Seeking Prayers from the Dead and Circumambulating Their Graves: A Detailed Explanation in the Light of Islamic Teachings
Question
What is the ruling of Shariah regarding a person who worships graves, circumambulates around them, asks for prayers from them, makes vows to them, or performs other such acts of worship?
Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
This question is of great importance. With the help and guidance of Allah Almighty, a detailed answer is presented:
Two Types of Graves:
First Type: Graves of Righteous Muslims
◈ Those individuals whose end was in Islam and people praise their good deeds, there is hope for their goodness.
◈ Such a person needs the prayers of others after death so that Allah Almighty may forgive him and have mercy on him.
◈ They fall under the general meaning of this Quranic verse:
﴿وَالَّذينَ جاءو مِن بَعدِهِم يَقولونَ رَبَّنَا اغفِر لَنا وَلِإِخونِنَا الَّذينَ سَبَقونا بِالإيمـنِ وَلا تَجعَل فى قُلوبِنا غِلًّا لِلَّذينَ ءامَنوا رَبَّنا إِنَّكَ رَءوفٌ رَحيمٌ﴾
“And (also for those) who came after them, saying, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful.'”
Second Category: The inhabitants of graves whose end was in acts of disbelief
◈ Some individuals claim to have sainthood, or demonstrate the power of clairvoyance or healing.
◈ These claims are invalid both legally (Shariah) and logically.
◈ Regarding such individuals, the Holy Quran has explicitly forbidden supplicating for them:
﴿ما كانَ لِلنَّبِىِّ وَالَّذينَ ءامَنوا أَن يَستَغفِروا لِلمُشرِكينَ وَلَو كانوا أُولى قُربى﴾﴿وَما كانَ استِغفارُ إِبرهيمَ لِأَبيهِ﴾
“It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were their relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the companions of Hellfire. And Abraham’s (peace be upon him) asking forgiveness for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him; but when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he disassociated himself from him. Indeed, Abraham was most tender-hearted and forbearing.”
Important Advice for Muslims:
◈ Do not seek help from anyone except Allah.
◈ The dominion of the heavens and the earth is only in the hands of Allah.
◈ Only He listens to the prayer of the distressed and is the remover of hardship:
﴿وَما بِكُم مِن نِعمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ إِذا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فَإِلَيهِ تَجـَٔرونَ﴾
“And whatever blessings you have are from Allah. Then when harm touches you, to Him you cry aloud for help.”
Follow only the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in religion:
◈ Avoid blind imitation of any other person:
﴿لَقَد كانَ لَكُم فى رَسولِ اللَّهِ أُسوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ﴾
“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for whoever hopes in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah often.”
﴿قُل إِن كُنتُم تُحِبّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعونى يُحبِبكُمُ اللَّهُ﴾
“(O Prophet!) Say, if you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you.”
Claim of Wilayah (spiritual authority) and its recognition:
◈ The standard of truthfulness for one who claims wilayah (spiritual guardianship) is the Quran and Sunnah.
◈ Only a believer and pious person can be a wali (spiritual guardian):
﴿أَلا إِنَّ أَولِياءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوفٌ عَلَيهِم﴾﴿الَّذينَ ءامَنوا وَكانوا يَتَّقونَ﴾
“Say! Surely those who are friends of Allah will have no fear, nor will they grieve. (That is) those who believed and adopted piety as their way of life, fearing and being cautious.”
◈ Without faith and piety, no one can become a wali of Allah.
The Trial of Benefiting from Graves:
◈ Occasionally, there is an illusion of benefiting from a grave or its soil, but this is merely a trial.
◈ The Quran rejects this false notion:
﴿وَمَن أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدعوا مِن دونِ اللَّهِ﴾﴿وَإِذا حُشِرَ النّاسُ كانوا لَهُم أَعداءً﴾… سورة الأحقاف: 5،6
“And who is more astray than one who calls upon those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they are unaware of his call, and when the people are gathered, they will be his enemies and will deny their worship.”
﴿وَالَّذينَ يَدعونَ مِن دونِ اللَّهِ لا يَخلُقونَ شَيـًٔا﴾﴿أَموتٌ غَيرُ أَحياءٍ﴾
“And those whom they call upon besides Allah create nothing, while they themselves are created. They are dead, not alive. They do not know when they will be resurrected.”
◈ The benefit gained is not from the supplication of others besides Allah, but rather it is the result of Allah Almighty’s test.
Examples of Tests:
The People of the Sabbath among the Jews:
◈ Fishing was forbidden on the Sabbath day, but as a test, more fish would come on that very day.
◈ They made excuses to make fishing permissible, upon which Allah Almighty turned them into monkeys:
﴿وَسـَٔلهُم عَنِ القَريَةِ﴾
“And (O Prophet!) ask them about the town by the sea – when they transgressed on the Sabbath – when their fish would come to them openly on the day of the Sabbath, and on the day they did not observe the Sabbath, they did not come. Thus We made it a trial for those who were disobedient.”
﴿وَلَقَد عَلِمتُمُ الَّذينَ اعتَدَوا مِنكُم فِى السَّبتِ فَقُلنا لَهُم كونوا قِرَدَةً خـسِـٔينَ ﴿٦٥﴾ فَجَعَلنـها نَكـلًا لِما بَينَ يَدَيها وَما خَلفَها وَمَوعِظَةً لِلمُتَّقينَ ﴿٦٦
“And you already know about those among you who transgressed on the Sabbath, so We said to them, ‘Be apes, despised.’ And We made it a deterrent punishment for those who were present and those who succeeded them and a lesson for those who fear Allah.”
Example of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them:
◈ Hunting was prohibited during the state of Ihram, but they did not disobey Allah’s command:
﴿يـأَيُّهَا الَّذينَ ءامَنوا لَيَبلُوَنَّكُمُ اللَّهُ بِشَىءٍ مِنَ الصَّيدِ﴾
“O you who have believed, Allah will surely test you through something of the game that your hands and spears can reach, so that Allah may make evident those who fear Him unseen. And whoever transgresses after that – for him is a painful punishment.”
Conclusion:
◈ When a person has access to means of committing sin, he should fear Allah and refrain from the forbidden.
◈ Having access to the forbidden is a test.
◈ The end of those who are patient will be good, and they alone will be successful.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
