๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR
The very basis and foundation of Islam is the belief in Almighty Allah, and that He is the Only Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and that all other things and beings โ including Prophets, angels or the so-called โsaintsโ โ are His creations who derive whatever power they have from Him, and Him alone. So, no one has any ability, any power, except Allah.
Islam teaches clearly and categorically that we humans must never lose sight of the fact that we are fully dependent on Allah for every moment of our life, for every blessing we enjoy.
So, we have no right to worship anyone other than Allah. Any act that has a semblance or similarity to a form of worship, that is done in honor of any being other than Allah is called shirk=polytheism=associating partners or equals with Allah exalted heโ (associating other beings/gods with Allah) which is the only sin Allah Almighty will not forgive as mentioned in the Quran.
๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐:
{Verily, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin unto whomever He wills: for he who ascribes divinity to aught beside God has indeed contrived an awesome sin.} (An-Nisaโ 4:48)
{Lo! Allah pardons not that partners should be ascribed unto him. He pardons all save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribes partners unto Allah has wandered far astray.} (An-Nisaโ 4:116)
{Behold, Luqman said to his son by way of instruction: โO my son! join not in worship (others) with Allah. for false worship is indeed the highest wrong-doing.โ} (Luqman 31:13)
When it is so clearly stated that Allah will forgive all sins except associating partners to Him, we Muslims must take all the necessary precautions to avoid this sin.
So, we need to be clear about what shirk is.
๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ:
- When we pray, we should be careful to pray to Allah alone. We have a number of supplications that Allah Almighty Himself teaches us in the Quran. Do you see any of them directed to anyone other than Allah?
- Similarly, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has taught us a number of supplications: Is there anyone among them directed to anyone other than Allah?
- The revealed word of Allah in the Quran, and the glorious example and words of the Prophet Muhammad clearly teach us how to attain the felicity of Paradise:
We are taught six pillars of belief, and five pillars of Islam. And we are commanded to keep away from the sins and deviations to which Satan the accursed may lead us.
๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก, ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฒ:
The way is clear. Is there any place in the whole corpus of Islam, where it is said that for our attainment of Paradise, we should pray to any saint buried in a โdargahโ (shrine of the dead) conveniently near our place, or seek the mediation of any โKhwajaโ or โWaliโ?
- Often people who materially profit from the deviant practices prevalent in the shrines of some of these saints may mislead people by saying that those who do not visit these โdargahsโ disrespect the holy men buried there. This is utter nonsense.
The persons who are venerated in these places were mostly good and sincere Muslims who earned the respect and love of the people, and on that score, they should be honored and respected. No one contests this.
The point is the manner of showing this respect. Is there any justification for building mausoleums on their graves? Is there any command or at least permission for the kind of undesirable activities conducted in these dargahs?
Indeed, the answer to all the foregoing questions is a resounding โnoโ.
๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ค๐ก ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ช๐ซ, ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฅ-๐๐ณ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ง:
1. Going round the grave is blameworthy because it is an imitation of circumambulating the Kaaba in Makkah=Mecca.
2. Seeking blessings by touching or kissing the grave and the like.
3. When one performs duaa (supplications) at graves, one must direct such supplication to Allah alone for He alone is capable of granting help and warding off harm.
It is forbidden to direct the supplication to or seek the help of the one in the grave however venerated he may be.
So, in Islam, we have no need to pray, or supplicate to anyone other than Allah. Remember what we repeat several times in our daily prayer:
{You alone do we worship, and from You alone we seek assistance.} (Al-Fatihah 1:5).
And Allah Almighty Himself has affirmed to us that He is {closer to us than our own jugular vein} (Qaf 50:16), and so only He can know our needs and answer our prayers.
Some people are deluded into believing that certain saints โ even while dead and buried โ have superhuman qualities; say qualities only Allah has got, like hearing the prayer of any one from any place.
Those who believe in such โmiraclesโ of โsaintsโ imagine that these saints can answer the prayers of any one from any part of the world.
This is clear โshirk=polytheism=associating partners or equals with Allah exalted heโโ. Because knowing of anything beyond the limits of ordinary human capacity is knowing โghaybโ (a word usually translated as โunseen worldโ).
Only Allah knows the Unseen as He Himself in the Quran says what means:
{Say: None in the heavens or on earth, except Allah, knows the Unseenโฆ} (An-Naml 27:65)
Again, Allah says:
{He is the Living, there is no god but He. So, pray to Him, making religion pure for Him only. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.} (Ghafir 40: 65).
In the oft-recited verse known as Ayat Al-Kursi, we find this strongly worded verse:
{Who is there that can intercede in His presence except by His permission?} (Al-Baqarah 2:255)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to his cousin Ibn Abbas:
โIf you ask, ask of Allah. And, if you seek assistance, seek assistance from Allah.โ (At-Tirmidhi)
Despite all this, many Muslims especially in the Indian Subcontinent seem to think that it is a worthwhile practice to call upon holy persons who are long since dead, to intercede with Allah on their behalf.
It is assumed on worldly analogy, that a person closer to Allah may be able โto influenceโ Him, and the dead saints are venerated for this purpose.
This indeed is considering anyone other than Allah as worthy of being prayed to, which obviously is โshirk=polytheism=associating partners or equals with Allah exalted heโ.
The foregoing means that it is the duty of all Muslims to avoid all acts that have any taint of shirk, so that our worship of Allah is completely unblemished and pure.
There is no denying that there were pious and holy ancestors who had been a model to their contemporaries and as such earned a reputation of being of a higher rank than other Muslims in the sight of Allah. While respecting these holy persons, we need to understand that their sincerity, piety, and status are known only to Allah.
So, although we should respect the holy persons of the past, we should never fall into the practice of seeking the help of those whom Allah created and who will stand before Him to be judged.
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
โIn the early days of Islam, Muslims were told not to visit graves, because of the fear of shirk, as the Arabs had been closer to their pagan ways, for they had been in the habit of worshiping idols, statues, and graves, etc.
But after Islamic creed of tawheed (the Oneness of Allah) had become rooted and people had imbibed the true lessons of Islam, there was no fear of Muslims reverting to the practice of worshiping graves; hence the above prohibition was lifted, and the Muslims were allowed to visit graves.โ
And while visiting graves we have been taught to say: โGreetings of peace to you, the faithful residing in these dwellings. Surely, we will be joining you soon. May Allah forgive us and you and all the Muslims.โ
The foregoing applies to visiting any graves, Nothing more than that is permitted.
Allah knows Best.
Almighty Allah is the highest and most knowledgeable, and the attribution of knowledge to him is the safest.
Right from Almighty Allah and wrong from me and Satan
Prepared by Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
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Arrogance is not only a sign of insecurity, but also a sign of immaturity. Mature and fully realised persons can get their points across, even emphatically without demeaning or intimidating others.