Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the Islamic ruling on visiting shrines (mazārāt) and performing meditation (murāqabah) there?
Excessive veneration of graves has given rise to numerous creedal and moral tribulations.
At many graves and shrines, polytheistic beliefs and actions, along with pagan customs and traditions, have become widespread. Some people have turned the graves of the righteous and saints into places of prostration.
One finds people engaged in meditation (murāqabah) and spiritual exercises (mujāhadah) at these graves to fulfill their needs and desires. They invoke the dead in times of difficulty, plead to them, fear them, and place their hopes in them. They offer vows (mannat) and monetary tributes (nadhar) at these shrines.
The caretakers (mujāwars) of these sites narrate fabricated stories and false miracles about the deceased, and due to ignorance, people fall prey to these lies and ruin their faith (īmān).
Satan has provided all the means and resources to promote grave-worship and saint-worship, which serve as the foundation for shirk (polytheism) and bid'ah (innovation), leading to the loss of faith. Among these means is sitting as a caretaker of graves, which is a reprehensible innovation.
The idolaters of old used to guard and care for their idols in a similar manner, as stated in the Qur’ān:
﴿إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ * قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ أَصْنَامًا فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ﴾
(Ash-Shuʿarāʾ: 70–71)
“When [Ibrāhīm] said to his father and his people: ‘What do you worship?’
They replied: ‘We worship idols and remain devoted (as caretakers) to them.’”
﴿إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنْتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ﴾
(Al-Anbiyāʾ: 52)
“When he [Ibrāhīm] said to his father and people: ‘What are these statues to which you remain devoted?’”
﴿وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْا عَلَى قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَى أَصْنَامٍ لَهُمْ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ﴾
(Al-Aʿrāf: 138)
“We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and they came upon a people devoted to idols. They said: ‘O Mūsā! Appoint a deity for us like their gods.’ He said: ‘Indeed, you are a people behaving ignorantly!’”
Sīnān ibn Abī Sīnān al-Dūlī رضي الله عنه narrated:
“I heard the Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abū Wāqid al-Laythī رضي الله عنه, say:
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ conquered Makkah, he took us toward the tribe of Hawāzin.
On the way, we passed by a tree used by the disbelievers for devotion, which they named Dhāt Anwāṭ.
We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Appoint for us a tree like Dhāt Anwāṭ as the disbelievers have.’
The Prophet ﷺ replied: ‘Allāhu Akbar! These are the ways of previous nations.
Just as the Children of Israel said to Mūsā: “Make for us a god as they have gods,” and he responded: “Indeed, you are an ignorant people.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ said: You will surely follow the ways of those before you.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 6702 – authentic chain)
Imām al-Shāṭibī رحمه الله (d. 790 AH) wrote:
“This tafsīr, when considered along with the ḥadīth about sects, confirms that these innovations are the same as those committed by Jews and Christians. It also proves that this ummah will fall into similar and even greater innovations.”
(Al-Iʿtiṣām: 2/245)
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH) stated:
“Among the prohibited matters is seclusion at the grave, serving as its caretaker, guarding it, and hanging coverings over it as if it were the Kaʿbah.”
(Iqtiḍāʾ aṣ-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm, p. 267)
He further said:
“To perform iʿtikāf near trees, stones, idols, or at the graves or locations of prophets or non-prophets, serving as caretakers there — these acts have no basis in Islam. Rather, they belong to the religion of the polytheists.”
(Iqtiḍāʾ aṣ-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm, p. 365)
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (d. 751 AH) wrote:
“One of the harms of grave-worship is that the graves are treated with such veneration that it leads to shirk and bidʿah. People turn them into festivals, travel to them, and perform acts similar to idol-worship, such as:
– doing iʿtikāf at graves,
– serving as caretakers,
– hanging veils on them,
– dedicating themselves in service to the graves.
Some grave-worshippers even believe that serving these graves is superior to serving the House of Allah (Kaʿbah).”
(Ighāthat al-Lahfān: 1/197)
① Visiting shrines and performing meditation there is a path to shirk and bidʿah.
② Practices such as seclusion, caretaking, offering vows, and fabricated miracles are forbidden.
③ Qur’ān and Sunnah condemn such imitation of idolaters’ practices.
④ Scholars strongly oppose shrine-related innovations, equating them with pre-Islamic paganism.
✿ Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on visiting shrines (mazārāt) and performing meditation (murāqabah) there?
✿ Answer:
Excessive veneration of graves has given rise to numerous creedal and moral tribulations.
At many graves and shrines, polytheistic beliefs and actions, along with pagan customs and traditions, have become widespread. Some people have turned the graves of the righteous and saints into places of prostration.
One finds people engaged in meditation (murāqabah) and spiritual exercises (mujāhadah) at these graves to fulfill their needs and desires. They invoke the dead in times of difficulty, plead to them, fear them, and place their hopes in them. They offer vows (mannat) and monetary tributes (nadhar) at these shrines.
The caretakers (mujāwars) of these sites narrate fabricated stories and false miracles about the deceased, and due to ignorance, people fall prey to these lies and ruin their faith (īmān).
Satan has provided all the means and resources to promote grave-worship and saint-worship, which serve as the foundation for shirk (polytheism) and bid'ah (innovation), leading to the loss of faith. Among these means is sitting as a caretaker of graves, which is a reprehensible innovation.
The idolaters of old used to guard and care for their idols in a similar manner, as stated in the Qur’ān:
❀ Qur'anic Evidence:
﴿إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ * قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ أَصْنَامًا فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ﴾
(Ash-Shuʿarāʾ: 70–71)
“When [Ibrāhīm] said to his father and his people: ‘What do you worship?’
They replied: ‘We worship idols and remain devoted (as caretakers) to them.’”
﴿إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنْتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ﴾
(Al-Anbiyāʾ: 52)
“When he [Ibrāhīm] said to his father and people: ‘What are these statues to which you remain devoted?’”
﴿وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْا عَلَى قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَى أَصْنَامٍ لَهُمْ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ﴾
(Al-Aʿrāf: 138)
“We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and they came upon a people devoted to idols. They said: ‘O Mūsā! Appoint a deity for us like their gods.’ He said: ‘Indeed, you are a people behaving ignorantly!’”
❀ Prophetic Hadith:
Sīnān ibn Abī Sīnān al-Dūlī رضي الله عنه narrated:
“I heard the Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abū Wāqid al-Laythī رضي الله عنه, say:
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ conquered Makkah, he took us toward the tribe of Hawāzin.
On the way, we passed by a tree used by the disbelievers for devotion, which they named Dhāt Anwāṭ.
We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Appoint for us a tree like Dhāt Anwāṭ as the disbelievers have.’
The Prophet ﷺ replied: ‘Allāhu Akbar! These are the ways of previous nations.
Just as the Children of Israel said to Mūsā: “Make for us a god as they have gods,” and he responded: “Indeed, you are an ignorant people.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ said: You will surely follow the ways of those before you.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 6702 – authentic chain)
❀ Scholarly Statements:
Imām al-Shāṭibī رحمه الله (d. 790 AH) wrote:
“This tafsīr, when considered along with the ḥadīth about sects, confirms that these innovations are the same as those committed by Jews and Christians. It also proves that this ummah will fall into similar and even greater innovations.”
(Al-Iʿtiṣām: 2/245)
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH) stated:
“Among the prohibited matters is seclusion at the grave, serving as its caretaker, guarding it, and hanging coverings over it as if it were the Kaʿbah.”
(Iqtiḍāʾ aṣ-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm, p. 267)
He further said:
“To perform iʿtikāf near trees, stones, idols, or at the graves or locations of prophets or non-prophets, serving as caretakers there — these acts have no basis in Islam. Rather, they belong to the religion of the polytheists.”
(Iqtiḍāʾ aṣ-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm, p. 365)
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (d. 751 AH) wrote:
“One of the harms of grave-worship is that the graves are treated with such veneration that it leads to shirk and bidʿah. People turn them into festivals, travel to them, and perform acts similar to idol-worship, such as:
– doing iʿtikāf at graves,
– serving as caretakers,
– hanging veils on them,
– dedicating themselves in service to the graves.
Some grave-worshippers even believe that serving these graves is superior to serving the House of Allah (Kaʿbah).”
(Ighāthat al-Lahfān: 1/197)
Summary:
① Visiting shrines and performing meditation there is a path to shirk and bidʿah.
② Practices such as seclusion, caretaking, offering vows, and fabricated miracles are forbidden.
③ Qur’ān and Sunnah condemn such imitation of idolaters’ practices.
④ Scholars strongly oppose shrine-related innovations, equating them with pre-Islamic paganism.
