ARAB NEWS (Saudi Arabia): Visiting Graves (December 2009) - Mokhtar Stork

An article published by the Arab News (Saudi Arabia) entitled, “Can we seek help from a deceased person when visiting his grave?  Can we pray directly to the Prophet and request him to grant us our needs?” states the following: 

QUOTE: [In a highly authentic hadith, the Prophet (s.a.w.) is quoted as saying: “When a person dies, all his actions come to an end except in one of three ways:  A continuing act of charity, a useful contribution to knowledge and a dutiful child who prays for him.”   Likewise, Allah says in the Qur’an, “You cannot make those who are in their graves hear you.”  (Surah Fatir 35: 22).  When a living person visits the grave of a dead person and makes a request, he is actually addressing someone who can neither hear him nor do anything for him.  It is a totally futile effort and it is also against Islamic principles.  Many visit the graves of saints in the hope that due to the saints’ position with Allah, they will be able to help.  Many also seek the Prophet’s intercession to grant them their needs.  There is no doubt that the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) enjoys shafa’ah (intercession) with Allah on the Day of Judgement. 

However, his role in this life is completed and he no longer has any influence on events, except through his teachings.  When people obey his teachings, they are able to accomplish good things in life, but this is through their own actions. Moreover, why do we need to pray to anyone other than Allah?  Suppose you have a problem with a governmental department and you have the chance to put your case to the head of that department, who has given his assurance to listen attentively to your case and that you will get what is rightfully yours, would you prefer to put your case to one of his employees?  Suppose that the head of the department promises you that he will give you double what you are entitled for, would you employ a lawyer to speak on your behalf?  What if the rule in that department states clearly that when a lawyer is employed, you cannot get anything beyond what is rightfully yours?.  This is a proper comparison concerning our position with Allah.  He tells us that when we pray to Him, He will answer us and grant us what we have prayed Him for.  He says in the Qur’an: “Your Lord says:  ‘Pray to me and I will answer you’.” (Surah Ghafir 40: 60).  In several Ahadith, the Prophet (s.a.w.) tells us that God answers all our prayers and gives us much more.  Why do we need to go to others when going to anyone else s certain to incur Allah’s displeasure?  To call upon the deceased is an act of worship that is certainly to incur Allah’s displeasure.  Therefore, it should not be done.  

My Response: ‘We sent not a Messenger but to be obeyed in accordance with the will of Allah.  If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves come to you and asked Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them.  They would have found Allah indeed Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.’ (Surah Nisa 4:64).  In this context, there is also a Hadith narrated by Rabi’ah bin Ka’b (r.a.) which states that: ‘A Companion of the Prophet brought some water for the ablution and some other things need by the Prophet (s.a.w.).  Pleased at this act, the Prophet (s.a.w.) said to Rabi’ah, ‘Ask of me anything that you wish for.’  Rabi’ah said in reply, ‘All I ask for O Prophet of Allah is your company in paradise’.  Prompted by the Prophet to ask for anything more, Rabi’ah repeated the same request.  Thereupon the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, ‘Then prostrate before Allah (i.e. perform prayer) as frequently as possible in order to supplement my help to you’.”

The mushrikin (polytheists) did not believe that the idols they worshipped created the heavens and the earth.  They considered Allah to be the Creator and regarded those idols to be only their intercessors before Allah. (Surah Zumar 39:38).  On this premise, Muslims who believe in the doctrine of Shafa’ah (Intercession) by Allah’s prophets and awlia-Allah (saints) are guilty of a practice similar to that indulged in by the polytheists, since both the prophets and the awlia-Allah are ghairullah (other than Allah).  What then is the difference between the polytheists and the Muslims?

There is a clear difference.  The polytheists considered their idols to be their gods.  They likened them to being favourate servants of the Creator, who performed special services delegated to them as part of his realm, as well as wield absolute power on the Creator’s behalf in their respective domains.  They believed that some pious people who had lived in earlier times, and who had worshipped the Creator with such absolute devotion that He, as a reward for their devotion, conferred divinity upon them and the people ended up worshipping them in the same manner as they themselves had worshipped Allah or God) during their lifetimes. (Hajjutullah-ul-Balighah, Hadrat Shah Waliullah).

The polytheists also believed that these pious deceased men had the ability to hear and see things as they did when they were alive, and that they could intercede before the Creator on their behalf.  In the course of time, these people started making idols of these revered people.  With the passage of time they became looked upon as being worthy of worship in their own right.  It is due to this that Allah has emphasised in the Qur’an His absolute dominion and position of being the One and Only.

The shafa’ah (intercession) of the prophets and awlia-Allah is well defined by the Qur’anic verses: “Who is it that can intercede with Him except with His permission.” (Surah Baqarah 2:255).  In this respect the Prophet (s.a.w.) himself said, “I have been granted (by Allah) the right to intercede.”  According to another Hadith cited by the Caliph Sayyidna Uthman (r.a.), the Prophet (s.a.w.) said that “three types of people shall be able to intercede on the Day of Judgement, namely the Prophets, the Ulama and the Martyrs.”

The inability of the dead to hear is expressed in the following Qur’anic verse: “You (O Prophet), cannot make the dead hear nor can you make those hear in the graves.” (Surah Fatir 35: 22).  According to Hadrat Syed Pir Meher Ali Shah, the ‘hearing’ referred in Surah Fatir 35:22 is different to a similar verse found in Surah Rum 30:52-53 which is based on iman (faith).  What it means is that ‘those who believe’ and who willingly listen the word of the Qur’an will be able to hear after death. This is the difference between the ‘hearing’ of the believers and the disbelievers. [Mihr-e-Minir, Biography of Hadrat Syed Pir Meher Ali Shah, pp. 524].  In this respect, there is a difference between the ‘Friends of Allah’ and the ‘Friends of Satan’.

We also know from Ahadith that the act of greeting the Prophet (s.a.w.) is permissible, and that the Prophet (s.a.w.) will respond to it, even though we may not hear it.  The Prophet (s.a.w.) is reported to have said to this effect that “anyone greeting him in their lifetime, it would be the same as greeting him during his lifetime.”  This proves without doubt that the soul of the deceased is alive.  There is a response to every greeting. However, it would indeed be foolish to go to the graves of the believers and speak to them aloud. People will consider you mad, but all the same, they can still hear you and respond but you cannot hear them. They are physically dead but their souls continue to live. As for their deeds, we all know that when a person dies all his actions (deeds) come to an end on earth.  And if we say that ONLY family members (children of the deceased) can benefit their parents, then why did the Prophet (s.a.w.) advise those present at a funeral to make supplications for one being buried?  

In accordance with the practice of the Prophet (s.a.w.), visiting the graves of deceased is intended to supplicate Allah to forgive them of their sins, but not to seek help from their souls. The Qur’anic verse: “...Help one another in righteousness and piety.” (Surah Ma’idah 5:5), covers the seeking of help for both, living and deceased Muslims, because ‘death’ applies to the physical body but not the soul which is eternal. 

The notion that reciting the talkin or making supplications for the deceased is bid’ah (an innovation) is a misplaced view.  The talkin which is recited after the burial at the gravesite is intended to act as a reminder to those present of what is about to take place to the deceased.  It is an innovation but a good one and necessary in these materialistic times of ours. What one needs to understand is that you can ask for the sun and the moon but whether you are granted it is something.  You can make supplications for any deceased person out of goodwill but whether it is accepted or not is Allah’s prerogative.  The Qur’an states:“Who is it that can intercede with Him except with His permission.” (Surah Baqarah 2:255).

There is a difference between supplicating for the deceased and seeking his help.  In accordance with the Shari’ah, it is wrong to seek direct help from the deceased, but I doubt whether it would be wrong to seek Allah’s help directly first and then seek the doa (supplication) of the deceased (parents, relatives or even a saint), because no one is really dead. Seeking the supplications of a venerated righteous Muslim to Allah cannot be constituted to be shirk (attributing a thing to Allah), because the deceased is being asked to and not being asked a favour directly.  When undertaking this task, one needs to turn to Allah first and then turn to the deceased, seeking his supplications to Allah for one’s well-being in this world and in the Hereafter.

Asking a deceased kafir (atheist) or mushrik (idol worshipper) to help you is a waste of time because the individual is undergoing torment over idolatry (shirk).  This however is not applicable to four categories mention in the Qur’an i.e. nabiyeen (prophets), sidiqeen (truthful), shuhadah (martyrs), soliheen (pious), (Surah Nisa 4:69). They all enjoy special privileges after death.   Allah says,“And say not of those (the martyrs) who are slain in the way of Allah: ‘They are dead’. No, they are living, though you perceive it not.” (Surah Baqarah 2:154).  Logically and rationally, if the shuhadah (martyrs) are not dead, then the other three categories are also not dead.  We are also told that the Prophet (s.a.w.) met the Prophets during Me’raj (ascension) and led them in prayer in Jerusalem.  It is thus a misconception to believe that with the arrival of death everything comes to a complete standstill or ends.

Opponents who quote the Qur’anic verse: “Those on whom they call upon do desire (for themselves) means of access (wasilah) to their Lord - even those who are nearest (Saints etc).  They hope for His mercy and fear His wrath; for the wrath of your Lord is something to take heed of.” (Surah Bani Isra’il 17:57), have failed to note that this verse is related to those who seek the direct assistance fo the deceased with Allah as ‘a means of access’ – something which is prohibited by the Shari’ah of Islam.    

However, we do know that during a period of severe drought in Madina, Sayyidna Umar (r.a.) made supplications at the grave of the Prophet (s.a.w.) using the wasilah of Ibnu Abbas, the living uncle of the Prophet (s.a.w.) instead to turning to the Prophet directly for intercession.  The only difference between both these approaches is that it is between the ‘living’ and the ‘dead’, but theoretically no one is dead spiritually.  It is thus obvious that one cannot seek help directly from the deceased, but one can seek the supplications of the righteous deceased as barakah (blessings) alongside one’s own supplications to Allah. Seeking the supplications (as barakah) from an acknowledged saintly person does not amount to shirk (idolatry).  Once again, every outcome lies with Allah.

A major problem today is that we are entrenched in a single minded fashion, where we quote some verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith and reach a conclusion rather than go through the mechanism of defining things in a wider context in a professional qualified manner.  The same is applicable to the notion of only asking Allah for your needs.  Though this is generally right it has a dimension to it.  To begin with we need to ask ourselves just what is Siratul Mustaqeem?    Allah has revealed,“And thus have We by Our command, sent inspiration to you (O Muhammad). You knew not what revelation was, and what faith was: but We have made the (Qur’an) a light, wherewith We guide such of Our servants as We will; and verily you (Muhammad) do guide to the Straight Way – the Way of Allah.”  (Surah Shura 42:52-53). 

The ‘Straight Path’ (Siratal Mustaqeem), does not exist on its own. It descended from Allah through His Prophet (s.a.w.).  Thus the ‘Straight Path’ is the ‘Path of Muhammad’ – the Path of Allah.   So when a person says that you just need to pray to Allah only, they are right in the sense that one needs to turn to none other but Allah, but at the same time, Allah has sent us Prophets and Messengers to show us the way, and it is through this process that perfection is achieved.

Often people quote the Prophet’s statement during his farewell pilgrimage, where he said that he was leaving behind two things, namely, Allah’s Words (the Qur’an) and his Sunnah, and anyone abiding by these would not go astray. What they mean here is that all you have to do is to abide by the written word of the Qur’an and Ahadith.  This is ridiculous because you cannot achieve success along the Straight Path on your own or by just believing in Allah. It has to be achieved through the living example of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  This has been expressed in many Qur’anic verses.  The argument, that guidance has come to a conclusion with the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, and as such there is no need for any other approach, is true, in the sense that if you able to follow it in detail, which most cannot.   But even here, the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) relied on the Prophet (s.a.w.) totally.  The concept of relying purely on Allah works only when it is realised through the example of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  It cannot be separated or segregated or treated independently. That would be a corruption.  When the Prophet (s.a.w.) is commanded to declare that “Allah is sufficient,” it represents his position of total reliance in Allah.  We are also encouraged to adopt the same stance because everything lies in the hands of Allah, awaiting His decision.  The only difference here is that in our case the approach of reliance adopted by us is the one adopted by the Prophet (s.a.w.).

The reason why one comes under the guidance of a spiritual guide is to learn the finer points of the Prophet’s path.  Of course you can succeed on your own by observing the shari’ah, but again, all these various approaches adhered to the ‘Way of Muhammad’ which is also the ‘Way of Allah’.  They all rely on the examples exhibited by the Prophet (s.a.w.).

Hadrat Syed Pir Meher Ali Shah made reference to Shah Waliullah‘s  book Hajjatullah-ul-Balighah and Futuhat-e-Makkiyah (Meccan Revelations) by Shaykh Ibnul Arabi, and concluded that: “In brief, there is a clear difference between the self-made idols and images on one hand, and the souls of accomplished religious and spiritual personalities on the other. To apply the Qur’anic verse related to idols to the prophets and saints of Allah as undertaken in the book Taqviyatul-Iman (The Strength of Faith) amounts to blatant distortion and contemptible misinterpretation.”  [Mihr-e-Minir, Biography of Hadrat Syed Pir Meher Ali Shah, pp. 525-6]