81- Ruling on Visiting the Graves of Righteous People Seeking Benefit and Removing Harm
Q: There are some graves in our country which are believed to contain the bodies of some righteous persons. Some people visit these graves, claiming that those righteous people can remove evil, bring about good and restore the sick to health. They convincingly say that such righteous people have power to accomplish these matters. At the end of their visit, they leave some donations in charity boxes that are located beside the graves. What is the ruling on such practices?
A: All praise be to Allah. To proceed; Allah (Exalted be He) has made it permissible for Muslims to visit the graves by way of remembering the Afterlife, invoking Allah's Forgiveness for the dead and supplicating Allah (Exalted be He) for them. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: Visit the graves, as they remind you of the Hereafter. He (ﷺ) taught his Companions that whenever they visited the graves, they would say: Peace be with you, O Muslims and believers buried in the graves. We will, Insha` Allah (if Allah wills), follow you. We ask Allah's safety for you and for us. May Allah have mercy upon those who came before us and those who follow. Whenever he (ﷺ) visited Al-Baqi he would say: O Allah! Pardon the people of Baqi " Al-Gharqad. Also, he (ﷺ) would also say: Peace be with you, O believers who are buried in the graves. We will, In sha'a-Allah (if Allah wills), follow you. He (ﷺ) would then say: O Allah! Pardon the people of Baqi " Al-Gharqad. The Prophetic Sunnah prescribed that on visiting the graves a Muslim can supplicate Allah (Exalted be He) for the dead and invoke His Mercy upon them, as the dead are in need of such supplication. As for visiting the graves in the hope that the dead will restore sick persons to health or the dead have power to give support and victory over one's enemies, and so on, all such things are major Shirk (associating others with Allah in worship and Divinity). It is not permissible for a Muslim to perform any of these practices, as they would engage him in acts of disbelief in Allah (Exalted be He). On doing so, Muslims become like idolaters who worship dead persons, trees, stones and planets and invoke them to meet their needs, relieve their hardships, restore the sick to health and help them with regard to all their affairs. No doubt these practices are a sort of major Shirk. It is obligatory for all Muslims to avoid such evil practices. A Muslim can visit the graves of the righteous just to supplicate Allah (Exalted be He) for them and invoke His Mercy upon them, but not to invoke or worship the dead besides Allah (Exalted be He). There is no difference between Al-"Aydarus, Ibn `Ulwan and other deceased persons. All graves, including the graves of the Prophets, the grave of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the grave of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, the grave of "U mar and the graves of the people buried in Al-Baqi", are not to be invoked besides Allah (Exalted be He), sought for help or offered vows and sacrifices. Even on visiting the grave of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), a visitor is only allowed to say: "O Allah's Messenger! May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you. May Allah reward you with the best for the good you brought to your nation." He (ﷺ) is not to be invoked besides Allah (Exalted be He). Also, a Muslim is not allowed to seek help from the Prophet (ﷺ) in his grave, ask him to restore ack person to health, or grant one victory over enemies, as these are acts of major Shirk. The same applies to Al-Siddiq, Umar, `Uthman, 'Aly and Ahl-ul-Bayt, as they cannot be invoked as partners besides Allah (Exalted be He). It is not lawful for Muslims to ask them to make them victorious over their enemies or to restore their sick persons to health. It is not lawful for a Muslim to address the people in the graves, saying, "You know our needs," as doing so is major disbelief. No one knows the Ghayb (the Unseen) but Allah (may He be Exalted and Glorified). Allah (Glorified be He) says: Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (Unseen) except Allah") Allah Alone knows the Ghayb. As reported, when the necklace of `Aishah was lost in a journey, the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) made the camel kneel down and searched for the necklace. Moreover, he sent some of his men to look for the necklace. He did not know where the necklace was, even though he (ﷺ) is the best and most elect of all mankind. When the camel carrying `Aishah rose, they found the necklace underneath it. If he had known the Ghayb, he (ﷺ) would have told them to look for the necklace under the camel. Moreover, he (ﷺ) would not have sent some of his men to search for the necklace. Also, when the hypocrites slandered `Aishah and some other people followed the hypocrites in slandering her, he (ﷺ) did not know the reality of the situation. He (ﷺ) waited until Allah (Exalted be He) revealed to him the truth, which declared that...
