1. In my part of the world, people make of themselves disciples to a religious man whom they call "Pir" and whom they follow blindly. If the man dies, they make his grave a tomb and pay frequent visits to it. On his anniversary, they organize functions, slaughter animals and feed people, sing and dance, pray for the dead man and then pray to Allah to reward their Pir, they ask the dead Pir to pray for them and to help them with their problems. They feel that they get reward for this and that their sins are pardoned. Please comment.
2. Some of my friends address their supplication through some dead saints, asking them to intercede with Allah on their behalf. They also appeal to Allah by the good deeds of the dead saints. When I tried to explain to them that this was wrong, they quoted verse 36 of Surah 5, emphasizing the word Al-Wasila, which occurs in this verse. Please comment.
I have spoken on this question on several occasions, yet I make no apology for taking it anew in response to my readers who come from different parts of the country. Perhaps I should start this answer by a reminder that the message of Islam is contained in the Qur'an, a book which Allah has revealed to Prophet Muhammad, His last messenger, peace be upon him. He has guaranteed that this book will continue to be available in full, undistorted for as long as human beings continue to populate the earth. The first article of Islam requires a Muslim to believe in the Oneness of Allah, and that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is His messenger. The position of the messenger is to provide guidance to the people and to explain to them Allah's message and show them how to implement it. In his last address to the Muslims, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, reminded them that he was leaving with them two things which they must follow and implement: Allah's book and the Sunnah of His messenger. He made it clear that if we do follow these, we will never go astray. That is, then, what we have to follow. The second part of the main article of faith in which we acknowledge the Prophet, peace be upon him, as Allah's messenger means that we have to receive guidance from him. That is his position and function, and it is the basic concept of our faith that we must follow the guidance provided by him. Now when we look carefully in the Qur'an and in the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, we find no suggestion whatsoever that we should have any other guide. We may have scholars who explain to us what the Qur'an says or what the Prophet, peace be upon him, has taught, but these scholars do not have any history of almost everyone of these Pirs. You will find that they were people who could influence others, but did not have any thorough knowledge of Islam, the Qur'an or the Sunnah. Indeed, they encouraged practices which are alien to Islam, the most obvious of which is the blind following of a human being. Can you imagine what answer any of these Pirs would give to a question. Why is it demanded that we follow such Pirs blindly, when the Qur'an, the Prophet, peace be upon him, encourage questioning, reasoning and understanding? The fact is that these people feel very comfortable to have the benefits associated with the position given to them. They do not wish to relinquish these benefits. Therefore, they try to tighten their grip over people's minds. They want them not to think.
Compare the attitude of such people to that of great scholars and reformers, such as Imam Al Shaf'ie, Ibn Taimiyah and Hassan Al-Banna, or [other] great scholars such as Al-Bukhari, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Hazm. You will find that every one of the latter had great influence which continued for many generations. Yet none of them ever suggested that he had any position which entitled him to exercise any authority over other people. None of them said or suggested or was later considered by others that he had a position of favor with Allah. You do not address your supplication to Allah through Al-Shaf'ie or Ibn Hanbal or Al-Bukhari. Why should you address it through unknown people whose contribution to Islamic learning is non-existent?
Besides, why should we address our supplication to Allah through any person, when we can address it to Him directly. Allah says to the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the Qur'an: "When my servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the supplication of those who pray Me." May I draw your attention to the way this Qur'anic verse is phrased. It begins by addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him, regarding people's question about Allah. You would expect that the verse should provide the answer in the form: "When they ask you about Me, tell that ..... " but Allah does not tell the Prophet, peace be upon him, to give the answer. He gives the answer Himself directly: "When My servants ask you about Me, I am near." Now the question arises: If he is near, why do we propose to give them any distinction other than the fact that they are people who are well-read in Islam.
The notion of having a Pir or a guide should be examined in the light of this basic concept. We can say that the Pir could have been a scholar who followed the Prophet's guidance. If so, he would not have claimed any position for himself. A scholar would tell you to follow the Prophet, peace be upon him, not to follow him because he would not like to bear the responsibility for any person's actions. If he assumes the position of a guide and tells people to follow him blindly, then his assertions are very suspicious, because he would not be following the Prophet, peace be upon him. God even says: "I answer the supplication of those who pray Me." This is a clear instruction that we should address our supplication to Him directly. This is an aspect of Allah's grace which is so great that we cannot describe in words. Granted such grace, why do we need an intermediary? Why do we need to place a human being, whom we cannot judge to be a believer or not, in between Allah and ourselves? Notice this statement by Allah about people who associate partners with Him: "I am the One who is in least need of any partners. If anyone associates a partner with Me, I abandon him to that partner." When we put the Pirs as an intermediary between us and Allah, we are associating that Pir as a partner with Him. That means that Allah will abandon us to that dead man to answer our prayers. How can he [answer our prayers] when he is dead? Some people might say that he was a pious man. How can we tell when we have not opened his heart and known his mind? How can we tell that deep in his heart he was not a non-believer? If any person suggests that his action would tell us that, the fact remains that actions could be done in a hypocritical way. Faith is something known only to Allah. He judges what is in the innermost souls of people. Do we want to place ourselves in a position of judgment on others and to say that dead people were good or bad? Anyone who wants to do that is actually claiming for himself a quality which belongs only to Allah. We should be very careful lest we incur Allah's anger as a result of that. The fact is that no one can judge what happens to others on the day of judgment. The Prophet, peace be upon him, himself says: "I am Allah's messenger, but I do not know what Allah will do with me on the day of judgment." Those people who go to these Pirs’ ceremonies are putting themselves in a place of judgment on others. That is terrible indeed.
In the second letter there is a point about Al-Wasila, which is an Arabic word denoting, "means, method, etc." The Qur'anic verse says: "Believers, fear Allah and seek the proper means (i.e. Al-Wasila) to gain His pleasure." All scholars and commentators on the Qur'an agree that this verse is an injunction to believers to try hard to earn Allah's pleasure by doing what pleases Him. People who try to maintain the false concept of having a Pir or a guide or a saint, etc. make of those people a "Wasila" or means to win Allah's pleasure. This is a gross misunderstanding of the verse. The plain truth is that the proper means to please Allah is to follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah. This is indeed the only Wasila which achieves that purpose. None will be questioned on the day of judgment about anything else. If you follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah, Allah will not ask you why you have had no Pir. Indeed, He will ask you why have you followed one because such following is contrary to what the Qur'an and the Sunnah requires of us.
As for the rituals that take place at the graves of these Pirs, these are nothing less than worshipping those graves or the people buried in them. That is idolatry or paganism in strictest form. No one who indulges in such practices could hope for a happy outcome on the day of judgment unless he repents on this, declares himself a Muslim by doing his utmost to follow only the Prophet, peace be upon him, and resolves not to indulge in such idolatry again.
• Saints: Pledges of loyalty, obedience or allegiance
1. People in our part of the world pledge allegiance or, as they call it, "bait" to some people who claim to be pious, in order to guide them in ways which are in accordance with the Sunnah. Is such a practice allowed? I should add that when a person makes such a pledge, he has to obey the other person in everything he says. He actually relies on him to guide him to what earns a good position on the day of judgment. Please comment.
2. Is it allowed to pledge total allegiance to a religious person or a saint? In many cases, when the saint dies, the pledge is transferred to one of his loyal subordinates. Is this practice sanctioned by Islam?
The first thing to be said about this practice is that it is against the Sunnah, which it is supposed to follow. What we have to remember first of all is that we will be resurrected and questioned on the Day of Judgment on what we do in this life. If our actions are shown to be in line with what the Prophet, peace be upon him, has conveyed to us and told us, then we win the greatest prize of all, admittance into heaven. The most important thing, then, is following the Prophet, peace be upon him, not anyone else.
By pledging allegiance to a person, whether pious or not, we commit ourselves to following that person. How do we guarantee that that person will always be good and will always understand the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, correctly and will always instruct us to do what is right? We know that every single human being makes errors, may yield to temptation, difficulties or be subject to pressures which influence his decisions or actions. If we pledge allegiance to him, we are committed to following him in every situation. Such a pledge cannot be given to any one other than the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Moreover, why should any person want to have such a commitment from another? If it is to ensure that the other person does what is right, then the approach should be totally different. The pledge to be given is the one to follow the Prophet, peace be upon him, in every respect, not to follow a man of no particular position. When Abu Bakr assumed the leadership of the Muslim state after the Prophet, peace be upon him, had passed away, he said to people in his first speech: "Obey me as along as I obey Allah. If you find me disobeying Allah, I have no right to be obeyed by you." If Abu Bakr said this, can anyone [else] say that he should be obeyed in every respect?
The fact is that such people who seek a pledge of allegiance from others actually benefit by such following. They know that those who give them those pledges have not had enough education to recognize what is right and what is wrong. They want them to be their blind followers. They pose to them as guides and saviors. Had they really wanted to guide people to what saves them in the Hereafter, they would have tried to educate them, broaden their knowledge of Islam, give them some insight into Islamic teachings. They would have organized for them classes to explain Islamic principles, practices and moral values. They would have made of them enlightened people who know what to do in different circumstances. This is the work of scholars in every age. Such scholars realize that passing information serves the cause of Islam and they are keen to broaden the circle of people who know Islam better. By so doing, they ensure that their people have better knowledge of Islam and, as such, can follow it better.
No scholar tries to get a pledge of allegiance or commitment in the way you have described. A scholar knows that he cannot claim such a position or relationship. He knows that he will have to account to Allah for what he does. Therefore, he does not want to bear the responsibilities for others as well as for himself. He limits his actions to explaining Islam to people and educating them. It is a scholar who is engaged in such an activity that one should associate with. On the other hand, a person who seeks a pledge of allegiance is sure to guide those people who make these pledges to him astray.
2. The only pledge of allegiance which a Muslim gives is that given to Allah and His messenger, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Allegiance to other human beings, whoever they may be, is not acceptable. You speak of it being given to a religious person or saint. Who can tell you that that person is a saint? Is it because we see him praying or do other good actions? These actions would be even better if done in private. Moreover, this transfer of allegiance from one person to a subordinate is also very suspicious. Who chooses the subordinate one? On what basis is he judged? We have to remember that we either follow the Prophet, peace be upon him, or follow something else. If we follow the Prophet, peace be upon him, then we do not need to give a pledge of allegiance to anyone. If we want to give such a pledge, we do what Islam has not sanctioned. This is very serious indeed.
• Saints: Visiting the graves of so-called saints
Back home I visited a friend of mine, and then he suggested that I should come with him on a rewarding visit. He took me to what is called dargah which means the grave of a saint. There I saw a huge crowd, raising their hands in supplication. I felt very bad about this and told my friend that we should leave. He insisted that at least we read the Fatihah for that saint. I turned toward the qiblah and read a few verses of the Qur’an. Did I commit a sin by visiting that grave? Or by not reading the Fatihah?
What those people were doing in that place, turning toward the grave and raising their hands with supplication, is indeed sinful. It is what we call ‘worship of graves.’ It is a form of associating partners with God. No one who believes in the Oneness of God may take part in any such practices.
If you knew where you were going and what was practiced there, then visiting the place is forbidden. But you were not aware of that, and when you realized what was going on, you tried to leave. That is the proper attitude, but you should have insisted on immediate departure.
Reading the Fatihah or any verses from the Qur’an near graves is acceptable, provided it is not done for money, as some people do.
You also did right when you turned toward the qiblah, or direction of prayer. In such a place where such abominable practices are indulged in, it is better to disassociate oneself from what is going on. Thus by turning toward the qiblah you made a gesture that you do not share in what was going on. That is commendable.
Decorating graveyards is not allowed in Islam. Graves should be kept simple, low, raising only about 25-30 centimeters above the ground. They should not be built with cement, concrete or bricks. Only the ordinary earth is to be used.
May I suggest to you that you should make clear to your friend that if he aspires to God’s mercy and wishes for His reward, he should not frequent these dargahs or indulge in the practices you have described. He should learn more about Islam and how to be a better Muslim. He may acquire such learning from scholars, not from attendants of these dargahs.