“It was declared in the Hadîth that the worst of men
are those who will be alive on the Last Day and those who will make graves
masjids. Graves were made masjids before Islam. Later in the Islamic history,
Muslims, too, have been going further than the pre-Islamic communities. They
forget Allâhu ta’âlâ when they are in trouble. They idolize the dead. They
believe the dead will do what is asked from them. They say that ’Abd al-Qâdir
al-Jîlânî hears and helps those who pray. They think he knows ghaib [what is
hidden, the secret] though he is dead. Those who say so become disbelievers.
They deny the Qur’ân. Ibn al-Qayyim said that it was wâjib to demolish the
domes built over graves. Al-Imâm an-Nawawî said that it was harâm to build
domes on graves for whatever intention there might be. Those who say that
performing salât in the graveyard was prohibited because of its being dirty are
wrong, for, prophets’ graves are not dirty. Ibn Hajar al-Hitamî wrote in
his Kabâir, ‘It is a grave sin to build domes over graves. It is
necessary for Muslim statesmen to demolish such domes. First of all al-Imâm
ash-Shâfi’î’s domed tomb should be demolished.’ ”
Here again the Wahhâbite book slanders Muslims.
Muslims perform ’ibâda for and beg Allâhu ta’âlâ five times everyday. It is an
overt lie to say that such Muslims forget Allâhu ta’âlâ. Muslims do not worship
the dead. Because many hadîths explain
that Allâhu ta’âlâ’s beloved servants -even every dead
person- hears in their graves, Muslims visit their graves, pray to Allâhu
ta’âlâ through their mediation and ask them to intercede for them. The dead
cannot do whatever they wish. And the living cannot do whatever they wish,
either. But, Allâhu ta’âlâ promised that He would accept the prayers of His
beloved servants, first of all His prophets’ prayers. Muslims do
not ask prophets (alaihimu ’s-salâtu wa ’s-salâm) and awliyâ’
(rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) to do something, but to pray to Allâhu ta’âlâ to give
something. Awliyâ’ do hear what the visitors to their graves ask, and they pray
to Allâhu ta’âlâ to give them what they ask for, and Allâhu ta’âlâ accepts the
prayers of awliyâ’.
The following passage is translated from the 121st
page of Ibn Hajar al-Makkî al-Hîtamî’s (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) work Zawâjir to expose the lies of the Wahhâbite book. Ibn Hajar, after quoting
hadîths, writes:
“Some Shâfi’î scholars, taking the preceding hadîths
into account, concluded that one of the six grave sins was to make graves
masjids. The reason was that those who made prophets’ graves masjids were
condemned in a hadîth, which also informed that those who made the graves of
sulahâ’ masjids would be [regarded as] the worst of men on the Last Day. ‘To
make the graves masjids’ means ‘to perform salât facing those graves.’ It was
for this reason that the Shâfi’î scholars declared that it was harâm to perform
salât facing the grave of a prophet or a walî, as a sign of respect for him. For such an
act to be harâm, firstly, the one in the grave should have been an uncommon,
esteemed person, and secondly, the salât should be intended to be for the dead.
Lighting candles at graves is also harâm if it is for respecting the dead. So
is going round graves. Hence it is inferred that such actions are makrûh when
they are done not as a sign of esteem. Respecting a grave by prostrating means
worshipping it, which is a grave sin, even kufr. Some Hanbalî scholars said,
‘Performing salât by graves as a tribute is a grave sin and causes kufr. It is
a must to demolish such tombs.’ ”
Ibn Hajar al-Makkî al-Hîtâmî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ),
in the Egypt edition of his book Al-fâtâwâ al-kubrâ al-fiqhiyya, wrote in the chapter on janâza, “Domed tombs should not be built on
graves in public graveyards where many corpses are buried. If already built,
they should be demolished. It is not permissible to demolish the domed tombs in
private graveyards for the purpose of burying a new corpse in them.” On page
17, he wrote: “It is
harâm to build domed tombs in public graveyards. Those
already built in public graveyards should be demolished. Constructing any kind
of building in a graveyard belonging to a waqf or in a private graveyard
without its owner’s permission is also harâm. It is makrûh to build a domed
tomb on one’s own land or on someone else’s land with his permission.” On page
25, he wrote: “Building domed tombs in public graveyards is harâm, for, it
occupies much space and prevents others from being buried. Such domes should be
demolished. It was for this reason that most Shâfi’î scholars (rahimahum-Allâhu
ta’âlâ) issued the fatwâ that al-Imâm ash-Shafi’îs (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ)
domed tomb should be demolished, because it was in a public graveyard.” It is
seen that Ibn Hajar al-Makkî did not say that every domed tomb was harâm and
should be demolished.
On page 209 of the book Zawâjir, it is written that it is a grave sin to build high buildings for ostentation. Following the hadîth ash-sharîf the Wahhâbîs should be demolishing not tombs but, as a wâjib, the houses of dissipation and prostitution they built in Riyad, Taif and Jidda. The Wahhâbite book, on page 248, quotes the hadîth ash-sharîf, “Visit graves! Such visits will remind you of the Day of Judgement,” and says that Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) visited his blessed mother’s grave. But, saying that this hadîth sharîf did not enjoin asking the dead for anything, he attempts to liken Muslims’ visiting the graves of the Prophet and awliyâ’ to disbelievers’ worshipping graves.