Asalaamu alaikum sister Jabou,
Alhamdulillah and you are right, grave worship has been one of the biggest
fitna leading people into Shirk and certain sects, especially among the
Shi'aa have gone to extremes in this regard.
The kind of things they perform at Karbala (the place of Hussein's tomb-may
Allah be pleased with him) is mindboggling. Ibn Taymiyya has exhaustively
dealt with this topic in his book - Iqtidaa' ala Siraatal Mustaqeem (the way
to the straight path) available from Dar-u-Salaam books. Below is a question
and answer from Shaickh al-Munajjid on the topic.
Assalamu'alaikum
Question: Dear Sheikh,
I was once told that Rasulullah(saw) has said that visiting
his grave after his death is the same as visiting him when
he was alive and that, therefore, when we visit his grave in
Madinah, there is no harm in speaking to him as if he were
alive and requesting him to intercede on our behalf with
Allah. But I'm worried that this might be 'shirk'. Please
answer soon; I hope to go for an Umrah in the near future
and visit his grave too, insya Allah.
Answer;
Al-Daaraqutni reported in his Sunan (2/278) with an isnaad from
Haatib that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever visits me after I die, it is as if he
visited me when I was still alive…” This is a hadeeth which many of
the scholars of hadeeth judged to be false and not to have been
reported with a saheeh isnaad from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). Among the scholars who voiced this
opinion was al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi in Lisaan al-Meezaan (4/285), in his
biography of one of the narrators, Haaroon ibn Abi Qaz’ah.
Al-Dhahabi said: “…Haaroon ibn Abi Qaz’ah al-Madani [reported]
from a man” – about visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). Al-Bukhaari said: “This is not to be
accepted or followed.”
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in Lisaan al-Meezaan (6/217): “Al-Azdi said:
‘Haaroon Abu Qaz’ah reports mursal ahaadeeth from a man of Aal
Haatib.’ I [Ibn Hajar] say: from this we understand that what he is
referring to is al-Azdi. Ya’qoob ibn Shaybah also classed him as
da’eef (weak).”
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar also mentioned him in al-Talkhees al-Habeer, in
his comment on the ahaadeeth of al-Raafa’i al-Kabeer (2/266). He
said, “In his isnaad is the unknown [majhool] man” – meaning a man
from Aal Haatib.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in al-Tawassul wa’l-Waseelah
(p. 134) about this hadeeth: “It is obviously a lie that goes against
Islam. Anyone who visited him during his lifetime and believed in him,
was one of his Companions, especially if he was among those who
migrated to join him or fought alongside him. It is proven that he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Do not slander my
Companions, for by the One in Whose hand is my soul, if any one of
you were to spend gold equal to the size of Uhud, it would not equal
the deeds of one of them, not even half of it.’ [Reported by al-Bukhaari
and Muslim]. Anyone who comes after the Sahaabah cannot be like the
Sahaabah by doing obligatory duties such as Hajj, jihaad, the five
daily prayers and sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), so how can he become equal to
them by doing something that is not obligatory according to the
consensus of the Muslims? We are not even supposed to travel for
this purpose, in fact it is forbidden to do so. However, travelling to the
[Prophet’s] Mosque, and to al-Masjid al-Aqsaa [in Jerusalem], for the
purpose of praying there, is mustahabb (encouraged), and travelling to
the Ka’bah for Hajj is waajib (obligatory). If a person who undertakes
a journey that is waajib or mustahabb still cannot be like one of the
Sahaabah who travelled to visit the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) during his lifetime, how can they achieve this
by undertaking a journey that is not allowed?”
He also said (p. 133): “All of the ahaadeeth about visiting his grave are
da’eef, and are not to be relied upon in matters of religion. For this
reason none of the authors of books of Saheeh and Sunan reported
them at all; they were only narrated by those who reported da’eef
ahaadeeth, such as al-Daaraqutni, al-Bazzaar and others.
Shaykh al-Albaani said in al-Da’eefah (no. 1021) about this hadeeth:
it is baatil (false). He mentioned what is wrong with the hadeeth,
namely the man who is not named, and classed Haaroon Abu Qaz’ah
as da’eef. There is a third fault with the hadeeth, which is that it
causes confusion and contradiction. Then Shaykh al-Albaani said: “In
general, the isnaad of this hadeeth is weak.”
He also said in al-Da’eefah (no. 47): “many people think that Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and those who follow him among the Salafis
forbid visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) altogether. This is a lie and a fabrication, and it is
not the only lie told about Ibn Taymiyah, may Allaah have mercy on
him, or about the Salafis. Everyone who reads the books of Ibn
Taymiyah will see that he says it is permissible to visit his grave
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and that doing so is
recommended (mustahabb), so long as it is not associated with any
objectionable practices or innovations (bid’ah), such as travelling
solely for that purpose, because of the hadeeth “No one should set out
purposely except to visit three mosques.” The hadeeth does not
describe a ban only on travelling to visit other mosques, as many
people think; it also includes a ban on setting out to visit any place
which people think will bring them closer to Allaah, whether it is a
mosque, a grave or any other place. This is indicated by the hadeeth
narrated by Abu Hurayrah who said: ‘I met Basrah ibn Abi Basrah
al-Ghifaari and he asked me, ‘Where are you coming from?’ I said,
‘From al-Toor [Sinai].’ He said, ‘If I had met you before you left, you
would not have gone there! I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘Do not travel except
to three mosques.’” (Reported by Ahmad and others with a saheeh isnaad).
This clearly indicates that the Sahaabah understood the hadeeth to be
general in application [i.e., it did not apply only to mosques]. This is
supported by the fact that it is not reported that any of them ever set
out with the intention of visiting a grave. They are the predecessors of
Ibn Taymiyah in this regard, so whoever condemns Ibn Taymiyah is
in effect condemning the salaf (the righteous predecessors), may
Allaah be pleased with them. May Allaah have mercy on the one who
said:
“All goodness is in following those who went before (the salaf)
and all evil is in following the innovations of those who came later.”
In conclusion, travelling with the intention of visiting the grave of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is bid’ah and
is haraam, because of the hadeeth which forbids travelling to worship
in any place except the three mosques. As for visiting the grave of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when one
happens to be in Madeenah, this is perfectly acceptable, as is travelling
with the intention of praying in the Prophet’s Mosque as an act of
worship and seeking to draw close to Allaah. Those that are confused
about this issue are those who do not understand the difference
between what is permitted and what is forbidden. And Allaah knows
best.
May Allah make us hearers of the message and followers of the best of it.
Allahumma salli wasallim ala Nabiyyina Muhammad. Wasalaam.
Modou Mbye
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