This excerpt is taken from Sheikh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah's book Al-Jawab al-Bahir fi Zuwar al-Maqabir, translated by Sheikh Ata Allah Saqib.
Worship of Names, Images, and the Dead is Shirk
Whoever worships other than Allah is engaged only in the worship of names, for which Allah has not revealed any proof. And those who worship angels and prophets, whom they cannot see, in reality, they are only worshipping those forms and images which are then made from clay, wood, etc. In reality, these people are immersed in the worship of the dead.
The Prophetic Command Regarding Visits
In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated from Abi Al-Hiyaj Al-Saddi, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said to me:
ألا ابعتك على ما بعثني عليه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بعثني أن لا أدع تمثالا إلا طمسته ولا قبرا مشرفا إلا سويته
"Shall I not send you on a task on which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was also sent? You have been commanded by me to erase every image you see and to level every elevated grave to the ground."
Reference: ( Sahih Muslim, Book of Funerals: Chapter on the Command to Level the Grave, Hadith: 969)
Whom should the living Creator and the dead creation be called upon!
Regarding deaths, Allah Almighty says:
أَفَمَن يَخْلُقُ كَمَن لَّا يَخْلُقُ ۗ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴿١٧﴾ وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٨﴾ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُسِرُّونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ ﴿١٩﴾ وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْئًا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ ﴿٢٠﴾ أَمْوَاتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَاءٍ ۖ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ ﴿٢١﴾
"Then is He who creates the same as one who does not create? Will you not then be mindful? If you would count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. And those entities whom people invoke besides Allah do not create anything, but they themselves are created, dead, not alive, and they do not know when they will be resurrected."
Reference: (16-An-Nahl:17-21)
Therefore, all the dead do not know when they will be raised, and no one except Allah has knowledge of the Day of Resurrection.
