Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the ruling on requesting duʿā from the people of the graves?
It is impermissible and prohibited (ḥarām). The people of the graves are unaware of the living.
❀ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH) said:
The supposed benefits often mentioned (about grave-worship) are based on falsehood. The polytheists frequently go to graves and the like and make duʿā in abundance. Sometimes, rarely, such a duʿā gets accepted (by Allah), and it so happens that a polytheist makes many duʿās, yet only one of them is accepted. Then when many of these polytheists make duʿās, occasionally one person’s duʿā among them is answered. But how can this condition ever compare to those who call upon Allah at the time of suḥūr (pre-dawn), who invoke Him in their prostrations, at the end of their prayers, and within the mosques?
When these monotheists beseech Allah earnestly like the grave-worshippers do, it is impossible that their duʿā will be rejected. In fact, very rarely are the duʿās of the people of tawḥīd rejected, while the duʿās of grave-worshippers are rarely accepted.
Concerning the duʿā of the believers, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“كل مسلم يدعو الله بدعوة ليس فيها اثم ولا قطيعة رحم الا اعطاه الله بها احدى ثلاث: اما ان تستجاب له دعوته واما ان يدخرها له في الاخرة واما ان يصرف عنه من السوء مثلها.”
“Whenever any Muslim supplicates to Allah with a duʿā that contains neither sin nor severing of family ties, Allah grants him one of three things: either his duʿā is immediately accepted, or Allah stores it for him in the Hereafter, or He averts from him a calamity of equal measure.”
The companions رضي الله عنهم said: “O Messenger of Allah, if that is the case, we will make many duʿās!”
The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Allah is even more generous.”
(Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 6/22, no. 29170; Musnad Abī Yaʿlā: 2/297, no. 1019; Musnad Imām Aḥmad: 3/18; al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī: 710; authenticated by al-Ḥākim: 1816; chain ḥasan)
Monotheists remain in constant goodness through their duʿās. In contrast, when the duʿās of grave-worshippers are occasionally accepted, their tawḥīd becomes weaker, their connection with their Lord diminishes, and they do not taste the sweetness of faith which the earlier Muslims used to experience.
(Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm: 2/689)
✦ Question:
What is the ruling on requesting duʿā from the people of the graves?
✦ Answer:
It is impermissible and prohibited (ḥarām). The people of the graves are unaware of the living.
❀ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH) said:
The supposed benefits often mentioned (about grave-worship) are based on falsehood. The polytheists frequently go to graves and the like and make duʿā in abundance. Sometimes, rarely, such a duʿā gets accepted (by Allah), and it so happens that a polytheist makes many duʿās, yet only one of them is accepted. Then when many of these polytheists make duʿās, occasionally one person’s duʿā among them is answered. But how can this condition ever compare to those who call upon Allah at the time of suḥūr (pre-dawn), who invoke Him in their prostrations, at the end of their prayers, and within the mosques?
When these monotheists beseech Allah earnestly like the grave-worshippers do, it is impossible that their duʿā will be rejected. In fact, very rarely are the duʿās of the people of tawḥīd rejected, while the duʿās of grave-worshippers are rarely accepted.
Concerning the duʿā of the believers, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“كل مسلم يدعو الله بدعوة ليس فيها اثم ولا قطيعة رحم الا اعطاه الله بها احدى ثلاث: اما ان تستجاب له دعوته واما ان يدخرها له في الاخرة واما ان يصرف عنه من السوء مثلها.”
“Whenever any Muslim supplicates to Allah with a duʿā that contains neither sin nor severing of family ties, Allah grants him one of three things: either his duʿā is immediately accepted, or Allah stores it for him in the Hereafter, or He averts from him a calamity of equal measure.”
The companions رضي الله عنهم said: “O Messenger of Allah, if that is the case, we will make many duʿās!”
The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Allah is even more generous.”
(Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 6/22, no. 29170; Musnad Abī Yaʿlā: 2/297, no. 1019; Musnad Imām Aḥmad: 3/18; al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī: 710; authenticated by al-Ḥākim: 1816; chain ḥasan)
Monotheists remain in constant goodness through their duʿās. In contrast, when the duʿās of grave-worshippers are occasionally accepted, their tawḥīd becomes weaker, their connection with their Lord diminishes, and they do not taste the sweetness of faith which the earlier Muslims used to experience.
(Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm: 2/689)
