliphate of
‘Umar…” and he narrated the same hadeeth. This was narrated by al-Ismaa’eeli
in his al-Mustakhraj ‘ala’l-Saheeh. ‘Abd al-Razzaaq narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas
that “‘Umar prayed for rain in the prayer-place, and he said to al-‘Abbaas: ‘Get
up and pray for rain.’ So al-‘Abbaas got up …” and he quoted the hadeeth. This
was quoted by al-Haafiz in al-Fath and he did not comment on it.
Thus it is clear that the beseeching meant by ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him) is du’aa’ by a righteous man. This is the correct kind of beseeching as
prescribed in sharee’ah, and is indicated by a great deal of evidence. It was
known at the time of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them). If they
were threatened with drought and there was no rain, they would ask the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to pray for them, and
he would pray, then it would rain. There are many well-known ahaadeeth about
this.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (1/153):
It is not permissible to supplicate Allaah (du’aa’) by virtue of the Messenger of
Allaah or by virtue of any of the Sahaabah or anyone else, or by the life of
anyone, because acts of worship are tawqeefi (i.e., we must adhere to what is
prescribed in the Qur’aan and Sunnah and not worship Allaah in any way
except that which has been prescribed). Beseeching Allaah in the manner
described (in the question) has not been prescribed by Allaah, rather He has
commanded His slaves to beseech Him by His names and attributes, by
believing in His Oneness, by having faith in Him, and by virtue of one’s
righteous deeds – not by virtue of the status of So and so or by his life. So we
must limit ourselves to that which Allaah has prescribed. Hence it is known that
beseeching Allaah by virtue of the status or life of So and so is an innovation
that has been introduced into Islam.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: No one
has the right to pride himself before Allaah on the righteousness of his
forebears, for their righteousness is not part of his deeds for which he may
deserve reward, as in the case of the three people in the cave. They did not
beseech Allaah by the righteousness of their forebears, rather they beseeched
Allaah by virtue of their own righteous deeds.
We ask Allaah to make us steadfast in adhering to His religion and His
sharee’ah until we meet Him…
See: al-Tawassul Anwaa’uhu wa Ahkaamuhu by Shaykh al-Albaani, p. 55ff
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/153
Al-Tawassul ila Haqeeqah al-Tawassul by Shaykh Muhammad Naseeb al-
Rifaa’i, p. 180.
19 - Kinds of Tawassul
I have been discussing the subject of using "waseela" while
supplicating to Allah (swt) with some Muslims, and have come
to know that there are quite different opinions about fact
whether the use of "waseela" in duaa is halaal or haraam.
Could you please provide me with some information about this
subject, some ayaat from the Holy Qur'an or authentic
ahaadeeth? With the term "use of waseela" I mean asking via
the agency of someone, fx "I ask You (O Allah) to grant me
forgiveness via the agency of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be
upon him and his household)" or via the agency of other
Prophets (Peace be upon them), saints or other pious Muslims.
What is meant by tawassul and waseelah is four things:
the kind of tawassul without which faith cannot be complete, which is seeking
to reach Allaah (tawassul) by believing in Him and His Messengers, and
obeying Him and His Messenger, This is what is meant in the aayah
“O you who believe! Do your duty to Allaah and fear Him. Seek the means of
approach to Him…”
[al-Maa’idah 5:35]
This includes seeking to approach Allaah through His Names and Attributes, or
by doing acts of obedience and worship by which one seeks to approach Allaah,
and so on.
Seeking to approach Allaah by asking His Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) to make du’a’ for one during his lifetime, and the believers
asking one another to make du’aa’ for one another. This follows on from the
first type and is encouraged.
Seeking to approach Allaah by virtue of the status and virtues of some created
being, such as saying, “O Allaah, I ask You by virtue of Your Prophet” and so
on. This is allowed by some of the ‘ulama’, but this opinion is da’eef (weak).
The correct view is that it is definitely haraam, because there can be no tawassul
in du’aa’ except by virtue of the Names and Attributes of Allaah.
Tawassul as it is understood by many of the Muslims of later times, which is
calling on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and seeking
his help (or seeking the help of the dead and so-called awliya’). This is a form
of major shirk, because calling on or seeking help from anyone other than
Allaah with regard to something that that only Allaah is able to do is a kind of
worship, and directing worship to anyone or anything other than Allaah is major
shirk. And Allaah knows best.
20 - Saying “Yaa Rasool Allaah”

I want to know that can we say Ya Rasool-Allah or not.
It is not permissible to call upon anyone other than Allaah, whether at times of
ease or times of hardship, no matter how great the status of the one who is
called upon, even if he is a Prophet who is close to Allaah, or one of the angels,
because du’aa’ is a form of worship.
It was narrated from al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Du’aa’ is worship,” then he recited
“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic
Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation).
Verily, those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe
in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in
humiliation!’”
[Ghaafir 40:60]
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2895; Ibn Maajah, 3818; classed as saheeh by al-
Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2370.
Worship is due only to Allaah; it is not permitted to direct worship towards
anyone else. Hence the Muslims are agreed that whoever calls upon anyone
other than Allaah is a mushrik (polytheist, one who associates others with
Allaah).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
Whoever regards the angels and Prophets as intermediaries whom he calls
upon, puts his trust in and asks them to bring that which will benefit him and
ward off harmful things, such as asking them to forgive sins, guide them,
relieve them of distress and meet their needs, is a kaafir, according to the
consensus of the Muslims.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 1/124.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The kinds of shirk include asked the dead for one's needs, or seeking their help,
or turning to them. This is the essence of shirk.
Fath al-Majeed, p. 145
Hence Allaah has said that there is no one more astray than the one who calls on
others besides Him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes) besides Allaah, such
as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware
of their calls (invocations) to them?
And when mankind are gathered (on the Day of Resurrection), they (false
deities) will become their enemies and will deny their worshipping”
[al-Ahqaaf 46:5-6]
How can he call on others besides Allaah, when Allaah has told us that they are
helpless? Allaah says:
“And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a
Qitmeer (the thin membrane over the date stone).
If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in case) they
were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of
Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform
you (O Muhammad) like Him Who is the All-Knower (of everything)”
[Faatir 35:13-14]
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Hasan Aal al-Shaykh said:
Allaah tells us the situation of those who are called upon instead of Him, of the
angels, Prophets, idols, etc. in a manner that indicates their helplessness and
weakness, and that they lack the abilities that are to be expected in the one who
is called upon, such as sovereignty, the ability to hear the call and the ability to
respond.
How can the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) be called
upon, when Allaah has commanded him to say, “Say: ‘It is not in my power to
cause you harm, or to bring you to the Right Path’” [al-Jinn 72:21 –
interpretation of the meaning]?
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If you ask,
then ask of Allaah, and if you seek help, then seek the help of Allaah.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2516; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-
Tirmidhi, 2043.
Hence there can be no doubt that it is a mistake to praise the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the words
“O most noble of creation, I have nobody to turn to except you when calamity
strikes.”
The major scholars have denounced this as being wrong.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, in his
footnotes to the book Fath al-Majeed, commenting on the poem Burdat al-
Busayri from which these words are taken:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us, according
to the report narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim, ‘Do not praise me as the
Christians praised ‘Eesa ibn Maryam, I am the slave of Allaah and His
Messenger.’ Rather the way to venerate him and love him is by following his
Sunnah and establishing his religion and rejecting all the myths that the
ignorant attribute to him. But most of the people do not do this, and they
occupy themselves with this exaggeration and praise which leads them to
commit major shirk.”
Moreover, it is not known that even a single Sahaabi used to seek the help of
the Messenger or call upon the Messenger, neither was that transmitted from
any of the respectable scholars. It is only one of the myths of the deviant.
If something troubles you, then say Yaa Allaah, for He is the One Who answers
prayers, relieves distress and controls all things.
21 - Falseness of the hadeeth about Adam praying by virtue of

Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon them both)
I read this hadeeth and I would like to know whether it is
saheeh or not.
“When Adam committed his sin, he said, ‘O Lord, I ask You
by virtue of Muhammad to forgive me.’ Allaah said, ‘O Adam,
how do you know of Muhammad when I have not yet created
him?’ He said, ‘O Lord, when You created me with Your own
hand, and breathed into me the soul that You created, I raised
my head and saw written on the pillars of the Throne, Laa
ilaaha ill-Allaah Muhammad Rasool Allaah [There is no god
but Allaah, Muhammadi s the messenger of Allaah]. Then I
knew that You would not mention in conjunction with Your
name any but the most beloved of Your creation to You.’
Allaah said, ‘You have spoken the truth, O Adam. He is indeed
the most beloved of My creation to Me. Pray to me by virtue of
Him, for I have forgiven you. Were it not for Muhammad, I
would not have created you.’”.
?
This hadeeth is mawdoo’ (fabricated). It was narrated by al-Haakim via ‘Abd-
Allaah ibn Muslim al-Fahri (who said), Ismaa’eel ibn Muslimah narrated to us,
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Zayd ibn Aslam told us, from his father, from his
grandfather, from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him), that
he said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said, “When Adam committed his sin…” Then he quoted the hadeeth as the
questioner quoted it.
Al-Haakim said: The isnaad of this hadeeth is saheeh.
This is what al-Haakim said! But a number of scholars rebuked him and
denounced him for classing this hadeeth as saheeh. They ruled that this hadeeth
is false and fabricated, and they pointed out that al-Haakim contradicted himself
when commenting on this hadeeth.
There follow some of their comments:
Al-Dhahabi said, criticizing the words of al-Haakim quoted above:
Rather it is mawdoo’ (fabricated), and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan is not reliable, and I do
not know who ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Muslim al-Fahri is.
Al-Dhahabi also said in Meezaan al-I’tidaal: It is a false report.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar agreed with him in Lisaan al-Meezaan.
Al-Bayhaqi said:
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Zayd ibn Aslam is the only one who narrated it with this
isnaad, and he is da’eef (weak). Ibn Katheer agreed with him in al-Bidaayah
wa’l-Nihayyah, 2/323.
Al-Albaani said in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah, 25: (it is) mawdoo’.
Al-Haakim himself (may Allaah forgive him) accused ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn
Zayd of being a fabricator of hadeeth, so how could his hadeeth be saheeh?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in al-Qaa’idah al-Jaleelah fi’l-Tawassul
wa’l-Waseelah (p. 69):
Al-Haakim’s narration of this hadeeth is something for which he was
denounced, and he himself said in his book al-Madkhil ila Ma’rifat al-Saheeh
‘an al-Saqeem:
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Zayd ibn Aslam narrated fabricated ahaadeeth from his
father, and it is obvious to any competent hadeeth scholar that he is the one to
blame for fabricating ahaadeeth. I say: ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Zayd ibn Aslam is
da’eef (weak) because he made a lot of mistakes.
See Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da’eefah by al-Albaani, 1/38-47.
22- The green dome in Madeenah: its history and the

ruling on its construction and on leaving it as it is
The green dome in Madeenah: its history and the ruling
on its construction and on leaving it as it is.
Firstly:
The history of the green dome
The dome over the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) dates back to the seventh century AH. It was built during the reign of
Sultan Qalawoon, and at first it was the colour of wood, then it became white,
then blue, then green, and it has remained green until the present.
Professor ‘Ali Haafiz (may Allaah preserve him) said:
There was no dome over the sacred chamber. There was in the roof of the
mosque above the chamber a waist-high enclosure of brick to distinguish the
location of the chamber from the rest of the mosque’s roof.
Sultaan Qalawoon al-Saalihi was the first one to build a dome over the
chamber. He did that in 678 AH. It was square at the bottom and octagonal at
the top, made of wood, and built on top of the pillars that surrounded the
chamber. Planks of wood were nailed to it, over which plates of lead were
placed, and the brick enclosure was replaced with one made of wood.
The dome was refurbished at the time of al-Naasir Hasan ibn Muhammad
Qalawoon, then the leaden plates slipped, but they were fixed and refurbished at
the time of al-Ashraf Sha’baan ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad in 765 AH. It fell
into disrepair and was renovated at the time of Sultaan Qayit Bey in 881 AH.
The chamber and dome were burned in the fire that swept through the Prophet’s
mosque in 886 AH. During the reign of Sultaan Qayit Bey the dome was
rebuilt, in 887 AH, and strong pillars to support it were built in the floor of the
mosque, and they were built of bricks to the correct height. After the dome had
been built in the manner described above, cracks appeared in its upper part.
When it proved impossible to refurbish it, the Sultaan Qayit Bey ordered that
the upper part be demolished and rebuilt strongly using white plaster. So it was
built solidly in 892 AH.
In 1253 AH, an order was issued by the Ottoman Sultan ‘Abd al-Hameed to
paint the dome green. He was the first one to colour it green, and the colour has
been renewed whenever necessary until the present.
It became known as the green dome after it was painted green. It was previously
known as the white dome or the fragrant dome or the blue dome. End quote.
Fusool min Tareekh al-Madeenah al-Munawwarah by ‘Ali Haafiz (p. 127, 128).
Secondly:
Rulings thereon
The scholars, both in the past and in modern times, criticized the building of
this dome and its being given a colour. All of that is because of what they know
of sharee’ah closing many doors for fear of falling into shirk.
These scholars include the following:
1 – al-San’aani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Ta-theer al-I’tiqaad:
If you say: A great dome has been built over the grave of the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), costing a great deal of money, I say: This
is in fact great ignorance of the situation, because this dome was not built by
him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or by his Sahaabah or by those
who followed them, or by those who followed the Taabi’een, or by the scholars
and imams of the ummah. Rather this dome was built over his grave (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) on the orders of one of the later kings of
Egypt, namely the Sultan Qalawoon al-Saalihi who is known as King Mansoor,
in 678 AH, and was mentioned in Tahqeeq al-Nasrah bi Talkhees Ma’aalim Dar
al-Hijrah. These are things that were done on the orders of the state and not on
the basis of shar’i evidence. End quote.
2 – The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked:
There are those who take the building of the green dome over the Prophet’s
grave in the Prophet’s Mosque as evidence that it is permissible to build domes
over other graves, such as those of the righteous and others. Is this argument
correct or what should our response to them be?
They replied:
It is not correct to quote the fact that people built a dome over the grave of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as evidence that it is
permissible to build domes over the graves of the righteous dead and others,
because those people’s building a dome over his grave (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was haraam and those who did it sinned thereby, because
they went against what is proven in a report from Abu’l-Hayaaj al-Asadi who
said: ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) said to me: Shall I
not send you on the same mission as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent me? Do not leave any image without
erasing it or any high grave without levelling it.
And it was narrated that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade plastering over
graves, or sitting on them or building over them. Both reports were narrated by
Muslim in his Saheeh. So it is not correct for anyone to quote the haraam action
of some people as evidence that it is permissible to do similar haraam actions,
because it is not permissible to go against the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) by citing the words or actions of anyone else.
And because he is the one who conveyed the command from Allaah, and he is
the one who is to be obeyed, and we must beware of going against his
commands, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And
whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ‫ )صلى ال عليه وسلم‬gives you, take
it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)” [al-Hashr 59:7].
And there are other verses which enjoin obedience to Allaah and to His
Messenger. And because building up graves and erecting domes over them are
means that lead to associating their occupants with Allaah, and the means that
lead to shirk must be blocked. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (9/83, 84)
3 – The scholars of the Standing Committee also said:
There is no proof in the fact that a dome was set up over the Prophet’s grave for
those who take it as an excuse for building domes of the graves of the awliya’
(“saints”) and righteous people, because the building of a dome over his grave
was not done on his instructions and was not done by any of his companions
(may Allaah be pleased with them), or by the Taabi’een, or by any of the imams
of guidance in the early generations whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) testified were good. Rather it was done by people of
bid’ah (innovation). It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of
ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.” And it was proven that ‘Ali (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said to Abu’l-Hayaaj: Shall I not send you on the
same mission as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) sent me? Do not leave any image without erasing it or any high
grave without levelling it. Narrated by Muslim. As it is not proven that he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) built a dome over his grave, and it
is not proven from any of the leading imams; rather what is proven shows that
to be an invalid action, and no Muslim should feel any attachment to the action
of innovators who built a dome over the grave of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azzez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (2/264, 265).
4 – Shaykh Shams al-Deen al-Afghaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
al-‘Allaamah al-Khajandi (1379 AH) said, discussing the history of the green
dome that was built over the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), and explaining that it is an innovation that was done by
some sultans and ignorant persons who erred and made a mistake, and that it is
contrary to the clear saheeh ahaadeeth and reflects ignorance of the Sunnah, and
that they went to extremes and imitated the Christians who are confused and
misguided:
It should be noted that until the year 678 AH, there was no dome over the
chamber which contains the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), rather it was built by the king al-Zaahir al-Mansoor Qalawoon al-
Saalihi in that year (678 AH), when this dome was built.
I say: He did that because he had seen in Egypt and Syria the adorned churches
of the Christians, so he imitated them out of ignorance of the command and
Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as al-
Waleed imitated them by adorning the mosque, as was mentioned in Wafa’ al-
Wafa’.
It should be noted that undoubtedly this action of Qalawoon was contrary to the
saheeh ahaadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), but ignorance is a great calamity and exaggeration in love and
veneration is a real disaster, and imitation of foreigners is a fatal disease. We
seek refuge with Allaah from ignorance and exaggeration and imitation of
foreigners. End quote.
Juhood ‘Ulama’ al-Hanafiyyah fi Ibtaal ‘Aqaa’id al-Qubooriyyah (3/1660-
1662).
Thirdly:
The reason why it has not been demolished:
The scholars have explained the shar’i rulings concerning the building of this
dome and its obvious effects on the followers of bid’ah’ who have developed an
attachment to this structure and its colour, and they praise and venerate it a
great deal in their poetry and writings. Now it is up to the authorities to
implement these fatwas, and this is nothing to do with the scholars.
The reason why it is not demolished is so as to ward off fitnah and for fear that
it may lead to chaos among the ordinary people and the ignorant. Unfortunately
the ordinary people have only reached this level of veneration towards this
dome because of the leadership of misguided scholars and imams of innovation.
They are the ones who incite the ordinary people against the land of the Two
Holy Sanctuaries and its ‘aqeedah and its manhaj. They are very upset about
many actions that are in accordance with sharee’ah in our view and contrary to
innovation in their view.
Whatever the case, the shar’i ruling is quite clear, and the fact that this dome
has not been demolished does not mean that it is permissible to build it or any
dome over any grave, no matter what grave it is.
Shaykh Saalih al-‘Usaymi (may Allaah preserve him) said:
The fact that this dome has remained for eight centuries does not mean that it
has become permissible, and being silent about it does not indicate approval of
it or that it is permissible. Rather the Muslim authorities should remove it and
put it back as it was at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). They should remove the dome and the adornments and engravings
that are found in the mosques, above all the Prophet’s Mosque, so long as that
will not lead to an even greater fitnah. If it would lead to an even greater fitnah,
then the ruler should postpone the matter until he finds an opportunity for that.
End quote.
Bida’ al-Quboor, Anwaa’uha wa ahkaamuha (p. 253).
23 - Was the Prophet created from light?

Most people think that things were created from the
light of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and that his light was created from the light
of Allaah. They narrate, “I am the light of Allaah and
everything is from my light” and also, “The first thing
that Allaah created was the light of Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” Is there any basis
for this? They also narrate “I am ‘Arab without (the
letter) ‘ayn, i.e., Rabb, and I am Ahmad without (the
letter) meem, i.e., Ahad.” Is there any basis for this?
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has been
described as being light from the light of Allaah. If what is meant by this is that
he himself is from the light of Allaah, then this goes against the Qur’aan, which
refers to his being human. If what is meant is that he is light in the sense that he
brought the Revelation by which whoever Allah wills of His creation is guided,
then this is correct. The committee has issued a fatwa concerning this matter, as
follows:
“The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has light which is the
light of the message and guidance from Allaah, through which Allaah guides
whomsoever He will of His slaves. No doubt the light of the message and of
guidance comes from Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
‘It is not given to any human being that Allaah should speak to him unless (it
be)by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends a Messenger to
reveal what He wills by His Leave. Verily, He is Most High, Most Wise.
And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad) Roohan (an Inspiration, and a
Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith?
But We have made it (this Qur’aan) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of
Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad) are indeed guiding
(mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e., Allaah’s religion of Islamic monotheism), --
The path of Allaah, to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in
the earth. Verily, all the matters at the end go to Allaah (for decision).”[al-Shura
42:51-53]
This light is not derived from the Seal of the Awliya’ as some heretics claim.
The body of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was blood
and flesh and bone, and so on. He was created from a father and a mother, and
had no existence before he was born. The reports which say that the first thing
created by Allaah was the light of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), or that Allaah grasped a handful of the light from His Face and that
this handful was Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then
He looked at it and it formed drops, and from each of these drops He created a
Prophet, or He created all of creation from the light of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) – all of these reports and the like are not
saheeh, and nothing like this has been narrated from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).”
From the fatwa quoted above, it is clear that this is a false belief.
As for the report which says “I am ‘Arab without (the letter) ‘ayn, i.e., Rabb,
and I am Ahmad without (the letter) meem, i.e., Ahad” – the attributes of
Lordship (ruboobiyah, from Rabb meaning Lord) and Absolute Unity (Ahad
meaning One) are attributes that belong uniquely to Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted. It is not permissible for any one of His creation to be described as
“the Lord (Rabb)” or as being One (Ahad) in absolute terms. These are
attributes that belong exclusively to Allaah, and are not used to describe the
Messengers or any other human beings. May Allaah bless our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions.
Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Ifta’ (Standing
Committee for Academic Research and the Issuing of Fatwas).
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/310.
Question:
Is it said that Allaah created the heavens and earth for the purpose of creating
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? What is the meaning
of the words, “Were it not for you, the universe [lit. heavenly bodies] would not
have been created”? Is there any basis for this hadeeth? Is it saheeh or not?
Please give us the facts.
Answer:
The heavens and earth were not created for the sake of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). They were created for the reason mentioned
by Allaah in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is Allaah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof
(i.e., seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that
you may know that Allaah has power over all things, and that Allaah surrounds
(comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge.”[al-Talaaq 65:12]
As for the hadeeth mentioned, it is falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and has no grounds for authenticity. May
Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
24 - Who was Ibn ‘Arabi?

Could you please clarify, who is IBn Rabi? I am getting conflicting views
from various sources. Shayhk Muhyi al-Deen Ibn al-'Arabi [may ALLAH
be well pleased with him] was not a heretic. He was a man way ahead of his
times. Those who couldn't understand his wisdom labeled him heretic but
he was far from it. Unless you are a Master of Tassawuf I would ask you to
refrain from calling a servant of ALLAH "deviant". He was one who
reached an extremely high level of understanding. His teachings were
Islamically sound but not everyone was prepared for his enlightened
wisdom. Even to this very day there are those who, due to their lack of
understanding, label him wrongly. Sadly it has always been the case that
when people can't understand something they try to destroy and disqualify
it out of fear. If you take the time to read his works you will gain a great
deal of knowledge from them. It is not good to make a judgement about
someone whose understanding of our Deen is lightyears ahead of your own.
Do not follow the Wahabbi, Salafi and Saudis who cast doubt and disbelief
on those who teach the truth to validate their wicked misguidance. Ibn
Arabi never misguided anyone he was simply too advanced for the
simpletons of the age to understand. Ibn Taymiyyah did not possess the
same level of understanding as Ibn Arabi and therefore he assessment
mirrors his lack of understanding. Ibn Taymiyyah was an ant while Ibn
Arabi was a giant. It was nothing short of ignorance on Ibn Taymiyyah's
part to attempt to formulate an opinion about someone who was lightyears
ahead of him in knowledge. Secondly, do not go believing what Ibn
Taymiyyah quoted verbatim because whereas Ibn Arabi was true scholar
and Shayhk, Ibn Taymiyyah himself was a genuine deviant. Ibn
Taymiyyah's fatwas have been the source of a great %100 ?
Who was Ibn ‘Arabi?
He was a prominent Sufi; in fact he was an extreme Sufi. His name was
Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Muhammad al-Taa’i al-Andalusi. The scholars have
told us about him in response to a question which was put to them. The question
was as follows:
What do the imaams of the religion and the guides of the Muslims say about a
book which has been circulating among the people, the author of which claims
that he wrote it and distributed it to people by permission of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which was given to him in a dream which
he claims to have seen? Most of this book contradicts what Allaah revealed in
His Books and is opposed to what His Prophets said.
Among the things that he says in this book are: Adam was called insaan because
in relation to the truth (Al-Haqq), he was like the pupil [insaan] of the eye, the
part that can see.
Elsewhere he said: Al-Haqq which is transcendent is the physical creation
which you can see.
Concerning the people of Nooh he said: if they had turned away from their
worship of [their idols] Wudd, Siwaa’, Yaghooth and Ya’ooq, they would have
lost more of Al-Haqq.
Then he said: Every object of worship is a manifestation of Al-Haqq. Those
who know it, know it, and those who do not know it, do not know it. The one
who has knowledge knows what he is worshipping and in what image the
object of his worship is manifested. These many and varied manifestations are
like the limbs of a physical image.
Then he said concerning the people of Hood: They reached a true state of
closeness (to Allaah) and were no longer remote. The heat of Hell no longer
affected them and they gained the blessing of closeness to Allaah because they
deserved it. They were not given this delicious experience as a favour, but
because they deserved it as a result of the essence of their deeds, for they were
on a straight path.
Then he denied the idea of the warning against those of mankind against whom
the word of punishment is justified.
Should the one who believes in what he says be denounced as a kaafir, or
should we accept what he says, or what? If the person who listens to him is an
adult of sound mind, and does not denounce him by speaking or in his heart, is
he a sinner, or what?
Please explain to us clearly and with proof, as Allaah has taken the covenant
from the scholars on that basis, for negligence [on the part of the scholars]
causes a great deal of confusion to the ignorant.
(‘Aqeedah Ibn ‘Arabi wa Hayaatuhu by Taqiy al-Deen al-Faasi, p. 15, 16).
(The author) mentioned the response of some of the scholars:
Al-Qaadi Badr al-Deen ibn Jamaa’ah said:
The passages quoted, and other similar parts of this book, are bid’ah and
misguidance, evil and ignorance. The religiously-committed Muslim would not
pay any heed to them or bother to read the book to find out more.
Then he said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) could
never give permission in a dream for something which goes against and
contradicts Islam; on the contrary, this is from the evil insinuations or whispers
of the Shaytaan and a trap whereby the Shaytaan is playing with him and
tempting him.
His words about Adam, that he is the pupil of the eye, and his likening Allaah
to His creation, and his remark that ‘Al-Haqq which is transcendent is the
physical creation which you can see’ – if by ‘Al-Haqq’ he is referring to the
Lord of the Worlds – is a clear statement of anthropomorphism [likening Allaah
to His creation] and he has taken this notion to extremes.
With regard to his denial of what has been narrated in the Qur’aan and Sunnah
concerning the warning: this makes him a kaafir in the view of the scholars of
the followers of Tawheed.
His comments about the people of Nooh and of Hood is vain and false talk
which deserves to be rejected. The best way of dealing with that is to destroy
this and all other similar passages of his book, for it is no more than fancy
words, an expression of baseless ideas and an attempt to introduce into the
religion ideas that do not belong to it. The ruling on this is that it should be
rejected and ignored. (Ibid., p. 29, 30).
Khateeb al-Qal’ah Shaykh Shams al-Deen Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Jazari al-
Shaafa’i said:
Praise be to Allaah. His comment about Adam being called insaan is
anthropomorphism [likening Allaah to His creation] and is a lie and falsehood.
His belief that the idol-worship of the people of Nooh was valid is kufr. Anyone
who says such a thing cannot be approved of. His comment that ‘Al-Haqq
which is transcendent is the physical creation which you can see’ is false and
contradictory, and it is also kufr. His comment that the people of Hood had
reached a true state of closeness (to Allaah) is a lie against Allaah, and by
saying this, he has rejected what Allaah said about them. His remark that they
were no longer remote and that Hell became a blessing and a joy for them is a
lie and a rejection of everything that was revealed to the Prophets; the truth of
the matter is what Allaah said about that, that they (the people of Hood) will
abide in the torment forever.
Concerning those who believe what he says – and he knows what he said – the
same ruling applies to them as to him: that they are misguided kaafirs, if they
have knowledge. If they do not have knowledge, then the person who says that
out of ignorance should be told the truth and taught about it, and should be
stopped if possible.
His denial of the warning to all people is a lie and a rejection of the consensus
(ijmaa’) of the Muslims. No doubt Allaah will bring about the punishment.
Islam offers definitive evidence that a group of sinners from among the
believers will be punished, and the one who denies that is regarded as a kaafir.
May Allaah protect us from wrong belief and denying the Resurrection. (Ibid.,
p. 31, 32).
Ibn Taymiyah said:
The Muslims, Christians and Jews all know something which is a basic
principle of the Muslims’ religion: that whoever says of any human being that
he is a part of God is a kaafir, he is regarded as a disbeliever by all these
religions. Even the Christians do not say this, although their belief is a major
form of kufr; no one says that the essence of creation is part of the Creator, or
that the Creator is the creation, or that Al-Haqq which is transcendent is the
physical creation which you can see.
Similarly, his remark that if the Mushrikeen turn away from idol-worship, they
will have turned away from Al-Haqq to the extent that they have abandoned
idol-worship, is obviously kufr according to the basic principle that is common
to all the religions. For the religions are agreed that all the Prophets forbade
idol-worship and regarded as disbelievers those who did that; the believer
cannot be a believer unless he disavows himself of worshipping idols and of
everything that is worshipped instead of Allaah. As Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning);
“Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibraaheem (Abraham)
and those with him, when they said to their people: ‘Verily, we are free from
you and whatever you worship besides Allaah, we have rejected you, and there
has started between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever until you believe in
Allaah Alone’” [al-Mumtahanah 60:4]
-- and he quoted other aayaat as proof -- then he said:
Whoever says that if the idol-worshippers give up their idols, they will have
turned away from Al-Haqq to the extent that they have abandoned idol-worship,
is an even worse kaafir than the Jews and Christians, and the one who does not
regard them as kaafirs is an even worse kaafir than the Jews and Christians, for
the Jews and Christians regard idol-worshippers as disbelievers, so how about
one who says that the one who gives up idol-worship has turned away from Al-
Haqq to the extent that he has abandoned idol-worship?! Let alone the fact that
he says, The one who has knowledge knows what he is worshipping and in
what image the object of his worship is manifested. These many and varied
forms are like the limbs of a physical image and the energy in a spiritual image;
nothing but Allaah is being worshipped in everything that is worshipped. He is
an even greater kaafir than the worshippers of idols, for they only take them as
intercessors and mediators, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“ [The Mushrikeen say] ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near to
Allaah’” [al-Zumar 39:3]
“Have they taken (others) as intercessors besides Allaah? Say: “Even if they
have power over nothing whatever and have no intelligence?” [al-Zumar 39:43]
They acknowledged that Allaah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and
the Creator of the idols, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And verily, if you ask them: ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ Surely,
they will say: ‘Allaah (has created them)’” [al-Zumar 39:38] (Ibid., 21-23)
Shaykh al-Islam also said:
When the faqeeh Abu Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Salaam came to Cairo and they
asked him about Ibn ‘Arabi, he said:
He is a vile and evil shaykh who says that the world is eternal and does not see
anything haraam in any sexual relationship.
He mentioned the belief that the world is eternal because this is what [Ibn
‘Arabi] believed, but this is well-known form of kufr and the faqeeh Abu
Muhammad denounced him as a kaafir because of this. At that time Ibn ‘Arabi
had not yet said that the universe was God or the universe was the image and
essence of God. This is a greater form of kufr because those who say that the
universe is eternal still believe that there had to be Someone Who brought it
into existence, that from the One Who must exist comes that which may exist.
Those shaykhs who met him [Ibn ‘Arabi] said that he was a liar and a
fabricator, and that in his books such as al-Futoohaat al-Makkiyyah etc. there
were lies which could not be concealed from any intelligent person.
Then he said:
I have not even mentioned one-tenth of what they mentioned about kufr, but
people who do not know about them have been deceived by these ideas, just as
they were deceived by the Baatini Qaraamitah when they claimed to be
descendents of Faatimah and said that they belonged to the Shee’ah, so the
Shee’ah began to like them without knowing of their hidden kufr. So the person
who is attracted to them is one of two things: either he is a heretic and
hypocrite, or he is misguided and ignorant. With regard to these pantheists
(ittihaadiyoon), their leaders are the leaders of kufr and must be executed, and
their repentance cannot be accepted if they are seized before they repent, for
they are among the greatest heretics, those who make an outward display of
being Muslim whilst concealing kufr in their hearts, those who conceal their
beliefs and their opposition to Islam. Everyone who follows them, who defends
them, who praises them, who admires their books, who is known to help them,
who does not like to speak against them or who makes excuses for them by
saying that we do not know exactly what these statements mean, who says
‘How can we be sure that he wrote this book?’ and other excuses which no one
but an ignorant person or a hypocrite would come up with, must be punished.
Indeed, it is obligatory to punish everyone who knows about them but does not
help to resist them, because campaigning against these people is one of the most
serious duties, for they have corrupted the minds and religious belief of many
shaykhs, scholars, kings and princes, and they are spreading corruption
throughout the world, preventing people from following the path of Allaah. The
harm that they cause to the religion is greater than that done by those who
damage the worldly interests of the Muslims but leave their religion alone, such
as bandits on the highways and the Tatars (Mongols) who took their wealth but
left their religion alone. Those who do not know them should not underestimate
the danger they pose. Their own misguidance and the extent to which they
misguide others defies description.
Then he said:
Whoever thinks well of them and claims not to know how they really are should
be informed about them. If he does not then turn his back on them and
denounce them, then he should be classed as one of them.
Whoever says that their words could be interpreted in such a way that it does
not contradict sharee’ah is one of their leaders and imaams. If he is intelligent,
he should know what they really are. But if he believes in it and behaves like
this openly and in secret, then he is a worse kaafir than the Christians.
(Ibid., p. 25-28 – adapted and abbreviated)
Ibn Hajar said:
Some confusing words of Ibn ‘Arabi were mentioned to our master Shaykh al-
Islam Siraaj al-Deen al-Balqeeni, and he was asked about Ibn ‘Arabi. Our
Shaykh al-Balqeeni said: he is a kaafir.
(Ibid., p. 39).
Ibn Khaldoon said:
Among these Sufis are: Ibn ‘Arabi, Ibn Saba’een, Ibn Barrajaan and their
followers who follow their path and their religion. They have many books in
circulation that are filled with blatant kufr and repugnant bid’ahs, trying to
interpret clear texts in very far-fetched and repugnant ways, such that the reader
is astounded that anyone could attribute such things to Islam.
(Ibid., p. 41).
Al-Subki said:
These later Sufis, such as Ibn ‘Arabi and his followers, are misguided and
ignorant and beyond the pale of Islam; those among them who have knowledge
are even worse.
(Ibid., p. 55).
Abu Zar’ah ibn al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi said:
Undoubtedly the famous book Al-Fusoos contains blatant kufr, as does al-
Futoohaat al-Makkiyyah. If it is true that he wrote this and continued to believe
in it until he died, then he is a kaafir who is doomed to eternity in Hell, no
doubt about it.
(Ibid., p. 60).
So how can any sane person say that these brilliant scholars did not understand
Ibn ‘Arabi? If they did not understand him, who can?
An incident from which we learn a lesson:
Al-Faasi said:
I heard our companion al-Haafiz al-Hujjah al-Qaadi Shihaab al-Deen Ahmad
ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajar al-Shaafa’i say: there were many disputes about Ibn ‘Arabi
between me and one of those who like Ibn ‘Arabi, until I insulted him because
of the bad things that he had said, but that did not make the man change his
mind. He threatened to complain about me to the Sultaan in Egypt with regard
to a matter that was different from that which we were arguing about, just to
cause trouble for me. I said to him: the Sultaan has nothing to do with this!
Come, let us make Mubaahalah [call our sons, our wives and ourselves and
pray and invoke the Curse of Allaah upon those who lie – cf. Aal ‘Imraan 3:61].
It is very rare, when people make Mubaahalah and one of them is lying, for that
one to go unpunished. So he said to me, ‘Bismillaah’ [i.e, he agreed]. And I said
to him: ‘Say: O Allaah, if Ibn ‘Arabi is misguided, then curse me with Your
Curse’ – so he said that. Then I said, O Allaah, if Ibn ‘Arabi is rightly-guided,
then curse me with Your Curse. Then we parted. Then we met in a park in
Egypt on a moonlit night, and he said to us, Something soft touched my leg,
look! So we looked but we did not see anything. Then he checked his eyes and
he could not see anything (i.e., Allaah had afflicted him with blindness).
This is the meaning of what Al-Haafiz Shihaab al-Deen ibn Hajar
al-‘Asqallaani told me.
(Ibid., p. 75, 76).
This is how this man has misguided and deceived those who are seeking the
truth and who want to follow the path of right guidance. He is a heretic who
was not ahead of his time in any way except in misguidance and kufr. He does
not possess any light or wisdom; on the contrary he is in the depths of darkness
and ignorance.
We have quoted to you the words of scholars other than Ibn Taymiyah, to point
out the kufr of Ibn ‘Arabi, so that you will not think that Ibn Taymiyah was the
only one who denounced him as a kaafir.
In response to your bad manners towards Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and
your claim that he came years after Ibn ‘Arabi, we say: you came many more
years after Ibn Taymiyah than the number of years between him and Ibn ‘Arabi,
so you of all people should keep quiet about him.
It is not right to speak in such an ill-mannered way about a Shaykh such as Ibn
Taymiyah, whose knowledge has spread all over the world. How can a man
such as you dare to describe him as an ant?
Who are you to describe the Shaykh of shaykhs and the Shaykh of Islam as an
ant? Do you not fear that you will have to stand before Allaah and be
questioned as to why you were so ill-mannered towards the scholars?
We ask you by Allaah, besides Whom there is no other god, can a person who
says that the creation is a part of the Creator be a Muslim?
Based on your response, you will know the state of your Islam. And Allaah is
the Guide to the Straight Path.
25 - The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) did not extend his hand to anyone from his
grave ?
What is the correct opinion about the stories narrated from one of the
famous Sufi leaders, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Rifaa’i, which say that he visited
the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
Madeenah and made du’aa’ at his grave, and the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) reached his hand out to him and he kissed
it? This is a widespread belief among the followers of his tareeqah and it is
a belief they hold firmly, even though he lived in the 6th century AH. How
true is this story?
This is false and has no basis of truth, because the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) died as decreed by Allaah and as Allaah said
“Verily you (O Muhammad) will die and verily, they (too) will die” [al-Zumar
39:30]
According to a saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Allaah has angels who travel about in the earth and convey to
me the salaams of my ummah.”
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no one who
sends salaams upon me but Allaah will restore my soul to me so that I may
return his salaam.”
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of your
days is Friday, so send more blessings (salaah) upon me on that day, for your
blessings will be shown to me.” They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, how will
they be shown to you when you (your body) have disintegrated?” He said,
‘Allaah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets.”
And there are many ahaadeeth which say similar things, but it is not narrated
anywhere that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that
he would shake hands with anybody. This indicates that this story is false. Even
if we were to assume that it is true, then it could be that that was a shaytaan
(devil) who shook hands with him in order to deceive him and lead him and
others astray. What all Muslims have to do is to fear Allaah and to adhere to His
sharee’ah which is indicated in His Book and in the Sunnah of His trustworthy
Messenger, and to beware of anything that goes against that. May Allaah reform
the Muslims and grant them understanding of His religion and cause them to
adhere to His sharee’ah, for He is the Most Generous, Most Kind.
26 - Sufi tareeqahs and the ruling on joining them

In the sufis thariqa' there was a term call
syari'a,thariqa',haqiqa' and ma'rifah.Is this term really
have been tought by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)to his
companion according to the definition by the thariqa' it
self. ?
We must understand that the word al-soofiyyah (Sufism) refers to wearing
woollen clothes [the Arabic word soof means “wool”] and nothing else.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The word al-soofiyyah (Sufism) refers to wearing woollen clothes; this is the
correct meaning. It was said that it comes from the word safwat al-fuqaha’ (the
elite of the fuqaha’) or from Soofah ibn Add ibn Taanijah, an Arab tribe that
was known for its asceticism, or from Ahl al-Suffah (poor Muslims in
Madeenah at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) who used to stay in the mosque), or from al-Safa (the mountain in
Makkah), or from the word al-safwah (meaning elite), or from the phrase al-saff
al-muqaddam bayna yaday Allaah (the foremost rank before Allaah). All of
these views are weak (da’eef); if any of them were true then the word would be
saffi or safaa’i or safawi, not sufi.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 11/195
Sufism (tasawwuf) did not appear until after the first three generations which
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) praised
when he said, “The best of mankind is my generation, then those who come
after them, then those who come after them…” (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2652;
Muslim, 2533; from the hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood).
With regard to the word soofiyyah (Sufism), it was not known during the first
three generations, rather it became known after that.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 11/5
This tareeqah and its like are among the innovated ways that go against the
Qur’aan and Sunnah and the way followed by the best generations. All the
shaykhs of these tareeqahs have made up their own wirds (phrases to be uttered
as dhikr), hizb (books of du’aa’ to be read daily by their followers) and ways of
worship by which each of them may be distinguished from the others; this goes
against sharee’ah and divides the ummah.
Allaah has blessed this ummah by perfecting its religion and completing His
Favour upon it, so everyone who comes up with an act of worship or a way that
was not brought by sharee’ah is effectively rejecting what Allaah has said and
accusing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) of betraying
the trust.
Along with this innovation of theirs, they may also be lying by claiming that
they received their tareeqah from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), or that they are following the path and guidance of the Rightly-
Guided Caliphs (al-khulafa’ al-raashideen).
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
Is there any such thing in Islam as the numerous tareeqahs like the
Shaadhilyyah, Khalwatiyyah etc? If there is such a thing, what is the evidence
for that? What is the meaning of the verses in which Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths,
for they will separate you away from His path. This He has ordained for you
that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”
[al-An’aam 6:153]
“And upon Allaah is the responsibility to explain the Straight Path. But there are
ways that turn aside (such as Paganism, Judaism, Christianity). And had He
willed, He would have guided you all (mankind)”
[al-Nahl 16:9]
What are the ways that separate people from the path of Allaah, and what is the
way of Allaah? What is the meaning of the hadeeth narrated by Ibn Mas’ood,
according to which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
drew a line and said, “This is the path of guidance,” then he drew lines to its
right and another to its left and said, “These are other paths and on each path
there is a devil calling people to it”?
They answered:
There is no such thing in Islam as the tareeqahs that you mentioned, or anything
else like them. What there is in Islam is what is indicated by the two verses and
the hadeeth that you quoted, and what was indicated by the hadeeth in which
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Jews split
into seventy-one sects, and the Christians split into seventy-two sects. My
ummah will split into seventy-three sects, all of which will be in Hell except
one.” It was asked, “Who are they, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “Those
who follow the same path as I and my companions are on today.” And he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “A group among my ummah will
continue to follow the truth and to be victorious, and they will not be harmed by
those who forsake them or oppose them, until the command of Allaah comes to
pass when they are like that.” The truth lies in following the Qur’aan and the
saheeh, unambiguous Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). This is the path of Allaah, this is the Straight Path. This is the
straight line mentioned in the hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood, and this is what was
followed by the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) (may Allaah be pleased with them and with their followers among
the early generations (salaf) of this ummah, and with those who follow their
path). All other tareeqahs or groups are the paths mentioned in the verse
“… and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His
path…”
[al-An’aam 6:153]
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 2/283, 284
27 - Ruling on marrying a sufi woman

Is it permissible for a Muslim to marry a Sufi woman?
What is the Islamic view of one who married a Sufi
woman but he did not know that she was a follower of
the Sufi way until after he married her?
Firstly:
Sufis are of various kinds with various schools of thought, most of which
follow innovation and deviant ways of various kinds. Some of them exceed the
proper bounds to the extent of associating others with Allaah, may He be
exalted, such as praying to the dead, turning to them to relieve distress and ward
off calamity. Some of them follow a great deal of innovation in their deeds, in
dhikr and in worship. See question no. 4983 for more information on some of
the deviations of the Sufis, and question no. 34817 for information on shirk and
its types.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah: Most of those who are called Sufis
nowadays follow innovations of shirk, as well as other innovations, such as
what some of them say, “Madad ya sayyid (Help, O Master)”and their calling
upon the aqtaab (highest ranking awliya’ or “saints”), reciting dhikr in unison
and calling upon Allaah by names that He has not called Himself, such as
“Huwa Huwa (He, He)” and “Ah, ah (a contraction of the name of Allaah)”.
Anyone who reads their books will notice a lot of their innovations of shirk as
well as other evils. End quote.
Secondly:
Marriage to a Sufi woman is subject to further discussion.
1 – If she is one of those who commits shirk in belief or in deeds, such as one
who believes that the awliya’ (“saints”) have knowledge of the unseen and have
control over the universe, or she believes in incarnation of the divine or the
unity of all things, or she devotes worship to something other than Allaah, such
as du’aa’, seeking help, sacrifices or vows, then it is not permissible to marry
such a woman, because she has committed major shirk – Allaah forbid.
2 – If she has not fallen into shirk, but she does some acts of innovation such as
celebrating the Mawlid (Prophet’s birthday) or invented forms of dhikr, or
reciting a certain number of dhikrs for which there is no basis, or a certain
manner of dhikr that is not proven in sharee’ah, then it is better not to marry
such a woman, because the danger of innovation is great, and the harm caused
by it is severe. It is dearer to Iblees than sin, because one may repent from sin,
unlike innovation, for the one who does it regards it as part of religion by means
of which he may draw closer to Allaah, so how can he give it up? Moreover,
marriage to a woman who follows bid’ah presents a danger to the children and
to the whole family, especially if the woman speaks well or is of a good
attitude, so that others may be deceived by her. Imam Maalik (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: Do not marry the people of innovation, or give your
womenfolk to them in marriage, or greet them with salaam… al-Mudawwanah
(1/84).
Thirdly:
If he did not know that the woman was a follower of Sufism until he married
her, then if she is of the first type that commits shirk in word and deed and
belief, he should call her (to the proper way) and advise her and explain to her.
If she responds, then praise be to Allaah, otherwise it is obligatory to separate
from her, because it is not permissible to marry a mushrik woman or to remain
in such a marriage, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And do not marry Al-Mushrikaat (idolatresses) till they believe (worship
Allaah Alone)”
[al-Baqarah 2:221]
But if she is of the second type, which does some innovated actions that do not
reach the extent of kufr, then each case should be examined separately – to what
extent does the woman adhere or not to the innovation that she believes in, and
what effect will that have on the household and the children?
He should also look at the consequences of divorcing her, and he should do that
which is in the best interests of Islam in each case, and which will ward off
harm or reduce it as much as possible.
May Allaah help us all to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.
28 - Defining a set number of times to send blessings on

the Prophet
My question is regarding Sufism. As I mixed with a
group of them before I knew their reality. After I heard
to Sheikh Munajjid -may Allah bless him- in his series
of the Correct Aqeedah (beliefs), I knew some of their
extremists’ beliefs. I started to doubt them, and I would
like to know the truth. All praise be to Allah for the
knowledge He blessed you with.
My questions are:
1- This group sends salaah and salaam upon prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) 3000 or 4000 times a day. They say: “the more you
send salaah and salaam upon the prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), the more you love him
and the more you become closer to him. And the more
you do this, the greater your chance becomes to see him
in your dream” is what they are claiming correct? Is it
permissible? Is it included in the Zikr (mentioning
Allah) generally? Are there any evidences for it?
2- How can we understand the difference between what
the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said about great reward of mentioning Allah a lot like
saying Subhan Allah wa behamdih (Exalted be Allah,
Allah praise be to Him) hundred times, and the other
Hadeeth of Ibn Masood (may Allah be pleased with him)
when he entered the mosque and found a group of
people counting Zikr by stones. Then he ordered them
to count –by doing that innovation- their sins. May
Allah reward you!.
Firstly:
Sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
is one of the greatest acts of worship. Allaah has enjoined it and praised those
who do it, and He has made it a cause of forgiveness of sins and meeting one's
needs.
“Allaah sends His Salaah (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet
(Muhammad ‫)صلى ال عليه وسلم‬, and also His angels (ask Allaah to bless
and forgive him). O you who believe! end your Salaah on (ask Allaah to bless)
him (Muhammad ‫)صلى ال عليه وسلم‬, and (you should) greet (salute) him
with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation, i.e. As-Salaamu ‘Alaykum)”
[al-Ahzaab 33:56]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “whoever
sends blessings upon me, Allaah will send blessings upon him tenfold.”
Narrated by Muslim (384).
It was narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
When two-thirds of the night had passed, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) would say: “O people, remember Allaah,
remember Allaah. The first Trumpet is about to sound, and will soon be
followed by the second; death has come with all that it entails, death has come
with all that it entails.” Ubayy said: I said: O Messenger of Allaah, I send
blessings upon you a great deal; how much of my prayer (du’aa’) should be for
you? He said: “Whatever you wish.”
I said: One quarter? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is
better for you.”
I said: Half? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for
you.”
I said: Two thirds? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better
for you.”
I said: Should I make all my du’aa’ for you? He said: “Then your concerns will
be taken care of and your sins will be forgiven.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi
(2457); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Jala’ al-Afhaam (79):
Our Shaykh Abu ‘Abbaas (i.e., Ibn Taymiyah) was asked about the meaning of
this hadeeth. He said: Ubayy ibn Ka’b had a du’aa’ that he used to say for
himself, and he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
whether he should make one-quarter of it sending blessings on him, and he said
… because whoever sends blessings on the Prophet, Allaah will send blessings
on him tenfold, and if Allaah sends blessings on a person He will take care of
his concerns and forgive him his sins.
It says in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: “how much of my prayer (du’aa’) should be for
you?” means: how much instead of my du’aa’ for myself. This was stated by al-
Qaari. Al-Mundhiri said in al-Targheeb: What it means is: I say a lot of du’aa’;
how much of my du’aa’ should I make sending blessings on you? I said: Should
I make all my du’aa’ for you? i.e., should I devote all the time that I used to
spend in saying du’aa’ for myself to sending blessings on you?
“Then your concerns will be taken care of and your sins will be forgiven” –
concerns means everything that a person seeks in this world and in the
Hereafter. What it means is: if you spend all the time of du’aa’ in sending
blessings on me, you will be given what you hope for in this world and in the
Hereafter. End quote.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Radd
‘ala al-Bakri (1/133): This is the ultimate that a person can say in du’aa’ for
himself to bring good things and ward off harmful things, for du’aa’ involves
attaining what one wants and warding off what one fears.
One of the commentators on al-Masaabeeh said: The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not impose a set limit on that for him, lest
that close the door to doing more. So he still left the choice up to him, whilst
encouraging him to do more, until he said: Should I make all my du’aa’ for
you? He said: “Then your concerns will be taken care of”, meaning all your
concerns, whether they have to do with religious or worldly affairs, because
sending blessings on him includes remembering Allaah and venerating the
Messenger, (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is similar to
saying du’aa’ for himself. Quoted by al-Sakhaawi in al-Qawl al-Badee’ (133).
Al-Tirmidhi (484) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood that the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The closest of
people to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who send the most
blessings on me.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-
Tarheeb.
It says in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: “The closest of people to me” means the nearest
to me or those who are most entitled to my intercession” because sending a lot
of blessings is based on veneration, which in turn stems from complete love,
and that results in Allaah loving that person. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “Say (O Muhammad ‫ صلى ال عليه وسلم‬to mankind): “If you
(really) love Allaah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the
Qur’aan and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins” [Aal
‘Imraan 3:31].
No one doubts the virtue of sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).
The saying of those whom you mention that “the more you send blessings on
him the more you love the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and the closer you become to him” is correct, for the more one mentions a
thing the more he loves it.
Their saying that “the more you send blessings on him the greater your chances
become of seeing him in a dream” may also be correct in real terms but there is
no evidence to prove that. What really matters is not seeing the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in a dream, but rather following his
Sunnah and walking in his footsteps, and giving love of him precedence over
oneself and precious things. Many people saw him in real life but they were
among the most opposed to him and his way.
If sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
is a prescribed act of worship, as stated above, then it is not permissible to
stipulate a set number of times for it, because no such number has been narrated
in sharee’ah, whether it is one thousand or three thousand or whatever number
is fabricated by the Sufis. Stipulating such numbers is blameworthy innovation
(bid’ah) because it is adding something to Islam that is not part of it. The
scholars have stated that acts of worship must be prescribed in sharee’ah in
terms of their principle, description, number, manner, place and time, in the
sense that it is not permissible to limit it to a place, time or manner that is not
narrated in sharee’ah.
It should be noted that every bid’ah is misguidance, even if people think it is
good. Innovation is dearer to Iblees than sin, because there is no repentance
from it. Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Whoever introduces an
innovation into Islam and thinks it is good is claiming that Muhammad betrayed
the message.
It should be said to those who stipulate sending blessings three thousand times:
What made you choose this number, and what is so special about it? Whatever
good he mentions about it may be answered by saying: Did the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fail to guide his ummah to this goodness,
when he was the one who cared most for them and was the most compassionate
towards them? Why did he not tell Ubayy ibn Ka’b – as in the hadeeth quoted
above – about this particular number?
In fact when choosing these numbers, many of the Sufis rely on dreams or mere
myths, and they tell their mureeds (followers) that they are not fit to do more
than that, and that doing more depends on the permission of the Shaykh who
knows what he is doing and even knows his secrets, and other kinds of
falsehood by means of which they control their followers.
There is the fear that the good deeds of this innovator may be lost, or that his
hasanaat may be lost, and he will not attain anything good from his worship,
especially if he does that in spite of the knowledge that he has. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces
anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2697) and Muslim 91718).
Hence you see that in many cases, their dhikr has no effect on them and how
they interact with others, and they also neglect the adhkaar that are prescribed
in sharee’ah and for which the Lawgiver has given a set number, such as saying
Subhaan Allaah wa bi hamdih (Glory and praise be to Allaah) one hundred
times, morning and evening.
See also the answer to question no. 11938
Secondly:
The hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood referred to above is that which was narrated by al-
Daarimi (204) from ‘Amr ibn Salamah who said: We were sitting at the door of
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood before Fajr prayer, when he came out. We walked
with him to the mosque, then Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari came to us and said: Has
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan come out to you yet? We said: No. So he sat with us
until he came out, and when he came out we all stood up. Abu Moosa said to
him: O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, just now I saw something in the mosque that I
have never seen before, but I do not think it was anything but good. He said:
What was it? He said: If you live, you will see it. He said: In the mosque I saw
some people sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a
man, and in their hands they had pebbles. He would say: Say Allaahu akbar
(Allaah is Most Great) one hundred times, and they would say Allaahu akbar
one hundred times. He would say: Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (there is no god but
Allaah) one hundred times, and they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one
hundred times. He would say: Say Subhaan-Allaah (Glory be to Allaah) one
hundred times, and they would say Subhaan-Allaah one hundred times. He said:
What did you say to them? He said: I did not say anything to them; I was
waiting to see what you think and I waited for your command. He said: Why
did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and guarantee to them that their
good deeds would not be wasted? Then he moved on and we moved on with
him until he came to one of those circles, and he stood over them and said:
What is this that I see you doing? They said: O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, these are
stones with which we count the takbeers (‘Allaahu akbar’), tahleel (‘Laa ilaaha
illa-Allaah’) and tasbeeh (‘Subhaan-Allaah’). He said: Count your bad deeds,
for I guarantee to you that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O
ummah of Muhammad! How quickly you have become doomed! His
companions are still alive and his cloak has not worn out, and his vessel is not
yet broken. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you are either following a
way that is more guided that the way of Muhammad or you are opening the
door to misguidance. They said: By Allaah, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, we
intended nothing but good. He said: How many of those who intended good did
not achieve it. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) told us that some people would recite the Qur’aan and it would not go any
further than their collarbones. By Allaah, I do not know, perhaps most of them
are from among you. Then he turned away from them and ‘Amr ibn Salamah
said: I saw most of those circles on the side of the Khawaarij fighting us on the
day of al-Nahrawaan.
This does not contradict the reports in the Sunnah that stipulate a set number for
some adhkaar, because what is regarded as blameworthy is two things:
Specifying a set number which is not narrated in sharee’ah
Or adhering to a specific manner or a specific time with no evidence, like these
people who were denounced by Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him).
Using pebbles and having a person who says “Say Allaahu akbar one hundred
times, and say Subhaan-Allaah (Glory be to Allaah) one hundred times,”
describes a manner that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did not do.
Al-Shaatibi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Bid’ah (innovation) refers to
something that is newly invented in matters of religion that appears similar to
that which prescribed, by which people intend to go to extremes in worshipping
Allaah.
This includes adhering to certain ways and manners of worship, such as reciting
dhikr in unison, or taking the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) as an Eid, and so on.
It also includes doing certain acts of worship at certain times for which there is
no basis in sharee’ah, such as always fasting on the fifteenth of Sha’baan
(yawm al-nusf min Sha’baan) and spending that night in prayer.
End quote from al-I’tisaam (1/37-39).
This story of Ibn Mas’ood indicates that what the Sufis do in the hadrahs, where
they adhere to a specific number for dhikr, and are directed by their Shaykh, in
addition to the fabricated manners such as standing, sitting and the ritualistic
movements that they make, is false.
But the matter is more serious than that; the wrong actions are not limited to
these innovations, rather they go beyond that and include forms of shirk in
belief and action, such as calling upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and believing that the awliya’ (“saints” or close friends of
Allaah) and righteous people possess the power to bring benefits or cause harm.
We ask Allaah to guide those Muslims who have gone astray, and to help us and
you to obey Him and attain His pleasure.
29 - Repeating the name of Allaah on its own, or the pronoun “Huwa”

(He), is a Sufi bid’ah
Is there any harm in repeating the names of Allah SWT?
As zikr, or anything else?
I understand saying "Astagh firullah" or "Subhan Allah" or
"Alhamdo Lillah" are ok.
There is no doubt that it is bid’ah to mention the name of Allaah on its own or –
even worse – to repeat the pronoun “Huwa” (“He”). Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The Name of Allaah on its own, either as a noun (“Allaah”) or a pronoun
(“Huwa”) is not a complete phrase or meaningful sentence. It has no
implications to do with eemaan (faith) or kufr (disbelief), commands or
prohibitions. This was not mentioned by anyone from the Salaf (early
generations) of this ummah, and it was not prescribed by the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It does not bring any
knowledge to the heart or bestow any kind of benefit upon it. All it does is give
an unclear idea which is not defined by any negation or affirmation. Unless
there is previous knowledge in a person's mind or he is in a state of mind where
he could benefit from this, he gains no benefit at all. Islam prescribes adhkaar
which in and of themselves bring benefit to the heart, without any such need for
anything else.
Some of those who persisted in this kind of “dhikr” ended up in various kinds
of heresies and ideas of “wahdat al-wujood” (unity of all that exists,
pantheism), as has been explained in detail elsewhere.
It was mentioned that one of the shaykhs said: “I am afraid of dying between
negation and affirmation”, but this is not an example to be followed, because it
is obviously erroneous. If a person were to die in this state, he would die
according to his intention, because actions are judged by intention. It was
reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
commanded us to tell the dying person to say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, and he said,
“Anyone whose last words are Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah will enter Paradise.” If this
word (Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah) was something which required caution, why should
we tell the dying person to say something which, if he dies in the middle of
saying it, will lead to an improper death? Rather, if this were the case, he would
be told to say “Allaah, Allaah” or “Huwa, Huwa.”
Mentioning the pronoun on its own is further removed from the Sunnah and is a
worse kind of bid’ah, which is closer to the misguidance of the Shaytaan. If a
person says “Yaa Huwa, yaa Huwaa (O He, O He)” or “Huwa, Huwa (He, He)”
and so on, the pronoun does not refer to anything except whatever his heart
imagines, and hearts may be guided or misguided.
Some shaykhs use as evidence to support saying “Allaah” (the name on its
own) the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say: ‘Allaah.’ Then leave them…” [al-An’aam 6:91]. They think that Allaah
commanded His Prophet to say His Name on its own, but this is a mistake
according to the consensus of the scholars, because the meaning of the phrase
“Say ‘Allaah’” is that it is Allaah Who sent down the Book which was brought
by Moosa. This is in response to the question:
“Say (O Muhammad): ‘Who then sent down the Book which Moosa (Moses)
brought, a light and a guidance to mankind which you (the Jews) have made
into (separate) paper sheets, disclosing (some of it) and concealing (much). And
you (believers in Allaah and His Messenger Muhammad) were taught (through
the Qur’aan) that which neither you nor your fathers knew.’ Say: ‘Allaah (sent it
down).’” [al-An’aam 6:91 – interpretation of the meaning], i.e., Allaah is the
One Who revealed the Book which was brought by Moosa. This is a refutation
of the view of those who said, “Nothing did Allaah send down to any human
being (by Revelation)” [al-An’aam 6:91 – interpretation of the meaning]. Allaah
says: Who then sent down the Book which Moosa brought? Then He says: Say
Allaah sent it down, then leave these liars to play in their vain discussions.
What we have said above is further explained by the comments of Seebawayh
and other grammarians, who noted that when the Arabs say “Qaala” (or other
forms of the verb meaning “to say”), they do not quote verbatim, rather they
state what was said, giving a complete meaning. So what follows is a sentence
with a complete meaning, or a nominal sentence or a verbal sentence. Hence
after saying “qaala” they give a kasrah to the particle “anna” (making it “inna”);
“qaala” cannot be followed by a noun standing alone. Allaah did not command
anyone to mention His Name on its own, and it is not prescribed for the
Muslims to say His Name on its own. Saying His Name on its own does not
enhance faith or explain anything about the religion, according to the consensus
of the scholars of Islam; it is not enjoined in any act of worship or in any case
where Allaah addresses them.
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 10/226-229)
And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) also said:
Repeating the Name of Allaah on its own, such as saying “Allaah, Allaah,” or
the pronoun, such as “Huwa, Huwa” is not prescribed in either the Qur’aan or
the Sunnah. It is not reported that any of the salaf of this ummah or any of the
righteous scholars who are taken as examples did this. It is only spoken by
misguided people of the later generations.
Perhaps they are following a shaykh who had no control over himself in this
regard, such as al-Shubli who, it was narrated, used to say ‘Allaah, Allaah.’ It
was said to him, ‘Why do you not say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah?’ He said, “I am
afraid of dying between the negation [saying La ilaaha (there is no god)] and
the affirmation [ill-Allaah (except Allaah)]”!
This is one of the mistakes made by al-Shubli, who may be forgiven for it
because of the sincerity of his faith and the strength of his emotions which
overwhelmed him. Sometimes he would go crazy and would be taken to the
asylum, and he would shave off his beard. There are other instances of this type
in his case, which are not to be taken as examples, even if he may be excused or
rewarded for them. If a person intends to say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, and he dies
before completing it, that will not harm him at all, because actions are judged
by intentions, and what he intended to do is what will be written down for him.
Some of them go to extremes in this matter, and say that saying the name of
Allaah is for the ‘elite’ whilst saying La ilaaha ill-Allaah is for the ‘masses.’
Some of them say that saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah is for the mu’mineen
(believers), saying ‘Allaah’ is for the ‘aarifeen’ and saying ‘Huwa’ is for the
muhaqqiqeen. One of them may restrict himself to saying, when alone or in a
gathering, ‘Allaah, Allaah, Allaah’ or ‘Huwa’ or ‘Yaa Huwa’ or even ‘La Huwa
illa Huwa (there is no He except He)’!
Some of those who have written about spiritual matters have expressed
approval of this, quoting some known figures who, however, were in a state of
overwhelming emotion at the time, or quoting opinions, or quoting false reports
– for example some of them reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) told ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib to say ‘Allaah, Allaah, Allaah.’
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said it three times,
then he told ‘Ali to say it three times so he said it three times. This hadeeth is
fabricated (mawdoo’), according to the consensus of the scholars of hadeeth.
It is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
taught people various adhkaar to say, and the best of dhikr is Laa ilaaha ill-
Allaah. This is what he urged his paternal uncle Abu Taalib to say when he was
dying. He said, “O uncle, say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah and I will defend you
thereby before Allaah.” And he said: “I know of a word which no one says
when he is dying but his soul finds rest in it.” And he said, “Anyone whose last
words are Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah will enter Paradise.” And he said, “Whoever
dies knowing that there is no god except Allaah will enter Paradise.” And he
said: “I have been commanded to fight people until they bear witness that there
is no god except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah. If they
do that, their blood and wealth will be safe from me, except for what is due
from them [e.g., zakaah etc.], and their reckoning is with Allaah.” And there are
many similar ahaadeeth.
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawaa, 10/556-558)
Whoever makes the Qur’aan and Sunnah his points of reference concerning his
worship will not fail to distinguish right from wrong. We ask Allaah to bring us
back to His religion in a gentle manner. And Allaah knows best.
30 - Question about a strange Sufi way of worship

Brother my question is fairly long and I hope inshallah you will be
able to answer it to the best of your knowledge using hadith and
Quranic proof to backup what you are saying and please use as much
proof as you possible can.
See the problem that I am facing is regarding the way in which my
parents perform Ibadah and this way that they perform it they would
like me to do the same but I personally did not feel that it went in
accordance with the sunnah. My parents have a sufistic Qadriyanni
belief in which they belief the Prophet Mohammed S.A.W was a Noor
and a human. A Sufi Alim who is a Mufti gave my dad a type of
Ibadah style book written in Urdu and Dua's in Arabic he told him to
do this Ibadah in particular every single day and with Your children
who are able to recite Quran and your wife loudly together.
The form of Ibadah goes as following before starting he told us to
recite the words
"Allahumma Salliallah Muhamadin Wa'lihi Wa Itratihi beadadikuli
malumilaka he refers to it as Darud Qadri
then he told us to recite these words 100 times "Subhanallahi
wabihamdihi Subhanallahhilazeem Astagfirullahalazimalazi La Illaha
Illa huwalhayalqayoom wa atoobu alayhi"
then he told us to recite 7 times surah fatiha
then he told us to recite 100 times "Allahumma Salliallah
Muhamadin Wa'lihi Wa Itratihi beadadikuli malumilaka he refers to
it as Darud Qadri
the he told us to recite 79 times Surah allamnashra
then recite surah Ikhlas 100 times
then recite 100 times these words "allahuma ya qadiyal hajate
then recite 100 times these words "allahuma ya dafi al balayati"
then recite 100 times "allahuma ya ah lal mushkalati
then recite 100 times "allahuma ya kafiyal muhimati
then recite 100 times "Allahuma ya mujeebadawati
then recite 100 times "allahuma ya shafi mar da'"
then recite 100 times "Allahuma ya khayranaseereena"
then recite 100 times "Bihrahmatikaya ya arhamarahimeen
then recite 100 times "Allahuma ameen"
the 2nd part to this Ibadah is the same thing accept some things
changed around such as starting off with the words "hazbunallahu"
500 times and following it through the same way acept without Surah
Allahmnashra or Ikhlas.
Now I know some of these words are in the Quran and the surahs are
for sure but I would like to know the meanings for everything english
translation i'm sorry i cannot find it in arabic but try to soundout the
meaning please. I would like to know if this form of Ibadah is in
accordance with the Sunnah. If the Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) ever
recited it. My parents want me to do the Ibadah with them and they
get very angry even if i question it the slightest bit because they say
what do you know your so young. The alim who came has been
studying for more then 60 years who are you to question them. So
brother please answer my question in as much depth as possible and
as much proof you can possibly have if this Dua is sunnah or just an
innovation. As well i forgot to mention there is this other thing my
parents want me to do after i do this supplication which is that i
recite Surah 105 in the Quran and when it gets to a part where you say
tarmihim to say tarmeem and take these rocks one by one bouncing
them off of a metal bowl turned upside down covered with a red sheet
to represent blood. My parents tell me this is to ask allah to strike
down on the enemies of ours killing them off or something close to
that. I would like to know of this is the sunnah of the Prophet
MOhammed (S.A.W) or if its an innovation please provide lots of
proof and be as clear as possible so my parents will understand. I
know I am asking for a lot but I would really appreciate if you could
answer me as soon as possible.
The purpose for which we were created is to worship Allaah alone with no
partner or associate, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And I (Allaah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should
worship Me (Alone)”
[al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]
Allaah has not left us each to choose his own way of worship, rather He has
sent His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and revealed
His holy Book, to show people the way and guide them. So there is nothing that
is worship and goodness and guidance that Allaah loves, but it has been
explained by the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
No two Muslims dispute that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) is the best and most pious of mankind, the one who worshipped
Allaah and turned to Him the most. Hence the one who is truly guided is the
one who follows his path and walks in his footsteps.
Adhering to the path of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) is not something that is optional, rather it is an obligation that Allaah has
enjoined upon His slaves, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it; and
whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it). And fear Allaah; verily, Allaah is
Severe in punishment”
[al-Hashr 59:7]
“It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have
decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And
whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain
error”
[al-Ahzaab 33:36]
“Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad) you have a good example to
follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allaah and the Last Day”
[al-Ahzaab 33:21]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stated that every
innovated kind of worship would be rejected and thrown back at the one who
does it, no matter what it is. He said: “Every action that is not in accordance
with this matter of ours [i.e., Islam] will be rejected.” Narrated by Muslim,
1718, from the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her).
No deed will be accepted unless it is done sincerely for the sake of Allaah and
in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). This is what is meant by the words of Allaah
“that He may test you which of you is best in deed”
[al-Mulk 67:2]
Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyyaad said: (This means) that which is most sincere and most
correct. They said, O Abu ‘Ali, what most sincere and most correct? He said: If
a deed is not sincere and not correct, it will not be accepted. If it is correct but is
not sincere, it will not be accepted unless it is both sincere and correct. Sincere
means that it is done for the sake of Allaah and correct means that it is in
accordance with the Sunnah.
Whoever wants to attain the pleasure of Allaah, he has to adhere to the Sunnah
of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). All paths to
Allaah are blocked, except this path, the path of His Prophet Muhammad (peace
Because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
compassionate towards his ummah and cared deeply for them, he did not leave
anything good without explaining it to them. So whoever today invents an act
of worship, dhikr or wird and claims that it is good, is accusing the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – whether he realizes it or not – of
not conveying the religion as Allaah commanded him to do. Hence Imam
Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Whoever introduces any
innovation into Islam claiming that it is good is implying that Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) betrayed the message entrusted to
him, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon
you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”
[al-Maa'idah 5:3]
So whatever was not part of the religion of Islam at that point should never be
part of the religion of Islam today.
The Sahaabah, Taabi’een and imams issued many warnings against innovation.
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan said: Every act of worship which the companions of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not
do, do not do it.
Ibn Mas’ood said: Follow and do not innovate, for the religion is complete.
Adhere to the old way (i.e., the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and the Sahaabah)
The question which should be put to the one who invented this dhikr is:
Did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) do
this? Did the Sahaabah do this?
The obvious answer is that reciting these soorahs these number of times – 100
times or 7 or 79 – is something that was not narrated from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or from any of his companions. The same
is true of the du’aa’s recited in this manner for the number of times mentioned.
It should be said to this innovator: do you think that you have discovered
something good that was not known to the Prophet or his companions?
Or do you think that you or your shaykh have the right to introduce new laws
and to define news dhikrs and when they should be said and how often they
should be repeated, just as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) had that right?
Undoubtedly both of these are manifest misguidance.
Let us think about the report narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood by al-
Daarimi in his Sunan, according to which Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari said to ‘Abd-
Allaah ibn Mas’ood: “O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, I have just seen in the mosque
something new that I was not sure about, but I think I have not seen anything
but something good, praise be to Allaah.” He said, “What was it?”
He said, “You will see it tomorrow.” He said, “I saw some people in the mosque
sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a man and in
their hands were pebbles. He would say, ‘Say Allaahu akbar one hundred
times,’ so they would say Allaahu akbar (takbeer) one hundred times. Then he
would say, ‘Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (tahleel) one hundred times, so they
would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times. Then he would say, ‘Say
Subhaan Allaah (tasbeeh) one hundred times,’ and they would say Subhaan
Allaah one hundred times.”
He said, “What did you say to them?”
He said, “I did not say anything to them. I was waiting for your opinion.”
He said, “Why did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and promise them
that none of their good deeds would be lost?’ Then he went away and we went
with him, until he came to one of those circles. He stood over them and said,
“What is this that I see you doing?”
They said, “O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, these are pebbles with which we count
the takbeer, tahleel and tasbeeh.”
He said, “Count your bad deeds, for I promise you that nothing of your good
deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O ummah of Muhammad, how soon you have
drifted into the way of doom even though the companions of your Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are still alive amongst you, and his
garments and the vessels he used are still not worn out or broken. By the One in
Whose hand is my soul, either you are following a way that is more guided than
the way of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or you are
starting a way that is the way of misguidance.”
They said, “By Allaah, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, we did not intend anything
but good.”
He said, “How many of those who intend good never attain it.”
Not everyone who seeks or intends good attains it and is guided to it. Not every
act of worship is accepted, unless it is in accordance with the Sunnah of
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
This denunciation by Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) puts an
end to the argument presented by innovators, because they always say, “What
reason can there be not to recite dhikr, prayers and Qur’aan? We only intend
good and to draw closer to Allaah.”
It should be said to them: Worship must be something that is prescribed in
sharee’ah in essence and in its form and the manner in which it is done. If a
specific number is prescribed in sharee’ah then no one has the right to go
beyond that, and if no number or way is specified then no one has the right to
invent a limit for it, because that implies that one is assuming the role of a
lawgiver.
This is further supported by the report narrated from Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib
(may Allaah have mercy on him). He saw a man praying more than two rak’ahs
after dawn had come (i.e., Fajr), and he told him not to do that. The man said,
“O Abu Muhammad, will Allaah punish me for praying?!”
He said, “No, but He will punish you for going against the Sunnah.”
Look at the understanding of this great Taabi’i, may Allaah have mercy on him.
That is because the regular Sunnah is to pray only two rak’ahs after the dawn
has come, not more than that, then to pray the obligatory prayer of Fajr.
A similar report was narrated from Imam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on
him). A man came to him and said: “O Abu ‘Abd-Allaah, from where should I
enter ihraam?”
He said, “From Dhu’l-Hulayfah, from where the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered ihraam.”
He said, “I want to enter ihraam from the Mosque, from near the grave
(meaning the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him)).”
He said, “Do not do that, for I fear fitnah (trial, affliction) for you.”
He said, “What fitnah is that? It is just a few miles I am adding.”
He said, “What fitnah is greater than your thinking that you have found
something good that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) failed to do?! I heard that Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
‘And let those who oppose the Messenger’s (Muhammad’s) commandment (i.e.
his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements) (among the sects)
beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing,
overpowered by a tyrant) should befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on
them’
[al-Noor 24:63].”
This is the understanding of the Sahaabah, Taabi’een and Imams. As for the
people of bid’ah, they say, “What fitnah? It is only dhikr and prayer and a few
miles by which we seek to draw closer to Allaah.”
No wise person should be deceived by the words of these people, for the
Shaytaan has made their deeds appear attractive to them, and they hate to go
against their shaykhs and the leaders of their tareeqahs.
Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Bid’ah
(innovation) is dearer to Iblees (Satan) than sin, because a person may repent
from sin, but not from innovation.
It should be noted that no one ever invents a bid’ah but he forsakes thereby a
Sunnah that is equal to it or greater than it. Hence those who favour innovated
dhikrs are the most ignorant of people about the Prophet’s dhikr which the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) persisted in reciting. You
will rarely find any of them who says in the morning and evening, Subhaan-
Allaah wa bi hamdihi (Glory and praise be to Allaah) one hundred times; or
Asbahna ‘ala fitrat il-Islam wa kalimat il-ikhlaas wa deeni nabiyyina
Muhammad sall-Allaahu ‘alay wa sallim wa millati abeena Ibraaheema
haneefan wa maa kaana min al-mushrikeen (We have awoken on the fitrah of
Islam and the word of sincerity and the religion of our Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the religion of our father
Ibraaheem, pure monotheism, and he was not of those who associate others
with Allaah); or Asbahna wa asbah al-mulk Lillaahi Rabb il-‘Aalameen.
Allaahumma inni as’aluka khayra hadha’l-yawm fa-thahu wa nasrahu wa
noorahu wa barakatahu wa hudaahu, wa a’oodhu bika min sharri ma fihi wa
sharri ma ba’dahu (We have awoken and dominion belongs to Allaah, the Lord
of the Worlds. O Allaah I ask You for the good of this day and its goodness,
support, help, light, blessing and guidance. And I seek refuge with You from the
evil of what is in it and the evil of what comes after it): or Subhaan Allaah
‘adada khalqihi, Subhaan Allaah ridaa nafsihi, Subhaan Allaah zinata ‘arshihi,
Subhaan Allaah midaada kalimaatihi (Glory be to Allaah the number of His
creation, Glory be to Allaah as much as He is pleased with, Glory be to Allaah
the weight of His Throne, Glory be to Allaah the extent of His words).
And there are other dhikrs with which you may be content, from the books that
contain the dhikrs for the morning and the evening, etc.
The point is that it is not permissible to join your parents in these innovated
dhikrs and say them the number of times you mention.
With regard to what you mentioned about Soorat al-Feel and throwing stones
when saying tarmeehim (striking them), this is a myth and is nonsense. It is not
permissible to do this or to seek to draw closer to Allaah by doing it. How many
enemies did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) confront, and he did not pray against them in this manner. There is the fear
that this is a way of drawing closer to the devils and seeking their help.
With regard to the belief that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) was light (noor), there is no basis for this and it was not narrated
either in the Qur’aan or saheeh Sunnah. Allaah has told us that the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was a human being
like us, except that Allaah favoured him with revelation and the message.
“Say (O Muhammad): ‘I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me
that your Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (God i.e. Allaah)’”
[al-Kahf 18:110]
“Say (O Muhammad): ‘I am only a human being like you. It is revealed to me
that your Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (God — Allaah), therefore take Straight Path
to Him (with true Faith Islamic Monotheism) and obedience to Him, and seek
forgiveness of Him. And woe to Al-Mushrikoon (the polytheists, idolaters,
disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah)’”
[Fussilat 41:6]
Some of the extreme Sufis believe that he was light, and that he was the first
thing created by Allaah, and that the rest of creation was created from his light.
This is a lie and is misguidance for which they have no evidence apart from a
false, fabricated hadeeth.
We ask Allaah to help you and your parents to avoid innovation and its people.
31 - Ruling on praying in Sufi mosques

In the suburb where I live there is a Masjid that belongs to
Sufis and another smaller Masjid belongs to them as well. Is it
permissible to pray in it?.
Do not pray with these Sufis in their zawiyahs, and beware of keeping company
with them and mixing with them, lest you be affected by what has affected
them. Try to pray in the mosque of a congregation who seek to follow the
Sunnah and are keen to do so.
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace
upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End quote.
Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razaaq
‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood
32 - Sufi formulas and bid’ah

In your 'Innovations' sections, you say it's bidah to recite, say
a 100 times or something, suras hoping for reward. After
reading a Sufi book by Hakim Moinuddin Chishti called 'Sufi
Healing", I saw that it justified using such formulas by saying
that the formulas and other things had been inspired by Allah
through dreams or etc. to certain Muslims who were very close
to Allah. Would this make it a part of Shariah? How can we
know that they are being truthful? Is this acceptable in Islam?
1. Allaah described His awliyaa’ (close friends) as having two characteristics:
Eemaan (faith) and Taqwa (piety, awareness of Allaah). Allaah says
“No doubt! Verily, the Awliyaa’ of Allaah [i.e., those who believe in the
Oneness of Allaah and fear Allaah much and love Allaah much], nor fear shall
be upon them nor shall they grieve, - those who believe (in the Oneness of
Allaah) and used to fear Allaah much” [Yoonus 10:62-63]
2. The true awliyaa’ of Allaah do not go against what the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) brought. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) warned against innovated matters in religion, because
Allaah has perfected His religion and completed His favour upon His slaves.
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon
you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al-Maa’idah 5:3].
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
innovates something in this matter of ours [i.e., Islam] that is not a part of it,
will have it rejected.”
3. Therefore one can distinguish between the walee (close friend) of Allaah and
the walee of the Shaytaan, by looking at the person’s character, behaviour and
religious commitment – does he pray regularly in jamaa’ah in the mosque, for
example? Does he avoid wrongfully consuming people’s property? Does he
avoid going against Islam by either adding or taking away anything? And so
on…
4. It is not permissible for a Muslim to innovate any dhikr to recite regularly or
to tell others to do so – such as awraad/wird, ma’thooraat or du’aas. The
adhkaar that were reported in the saheeh Sunnah are sufficient for this,
otherwise a person is an innovator or one who calls others to bid’ah. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates
something in this matter of ours [i.e., Islam] that is not a part of it, will have it
rejected.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhaari, 2550; Muslim, 1718). According to a
report narrated by Muslim: “Whoever does any action that is not in accordance
with this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) will have it rejected.”
Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“This hadeeth represents one of the most important principles in Islam. It is like
a scale against which the external appearances of deeds are measured, just as
the hadeeth “Actions are but by intention” is the scale against which the inner
motivations of actions are measured. Just as every deed which is not done for
the sake of Allaah will bring no reward for the one who does it, so also every
deed which is not in accordance with the way of Allaah and His Messenger will
be rejected and thrown back at the one who does it. Anyone who innovates new
things in the religion and does things for which Allaah and His Messenger have
not granted permission, this is not a part of the religion at all.” (Jaami’
al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam, 1/180).
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“This hadeeth is one of the most important basic principles of Islam, and it is
one of the most concise and comprehensive sayings of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). It clearly states that innovations and newly
invented matters will be rejected. The second report adds another idea, which is
that some of those who follow the innovations of others may become stubborn
when they are presented with the evidence of the first report which says,
“Whoever innovates something…” They may say, “I am not innovating
anything”. But he may in this case be presented with the evidence of the second
report, which says, “Whoever does any action…” This clearly shows that all
innovated actions will be rejected, whether the one who does them innovates
them himself or is following someone else who innovated it… This hadeeth is
one that should be learned by heart and used to denounce evil actions and be
spread as evidence so that all people may use it.” (Sharh Muslim, 12/16).
5. Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“No doubt adhkaar and du’aa’s are among the best forms of worship, and
worship is one of the matters in which there is no room for personal opinions –
we have to follow what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did and taught, not our own whims and desires or innovations. The du’aa’s
and adhkaar of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are the
best that anyone could find. The one who follows this way will be safe and
sound, and the benefits and positive results that he will gain are beyond
description. Any other du’aa’s and adhkaar may be haraam or they may be
makrooh; they may involve shirk even though most people do not realize that –
the details of this would take too long to explain here.
No one has the right to teach the people any kinds of du’aa’s or adhkaar apart
from those that are mentioned in the Sunnah, or to make it a kind of regular
worship which he expects the people to do regularly as they do the five daily
prayers – this is the innovation in religion which Allaah does not allow… As for
adopting a wird or regularly reciting a dhikr that is not prescribed in sharee’ah,
this is one of the things that is not allowed. The du’aa’s and adhkaar prescribed
by sharee’ah are the best that anyone could ever hope to find, and no one
ignores them in favour of newly-invented, innovated adhkaar except one who is
ignorant, negligent or a wrongdoer.” (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 22/510-511).
33 - Weak and fabricated ahaadeeth narrated by the Sufis

Is this hadeeth which is mentioned by the Sufis saheeh – “My
heaven and my earth could not contain Me, but the heart of
My believing slave contains Me”?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah was asked about the words which were narrated
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “My heaven and
my earth could not contain Me, but the heart of My believing slave contains
Me”?
He replied:
What they mentioned is from the Israa’eeliyyaat [reports narrated from Jewish
sources], no isnaad is known for it from the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). What it means is that Allaah puts love and knowledge of
Himself in the heart of His slave.
The report, “The heart is the house of the Lord” is like the first report. The heart
is the home or seat of faith in Allaah and of knowledge and love of Him.
They reported the words, “I was an unknown treasure and I wanted to be
known, so I created mankind and taught them about Myself so that they would
know Me.” These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), and I know of no isnaad for this, either saheeh (sound) or
da’eef (weak).
They reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Allaah created reason, and said to it, ‘Come here,’ and it came. He said to
it, ‘Go there,’ and it went. He said, ‘By My Glory and Majesty, I have not
created anything more noble than you. I shall reward and punish because of
you.’” This hadeeth is baatil (false) and mawdoo’ (fabricated) according to the
consensus of hadeeth scholars.
They narrate the words, “Love of this world is the root of all evil.” This is
known from Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Bajali, but there is no known isnaad
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
They report the words, “This world is merely a step for the believing man.”
This is not known from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) or from the salaf of this ummah or its imams.
They report the words, “Whoever is blessed with a thing, let him stick with it”
and, “Whoever commits himself to something, let him stick with it.” The first
report was narrated from one of the salaf. The second report is baatil (false), for
whoever commits himself to something may have to stick to it or he may not,
according to what Allaah and His Messenger have commanded.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
“Do favours for the poor, for tomorrow they will have authority, and what
authority!” and, “Poverty is my pride and I boast of it.” Both of these are lies
and are not known in any way in the well known books of the Muslims.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“I am the city of knowledge and ‘Ali is its gate.” This hadeeth is da’eef (weak);
indeed it is mawdoo’ (fabricated) according to the scholars of hadeeth. It was
narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others, but it is a lie.
“The poor will sit down on the Day of Resurrection, and [Allaah] will say, ‘By
My Glory and Majesty, I did not deprive you of worldly things because you are
insignificant. Rather I wanted to raise your status on this Day. Go to the place
where the people are standing, and whoever gave you a piece of bread, or water
to drink, or clothes to wear, take him to Paradise.’” The shaykh said: this report
is a lie which was not narrated by any of the scholars of hadeeth. It is baatil
(false) and goes against the Qur’aan and Sunnah and scholarly consensus
(ijmaa’).
They report that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
came to Madeenah, the daughters of al-Najjaar came out with daffs (hand-
drums) and sang “Tala’a al-Badru ‘alayna min thaniyyat al-Widaa”, and the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to them,
“Shake your tambourines, may Allaah bless you.” The hadeeth about women
beating the daff on joyous occasions is saheeh, and this was done at the time of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but it is
not known that he said, “Shake your tambourines.”
“O Allaah, You have brought me out of the place which is most beloved to me,
so cause me to dwell in the place which is most beloved to You.” This hadeeth
is also baatil (false), although it was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others. Rather
he said to Makkah, “You are the most beloved part of Allaah’s land to me.” And
he said, “You are the most beloved land to Allaah.”
“Whoever visits me and my father Ibraaheem in one year will enter Paradise.”
This is a fabricated lie which was not narrated by any of the scholars of
hadeeth.
They report that a Bedouin prayed (quickly), pecking (like a bird) in his prayer.
‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “Do not peck in your prayer.” The
Bedouin said, “O ‘Ali, if your father had pecked in prayer he would not have
entered Hell.” This is a lie.
They report that ‘Umar killed his father. This is a lie, for his father died before
the mission of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) began.
“I was a Prophet when Adam was between the water and the clay. I was a
Prophet when Adam was neither water nor clay.” This wording is false.
They report the words, “The bed of a single man is fire. Poor is the man who
has no woman and the woman who has no man.” These are not the words of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
It was narrated that when Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) built the Ka’bah, he
prayed one thousand rak’ahs in each corner, then Allaah revealed to him, “O
Ibraaheem, this is not like feeding a hungry man or clothing a man who cannot
cover his ‘awrah.” This is obviously a lie, and it is not known in the books of
the Muslims.
They narrate the words, “Do not despise tribulation, for it will reap the
hypocrites.” These words are not known from the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him).
They narrate the words, “Whoever teaches his brother an aayah from the Book
of Allaah becomes his master.” This is a lie which is not known at all in the
books of the scholars.
They narrate that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
“I looked at the sins of my ummah and I did not find any greater sin than that of
one who learns an aayah then forgets it.” If this hadeeth is saheeh, what is
meant is forgetting in the sense of not reciting. The wording of the hadeeth is:
“Among the sins of my ummah is that of a man to whom Allaah gave an aayah
of the Qur’aan, but he neglected it until he forgot it.” This forgetting means
turning away from the Qur’aan and not believing in it or acting upon it. With
regard to neglecting to study it until one forgets it, this is a sin.
They report the words, “One aayah of the Qur’aan is better than Muhammad
and the family of Muhammad. The Qur’aan is the word of Allaah, revealed not
created, and there is nothing like it.” This wording was not reported from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
“Whoever learns something beneficial and conceals it from the Muslims, Allaah
will bridle him with reins of fire on the Day of Resurrection.” A similar
meaning is to be found in al-Sunan: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, “Whoever is asked about a matter of [Islamic] knowledge
which he knows but he conceals it, Allaah will bridle him with reins of fire on
the Day of Resurrection.”
“When you come to talk about disputes which took place among my
companions, be quiet. When you come to talk about the Divine will and decree
(al-qadaa’ wa’l-qadar), keep quiet.” This was reported with munqati’ (broken or
interrupted) isnaads.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said
to Salmaan al-Farsi when he was eating grapes, “Du, du,” meaning eat them
two by two. These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him); this is baatil (false).
“Whoever commits zina (fornication) with a woman and she gives birth to a
girl, the fornicator may marry his daughter who was born as a result of zina.”
This was said by those who were not among the companions of al-Shaafa’i.
Some of them attributed it to al-Shaafa’i, and some of the companions of al-
Shaafa’i denied that he said that. They said, he did not state that this is
permitted, but he did state that this is permissible in the case of radaa’ah
(breastfeeding), if he breastfed from the milk of a woman who got pregnant as a
result of zina. Most of the scholars, such as Ahmad, Abu Haneefah and others,
are agreed that this is haraam, and this is the stronger of the two opinions
narrated in the madhhab of Maalik.
They report the words, “the most deserving thing for which you take payment is
the Book of Allaah.” Yes, it is proven that [the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)] said, “The most deserving thing for which you take
payment is the Book of Allaah,” but that was in the hadeeth about ruqyah
(reciting Qur’aan and du’aa’s for the purpose of healing), and the reward was
for the recovery of that sick person, not for the recitation.
“Whoever mistreats a dhimmi (a Jew or Christian living under Islamic rule),
Allaah will be his opponent on the Day of Resurrection” or “I will be his
opponent on the Day of Resurrection.” This is da’eef (weak). What is known
from him is that he said: “Whoever kills a mu’aahid (member of a kaafir nation
which has a peace treaty with the Muslims) for no lawful reason will not smell
the fragrance of Paradise.”
“Whoever lights a lamp in the mosque, the angels and the bearers of the Throne
will not cease to pray for forgiveness for him so long as the light of that lamp is
shining in the mosque.” I know of no isnaad for this from the Prophet (peace
34- Who was al-Hallaaj?

Who was Mansoor Hallaj . What is his role in Islamic
History?
Al-Hallaaj was al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj, who was known as Abu
Mugheeth, or Abu ‘Abd-Allaah. He grew up in Waasit, or it was said in Tastar,
and he was connected with a group of Sufis including Sahl al-Tastari, al-
Junayd, Abu’l-Hasan al-Noori and others.
He traveled to many places, including Makkah and Khurasaan, and India where
he learned sihr (magic, witchcraft). He finally settled in Baghdaad, where he
was killed.
He learned magic in India, and he was a trickster and cheat. He deceived many
ignorant people thereby, and they were attracted by him, until they thought that
he was one of the greatest awliya’ (close friends or “saints”) of Allaah.
He is liked by most of the Orientalists, and they think that he was killed
wrongfully because, as we shall see below, his beliefs were close to Christian
beliefs and he preached a similar message.
He was executed in Baghdad in 309 AH, because it was proven by his own
confession and otherwise that he was a kaafir and a heretic.
The scholars of his time were agreed that he was to be executed because of the
words of kufr and heresy that were narrated from him.
The following are some of the things that he said:
1- He claimed to be a prophet, then he went further and said that he was
God. He used to say, “I am Allaah,” and he commanded his daughter-in-
law to prostrate to him. She said, “Should I prostrate to someone other
than Allaah?” He said, “There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.”
2- He believed in incarnation and union with the Divine, i.e., that Allaah
was incarnated in him, and that he and Allaah had become one and the
same – exalted be Allaah far above that.
This is what made him acceptable to the Christian Orientalists, because he
shared their belief in incarnation, for they believe that God was incarnated
in Jesus (‘Eesa, peace be upon him). Hence al-Hallaaj spoke of divine
nature and human nature as the Christians do.
Some of the lines of verse that he composed said:
“Glory be to the one Whose human form manifested the secret of His
divinity
Then He emerged among His creation in the form of one who eats and
drinks.”
When Ibn Haneef heard these lines, he said, “May the curse of Allaah be
upon the one who said this.” It was said to him, “This is the poetry of al-
Hallaaj.” He said, “If this is what he believes, then he is a kaafir.”
3- He heard someone reciting a verse from the Qur’aan, and he said, “I am
able to compose something like that.”
4- Another of his lines of poetry says:
“People formed different beliefs about God, and I believe in everything
that they believed.”
These words imply that he approved of and believed in all forms of kufr
that the misguided sects of humanity believe in, but it is a contradictory
notion that no sound mind can accept. How can anyone believe in
Tawheed and shirk at the same time?
5- He said things which denied the pillars and basic principles of Islam,
namely prayer, zakaah, fasting and Hajj.
6- He used to say that the souls of the Prophets had been reincarnated in
the bodies of his companions and students. So he would say to one of
them, “You are Nooh”; and to another, “You are Moosa”; and to another,
“You are Muhammad.”
7- When he was taken out to be executed, he said to his companions, “Do
not worry about this, for I will return to you after thirty days,” He was
executed and he never came back.
Because of these sayings and others, the scholars were agreed that he was a
kaafir and a heretic, and for this reason he was executed in Baghdad in 309 AH.
Similarly, most of the Sufis denounced him and denied that he was one of them.
Among those who denounced him was al-Junayd, and he was not mentioned by
Abu’l-Qaasim al-Qushayri in his book in which he mentioned many of the Sufi
shaykhs.
The one who strove to have him executed and who held a council in which he
ruled that he deserved to be executed was al-Qaadi Abu ‘Umar Muhammad ibn
Yoosuf al-Maaliki (may Allaah have mercy on him). Ibn Katheer praised him
for that and said, “One of his greatest and most correct judgements was his
ruling that al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj was to be executed.” (al-Bidaayah
wa’l-Nihaayah, 11/172)
“Whoever believes what al-Hallaaj believed in and agrees with the ideas for
which al-Hallaaj was executed, is a kaafir and an apostate, according to the
consensus of the Muslims. For the Muslims executed him because of his belief
in incarnation, union with the Divine and other heretical beliefs, such as his
saying, ‘I am Allaah,’ and, ‘There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.’
… Al-Hallaaj performed extraordinary feats and various kinds of magic, and
there are books of magic which are attributed to him. In conclusion, there is no
dispute among the ummah that whoever believes that Allaah can be incarnated
in a human being and be as one with him, or that a human being can be a god, is
a kaafir whose blood it is permissible to shed. On this basis al-Hallaaj was
executed.”
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 2/480)
He also said: “We do not know of anyone among the imams of the Muslims
who spoke well of al-Hallaaj, neither among the scholars nor among the
shaykhs. But some of the people did not comment on him because they did not
know about him.”
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 2/483)
For more information, see Taareekh Baghdaad by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi,
8/112-141; al-Muntazam by Ibn al-Jawzi, 13/201-206; Siyar A’laam al-Nubalaa’
by al-Shihaabi, 14/313-354; al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer,
11/132-144
And Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path.
31- What is the true meaning of shirk and what are its types?
I often read that “this action is major shirk” and “this is minor shirk”. Could
you explain to me the difference between the two?.
One of the most important obligations is to know the meaning of shirk, its
seriousness and its different types, so that our Tawheed (belief in the Oneness of
Allaah) and our Islam may be complete, and our faith may be sound. We say –
And Allaah is the Source of strength and true guidance comes from Him:
Know – may Allaah guide you – that the word shirk in Arabic means taking a
partner, i.e., regarding someone as the partner of another. It is said [in Arabic]:
ashraka baynahuma (he joined them together) when he regarded them as two of
equal status; or ashraka fi amrihi ghayrahu (he introduced another into his
affair) when he made two people involved in it.
In terms of sharee’ah or Islamic terminology, shirk means ascribing a partner or
rival to Allaah in Lordship (ruboobiyyah), worship or in His names and
attributes.
A rival is a peer or counterpart. Hence Allaah forbids setting up rivals with Him
and he condemns those who take them (rivals) as gods instead of or besides
Allaah in many verses of the Qur’aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Then do not set up rivals unto Allaah (in worship) while you know (that He
Alone has the right to be worshipped)”
[al-Baqarah 2:222]
“And they set up rivals to Allaah, to mislead (men) from His path! Say: ‘Enjoy
(your brief life)! But certainly, your destination is the (Hell) Fire!’”
[Ibraaheem 14:30]
In the hadeeth it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Whoever dies claiming that Allaah has a rival, will enter
Hell.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4497; Muslim, 92.
The types of shirk:
The texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah indicate that shirk and the ascribing of
rivals to Allaah sometimes puts a person beyond the pale of Islam and
sometimes does not. Hence the scholars divided shirk into two types which they
call shirk akbar (major shirk) and shirk asghar (minor shirk). There follows a
brief description of each type:
1 – Major shirk
This means ascribing to someone other than Allaah something that belongs only
to Allaah, such as Lordship (ruboobiyyah), divinity (uloohiyyah) and the divine
names and attributes (al-asma’ wa’l-sifaat).
This kind of shirk may sometimes be outward, such as the shirk of those who
worship idols and graves, or the dead or absent.
Or it may sometimes be hidden, such as those who put their trust in other gods
besides Allaah, or the shirk and kufr of the hypocrites. For even though their
(hypocrites’) shirk puts them beyond the pale of Islam and means that they will
abide forever in Hell, it is a hidden shirk, because they make an outward
display of Islam and conceal their kufr and shirk, so they are inwardly mushriks
but not outwardly.
Shirk may sometimes take the form of beliefs:
Such as the belief that there is someone else who creates, gives life and death,
reigns or controls the affairs of the universe along with Allaah.
Or the belief that there is someone else who must be obeyed absolutely besides
Allaah, so they follow him in regarding as permissible or forbidden whatever he
wants, even if that goes against the religion of the Messengers.
Or they may associate others with Allaah in love and veneration, by loving a
created being as they love Allaah. This is the kind of shirk that Allaah does not
forgive, and it is the shirk of which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allaah as
rivals (to Allaah). They love them as they love Allaah”
[al-Baqarah 2:165]
Or the belief that there are those who know the Unseen as well as Allaah. This
is very common among some of the deviant sects such as the Raafidis (Shi’ah),
extreme Sufis, and Baatinis (esoteric sects) in general. The Raafidis believe that
their imams have knowledge of the unseen, and the Baatinis and Sufis believe
similar things about their awliya’ (“saints”), and so on. It is also shirk to believe
that there is someone who bestows mercy in a manner that is befitting only for
Allaah, so he shows mercy as Allaah does and forgives sins and overlooks the
bad deeds of his worshippers.
Shirk may sometimes take the form of words:
Such as those who make du’aa’ or pray to someone other than Allaah, or seek
his help or seek refuge with him with regard to matters over which no one has
control except Allaah, whether the person called upon is a Prophet, a wali
(“saint”), an angel or a jinn, or some other created being. This is a kind of major
shirk which puts one beyond the pale of Islam.
Or such as those who make fun of religion or who liken Allaah to His creation,
or say that there is another creator, provider or controller besides Allaah. All of
these are major shirk and a grave sin that is not forgiven.
Shirk may sometimes take the form of actions:
Such as one who sacrifices, prays or prostrates to something other than Allaah,
or who promulgates laws to replace the rulings of Allaah and makes that the law
to which people are obliged to refer for judgement; or one who supports the
kaafirs and helps them against the believers, and other acts that go against the
basic meaning of faith and put the one who does them beyond the pale of Islam.
We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
2 – Minor shirk
This includes everything that may lead to major shirk, or which is described in
the texts as being shirk, but does not reach the extent of being major shirk.
This is usually of two types:
1 – Being emotionally attached to some means which have no basis and for
which Allaah has not given permission, such as hanging up “hands”, turquoise
beads etc on the grounds that they offer protection or that they ward off the evil
eye. But Allaah has not made them the means of such protection, either
according to sharee’ah or according to the laws of the universe.
[Translator’s note: the “hands” referred to are objects made of metal, pottery
etc, usually blue or turquoise in colour, that some people hang up to ward off
the evil eye, according to their mistaken belief]
2 – Venerating some people or things in a way that does not go so far as
ascribing lordship to them, such as swearing by something other than Allaah, or
saying, “Were it not for Allaah and So and so,” etc.
The scholars have stipulated guidelines to distinguish major shirk from minor
shirk when shirk is mentioned in the texts of sharee’ah. These guidelines
include the following:
(i) – When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) states
clearly that this action is minor shirk, such as in al-Musnad (27742) where it is
narrated that Mahmoud ibn Labeed said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The thing that I fear most for you is
minor shirk.” They said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what is minor shirk?” He
said: “Showing off, for Allaah will say on the Day when people are
recompensed for their actions: ‘Go to those for whom you were showing off
with your deeds in the world, and see what reward you find with them.’”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 951.
(ii) – When the word shirk is used in the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah in the
indefinite form [without the definite article al-]. This usually refers to minor
shirk, and there are many examples of this, such as when the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Incantations, amulets and love
spells are shirk.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3883; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, 331.
What is meant by shirk here is minor shirk, not major shirk.
Amulets are things that are hung on children such as turquoise beads and the
like, which they claim will protect them from the evil eye.
Love spells are something that they do, claiming that it will make a woman
beloved to her husband and a man beloved to his wife.
(iii) – If the Sahaabah understood from the texts of sharee’ah that what was
meant by shirk here was minor shirk, not major. Undoubtedly the understanding
of the Sahaabah carries weight, because they are the most knowledgeable of the
people concerning the religion of Allaah, and the most knowledgeable as to the
intent of the Lawgiver. For example, Abu Dawood (3910) narrated from Ibn
Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Tiyarah (superstitious belief in omens)
is shirk, tiyarah is shirk,” three times, and there is no one among us but (will
have some of that) but Allaah will rid him of it by means of tawakkul (putting
his trust in Allaah). The words “there is no one among us…” are the words of
Ibn Mas’ood, as was explained by the prominent scholars of hadeeth. This
indicates that Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) understood that
this was minor shirk, because he could not have said, “There is no one among
us…” referring to major shirk. Moreover, major shirk cannot be eliminated by
means of tawakkul, rather it is essential to repent therefrom.
(iv) – If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) interpreted the
words shirk or kufr in a manner which indicates that what is meant is a minor
form thereof and not the major form. For example al-Bukhaari (1038) and
Muslim (74) narrated from Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani that he said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led the
morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night.
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) finished, he
turned to face the people and said to them: “Do you know what your Lord has
said?” They said: “Allaah and his Messenger know best.” He said: “This
morning one of My slaves became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As
for him who said: ‘We have been given rain by the grace of Allaah and His
mercy,’ that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars; and as for him
who said: ‘We have been given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a
disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars.’”
The interpretation of the word kufr here is given in another report narrated from
Abu Hurayrah who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you not know what your Lord said? ‘I do not
send any blessing upon My slaves but a group among them become kaafirs
thereby because they refer to the stars and attribute things to the stars. This
explains that if a person attributes rainfall to the stars by believing that they
caused it to fall – when in fact Allaah has not made the stars a means of causing
rainfall – his kufr is a kind of ingratitude for the blessing of Allaah. It is well
known that ingratitude for the blessing of Allaah is minor kufr. But if a person
believes that the stars are controlling the universe and they are the ones that
cause the rain to fall, then this is major shirk.
Minor shirk may sometimes take the form of outward actions, such as wearing
talismans, strings, amulets and the like, and other words and deeds. And
sometimes it may be hidden, like a little bit of showing off.
It may also take the form of beliefs:
Such as the belief that something may be a cause of bringing benefit or warding
off harm, when Allaah has not made it so; or believing that there is barakah
(blessing) in a thing, when Allaah has not made it so.
It sometimes takes the form of words:
Such as when they said, “We have been given rain by such and such a star,”
without believing that that the stars could independently cause rain to fall; or
swearing by something other than Allaah, without believing in venerating the
thing sworn by or regarding it as equal with Allaah; or saying, “Whatever
Allaah wills and you will,” and so on.
It sometimes takes the form of actions:
Such as hanging up amulets or wearing a talisman or string to dispel or ward off
calamity, because everyone who attribute powers to a thing when Allaah has not
made it so either according to sharee’ah or according to the laws of the
universe, has associated something with Allaah. This also applies to one who
touches a thing seeking its barakah (blessing), when Allaah has not created any
barakah in it, such as kissing the doors of the mosques, touching their
thresholds, seeking healing from their dust, and other such actions.
This is a brief look at the division of shirk into major and minor. We cannot go
into great detail in this short answer.
Conclusion:
What the Muslim must do is to avoid shirk in both its minor and major forms.
The greatest sin is shirk and transgression against the unique rights of Allaah,
which are to be worshipped and obeyed alone, with no partner or associate.
Hence Allaah has decreed that the mushrikeen will abide forever in Hell and has
told us that He will not forgive them, and He has forbidden Paradise to them, as
He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, Allaah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in
worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills; and
whoever sets up partners with Allaah in worship, he has indeed invented a
tremendous sin”
[al-Nisa’ 4:48]
“Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allaah, then Allaah has
forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the
Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers”
[al-Maa'idah 5:72]
Every wise and religiously-committed person should fear shirk for himself and
should turn to his Lord, asking Him to help him avoid shirk, as al-Khaleel
[Ibraaheem – peace be upon him] said:
“and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols”
[Ibraaheem 14:35 – interpretation of the meaning]
One of the salaf said: “Who can claim to be safe from this after Ibraaheem?”
So the sincere believer’s fear of shirk should increase as should his desire for
his for his Lord to keep him away from it, and he should say the great du’aa’
which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to his
companions when he said to them: “Shirk among you will be more subtle than
the footsteps of an ant, but I will teach you something which, if you do it, both
minor and major shirk will be kept away from you. Say: Allaahumma inni
a’oodhu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a’lam wa astaghfiruka lima la a’lam (O
Allaah, I seek refuge with You from associating anything with You knowingly,
and I seek Your forgiveness for that of which I am unaware).”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3731
The above refers to the difference between major and minor shirk, defining
each and describing its types.
With regard to the difference between them as far as the ruling is concerned:
Major shirk puts a person beyond the pale of Islam, so the one who does that is
judged to be out of Islam and to have apostatized therefrom, so he is a kaafir
and an apostate.
Minor shirk does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam, rather it may be
done by a Muslim but he still remains in Islam; but the one who does that is in
great danger because minor shirk is a major sin. Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: “If I were to swear by Allaah falsely, that is better for
me than if I were to swear by something other than Him sincerely.” So he
regarded swearing by something other than Allaah (which is minor shirk) as
being worse than swearing by Allaah falsely, and it is well known that swearing
by Allaah falsely is a major sin.
We ask Allaah to make our hearts steadfast in adhering to His religion until we
meet Him, and we seek refuge in His Might – may He be glorified – from going
astray, for He is the Ever-Living Who never dies, but the jinn and mankind will
die. And Allaah knows best and is most wise, and to Him is the final return of
all.
35- The Rifaa’is who stab themselves with knives but are not
affected by it
What is your opinion of those who call themselves daraaweesh
(pl. of darweesh or “dervish”) and stab themselves with
knives, daggers, etc? Whilst they do that, before they say “Ya
Allaah (O Allaah)”, they say, “Ya Rifaa’i (O Rifaa’i).” What is
the shar’i view of this? Is there any evidence (daleel) for what
they do? May Allaah reward you with good.
They are liars and cheats. There is no basis for their actions. In fact they are
tricksters who use things to deceive the people so that the people will think that
they are stabbing themselves when that is not really the case. It is a trick
whereby they deceive the eye and bewitch people. This is like what Allaah said
about the sorcerers of Pharaoh, that they were trying to frighten the people and
that they bewitched their eyes. The point is that it is not permissible to believe
in this kind of people – evildoers and deceivers – who have no basis for what
they do. They are liars and tricksters who deceive people. When they call upon
al-Rifaa’i, or anybody else, this is shirk akbar (major shirk), as is the case of
one who says “O Rifaa’i” or “O Messenger of Allaah, grant us victory: or
“intercede for us” or “O ‘Ali” or “O Seedi” or “O Husayn” or “Ya Seedi al-
Badawi” and so on. All of that is shirk akbar and it is all worship of people or
things other than Allaah. All of that is like the actions of those who worship
graves, and those who worshipped al-Laat and al-‘Uzza and their ilk. It is shirk
akbar – we seek refuge in Allaah from that. When these people stab themselves
with daggers and knives, it is trickery and deception which has no basis; by
doing this they are liars and evildoers. The authorities – if there are Muslim
rulers in their countries – have to put a stop to this, and they must punish them
and discipline them until they repent from their evil actions.
Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh

al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have
mercy on him), vol. 9, p. 285
33- Eating food that is distributed on the Prophet’s Birthday (Mawlid)

Is it permissible to eat food that is distributed on the birthday of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? Some people quote
as evidence the idea that because Abu Lahb set free a slave woman on the
birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Allaah
reduced the torment for him on that day.
Firstly:
There is no festival in Islamic sharee’ah that is called “The Prophet’s Birthday”.
Neither the Sahaabah nor the Taabi’een nor the four imams nor anyone else
recognized such a day as part of their religion. Rather this festival was
introduced by some ignorant Baatini innovators, then the people began to
follow this innovation but the imams have denounced it in every time and place.
We have discussed the objections to this innovation in detail on our site, in the
answers to questions no. 10070, 13810 and 70317.
Secondly:
Based on this, everything that the people do specially for this day is regarded as
haraam, innovated actions, because they intend thereby to keep alive a festival
that has been introduced into our religion, such as holding parties, offering food
and so on.
Shaykh al-Fawzaan said in al-Bayaan li Akhta’ ba’d al-Kuttaab (268-270):
The commands in the Qur'aan and Sunnah to follow that which has been
prescribed by Allaah and His Messenger and the prohibition against introducing
innovations into the religion are well known. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad ‫ صلى ال عليه وسلم‬to mankind): “If you (really) love
Allaah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’aan
and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:31]
“[Say (O Muhammad ‫ )صلى ال عليه وسلم‬to these idolaters (pagan Arabs) of
your folk:] Follow what has been sent down unto you from your Lord (the
Qur’aan and Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah), and follow not any Awliyaa’
(protectors and helpers who order you to associate partners in worship with
Allaah), besides Him (Allaah). Little do you remember!”
[al-A’raaf 7:3]
“And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths,
for they will separate you away from His path”
[al-An’aam 6:153]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it
rejected.” According to a version narrated by Muslim: “Whoever does any deed
that is not part of this matter of ours will have it rejected.”
Among the innovations that people have introduced is celebration of the
Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid) in the month of Rabee’ al-Awwal. There are
various ways in which they celebrate this occasion:
Some of them simply gather to read the story of his birth, or they listen to
speeches and qaseedahs (odes) on this occasion.
Some of them make food and sweets etc, and offer them to the people who
attend.
Some of them hold these celebrations in the mosques and some hold them in
their houses.
Some of them do not limit themselves to what we have mentioned, rather their
gatherings include haraam and evil things such as men mixing freely with
women, dancing and music, or acts of shirk such as seeking the help of the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and calling upon him
or seeking his support against their enemies, and so on.
Whatever kinds of celebrations they are and whatever form they take, they are
undoubtedly bid’ah and haraam innovations that were introduced long after the
time of the best generations.
The first one who introduced this innovation was Abu Sa’eed Kawkaboori, the
king of Irbil, at the end of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century AH, as
was mentioned by the historians such as Ibn Katheer, Ibn Khalqaan and others.
Abu Shaamah said: The first one who did that in Mosul was Shaykh ‘Umar ibn
Muhammad al-Mulla, one of the well known righteous men, and the ruler of
Irbil and others followed his example.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer said in al-Bidaayah (13-137), in his biography of Abu
Sa’eed al-Kawkaboori:
He did the Mawlid in Rabee’ al-Awwal and celebrated it with a great
celebration. … Then he said:
Al-Sabt said: Some of those who attended the feast given by the king on some
of the Mawlids said that this feast included five thousand roasted heads, ten
thousand chickens, one hundred thousand bowls and thirty thousand plates of
sweets. And the Sufis sang from Zuhr until Fajr, and he himself danced with
them. End quote.
Ibn Khalqaan said in Wafiyaat al-A’yaan (3-274):
When the first of Safar came, they would adorn those domes with all kinds of
fine adornments, and in every dome there was a group of singers and a group of
puppeteers and musical players, and they did not leave any dome but they
installed a group there. End quote.
But most of what these innovators do on this day is making food of various
kinds and distributing it and inviting people to eat. If a Muslim joins in this
action, eats their food and sits in their gatherings, then undoubtedly he is taking
part in keeping the innovation alive, and is cooperating in it, and Allaah says
“Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and
piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allaah”
[al-Maa’idah 5:2]
Hence the fatwas of the scholars state that it is haraam to eat food that is
distributed on this day and on other innovated festivals.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked the following
question in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (9/74):
What is the ruling on meat that is slaughtered for the Mawlid?
He (may Allaah have mercy on him) replied:
If it is slaughtered (as a sacrifice) to the one whose birthday is being celebrated,
then it is major shirk, but it is slaughtered just to be eaten, there is nothing
wrong with that. But it should not be eaten, and the Muslim should not attend
(the feast), so as to denounce them in word and in deed, unless he attends in
order to denounce them without joining them in eating or anything else. End
quote.
We have also quoted some fatwas concerning this previously. Please see the
answers to questions no. 7051 and 9485.
36 - Ruling on reading Qur’aan over graves, and saying

du’aa’ for oneself at the graveside
What is the ruling on reading Qur’aan over graves?
Saying du’aa’ for the deceased at the graveside? Saying
du’aa’ for oneself at the graveside?
Reading the Holy Qur’aan at the graveside is bid’ah. It was not narrated from
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from his
companions. As it is not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) or from his companions, then we should not introduce it
by ourselves, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said, according to a saheeh report: “Every introduced matter is an innovation,
and every innovation is a going astray, and every going astray will be in the
Fire.” What the Muslims must do is to follow the example of the earlier
generations, the Sahaabah and those who followed them in truth, so that they
will be following goodness and true guidance, because it is proven that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of speech
is the Book of Allaah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).”
As for saying du’aa’ for the deceased at the graveside, there is nothing wrong
with that. A person may stand at the graveside and say whatever du’aa’s he can,
such as saying, “O Allaah, forgive him; O Allaah, have mercy on him; O
Allaah, admit him to Paradise; O Allaah, make his grave spacious” and so on.
With regard to a person saying du’aa’ for himself at the graveside, if he does it
deliberately then it is also an innovation (bid’ah), because no place is specified
as a place for du’aa’ unless there is a text concerning it. If there is no text
concerning it and no Sunnah has been narrated concerning it, then that – i.e.,
singling out a place for du’aa’, no matter what the place is – is a bid’ah. End
quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (17/228)
For more information please see the answer to question no. 36513.
37 - Misinterpretation of the word of Tawheed, and a false claim that it

renders a person free from any need for food
laailaaha illalaah.my sheikh once said that the meaning of the kalima is, laa
meaning, (non is capable of)ilaaha meaning,(fulfilling the needs)illalaah
meaning,(except allah) but many others say that non worthy of worship
except allah is the actual meaning. i've got great belief in the teaching of
my sheikh.he explains,firstly we have the need to alive. if it's not for
allah,whoelse could fulfillthat need.he also said if a person could live in
laailaahailallaah that person is a sufi.today many people are against
sufism.what is your opinion?

“O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allaah. But Allaah is Rich (Free of
all needs), Worthy of all praise” [Faatir 35:15]
This aayah indicates that people are in need of their Lord in all their affairs,
and for their very existence and survival, to benefit them and keep them safe
from all evils. Allaah is the One Who bestows all that. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning),
“Allaah is He Who created you, then provided food for you, then will cause you
to die, then (again) He will give you life (on the Day of Resurrection)” [al-
Room 30:40]
“And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allaah” [al-
Nahl 16:53]
Allaah is free from any need of His slaves and to Him belongs all dominion and
praise. His slave cannot benefit Him or harm Him. If all of them were to
believe, that would not increase His dominion at all, and if they were all to
disbelieve, that would not reduce His dominion at all. He is the Lord of the
Worlds, the Lord of the first and the last. He is the True God, besides Whom no
other is deserving of worship. Everything else that is worshipped apart from
Him is false. The meaning of Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah is, there is none who is
rightfully worshipped apart from Allaah. This is the correct meaning. It does not
mean that there is no creator apart from Allaah, or there is none who is able to
meet all needs apart from Allaah. These are also implied in its meaning, for the
True God is the Creator of all things, the One Who is Able to do all things.
What this shaykh said, that the meaning of Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah is “none is
capable of fulfilling needs except Allaah” – if he meant that this is part of the
meaning, then this is correct; but if he said that this is what is meant by it, then
this is false. If what is meant by this phrase is what the shaykh said, then why
did the early mushrikeen refuse to say it when the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to them, “Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah and
you will prosper”? Because they affirmed that there was no creator besides
Allaah, and they understood what was meant by this phrase, which is that there
is none who is rightfully worshipped except Allaah. Allaah is the One Who is
rightfully worshipped, and anything else that is worshipped apart from Him is
false. This implies that the gods of the mushrikeen which they worship are
false. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“That is because Allaah, He is the Truth, and that which they invoke besides
Him is Al Baatil (falsehood, Satan and all other false deities); and that Allaah,
He is the Most High, the Most Great” [Luqmaan 31:30]
Because the mushrikeen knew what it meant, and that it implied that their gods
were false, they refused to say it, and they recommended one another to remain
constant to their gods, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And the disbelievers say: ‘This (Prophet Muhammad) is a sorcerer, a liar.
Has he made the aalihah (gods) (all) into One Ilaah (God — Allaah). Verily, this
is a curious thing!’
And the leaders among them went about (saying): ‘Go on, and remain constant
to your aalihah (gods)! Verily, this is a thing designed (against you)!’” [Saad
38:4]
Hence you may know that what many say, which goes against what your
shaykh said concerning the meaning of Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, is what is correct.
What your shaykh said, ‘That we are in need of Allaah… ’ means that Allaah
Alone is the One Who gives us life, and that is correct. But that is not the
meaning of Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah. Rather what it means is that there is none who
is rightfully worshipped except Allaah, as stated above. The True God is the
One who deserves to be worshipped, and He is the One Who gives life and
gives death, and He is Allaah, may He be exalted.
What your shaykh said, that ‘if a person could live … many people are against
sufism’, if he meant that a person could do without food and drink constantly,
this is a false notion, because there is no person who can do without food and
drink constantly, not even the Prophets, let alone anyone else. His claim that a
Sufi can live without food and drink, and that making dhikr enables him to do
without that constantly, is false. If anyone among them makes such a claim, he
is a liar. So do not be deceived by this shaykh, for he is either ignorant and
misguided, or he is a liar and an imposter. Beware of him and his ilk. We ask
Allaah to guide you and help you.
38 - Where is al-Husayn buried, and how important is it

to know where the graves of the Sahaabah are?
A questioner says that people talk a great deal and have
different opinions about where the grave of al-Husayn is
located. Can the Muslims benefit from knowing exactly
where it is?.
In fact people differed concerning that. It was said that he is buried in Syria, or
in Iraq, and Allaah knows best what is true. With regard to his head, they also
differed concerning that; it was said that it is buried in Syria, or in Iraq, or in
Egypt. The correct view is that the site in Egypt is not his grave, rather that is a
mistake and the head of al-Husayn is not there. A number of scholars have
written essays on that and explained that there is no evidence for the head of al-
Husayn being in Egypt. The most likely to be correct is the view that it is in
Syria, because it was taken to Yazeed ibn Mu’aawiyah who was in Syria. There
is no basis for the view that it was taken to Egypt. Either it was kept in Syria or
it was returned to his body in Iraq.
Whatever the case, the people do not need to know where it is buried or where
it is. Rather what is prescribed is to pray for forgiveness and mercy for him,
may Allaah forgive him and be pleased with him, for he was killed unlawfully.
So we should pray for forgiveness and mercy for him, and hope for much good
for him. He and his brother al-Hasan will be the leaders of the youth of
Paradise, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said. May
Allaah be pleased with them.
If a person’s grave is known, there is nothing wrong with saying salaams to him
and making du’aa’ for him, as other graves may be visited, without going to
extremes in that or worshipping them. It is not permissible to ask the dead to
intercede, because nothing can be asked of the dead; rather we should make
du’aa’ for them and pray for mercy for them if they were Muslims, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Visit the graves, for
they will remind you of the Hereafter.”
If a person visits the graves of al-Husayn or al-Hasan or any other Muslim to
make du’aa’ for them and pray for mercy and forgiveness for them, as he would
do at the grave of any other Muslim, this is Sunnah. But visiting graves to pray
to their occupants or seek their help or ask them to intercede – this is a
reprehensible action, and indeed it is major shirk. It is not permissible to build
mosques or domes etc over graves, because the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allaah curse the Jews and Christians, for
they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” (Saheeh – agreed
upon). And because it was narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with
him) in al-Saheeh that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbade plastering over graves, sitting on them and erecting structures over
them.” So t is not permissible to plaster over graves, perfume them, place
screens around them or erect structures over them; all of that is forbidden and
these are means that lead to shirk. And we should not pray at graves because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those who came
before you used to take the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as
places of worship; do not take graves as places of worship, for I forbid you to
do that.” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh from Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-
Bajali (may Allaah be pleased with him).
This hadeeth indicates that it is not permissible to pray at graves or to take them
as mosques; and because that is a means that leads to shirk and worshipping
someone other than Allaah by calling upon them (the occupants of the graves),
seeking their help, making vows to them, and touching the graves to seek their
blessings. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
warned against that. Rather graves should be visited in the manner prescribed in
sharee’ah only, to give salaams to them and make du’aa’ for them and pray for
mercy for them, but without travelling specifically for that purpose.
And Allaah is the Source of strength and the Guide to the straight path.
Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li’l-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 6/366
end fatawa www.islamqa.com
start fatawa www.islamweb.net.com
39- What is "Sufism" (with details)?

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be
upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Initially, the surname "Sufiyah" was given to the people who engaged
themselves in worshipping Allah and preferred to live an ascetic life. There
is no harm in this act except calling it by this name, which was innovated in
Islam. Later on "Sufism" became a mixture of various innovations, and
exaggerations. Many forbidden ideologies of philosophers took their ways
into it, such as pantheism, immanentism and atheism, which believe that
one becomes free from following Islam after reaching a prescribed stage.
No doubt, the contemporary Sufism contains all kinds of deviations such as
exaggerating the status of Sheiks and good people, worshipping tombs and
graves by making sacrifices, Du'a and circumambulation around them.
They worship them asking their help and support. This is a major "Shirk"
(making partners with Allah), Allah never forgives this kind of Shirk.
Moreover, they adhere to many invented supplications and celebrate the
birthday of the prophet and others. Pantheism and immanentism still exist
in many groups of Sufis. Allah Knows best.
40 - Sufi groups and the hierarchy
I have questions about the Sufis, their groups and the hierarchy within
their groups.
1) Are these Sufi groups included in Islam - Dessoekya, Badawya,
Rifaya, and Shadhelya?
2) Is Sheikh Abdul Qadr the supreme authority (Qutub)?
3) How many Sufis have this high rank - one or up to four?
4) If there are four, who is the leader?
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and blessings and peace be upon
our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
As a rule, the standard criterion by which we can recognize authenticity of

someone's behaviour or some sect or group is only the Prophetic guidance.
Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {…And verily, you (O Muhammad
SAW) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path
(i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism).}[42:52].
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) left to all Muslims the straight
path (the Sharia as explained in the Qur'an and the Sunnah) without which
everybody will face his/her destruction.
Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {…And whatsoever the Messenger
(Muhammad SAW) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you,
abstain (from it) … }[59:7].
So, all forms of worship are Tawqifiyah (i.e. no one can add or omit any
practice or rite since they are clearly and definitely stated in the Qur'an
and the Sunnah). But, Sufis concentrate mainly in this field and introduce
numerous deeds that contradict the Prophetic guidance. This leads us to
say that there are no approved Sufi groups, and following the Prophetic
guidance is the only authorized approach.
As for the so-called Qutub (supreme authority), there is no any evidence in
Sharia concerning this point.
In addition, recent Sufi groups follow so many deviations such as: over-
honoring Sheikhs and righteous persons, worshipping those in graves via
supplication and calling them for help, making sacrifice and vows as well
as making Tawaf around those graves. This practice, in fact, constitutes
unpardonable polytheism (major Shirk).
Sufis also say while chanting: 'O! Allah's Messenger! Help us, we depend
on you to relieve our sorrows, which vanish at your presence'.
All such prayers and similar supplications are to be addressed only to
Allah, the Great and Almighty. He Says: "Is not He (better than your gods)
Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls Him, and Who removes
the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after
generations. Is there any ilâh (god) with Allah? Little is that you
remember!"[27:62] And He also Says: {"And invoke not besides Allah, any
that will neither profit you, nor hurt you, but if (in case) you did so, you
shall certainly be one of the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers)."}
[10:106].
This clarifies that although Muhammad is the best among creatures and
their leader, he (or any human being on earth) can not harm or do good to
others. Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {Say: "It is not in my power
to cause you harm, or to bring you to the Right Path."}[72:21].
The Prophet also said: "O 'Abbas! You are my uncle, but I can not prevent
harm or do good on your behalf if Allah has decreed any. So, seek
forgiveness and safety from your Lord for the present life and for the
other". [Imam Ahmad]
No doubt that seeking help from any creature to relieve sorrows, to conceal
defects or to restore to health is a major polytheism, incompatible with
Tawheed (belief in the Oneness of Allah) and sound human nature, as well
as a channel to paganism.
Sufis also believe in pantheism. They claim that they are the followers of
Truth and Inner secrets of Sharia while others follow the exterior aspects
of Islam. Sufis follow innovations that contradict the Prophetic guidance
and depend on fabricated Hadith and dreams.
In general, a Muslim should not follow any Sufi group.
For more details on this subject you may read the following books which
are in Arabic:
1- Talbees Iblees written by Imam Ibn al-Jawzi.
2- Hazihi Hiya al-Sufiyah written by Abdur Rahmn al-Wakeel.
3- al- Sufiyah fi al- Kitab wa al-Sunnah written by Abdur Rahaman Abdul
Khaliq.
Allah knows best.

41- Advice against Sufi groups
My country, Algeria, and surrounding countries had
undergone severe calamities and disasters in true
Islamic Aqeedah (creed) by deviated innovating Sufi
factions such as Teejaniya, Rah'maniya, Eesawiya, El
Habria, Asshaad Hiliya, etc... Their so called Sheiks
used to collaborate with the French colonialist
administration to distort true Islam which they use for
their own personal gains: controlling and threatening
people, taking their money forcefully. May Allah treat
them as they deserve. They fought with all their forces
the Salafi movement lead by al Allaama, Sheikh, al
Imam, al Mujahid, Abdul Hameed Ibn Baadis, may
Allah be pleased with him and be merciful on him.
These Sufis tried even to assassinate him but Allah has
protected him. His movement was as same as the
movement of Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab in Arabian
Peninsula.
I love these two movements and very proud of them!
They did a lot to "rescue" The true Islamic Aqeedah
from innovators!
Today, how would you advise us to help correct the
Aqeedah of older ignorant people who still believe
associating the so-called "walis" as intermediary with
Allah. They believe that this practice is right.
I tried very, very, very hard within my own family, to
convince them to give up these wrong beliefs, but I could
not so far! They still hold these beliefs. What should I
do? I am really worried about them if they die in this
disastrous state! Please, help urgently!
We ask Allah to help you in this great mission of the prophets to make clear
to people the true religion calling them to it and warning them against
polytheism by informing them of its bad consequences.
We advise you to be kind and polite when calling your family members to
true Islam. While calling them, offer them gifts and be good to them as this
might make your speech acceptable and might have a good impact on
them. The D'aiya (the one who calls people to Islam) should be a good
opportunist and whenever people are afflicted by accidents, crisis and
illnesses, he should remind them that it is only Allah who removes their
worries and answers their Du'a (supplications). It is He Who cures the sick
and satisfies the needs. Only Allah can provide these benefits.
Emphasise the weakness of the creatures, their dire need to Allah no matter
their strength, health, wealth or piety. If, for instance this Wali (pious
person) were able to help himself, he would have raised himself from the
grave and cleaned his body from the dust.
Every Muslim knows that the most outstanding of the pious people are the
companions of the Prophet like Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali . If
taking intermediaries were from the religion, then these four Caliphs
would have been the most deserving to be put in this position and not these
later people who cannot be compared to these righteous companions of the
Prophet.
It is not proved that anybody during the time of the companions or their
followers came to the graves of Umar or Abu Bakr seeking help or gave
them vows. Ask help from Allah and seek refuge with Him. Indeed the keys
of the hearts are with Him. Do not become pessimistic. Repeat your advice
many, many times and we hope Allah will guide them to the right path
through your efforts.
Allah knows best.
41 - Sufi terminologies
In Tasawuf teaching there was a term that called
Shariah, Tareeqa', Hakeekah and Maarifa'. Is this term
really have been teaching by the Prophet Muhammad
(S.A.W.) to his companion (R.A.).
The expressions you mentioned in your question such as al-Tareeqah, al-
Haqeeqah etc., were not know in the era of Prophet Muhammad (Peace
and blessing be upon him). Neither these words nor their traditional
meanings are found in the Qur'an or Sunnah. In addition,
the companions of the Prophet, their followers and the pious predecessors
did not use these terminologies since they adhered to the Sunnah only.
We are proud of those pious predecessors, who were in the good centuries
as the Prophet informed and we derive much benefit from their knowledge.
These good predecessors did not use to introduce new terminology in
Shariah and undoubtedly were not innovators.
Allah knows best.
42- What is the difference between Sufiyah and Salafiyah?

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet
Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Salafia is a affiliation to the good predecessors who were the companions of the prophet and
the righteous people who followed them. So anyone (person or group) who follows the Qur'an
and the Sunnah as understood by these good predecessors is a Salafi. This is indeed the true
Salafia because the Prophet described his generation and the two generations that followed it
as the best generations. He said: "The best people are those living in my generation, then
those coming after them, and then those coming after them."(Bukhari & Muslim). Allah says:
{"You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad and
his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] Are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin
Al-Ma'rûf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar
(polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden), and you believe in Allâh"}[3: 110]. Al
Dahak says: "they are the companions of the prophet and the callers to Islam whom Allah has
asked us to follow". So the Salafi is any person who follows the companions of the prophet in
their understanding of the Qur'an and the Sunnah seeking safety for himself and for his
religion. But whoever claims to be Salafi and yet does not follow the creed of the good
predecessor's is not a salafi and shall not be called by this name. As mentioned earlier the
Salafi are known for their good righteous creed and their fair path unlike the innovators such
as Khawarij, Muatazilah and the extremist Sufis who are known for their false and
misleading opinions. The innovators have undoubtedly deviated from the right path. As for
"Sufiyah" we have already answered about it .Please refer to Fatwa no. 82017. Allah Knows
best.
you Sufi
Ask any questions on this site
www.islamqa.com

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2 - .Salam, can you explan surah 4 verse 69...some

3 - Can you please reply in detail the hadith

4 - He is asking about Sufism ?

5 - Ruling on building mosques over graves

6 - It is haraam to build anything over graves

7 - Visiting graves and attending occasions on

(i) visits which are prescribed in Islam and are

(ii) the second type is bid'ah (innovation),

2. With regard to praying (performing salaah)

The evidence for the permissibility of praying

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that a

The evidence that it is not permissible to offer

(a) 'Aa'ishah and 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Abbaas

3. With regard to the 'Urs which is held every

4. With regard to asking a righteous person to

5. If a wali or Prophet dies, it is not correct,

And he [Ibn Taymiyah] said:

Whoever comes to the grave of a Prophet or a

(i) he is asking him for something that he

The difference between Him and His creation

In al-Saheeh it was reported that when they

Allaah has commanded all people to pray to

And He has told us that the Mushrikeen say:

Moreover, it may be said to this mushrik: if

Even if you know that this person is closer to

(Majmoo' al-Fataawaa, 27/72-75

We advise our brother to learn more about this

And Allaah knows best.

8- Why is the Prophet’s grave in his mosque even

9 - Following the funeral processions of those who

10 - Islamic Guidelines for Visitors to the

11 - Ruling on praying in a mosque in which

12 - There is no secret knowledge in Islam that is only

13 - The aqtaab and abdaal in Sufi thought

14 - Asking Allaah by the virtue of So and so

15- Are kashf and ilham true in the light of islam?

16 - The one who offers sacrifices to the jinn is not

18 - Ruling on asking of Allaah by virtue of the status

20 - Saying “Yaa Rasool Allaah”

21 - Falseness of the hadeeth about Adam praying by virtue of

22- The green dome in Madeenah: its history and the

23 - Was the Prophet created from light?

24 - Who was Ibn ‘Arabi?

25 - The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be

26 - Sufi tareeqahs and the ruling on joining them

27 - Ruling on marrying a sufi woman

28 - Defining a set number of times to send blessings on

29 - Repeating the name of Allaah on its own, or the pronoun “Huwa”

30 - Question about a strange Sufi way of worship

31 - Ruling on praying in Sufi mosques

32 - Sufi formulas and bid’ah

33 - Weak and fabricated ahaadeeth narrated by the Sufis

34- Who was al-Hallaaj?

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh

33- Eating food that is distributed on the Prophet’s Birthday (Mawlid)

36 - Ruling on reading Qur’aan over graves, and saying

37 - Misinterpretation of the word of Tawheed, and a false claim that it