The three Wahhâbîs put forward twenty points to
convince Meccan Muslims. These twenty points are summarized in the three main
groups in the above. Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb said that it was Imâm Ahmad ibn
Hanbal’s (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih) ijtihâd that ’ibâdât formed a part of îmân.
However, all of Imâm Ahmad’s ijtihâds were recorded in books and the Meccan
’ulamâ’ knew all of them in detail, so they easily proved and convinced the
three Wahhâbîs that this allegation of Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb was false.
The three Wahhâbîs were extremely sure that they were
right in their second belief. They said, “Muslims in Mecca visit the graves of Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), ’Abdullâh ibn ’Abbâs and Mahjûb[1]
and say, ‘Oh Rasûl-Allâh!’ or ‘Oh Ibn ’Abbâs!’ or ‘Oh Mahjûb!’ However,
according to our imâm Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s ijtihâd, those who say, ‘La ilâha
illa’llâh Muhammadun Rasûlullâh,’ but pray to a person other than Allah become
disbelievers. It is halâl to kill them and confiscate their possesions.” The
’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna said in reply: “Visiting the graves of Allâhu ta’âlâ’s
beloved servants to make tawassul of them or to ask them to pray does not mean
worshipping them. They are visited not with the intention of worshipping them
but with the purpose of asking Allâhu ta’âlâ by making them wasîla, that is,
holding on to them as causes and intermediaries.” And they proved with
documents that it was permissible and even necessary to hold on to the causes.
There are many documents in proof of the lawfulness of
visiting the graves of awliyâ’ to make them wasîlas or to beg them to be
wasîlas while asking something from Allahu ta’âlâ: the 38th âyat al-karîma of
Sûrat al-Mâ’ida declares, “Oh
Believers! Fear Allâhu ta’âlâ and look for a wasîla to approach Him!” All books of tafsîr write that whatever or whomever
Allâhu ta’âlâ loves or approves of is a wasîla. The 79th âyat al-karîma of
Sûrat an-Nisâ’ declares, “Whoever
obeys the Rasûl has obeyed Allah.”
This is the reason why the ‘wasîla’ in the former âyat is Rasûlullâh according to the majority of the Muslim ’ulamâ’. Therefore, it is
permissible to make wasîlas of prophets and their
[1] Mahjûb Sayyid ’Abd ar-Rahmân, the most profound ’âlim of his time, passed away in 1204 A.H. (1790) and was buried in the Mu’allâ Cemetery.
inheritors -awliyâ’ and pious Muslims- and to try to
approach Allâhu ta’âlâ with their help. If it were disbelief or polytheism to address or to beg the Prophet, those who perform salât would all be disbelievers;
the Wahhâbîs, too, would be disbelievers according to the above-quoted fatwâ of
Muhammad ibn Sulaimân (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih), for every Muslim says salâm on Rasûlullâh and prays for that exalled Prophet in every salât by
reciting the prayer, “As-salâmu ’alaika ayyuha ’n-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allâh.”
There are benefits in visiting graves and praying to
Allâhu ta’âlâ by making wasîlas of awliyâ’. Because, the hadîth ash-sharîf related by Ibn ’Asâkir and quoted in Kunûz ad-daqâ’iq declares, “The Muslim is the mirror of his Muslim brother.” The hadîth
ash-sharîf related by ad-Dâraqutnî
declares, “The Muslim is
the mirror of [another] Muslim.” It is understood from these hadîths that souls are like mirrors for
one another. They are seen in one another. Faid emanetes from the soul of a
walî to the heart of a person who thinks of him and makes a wasîla of him while
visiting the grave of that walî. The weaker of the two souls gains strengh.
This is similar to two liquid containers connected with a tube. The soul with a
higher degree or level suffers a loss. If the soul of the one in the grave is
at a lower degree the soul of the visitor feels distressed. This is the reason
why visiting graves was forbidden in the beginning of Islam, since the dead in
the graves belonged to the Jâhiliyya Ages at that time. It was permitted later
when there were dead Muslims who could be visited. One will be thinking about
the Prophet (all-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) or the walî when
visiting his grave. A hadîth
sharîf declares, “Allâhu ta’âlâ shows Mercy when pious
persons are thought of.” It is
understood from this hadîth
sharîf too, that Allâhu ta’âlâ shows
Mercy upon him who visits graves, and He accepts the prayer of His servant upon
whom He shows Mercy. It is obvious that the saying, “Graves should not be
visited. Awliyâ’ cannot be taken as wasîlas,” is a baseless dissent of opinion.
The hadîth ash-sharîf, “He
who visits my grave after carrying out the hajj will be as if he has visited me
when I am alive,” refutes this belief
at the very foundation and shows that it is necessary to visit graves. This hadîth sharîf is quoted along with its documents in the book Kunûz ad-daqâ’iq.
The Wahhâbîs put forward the hadîth ash-sharîf, “Curse
be upon those women who visit graves and those who perform ritual prayers over
graves and those who light candles on graves,” as a pretext for demolishing shrines. They said that
there had been no
such things in the Prophet’s time and quoted the hadîth ash-sharîf, “The things which do not exist in our time but will be introduced later do not stem from us.” The Wahhâbite representatives agreed with the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna because the answer to their second claim refuted these statements of theirs, too.