82 - Ruling on Offering Salah Facing Graves and Seeking the Blessing of Such Graves
Q: There is a habit in our country that people offer Salah (Prayer) facing a particular grave, pay frequent visits to it and seek the blessing of dead therein, claiming that the grave belongs to one of the the Sahabah (the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad). We would be grateful if you could guide the people to the right way of action regarding this practice, may Allah bless you!
A: A lot of people have been led astray by certain superstitious rituals offered to the graves. The Jews and the Christians have been tempted by these graves. They had also worshipped the people buried in the graves and taken such graves as objects for veneration, as the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship. Also, when the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was informed by two of his wives that they had seen a church in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) containing images, he (ﷺ) said: Those are the people who, whenever a pious man dies amongst them, make a place of worship at his grave site and then they make those images and hand them inside the place. Those are the most evil of all mankind in the Sight of Allah. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) described those people as the most evil of all mankind in the Sight of Allah, as they used to exceedingly glorify the dead of their righteous people by drawing pictures of them and constructing special buildings over their graves. They also used to invoke the righteous dead people to fulfil their needs and to relieve their hardships, seek the blessing by touching the dust of the graves, etc. Such are some of their wicked practices, thus they deserved the curse of Allah. Also, the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said in the Prophetic Hadith recorded by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (authentic collection of Hadith): Verily, people who came before you (O Muslims) used to build places of worship over the graves of their Prophets and pious people. You should not build Masjids (mosques) over graves. I forbid you to follow such practice of theirs.) Also, the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said in the Hadith reported on the authority of Ibn Mas"ud: The most evil of all mankind are those who will be still alive when the Hour is established and the people who build places of worship at the grave sites. Hence, it is dutiful for Muslims to be on their guard against such wicked practices adopted by the Jews and the Christians, which is represented in glorifying the graves via constructing special buildings over them as well as building places of worship on the sites of these graves, erecting domes over them, seeking their blessing, and supplicating the persons buried in these graves, seeking their aid, offering sacrificial animals and making vows to them and seeking their aid. There is no doubt that such practices are a graven; some of these practices amount to making Bid`ahs (heresy in religion), whereas others are considered to be practices belonging to the acts of Shirk (associating others with Allah in Divinity and worship). Building places of worship at the grave sites is a Bid`ah, and the construction of domes over such graves and plastering them are also Bid`ahs and ways leading to Shirk. Besides, it was authentically recorded in the Sahih collection of Hadith by Imam Muslim on the authority of Jab ir ibn 'Abdullah Al-Ansary (may Allah be pleased with both them) that he said: "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade that the graves be plastered or used as sitting places (for the people), or constructions are built over them." This is because plastering the graves and constructing buildings over them are means leading to Shirk and ways of exceedingly glorifying such graves. The same applies to constructing domes over the graves and building places of worship at the graves, as these practices are means leading to Shirk. Also, reciting formulas of remembrance and offering Salah nearby these graves are heresy in religion. As for asking the dead in the graves for help and seeking their aid, these are practices of major Shirk as they are acts of devotion offered to partners other than Allah (may He be Exalted and Glorified). Thus, it is necessary for the whole Muslim nation to be on their guard against such abominable practices. Also, it is obligatory for the Muslim scholars to explain the truth of this matter in detail to the whole nation and warn them against such practices of Shirk and Bid`ahs so as to avoid them in the future. Besides, people who have good religious knowledge has to spread such knowledge among people. Allah (Glorified be He) says: And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands firm (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims.") Also, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Convey (my teachings)...
