“Rasûlullâh [sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam] ordered his
umma to remember the hereafter, to do the dead favours by praying for them, to
pity them and to ask for their forgiveness when visiting graves. Thus, the
visitor will be doing good both for the dead and for himself. The hadîth
narrated by Muslim on the authority of Abu Huraira (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh)
declares, ‘Visit graves!
Visiting graves will remind you of death.’ ’Abdullâh ibn ’Abbâs said that Rasûlullâh [sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’alaihi wa sallam] said, ‘As-salâmu
’alaikum yâ ahl al-qubûr! Yaghfir-Allâhu lanâ wa lakum, antum salafunâ wa nahnu
bi ’l-athar,’ while looking at the
graves when he was passing by the cemetery in Medina. Imâm Ahmad and at-Tirmidhî
related this hadîth sharîf. A hadîth
sharîf related by Ibn al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyya from Imâm Ahmad declares, ‘I forbade you to visit
graves before. Now you may visit graves!
You will thus remember the hereafter.’
A hadîth sharîf related by Ibn Mâja from ’Abdullâh ibn Mas’ûd,
declares, ‘I forbade you to
visit graves before. Now you may visit! Thus, you will be redeemed from giving
your hearts to the world and remember the hereafter.’ The hadîth
sharîf narrated by Imâm Ahmad from Abu
Sa’îd declares, ‘I forbade
you to visit graves. From now on you may visit. Thus, you will take a warning
and wake up from ghafla.’ Ibn
al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya reports Salamat ibn Wardan as saying, ‘I saw Anas ibn
Mâlik greet Rasûlullâh. Then he leaned against the wall of a grave and
prayed.’ Polytheists changed [the true form of] visiting graves. They turned
the religion upside down. They go to graves and make the dead partners with
Allah. They pray to the dead. They pray to Allah through the dead. They ask the
dead for their needs, expect blessings and ask them to help them against their
enemies. Thus, they are harmful both to themselves and to the dead. Rasûlullâh [sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam] had forbidden men to visit
graves in order to abolish such bad customs. After monotheism settled in their
hearts, he permitted the visiting of graves. But, to say hujr [nonsensical, bad
words] by graves was forbidden. The greatest hujr is to commit polytheism with
words or action at graves. People now ornament tombs but do not care for
mosques. They reverse the religion which is revealed by Allah through prophets.
Because the Shî’ites are the most ignorant and far away from the religion, they
build tombs and demolish mosques.”
We agree with the Wahhâbîs about the ignoramuses and
heretics who, at graves, behave impetuously, commit polytheism and disregard
Allâhu ta’âlâ’s creating. We are certainly hostile to polytheism and
polytheists. ’Al-Imâm ar-Rabbânî (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) explains this
finely and clearly in his various letters.[1]
However, although the Wahhâbîs note that they believe that it is permissible to
visit graves and that reciting the Qur’ân al-karîm to send its
thawâb for the souls of the dead and praying for the dead will do good for the
dead, they say that the dead do not feel or hear and that talking to the dead,
asking the Prophet for shafâ’a and praying to Allâhu ta’âlâ through
awliyâ’ are polytheistic acts. Their statements disagree with each other. As
[1] Especially in the 41st letter in Maktûbât, 111 (Endless Bliss III, 1981, p. 149.
it can be concluded from the beginning of our book to
here, the difference between the Wahhâbîs and Ahl as-Sunna stems from this
point. Therefore, to protect Muslim brothers, we deemed it proper to discuss
this point.
Great scholar of Islam and perfect walî Sayyid
’Abdulhakîm Arwâsî (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih), who was a professor of
tasawwuf at the Madrasatu
’l-mutahassisîn, the most advanced
educational institution of the Ottomans, equivalent to present-day universities
in Istanbul, wrote:
“It is called râbita to attach one’s
heart to and to keep in one’s imagination the image of the face of a walî, in
his presence or absence, who has been qualified with the Qualities of Allâhu
ta’âlâ and attained to the stage of mushâhada. Thinking of those who have
attained perfection is very useful, as expressed in the hadîths, ‘Allâhu ta’âlâ is remembered when they are
seen,’ and ‘Those who are with them do not become rebels [against Allâhu ta’âlâ]’, which are related by
al-Bukhârî and Muslim. A faithful, pure Muslim attains the qualities and hâls
of such a man of Allah by thinking of him. The hadîths order Muslims to stay
with pious Muslims, that is, Allâhu ta’âlâ’s beloved servants. [A hadîth sharîf noted by ad-Dailamî and at-Tabarânî and in Kunûz ad-daqâ’iq declares, ‘I am the city of knowledge. ’Alî is its gate.’ As indicated in this hadîth sharîf, faid,
ma’rifa and nûr flow from the hearts of the men of Allah, who are like the gate
of Allâhu ta’âlâ’s endless ocean of faid, to the hearts of Muslims who love and
remember them. To attain this faid, first it is necessary to possess the belief
of the Ahl as-Sunna, to live up to Rasûlullâh thoroughly, to love
the men of Allah and to keep love for them in the heart. Those who lack these
prerequisites remain deprived of the faid and ma’rifa of the men of Allah. They
can find no other way out than to deny the facts they do not know. The second
condition necessary to receive faid is that the man of Allah should be a
perfect inheritor of Rasûlullâh, should be following in his footsteps and should be a
beloved servant of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Since there is no such man of Allah among the
Wahhâbîs, the doors to faid and ma’rifa are closed from them. It is for this
reason that polytheists, who worship idols and statues, and those wretched
Muslims who follow ignorant people and false rehbers cannot gain any faid or
benefit. The reason why Abu Jahl, Abu Tâlib and Abu Lahab and the like could
not obtain any faid or guidance from Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam) was because they themselves did not fulfil the first
condition. Prophets
(’alaihimu ’s-salâm) are the khalîfas of Allâhu ta’âlâ
on the earth. And awliyâ’, because they are the inheritors of prophets,
have taken a share of this honour, and their blessed hearts have become a
mirror of Allâhu ta’âlâ. The 26th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat as-Sâd and the 165th
âyat al-karîma of Sûrat al-An’âm and many other âyats document our words. A
Muslim who attaches himself to the heart of a perfect (kâmil) walî will attain
Allâhu ta’âlâ’s faid through the blessed heart of that walî. The hadîth sharîf quoted in ad-Dailamî’s book and in Kunûz ad-daqâ’iq
declares, ‘A scholar among
his people is like a prophet among his umma.’ It does not make any difference for the heart’s
attaining faid and ma’rifa whether the man of Allah is alive or dead. His
perfections (kamâlât) never depart from his soul. And the soul is not bound by
time, place, death or life. If the above-mentioned two conditions are
fulfilled, any Muslim who attaches himself to, that is, who loves and
remembers, a man of Allah -wherever he is, alive or dead- immediately attains
faid and ma’rifa. It is necessary to believe that the tasarruf (disposal,
possession) of their souls is by Allâhu ta’âlâ’s tasarruf on them. Until a man
can receive faid from Allâhu ta’âlâ without a mediator (wâsita), he needs a
mediator whom Allâhu ta’âlâ loves and who can receive and transmit faid to his
disciples.]
“That the ’ulamâ’ of Bukhara, Khîwa, Samarqand and
India (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în) have unanimously declared and
performed and ordered their students to perform râbita since 200 up to
“The 32nd âyat al-karîma of Sûrat al-Ma’ida declares, ‘Look for wasîla to attain Him.’ The wasîla, or wâsita, in this imperative âyat karîma
is not bound by any condition but is used in a general sense. ’Ibâdât, dhikr,
du’â’ (prayers) and the rûhs of awliyâ’ are included in this command. An
attempt to put limits to this general order is nothing but a calumny against
the âyat al-karîma. That the wasîla is Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam) is made known in the Divine Command in the 31st âyat
al-karîma of Surat Âl ’Imrân: ‘If you love Allâhu ta’âlâ, adapt yourselves to me! Allâhu ta’âlâ
loves those who adapt themselves to me.’
Everyone who says that he is a Muslim should believe
this âyat. The hadîth
ash-sharîf, ‘’Ulamâ’ are the inheritors of prophets,’ shows that
awliyâ’ (qaddâs-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrahum) are wasîlas, too. It is impossible to
obey the Qur’ânic command ‘adapt
yourselves’ without loving.
“Al-Bukhârî wrote [in his Sahîh] that Abu Bakr as-Siddîq (radî-Allâhu ’anh) said that Rasûlullâh was never away from his heart and mind so much so that he complained
that Rasûlullâh’s image was in his memory even when he was in the
toilet.
“Allâhu ta’âlâ declared, ‘Oh Believers! Fear Allah! Be with the
faithful!’ in the 120th âyat
al-karîma of Sûrat at-Tawba. Here also, ‘be with’ is not bound by
any condition. It is a general statement. Therefore, it includes ‘being with’
the faithful in the material sense as well as spiritual. To be with the faithful
bodily, materially, means to stay modestly, respectfully and affectionately in
their presence. And to ‘be with’ spirit vis-a-vis spirit means to remember a
beloved faithful servant of Allâhu ta’âlâ respectfully.
“The ‘burhân’ (proof) mentioned in the 20th âyat
al-karîma of Sûrat Yûsuf (If
Yûsuf [’alaihi ’s-salâm] had not seen his Allah’s burhân...) is, almost by unanimity, the visual appearence of
Ya’qûb (’alaihi ’s-salâm) to him. Az-Zamakhsharî, the author of the tafsîr Kashshâf, though he was one of the heretics of the Mu’tazila, joined the
majority of the ’ulamâ’ of tafsîr and said that Prophet Ya’qûb who was
in Jordan became visible to the Prophet Yûsuf who was in a
room with Zalîkhâ in Egypt.
“Sayyid Ahmad al-Hamawî [al-Misrî, passed away in
powerful. It becomes easier for him to appear in
different places at the same moment.
“It is written in the commentary on Shamâ’il by Ibn Hajar al-Makkî and in Tanwîr al-halak by Jalâl
ad-dîn as-Suyûtî that ’Abdullâh ibn ’Abbâs said, ‘I dreamt of Rasûlullâh. He treated me with favour. I visited one of his wives after I woke
up. I looked at the mirror. I saw not me but Rasûlullâh in the
mirror.’ This state (hâl) is not one of the things peculiar (makhsûs) only to Rasûlullâh. For this reason, the ’ulamâ’ of Islam collected Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) khasâ’is (peculiarities,
special virtues) in books and did not record this state as one of the khasâ’is.
According to the basic rules of fiqh and usûl al-fiqh, the ’ulamâ’ and awliyâ’
of Rasûlullâh’s umma are the inheritors of his every hâl, which is
not among his khasâ’is. For example, talking with Rasûlullâh when performing salât does not break one’s ritual salât. But this is a
khâssa (peculiarity) of Rasûlullâh belonging to him exclusively, and talking with
’ulamâ’ or awliyâ’ therefore breaks salât. It is not one of his khasâ’is to
call down blessings upon (salât) and to greet (salâm) Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) as if he is in sight -by visualizing
him. Therefore, it is permissible to imagine, to form in the mind a picture of,
a walî and expect help from this soul. Jalâl ad-dîn as-Suyûtî, a Shâfi’î
scholar, says, ‘The twenty-second kind of karâmât is that awliyâ’ can appear in
forms of different persons,’ in his book At-tabaqât al-Kubrâ. The
26th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat al-Mariam declares, ‘He
(Archangel Gabriel) became
visible to her (Hadrat Mariam) in
[the form of] a human being.’ ’Ulamâ’ have interpreted this âyat karîma as that
the souls of awliyâ’ may appear in various forms. The well-known event of Qadîb
al-Bân Hasan al-Mûsulî (d. Musul,
“ ’Allâma Sayyid Sharîf al-Jurjânî (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih), a Hanafî scholar, noted before writing about the 72 Muslim groups at the end of his book Sharh al-Mawâqif and in his annotation to the book Sharh al-Matâlî’ that living or dead awliyâ’ (rahimahum-
[1] For details of this and other karâmât of his, see Yûsuf an-Nabhânî’s Jâmi’ al-karâmât al-awliyâ’. ’Allâma al-Jailî, a Shâfi’î scholar, wrote in his commentary to the Sahîh of al-Bukhârî: “The Devil cannot appear in the shapes of perfect walîs, who are Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) inheritors, just as it cannot take Rasûlullâh’s shape.”
Allâhu ta’âlâ) become visible to their students in
various forms and that their disciples receive faid and get much benefit from
those images.
“Tâj ad-dîn Ahmad ibn ’Atâ’-Allâh al-Iskandarî
ash-Shâdhilî (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih), a Mâlikî scholar who passed away in Egypt
in
“ ’Allâma Shams ad-dîn ibn an-Nu’aim (rahmat-Allâhi
’alaih), a Hanafî scholar, wrote in Kitâb ar-rûh, ’Souls may be in a different
state other than when they are in their bodies. The souls of awliyâ’ are at
Rafiq al-a’lâ and also have a relation with their dead bodies. If a person
visits such a walî’s grave and greets him, his soul at Rafîq al-a’lâ anwers that person.’ This is also noted in al-Imâm
as-Suyûtî’s Kitâb
al-Munjalî. All these proofs show
that awliyâ’ have powerful tasarruf (disposal) and influence after their death
in a way which we may not know.
“Khalîl ibn Is’hâq al-Jandî (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih), a
Mâlikî scholar and author of the book Mukhtasar, who passed
away in
“Disbelieving the teachings and documents which are
clearly reported by so many profound ’ulamâ’ and awliyâ’ is nothing but
disagreeing with the religion and reason. May Allâhu ta’âlâ bestow reason and
justice upon those who classify the Muslims of Ahl as-Sunna as non-believes or
polytheists on account of this belief of theirs! Shame on those who liken the
Muslims who believe this fact to the polytheists who worshipped graves and
regarded idols and creatures as creator! ’Umar ibn al-Fârid (rahmat-Allâhi
’alaih), a Mâlikî and a Qâdirî, who passed away in Egypt in
in Herat in
World’s lions are all links of the same
chain;
how dare a fox break it with wile?
If a heretic takes awliyâ’s names in vain,
they remain spotless, he proves himself
vile.
Only his beard will catch fire if someone tries to blow out the torch lit by Allâhu ta’âlâ.”[1]
[1] Seyyid ’Abdulhakîm Arvâsî, Râbita-i Sharîfa, Istanbul, 1342 (1924).