Khawarij Bluring The Distinction Between ‘Grave-Worship’ And Quranic Persona-Worship – And The Reason For It.

[MuhammedAli]

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Edited 27 اپریل 2023 by MuhammedAli

[MuhammedAli]

Khawarij Bluring The Distinction Between ‘Grave-Worship’ And Quranic Persona-Worship – And The Reason For It.

Introduction:

There are many verses of Quran which were revealed about creations of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) being elevated to rank of and believed to be Ilah partners of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). As such these creations were/are worshiped instead/beside of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). This can be termed persona/character-worship providing correct understanding is associated with it. Khawarij invented term of grave-worship and it is used by them to accuse Muslims of worshipping graves if they deem an act on a grave as crossed the boundary of Tawheed. Contrary to this the Muslims believe there is no such thing as Muslims engaging in grave-worship and nor this has happened in the past. Also there was/is no authentic evidence that establishes graves were ever worshipped even by disbelievers of pre-Islamic era but a Khariji claimed most of the Shirk mentioned in Quran is about grave-worship. I noted Khariji attempted to blur the distinction between persona-worship and what they traditionally term grave-worship. I Muhammed Ali, aka SkippedPath, felt this was something which needs to be challenged and refuted because it is a new step, another low, and march toward distortion of message of Quran.

Information Regarding Discussion With The Khariji:

Please note, all material of Abu Zubair and of myself is being posted seperately. Originally these posts were not in this order. Material in purple writing was not part of original responses but it is being added during writing of this article. Credit goes to brother ADHM of SalafiAqeeda blog who had saved the material and reproduced it on his blog, here, and from where I have reproduced it below. And there was more material but I have no means of recovering it from IslamicAwakening forum because the forum has been down for about a year. When I saw the material being used by brother ADHM I re-read the material and realised original needs improvements. And therefore, if Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) wills, improvements will be made to compensate for early lapses.

Content Of Discussion  Between Abu Zubair And MySelf:

Abu Zubair: “Majority of the Shirk mentioned in the Quran is to do with the graves, i.e. glorification of righteous people leading to idol worshiping.The Prophet SAW explicitly mentioned graves and forbade us from taking them as Masajid, citing the Yahud and Nasara as an example. The Quran is crammed full of it.The classical theological literature is only representative of theological polemics relevant to the age of the author. None of these classical works will have much on Shirk in Allah's Hukm, secularism, etc, or creation of Adam. Moreover, the classical Ash'ari heritage requires you to condition your mind in Greek philosophy before one even comes to conclusion that there is a God. Ibn Khuzayma makes a remark in his Kitab al-Tawheed, merely in passing, that Kalimatullah is uncreated because the Prophet SAW sought refuge in them, and seeking refuge from creation is not from the Deen of Muslims. Lo and behold, seeking refuge in the Prophet is no longer Shirk according to you guys (do correct me if I am wrong).”

M.A.R: [“Majority of the Shirk mentioned in the Quran is to do with the graves, i.e. glorification of righteous people leading to idol worshiping.”] “Where is the proof for majority of Shirk mentioned in Quran is to do with graves? I assure you I have read the entire Quran number of times and had fortune of reading Tafasir and I have not read any Tafsir stating this golden nugget. Could you guide me to the expert Mufassir who let this nugget out of the bag of goodies.”

M.A.R: [“Majority of the Shirk mentioned in the Quran is to do with the graves, i.e. glorification of righteous people leading to idol worshiping.”] “There is nothing in Quran about grave worship. Praise of righteous dead did not lead into idol worship. The narration of Bukhari on which you are basing your point is a fabrication and goes against clear texts of Quran. The Hadith says, after Prophet Nuh (alayhis salaam), his Ummah worshipped the Saliheen of their Ummah. Yet the Quran is clear in stating that Prophet Nuh (alayhis salaam) was sent to eradicate the worship of those idols which the Hadith say became idols after him. In other words according to Hadith the Saliheen were worshiped after Prophet Nuh (alayhis salaam) and according to Quran his Ummah was worshipping them before his Prophethood and he was sent to warn them. That is not proof of your position.”

M.A.R: It is also worth pointing out how you are blurring the distinction between persona worship into grave worship. Quran talks about persona worship in some places, such as worship of Prophet Isa (alayhis salaam). You’re twisting that into grave worship. The all important point, the polytheists and the Christians believed so and so is Ilah (i.e. ma'bood) ... But Khawarij accuse the Muslims of worshiping the graves even when no one takes the graves as ma'bood/Ilah nor those who occupy the graves are believed to be ma'bood/Ilah. The belief which makes the action Shirk is absent. Hence accusation of Shirk is unfounded and returns to one who issues it. And this is as per the Hadith: “Then these things will be taken away from him when he will disregard them by putting them all behind his back and will attack his neighbor with the sword accusing him of Shirk. The Prophet was asked - which of the two will be deserving of such an accusation? - The attacker or the attacked? The Prophet replied - the attacker.” [Ref: Ibn Hibban, VolNo.1, Page No. 282]

M.A.R: [“The Prophet SAW explicitly mentioned graves and forbade us from taking them as Masajid, citing the Yahud and Nasara as an example.”] “Very good and valid point, the Ahadith which the Khawarij interpret to mean, Muslims will worship graves, only, come togather to establish that Muslims should not make graves in Masajid which the Jews and Christians use to do. Evidence of which is walk into any major Christian Church and see graves in it. I went to a school trip and I was walking on their graves inside the church. I enquired was told these are graves of bla bla ... People literally were walking on the grave. The graves were part of floor and to differentiate different stone was used with a silver panel and thats all.”

M.A.R: “If Shirk of worshiping graves was going to take place and become such a big issue that Shaykh Muhammad Ibnul Wahhab was forced to claim none before and during his life knew true meaning of: “There is no Ilah except Allah.’ And that too in the land of Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was'sallam) and vast majority of his Ummah was to fall into grave-worship then surely one can say question: Why there is not a single Hadith in which Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was'sallam) clearly stated people will worship graves and instructed the Muslims do not worship graves? Answer is very simple; because there was to be no such thing as Muslims worshiping graves. Its is just a delusion Khariji Shaykh al-Najd and his minions of Iblees. If allegation that Muslims are worshiping graves was truly based on correct understanding of Islam then note; Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) passed away leaving no guidance regards to such important issue of grave-worship in his majority of Ummah. Yet Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) has left us guidance regarding issues which are insignificant compared to major Shirk. Such trimming of nails, use of wooden toothbrush (i.e. Siwak), ghusul after intercourse, and myrids of other pointers. Absence of such critical guidance itself is indication that Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) did not fear the occurance of grave-worship if there ever was chance of Ummah as whole or part of it worshiping graves Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was'sallam) would have told so and would have left clear guidance regarding grave-worship.”

Abu Zubair: “Considering what is meant by Shirk of graves is not dancing on them, but praying to the dead, and considering the Quran is crammed full of references to those who pray to other than Allah and how it is futile, it is pretty clear to any reader most of the Shirk censured in the Quran is of this category.”

Abu Zubair: “The Quranic verses about making Dua to Allah alone are too numerous to mention. This is all about grave-worshipping. As I said, the main aspect of Shirk (amongst others) in grave-worship is praying to other than God, which the Quran focuses more on than any other Shirk.”

M.A.R: "When I was a Wahhabi, [and I was one very extreme and zealous Wahhabi, a principled one] then my definition of grave-worship was, going to graves doing engaging in prostration, supplicating Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) while facing graves and asking the occupant of grave, your defintion of grave-worship has slightly evolved to make Quran fit your religion. My understanding of the definition stems from how Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab used this phrase and those who succeeded him but your is a novel effort to blurr distinction between persona worship [which is worhsip of a personality living/dead elevated to status of an Ilah/God] and grave worship [which is prostrating to, kissing grave, asking the person in the grave for something while being at the grave] so you can inject the poison and blame of grave-worship into text of Quran.”

1.0 - Abu Zubair’s Trick Of Khariji Trade:

I quote: “Majority of the Shirk mentioned in the Quran is to do with the graves, i.e. glorification of righteous people leading to idol worshiping.The Prophet SAW explicitly mentioned graves and forbade us from taking them as Masajid, citing the Yahud and Nasara as an example. The Quran is crammed full of it.” In simple words Abu Zubair redefined grave-worship to make persona-worship inclusive of it. Yet clue to what is traditional and actual ‘grave-worship’ of Wahhabism is in his own post. He stated Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) had stated: “Majority of the Shirk mentioned in the Quran is to do with the graves, i.e. glorification of righteous people leading to idol worshiping …  mentioned graves and forbade us from taking them as Masajid, citing the Yahud and Nasara as an example.” Abu Zubair connects grave-worship with Ahadith in which of Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) cursed Jews and Christians because they performed acts of worship and built their places of worship over graves of their prominent persons. Therefore in context of these Ahadith taking graves as places of worship means performing actions of worship at the grave-site. Do note Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) did not accuse the Yahood and Nasara of worshipping the graves even though he stated they take the graves of their prominent persons as places of worship. Indicating he was not saying they worship the dead members of graves rather they worship their deity [with Salah type of prayer][1] while standing on/around the graves. Note this was presented as proof of grave-worship of Yahood and Nasara and it established Yahood/Nasara performed actions ON/AROUND graves. Contrary to the evidence Abu Zubair termed grave-worship to be: “Majority of the Shirk mentioned in the Quran is to do with the graves, i.e. glorification of righteous people leading to idol worshiping.” What he means is, glorification of Awliyah via supplication leads to polythiesm and he clearly stated this in another place: “Considering what is meant by, Shirk of graves, it is not dancing on them, but praying to the dead, …” and here: “… the main aspect of Shirk (amongst others) in grave-worship is praying to other than God.” From this we can understand that what Abu Zubair’s portraying as ‘grave-worship’ is not the traditional Khariji definition of ‘grave-worship’ and this is what I alluded to in my last response to him.

1.1 - Cursed Jews And Christians Taking Graves As Places Of Worship:

Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) cursed the Jews and Christians for taking the graves as Masajid: “Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger said, "May Allah's curse be on the Jews for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets." [Ref: Bukhari, B8, H428, here.] “Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah said: Let there be curse of Allah upon the Jews and the Christians for they have taken the graves of their Messengers as Masajid (i.e. places of worship).” [Ref: Muslim, B4, H1081, here.] And evidence of this is that old Churches and Synagogues are built on top of grave-yards and made graves in Churches/Synagogues. In other words Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) cursed them for constructing places of worship over grave yards. Note Masjid Nabvi was made on ex-grave-yard: “Anas b. Malik said: The Mosque (of the Prophet) was built in the land of Banu al-Najjar which contained crops, palm trees and graves of the disbelievers. The Messenger of Allah said: Sell it to me for some price. They (Banu al-Najjar) replied: We do not want (any price). The palm-trees were cut off, and the crops removed and the graves of the disbelievers dug opened. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. But this version has the word "forgive" in the verse, instead of the word "help.” [Ref: Abu Dawood, B2, H454, here.] Longer versions of this Hadith have been narrated in Bukhari and Muslim.This establishes that Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) did not like the Masjid to be built over a grave-yard and considered it Haram. When constructing the Masjid Nabvi (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) all the graves were dug out and remains of polytheists removed from the area. Establishing that the cursing of Jews/Christians was because of them building their ‘Masajid’ over grave-yards.

1.2 - Graves In Churches And Synagogues:

I quote from an English website giving account of where rich were burried before Christian reformation: “Before the reformation the prestigious and the wealthy were buried inside churches and were commemorated on mural monuments, tombs and slabs, others in the parish were buried outside the church in unmarked graves. After the reformation it became illegal for burials inside a church and although it proved to be hard to stop.” [Ref: Historic Church And ChurchYards, here.] According to official website of Westminster Abbey some thirty members of royal household have their graves in Westminster Abbey: “Westminster Abbey is the final resting place of 30 monarchs starting with King Edward the Confessor himself whose magnificent shrine stands just behind the High Altar. Another five monarchs, including Henry III who built the church you see today, surround him.” [Ref: Westminster Abbey: Royal Tombs, here] This goes on to support the interpretation that Ahadith of Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) cursing the Jews/Christians was about building places of worship over graves and had nothing to do with Istighathah. It is case of over zealous, Kharijis, distorting the prophetic statement to invent a interpretation to support their sects insanity.

2.0 - Difference Between Grave And Persona Worship:

Persona-worship is, beleiving a creation, Jinn, human, stone, or anything else is a god partner of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), or the God, and thus this human being is derserving of worship, and then worshiping him. What I had termed persona-worship and stated, this is mentioned in Quran, this persona-worship is based on three fundamental principles, (i) those who worshiped a human being – affirmed Ma’budiyyah/Ilahiyyah for that human. In other words believed that human is worthy/deserving of worhsip. (ii) they performed the action of worship to worship that elevated partner, (iii) and they had the intention/Niyyah of worship. This is what I termed persona-worship of Quran.Grave-worship traditionally was defined by Khawarij as; performing of certain actions while facing the direction while being the grave site. Following are general rules which can help readers figure out traditional grave worship: i) Any action which is performed in Salah but performed facing a grave to show respect to a deceased Wali-Allah, such as bowing and prostration, is deemed grave-worship. While being present at the grave site: iia) Asking [soul of] deceased Wali-Allah to intercede to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) on your behalf. iib) As well as asking the Wali-Allah to directly aid you because of one’s belief that in Hadith Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) has instructed the believers to seek assistance of servants of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in time of need; is also termed as grave-worship. From this it should be clear that what Khawarij term grave-worship has absolutely nothing to do with any verses of Quran. What the Khariji termed as grave-worship is without three components which determine a action to be worship – Ma’budiyyah /Ilahiyyah is missing, action of worship is missing, and intention of worship is also missing. It should be noted apparently the action of worship exits; i) when a foolish Muslim out of reverance prosptrates to a deceased Shaykh while facing his grave, ii) or when a Muslim seeks help/intercession of Wali-Allah. The soul which makes these into worship is absent i.e. belief of Ilahiyyah, intention of worship. Therefore these actions cannot be termed worship of deceased Shaykh.

2.1 – Establishing Unanimously Agreed Upon Three Principles Of Worship:

Belief of Ilahiyyah, action of worship, intention of worship in Islam these three are required plus the action of worship has to be sanctioned in Shari’ah for Salah to be valid. If anyone doubts it, can you and would you worship Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) without any of the three, plus the action sanctioned by Shari’ah? Why not? Your worship would be invalid even if one of these three fundamentals are missing. If your belief in Ilahiyyah of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is missing your Salah is invalid. If your action of Salahis missing and you intend to worship Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) via Yoga postures your Salah will be invalid. If you believe in Ilahiyyah, you perform actions of Salah as you was supposed to, but you had no intention of worshiping Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) then your Salah is invalid. Moving to polytheists: Polytheists require also these three principles to be guilty of Shirk. First they have to believe someone from creation is a Ilah partner of the Ilah. Secondly they will have to intended to worship their creation Ilah. Thirdly they have to perform action of worship but this action need not to be valid form of worship in accordance with Islam. Instead what ever he/she deems to be act of worship in accordance with their religion: If performed for their creation Ilah would be suffient to warrant charge of creation worship in accordance with teaching of Islam. Their un-Islamic actions of worship will not be rejected/disregarded when determining if they are guilty of Shirk of worship. Only those actions of worship in which a Muslims worships Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) have to be sanctioned by Shari’ah otherwise innovated actions of worship will be rejected. The conclusion is; belief of Ilahiyyah, action of worship, and intention of worship, all three are essential for action to be worship. If a Muslim/Mushrik doesn’t affirm Ilahiyyah for their God/god, does not intented to worship their God/god, does not perform action of worship to their God/god, then no worship has taken place.

2.2 - True Foundation Of Tawheed And Shirk:

Corner stone of Tawheed is Ilahiyyah. When a person believes Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is the One, the Only Ilah, and beside Him there is none Ilah. He has no partner, or equal in His Ilahiyyah, or His Essences, or His Attributes, and nothing is like Him. Then that person is Muslim and monotheist. And Shirk is diametric opposite of this. When a person affirms a creation as an Ilah partner with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) then he has committed Shirk because Ahadiyyah/Wahdaniyyah (i.e. Oneness) of Ilahiyyah has been negated. This is true foundation of Shirk. This belief leads to actions of Shirk, actions of worship of idols/gods. And even if the actions of worship do not materialise the belief that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has got a partner, or a belief in which creation has been elevated to status of the God alone is enough to nullify Tawheed and warrant Shirk. In light of this it needs to be pointed out if Muslims were truly guilty of Shirk they would be Mushrik even if they do not perform the alleged actions of worship at graves of Awliyah-Allah because Shirk would be warranted due to the belief of Ilahiyyah. And no educated or foolish Muslim affirms Ilahiyyah for Awliyah-Allah. Nor have the Khawarij of Najd ever accused the foolish Muslims that you affirm Ilahiyyah then how could the charge of Shirk be valid? Is not a Muslim Muwahid if he does/doesn’t worships Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala)? Then how can a Mushrik be Muwahid if he doesn’t worship the gods he has elevated as partners with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala)? And how can he be only Mushrik when he worships gods beside Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala)? When the reality is Muwahid and Mushrik status is to be determined by belief and not actions. Worship or no worship, Muwahid is Muwahid, and Mushrik is Mushrik because of their beliefs and not actions. No Muslim educated about religion of Islam or uneducated affirms Ilahiyyah for any creation therefore action of a foolish Muslim wouldn’t nullify his belief in Tawheed. Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) has stated: “Anas bin Malik narrates from the Prophet  who said: Three things are the roots of faith: (i) To refrain from (killing) a person who says “there is no Deity worthy of worship except Allah” (ii) Not to declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits (iii) and also not to declare him out of Islam due to any of his deed. Jihad continues from the day I was sent as Prophet to ...” [Ref: Abu Dawud, B14, H2170] Yet the Khawarij of Najd precisely violate both these rules of Islam.

3.0 - Blurring The Distinction Between Grave-Worship And Persona-Worship:

Abu Zubair was attempting to make persona-worship into grave-worship. As explained above persona-worship is believing a living creation to be with Ilah/Ma’bud and then performing for it and action with intention of worship. And Khariji version of ‘grave-worship’ is performing acts of worship such as supplicating Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) at a grave of Wali-Allah. Or performing actions which are performed in worship such as prostration, or bowing while facing a grave. Or asking [soul of] Wali-Allah directly to assisst you in time of your need, here. Even though he claimed Quran is full of evidence of grave-worship the reality is that none of the verses talk about grave-worship in this traditional nor in accordance with his evolved definition of grave-worship. Rather the verses point toward what I termed persona-worship.

3.1 - Takfir Of Muslims Due To Similarity Of Actions:

The desire to blurr the two distinctions in a fashion stems from eagerness to declare and justify the charge that vast majority of Muslims are in fact polytheists. After injecting his Khariji poison of grave-worship into the verses then it would be easy to impress laymen and convince them of ‘truth’ of Kharijism because it would give impression that polytheists of pre-Islamic era engaged in grave-worship and modern Muslims do exactly the same. His logic would have been; they invoked their dead pious-men [gods], and performed acts of worship to for them, and you also invoke the dead pious-men. Note he would have omitted the mention of pious-men being the gods of polytheists because we Muslims don’t believe Awliyah-Allah are gods. So in reality he would have been arguing to establish Shirk of Muslims merely on similarity of actions. Yet Tawheed/Shirk is issue is primarily issue of belief. In the first case affirmation that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is Ilahuw Wahid (i.e. the One God) and none is His equal partner. In case of Shirk the One and the Only Ilah is associated with partner gods. And to warrant one or the other change of creed in Tawheed/Shirk is fundamental. Otherwise if one does not change creed one cannot be believer of other.

3.2 - Demonstrating Tawheed Or Major Shirk Require Change Of Creed:

Hindu learns to perform Wudhu and learns how to perform all the five prayers perfectly. He performs Salah on the time as part of congregation in local Masjid. He completes his Salah fulfilling all conditions and doing all except that he believes Rama, Sita, Gita, Krishna, Ganesh, Vishnu, Hannuman and Kali are Ilah partners of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Question is: Is he Muwahid because of his perfect five daily Salahs? Answer is very simple and straight, no. It is so because actions do not determine someone to be Muwahid. A Mushrik must abandon all Shirk in creed to be elligible monotheist. In simple words change of creed, from polytheistic to monotheistic, must take place otherwise perfect five prayers mean nothing. You can reverse this role. A person claiming to be Hindu believes Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is the One, the Only, with whom there are no partners, no gods, no daughters, no sons, no mother or father, no wife or ex-wife. He is unique in is attributes and actions. Along side this he believes none but Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is deserving of worship. In addition about traditional Hindu deities holds opinion that these are just myths and if they existed they were ordinary human beings. Despite this he visits temple, smashes a ocasional coconut and makes Tawaf of flower plate with candles around idol because of cultural heritage. Such a person can be termed an idiot, a Kafir, but definitely not Mushrik because he hold monotheistic notions. He would be guilty of Shirk only when his belief/creed changes from monotheistic to polytheistic. And he would be guilty of worshiping these gods if his actions and intentions and creed are in accordance with rules of worship. Point to note is for major Shirk to occur creed must change otherwise there is no Shirk. And yet Kharijis accuse Muslims of major Shirk on account of similarity of actions and not belief. To be precise Khawarij accuse Muslims of committing major Shirk due to sinful/lawful actions even when no change of creed from Tawheed to Shirk has taken place.

4.0 - In Kharijism Non-Polytheistic Actions Become Polytheistic:

When Muslims visit the tombs of Awliyah-Allah, they face the grave of a Wali, and supplicate Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) to raise the darajaat (i.e. stations) of Wali of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in paradise. And beseech Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) for forgiveness of ones own-self. Or to ask Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) through the vasta (i.e. mean) of Wali – as in; O Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), through the means of your servants fulfill my needs and grant me etc. Or directly ask the Wali-Allah to assisst them on account of following Ijtihadi understanding based on Hadith; O servants of Allah help me: “Narrated Hussain bin Ishaq Tustari, narrated Yahya As-Soofi, narrated Abdur Rahman bin Sahl, narrates from his father, Abdullah bin Isa, from Zaid bin Ali, from Utbah bin Ghazwan, from Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was'sallam). He said: ‘When one of you loses something or desires assistance while in a land where no person of assistance (is available) he should say: “O slaves of Allah! Assist me; help me.” for indeed Allah has many slaves who we do not see.” And this [Hadith] has been acted upon. [Ref: Tabarani, Mu'jam Al Kabeer, 17/177 - online Hadith 5469] Note Ijtihad related discussion on this Hadith is in following post of already linked article, here. Actions which are totally free of any blame from perspective of Shari’ah. On other hand some foolish people when they visit the graves of Awliyah-Allah they out of reverance for the Shaykh prostrate to him. This action is Haram in religion of Islam. We are not allowed to prostrate to anyone other then Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). And one who engages in this action to respect and honour anyone other than Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is guilty of major sin. Yet Khawarij declare such foolish person to be a grave-worshipper and polytheist.[2] Also it has been seen that Muslims kiss the tomb of the Wali and this is a quetionable practice amongst scholars. Some Muslim scholars deem it permissible and others dislike it. Whatever the case none of these scholars consider kissing the grave of Wali to be serious enough to declare a believer as polytheist grave-worshipper. Contrary to mainstream Islamic schoalrship Khawarij accuse Muslims who engage in this as of worshiping the graves. Yet the truth is, Muslims beileve there is no Ilah (i.e. Deity), and none is worthy of worship except Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).

4.1 - Charge Of Shirk And Three Roots Of Eman:

Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) is reported to have gave three instructions, to not to kill anyone who affirms confession of Tawheed, to not to nullify Islam based on actions, and not to nullify Islam for major sins. Evidence of which is as follows:“Anas bin Malik narrates from the Prophet  who said: Three things are the roots of faith: (i) To refrain from (killing) a person who says “there is no Deity worthy of worship except Allah” (ii) Not to declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits (iii) and also not to declare him out of Islam due to any of his deed. Jihad continues from the day I was sent as Prophet to ...” [Ref: Abu Dawud, B14, H2170] The Khawarij invalidate the Tawheed of Muslims for actions/deeds (i.e. prostration to ghayr-ullah) even though Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) prohibited it. They invalidate Tawheed due to major sin - i.e. prostration to ghayr-ullah - even though Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) forbade nullifying Islam of a person for a major sin. A a natural result of Takfir of Muslims by Khawarij for actions and major sins, they makes the blood of Muslims Halal upon themselves – meaning then Khawarij consider it permissible to wage war and kill Muslims, even though they profess, there is no Deity worthy of worship except Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Despite the fact that Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) has prohibited killing of anyone who professes, there is no Deity worthy of worship except Allah.

4.2 - Three Roots Of Eman And Truth About Khawarij:

First group of heretics to kill Muslims, companions, on pretext that they had become polytheists were the Khawarij. And this is despite the fact that Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) said killing a Muslim is Kufr. Shaykh of Najd, Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab, nullified the Tawheed of Muslims of Arabia due to their questionable/unquestionable actions, in other words declared them Kafir/Mushrik. And his followers continue to do so. And he then legalised killing of Muslims just like Khawarij under the pretext that beliefs/actions his contempories are worse in Shirk then Mushrikeen which Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) encountered. This establishes he clearly violated the three roots of Eman. It is important to point out that this Hadith is about Khawarij and it perfectly fits upon Shaykh of Najd also. In addition to this Hadith another Hadith perfectly fits upon Shaykh of Najd: “And the statement of Allah: 'Allah will not mislead a people after He has guided them, until He makes clear to them what to avoid.'And Ibn Umar used to consider them (the Khawarij and the Mulhidun) the worst of Allah's creatures and said: "These people took some verses that had been revealed concerning the disbelievers and interpreted them as describing the believers.” [Ref: Bukhari, V9, P49, Chap6: Killing The Khawarij And Mulhidun] Not only this Hadith perfectly fits upon Shaykh of Najd it also perfectly fits upon Abu Zubair aka Experfectionist. Shaykh of Najd and his minion Abu Zubair both took verses of Quran which were revealed regarding disbelievers and tried to interpret them as if these verses were describing beliefs and practices of Muslims. Note Abu Zubair said entire Quran is cramed full of verses about grave worship. Guess what he did? Precisely what the Hadith states is trait of Khawarij. To see evidence of Shaykh of Najd being guilty of same crime just take any of his book and rest assured ninety percent of verses which he applies upon Muslims were/are describing beliefs/practices of polytheists of Arabia which Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam). And the other ten percent would be about merits/benefits of Tawheed and etc.

5.0 - Examining Statement Abu Zubair: Majority Shirk In Quran Is About Graves:

Abu Zubair made the following statement: “Majority of the Shirk mentioned in the Quran is to do with the graves, i.e. glorification of righteous people leading to idol worshiping.” And in our exchange I assumed his statement was based on the knowledge derived from following Hadith: “All the idols which were worshiped by the people of Noah were worshiped by the Arabs later on. As for the idol Wadd, it was worshiped by the tribe of Kalb at Daumat-al-Jandal; Suwa` was the idol of (the tribe of) Hudhail; Yaghouth was worshiped by (the tribe of) Murad and then by Bani Ghutaif at Al-Jurf near Saba; Ya`uq was the idol of Hamdan, and Nasr was the idol of Himyar, the branch of Dhi-al-Kala. The names (of the idols) formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Noah, and when they died Satan inspired their people to prepare and place idols at the places where they used to sit, and to call those idols by their names. The people did so, but the idols were not worshiped till those people (who initiated them) had died and the origin of the idols had become obscure, whereupon people began worshiping them.” [Ref: Bukhari, B65, H4920] These are only five idols which Arabs worshipped and if the account is taken as truthfull and IF we agree this is proof of grave-worship even then it does not prove majority Shirk was related to graves. Because these are only five idols out of three-hundred-sixty which Arabs worshipped according to following Hadith: “Narrated Abdullah bin Mas`ud: The Prophet entered Mecca and (at that time) there were three hundred-and-sixty idols around the Ka`ba. He started stabbing the idols with a stick he had in his hand and reciting: ‘Truth (Islam) has come and Falsehood (disbelief) has vanished.’" [Ref: Bukhari, B43, H658] There was/is no proof that the remaining three-hundred-fifty-five idols were result of grave-worship. Not in book of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and not in books of Ahadith. And these are the only sources of Deen I am aware of. Anyhow in simple maths three-hundred-sixty tribes worship idols in Arabia out of which five worship the mentioned idols. Simple maths and common sense how likely is that three-hundred-fifty-five are minority in comparision to the five/six tribes? Coming back to my conditional IF why it was conditional. Words of relevent part of Hadith are: “The names (of the idols) formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Noah, and when they died Satan inspired their people to prepare and place idols at the places where they used to sit, and to call those idols by their names. The people did so, but the idols were not worshiped till those people (who initiated them) had died and the origin of the idols had become obscure, whereupon people began worshiping them.” [Ref: Bukhari, B65, H4920] Note that the Hadith does not say people worshipped the graves after their death but it very clearly states idols were placed where these pious people sat and the idols were worshipped long after the people who had fashioned the idols had died. What does this have to do with grave-worship? Since when did Sofa you sit on become part of your grave? Since the idiots startedto try too hard to make Islam according to their and their sect’s image! This Hadith is proof that idols were worshipped and graves were not.

5.1 - Examining Hadith Of Prophet Nuh’s Ummatis BeingWorshipped In Light Of Quran:

In a allegedly Sahih Hadith it is recorded that allegedly Ibn al-Abbas (radiallah ta’ala anhu) said: “All the idols which were worshiped by the people of Noah were worshiped by the Arabs later on.” Then allegedly Ibn al-Abbas (radiallah ta’ala anhu) goes on to list which tribes of Arabs worshipped which idol: “As for the idol Wadd, it was worshiped by the tribe of Kalb at Daumat-al-Jandal; Suwa` was the idol of (the tribe of) Hudhail; Yaghouth was worshiped by (the tribe of) Murad and then by Bani Ghutaif at Al-Jurf near Saba; Ya`uq was the idol of Hamdan, and Nasr was the idol of Himyar, the branch of Dhi-al-Kala.” This far the Hadith was in realm of possibility because it did not contradict anything explicitly stated in text of Quran. The following part contradict Quranic narrative: “The names (of the idols) formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Noah, and when they died Satan inspired their people to (prepare and place idols at the places where they used to sit, and to call those idols by their names.” Saliheen (righteous) men from Ummah of Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) being worshipped indicates two things: i) Wadd, Suwa, Ya’uq, Nasr and Yaghouth were righteous believers from Ummah of Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam). ii) Considering the fact that all polytheists belonging to Ummah of Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) died in the flood and believers survived by boarding on the boat. This means these five were alive after the flood. Therefore the event described in following section is of Hadith must also be after the flood: “The people did so, but the idols were not worshiped till those people (who initiated them) had died and the origin of the idols had become obscure, whereupon people began worshiping them.” [Ref: Bukhari, B65, H4920] The impossibility is that these two cannot be possible because these five idols pre-dated Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam). Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) was sent to his nation to guide people to Islam and to distance them from worshipping Wadd, Suwa, Ya’uq, Yaghouth, and Nasr.

5.2 - Story Of Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) In Quran:

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) states He sent Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) to his Ummah and he invited them toward Tawheed: “Indeed, We sent Nuh to his people and he said: ‘O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah but Him. Certainly, I fear for you the torment of a Great Day!’ The leaders of his people said: ‘Verily, we see you in plain error.’ [Nuh] said: ‘O my people! There is no error in me, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of the universe! I convey unto you the Messages of my Lord and give sincere advice to you. And I know from Allah what you know not.’” [Ref” 7:59/62] To this invitation the disbeleiving Ummah of Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) said to one and other: "And they have said: 'You shall not leave your gods: nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth, nor Ya'uq nor Nasr.” [Ref: 71:23] In return Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) supplicates to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) to punish the disbelievers and verse goes on to state the disbelievers were drowned: “Nuh said: "My Lord! They have disobeyed me, and followed one whose wealth and children give him no increase but loss. "And they have plotted a mighty plot. " [Ref: 71:21/22] “And indeed they have led many astray. And: 'Grant no increase to the transgressors save error.' Because of their sins they were drowned, then were made to enter the Fire. And they found none to help them instead of Allah.” [Ref: 71:24/25] From this evidence it has become evident that the idols mentioned in Hadith pre-existed flood and even before Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) was sent to his Ummah. Therefore these idol/gods could not have been of righteous Muslims belonging to Ummah of Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam).

5.3 - Putting The Facts Of Quranic Verses Into Perspective And Verdict On Hadith:

It is important to note a Prophet being sent to a nation implies Shirk/Kufr being order of day and society is corrupted to extent that it required a Prophet to rectify them. So Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) being sent to invite people to Tawheed is similar to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) being sent to Arabs: Shirk, Kufr, moral decay was the order of day before his birth and then he was sent to lead people away from idol-worship to Tawheed and worship of the One Ilah. So worship of these five idols was already established before Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) started his mission. And at back of this it cannot be possible that their worship starts after the flood because refusal of Ummah to believe in Tawheed and remaining firm on worship of these five idols lead to incident of flood. Also the Hadith states these five died and idols were placed were the sat which indicates these people had died long before Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) was sent to his nation to guide them to Tawheed. So how can they be righteous members of his Ummah when they were dead long before Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) was sent as a Prophet? Alhasil this Hadith contradicts Quranic verses and therefore it is Da’if at best and Mawdu more likely because Quran clearly state Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) was sent to prevent people worshiping from these idols and they were dead before him and could not have been Saliheen from his Ummah nor can they exist post flood era.

Conclusion:

Our follower of Khariji Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab claimed entire Quran is crammed with evidence against grave-worship. Upon being challenged Abu Zubayr defined grave-worship in a new fashion which traditionally was never considered part of it. With his added dimension he attempted to encorporate invoking of idol-gods into grave-worship so he can apply verses of Quran upon Muslims which were originally revealed for polytheists. And this was habbit of worst from mankind i.e. Khawarij. To justify his claim that grave-worship is mentioned in Quran he referrenced Hadith in which Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) cursed the Jews and Christians for building their places of worship (i.e. Churches, Synagogues) over graves of Prophets and their other prominents. Abu Zubayr like all typical Khawarij misunderstood the Hadith. Hadith prohibits building of Masajid over graves i.e. grave-yard. And this is evidenced by the fact that Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) removed the graves of polythiests before building Masjid al-Nabavi. And graves in Churches and in old Jewish Synagogues of Arabia and Israel support this interpretation. Also Hadith does not prohibit invoking Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in grave-yard but it prohibits performing of Salah/Namaz in grave-yard not invoking i.e. dua Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Ahadith are proof Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) invoked Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in grave-yard; such as Hadith of Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) praying for those burried in grave-yard of al-Baqi. Therefore to say and argue that seeking intermediation of righteous to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) by saying; ‘O Allah, you’re the One and the Only Ilah beside you there is none. You’re disposer of all affairs and help for all. O Allah I am your servant and I love your Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) and if you love my love for him accept my dua and grant me a righteous son.’ This or any dua directed to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) are all permitted including; ‘O Allah the Lord of universes, all praises are for you, and you’re possesser of all beautiful names. And through these names I seek forgiveness of my sins. I present to you Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) as my intercessor accept his intercession on my behalf. And O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) I have come to you to, as instructed by book of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), I ask you to pray for my forgiveness from your and my Lord.’ Not to forget the fact that what Wahhabi defines grave-worship lacks three fundamental requirement for it to be called grave-worship; belief of Ilahiyyah for occupant of grave, intention of worshiping the occupant of grave, and action of worship. Note actions without beliefe and intention of worship are not worship. If all three were present then without doubt grave-worship would occur and person would be Mushrik. Standing infront of grave, prostrating while facing grave, Tawaf around graves, invoking Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) at grave site, if all is Shirk, then why except for Kabah? Is it because it is representative of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) on earth therefore not Shirk? From outset Sajdah is done while facing Kabah and from outset Sajdah is done facing grave. If one is Shirk why not other? Answer is very simple, none believes it is Ilah, none intends to worship Kabah, none performs action of worship for Kabah therefore no Shirk. Yet idiots would like to apply different set of rules for sinful/not-sinfuls Muslims to declare them Mushrik. Further more the corner stone of Khariji evidence in support of their invented philosophy of grave-worship was fabricated Hadith of Ummatis of Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) being worshipped. And Wahhabi theory is their graves were worshipped yet according to Hadith these the idols were placed where these Saliheen use to sit after they had died and onces the people forgot why idols were created they began to worship these idols. That’s not proof of grave-worship but idol-worship. In addition to this another problem; the Hadith is fabrication because it clearly contradicts with Quranic verses which indicate Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) was sent to combat worship of Ya’uq, Nasr, Wadd, Suwa, which is indication they pre-existed his efforts to spread his version of Islam and Tawheed. Yet them being from Saliheen of his Ummah is indication they were alive during his life time. Therefore the Hadith contradicts Quranic verses therefore fabricated and is rejected. Moving on; Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa alihi was’sallam) taught three things are roots of Iman to not to kill a Muslim who says, none is worthy of worship except Allah, not to make Takfir for his sins, and not to make Takfir due to actions. Yet Shaykh Muhammad Ibnul Abdul Wahhab and his followers are guilty of all three. They took/ sinful/non-sin actions of Muslims and made Takfir of Muslims even though they affirmed; none has right to be worshipped except Allah, and on grounds of this Takfir they justified killing of these Muslims, whole sale, and condie to do so in one or another form. They voilated the three roots of Iman and as such they are without the foundation of Iman and in light of other Ahadith Khawarij are people who have left Islam like an arrow exits a target.

Wama alayna ilal balaghul mubeen.
Muhammed Ali Razavi

Footnotes:

- [1] I pointed out, Salah type of prayer, because it is only form of worship which ideally needs to be performed in Masjid even though exceptions exit. Supplication i.e. dua has no fixed place in Shariah and can be performed anywhere out side of Masjid as long as place where it is performed is not deemed unclean (i.e. toilet/bathroom). Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) said: “Narrated Ibn Umar: Allah's Messenger said: "Offer some of your prayers in your houses and do not make them graves." [Ref: Bukhari, B20, H280, here.] Dua can be performed even in grave-yard but Salah cannot be performed in grave-yard which lead the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) to utter the quoted words and this is why Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi was’sallam) cursed the Jews/Christians because they performed main/core acts of worship in their Churches/Synagogues where graves were present: “Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger said, "May Allah's curse be on the Jews for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets." [Ref: Bukhari, B8, H428, here]

- [2] What the Khawarij declare to be grave-worship, only action is present and this action [if action is Haram even than it is performed] without beleiving creation is Ilah, without believing in Ma’budiyyah, without intention of worship, therefore it cannot be major Shirk, and it cannot be termed grave-worship. It would be grave-worship if the belief of Ilahiyyah is affirmed for the occupant of grave, Ma’budiyyah is affirmed for the occupant of grave, Niyyah of worship is made, and action of worship is performed.