wahabism chapter2

 Almighty Allah enlivened the places through him and every spot began to be filled with greenery after despair and disappointment. When it rained, people everywhere started seeking tabarruk by touching the body of al-'Abbas and they said: Bravo O Saqi (cupbearer) of the two holy sanctuaries. [19]

Observation of the period of history, an example of which has also benn mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari, shows that one of the means of tawassul was through the honourable personalities who were embodiment of  nearness (to God) and meritorious and possessed virtues that make them suitable for tawassul. What an elegant manner to express this is to say:

‘This is by God a means for seeking nearness to God and at His House’

(2). Al-Qastallani (died in the year 923 AH), who was a contemporary to Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, writes in his book al-Mawahib al-ladunniyya bil-manha al-muhammadiyyah fil seerat al-nabawiyyah that has been printed in Egypt that:

“When ‘Umar requested for rain through Abbas he said: 'O people! The Holy Prophet (s) used to look at Abbas from a father's angle. You follow him and take him as your channel towards Allah.'" This action nullifies the notion and thought of those who have completely prohibited tawassul or have prohibited it for personalities other than Holy Prophet (s). [20]

(3). When Mansur asked the grand Mufti of Medina, Malik bin Anas, whether he should face the qibla and recite du'a or face the Holy Prophet (s), the latter replied:

“Why do you turn your face away from him? He is your means and your father, Adam's channel on the Day of Judgement. You resort to him and take him as your intercessor as Almighty Allah accepts his intercession. Allah declares (in Quran) that if those who do injustice upon themselves..." [21]

(4). Ibn Hajar al-Haythami in the book of al-Sawa'iq al-muhriqa (which al-Qadi Nurullah al-Shustari refuted under the title of al-Sawarim al-muhriqa) has narrated the following two couplets:

      

“The Household of the Holy Prophet (s) is my channel towards Allah and it is through their means that I have hope that my book of deeds will be given in my right hand." [22]

By taking into consideration these testimonies and words, one can claim that the Holy Prophet (s) and the outstanding personalities are one kind of channel which Qur’an has ordered for that as:

“O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means of nearness to Him.” (Maida: 35)

And   (Channel) is not confined to observance of the wajib (obligatory) and haram (prohibited) acts. Instead, even the mustahab (recommended) acts such as tawassul to Prophets is a   (channel) too. Can we find fault with so many scholars in understanding the meaning of while they are the authorites in (passing) judgement and the protectors of traditions and are reckoned to be the Islamic scholars! Those who do not give importance to these kinds of specifications and testimonies and think of their justification and interpretation are those who because of their prejudice do not intend to reap the benefits of these testimonies and evidences. For presenting an example of their prejudice and dicrimination, we bring here a matter which al-Bukhari has narrated about this historical event and hence see with the vision of reality, how the curtain of prejudice has brought about deviation and chaos in this matter. We have replied to them in the book of al-Tawassul page 135 to 140.

(5) al-Bukhari narrates in his al-Sahih as such:

During the period of famine, ‘Umar bin al-Khattab would take resort to al-'Abbas bin 'Abd al-Muttalib and say: ‘O God ! previously we were taking resort to Your Prophet and You were sending Your mercy on us; Now we take resort to Your Prophet's uncle send Your mercy on us.' At this moment it started to rain and everything got satiated. [23]

There is nothing to be said about the authenticity and consensus regarding this tradition. Even al-Rifa'i who, under various pretexts, rejects the reliable traditions on tawassul has admitted the authenticity of this tradition and says:

 

       

“Certainly this tradition is correct….If the purpose of the tradition is a proof upon the correctness of tawassul to people then we are the first people to take the step to accept that purpose and act upon it.” [24]

By paying attention to the sentences of the Caliph himself which he narrates to al-'Abbas about tawassul and especially when he swears by Allah

   

This is by God a means for seeking nearness to God and at His House [25]

It becomes clear that the reality of tawassul in this case is tawassul to the self or to the position and status of al-'Abbas before God.

In this regard, Muhammad bin Nu'man al-Maliki (died in the year 683 AH) narrates in his book Misbah al-zalam fi al-mustaghithin bi khayr al-'anam the manner of tawassul of ‘Umar to al-'Abbas as such:

"O God we ask for rain through the channel of thy Prophet's uncle and we take his authority and previous record in Islam as our intercessor. At this moment, the mercy of Allah showered upon everyone. 'Abbas ibn 'Utba ibn Abi Lahab recited a poem in this regard and said: 'By the blessings of my Uncle, the land of Hijaz and its inhabitants got satiated. And at sunset, ‘Umar did tawassul to his (Al-Abbas’s)  virtouness.'" [26]

In the same way, Hassan bin Thabit too recited a poem regarding this matter:

“The cloud satiated (everything) due to the sparkling face of Abbas”.

Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani says in the book of Fath al-bari fi sharh Sahih al-Bukhari:

Al-Abbas in his du'a said:

 

“The people resorted to me because of the bond of relationship which I have with Thy Prophet”. [27]

As the respected readers have observed, there is no place of doubt that the aim was tawassul to the position and status of Abbas and we are aware that from ancient times there is a saying that:

“Anytime, a judgement is derived from a topic, its content will be a testimony against the topic (and) a testimony upon the proof of judgement.”

That is to say, if the Holy Qur’an says:

…Securing the necessities of life for the women is a matter concerning those whose wives bear children for them… (Baqarah: 233)

It is a judgement due to expression of the reason of judgement and since women bring children for the men, their expenses in daily life should naturally be met by the men.

If we say: A learned man and a scholar should be respected, it is because of his knowledge and wisdom.

Therefore if ‘Umar says   he wishes to indicate the reason for doing tawassul to al-'Abbas. In other words, from among so many people, why should we do tawassul to him? As al-'Abbas himself said:

‘Because of my status in relation to your Prophet.’   Taking into consideration these reasonings, we can decisively say that the Muslims in the beginning of Islam were doing ‘tawassul’ to the righteous and virtuous personalities.

(6)  Poem of Safiyya in grief of the Holy Prophet (s):

Safiyya, daughter of Abd al-Muttalib and aunt of the Holy Prophet (s) recited a poem in grief of the Holy Prophet (s). Two of its lines are:

“O Prophet of God you are our hope. You were a righteous person and never did you oppress anyone. You were good and kind to us; O our Prophet, amongst your nation whosoever (claims to be) in grief should shed tears for you.” [28]

This part of the poem which was presented in the presence of the companinons of the Holy Prophet (s) and which has been narrated by the historians informs us of the following points:

Firstly, conversation with the spirits or so to speak, the address to the Holy Prophet (s) after his demise was an action which was permitted and was a common practice. As she said: which is against the views of the Wahhabis, this kind of conversation is neither polytheism nor useless.

Secondly, by the decree of the sentence   the Holy Prophet (s) was the hope of the Islamic society in all the conditions. Even after his demise, his relation with us is not disconnected. Here we shall mention some of the valuable writings of the great Sunni authors regarding ‘Tawassul’ towards the Holy Prophet (s). Refering to these books will clarify for the Islamic scholars the position of this matter and will manifest the fact that the matter of Tawassul, contrary to the views of the Wahhabis, was a practice in vogue amongst the Muslims.

(1) Ibn al-Jawzi (died in 597) has written a book by the name of al-Wafa bi 'ahwal al-Mustafa', and has earmarked one chapter for tawassul to the Holy Prophet (s) and another chapter for ‘seeking shifa from his grave’.

(2) Shamsuddin Muhammad bin Nu'man al-Maliki (died in the year 673 AH) has written a book by the name of Misbah al-zalaam fi al-mustaghithin bi khayr al-'anam and Sayyid Nur al-Din al-Samhudi has narrated a lot from him in his book Wafa' al-wafa' in the chapter of ‘Tawassul to the Holy Prophet (s)’.

(3) Ibn Dawud al-Maliki al-Shadhili has brought in his book al-Bayan wa al-'ikhtisar the tawassul of scholars and pious people to the Holy Prophet (s) in difficulties and hardships.

(4) Taqi al-Din al-Subki (died in the year 756 AH) has analyzed this matter in his book Shifa al-siqam pages 120 to 133.

(5) Sayyid Nur al-Din al-Samhudi (died in the year 911 AH) has discussed this matter and brought testimonies to it in his book Wafa al-wafa' , vol. 2, pages 413 to 419.

(6) Abu al-'Abbas al-Qastallani (died in the year 932 AH) in his book al-Mawahib al-ladunniyya.

(7) Abu 'Abdulla al-Zurqani al-Maliki (died in the year 1122 AH) in his book Sharh al-Mawahib al-ladunniyya vol. 8 page 317.

(8) al-Khalidi al-Baghdadi (died in the year 1299 AH) author of Sulh al-'Ikhwan. Apart from this, he has written a risala (treatise) in reply to Sayyid Mahmud al-'Alusi Baghdadi about tawassul to the Holy Prophet (s) and has been printed in the year 1306 AH.

(9) al-'Adawi al-Hamzawi (died in the year 1303 AH) has discussed about tawassul in the book of Kanz al-matalib, page 198.

(10) al-'Azami al-Shafi'i al-Quda'i', author of Furqan al-Qur'an. This book has been printed along with the book al-'Asma wa al-sifat of al-Bayhaqi in 140 pages.

By referring to these books some of which have presented the facts and most prominent amongst them being Sulh al-'Ikhwan and Furqan al-Qur'an, one can know what was the practise of the Muslims in every period concerning tawassul to the Holy Prophet (s) and will reveal the exaggerations of Ibn Taymiyya and followers of his deviated ideology of Wahabism.

In the end, we shall once more remind you of what Qur’an says:

"O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful". (Mai'da: 35)

 

This verse in general orders to seek tawassul but what exactly is tawassul is not mentioned in this very verse.

There is no doubt that performing the religious duties is a channel (for tawassul) but it is not confined to this meaning only. Instead by paying attention to the short history of tawassul to the awliya Allah, it will become clear that this action itself is one of the channels. Moreover, this matter will fully become clear by referring to the conversation of Imam Malik with Mansur and also the incident of the second Caliph requesting for rain by doing tawassul to al-'Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet (s).

Footnotes: 

[1] In al-Musnad of Ahmad, Abu Ja'far has come with the word of Khutami although in Sunan of Ibn Maja Abu Ja'far has come independently.

[2] al-Tawassul ila haqiqat al-tawassul, page 158.

[3] Same reference.

[4]    Sunan of Ibn Maja al-Qazwini which is one of the six Sihah. vol. 1 page 261-262 chapter of ‘Mosques’ Egyptian edition, and refer to al-Musnad Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal vol. 3 hadith no. 21.

[5] The command which has come in the verse of  (Sura al-Baqarah:35) is not a authoritative command. Instead, it is an order in the guided sense or so to say an advisory aspect and opposition to such a command will not result in punishment and chastisement. Its consequence will be that the person will only be faced with the effect of the state of the action itself.  If a doctor commands his patient who is suffering from cold not to eat sour things and muskmelon, opposing his command will have no result other than intensification of his cold. In the Holy Qur’an many verses testify that the divine prohibtion was of a guided nature resulting in nothing but expulsion from heaven which is reckoned to be the effect of state of the action itself. Please refer to verses 118 and 119 of Sura Taha and the book of ‘Correct Tafsir of difficult verses of Qur’an’ the tenth matter from pages 73 to 82.

[6] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 2 page 615; Ruh al-Ma'ani vol. 1 page 217; al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 1 page 59 narrated from al-Tabarani, Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani and al-Bayhaqi.

[7] The text of the hadith is taken from al-Durr al-Manthur and differs slightly from the text of al-Hakim in his al-Mustadrak although both are same in their contents.

[8] Majma' al-bayan vol. 1 page 89; Tafsir al-burhan, vol.1. page 86-88; ahadith no .2, 5, 11, 12, 14 and 27.

[9] Tafsir al-burhan, vol. 1 page 87 ahadith no.13, 15 and 16.

[10] Sayyid Ahmad Zayni Dihlan writes in the both al-Durar al-saniyya, page 10 that al-Qadi 'Iyad has narrated this incident with correct reference. Imam al-Subki in his book Shifa al-Saqam, al-Samhudi in Wafa' al-wafa', and al-Qastallani in al-Mawahib al-ladunniyya. Ibn Hajar said in al-Jawhar al-munazzam that this incident has been narrated with correct references. Al-'Allama al-Zurqani writes in Sharh al-mawahib that Ibn Fahd has narrated this with a good (hasan) chain of narration and al-Qadi 'Iyad has narrated it with an authentic (sahih) chain of narration. The text of the conversation of al-Mansur with Imam Malik will be mentioned later in the text.

[11] Kashf al-'irtiyab, pages 307, 308.

[12] Kashf al-'irtiyab, page 312 narrated from Khulasat al-kalam.

[13] al-Durar al-saniyya, page 8.

[14]   is derived from   which means the noise of a camel.

[15]   is derived from   which means the noise of a child while sleeping.

[16] al-Durar al-saniyya, page 27 written by Zayni Dihlan and al-Tawassul ila haqiqat al-tawassul,  page 300

[17] al-Sahifat al-'Alawiyya, ad'iya of Amir al-mu'minin which al-Shaykh 'Abdallah Samahiji has collected.

[18] Mafatih al-jinan, du'a 'Arafa.

[19] Usd al-ghaba, vol. 3 page 111. Egyptian edition.

[20] al-Mawahib al-ladunniyya, vol. 3 page 380 Egyptian edition and in Ibn Hajar Asqalani, Fath al-bari, vol. 2, page 413 (Lebanon print). It has also been reported in Sharh al-mawahib by al- Zurqani (1055 AH - 1122 AH).

[21] Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 1376.

[22] al-Sawa'iq al-muhriqa, page 178 (Cairo print).

[23] Sahih Bukhari, chapter of Salat al-'istisqa, vol. 2 page 32.

[24] Although, it was worthy to say   because technically, tradition is that which must be narrated from the Holy Prophet (s) and our discussion too is about historical events and we reminded you previously of the traditions of tawassul.

[25] Usd al-ghaba, vol. 3. page 111.

[26] Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 3 page 375 narrated from Misbah al-zalam.

[27] Fath al-Bari, vol. 2 page 413 (print of Dar al-Ma'rifa Lebanon).

[28] Dhakha'ir al-'uqba fi manaqib dhawi'l qurba, page 252 written by al-Hafiz Muhibb al-Din al-Tabari, born in 615 AH and died in 694 AH, (print of Maktab al-Quds, Cairo); and Majma' al-zawa'id, vol. 9 page 36, (2nd edition) written by al-Hafiz Nur al-Din al-Haytami.

Let it not remain unsaid that the sentence of   in the first line has appeared as   in the aforesaid book.

Chapter 8

Is it an Innovation to Commemorate the Birth and Death Anniversaries of Awliya Allah?

The Wahhabis consider the honouring of birth and death anniversaries of awliya and divine personalities to be forbidden and an innovation. They are the staunch enemies of the awliya Allah and religious leadrs and consider the gatherings on their birth and death anniversaries to be (haram) prohibited.

Muhammad Hamid al-Faqi, the leader of group ‘Ansar al-Sunnat al-Muhammadiyya’ in his footnotes to his book al-Fath al-Majid writes:

“Remembering and celebrating on the days of birth and death of awliya amounts to one kind of worshipping them and respecting before them”. [1]

The root of all their mistakes is that because they have not determined any limit and margin for polytheism (shirk), tawhid and specially the meaning of 'ibada, they think that every kind of respect and honour is worship. As you must have noticed, he has brought the word of 'ibada and homage close to each other and imagines that both give the same meaning.

In the one of next chapters, we shall explain the meaning of 'ibada and clearly prove that every honour and respect to the virtuous servants of God with the intention that they are the ‘servants’ of Allah, does not result in their worship at all. Therefore, we shall examine this discussion from another angle (not polytheism in 'ibada).

Undoubtedly, Qur’an has repeatedly praised the Prophets and awliya with eloquent and rhetorical words.

About Zakaria, Yahya and others the Qur’an says:

“Surely they used to hasten, one with another, in deeds of goodness and to call upon Us, hoping and fearing, and they were humble before Us.” (al-'Anbiya: 90) .

Now, if in a gathering which is held under their name, someone portrays them in a similar manner which has come down in the contents of this verse and by this way honours them, has he done anything other than obeying the Holy Qur’an?

About the household of the Prophet, Allah (swt) says:

"And they give food out of love for Him to the poor and the orphan and the captive."  (Dahr: 8)

Now if the followers of Ali come together on the birthday of Amir al-mu'minin and say that Ali is one who used to give his own food to the poor, orphan and the captive, have they by this act worshipped him!?

If on the birthday of the Holy Prophet (s) we translate the verse which praises the Prophet into a non-Arabic language or write a poem on a tablet and recite it in a gathering, have we committed a forbidden action!?

They are having enmity with the matter of honouring the Holy Prophet (s) and awilya Allah that they wish to stop this under the pretext of fight against innovation.

At this stage a question is brought up to which the loud-speakers amongst the Wahhabis lay great emphasis and it is this: ‘Since these assemblies and gatherings are held under the name of religion and are labelled as Islamic, they should be approved specifically and generally by the Islamic rules.  Otherwise it would be innovation (bid’at) and forbidden (haram).

The reply to this question is quite clear because the verses of Qur’an that draw our attention to the necessisty of honouring the Prophet is sufficient in this case and these kinds of gatherings are not held for any reason other than respecting the awliya Allah. That thing is considered to be ‘innovation’ which is not approved specifically or generally by Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet.

The purpose of these honourings which is common amongst all the nations of the world is nothing but paying respect and homage and this practise is common among all the Muslims of the world except for these handful of dry wahhabi ‘Najdis’. If it was innovation and something new and not confirming with the general Islamic principles, it was impossible that the Islamic scholars would celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophet (s) and make splendid such gatherings by reading scholarly monographs and reciting sweet and elegant poems.

Here are some logical reasonings from Qur’an permitting such respect and honourings:

First Proof

The Holy Qur’an praises that group of people who honour the Holy Prophet (s):

“So (as for) those who believe in him and honour him and help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful.” (A'raf: 157)

The words which have appeared in this verse comprises of: 

Is it possible for one to think that the words   ,  and   are confined to the period of the Holy Prophet? Certainly not! If such a probability cannot be given about these three words, the word of   which gives the meaning of honour and respect [2] cannot be assigned to the period of the Holy Prophet (s) and thus this sublime leader should be respected and honoured at all times.

Is it not that arranging memorial gathering on the day of bi'that and birth of the Holy Prophet (s) and delivering speeches and poems on such occasions clear evidence to  ?

Surprisingly, the Wahhabis pay homage and respect their own tribal leaders and rulers and honour even one ordinary person such that observing one hundredth of that with regard to the Holy Prophet (s), his pulpit and alter is considered to be innovation and anti-Islamic by them. As a result they introduce Islam to the world as one dry religion lacking any sentiments and affections and think that the shari'a which is in fact simple and easy, matching with the human nature and feeling and generous enough to attract the people is a dry "shari'a" which does not consider the respect of divine leaders to be of any significance and does not possess the ability to attract the people of the world.

Second Proof

What do the Wahhabis who oppose any kind of mourning ceremonies for the martyrs in the way of Allah have to say about the story of Ya'qub ('a)? If today, this great Prophet was living amongst these Najdis and the followers of Muhammad bin ’Abd al-Wahhab how would have they judged him?

Day and night he was weeping for his separation from Yusuf and all the time he was asking the people about the whereabouts of his beloved son. He was so much sorrowful by the separation of his son that he lost his eye-sight. [3]

Sickness and loss of eye-sight did not deter Ya’kub (‘a) from forgetting his son Yusuf (‘a). Instead, as the promise of re-union was drawing closer the flames of love towards his son increased manifold and he could smell Yusuf miles away. [4]

And instead of the star (Yusuf) pursuing the sun (Ya'qub ('a)) it was vice -versa.

Why expression of such affection during the life of the loved one (i.e. Yusuf) is correct and confirms to Tawhid but after his death when the heart becomes more prone to pain and suffering it amounts to polytheism and becomes forbidden?

Now if the Ya'qubs of our time gather together every year on the death anniversary of their Yusufs and speak about the value of his moral qualities due to which they start crying, will such an act amount to worshipping of their sons!? [5]

Third Proof

Undoubtedly,   (love towards kinship) is one of the Islamic obligations which Qur’an explicitly commends us towards it. Now, after fourteen centuries if someone wishes to act upon the religious obligations then what should we do? Is it not that he should rejoice on their joyous days and become sorrowful on the days of their grief and sorrow?

Now, for expressing one's own pleasure, if someone holds a gathering wherein he reveals their historical life and sacrifices and describes their innocence and their deprivation from their rightful claims then, has he done anything other than expressing his affection and manifesting mawadda dhawi'l qurba? ()

If, for showing more affection, such a person visits their progeny and comes near their graves and holds such gatherings near their graves then, has he in the eyes of the wise and intelligent people, done anything other than manifesting his love and affection!?

Except that the Wahhabis may say: Such love and affection should be kept secret and confined to the heart and no one has the right to manifest and express them (openly).

During the time of the Holy Prophet (s) and the period after him which was the period of change of thoughts and beliefs, different tribes and nations with different cultures and customs were turning towards Islam and by reciting the shahadatayn (creed) their Islam was accepted. The position of Prophet and the leaders was never to investigate, censor (by establishing the ‘section for scrutinizing of beliefs’) than dissolve the entire rites and customs of the nations and tribes and bring them out in another form different from the previous ones.

Respect of leaders, establishing memorial ceremonies, attending the graves and expressing love for their signs and traces was and is the custom of all nations and tribes. At present too, the people of East and West stand for hours in que waiting to pay visit to the mummified bodies and graves of ancient leaders in order to express their love and shed tears in their grief. They consider this to be one way for expressing respect and honour.

It was never seen that the Holy Prophet (s) would accept the Islam of people only after investigating their beliefs and examining their practises and customs in practical life. Instead, expressing the ‘Shahadatain’ was enough for him. If these practices and customs were forbidden and or amounted to worshiping the ancestors, then it was necessary to accept the Islam of nations and tribes (only) after taking allegiance and promise from them about their exoneration (of such practices) while such was never the case.

Fourth Proof

We see Isa (‘a) asks for table (with food) from the Almighty Allah and introduces the day of its descension as the day of celebration and says:

“O Allah, our lord! send down to us food from heaven which should be to us an ever-recurring happiness, to the first of us and the last of us, and a sign from Thee, and grant us means of subsistence, and Thou art the best of the Providers.” (Maida: 114)

Is the value of the Holy Prophet's existence lesser than one heavenly table which Isa (‘a) declares the day of its descension to be the day of ‘Eid’. If such a day is declared to be the day of ‘Eid’ because of the table being a divine sign, then is not the Holy Prophet (s) the greatest divine sign!?

Woe to those who are ready to celebrate the day of descension of one heavenly table that feeds the stomachs but ignore and label as innovation, the celebration of the day of descension of Qur’an and the day of appointment (bi’that) of Prophet who blessed the minds of human beings with perfection of thought over the period of history !

Fifth Proof

The Qur’an says:

“And exalted for you your esteem”? (Inshiraah: 4)

Is it that arranging gatherings for celebrating the days of birth of the Holy Prophet (s) having any purpose other than elevating his name and fame! Why in this case we should not follow the Qur’an? Is not Qur’an an example and the best model for us? 

Footnotes: 

[1] al-Fath al-Majid, page 154. At this time when these pages and papers are being composed, and in the entire Islamic countries celebrations are being held on the occasion of the birth of the Holy Prophet, the Mufti of the House of Sa’ud, Bin Baz has declared as forbidden and innovation any kind of respect for the birthday of the Holy Prophet (s). But the same person addressed King Faisal al-Sa’ud during his reign as ‘Amir al-mu'minin’ and this action was biting and shocking to the extent that the king too understood and excused for accepting this title.

[2] Refer to al-Raghib, Mufradat al-Raghib, under " ' dh r".

[3]   Sura Yusuf: 84.

[4]   Sura Yusuf verse: 94.

[5] Moreover, reliable traditions have come down from the Infallibles about holding of mourning ceremonies and in this connection, Allama al-'Amini has collected in one chapter of his book titled:   all the traditions from Sunni books

Chapter 9

Seeking Benediction and Cure from the Signs and Traces of Awliya

The Wahhabis reckon tabarruk (seeking benediction) towards the traces of awliya to be polytheism and label the one who kisses the altar and pulpit of the Holy Prophet (s) as polytheist even though in doing that he doesn’t believe in any kind of godliness in it. Rather, love and affection to the Holy Prophet (s) becomes the cause of kissing the signs and traces related to him. Here we ask, what have they to say about the shirt of Yusuf (a')?

Yusuf ('a) says: ‘Take my shirt and cast it over my father's face so that he regains his eye-sight." (Yusuf: 93)

Ya'qub ('a) too kept the shirt of Yusuf over his eyes and at that same moment realized that he could see. As he says: 

“So when the bearer of good news came he cast it on his face, so forthwith he regained his sight.” (Yusuf: 96)

If Ya'qub ('a) would have done such a thing in front of the Najdis and followers of Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab, how would have they behaved with him? Now would they explain the action of an immaculate Prophet who is free from sins and mistakes!?

Now if the Muslims keep the soil of the grave of the last of the Prophets or his shrine over their eyes and kiss out of respect, the grave and shrine of the divine leaders or seek tabarruk and say that God has exerted some effect in this soil and wishes to follow the Ya'qub ('a) of today in so and so affair then why should they be subjected to curse and be accused of heresy. [1]

Those who are aware of the life history of the Holy Prophet (s) know that the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) were always taking precedence to each other in doing tabarruk to the water of his wudhu (ablution). It is sufficient in this case, to briefly refer to Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim which are thought to be the most authentic among the six Sihah. Here, we mention some of them:

(1) About the event of ‘Peace of Hudaybiyya’ Bukhari writes:

“Whenever the Holy Prophet (s) was taking ablution, his companions use to take precedence to each other in collecting the drops of water of his ablution.” [2]

(2) In the chapter of ‘Last of the Prophets’, Bukhari narrates from Sa'ib bin Yazid that: “My aunt took me to the Holy Prophet (s) and informed him about my illness. The Holy Prophet (s) made ablution and asked Allah for blessings for me and I drank from the water of his ablution.” [3]

(3) In the chapter of ‘The characteristics of the Prophet’, Bukhari narrates from Wahab bin 'Abdullah that: “People were rubbing the hands of the Holy Prophet (s) over their faces and I too took the hands of the Prophet and rubbed them over my face and his hands were more fragrant than musk.” [4]

(4) In the chapter of ‘The characteristics of the Prophet', Bukhari narrates:

The Holy Prophet (s) was in ‘Abtah’ standing besides the tents. Bilal came out from a tent and called the people for prayers. Again he went inside and brought out the remaining drops of water of ablution of the Holy Prophet (s). The people rushed towards it and sought tabarruk from it. [5]

(5) Muslim narrates in his Sahih from Anas that: “When the Holy Prophet (s) was shaving his head his companions were besides him and each one of them held one string of his hair in their hands.[6]

These were some examples of affection of the companions and their tabarruk to the signs and traces of the Holy Prophet (s) and collecting these incidents neccessiates the writing of one seperate book.

By refering to the last chapter of Sahih Bukhari about jihad and also the chapter related to the armour, stick, sword, vessels, seal, ring, hair and shrould of the Holy Prophet (s) one can become aware of the evident examples of tabarruk.

These traditions expose and explain the baseless nature of the culture of the Wahhabism that prevents the people from seeking tabarruk to the holy shrine of Prophet (s) and have employed special groups of persons to beat physically and use foul language with those who seek tabarruk to the holy shrine of the Holy Prophet (s). They thus stop the Muslims from expressing such love and affection which had been in practice during the period of the Holy Prophet (s) in his very presence.

The matter of prevention of tabarruk to the traces of the Holy Prophet (s) and kissing of his shrine and pulpit is one of the greatest ideological expressions of the Wahhabism. The Wahhabi Government of Saudi Arabia under the garb of ‘amr bi al-ma'ruf (enjoining the good) and nahi 'an al-munkar (forbidding the evil) have stationed their agents around the holy shrine in order to prevent the pilgrims from performing such action and they too behave harshly and mercilessly with the pilgrims. Many times at such occasions innocent blood is shed and many persons’ honour and prestige got damaged. The root cause of their belief is that kissing and honouring the shrine amounts to worshipping the one in grave, as if ‘every respect is worship.’

Since these helpless people who are far from the reality of Islamic teachings are unable to interpret 'ibada (worship) in the logical sense, they have become puzzled and confused and take every type of respect to the dead to be an 'ibada. In the next chapter, we shall draw a precise limit and boundary for 'ibada, but what is important now is to know what was the practice of the Muslims in this matter:

(1) After the Holy prophet's burial, his daughter Fatima (‘a) stood near his grave and then taking some soil from the grave she put it over her face. She later cried and recited these two poems:

“What happens to the one who smells the soil of grave of Ahmad, who till he is alive, shall smell no more the expensive musks”.

“I was faced with such calamities that if it had befallen on the bright day it would have changed to night” [7]

(2) The great companion Bilal who left Medina for some reason and settled by order of the frontier guards, in the districts of Syira saw in his dream that the Holy Prophet (s) was saying:

“What kind of injustice is this, O Bilal? Has not the time come that you visit us!? He woke up from his sleep in sadness and sat on his horse and left for Medina. When he reached the grave of the Holy Prophet (s) he started to cry and rubbed his face over it. Later he saw al-Hasan and al-Husayn and kissed both of them. [8]

(3) Amir al-mu'minin 'Ali ('a) says: “Three days had lapsed from the burial of the Holy Prophet (s) when a bedouin Arab came and threw himself over the grave of the Holy Prophet (s). He sprinkled the soil of his grave over his head and started to converse with the Holy Prophet (s). He said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, you spoke and we listened. You received the truth from Allah and we too received it from you. From the things which Allah revealed to you is this

I have done injustice upon myself. So seek forgiveness for me from Allah. Suddenly he heard a voice saying: Your sins have been forgiven.

This incident has been narrated by most of the historians mainly al-Samhudi in Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 612 and Shaykh Dawud al-Khalidi (died in 1299 AH) in Sulh al-'Ikhwan and others.

(4) al-Hakim narrates in al-Mustadrak that: Marwan bin al-Hakam entered the mosque and saw a man putting his face over a grave. Marwan caught hold of his neck and said: “Are you aware of what you are doing?” The man lifted his head and it became apparent that he was Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. He said: ‘I have not come to visit a stone, but have come to visit the Holy Prophet (s). O Marwan, I have heard the Holy Prophet (s) saying: When the pious people bear the leadership do not cry for that. Do cry when unworthy men become the leaders (i.e. you and your Umayyad household).’ [9]

This period of history reveals the root of ‘creation of obstacle’ to prevent seeking tabarruk from the grave of the Holy Prophet (s) and shows that the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) were constantly seeking tabarruk from the holy grave of the Holy Prophet. It was people like Marwan bin al-Hakam who used to prevent people from this well-known deed.

The historical incidents in this case are so numerous that narrating all of them will lengthen our discussion. Interested readers can refer to the book Tabarruk al-sahaba and the valuable book al-Ghadir vol. 5 page 146-156.

In the end, we are bound to mention that all these historical narratives can never be false and baseless. Now, even if we assume that all of them are false and baseless yet they will serve our purpose. Because, if such an action was heresy, polytheism, unlawful or forbidden, then the fabricators would have never attributed them to religious personalities since the liars fabricate instances which are worthy of approval by the society so that the people believe and accept their made up stories. They never attribute anything which is heresy, polytheism, forbidden or unlawful to the pious people because in such a case they will be confronted with the resistance and non-acceptance of the people and their arrows will hit the stone and miss the target.

 

Footnotes: 

[1] All the Muslims, right from the time of the Holy Prophet (s) till now, have been seeking tabarruk to the traces of the Holy Prophet (s) and Shaykh Muhammad Thahari Makki has proved this matter with decisive historical evidences in his treatise which was printed in 1385. This treatise is called  and has been translated into Persian.

[2] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.3 page 255.

[3] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.4 page 227; and Sahih Muslim, Chapter of ‘Last of the Prophets’.

[4] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.4 page 226

[5] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.4 page 231.

[6] Sahih Muslim, vol. 4., Book of ‘Virtues of Companions’

[7] Many of the research writers have narrated this incident such as al-Shabrawi in al-Tuhaf page 9 and al-Samhudi in Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 444 and al-Khalidi in Sulh al-'Ikhwan, page 57 and others.

[8] This incident has been narrated by a group like al-Subki in Shifa al-Saqam narrating from Ibn 'Asakir, and Ibn al-'Athir in Usd al-ghaba, vol. 1 page 28.

[9] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 4 page 515

Chapter 10

Tawhid in 'Ibada and Worship (or Pretext of Wahhabis)

Monotheism (worship of the one God) is the basis of the invitation of the Prophets in all ages. This means that all the human-beings must worship the one God and refrain from worshipping creatrues.

Monotheism and shattering the chains of ‘dualism’ and ‘polytheism’ are the most fundamental heavenly commands and have been the epigraph of the programme of all the divine Prophets.

Every Prophet had been appointed with one main aim and that is establishing monotheism and fighting against absolute polytheism and especially polytheism in worship.

The Holy Qur’an refers to this reality and says:

“And certainly We raised in every nation an Apostle saying: Serve Allah and shun the taghut.” (Nahl: 36)

“And we did not send before you any apostle but we revealed to him that there is no god but Me, therefore serve Me.”  (Anbiya: 25)

The Holy Qur’an introduces monothism as a common base among all the heavenly precepts,

“Say: O followers of the Book! come to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but Allah and (that) we shall not associate aught with Him.” (Aal-e Imran: 64)

Tawhid in worship is a decisive and firm foundation which has never been opposed by any of the Muslims and all the sects hold a common view about it. Although the group of Mu'tazilites are having a different view in   (Tawhid in actions) and the group of ‘Asharites differ in    (Tawhid in attributes), still all the Islamic sects have had one opinion in this respect and no Muslim can deny this principle. And if there is any differences, they are all related to   (its applicability); that is to say some of the Muslims imagine some of the actions to be ‘ibadat (worship) whereas others consider that to be honour and respect. Whatever dispute which exists is in  (minor type) i.e. whether so and so act is ‘ibadat or not and not in   (of major type) i.e. ‘ibadat other than Allah amounts to polytheism and is forbidden. It is here that we should properly clarify the meaning of ‘ibadat from the viewpoint of dialect and the Qur’an and then the relevant duties and     (applicability) of the matters under discussion will automatically become clear.

To be more explicit, tawhid in ‘ibada is not something which some particular group can attribute it to themselves. Instead, all the monotheists, especially the Muslims are of one view in this regard. What is of concern is the talk and discussion of a series of actions which some manifest them as ‘ibada while others do not consider them to have any relation to ‘ibada. Thus we have to talk and discuss about this matter in this section. We have to define ‘ibada in logical terms and clarify its limits and boundaries and hand over a criterion to the other person so that under the light of this he can distinguish the true ‘ibadat from the false one. [1]

Limits of ‘Ibada and its Comprehensive Meaning

‘Ibada in Arabic is equivalent to ‘worship’ in English. Just as the word 'worship' is having a clear and obvious meaning for us, in the same manner the word of ‘ibada is having a clear meaning even though we may not be able to give it a logical definition, and interpretation.

Undoubtedly, the meaning of ‘land’ and ‘sky’ is very clear and obvious for all of us but still, most of us are unable to define and explain them perfectly. However this matter cannot prevent us from understanding the clear and obvious meaning of these two words if ever we hear them.

'Ibada and worship too are similar to the words ‘land’ and ‘sky’ Everyone is aware of its actual meaning even though we may not be able to define it logically as the actual dispensations of each of the words of ‘ibada and ta'zim or worship and honour is clear for us and differentiating the instance of each from the other is simple and easy.

A lover who kisses the door and walls of the house of beloved one or keeps dress or puts it over chest or after death, kisses the grave of beloved will never be taken as a worshipper in the eyes of anybody. The action of those who hasten for visiting the mummified bodies of great world leaders who are a centre of attraction for a group of people or visit their traces, houses and haven or for honouring them go into a few seconds of silence and hold ceremonies, will not be reckoned as ‘ibada (worship) even though their humility and manifestation of love is in the rank of humility of monotheists in front of God. In this discussion, only the awakened consciences can be the judges in order to differentiate between ta'zim (respect) and ‘ibada (worship).

Now if we wish to explain ‘ibada in the logical sense and wish to test and analyse it, we can define it in three ways and all the three explanation can pursue the same objective. However, before that we shall mention two defective introductions upon which the Wahhabis rely.

Two Defective Presentation of ‘ibada

A. Ibadat: Humility ( ) and Submissiveness ()

In dictionaries, the word of ‘ibada has been interpreted as humility or humbleness ( ) and manifestation of meekness or submissiveness (4) () Such an interpretation cannot give a precise,correct and perfect meaning of the word of ‘ibada because:

(1) If ‘ibada is synonymous to either humility () and meekness, ( ) then we cannot issue an identity card of tawhid for anybody in this world and cannot call anyone as a monotheist because man, by nature, is humble and meek in front of the spiritual and material perfections of those who are above him and better than him, like a student in front of his teacher, a child in front of his teacher, a child in front of his father and mother, a lover in front of his beloved one and so on.

(2) The Holy Qur’an commands the children to be low and humble before the parents. It says: 

“And make yourself submissively gentle to them with compassion, and say: O my Lord! have compassion on them, as they brought me up (when I was) little.” (Bani-Israel: 24)

If an abject humility is the sign of ‘Ibadat’ of that person, then all the obedient children have to be called as polytheists and all the disobedient ones as monotheists.

B. 'Ibada: Unlimited Humility

When some of the commentators became aware of the deficiency of interpretation of the compilers of dictionaries, they strived to amend it and interpreted it in another manner. They said: 'ibada is that unlimited himitily in sensing, perfection and greatness.’

Such an interpretation is no less than the first interpretation because God orders the angels to prostrate before Adam (a'). As Qur’an says:

“And when We said to the angels: Make prostration to Adam they did prostrate except Iblis.” (Baqarah: 34)

Prostration in front of a creature is one evidence of meekness and the manifestation of unlimited humility.

If such an act is the sign of ‘ibada, then all the obedient angels are to be declared as polytheists and the disobedient Satan as a monotheist.

The sons of Ya'qub ('a) and even he himself along with his wife prostrated before the magnificence of Yusuf as the holy Qur’an says:

“And they fell down in prostration before him, and he said: O my father! this is the significance of my vision of old, my Lord has indeed made it to be true.” (Yusuf: 100)

The Holy Qur’an narrates the dream of Yusuf ('a) in his childhood and says:

“Surely I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon making obeisance to me.” (Yusuf: 4)

Following the leader of the monotheists, the Holy Prophet (s) - all the Muslims honour hajar al-'aswad (black stone) and rub their hands over it. That is to say, they act in the same way as idol-worshippers do to their idols with the difference that our action is purely tawhid and their action purely heresy.

By paying attention to this point, one should not search the reality of ‘ibada only in the external form of action and in the absolute humilities and meekness even though humility and meekness are amongst the actual elements and essentials of ‘ibada. However, the elements and esentials are not confined to that; rather humility and meekness should also be linked with some special belief and in fact if humility whether unlimited or to a lesser degree originates from a special belief, it will be counted as ‘ibada. As a matter of fact, it is belief that gives the colour of ‘ibada to one’s action and without it, the action cannot be regarded as ‘ibada.

Now, what is this second element? This is what we are going to discuss in this section. i.e. the logical explanation of ‘ibada.

First Definition Of ‘Ibada:

‘Ibada is that practical, literal or verbal humility which originates from belief in the divinity of source entity.

Now we should see what is meant by ‘Divinity’ and the crucial point of our discussion lies in understanding the meaning of ‘Divinity’.   or Divinity gives the meaning of Godliness and    gives the meaning of God. If incidentally, the word of    (God) has been interpreted as ‘deity’, it necessitates explanation and not that deity is the actual meaning of  . Rather, in view of the fact that the genuine   and / or the imaginary    have been the deity and object of worship among the people of the world, it is supposed that   gives the meaning of deity; otherwise deity is from the requisites of   and not its primary meaning.

A clearer evidence that the word or denotes the meaning of God and not deity is the very pure creed (of faith) i.e  . If in this sentence, the word of    is interpreted as ‘deity’ then this creed will be a false one because it is clear and obvious that with the exception of ‘Allah’ , there are thousands of other deities too.

Therefore, for relieving themselves from the difficulty, some people have commended the word of   so that in this way they remove the falsehood and thus the meaning of the sentence becomes   (no deity with the truth except Allah). However appreciating such a sentence is nothing but a formality.

A clear proof of this definition is a verse which has come in this regard. Examining this verse will clarify the fact that ‘ibada is that kind of speech and action which originates from the belief in divinity [2] and till such a belief does not exist in a person his humility and bowing down or honour and respect will not be counted as ‘ibada. When Qur’an gives command to perform ‘ibada of Allah, it immediately convinces that except for Him there is no god. As Qur’an says:

    

“O (my) people, worship Allah; there is no god for you except Him”. (al-A'raf: 59)

The main theme of this verse has come in nine or more instances and our dear readers can refer to Sura A'raaf, verses 65, 73, 58, Sura Hud, verses 5, 61 and 84 Sura Anbiya, verses 25 Sura Mominun, verses 23 and 32 and Sura Taha, verse 14.

Such interpretations indicate that ‘ibada is that humility and meekness which originates from belif in divinity and if such a belief does not exist, then it cannot be regarded as ‘ibada.

This verse and its contents is not the only verse which bears testimony to this matter. Rather other verses too bear testimony to this fact such as:

“Surely they used to behave proudly when it was said to them: There is no god but Allah.”  (Safaat: 35)

That is to say, they do not pay attention to this talk because they believe in the divinity of other creatures.

“Or have they a god other than Allah? Glory be to Allah from what they set up (with Him).” (Tur: 43)

[3]

In the above verse, the basis of polytheism has been shown to be belief in the divinity of someone other than Allah.

“Those who set up another god with Allah; so they shall soon know” (Hejr: 96)

 “And they who do not call upon another god with Allah….” (Furqaan: 68)

The proof that the call of the polytheists was along with the belief in divinity of their idols are the following verses:

“And they have taken gods besides Allah, that they should be to them a source of strength.” (Maryam: 80)

“Do you really bear witness that there are other gods with Allah”? (Ana’am: 19)

 “And when Ibrahim said to his sire Azar: Do you take idols for gods?” (Ana’am: 74)

By refering to the verses that have come down about the polytheism of idol-worshippers, this reality becomes clear that the polytheism of idol-worshippers was the result of their belief in the divinity of their deities and they considered these deities which were man-made ones to be as various gods. They believed that some of the affairs of the great god had been entrusted to them and because of this, they used to worship them.

It was because of their belief in divinity of their idols that whenever they were invited to believe in the One God, they would deny this matter and if a partner was associated with Him they would readily believe just as the following verse confirms so:

“That is because when Allah alone was called upon, you disbelieved, and when associates were given to Him, you believed, Judgement belongs to Allah, the High, the Great.” (Ghafir: 12)

When (late) Ayatullah al-Shaykh Muhammad Jawad al-Balaghi comes to the point of analysing and interpreting the reality of ‘ibada in his valuable tafsir called 'Aala al-Rahman explains it as such:

[4]

'Ibada (worship) is that very action which arises from the humility of a person in front of the One whom he selects as    God, so that he fulfils His superior right which He possesses due to His distinguished position (divinity).

Al-Balaghi has described ‘ibada by his own conscience and perception and the afore-mentioned verses clearly confirm and elucidate the correctnes and firmness of this description.

The great teacher, Ayatullah Khumayni has written the same view in his valuable book and says: ‘ibada consists of glorifying someone as God either as a major God or a minor god. [5]

The most evident testimony to this view is the observation of the collective verses which speak against polytheism. All the polytheist sects would consider as   (God, whether big or small and real or metaphorical) all such creatures whom they would pay homage and worship.

The key to this interpretation lies in this that by referring to the verses, we should clarify the point that  means ‘God’ and not ‘deity’ and to be a God it is enough that a being (in the eyes of a worshipper) is the owner of some of the affairs and actions of the Creator God even though he himself may be a created one as was the view of the ignorant Arabs with respect to their idols.

Second Definition of ‘Ibada:

Ibadat is humility in front of the one whom we consider as   (Lord).

We can change our perception of ‘ibada and say: ‘Ibadat’ is a verbal and practical humility that arises from belief in the    (Lordship) of the source entity and the word of    (submission) is in contrast to Lordship.

Whenever a person imagines himself to be a servant and slave and the opposite person to be his creator Lord and with this intention, he pays homage to his Lord (whether or not he is his actual Lord) such an action will be considered as ‘Ibadat’.

From the verses mentioned hereunder we can derive this conclusion that ‘Ibadat’ is from the rank of Lordship. Here are some of them:

“And the Messiah said: O Children of Israel! serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” (Maida: 72)

“Surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serve Him, this is the right path.” (Aal-Imran: 51)

Such contents have come in other verses too. In some of the verses, ‘Ibadat’ is reckoned to be from the rank of   (creative power) as it says:

“That is Allah, your Lord, there is no god but He, the Creator of all things, there fore serve Him.” (An’am: 102)

What is meant by   (Lord)?

In Arabic language, Lord is attributed to the One to whom the management and direction of all things is entrusted and their destiny rests in His authority. If in Arabic, the owner of a house; the nurse of a child and the farmer of a farm are called as Lord, it is because the authority of their management is entrusted to them and their destiny lies in their hand. If we recognize God to be our Lord, it is because our entire destiny, right from existence, life, death, sustenance, legislation and forgiveness lies in His hands.

Now if someone imagines that one of the affairs related to our destiny lies in someone else's hand, for example, if God entrusts the affair of life, death, sustenance, legislation and forgiveness to some other person so that the person independently assumes the responsibility of all or one of these positions, we have taken him as Lord. If with this belief, we pay homage to him, we have worshipped him.

In other words, ‘Ibadat’ and worship originates from the feeling of bondage and the reality of bondage is nothing other than taking oneself as slave and the higher authority as the Master of existence, life, death and sustenance or at least the Master and authority of particularly forgiveness,[6] intercession,[7] and enactor of laws and responsibilities.[8] In such a case, he has imagined him to be his Lord and anyone who manifests such feelings either verbally or practically has undoubtedly worshipped him.

Third Definition of ‘ibada

Here we can interpret ‘ibada in a different manner and that is: “‘Ibada is humility in front of the one whom we think as God or the source of divine works”.

There is no doubt that the affairs connected with the world of creation and existence such as, planning of the affairs, bringing to life the human-beings, causing the people to die, giving sustenance to the living creatures and forgiving the sins of the people, are all from God. If you refer to the verses [9] related to planning of the affairs, creation of things, reviving the dead and causing the alive ones to die and other such verses, you will realize that Qur’an recognizes, with emphatic emphasis, all such affairs to be the work of God and strictly prohibits its connection to anyone other than Him.

On the other hand, we know that the world of creation is a well-organized and systematic world and every action which takes place in this world does not occur without the numerous causes which all finally lead to God. On various occasions the holy Qur’an has itself specified the causes of these actions which are the agents of God but act according to the command of God.

For example, Qur’an mentions with special emphasis that the Giver of Life and Death is God. As it says:

“And He it is Who gives life and causes death, and (in) His (control) is the alternation of the night and the day.” (Mominoon: 80)

But the same Qur’an in another verse introduces the Angels to be the Giver of death. It says:

“Until when death comes to one of you, Our messengers cause him to die.” (An’am: 61)

Therefore the way of drawing a conclusion is that we say: The agency and causalitily of these natural causes whether material or non-material, such as the Angels is by the permission and command of God and the independent executor is God Himself. In other words, these two doers are besides each other, one being an independent doer and the other being a dependent one and this is one of the sublime gnosis of Qur’an which by referring to the numerous verses one can understand the actions of God.

Now if a person reckons the actions of God to be cut off from Him and says that these affairs have been entrusted to splendid creatures like Angles and Prophets and with such a belief, he pays homage and becomes humble in front of them, then certainly his humility is ‘Ibadat’ and his action will amount to polytheism.

In other words, if he believes that God has bestowed the accomplishment of these affairs to them and that they independently fulfill all of them, then in such a case, he has likened them to God. Such a belief is undoubtedly polytheism and any kind of humility or request towards them will be ‘ibada.

As the Qur’an says:

“And there are some among men who take for themselves objects of worship besides Allah, whom they love as they love Allah.” (Baqarah: 165)

No creature can be, to our imagination, the example and like of Allah except if he is independent or has absolute authority in fulfiling one or more affairs. However, if he works by the permission and command of God then not only will he not be likened to Him, but also he will be an obedient creature who performs his duty by His command.

Incidentally, the polytheists during the time of the Holy Prophet (s) were of the belief that the gods which they were worshipping had independent powers in fulfilling the affairs.

The lowest kind of belief in the form of polytheism during the period of ignorance was that a group of people were of the belief that the duty of legislation has been entrusted to the monks [10] and ‘intercession’ and ‘forgiveness’ which are specifically the right of Allah have been given to their idols and deities and that they are independent in these actions. Thus the verses which are related to intercession lay great emphasis that nobody can do intercession without the permission of Allah. [11]

If they were of the belief that their deities could do intercession by the permission of God, then it was needless to emphasize the matter of negation of intercession without the permission of God.

Some of the sages of Greece had imagined a god for every thing in this world and thought that the management of these things (which is the action of God) had been entrusted to them. Those ignorant Arabs who used to worship the angels and the fixed and the moving stars were of the opinion that the management of the world of creation had been bestowed upon them i.e. the angels and stars and they were the Masters in managing this world and that God had been completely dethroned from the position of management. [12]

Therefore any kind of humility and bowing down which is accompanied by such a belief will amount to ‘ibada.

Some other group of ignorant Arabs did not consider the wooden and metallic idols to be their Creator and / or the manager of the affairs of this world but regarded them to be the Masters of intercession. They would say:

 

“They are our intercessors towards Allah.” Younus: 18)

Based on this false belief that they are the Masters of intercession, they worshipped them and thought that their worship was the source of gaining proximity to God. As they say:

“We do not serve them save that they may make us nearly to Allah.” (Zumar: 3)

In short, any action which originates from such perception that shows some kind of devotion will be taken as ‘ibada. As against this, any action which does not originate from such a belief and any person devoid of such belief exhibits his humility before someone and honours him then it will not be ‘ibada and polytheism even though the action may be forbidden.

For example, the prostration of a lover before his beloved one or of a slave before his master or of a wife before her husband etc, are not ‘ibada even though it is forbidden in the religion of Islam. This is because no one can prostrate (even if it does not amount to such ‘ibada) before anyone without the permission of Allah.

Conclusion of Our Discussion

Up to this point, we were able to acquaint you clearly with the reality of ‘ibada. Now it is necessary to derive a conclusion from the foregoing discussion. If someone becomes humble and shows humility in front of someone else without considering them as God or lord or the source of divine acts but respects them because of the fact that they are,

 “They are honoured servants, they do not precede Him in speech and (only) according to His commandment do they act,” then surely, such an act shows nothing but honour respect, humility and humbleness. (Anbiya: 26)

God has introduced a group of His servants with such qualities that will attract the interest of every person towards honouring and respecting them. As the holy Qur’an says:

“Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of 'Imran above the nations.”  (Aal-Imran: 33)

Almighty Allah (by specification of Qur’an) has appointed Ibrahim to the position of imama and leadership:

 “…..He said, Surely I will make you an Imam of men…..” (Baqarah: 124)

Almighty Allah has described Nuh, Ibrahim, Dawud, Sulayman, Musa, 'Isa and Muhammad in the Holy Qur’an with such sublime qualities that each of these qualities is the source of attraction for the hearts to such extent that the love of some of them has been made compulsory. [13]

If the people respect and honour these servants in their life-time and even after their death from this viewpoint that they are the honourable servants of Allah and without recognizing them as God or imagining them to be the source of divine affairs, then such respect will never be considered as 'ibada and no one can call them as polytheists.

As you are all well-informed, following the Holy Prophet's custom, we respect and sanctify Hajar al-'Aswad which is no more than a black stone; we circumambulate around the House of God which is no more than stone and mud and strive between the two mountains named Safa and Marwa. That is to say, we perform the same actions which the idol-worshippers used to perform with regards to their idols. Under these circumstances, no one till now has thought that by these actions we are worshipping the stones and mud because we never imagine the least benefit or harm from them. However, if we perform these actions with this belief that these stones and mountains are God and are the source of divine works, then in such a case, we will be equal to the idol-worshippers. Therefore, kissing the hands of the Holy Prophet (s) and Imams; master or teacher; parents or kissing Qur’an, religious books, shrines and all other things which are related to the honourable servants of Allah will only be an expression of respect and honour except that if we believe in their divinity or lordship.

The prostration of angels before Adam and prostration of brothers of Yusuf in front of Yusuf has come in the Holy Qur’an. [14]

No one interprets the action of the angels or the action of the brothers of Yusuf as 'ibada of Adam or Yusuf. The point is that the prostrators did not consider the least position of ‘divinity’ or ‘lordship’ for the prostrated ones and never did they take them as God nor the source of divine actions. Therefore, their actions were purely an expression of respect and not 'ibada or worship.

When the Wahhabis are faced with such verses they at once say: “The reason that these actions were not prostration of the prostrated ones was that it was performed by the command of God.”

Although it is true that all these actions together with the action of brothers of Yusuf in front of Yusuf was by the command and satisfaction of Allah, yet the Wahhabis are heedless of one point and it is this that the very essence of their action (i.e. prostration) too was not 'ibada. And it was due to this that God commanded for that action.

If the reality of the action amounted to worship of the prostrated one, then God would have never ordered it.

“Say: Surely Allah does not enjoin indeceney, do you say against Allah what you do not know?" (Araf: 28)

In short, the order and command of God does not change the essence of action. Before the command of God, the essence or nature of action should be non-'ibada; then only the command of God will pertain to it. It can never be imagined that the ‘essence’ of one action is 'ibada but due to the command of God in performing that action it automatically becomes non-'ibada. This reply which we have repeatedly heard from the Wahhabi leaders in Mecca and Medina shows that they have closed the doors in their analysis of Qur’anic teachings. 'Ibada has an independent essence and concept for itself which is sometimes commanded for and sometimes prohibited. That is to say, an affair which in its essence is 'ibada, is ordered by God such as salat and fasting and sometimes prohibits it for example fasting on the day of Eid. Whenever the prostration of angels and sons of Ya'qub ('a) is, in its essence, 'ibada of Adam and Yusuf, then ordering for its performance will not change it to non-'ibada.

The Basis of Solving the Dispute

Respected readers should realize that the basis of solving most of the controversial matters between the Wahhabis and us lies in analysing the concept of 'ibada and unless and until 'ibada is not interpreted in logical terms and we cannot reach to an agreement with an impartial person with regards to it and any kind of talk or discussion will be useless. Therefore, a person of research should deeply study and investigate this matter (more than what we have mentioned) and should not be deceived by the interpretation of most of the dictionaries which oftenly intend to give an abstract explanation of a word and not its actual analysis. In this regard, pondering over the verses is the best guidance.

Unfortunately, all the Wahhabi writers and some of those writers who wish to refute their beliefs have given greater importance to secondary matters rather than laying emphasis on this point.

To sum up, a Wahabi says:

“Most of the actions which you perform with regard to the Holy Prophet (s) or Imam is 'ibada and necessarily results in polytheism in worship”. For this reason we have to disarm him with the precise interpretation of the word of 'ibada.

For making clear our objective, we shall now bring examples of those actions which the Wahhabis show to be worshipping of the dead. We remind you that all of them like our other ordinary actions, can be fulfilled in two ways: Either it will be counted as Ibadat or not.

1. Seeking intercession from the Holy Prophet (s) and the virtuous ones.

2. Asking for shifa’ (cure) from the awliya Allah.

3. Request for fulfilling one's need from the divine leaders.

4. Respecting and honouring the one in grave.

5. Seeking help from the Holy Prophet (s) and others.

They say: Shafa'a (intercession) by decree of the verse

is from the actions of Allah just as shifa’ is from the actions of Allah,

and asking or requesting from the actions of Allah from someone other than Him will amount to his worship.

Here, it is necessary to interpret the Actions of Allah and mention what are the Actions of Allah?

The reply to this is as such: “Any kind of shafa’a and shifa’ of the sick which the doer is independent in fulfilling them (not that he has achieved this privilege from somewhere and that he is in need of the strength and power of some superior being) will be counted as the Divine Action.

To request such an action from anyone is accompanied with the belief in his ‘divinity’ and ‘lordship’ and naturally will amount to 'ibada and worship.

However, if seeking shafa'a and shifa’ from someone is not accompanied with this belief but rather, the person seeking shafa'a reckons the intercessor to be a doer who while being a servant of Allah, relies on a superior power in his actions and affairs and accomplishes them by His Wish and Will, then in such a case making a request will not be accompanied with the belief in ‘divinity’ and ‘lordship’.

The same explanation prevails for the matter of request for fulfilment of needs and or asking for help from someone other than Allah.

Request for fulfilment of needs has two forms: one of them may be reckoned to be Ibada and the second to be having no relation with 'ibada. This explanation is not only a limit of demarcation between 'ibada and non-'ibada concerning this action but is a general rule which separates monotheism and polytheism from each other in all the causes and effects.

The belief in the effect of anti-biotics in killing the microbes and curing the sick can be one of the two ways. If we imagine it to be independent in life and existence or independent in its action and effect and reckon it to be needless in a superior being (i.e Allah) then in such a case we have imagined it as a small god which is independent in its actions. And if we unknowingly respect and honour it, we have considered it as Allah and our actions will be 'ibada. And asking any help from it will be shirk and amount to worshiping it. However, if we consider it as a possible being whose life, effects and actions are dependent on a superior one and a being which gives life and does not accomplish any task without His Wise Will, then our belief will be exactly tawhid. (la muathar fil Wujud illa hua). In the realm of existance no one is effective except Him.

Thus we have reminded you that the solution to the disputes and the disarming the opposite person in most of the matters concerning monotheism (tawhid) and polytheism (shirk) is dependent on the analysis of 'ibada and sometimes the meaning of ‘divinity’ and ‘lordship’ and understanding the Divine actions.

Incidentally, the actions of the ignorant Arabs were linked all in all with the belief in the divinity and lordship of the idols and they considered them as the absolute authority in some of the divine actions. They believed that God had handed over the reins of these affairs to them and if they wished, they could give intercession to any one or can reject intercession of anyone they wished so.

This is the abstract of our discussion. For a more detailed explanation interested readers can refer to the books of:

1.    (Ma'alim al-tawhid) and

2.   (al-Tawhid wa al-shirk fi al-Qur'an).

Footnotes: 

[1] In the Holy Qur’an too, sometimes this meaning has been utilised like Sura Shu’ra.

[2] When it is said that the idols are god it does not necessarily mean that they are the Creators or that they are managing the affairs of this world. Rather God is having a wider meaning which includes real and imaginary gods. Whenever we reckon some being to be the source of divine activities and imagine that some of the affairs of God like intercession and forgiveness has been entrusted to him, then we have considered him as god, of course a small god before a bigger God!

 [3] Also refer to Sura al-Tawba verse 43 and Sura al-Nahl verse 63.

[4] Tafsir Aala al-Rahman, page 57. 

[5] Kashf al-Asrar, page 29.

[6] Aal 'Imran,  verse 135.

[7] Zumar, verse 44

[8] Tawba, verse 31

[9] Qasas verse 73; Sura al-Naml verse 60-64; Sura al-Zumar verse 5-6.

[10] Tawba, verse 31

[11] Baqara, verse 255

[12] al-Milal wa al-nihal, vol. 2. page 244.

[13] Shura, verse 23:

[14] Baqara, verse 34 and Yusuf, verse 100.

Chapter 11

Seeking Help from Awliya Allah During Their Lifetime

The request for something from the ‘Awliya Allah’ takes place in various ways which we shall mention as under:

1. We request a living personality to assist us in building a house or ask him to quench our thirst by handing over the vessel of water which lies next to him.

2. We request a living personality to pray for us and seek forgiveness for us from God.

Both these cases are common, in that, we ask the person to do a work that is fully within his natural capability to fulfil it. However, the first request is related to the worldly affair and the second one to religious and heavenly affair.

3. We request a living personality to perform a task without utilising any common and natural means. For example, we ask him to cure the sick without treatment, find our lost one or repay our debt.

In other words, we ask him to fulfil our needs through miracle or wonder without having recourse to the ordinary and natural tools.

4. The person whom we ask is not alive but since we believe that he is alive in another abode and is receiving his sustenance, we request from such a person to pray for us.

5. We request from such a person to cure our sick and find our lost ones and through utilising the spiritual powers bestowed upon him by Allah.

These two cases, similar to the second and third one are a request to a living person except that in those cases, the responsible authority is alive in this physical and material world and in these last two cases the responsible authority is physically dead but in reality is alive. We can never request from such a person to help us in the material affairs through the ordinary channels. This is because it is presumed that he has left this world and he is cut off from the normal channels of this world.

In this way, there are five types amongst which, three of them are related to request from the living ones in the material world and two are related to the living ones in another world.

We shall discuss in this chapter, request to a living person in the material world and discuss in the next chapter, request (for help) to the awliya Allah who are living in another world.

Here is the description of each of the three cases of the first type:

First Case:

Requesting for work and help from a living person in the ordinary affairs of life which have natural and ordinary causes, forms the basis of human civilization. The life of human beings is established in this material world on the basis of cooperation. All those in this world, who posses intellect, seek mutual assistance in their worldly affairs. This matter is so obvious that nobody has ever found fault with it and because our discussion is based on Qur’an and traditions, we shall restrain ourselves at this point by quoting a verse. Zul-Qarnain while building the dam against the oppression of Ya'juj and Ma’juj turned towards the people of that place and said:

 

“Thus you only help me with workers; I will make a fortified barrier between you and them.” (Kahaf: 95)

Second Case:

Requesting someone to pray for good or seeking forgiveness from living persons in this material world; the correctness and firmness of such a request from the living is from the necessities related to the Holy Qur’an. Anyone having a little acquaintance with the Holy Qur’an is aware that the ways of the Prophets was to seek forgiveness for their ummah (nation) and or the ummah themselves were placing such a request before the Prophets. Now we shall bring here all the verses which have come down in this regard.

Of course, the verses concerning this section are of several categories where, for the sake of simplicity of the matter, we shall number them as follows:

(1)  Sometimes, God orders His Prophet to seek forgiveness for his people such as:

“Pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, and take counsel with them in the affair.” (Aal-e-Imran: 159)

“Accept their pledge, and ask forgiveness for them from Allah, surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (Mumtahena: 12)

“Take alms out of their property, you would cleanse them and purify them thereby, and pray for them, surely your prayer is a relief to them, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.” (Tauba: 103)

In this verse, Allah directly commands the Holy Prophet (s) to pray for them and the effect of his prayers is so quick that one feels comfort in one's heart after the prayers of the Holy Prophet (s).

(2) Sometimes, the Prophets themselves used to promise the sinners that they would seek forgiveness for them under special circumstances.

For example:

“But not in what Ibrahim said to his father: I would certainly ask forgiveness for you,” (Mumtahena: 4)

“I will pray to my Lord to forgive you, surely He is ever kind to me,” (Maryam: 47)

“And Ibrahim asking forgiveness for his sire was only owing to a promise which he had made to him.” (Tauba: 114)

This verses show that the Prophets used to promise and give glad tidings to the sinners just as Ibrahim too had given such glad tidings to Azar. But when he saw him persisting in idol-worshiping, he stopped from seeking forgiveness for him because, one of the conditions for acceptance of prayers is that the person for whom the forgiveness is sought should be a monotheist and not a polytheist.

(3). Allah commands a group of sinful believers to approach the Holy Prophet (s) for seeking forgiveness from Allah and to request the Prophet (s) to seek forgiveness on their behalf and if the Prophet (s) seeks forgiveness for them, then Allah would forgive their sins.

“And had they, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Apostle had (also) asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft returning, Merciful.” Nisa: 64)

Which verse can be clearer than this one where Allah orders the sinful ummah to approach the Holy Prophet (s) for acquiring the forgiveness of Allah and requesting him to pray for them? Going to the Holy Prophet (s) and asking for forgiveness has two obvious benefits:

(A) Requesting for forgiveness from the Holy Prophet (s) enlivens the essence of obedience to the Prophet in sinful persons and due to their feeling of the Holy Prophet's position, they will sincerely follow and obey the Holy Prophet (s).

Basically, such goings and comings creates a special state of humility in a person towards the Holy Prophet (s) and prepares him to sincerely act upon the verse of:

“Obey Allah and obey the Apostle.” (Nisa: 59)

(B) This action clearly illustrates the position and status of the Holy Prophet (s) in the minds of the ummah and makes them understand that just as the material bounties are received through special means by the servants of God, the spiritual bounties which is the same forgiveness of Allah, is received through fixed channels such as the du'a of the Holy Prophet (s) and His beloved ones.

If the sun is the cause of flow of calories, heat and energy and these benefits are received by the people through the sun then in the same way the spiritual bounties and divine grace is received through the sun of risala (messengership) and the universe in both the stages is the world of cause and causation and the material and spiritual bounties in both the worlds are received through (some) cause.

(4) Some of the verses indicate that the Muslims were frequently approaching the Holy Prophet (s) and requesting him to pray for them. Thus, when the Muslims were advising the hypocrites to do the same, they were met with refusal and denial. As Qur’an says

“And when it is said to them: Come the Apostle of Allah will ask forgiveness for you, they turn back their heads and you may see them turning away while they are big with pride.” (Munafiqun: 5)

(5) Some of the verses bear witness to the fact that the people, by inspiration from their pure innate nature, were aware that the prayers of the Holy Prophet (s) for them in the court of God had a special effect and was surely acceptable. For this reason, they would approach the Prophet and request him to seek forgiveness from Allah on their behalf.

The pure nature of man was a sort of inspiration for him that the divine bounties are received by the people through the Prophets, just as they receive the divine guidance through the Prophets. Therefore they were approaching the Prophets and requesting them to pray for their forgiveness before God.

Here is a verse about this matter:

“They said: O our father! ask forgiveness of our faults for us, surely we were sinners. He said: I will ask for you forgiveness from my Lord, surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Yusuf 97 & 98)

(6) Verses which notify the Prophet (s) that seeking forgiveness for the hypocrites who still persist in their idol-worshipping will bear no result. This verse is one kind of exception to the previous verses and shows that other than this instance, the prayers of a Prophet has a special effect as mentioned in the following verses

“Even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah will not forgive them.” (Tauba: 79)

 “It is alike to them whether you beg forgiveness for them or do not beg forgiveness for them, Allah will never forgive them.”   (Munafiqun: 6)

 

   

   

“And when the plague fell upon them, they said: O Musa! pray for us to your Lord as he has promised with you, if you remove the plague from us, we will certainly believe in you and we will certainly send away with you the children of Israel.” (Araf: 134)

Here the sinners are asking Musa bin 'Imran to pray for them and according to the sentence   they were aware that God had bestowed such a promise to Musa.

If the sentenceis a testimony to this point that the nation wanted Musa (‘a) to avert the punishment and they also traced in him the power of doing so, then in such a case, this verse will be an evidence for the third instance (Is it correct or not to ask the Prophets to perform some extraordinary acts by means of their divine powers?) But the sentence makes this probability weak because, this sentence apparently shows that the work of Musa was only ‘to pray’ and not to dominate in this world and avert punishments. Therefore the verse is related to this same instance.

That the prayers of Kalimullah Ibrahim ('a) with regard to the polytheists was not accepted, has not been specified in this verse but in some other verses.

(7) Verses which show that a group of believers were always praying for another group of believers such as,

“And those who come after them say: Our Lord! forgive us and those of our brethren who had precedence of faith.” Hashr: 10)

(8) It is not only they who pray for the believers but the carriers of 'arsh (throne) and those besides them too, seek forgiveness for the believers. As the Holy Qur’an says:

“Those who bear the power and those around Him celebrate the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask protection for those who believe: Our Lord! Thou embracest all things in mercy and knowledge, therefore grant protection to those who turn (to Thee) and follow Thy way, and save them from the punishment of the hell.” (Ghafer: 7)

Therefore, how good it is that we too, follow this God-loving practise of this group and always seek forgiveness for the believers.

Till here, the decree of two out of the five cases of seeking help from someone other than Allah has been clarified from the viewpoint of Qur’an and out of the three cases pertaining to seeking help from a living person only one case has remained to which we shall now refer.

Third Case

We seek help from a living person who has power over extraordinary affairs and ask him to perform an act through extra ordinary ways. For example, curing the sick, making a spring flow and other things through a miracle.

Some of the Islamic writers reckon this kind of request to be the same as the second case and say that the aim (of the person making the request) is only to ask them to request Allah to cure his sickness, to repay his loan, etc, etc. This is because such works are the works of Allah and since the channel (of such works) is the du'a of the Prophet and Imams, the work of God is metaphorically attributed to the person reciting the du'a. [1]

However, the verses of Qur’an clearly testify that asking the prophets for fulfilment of such actions is absolutely correct and is not something metaphorical. That is to say, we sincerely want ma'sum (the inerrant) to do us a favour and / or through the door of miracle, cure our incurable diseases by the divine strength and power.

It is true that Qur’an attributes shifa’ (cure) to God and says:

 “And when I am sick, then He restores me to health.” (Shuara: 80)

But in other verses, Qur’an ascribes shifa’ (cure) to honey, or even to Quran itself, such as:

 “There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colours, in which there is cure for men.” (Nahl: 69)

 “And We reveal of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers.” (Bani-Israel: 82)

“There has come to you indeed an admonition from your Lord and a cure for what is in the breasts.” (Yunus: 57)

The way of reconciling these two set of verses (confinement and earmarking of shifa’ to Allah and its verification for honey, the Qur’an and the divine admonitions) is this that Allah is ‘efficient independently’ and is self-dependent whereas other agents are effective by the permission of Allah and are dependent upon Him.

In Islamic world view and and philosophy, all the factors and elements are the causative act of Allah and the causes are not having the least independence in themselves. Therefore, from the logical viewpoint and Qur’anic verses, there cannot be any objection to the fact that the same God Who has placed the power of cure in honey and has bestowed the power of cure and recovery in the chemical and herbal medicines gives the same power and ability to the Prophets and Imams. If the meditators can acquire great spiritual powers through asceticism then what is wrong if due to Divine Grace or man's devotion and servitude, God grants them power and ability so that under special circumstances, they are able to perform the astounding acts without the natural means. [2]

Shifa' bestowed by the Prophet and Imams and performing the extraordinary acts is not inconsistent with this that the actual ‘Shaaf'ee’ (curer), the true finder of the lost one, etc. is Allah Who has given these agents power and strength so that they can, by His permission, control the affairs of this world.

Incidentally, the verses of Qur’an bear testimony that the people wanted and expected such acts from the Prophets and sometimes from others too. Here we shall mention some of them.

The following mentioned verse reveals that Bani Israel requested water from their Prophet during the year of famine and that too, not through natural channels, but through some extraordinary means. They did not say: ‘you pray so that God sends water for us’ but said: ‘you satiate us and give us water’. As the verse says:

“And We revealed to Musa when his people asked him for water: Strike the rock with your staff.” (Araf: 160)

A clearer verse to this one is the verse which speaks about Sulayman ('a) asking those present in the gathering to bring the throne of Bilqis which was hundreds of miles away and un-free from barriers and obstacles.

“Which of you can bring to me her throne before they come to me in submission.” (Naml: 38)

The aim was to bring the throne of Bilqis through extraordinary means as indicated by the replies given by Afrit and ‘Asif Barkhia which have come down in Sura al-Namal verses 39 and 40.

The most significant point is that people imagine that simple and ordinary works are not Divine acts and the extraordinary ones which are not within the scope of ordinary people are the work of Allah.

Actually, the measure of divine and non-divine acts is the matter of independence and non-independence. The divine act is one in which the doer performs the act independently without seeking the help of any power and source. In other words, the divine acts are those in which the doer is the absolute authority in performing that action and is dependent on Himself and no one else.

However, the non-divine acts, whether simple and ordinary or difficult and unusual, are those acts wherein the doer is not independent in performing that action but does so under the influence and help of an independent power.

Therefore, there is no objection to this fact that Allah bestows upon His beloved ones, the power to perform extraordinary acts which are not within the scope of ordinary people and there is no objection if we too request them to perform such acts.

The Holy Qur’an addresses 'Isa (‘a) very explicitly and says:

“And you healed the blind and the leprous by My permission, and when you brought forth the dead by My permission.” (Maida: 110)

The total sum of these verses shows that the divine leaders possessed such powers and that requesting extraordinary works from them was a common practice and Qur’an too bears testimony to the rightness of such requests.

Till here, the decree of all the three cases of asking from the living ones has been clarified from the viewpoint of Qur’an and we saw that verses of Qur’an have clearly approved their legitimacy.

It is now time to clarify the decree of the remaining two cases (i.e. asking from the holy spirits) from the viewpoint of Qur’an and traditions (hadithes). We shall discuss this in the next chapter.

Footnotes: 

[1] Kashf al-'Irtiyaab, page 274.

[2] For explanation of this part and acquaintance with the verses of Qur’an refer to the book of ‘Spiritual powers of Prophets’. In this book, you will find references from Qur’an about their spiritual powers

Chapter 12

Seeking Help from the Spirits of Awliya Allah

The most important issue with regards to seeking help from the awliya Allah (the friends or beloved of Allah) is when they have died or so to say, living in another world, whether this act of seeking help is in the form of du'a (invocation) or asking for some extraordinary acts to be performed. This is because the Muslims of today are not in the presence of the Holy Prophet (s) or an Imam so that they can approach them and ask them to do something in their presence. Rather, most often, their questions and requests are put before the pure spirits of the Prophets and awliya. For this reason, analysing the Islamic decree with regards to these two situations is very important.

Investigation on this matter depends on the analytical study of four topics and by becoming fully aware of them, one can acknowledge the correctness of such imploration and beseeching. These four topics are:

1. Eternity of soul and spirit of man after death

2. The reality of man is his very soul and spirit

3. Relationship with the world of souls is possible

4. The correct traditions which the Islamic traditionists have narrated bear witness to the authenticity of such implorations and the practise of the Muslims has been the same in all the ages. Now we shall describe each of these four topics.

1. Death is not Annihilation of Man

The verses of Qur’an bear a clear witness to the fact that death is not the end of life but a window for a new life. By passing from this passage, man steps into a new life, a world completely new to him and much superior than this material world.

Those who take death to be the end of life and believe that with death, everything of man is finished and nothing remains of him except one lifeless body which (even that) after some time is changed to soil and destroyed, follow the philosophy of materialism.

Such a reflection shows that a person with such a view thinks life to be nothing but a part of material effects of the organs of body and the physical and chemical reactions of the brain and nerves and with the subsiding of the heat of body and stoppage of the cells from activity and production, the life of man comes to a halt and he turns into an inanimate object. Soul and spirit in this school of thought is nothing but reflection of materialism and its properties and with the nullification of these properties and domination of reciprocal effects of the organs of body over each other, the soul and spirit become completely void and there no longer remains anything by the name of spirit, its eternity and a world related to spirits.

Such a view about the soul and spirit of man is inspired by the principles of Materialism. In this school of thought, man is nothing more than a machine where he is formed from different tools and implements and the reciprocal effects of those components give the power of thought and perception to the brain, and with the dispersion of these components the effects of thought, perception and in short, life gets completely destroyed at death.

The views of materialists about soul and spirit were completely discarded by the great philosophers of the world and the divine scholars. The theologians believe that apart from the material system of body, the nervous system and its reciprocal material reactions there exists for man, a real substance by the name of soul and spirit which remains with the body for some period and then cuts off its relation with the body and lives in a special world with a much more delicate body. The continuity of soul after the death of a person is not a matter which can be established and proved in these pages because today the eternity of soul and spirit has been proven by verses of Qur’an, precise philosophical reasoning and convincing spiritual experiences. We shall now narrate the verses of Qur’an that bear testimony to the matter of eternity of spirit after death.

Qur’an and Eternity of Spirits

Verses of the Qur’an clearly indicate that the spirit continues to live after its separation from the body. For the sake of brevity, we bring here only the text of the verses and postpone its analysis for some other proper time.

“And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead, nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive.” (Baqarah: 154)

“And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead,  nay, they are alive (and) are provided sustenance from their Lord.” (Aal-Imran: 169)

“Rejoicing in what Allah has given them out of His grace, and they rejoice for the sake of those who, (being left) behind them, have not yet joined them.” (Aal-Imran: 170)

“They rejoice on account of favour from Allah and (His) grace.” (Aal-Imran: 171)

“Surely I believe in your Lord, there for hear me. It was said: Enter the garden. He said: O would that my people had known of that on account of which my Lord has forgiven me and made me of the honoured ones!” (Yasin: 25-27)

The Paradise which he is told to enter therein is the Paradise of barzakh and not of the Hereafter because he wishes that his people knew and were aware that God has forgiven and honoured him. Such a wish is not compatible with the world of the Hereafter, where the curtains will be removed from the eyes of the people and their condition will not be hidden from each other. Rather such unawareness is befitting with this world where the people of this abode are unaware of the condition of the people living in another world (barzakh) and the verse of Qur’an bears witness to this fact.

Moreover, the next verse clarifies that after his death, when man is forgiven and he enters the Paradise, the light of his people's life will be extinguished by one heavenly cry. As verse says:

 

“And We did not send down upon his people after him any hosts from heaven, nor do We ever send down. It was naught but a single cry, and lo ! they were still.” (Yasin: 28-29)

From these two verses we come to know that after entering Paradise, his people were still living in this world till death suddenly overtook them and, this Paradise cannot be anything other than Paradise of barzakh.

“The fire, they shall be brought before it (every) morning and evening and on the day when the hour shall come to pass: Make Firawn's people enter the severest chastisement.” (Momin: 46)

By paying attention to the contents of the two verses, the matter of continuity of life in the world of barzakh becomes clear and obvious because, before the approach of qiyama, the Fire will be presented to them morning and evening but after the qiyama they will be given the worst punishment.

If the later part of the verse   was not there, then the beginning contents would not have been so clear. But by paying attention to the verse it becomes obvious that the objective is the same period of barzakh; otherwise the reciprocity of the two sentences would have been incorrect.

Moreover, the matter of morning and evening too bears witness that it does not refer to the world of the Hereafter since, mornings and evenings do not exist in that world.

So far, the first of the four topics has been made clear from the viewpoint of Qur’an. Now its time to refer to the second topic.

2. The Reality of Man is his very Spirit

Man in the outset seems to be formed of body and spirit. However, the reality of man is his same spirit which is accompanied with the body.

We shall not discuss this matter from the view point of philosophy and at present we are not concerned with the Greek and Islamic philosophy. Rather we shall discuss this matter only from the viewpoint of Qur’an.

By examining the verses that have come down with regards to man, this fact can easily be seen that the reality of man is his very soul and spirit. Here, we shall ponder over the contents of this verse:

“Say: The angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die, then to your Lord you shall be brought back.” Sajdah: 11)

Contrary to what we believe, the word of   does not mean ‘to cause to die’. Rather it means ‘to take’ or ‘to seize’. [1] 

Therefore, the purpose of the sentence   is: “He will seize you all”. When the reality of man is his very soul and spirit, the interpretation of the verse will be correct.

However, if the soul and spirit forms a portion of man’s personality and the other half is formed by his external body, then in such a case such an interpretation will not be permissible because the Angel of Death never seizes our external body. Rather, the body remains in its same condition and what the Angel seizes is only our soul.

The verses which clarify the reality of soul and spirit with regards to man are not confined to this verse and as an example; we content ourself with one verse.

This fact that ‘the reality of man and centre of his spiritual excellences is his very spirit and the body is (only) a covering which has been put over it’ becomes evidently clear by paying attention to the matter of eternity of spirit after death which was discussed in the first topic. Qur’an does not recognise death to be the annihilation of man and the end of his life. Rather, it believes that life exists for the martyrs, the pious and the oppressors before the approach of qiyama, a life accompanied with joy and happiness, (or) accompanied with torment and punishment and if the reality of man is his fundamental body then, undoubtedly the body gets destroyed after a few days and changes to different elements and in such a case the matter of eternity of man or the life of barzakh becomes meaningless.

3. Qur’an and the Possibility of Connection with another World

Proving eternity of spirit is not enough for the purpose of recommending and proving   (beseeching) to be useful. Rather, apart from its eternity, the possibility of establishing relationship with it should be proved from the viewpoint of reason and Qur’an.

We have talked about this matter in detail in the book ‘Originality of the Spirit’.

Here, we shall mention in brief, some of those verses which prove that the relationship of man continues with his past ones and is not yet disconnected.

(A) Salih ('a) Speaks with the Souls of His People:

“So they slew the she-camel and revolted against their Lord's commandment, and they said: O Salih! Bring us what you threatened us with, if you are one of the apostles.” (Araf: 77)

“Then the earthquake overtook them, so they became motionless bodies in their abode.” (Araf: 78)  [2]

“Then he turned away from them and said: O my people, I did certainly deliver to you the message of my lord, and I gave you advice, but you do not love those who give advice.”

(Araf: 79)

Pay careful attention to the contents of these three verses.

The first verse shows that when they were alive they demanded the punishment of Allah.

The second verse shows that the divine punishment overtook and destroyed each one of them.

The third verse shows that Salih ('a) spoke to them after their death and destruction and said: “I presented you the divine messages but you disliked someone giving you advice.”

A clear witness to this fact that he spoke to them after their death are the following two points:

(1) The order of verses in the aforementioned form.

(2) The alphabet of   in the word of   which denotes an order. i.e. after their destruction, he turned towards them and spoke in such words.

The sentence of () shows that they were so much sunk in obstinacy and wretchedness that even after death, they possessed wicked mentality so much so that they did not like people who gave advices and warnings.

The expression of Qur’an is in such manner that, he speaks to his peoples’ souls with sincerity and considers them as his audience, and reminds them of their permanent obstinacy which was present in them even after death and says: “Now too, you do not like an advisor.”

(B) Shu'ayb ('a) Speaks with the Souls of the Deceased Ones

“Then the earthquake overtook them, so they became motionless bodies in their abode.” (Araf: 91)

“Those who called Shu'ayb a liar were as though they had never dwelt therein, those who called Shu'ayb a liar, they were the losers.” (Araf: 92)

“So he turned away from them and said: O my people! certainly I delivered to you the messages of my Lord and I gave you good advice, how shall I then be sorry for an unbelieving people?” (Araf: 93)

The method of reasoning in this verse is the same as the verses related to Salih (‘a).

(C) The Holy Prophet (s) of Islam Speaks with the Souls of Prophets:

“And ask those of Our Apostles whom We sent before you: Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Beneficent God?” Zukhraf: 45)

This verse shows that the Prophet (s) can establish a connection from this very world with the prophets who live in another world till it becomes clear that the order of God in all the ages and to all the Prophets was not to worship anyone other than Allah.

(D) Qur’an Sends Salutations Upon The Prophets:

The Holy Qur’an has on occasions sent peace and salutations on Prophets and these salutations were not meaningless compliments or some kind of formalities.

Great! it is far from justice if we wish to put down the sublime meanings of the beloved Qur’an to the level that has taken the tinge of staleness. It is true that today, the materialists who do not believe in the validity of spirit, send in their speeches, peace and salutations upon their leaders and founders of this school of thought as a form of respect and honour. But is it fair that we put aside the sublime meanings of Qur’an which reveals facts and realities and bring them down to low level and say that all these salutations which Qur’an has sent upon the prophets (and we Muslims too recite them day and night) are just some dry and meaningless compliments ? The Holy Qur’an says:

(1) Peace be upon Nuh, in the Universe.

(2) Peace be upon Ibrahim.

(3) Peace be upon Musa and Harun.

(4) Peace be upon Aal Yasin.

(5) Peace be upon the Messengers. [3]

Salutations upon the Holy Prophet (s) in the State of Tashahhud:

All the Muslims of the world irrespective of the differences which they have in the principles of jurisprudence address the glorious Messenger of Allah in the tashahhud of their salat every morning and night and say:

The only thing is that the Shafi'ites and some others reckon this to be obligatory in tashahhud whereas other sects think it to be mustahab (recommendable). However all of them are unanimous in their opinion that the Holy Prophet (s) has taught the Muslims as such and the sunnah of the Prophet (s) remains the same during life and death.

If really our link and connection with the Holy Prophet (s) is cut-off and disconnected, then such a salutation and that too in the form of address (to the Prophet) is of what benefit?

The proofs of possibility of such connections and their occurrences are not confined to what we have said till now. Rather, we have other verses too in this regard which, for the sake of brevity, have not been discussed. For a more detailed discussion, interested readers can refer to the book of ‘Originality of spirit from the viewpoint of Qur’an’. In this book, a section of verses dealing with the topic are mentioned.

In the end, we remind you that the rationalization of salam in tashahhud was discussed due to its decisiveness among the verses.[4]

Conclusion of Our Discussion

For the first point, it was proved that death is not the end of life and the destruction of man. Rather, it is a window for getting transferred to another world.

On the second point, it was clarified that the reality of man is his very soul and spirit and his body is a dress covering his spirit. And if his soul and spirit remain, then naturally his reality, personality and all the other abilities (not the type of ability which is related to the material body) too remain. Therefore, if in this world his soul had the power to pray and eulogize or had the ability to perform some extraordinary actions by the Will of God, his holy nafs possesses by the Will of God, the same power and ability in that world and except for those acts which require the material body, it is capable of performing all the other actions.

On the third point, it was proved that it is possible for the people of this world to have relationship with the people of the next world and that the holy spirits can hear our words and sayings.

By paying attention to these three points, the philosophical possibility of the matter is proved i.e. it has been proved that the awliya Allah can listen to our talks and also reply to them by the Will of Allah. However, whether such a thing is lawful from the viewpoint of Islamic regulations or not, will be discussed in the fourth point to which we shall now refer.

4. Muslims and Asking for the Fulfilment of Their Needs from the Holy Spirits

Ibn Taymiyya and his followers with their unusual trait of opinonated judements, deny the fact that the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) and those after them had asked the Prophet (s) for their needs to be fulfilled. Regarding this matter they say:

         

“No one from the past ummah either at the time of the Companions nor the period after the tabi'in (disciples of companions) have performed salat and du'a near the graves of prophets. Never has anyone asked anything from them nor has anyone beseeched them either in their absence or near their graves.” [5]

Perhaps a person unacquainted with the history of the Companions (of the Holy Prophet) and the tabi'in may imagine such an attribution to be true. However, referring to history will prove contrary to that. As an example, we narrate some instances:

During the Caliphate of ‘Umar, when there was a famine, a person came near the grave of the Holy Prophet (s) and said: “O Prophet, ask water for your people as they are being destroyed”. Thereafter the Holy Prophet (s) appeared in his dream and told him as such: “Go to ‘Umar and send salam upon him and, inform him that all will soon be satiated with water.” [6]

Al-Samhudi continues as such:

“This incident shows that though the Prophet (s) is in barzakh, one can ask him to pray for us. This matter is of no objection because he (i.e. the Prophet) is aware of the requests of the people. Thus there is no hindrance if one requests him to pray for us just as he was doing in this life.” [7]

al-Samhudi narrates from al-Hafiz Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad bin Musa bin al-Nu'man with the chain of narrators ending in 'Ali bin Abi Talib (‘a) that three days had passed after the burial of the Holy Prophet (s) when an Arab from outside Medina came and sprinkled the soil of the Prophet's grave over his head and said:

“O Prophet! you spoke and we listened to your sayings. You received from God what we received from you. Among those things which was revealed upon you is this particular verse. 'If among them anyone who has done injustice upon themselves comes to you and seeks forgiveness from Allah and you too seek forgiveness for them, then they will find Allah most -Merciful and Forgiving.' I have done injustice upon myself and I have come to you (so that) you seek forgiveness for me”. [8]

The writer of Wafa' al-wafa', at the end of chapter eight, narrates many incidents which show that pleading and asking for one's need from the Holy Prophet (s) has been the constant practise of the Muslims. He even mentions that Imam Muhammad bin Musa bin al-Nu'man has written a book in this regard under the title of Misbah al-zalam fi al-mustaghithin bi khayr al-'inam.

(3)  Muhammad bin Munkadar says:

“A man gave my father 80 dinars as a trust while he was leaving for jihad and said: “You may spend this money if you fall in need”. Incidentally due to high cost of living, my father utilised that money. Finally its owner came and demanded back his money. My father told him to come the next day and the same night my father went to the mosque and pointing to the grave and pulpit of the Prophet (s), he implored and pleaded till the early dawn. At that moment, a man appeared from the dark and said “O Aba Muhammad take this.” He gave a purse to my father which contained 80 dinars.” [9]

(4)  Abu Bakr al-Muqri says:

Hunger overtook al-Tabarani, Abu al-Shaykh and myself and we were close to the grave of the Holy Prophet (s). When night approached I went near the grave of the Prophet (s) and said:

Moments later, a person from the Alawites entered the mosque with two young men and each of them was holding a bag full of food…. When we finished eating the 'Alawi man said. ... "I saw the Holy Prophet (s) in my dream and he commanded me to bring food for you". [10]

(5)  Ibn al-Jallad says:

“Poverty-stricken, I entered Medina and went near the grave of the Holy Prophet (s) and said: O Prophet I am your guest. Suddenly I fell asleep and saw in my dream that the Holy Prophet (s) gave bread in my hands."  [11]

Right now we are not concerned with the verity or inaccuracy of those incidents. Our point is that these incidents whether true or false prove that such an affair was a common one and if it was innovation or forbidden or polytheism and blasphemy than the fabrication and the enactors of such matters would not have narrated such matters which would lower them in the eyes of the people.

We have narrated in the book Asalat al-ruh (The originality of Spirit) in the section of ‘Connection (with) Spirits’, traditions that prove the authenticity of asking the holy spirits to pray.

Here, we are bound to mention a few points:

(1) In as much as these kinds of decrees and incidents are incompatible with the temperament of a group, they therefore declare all to be unknown without investigating into their references and narrations. Does such inadmissible denial bring harm to our reasoning?

Such an encounter with the historical events becomes the cause of interpolation of history because the number of these kinds of pleadings for fulfilment of needs is so numerous that one cannot consider all of them to be false and baseless. If someone intends to collect such narrations or stories he will be able to compile a thick book.

Now let us suppose that these stories and narrations are false and baseless. But these same baseless claims in the entire history inform us of one fact and it is as follows:

If these implorations and beseeching were unlawful, they would not have been fabricated and enacted such unlawful action in the form of honour and glorification as otherwise, their status would be lowered and they would be subject to the wrath and anger of the people.

The fabrication and enactors of tradition and history strive to fabricate and enact those things which suit the taste of the common people. If such an action was against Qur’an and Sunnah, then it would be considered as polytheism and 'ibada by the Muslims and the fabricators would never have enacted them and lowered their status in the eyes of the people.

(2)  Seeking help from the holy spirits either in the form of request for du'a or in the form of fulfilling an action (Curing the sick, returning the lost one, etc.) is without any objection considering the four principles which we have discussed.

The thing which was in vogue among the Muslims at the time of seeking tawassul of the holy spirits was the very request for du'a or so to say, requesting the holy spirit of the Prophet to seek forgiveness for them from Allah and pleading for the fulfilment of their worldly and heavenly affairs. From the viewpoint of logic, request for fulfilment of actions like curing of the sick, freeing of the captive; solving of problems in life is the same as request for du'a.

(3)  By paying attention to the measure which we reminded you about 'ibada, such requests and pleadings are never considered as 'ibada of the holy spirits. This is because the person making the request neither believes in their divinity nor in their lordship and neither considers them asGod nor as the one who manages the world or part of it. He also does not believe that some of the actions of God have been entrusted to them. Rather, they consider them to be the pure servants of Allah who have never committed the least offence in their worldly life.

By paying attention to the four basic facts, one cannot doubt their power and barzakhi ability in fulfilling the requests of the pleaders. They are living creatures and our relation with them is well established. The only point is that every action and affair either in the form of dua’ or other than that it is dependent on the Will of Allah and they are a clear evidence to:

Just as in this world, 'Isa (‘a) could pray to God for goodness for someone or could cure by the Will of Allah, those who were born blind and those who suffered from leprosy, in the same manner, considering the fact that these powers and abilities are related to his soul and spirit and not his body, he can perform these same two actions (even) after his transfer to another world. However, in both the stages, the permission of Allah and His will is a necessary condition for receiving Grace through this channel.

(4)  Even though such humility and humbleness in connection to the inerrant leaders are apparently for paying attention to themselves, yet if we tear open the inner portion of this attentiveness and the tawassul, we will find which really is desired and demanded by God Himself. In reality, paying attention to the cause is like paying attention to the ‘Causer of the causes’ and those who are having a firm step in the matter of behaviour and dealing with the people are aware and conscious of this reality with a conscious and enlightened heart.

Those who seek tawassul do not believe in the originality and independence of these causes and agents. Rather, they are means which God, the Causer has made them a channel and a route for receiving His Grace and Mercy and He, Himself, has ordered the believers for attaining as such. As verse says:

“O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful.” (Maida: 35)

If salat, fasting and all the divine duties are  means, then in the same manner, the pure du'a of Prophets and awliya too, by decree of the previous verse (verse related to asking for forgiveness), is  means and paying attention to these means is like paying attention to the Creator of these means and our action is in accordance to the command of the afore-mentioned verse.

Footnotes: 

[1] Allama Balaghi has a valuable research about the word of   in his introduction to Tafsir Aala al-Rahman”, page 34.

[2] In some of the verses the cause of their destruction is said to be a heavenly cry (Sura Hud verse 6) and some other verse mention the cause as thunderbolt (Fussilat - 17). In these two verses, earthquake is mentioned and the total of the verses is such that there was a severely cry along with thunderbolt and earthquake.

[3] Sura al-Saffat: verses 79, 109, 120, 130, 181

[4] Refer to the book of Tadhkirat al-fuqaha', vol. 3, page 232 and the book of al-Khilaf by Shaykh al-Tusi, vol.1 page 47. In this book, he has narrated tashahhud in various forms from ‘Umar bin al-Khattab and 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud which all of them have such salam and the jurists of Ahl al-Sunnah like Abu Hanifa, Malik and Shafi'i have each taken one of these forms of tashahhud and given fatwa (verdict) upon them.

[5] Treatise of al-Hadiyyat al-saniyya, page 162 (Egyptian edition).

[6] Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 1371

[7]  Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 1371.

[8]  Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 1361

[9] Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 1380 (Egyptian print). He has described example of these implorations till page 1385.

[10] Same as previous reference.

[11] Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 1361.

Chapter 13

Seeking Shafa'a (Intercession) from Awliya Allah

All of us are well acquainted with the term shafa’a. When the discussion of crime, sin and guilt of a person is brought up and someone else intercedes and mediates for him in order to save him from death and execution or imprisonment and detention, we say so and so has done shafa'a for him.

The word of shafa'a has been taken from the root word   which means ‘even’ as against   which means ‘odd’. The reason that the mediation of a person for saving a sinner is known as shafa'a is that the status and position of the one doing shafa'a and his effective powers get attached (and become even) with the factors of salvation which is present in the person receiving the shafa'a (even though it may be a little). Both these, with the help of one another become the cause of release of the sinful person.

The shafa'a of the beloved ones of Allah for the sinners is apparently this that because of their proximity and position which they have before Allah, (of course by the will of Allah and under special norms which have general and not personal aspects) they can mediate for the criminals and the sinners and through (invocation), and pleadings ask God to forgive their crimes and sins. Of course, shafa'a and its acceptance depends on a series of conditions of which some are related to the sinful person and some to the circumstances of shafa'a of sins.

 

Shafa'a in other words is the help of the beloved ones of Allah (by His will) to the one who in spite of being sinful, has not disconnected his spiritual relation with Allah and the beloved ones of Allah. Moreover, this standard should always be safeguarded.

According to one of the meanings, shafa'a is:  One inferior person who has the aptitude for leaping forward and progressing seeks help from a superior person in the form of one lawful order. However the person seeking help should not, from the viewpoint of spiritual perfections, fall to such extent that he loses the power of advancing and the possibility of changing into a pious man.

Right from the time of the Holy Prophet (s) till the later periods it had been the practise of the Muslims to seek shafa'a from the true intercessors. They were always asking in their lifetime or in their death and such shafa'a had never been objected by any of the Islamic scholars on any ground or Islamic principles.

It was only in the 7th century A.H. that Ibn Taymiyya with his special way of thinking, opposed this and many other lasting customs and traditions that were in vogue among the Muslims. Three centuries after him, Muhammad bin ’Abd al-Wahhab once again raised the flag of opposition and enlivened Ibn Taymiyya's school of thought with much more vigour.

One of the point of differences of the Wahhabis with the other Islamic sects is that although they have accepted shafa'a as an Islamic principle (like the other muslims) and say that on the Day of qiyama the intercessors will intercede for the sinners and in this matter the Holy Prophet (s) will play a greater role, yet they say that no one has the right to seek shafa'a from them in this world. In this matter they have gone to such an extreme that narrating the text of their sayings will be the source of spiritual discomfort. In short, they say:

The Holy Prophet (s), the other Prophets, the angels and the beloved ones of Allah have the right of doing shafa'a on the Day of Judgement but one should ask for shafa'a from the Master of shafa'a and the One who gives permission for that i.e. Allah and say:

“O God, make the Holy Prophet (s) and your virtuous servants and the Angels as our intercessors on the Day of Judgement.” However we are not having the right to say, “O Prophet of Allah” or “O wali of Allah we ask you to seek shafa'a for us. This is because shafa'a is something which no one is capable of doing except Allah. Asking such a thing from the Holy Prophet (s) who is living in barzakh will be a kind of polytheism (shirk)."[1]

The Wahhabis have, with a series of notions, forbidden the seeking of shafa'a from the true intercessors and have labelled the one who does so as a polytheist and his action as polytheism.

Before looking into their reasoning, we shall discuss the matter from the viewpoint of Qur’an, sunnah and the practise of the Muslims in this regard. After that, we will examine their reasoning.

Our reasoning on the logical firmness of seeking Shafa'a

Our reasoning for the permissibility of seeking intercession (shafa'a) is a combination of two matters which by proving them, the matter of intercession will become clear. These two matters are:

(1) Asking for shafa'a is the same as asking for du'a.

(2) Requesting for du'a from some worthy person is a recommended (mustahab) order.

1. Asking for Shafa'a is the same as asking for Du'a:

The intercession of the Holy Prophet (s) and other true intercessors is nothing but du'a and eulogy before Allah owing to the proximity and the position which they have before Allah. It is due to their du'a that Allah bestows His mercy and Grace upon the sinners and forgives them. Asking for du'a from one believer (what if it is asked from the Holy Prophet) is an approved affair and none amongst the Islamic scholars whether Wahhabis or Non-Wahhabis have doubt in its authenticity.

Of course it cannot be said that the reality of shafa'a in all the stations of mahshar is this very du'a before Allah. But one can say that one of its clear meanings is du'a and the one who says:

“O the one who has a position before Allah intercede for us from Allah.”

denotes the same meaning.

Nizamuddin al-Naysaburi while interpreting the verse

“And whoever joins himself (to another) in an evil cause shall have the responsibility of it.” (Nisa: 85)

narrates from Muqatil as such:

“The reality of shafa'a is performing du'a for the Muslims.” It is also narrated from the Holy Prophet (s) that anyone who performs du'a for his Muslim brother will be accepted and an angel will cry out: “The same shall be for you too.”

Ibn Taymiyya is one of those who believes that the request for du'a from a living person is correct. Therefore asking for shafa'a is not confined to the Holy Prophet (s) but one can make such a request from any believer who possesses value and esteem before Allah.

Al-Fakhruddin al-Razi is one of those who have interpreted shafa'a as du'a and eulogy before Allah. In interpreting the verse:

“And ask protection for those who believe: Our Lord! Thou embracest all things in mercy.”  (Ghafir: 7)

He says: “This verse shows that the shafa'a performed by the carriers of ‘arsh (Throne) is only in connection with the sinners.[2]

Similarly, the shafa'a of the Holy Prophet (s) and other Prophets with regards to the same group (i.e. the sinners) is the same because Allah commands as such:

“And, ask protection for your fault and for the believing men and the believing women.” (Muhammad: 19)  [3]

And Nuh ('a) sought forgiveness for himself, his parents, those who had faith in him and all the believers who are to come till qiyama and in this way he has fulfilled his mission of shafa'a. [4]

This description from al-Fakhr al-Razi bears witness that he has presented shafa'a to be the same as du'a of the intercessor for the sinner and has reckoned the request for shafa'a to be the same as request for du'a.

In the Islamic traditions (hadithes), there are clear indications that the ‘Dua’ of one Muslim for another Muslims is ‘Shafa'at’.

Ibn 'Abbas narrates from the Holy Prophet (s) as such:

“If one Muslim dies and forty men who are not polytheist, recite salat over his dead body, then Allah will accept their shafa'a which was done in his favour.” [5] 

In this tradition, the person reciting the du'a is introduced as an intercessor. Now, if someone in his life-time requests forty of his loyal friends to be present after his death and perform salat and du'a upon his dead body he has in reality sought shafa'a from them and has prepared the premises of shafa'a of the servants of Allah.

In Sahih al-Bukhari there is a chapter entitled as:

    

 

“When the people would ask their Imam to intercede (do shafa'a) and plead before Allah to descend rain, he (i.e. the Imam) would not reject their demands.”

Also, there is a chapter entitled as:

“Occasions when the polytheists demanded shafa'a from Muslims at times of famine” [6]

Narration of these two chapters is evidence that request for shafa'a is the same as request for du'a and it should not be interpreted in another way.

Till here, one pillar of reasoning has been clarified and that is, the reality of seeking shafa'a is nothing but requesting du'a. Now we should engage ourselves in describing the second pillar of reasoning and that is asking from one brother-in-faith (what if it is asking the awliya Allah) is a desirable and recommended action.

2. Qur’an and Request for du'a from Worthy People

The verses of Qur’an bear witness that when the Prophet's seek forgiveness for the people it is very effective and beneficial such as the following verses:

 

 “And ask protection for your fault and for the believers.” (Muhammad: 19)

“And pray for them, surely your prayer is a relief to them." (Tauba: 103)

If the du'a of Prophet has such benefit for man then what is the harm if one requests him to pray as such for him? On the other hand, request for du'a is nothing but request for shafa'a.

“And had they, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Apostle had (also) asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.” (Nisa: 64)

By  (they come to you) it means that they would come and ask the Prophet (s) to pray and seek forgiveness. If it means something else then their coming will be useless and in vain. Moreover, the honour of meeting the Prophet (s) and asking him to pray is itself a witness of the spiritual transformation which prepares the ground for acceptance of prayers. The Holy Qur’an narrates from the sons of Ya'qub ('a) that they requested their father to seek forgiveness for them and Ya'qub ('a) too accepted their request and acted upon his promise.

“They said: O our father! ask forgiveness of our faults for us, surely we were sinners. He said: I will ask for you forgiveness from my Lord.” (Yusuf: 97)

All these verses show that requesting the Prophet (s) and other virtuous ones to perform du'a which is the same as requesting shafa'a, is not having the least objection from the viewpoint of Islamic standards. For the sake of brevity, we have not narrated the traditions regarding request of du'a from the virtuous ones.

Islamic Traditions (hadithes) and the Path of Companions

The famous traditionist, al-Tirmidhi and the writer of one of the Sihah of the Ahl al-Sunnah narrates from Anas as such:

(Anas says): “I requested the Holy Prophet (s) to ask shafa'a for me on the day of Judgement and he accepted and said, “I shall request your shafa'a. I asked: “Where should I find you? The Prophet said: "Find me near Sirat (bridge over Hell)." [7]

With his mild diposition, Anas requests for shafa'a from the Holy Prophet (s) and he too accepts it and gives him glad tidings. Sawad bin Qarib was one of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (s). In the contents of one of his poems, he seeks intercession from the Prophet (s) and says:

"O' the honourable Prophet! you be my intercessor on the Day of Judgment, the day when the shafa'a of no one will be useful and beneficial to Sawad bin Qarib." [8]

Before the Holy Prophet's (s) birth, a person by the name of Tubba' from the tribe of al-Himyar had heard that soon a Prophet was going to be appointed by God in the Arab territory. Before dying, he wrote one letter and requested his near ones that if the day came when such a prophet was sent, then they should hand over his letter to him. In this letter, he had written as such:

“Though my age was not loyal and I died before seeing you, ask my shafa'a on the Day of qiyama and do not forget me.”

When the letter was handed to the Holy Prophet (s) he said thrice:

“Congratulations to Tubba', my pious brother”. [9]

If request for shafa'a was polytheism then Holy Prophet (s) would never have addressed him as his brother and would not have thrice congratulated him.

Seeking Shafa'a from the Dead

Last section of traditions indicated that seeking shafa'a from the true intercessors in their lifetime is absolutely correct.

Now, we shall mention two traditions that show that the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) used to seek shafa'a from him even after his demise.

(1) Ibn 'Abbas says: When Amir al-mu'minin ('a) finished giving ghusl (ablution) and kafan (shroud) to the Holy Prophet (s), he uncovered the face (of the Prophet) and said:

 

“May my mother and father be sacrificed; you are chaste and pure in life and in death. Remember us near your Lord."[10]

(2) When the Holy Prophet (s) passed away, Abu Bakr uncovered his face and kissed him and said:

“May my father and mother be sacrificed; you are chaste and pure in life and death. Remember and think of us near your Lord.”  [11]

The aforesaid traditions show that seeking shafa'a of the intercessor makes no difference whether the intercessor is alive or dead. Thus, by paying attention to these verses, traditions and the continuing custom of the Muslims in all the ages, the matter of seeking shafa'a becomes self-evident and one should never be in slightest doubt with regards to its integrity. Moreover, the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) were requesting the Holy Prophet (s) to pray for them even after his demise and if request for du'a (prayers) after his demise is correct, then request for shafa'a too which is one kind of request for du'a is proper and correct. [12]

Footnotes: 

[1] al-Hadiyyat al-saniyya, 2nd treatise, page 42.

[2] Since the end of the verse says.   and protect them from the torment of Hell

[3] Surah Muhammad, Ayah 19, as a decisive evidence bears witness to the inerrancy of the Holy Prophet (s) and other Prophets, naturally the word sin means something else for them. We have written the description of this section in Vol. 5 of the exegesis of Manshur Javid which is the first topicwise exegesis in Persian.

[4] Sura Nuh: verse 28.

[5] Sahih Muslim, Vol .3 page 54.

[6] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.l.

[7] Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4 Page 42.  Chapter of:   

[8] Qamus al-Rijal, under the matter Sawad.

[9] Manaqib Ibn Shahr Ashub, vol.1 page 12; Bihar al-Anwar, vol.15 page 314.

[10] Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon no.230.

[11] Kashf al-'Irtiyab, page 265 narrated from Khulasat al-kalam.

[12] For more details refer to the book shafa'a in the realm of reason, Qur’an and Traditions written by (this) author. In this book, you will find 100 traditions (45 traditions from Ahl al-Sunnah and 55 traditions from Shi'a books).

Chapter 14

Examining the Reasoning of Wahhabis about the Prohibition of Seeking Shafa'a

In the previous chapter, we became acquainted with the permissibility of seeking shafa’a with logical reasons. Now it is time to learn about the reasoning of the opponents with regards to such request for shafa’a. The group of opposition have prohibited seeking of shafa’a with their particular way of thinking which we shall now discuss in brief.

(1) Seeking shafa’a is shirk (Polytheism)

By shirk they mean shirk in 'ibada and present seeking of shafa’a to be 'ibada of the intercessor.  In chapter 9 we had discussed in detail about 'ibada and have clarified that requesting and asking someone and or seeking shafa’a will be counted as 'ibada only when we believe the other person to be   God,  (Lord) and the one who is managing the world or is the source and master of divine affairs. If it is not as such then any kind of request and asking any kind of respect and honour will never be counted as 'ibada.

The one who seeks shafa’a from the true intercessors before Allah (where Allah has permitted them to do shafa’a) consider them as an intimate and chosen servants of Allah where they are neither God nor the divine affairs such as forgiveness and shafa’a have been transferred to them so that they are able to wilfully and without the permission of Allah, do shafa’a and forgive whomsoever they wish.

Within the framework of ‘Permission of Allah’, these divine people can seek forgiveness and mercy for those particular people who still have spiritual relation with God and their spiritual connection with the divine intercessors has not yet been discontinued. And such a request from someone who does not reckon the intercessor to be more than an intimate servant can never be considered as 'ibada.

Of course we remind you that if such a request (of intercession) to the intercessor who is dead amounts to 'ibada then the same request to a living intercessor too should be counted as 'ibada.

However, in the previous discussion we pointed out that Qur’an and traditions command the Muslims to approach the Holy Prophet (s) and request him to seek forgiveness for themselves. And such a request is nothing but seeking shafa’a from him in his life-time and it is impossible that one action which is polytheism in one period turns into a monotheistic action in another period.

To elaborate further, they say: Shafa’a is the act of God and in better terms, is the right of God and asking others about something which is related to His action will amount to 'ibada of that person. They speak the same about asking for shifa’ (cure) of the sick and other similar things from the beloved ones of God and say:  Such kind of requests are requests for the Acts of God and naturally it will be like doing his 'ibada.

By paying attention to the previous discussions, the reply to this reasoning becomes absolutely clear and it is as such: None amongst the Muslims have differences in this general rule and universal measure and all agree that asking others about the actions of Allah will be counted as 'ibada and involves the belief in divinity and Lordship. But the main point of our discussion is: What is meant by ‘action’ of God? The Wahhabi writers during these three centuries have not explained the standard for the ‘acts’ or ‘action’ of God without which the reasoning will be brought to naught.

In the discussion about the definition and limitation of 'ibada we reminded you that in many verses of Qur’an, the actions which are specific to God have also been attributed to other than Him. For example, giving death which is a specific action of God as mentioned in Sura al-Mu'minun verse 85.

"He is one who gives life and Death"  is also attributed to (someone) other than Him as mentioned in another verse as such:

“Until when death comes to one of you, our messengers cause him to die.” (An’am: 61)

Until the time death overtakes one of them, our messengers take away their souls. It is not only this action (i.e. ‘giving death’) that is specifically the action of God and is attributed to (someone) other than Him but in fact. a portion of the actions of God and those things which should be asked only from God have been permitted to be asked from someone other than Him. For example: Qur’an commands the Muslims to say day and night  (only from Thee do we seek help) but at the same time in another verse it commands us to seek help from (something) other than Him like salat and patience, As verse says:

“And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones.” (Baqarah: 45)

If we wish to narrate those verses which are specific to Allah but are attributed to other than Him, then our discussion will lengthen [1] What is necessary is to solve the controversy through Qur’anic insight and acquire the actual meaning of Qur’an and it is as such:

Each of these affairs irrespective of our request, has two forms:

(1)  A ‘doer’ performs an action without relying on a creature, without acquiring power from any position and without obtaining the will of anybody, For example, he gives death to a living creature or helps a creature.

(2)  A ‘doer’ performs the same action by relying on a superior being, by acquiring power from a higher position and obtaining His permission. The first affair is the affair of God and the second a human or non-divine affair. This is a general yardstick for distinguishing the divine action from the non-divine ones.

The divine actions such as giving life, death, cure, sustenance etc, are invariably those actions for which the doer is needless of anything in performing them.

On the other hand, a non-divine action is that action which the doer has to depend on a superior and higher creature than him and without His Power and Will, is not able to perform that action.

By paying attention to this principle, it becomes clear that the shafa’a which is the special right of Allah is different from that shafa’a which is sought from the virtuous people.

Allah is needless from all angles in these actions whereas the virtuous one put them into operation only under the light of His wise Will and Permission.

Whenever shafa’a is sought from the awliya Allah in the first sense, then in such a case, the divine action is asked from someone other than God and such an asking will be reckoned as 'ibada.

However if shafa’a is sought from them in the second sense i.e. a limited and permitted shafa’a which is in the form of one acquired right, then in such a case, a non-divine action is asked from them.

By paying attention to this yardstick, the fists of the fallacious writers of Wahhabis will open up and it becomes clear that such kind of requests, most common being request for shafa’a and others such as shifa' (cure) and the like of it takes place under two forms and no virtuous monotheist will request such an action in the first form and no one, no matter how little Islamic knowledge he possesses, will ever reckon them to be the ones managing this world or the ones in charge of the system of creation. Moreover, they do not (even) reckon them to be such creatures to whom God has entrusted His position and His actions and do not imagine that in the actions of shafa’a and fulfilment of needs they are unlimited and unconditional.

In short, asking for a limited and authorised shafa’a is the action of a man from man himself and is not asking for the Acts of God from someone other than Him.

We shall speak about the ‘action of God’ and its special features in the near future.

(2) The Shirk (Polytheism) of the Polytheists was due to Their Seeking of Shafa’a from the Idols:

The second reasoning which the Wahhabis give for the prohibition of shafa’a is this that God has labelled the idol-worshippers of Hijaz as polytheists because of their seeking of shafa’a from the idols; their crying and wailing before them and their request (to them) to act as mediators, The following verse bears testimony to this:

“And they serve beside Allah what can neither harm them nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah.” Yunus: 18)

Therefore, any kind of shafa’a from other than God will be polytheism and worshipping of the intercessor.

Reply: Firstly, this verse is never an indication of what they say and if the Qur’an calls them as polytheists it is not because they were seeking shafa’a from the idols but because of worshipping them and finally reaching the stage of seeking shafa’a from them.

If seeking shafa’a from the idols did really amount to their worship then, in addition to the sentence  there was no reason to bring the sentence:

That these two sentences have come in a parataxis form in this verse shows that the matter of 'ibada (worship) of the idols was different from the matter of seeking shafa’a from them, Worshipping of the idols is the sign of polytheism and dualism and seeking shafa’a from the stones and wood is reckoned to be a foolish act, devoid of any logic or reason.

This verse never shows that seeking shafa’a from the idols amounts to worshipping them so that we may say that seeking shafa’a from the true beloved ones of Allah is the sign of worshipping them.

Secondly, even if we assume that the reason of their polytheism was due to their seeking of shafa’a' from the idols yet, there exists a vast difference between their seeking of shafa’a and the seeking of shafa’a of the Muslims. They reckoned the idols to be the masters of shafa’a and the absolute authorities in the matters related to shafa’a and ‘forgiveness of sins’. Perhaps God has discharged Himself from these affairs and has entrusted them to the idols. Such a shafa’a will naturally be (like) worshipping them because they were seeking shafa’a in them by having belief in their divinity, lordship and their being the source of divine affairs. On the other hand, a Muslim seeks shafa’a and requests for du'a from the beloved ones of Allah as one esteemed and honourable one (of Allah) and as one authorized servant of Allah in the matter of shafa’a. Thus considering these two forms as one and the same is far from justice and realism.

(3) Request for Fulfilment of Need from Someone Other than Allah is Forbidden

The third reason which the Wahhabis give for the prohibition of the matter of seeking shafa’a from the divine leaders is this that by specific decree of Qur’an, we should not, in the position of du'a, call anyone other than Allah. And asking for shafa’a from other than God is one kind of asking (for fulfilment of needs).

The Holy Qur’an says:

“Then do not call anyone with Allah” (Jinn: 8)

If on the one hand it is said that calling someone other than Allah is forbidden and on the other hand the matter of shafa’a of the awliya Allah has been established, then the way of concluding is to say that we should seek shafa’a of the divine leaders from God and not from themselves.

The proof that such callings is 'ibada and worship is the following verse of Qur’an:

“Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased.” (Ghafir: 60) 

Attention is required in the beginning of the verse; the word and in the end the word   has come which shows that ‘calling’ and worship give one and the same meaning. In the books of tradition too, we find as such:

“Du'a is the brain of 'ibada (worship)”.

Reply:

Firstly, the verse which has prohibited    (calling) of someone other than God in the sentence  does not refer to absolute calling and requesting. Instead, this prohibition (of   ) refers to the prohibition of worshipping someone other than God; the reason being the preceding verse which says   . This sentence shows that by    (in this verse) is meant some specific   which is accompanied by worship and a rising which is mixed with unlimited humility and lowliness in front of the one whom they consider as God of the Universe, Lord of the worlds and the absolute authority in creation. [2] And such a bond does not exist in the matter of seeking shafa’a from someone in whom Allah has bestowed such a right to give shafa’a by His will.

Secondly, what has been prohibited in the verse is ‘calling someone along with Allah’ and ‘considering him at His level’, as the word of   is a clear evidence to this fast. If someone requests the Holy Prophet (s) to pray for him that Allah may forgive his sins or fulfil his needs than he has not called anyone along with Allah. Rather, the reality of this calling is nothing but the calling of Allah.

If asking for fulfilment of needs from the idols is introduced as polytheism in some of verses, it is because they reckoned them to be the small gods, the authorities in all or some of the divine affairs and the ones who are powerful enough to fulfil their needs. Therefore the Qur’an criticizes such ideas and says:

 

“And those whom you call upon besides Him are not able to help you, nor can they help themselves.” (Araf: 197)

The Qur’an also says:

 

“Surely those whom you call on besides Allah are in a state of subjugation like yourselves.” (Araf: 194)

In short, the polytheists imagined the idols to be small gods and believed them to be absolute possessors of divine actions. However, asking ‘shafa’a and du'a from someone whom God has granted such a right and position is devoid of such stipulations.

Thirdly, calling is having a much wider and comprehensive meaning and is occasionally used metaphorically in 'ibada (worship) such as the verse of    and the tradition  . However, such partial usages in metaphorical form is no reason that we always interpret   in the meaning of worship and condemn the request for fulfilment of need and du'a from someone (in a reasonable manner) as polytheism.

Moreover, the actual meaning of   is ‘to call’ which sometimes takes the shape of Ibadat and mainly gives the meaning of calling others (and not 'ibada).

Later, we shall have a chapter on the meaning of   in Qur’an and will prove that every    (calling) and pleading is not accompanied with 'ibada and worship.

(4) Shafa’a is the Special Right of Allah

The following verse shows that shafa’a is the right of Allah and as such, what meaning can we derive other than this?

“Or have they taken intercessors besides Allah? Say: what! even though they did not ever have control over anything, nor do they understand. Say: Allah's is the intercession altogether.” (Zumar: 43)

Reply:

The sentence does not mean that only God gives shafa’a and that no one else is having the right of shafa’a. This is because undoubtedly, God never asks anyone to do shafa’a for someone else. Rather, it means that God is the original Owner of shafa’a and not the idols; since the one who possesses wisdom and ownership of all things becomes the owner of shafa’a and not the idols whom they worship which are devoid of both these qualifications. As Qur’an says:

Therefore, the pivot of discussion of this verse is that God is the Owner of shafa’a and not the idols and in whomsoever He sees worth and merit, He gives the right of shafa’a (and not to the idols). Therefore, this verse has no relation with the topic of our discussion because the Muslims consider only God as the Owner of shafa’a and not the beloved ones of God. They believe that only those who are having His permission can do shafa’a and not everybody. They also believe that by the decree of verses and traditions, God has authorised the Holy Prophet (s) to do shafa’a. Thus, they seek shafa’a from him as one authorized person (and not as the Owner of shafa’a). As such, what is the relation between the discussion and the contents of this verse?

(5) Seeking Shafa’a from the Dead is Useless

Their last reasoning is that seeking shafa’a from the awliya Allah is (like) seeking fulfilment of needs from the dead who are lacking the hearing sense. The Holy Qur’an explains the dead to be unworthy. As it says:

“Surely you do not make the dead to hear, and you do not make the deaf to hear the call when they go back retreating.” Naml: 80)

In this verse, the Holy Qur’an likens the polytheists to the dead and informs us that just as the dead are not capable of understanding, in the same manner, it is not possible for you to make this group to understand. If the dead were capable of speaking and hearing, then it was not proper to compare the dead-hearted polytheists to the group of dead people.

“Surely Allah makes whom He pleases hear, and you cannot make those hear who are in the graves.” (Fatir: 22)  

The analysis of this verse is the same as the analysis of the previous verse. Thus, seeking shafa’a from a person is like seeking (something) from an inanimate object.

Reply:

This group always finds fault with the other sects of Islam through the door of shirk (polytheism) and as supporters of monotheism, they seek to label others as kafir (unbelievers) But, in this analysis, they have changed the form of this discussion and have presented the matter of uselessness of paying attention to the awliya. However, they are completely unaware that:

The awliya Allah by the blessings of rational [3] and narrative [4] reasoning, are alive and living. The objective of this verse is not to prove that the bodies which have been laid to rest are not capable of understanding and any body from which the soul has been detached, is unable to perceive and understand and turns into an inanimate object.

However, it should be known that what we address is not the hidden body inside the grave but the pure and living spirits which are living with barzakhi bodies in the world of barzakh and are, as per the Qur’an, alive. We seek shafa’a from these spirits and not the concealed bodies in the soil.

If the dead and the hidden bodies inside the soil are not capable of understanding, it does not mean that the spirits (and their good influence) which according to Qur’an are alive and receiving their sustenance in another world are incapable of understanding.

If we say salutations or seek shafa’a and or speak to them, our attention is directed to those holy and living spirits and not the hidden bodies inside the soil. If we go for ziyara (visit) of their graves, houses or place of living, it is because we wish by this way, to prepare ourselves for establishing a spiritual relationship with them. Even if we become aware that their bodies have changed to soil (though the Islamic traditions prove contrary to that) still we will seek of reach such instances so that in this way, we prepare for our relationship with these pure spirits.

Footnotes: 

[1] Refer to the book Manshur Javid, vol. 2 Section of "limitation of 'ibada".

[2] In fact the meaning of the verse is   as mentioned in another verse  (Sura al-Furqan verse 68).

[3] The reasons for abstraction of soul from matter after the separation of body and its needlessness from material body demands that the soul of man continues and enjoys perception after death too. By giving ten reasons, the great Islamic philosophers have proved the eternity of the soul and its superiority to matter and have not left any ambiguity for any impartial person.

[4] The verses of Qur’an like Sura Aal 'Imran: 169, 170; Sura al-Nisa: 41, Sura al-Ahzab: 45, Sura al-Mu'minun: 100 and Sura Ghafir: 46 prove that life after death continues and we have discussed this matter in the past.

Chapter 15

Is Belief in Invisible Power the Basis of Shirk (Polytheism)?

There is no doubt that a sincere request for fulfilment of needs is possible only when the person making the request reckons the requested person or entity to be powerful and capable enough to fulfil his need. Sometimes, this power is an apparent and a physical one such as when we ask someone for water and he fills the vessel with it and hands it over to us.

Sometimes too, this power is an invisible power, far from the natural channels and beyond the domain of physical laws. For example, a person believes that Imam Ali (‘a) could lift the door of the fort of Khaybar which was not within the power of an ordinary man and pull it off not by human power but by an unseen power. Or that 'Isa ('a) could, by his curative healing, cure the incurable disease without the use of medicine or any kind of operation. If belief in this unseen power is such that it is supported by the Power and Will of Allah, it will be similar to the belief in the physical power which does not involve shirk (polytheism). This is because the same God who has placed the physical power in that particular person also gives the unseen power to another person but without assuming the creature to be the Creator and without taking that person to be independent of God.

The Views of Wahhabis:

They say: If someone asks one of the awliya Allah, whether dead or alive, to cure his sick ones or to find his lost ones or to help him in repaying his debt, such requests involve the belief in the sovereignty and power (of the one whom he asks) where he is prevailing over the natural system and the laws in force in the world of creation. Belief in such sovereignty and power of someone other than God is the same as the belief in the divinity (Godliness) of that person and asking something from him under this bond will be shirk (polytheism).

If a thirsty person in the desert asks for water from his servant, he has observed the order prevailing over the laws of nature and such an asking will not be shirk (polytheism). However, if he asks water from a Prophet (s) or an Imam who is concealed under the soil or lives in some other place, then such a request involves the belief in his unseen sovereignty (of providing him with water without the physical causes and means) and such a belief is exactly the same as the belief in the divinity of that person.

Abu al-'A'la al-Mawdudi is the one who has emphasised this matter and says:

The reason that man calls God and beseeches Him is because he thinks Him as the One possessing sovereignty over the laws of nature and dominance over such power which is outside the scope of the influence and limits of physical laws.” [1]

Our Viewpoint 

Their basic mistake is that they imagine the belief in the unseen power of someone to be absolute source of polytheism and dualism. They have neither wished nor have been able to differentiate between the power which is dependent on the sovereignty of God and the power which is independent and separate from God. The shirk (polytheism) which they speak about is related to the second one.

The Holy Qur’an very explicitly mentions the names of some personalities who all possessed unseen powers and command of their will was dominant over the laws of nature. We shall mention here, from the viewpoint of Qur’an, the names of those awliya Allah who possessed such powers.

(1) Unseen Sovereignty of Yusuf ('a)

Yusuf ('a) tells his brothers as such:

“Take this my shirt and cast it on my father's face, he will (again) be able to see. So when the bearer of good news came he cast it on his face, so forthwith he regained his sight.” (Yusuf: 93-96).

Apparently, this verse shows that Ya'qub ('a) regained his sight owing to the will and acquired power of Yusuf and this action was not the direct act of Allah. Rather, it was the act of Allah through some channel, otherwise there was no reason for Yusuf to order his brothers to put his shirt over their father's face. Instead, it was enough for him to just pray. This action is nothing but the appropriation of the representative of Allah over a part of the world but by the Will of Allah and such a representative is the possessor of unseen sovereignty which Allah gives in special circumstances.

(2) Unseen Sovereignty of Musa ('a)

Musa ('a) is ordered by Allah to strike his staff upon a mountain so that twelve fountains i.e. the number of tribes of the sons of Israel, come out of it. As the Qur’an says:

“Strike the rock with your staff. So there gushed from it twelve springs.” (Baqarah-60)

In another place he is charged with striking his staff over the sea so that every drop of it becomes the size of mountain for the Bani Isra'el to pass. As Qur’an says:

 “Then we revealed to Musa: Strike the sea with your staff. So it had cloven as under, and each part was like a huge mound.” Shu'ara: 63)

Here, one cannot imagine that the will and wish of Musa ('a) and the striking of his staff played no role in the appearance of the fountains and mountains.

(3) Unseen Sovereignty of Sulayman ('a)

Prophet Sulayman ('a) is a great beloved one of Allah who possessed wide unseen Powers and because of this great divine bounty, he has been described with the sentence   Sura al-Naml, verse 16 and the details of these bounties and talents have come down in Sura al-Naml, verse 17 to 44, Sura Saba, verse 12, Sura al-Anbiya, verse 81 and Sura Sa’ad, verse 36-40. Referring to these verses will acquaint us with the magnificence of the gifted powers of Sulayman. In order that the readers become aware of these powers, we shall mention some of the verses related to this wali Allah so that it becomes clear that belief in the unseen power of the servant of Allah is a matter which Qur’an itself has pointed out.

From the viewpoint of Qur’an, Sulayman ('a) had dominancy over the Jinns and birds and was aware of the languages of the birds and insects; as Qur’an says:

“And Sulayman was Dawud's heir, and he said: O men! we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given all things; most surely this is manifest grace. And his hosts of the jinn and the men and the birds were gathered to him, and they were formed into groups. Until when they came to the valley of the Naml, an ant said: O Naml! enter your houses, (that) Sulayman and his hosts may not crush you while they do not Know. So he smiled, wondering at her word, and said: My Lord! grant me that I should be grateful for Thy favour which Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents.” (Naml: 16-19)

If you refer to the story of ‘Hud Hud’ in Qur’an which was given charge by Sulayman to deliver his message to the Queen of Saba, you will be astonished by the unseen power of Sulayman. Therefore it is requested that you kindly refer and ponder deeply over Sura al-Naml, verses 20-44. 

According to the specification of Qur’an, Sulayman possessed unseen dominancy and the movement of the wind took place as per his wish and command. As the verse says:

“And (We made subservient) to Sulayman the wind blowing violent, pursuing its course by his command to the land which We had blessed, and We are Knower of all things.” (Anbiya: 81)

The point which is worthy of attention is the sentence   which shows that the wind was blowing as per his command.

(4) 'Isa ('a) and His Unseen Sovereignty

By examining the verses of Qur’an, one can follow the unseen power of 'Isa ('a). For indicating his power and position, we present here some verses. The Holy Qur’an narrates from 'Isa ('a) as such:

“I create you out of dust like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allah's permission and I heal the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life with Allah's permission and I inform you of what you should eat and what you should store in your houses, most surely there is a sign in this for you, if you are believers.” Aal-e 'Imran: 49)

If 'Isa ('a) relates his actions to the Will of God, it is because no Prophet is the possessor of such authority without the Will of God. As verse says:

               

“And it is not in (the power of) an apostle to bring a sign except by Allah's permission.” (Ra'd: 38)

On the other hand, 'Isa ('a) attributes the unseen actions to himself and says: I cure, I make alive, I give the news. The words    which are all   (the first person) bear witness to this fact, it is not only Yusuf, Musa, Sulayman and 'Isa ('a) who possessed unseen powers and supernatural sovereignty but a group of prophets [2] and angels possessed and still possess unseen sovereignty and Qur’an describes Jibra'il as   (mighty in power) and the Angels as   (regulator of affairs).

In Qur’an, the Angels have been introduced as the managers of the affairs of the world, the takers of the lives of people, the protectors and guards of the people, the writers of deeds, the destroyers of sinful nations and tribes, etc, etc. Those who have the basic knowledge of Qur’an are aware that the Angels posses unseen power and by relying on the Will and power of Allah, they perform extra ordinary acts.

If belief in unseen sovereignty involves (belief of) divinity in that person, then, as far as the Qur’an is concerned, all of these prophets and angels should be introduced as   gods. [3]

As mentioned before, the solution to this dilemma lies in this that one should differentiate between ‘independent power’ and ‘acquired power’. Belief in independent power (of a creature) is the source of shirk (polytheism) in all the circumstances whereas belief in acquired power with regards to any action is monotheism.

So far, it has been clarified that belief in the unseen power of the awliya Allah along with this belief that they are dependent on the eternal Power of God and are only the channels appointed by God, is not only far from shirk (polytheism) but is purely (tawhid) monotheism. The basis of tawhid is not this that the actions which are dependent on the natural powers are related to man and the actions that are dependent on the unseen powers are related to God. Rather, the reality of tawhid is to believe that all the powers whether dependent on natural powers or dependent on unseen powers are all related to God and manifest Him to be the prime source of all types of powers and strength.

Now it's time to discuss the matter of asking extraordinary actions from the awliya Allah. [4]

Is it Shirk (Polytheism) to request for Extra-Ordinary Actions?

Any phenomenon, as per the laws of cause and effect, has a cause for itself and the existence of such a phenomenon is not possible without that cause. As a result, no phenomenon remains without a cause in this Universe. Miracles and wonders of the Prophets and other awliya too are not without a cause. The only thing being that there is no natural and physical cause for them and this differs from saying that there is no cause (at all) for them.

If the staff of Musa ('a) is changed into a snake, or the dead are made alive by 'Isa ('a) or the moon is cut into two halves by the Holy Prophet (s) of Islam and the pebbles start glorification of God in the hands of the Holy Prophet (s), etc., are all with some cause. The only point is that in these cases, the natural causes or the well known physical causes are not at work and it is not that they are basically without a cause.

Sometimes it is thought that asking natural actions from someone is not polytheism but asking some extraordinary acts from him is polytheism. Now we shall examine this very view.

Reply:

The Holy Qur’an mentions instances where in the Prophets and others have been asked to perform a series of extraordinary acts which are outside the scope of natural and physical laws. The Holy Qur’an narrates these requests without criticising any of them. For example, the tribe of Musa ('a), as per the stipulation of Qur’an, turned towards Musa ('a) and asked water and rain from him so that they could be saved from the severe famine. As the Qur’an says:

“……And we revealed to Musa when his people asked him for water: strike the rock with your staff….”(Araf: 16)

[5]

It is possible that it may be said that there is no objection in asking extraordinary acts from a living person but our point concerns such request from dead people. However the reply is obvious since, life and death cannot bring any change in any action which is in accordance with the principle of monotheism such that we declare one to be polytheism and the other as monotheism. Life and death can have effect on usefulness or un-usefulness but not on polytheism and monotheism.

Sulayman ('a) Seeks the Throne of Bilqis

In summoning the throne of Bilqis, Sulayman ('a) asked an extraordinary act from those present in his gathering. He said:

“'Which of you can bring to me her throne before they come to me in submission?' One audacious among the jinn said: 'I will bring it to you before you rise up from your place, and most surely I am strong (and) trusty for it.’One who had the knowledge of the Book said: 'I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.' Then when he saw it settled beside him, he said: 'This is by the grace of my Lord'.” (Naml: 38)

If such views (asking for extraordinary acts is polytheism) are true, then asking miracles in all ages and times from the claimants of Prophethood is blasphemy and polytheism. This is because the people asked for miracles (which required extraordinary acts) from those claiming to be prophets; not from God who has sent them. They were told as such:

“If you have come with a sign, then bring it, if you are of the truthful ones.” (Araf: 106)

All the nations of the world used to employ this method in recognizing the true prophets from the false ones and the prophets were always inviting the nations to come and see their miracles. The Qur’an too narrates, without objection, the people's demand for miracles from the Prophets which shows its acceptance of this matter.