Seeking Shafa'a (Intercession) from Awliya Allah

All of us are well acquainted with the term shafa’a. When the discussion of crime, sin and guilt of a person is brought up and someone else intercedes and mediates for him in order to save him from death and execution or imprisonment and detention, we say so and so has done shafa'a for him.

The word of shafa'a has been taken from the root word which means ‘even’ as against which means ‘odd’. The reason that the mediation of a person for saving a sinner is known as shafa'a is that the status and position of the one doing shafa'a and his effective powers get attached (and become even) with the factors of salvation which is present in the person receiving the shafa'a (even though it may be a little). Both these, with the help of one another become the cause of release of the sinful person.

The shafa'a of the beloved ones of Allah for the sinners is apparently this that because of their proximity and position which they have before Allah, (of course by the will of Allah and under special norms which have general and not personal aspects) they can mediate for the criminals and the sinners and through (invocation), and pleadings ask God to forgive their crimes and sins. Of course, shafa'a and its acceptance depends on a series of conditions of which some are related to the sinful person and some to the circumstances of shafa'a of sins.

Shafa'a in other words is the help of the beloved ones of Allah (by His will) to the one who in spite of being sinful, has not disconnected his spiritual relation with Allah and the beloved ones of Allah. Moreover, this standard should always be safeguarded.

According to one of the meanings, shafa'a is:  One inferior person who has the aptitude for leaping forward and progressing seeks help from a superior person in the form of one lawful order. However the person seeking help should not, from the viewpoint of spiritual perfections, fall to such extent that he loses the power of advancing and the possibility of changing into a pious man.

Right from the time of the Holy Prophet (s) till the later periods it had been the practise of the Muslims to seek shafa'a from the true intercessors. They were always asking in their lifetime or in their death and such shafa'a had never been objected by any of the Islamic scholars on any ground or Islamic principles.

It was only in the 7th century A.H. that Ibn Taymiyya with his special way of thinking, opposed this and many other lasting customs and traditions that were in vogue among the Muslims. Three centuries after him, Muhammad bin ’Abd al-Wahhab once again raised the flag of opposition and enlivened Ibn Taymiyya's school of thought with much more vigour.

One of the point of differences of the Wahhabis with the other Islamic sects is that although they have accepted shafa'a as an Islamic principle (like the other muslims) and say that on the Day of qiyama the intercessors will intercede for the sinners and in this matter the Holy Prophet (s) will play a greater role, yet they say that no one has the right to seek shafa'a from them in this world. In this matter they have gone to such an extreme that narrating the text of their sayings will be the source of spiritual discomfort. In short, they say:

The Holy Prophet (s), the other Prophets, the angels and the beloved ones of Allah have the right of doing shafa'a on the Day of Judgement but one should ask for shafa'a from the Master of shafa'a and the One who gives permission for that i.e. Allah and say:

       

“O God, make the Holy Prophet (s) and your virtuous servants and the Angels as our intercessors on the Day of Judgement.” However we are not having the right to say, “O Prophet of Allah” or “O wali of Allah we ask you to seek shafa'a for us. This is because shafa'a is something which no one is capable of doing except Allah. Asking such a thing from the Holy Prophet (s) who is living in barzakh will be a kind of polytheism (shirk)."[1]

The Wahhabis have, with a series of notions, forbidden the seeking of shafa'a from the true intercessors and have labelled the one who does so as a polytheist and his action as polytheism.

Before looking into their reasoning, we shall discuss the matter from the viewpoint of Qur’an, sunnah and the practise of the Muslims in this regard. After that, we will examine their reasoning.

Our reasoning on the logical firmness of seeking Shafa'a

Our reasoning for the permissibility of seeking intercession (shafa'a) is a combination of two matters which by proving them, the matter of intercession will become clear. These two matters are:

(1) Asking for shafa'a is the same as asking for du'a.

(2) Requesting for du'a from some worthy person is a recommended (mustahab) order.

1. Asking for Shafa'a is the same as asking for Du'a:

The intercession of the Holy Prophet (s) and other true intercessors is nothing but du'a and eulogy before Allah owing to the proximity and the position which they have before Allah. It is due to their du'a that Allah bestows His mercy and Grace upon the sinners and forgives them. Asking for du'a from one believer (what if it is asked from the Holy Prophet) is an approved affair and none amongst the Islamic scholars whether Wahhabis or Non-Wahhabis have doubt in its authenticity.

Of course it cannot be said that the reality of shafa'a in all the stations of mahshar is this very du'a before Allah. But one can say that one of its clear meanings is du'a and the one who says:

                                                                                                         

“O the one who has a position before Allah intercede for us from Allah.”

denotes the same meaning.

Nizamuddin al-Naysaburi while interpreting the verse

 

“And whoever joins himself (to another) in an evil cause shall have the responsibility of it.” (Nisa: 85)

narrates from Muqatil as such:

                                                                                                

“The reality of shafa'a is performing du'a for the Muslims.” It is also narrated from the Holy Prophet (s) that anyone who performs du'a for his Muslim brother will be accepted and an angel will cry out: “The same shall be for you too.”

Ibn Taymiyya is one of those who believes that the request for du'a from a living person is correct. Therefore asking for shafa'a is not confined to the Holy Prophet (s) but one can make such a request from any believer who possesses value and esteem before Allah.

Al-Fakhruddin al-Razi is one of those who have interpreted shafa'a as du'a and eulogy before Allah. In interpreting the verse:

                                                                    

“And ask protection for those who believe: Our Lord! Thou embracest all things in mercy.”  (Ghafir: 7)

He says: “This verse shows that the shafa'a performed by the carriers of ‘arsh (Throne) is only in connection with the sinners.[2]

Similarly, the shafa'a of the Holy Prophet (s) and other Prophets with regards to the same group (i.e. the sinners) is the same because Allah commands as such:

                                                                                              

“And, ask protection for your fault and for the believing men and the believing women.” (Muhammad: 19)  [3]

And Nuh ('a) sought forgiveness for himself, his parents, those who had faith in him and all the believers who are to come till qiyama and in this way he has fulfilled his mission of shafa'a. [4]

This description from al-Fakhr al-Razi bears witness that he has presented shafa'a to be the same as du'a of the intercessor for the sinner and has reckoned the request for shafa'a to be the same as request for du'a.

In the Islamic traditions (hadithes), there are clear indications that the ‘Dua’ of one Muslim for another Muslims is ‘Shafa'at’.

Ibn 'Abbas narrates from the Holy Prophet (s) as such:

         

“If one Muslim dies and forty men who are not polytheist, recite salat over his dead body, then Allah will accept their shafa'a which was done in his favour.” [5] 

In this tradition, the person reciting the du'a is introduced as an intercessor. Now, if someone in his life-time requests forty of his loyal friends to be present after his death and perform salat and du'a upon his dead body he has in reality sought shafa'a from them and has prepared the premises of shafa'a of the servants of Allah.

In Sahih al-Bukhari there is a chapter entitled as:

                                                                                     

“When the people would ask their Imam to intercede (do shafa'a) and plead before Allah to descend rain, he (i.e. the Imam) would not reject their demands.”

Also, there is a chapter entitled as:

“Occasions when the polytheists demanded shafa'a from Muslims at times of famine” [6]

Narration of these two chapters is evidence that request for shafa'a is the same as request for du'a and it should not be interpreted in another way.

Till here, one pillar of reasoning has been clarified and that is, the reality of seeking shafa'a is nothing but requesting du'a. Now we should engage ourselves in describing the second pillar of reasoning and that is asking from one brother-in-faith (what if it is asking the awliya Allah) is a desirable and recommended action.

2. Qur’an and Request for du'a from Worthy People

The verses of Qur’an bear witness that when the Prophet's seek forgiveness for the people it is very effective and beneficial such as the following verses:

                                                                                                             

 “And ask protection for your fault and for the believers.” (Muhammad: 19)

                                                                                                   

 

“And pray for them, surely your prayer is a relief to them." (Tauba: 103)

If the du'a of Prophet has such benefit for man then what is the harm if one requests him to pray as such for him? On the other hand, request for du'a is nothing but request for shafa'a.

              

“And had they, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Apostle had (also) asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.” (Nisa: 64)

By (they come to you) it means that they would come and ask the Prophet (s) to pray and seek forgiveness. If it means something else then their coming will be useless and in vain. Moreover, the honour of meeting the Prophet (s) and asking him to pray is itself a witness of the spiritual transformation which prepares the ground for acceptance of prayers. The Holy Qur’an narrates from the sons of Ya'qub ('a) that they requested their father to seek forgiveness for them and Ya'qub ('a) too accepted their request and acted upon his promise.

                                         

“They said: O our father! ask forgiveness of our faults for us, surely we were sinners. He said: I will ask for you forgiveness from my Lord.” (Yusuf: 97)

Examining the Reasoning of Wahhabis about the Prohibition of Seeking Shafa'a

In the previous chapter, we became acquainted with the permissibility of seeking shafa’a with logical reasons. Now it is time to learn about the reasoning of the opponents with regards to such request for shafa’a. The group of opposition have prohibited seeking of shafa’a with their particular way of thinking which we shall now discuss in brief.

(1) Seeking shafa’a is shirk (Polytheism)

By shirk they mean shirk in 'ibada and present seeking of shafa’a to be 'ibada of the intercessor.  In chapter 9 we had discussed in detail about 'ibada and have clarified that requesting and asking someone and or seeking shafa’a will be counted as 'ibada only when we believe the other person to be God, (Lord) and the one who is managing the world or is the source and master of divine affairs. If it is not as such then any kind of request and asking any kind of respect and honour will never be counted as 'ibada.

The one who seeks shafa’a from the true intercessors before Allah (where Allah has permitted them to do shafa’a) consider them as an intimate and chosen servants of Allah where they are neither God nor the divine affairs such as forgiveness and shafa’a have been transferred to them so that they are able to wilfully and without the permission of Allah, do shafa’a and forgive whomsoever they wish.

Within the framework of ‘Permission of Allah’, these divine people can seek forgiveness and mercy for those particular people who still have spiritual relation with God and their spiritual connection with the divine intercessors has not yet been discontinued. And such a request from someone who does not reckon the intercessor to be more than an intimate servant can never be considered as 'ibada.

Of course we remind you that if such a request (of intercession) to the intercessor who is dead amounts to 'ibada then the same request to a living intercessor too should be counted as 'ibada.

However, in the previous discussion we pointed out that Qur’an and traditions command the Muslims to approach the Holy Prophet (s) and request him to seek forgiveness for themselves. And such a request is nothing but seeking shafa’a from him in his life-time and it is impossible that one action which is polytheism in one period turns into a monotheistic action in another period.

To elaborate further, they say: Shafa’a is the act of God and in better terms, is the right of God and asking others about something which is related to His action will amount to 'ibada of that person. They speak the same about asking for shifa’ (cure) of the sick and other similar things from the beloved ones of God and say:  Such kind of requests are requests for the Acts of God and naturally it will be like doing his 'ibada.

By paying attention to the previous discussions, the reply to this reasoning becomes absolutely clear and it is as such: None amongst the Muslims have differences in this general rule and universal measure and all agree that asking others about the actions of Allah will be counted as 'ibada and involves the belief in divinity and Lordship. But the main point of our discussion is: What is meant by ‘action’ of God? The Wahhabi writers during these three centuries have not explained the standard for the ‘acts’ or ‘action’ of God without which the reasoning will be brought to naught.

In the discussion about the definition and limitation of 'ibada we reminded you that in many verses of Qur’an, the actions which are specific to God have also been attributed to other than Him. For example, giving death which is a specific action of God as mentioned in Sura al-Mu'minun verse 85.

                                                                                                      

"He is one who gives life and Death"  is also attributed to (someone) other than Him as mentioned in another verse as such:

                                                                                                

“Until when death comes to one of you, our messengers cause him to die.” (An’am: 61)

Until the time death overtakes one of them, our messengers take away their souls. It is not only this action (i.e. ‘giving death’) that is specifically the action of God and is attributed to (someone) other than Him but in fact. a portion of the actions of God and those things which should be asked only from God have been permitted to be asked from someone other than Him. For example: Qur’an commands the Muslims to say day and night  (only from Thee do we seek help) but at the same time in another verse it commands us to seek help from (something) other than Him like salat and patience, As verse says:

                                                                  

“And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones.” (Baqarah: 45)

If we wish to narrate those verses which are specific to Allah but are attributed to other than Him, then our discussion will lengthen [1] What is necessary is to solve the controversy through Qur’anic insight and acquire the actual meaning of Qur’an and it is as such:

Each of these affairs irrespective of our request, has two forms:

(1)  A ‘doer’ performs an action without relying on a creature, without acquiring power from any position and without obtaining the will of anybody, For example, he gives death to a living creature or helps a creature.

(2)  A ‘doer’ performs the same action by relying on a superior being, by acquiring power from a higher position and obtaining His permission. The first affair is the affair of God and the second a human or non-divine affair. This is a general yardstick for distinguishing the divine action from the non-divine ones.

The divine actions such as giving life, death, cure, sustenance etc, are invariably those actions for which the doer is needless of anything in performing them.

On the other hand, a non-divine action is that action which the doer has to depend on a superior and higher creature than him and without His Power and Will, is not able to perform that action.

By paying attention to this principle, it becomes clear that the shafa’a which is the special right of Allah is different from that shafa’a which is sought from the virtuous people.

Allah is needless from all angles in these actions whereas the virtuous one put them into operation only under the light of His wise Will and Permission.

Whenever shafa’a is sought from the awliya Allah in the first sense, then in such a case, the divine action is asked from someone other than God and such an asking will be reckoned as 'ibada.

However if shafa’a is sought from them in the second sense i.e. a limited and permitted shafa’a which is in the form of one acquired right, then in such a case, a non-divine action is asked from them.

By paying attention to this yardstick, the fists of the fallacious writers of Wahhabis will open up and it becomes clear that such kind of requests, most common being request for shafa’a and others such as shifa' (cure) and the like of it takes place under two forms and no virtuous monotheist will request such an action in the first form and no one, no matter how little Islamic knowledge he possesses, will ever reckon them to be the ones managing this world or the ones in charge of the system of creation. Moreover, they do not (even) reckon them to be such creatures to whom God has entrusted His position and His actions and do not imagine that in the actions of shafa’a and fulfilment of needs they are unlimited and unconditional.

In short, asking for a limited and authorised shafa’a is the action of a man from man himself and is not asking for the Acts of God from someone other than Him.

We shall speak about the ‘action of God’ and its special features in the near future.

(2) The Shirk (Polytheism) of the Polytheists was due to Their Seeking of Shafa’a from the Idols:

The second reasoning which the Wahhabis give for the prohibition of shafa’a is this that God has labelled the idol-worshippers of Hijaz as polytheists because of their seeking of shafa’a from the idols; their crying and wailing before them and their request (to them) to act as mediators, The following verse bears testimony to this:

                                            

“And they serve beside Allah what can neither harm them nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah.” (Yunus: 18)

Therefore, any kind of shafa’a from other than God will be polytheism and worshipping of the intercessor.

Reply: Firstly, this verse is never an indication of what they say and if the Qur’an calls them as polytheists it is not because they were seeking shafa’a from the idols but because of worshipping them and finally reaching the stage of seeking shafa’a from them.

If seeking shafa’a from the idols did really amount to their worship then, in addition to the sentence there was no reason to bring the sentence:

                                                                                                                         

That these two sentences have come in a parataxis form in this verse shows that the matter of 'ibada (worship) of the idols was different from the matter of seeking shafa’a from them, Worshipping of the idols is the sign of polytheism and dualism and seeking shafa’a from the stones and wood is reckoned to be a foolish act, devoid of any logic or reason.

This verse never shows that seeking shafa’a from the idols amounts to worshipping them so that we may say that seeking shafa’a from the true beloved ones of Allah is the sign of worshipping them.

Secondly, even if we assume that the reason of their polytheism was due to their seeking of shafa’a' from the idols yet, there exists a vast difference between their seeking of shafa’a and the seeking of shafa’a of the Muslims. They reckoned the idols to be the masters of shafa’a and the absolute authorities in the matters related to shafa’a and ‘forgiveness of sins’. Perhaps God has discharged Himself from these affairs and has entrusted them to the idols. Such a shafa’a will naturally be (like) worshipping them because they were seeking shafa’a in them by having belief in their divinity, lordship and their being the source of divine affairs. On the other hand, a Muslim seeks shafa’a and requests for du'a from the beloved ones of Allah as one esteemed and honourable one (of Allah) and as one authorized servant of Allah in the matter of shafa’a. Thus considering these two forms as one and the same is far from justice and realism.

(3) Request for Fulfilment of Need from Someone Other than Allah is Forbidden

The third reason which the Wahhabis give for the prohibition of the matter of seeking shafa’a from the divine leaders is this that by specific decree of Qur’an, we should not, in the position of du'a, call anyone other than Allah. And asking for shafa’a from other than God is one kind of asking (for fulfilment of needs).

The Holy Qur’an says:

                                                                                                                                

“Then do not call anyone with Allah” (Jinn: 8)

If on the one hand it is said that calling someone other than Allah is forbidden and on the other hand the matter of shafa’a of the awliya Allah has been established, then the way of concluding is to say that we should seek shafa’a of the divine leaders from God and not from themselves.

The proof that such callings is 'ibada and worship is the following verse of Qur’an:

                                        

“Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased.” (Ghafir: 60) 

Attention is required in the beginning of the verse; the wordand in the end the word  has come which shows that ‘calling’ and worship give one and the same meaning. In the books of tradition too, we find as such:

 

“Du'a is the brain of 'ibada (worship)”.

Reply:            

Firstly, the verse which has prohibited  (calling) of someone other than God in the sentence does not refer to absolute calling and requesting. Instead, this prohibition (of ) refers to the prohibition of worshipping someone other than God; the reason being the preceding verse which says . This sentence shows that by  (in this verse) is meant some specific which is accompanied by worship and a rising which is mixed with unlimited humility and lowliness in front of the one whom they consider as God of the Universe, Lord of the worlds and the absolute authority in creation. [2] And such a bond does not exist in the matter of seeking shafa’a from someone in whom Allah has bestowed such a right to give shafa’a by His will.

Secondly, what has been prohibited in the verse is ‘calling someone along with Allah’ and ‘considering him at His level’, as the word of  is a clear evidence to this fast. If someone requests the Holy Prophet (s) to pray for him that Allah may forgive his sins or fulfil his needs than he has not called anyone along with Allah. Rather, the reality of this calling is nothing but the calling of Allah.

If asking for fulfilment of needs from the idols is introduced as polytheism in some of verses, it is because they reckoned them to be the small gods, the authorities in all or some of the divine affairs and the ones who are powerful enough to fulfil their needs. Therefore the Qur’an criticizes such ideas and says:

                                             

“And those whom you call upon besides Him are not able to help you, nor can they help themselves.” (Araf: 197)

The Qur’an also says:

                                                                                                

“Surely those whom you call on besides Allah are in a state of subjugation like yourselves.” (Araf: 194)

Seeking Help from the Pure Souls of Awliya Allah

The most important issue with regards to seeking help from the awliya Allah (the friends or beloved of Allah) is when they have died or so to say, living in another world, whether this act of seeking help is in the form of du'a (invocation) or asking for some extraordinary acts to be performed. This is because the Muslims of today are not in the presence of the Holy Prophet (s) or an Imam so that they can approach them and ask them to do something in their presence. Rather, most often, their questions and requests are put before the pure spirits of the Prophets and awliya. For this reason, analysing the Islamic decree with regards to these two situations is very important.

Investigation on this matter depends on the analytical study of four topics and by becoming fully aware of them, one can acknowledge the correctness of such imploration and beseeching. These four topics are:

1. Eternity of soul and spirit of man after death

2. The reality of man is his very soul and spirit

3. Relationship with the world of souls is possible

4. The correct traditions which the Islamic traditionists have narrated bear witness to the authenticity of such implorations and the practise of the Muslims has been the same in all the ages. Now we shall describe each of these four topics.

1. Death is not Annihilation of Man

The verses of Qur’an bear a clear witness to the fact that death is not the end of life but a window for a new life. By passing from this passage, man steps into a new life, a world completely new to him and much superior than this material world.

Those who take death to be the end of life and believe that with death, everything of man is finished and nothing remains of him except one lifeless body which (even that) after some time is changed to soil and destroyed, follow the philosophy of materialism.

Such a reflection shows that a person with such a view thinks life to be nothing but a part of material effects of the organs of body and the physical and chemical reactions of the brain and nerves and with the subsiding of the heat of body and stoppage of the cells from activity and production, the life of man comes to a halt and he turns into an inanimate object. Soul and spirit in this school of thought is nothing but reflection of materialism and its properties and with the nullification of these properties and domination of reciprocal effects of the organs of body over each other, the soul and spirit become completely void and there no longer remains anything by the name of spirit, its eternity and a world related to spirits.

Such a view about the soul and spirit of man is inspired by the principles of Materialism. In this school of thought, man is nothing more than a machine where he is formed from different tools and implements and the reciprocal effects of those components give the power of thought and perception to the brain, and with the dispersion of these components the effects of thought, perception and in short, life gets completely destroyed at death.

The views of materialists about soul and spirit were completely discarded by the great philosophers of the world and the divine scholars. The theologians believe that apart from the material system of body, the nervous system and its reciprocal material reactions there exists for man, a real substance by the name of soul and spirit which remains with the body for some period and then cuts off its relation with the body and lives in a special world with a much more delicate body. The continuity of soul after the death of a person is not a matter which can be established and proved in these pages because today the eternity of soul and spirit has been proven by verses of Qur’an, precise philosophical reasoning and convincing spiritual experiences. We shall now narrate the verses of Qur’an that bear testimony to the matter of eternity of spirit after death.

Qur’an and Eternity of Spirits

Verses of the Qur’an clearly indicate that the spirit continues to live after its separation from the body. For the sake of brevity, we bring here only the text of the verses and postpone its analysis for some other proper time.

 

“And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead, nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive.” (Baqarah: 154)

                                        

“And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead,  nay, they are alive (and) are provided sustenance from their Lord.” (Aal-Imran: 169)

                                           

“Rejoicing in what Allah has given them out of His grace, and they rejoice for the sake of those who, (being left) behind them, have not yet joined them.” (Aal-Imran: 170)

                                                                                               

“They rejoice on account of favour from Allah and (His) grace.” (Aal-Imran: 171)

         

“Surely I believe in your Lord, there for hear me. It was said: Enter the garden. He said: O would that my people had known of that on account of which my Lord has forgiven me and made me of the honoured ones!” (Yasin: 25-27)

The Paradise which he is told to enter therein is the Paradise of barzakh and not of the Hereafter because he wishes that his people knew and were aware that God has forgiven and honoured him. Such a wish is not compatible with the world of the Hereafter, where the curtains will be removed from the eyes of the people and their condition will not be hidden from each other. Rather such unawareness is befitting with this world where the people of this abode are unaware of the condition of the people living in another world (barzakh) and the verse of Qur’an bears witness to this fact.

Seeking Benediction and Cure from the Signs and Traces of Awliya

The Wahhabis reckon tabarruk (seeking benediction) towards the traces of awliya to be polytheism and label the one who kisses the altar and pulpit of the Holy Prophet (s) as polytheist even though in doing that he doesn’t believe in any kind of godliness in it. Rather, love and affection to the Holy Prophet (s) becomes the cause of kissing the signs and traces related to him. Here we ask, what have they to say about the shirt of Yusuf (a')?

 

Yusuf ('a) says: ‘Take my shirt and cast it over my father's face so that he regains his eye-sight." (Yusuf: 93)

Ya'qub ('a) too kept the shirt of Yusuf over his eyes and at that same moment realized that he could see. As he says: 

                                                                                 

“So when the bearer of good news came he cast it on his face, so forthwith he regained his sight.” (Yusuf: 96)

If Ya'qub ('a) would have done such a thing in front of the Najdis and followers of Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab, how would have they behaved with him? Now would they explain the action of an immaculate Prophet who is free from sins and mistakes!?

Now if the Muslims keep the soil of the grave of the last of the Prophets or his shrine over their eyes and kiss out of respect, the grave and shrine of the divine leaders or seek tabarruk and say that God has exerted some effect in this soil and wishes to follow the Ya'qub ('a) of today in so and so affair then why should they be subjected to curse and be accused of heresy. [1]

Those who are aware of the life history of the Holy Prophet (s) know that the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) were always taking precedence to each other in doing tabarruk to the water of his wudhu (ablution). It is sufficient in this case, to briefly refer to Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim which are thought to be the most authentic among the six Sihah. Here, we mention some of them:

(1) About the event of ‘Peace of Hudaybiyya’ Bukhari writes:

“Whenever the Holy Prophet (s) was taking ablution, his companions use to take precedence to each other in collecting the drops of water of his ablution.” [2]

(2) In the chapter of ‘Last of the Prophets’, Bukhari narrates from Sa'ib bin Yazid that: “My aunt took me to the Holy Prophet (s) and informed him about my illness. The Holy Prophet (s) made ablution and asked Allah for blessings for me and I drank from the water of his ablution.” [3]

(3) In the chapter of ‘The characteristics of the Prophet’, Bukhari narrates from Wahab bin 'Abdullah that: “People were rubbing the hands of the Holy Prophet (s) over their faces and I too took the hands of the Prophet and rubbed them over my face and his hands were more fragrant than musk.” [4]

(4) In the chapter of ‘The characteristics of the Prophet', Bukhari narrates:

The Holy Prophet (s) was in ‘Abtah’ standing besides the tents. Bilal came out from a tent and called the people for prayers. Again he went inside and brought out the remaining drops of water of ablution of the Holy Prophet (s). The people rushed towards it and sought tabarruk from it. [5]

(5) Muslim narrates in his Sahih from Anas that: “When the Holy Prophet (s) was shaving his head his companions were besides him and each one of them held one string of his hair in their hands.[6]

These were some examples of affection of the companions and their tabarruk to the signs and traces of the Holy Prophet (s) and collecting these incidents neccessiates the writing of one seperate book.

By refering to the last chapter of Sahih Bukhari about jihad and also the chapter related to the armour, stick, sword, vessels, seal, ring, hair and shrould of the Holy Prophet (s) one can become aware of the evident examples of tabarruk.

These traditions expose and explain the baseless nature of the culture of the Wahhabism that prevents the people from seeking tabarruk to the holy shrine of Prophet (s) and have employed special groups of persons to beat physically and use foul language with those who seek tabarruk to the holy shrine of the Holy Prophet (s). They thus stop the Muslims from expressing such love and affection which had been in practice during the period of the Holy Prophet (s) in his very presence.

The matter of prevention of tabarruk to the traces of the Holy Prophet (s) and kissing of his shrine and pulpit is one of the greatest ideological expressions of the Wahhabism. The Wahhabi Government of Saudi Arabia under the garb of ‘amr bi al-ma'ruf (enjoining the good) and nahi 'an al-munkar (forbidding the evil) have stationed their agents around the holy shrine in order to prevent the pilgrims from performing such action and they too behave harshly and mercilessly with the pilgrims. Many times at such occasions innocent blood is shed and many persons’ honour and prestige got damaged. The root cause of their belief is that kissing and honouring the shrine amounts to worshipping the one in grave, as if ‘every respect is worship.’

Since these helpless people who are far from the reality of Islamic teachings are unable to interpret 'ibada (worship) in the logical sense, they have become puzzled and confused and take every type of respect to the dead to be an 'ibada. In the next chapter, we shall draw a precise limit and boundary for 'ibada, but what is important now is to know what was the practice of the Muslims in this matter:

(1) After the Holy prophet's burial, his daughter Fatima (‘a) stood near his grave and then taking some soil from the grave she put it over her face. She later cried and recited these two poems:

                      

“What happens to the one who smells the soil of grave of Ahmad, who till he is alive, shall smell no more the expensive musks”.

                            

“I was faced with such calamities that if it had befallen on the bright day it would have changed to night” [7]

(2) The great companion Bilal who left Medina for some reason and settled by order of the frontier guards, in the districts of Syira saw in his dream that the Holy Prophet (s) was saying:

“What kind of injustice is this, O Bilal? Has not the time come that you visit us!? He woke up from his sleep in sadness and sat on his horse and left for Medina. When he reached the grave of the Holy Prophet (s) he started to cry and rubbed his face over it. Later he saw al-Hasan and al-Husayn and kissed both of them. [8]

(3) Amir al-mu'minin 'Ali ('a) says: “Three days had lapsed from the burial of the Holy Prophet (s) when a bedouin Arab came and threw himself over the grave of the Holy Prophet (s). He sprinkled the soil of his grave over his head and started to converse with the Holy Prophet (s). He said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, you spoke and we listened. You received the truth from Allah and we too received it from you. From the things which Allah revealed to you is this

                                                                                                                           

I have done injustice upon myself. So seek forgiveness for me from Allah. Suddenly he heard a voice saying: Your sins have been forgiven.

This incident has been narrated by most of the historians mainly al-Samhudi in Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 612 and Shaykh Dawud al-Khalidi (died in 1299 AH) in Sulh al-'Ikhwan and others.

(4) al-Hakim narrates in al-Mustadrak that: Marwan bin al-Hakam entered the mosque and saw a man putting his face over a grave. Marwan caught hold of his neck and said: “Are you aware of what you are doing?” The man lifted his head and it became apparent that he was Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. He said: ‘I have not come to visit a stone, but have come to visit the Holy Prophet (s). O Marwan, I have heard the Holy Prophet (s) saying: When the pious people bear the leadership do not cry for that. Do cry when unworthy men become the leaders (i.e. you and your Umayyad household).’ [9]

This period of history reveals the root of ‘creation of obstacle’ to prevent seeking tabarruk from the grave of the Holy Prophet (s) and shows that the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) were constantly seeking tabarruk from the holy grave of the Holy Prophet. It was people like Marwan bin al-Hakam who used to prevent people from this well-known deed.

The historical incidents in this case are so numerous that narrating all of them will lengthen our discussion. Interested readers can refer to the book Tabarruk al-sahaba and the valuable book al-Ghadir vol. 5 page 146-156.

In the end, we are bound to mention that all these historical narratives can never be false and baseless. Now, even if we assume that all of them are false and baseless yet they will serve our purpose. Because, if such an action was heresy, polytheism, unlawful or forbidden, then the fabricators would have never attributed them to religious personalities since the liars fabricate instances which are worthy of approval by the society so that the people believe and accept their made up stories. They never attribute anything which is heresy, polytheism, forbidden or unlawful to the pious people because in such a case they will be confronted with the resistance and non-acceptance of the people and their arrows will hit the stone and miss the target.

Notes:

 

[1] All the Muslims, right from the time of the Holy Prophet (s) till now, have been seeking tabarruk to the traces of the Holy Prophet (s) and Shaykh Muhammad Thahari Makki has proved this matter with decisive historical evidences in his treatise which was printed in 1385. This treatise is called and has been translated into Persian.

[2] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.3 page 255.

[3] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.4 page 227; and Sahih Muslim, Chapter of ‘Last of the Prophets’.

[4] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.4 page 226

[5] Sahih al-Bukhari, vol.4 page 231.

[6] Sahih Muslim, vol. 4., Book of ‘Virtues of Companions’

[7] Many of the research writers have narrated this incident such as al-Shabrawi in al-Tuhaf page 9 and al-Samhudi in Wafa' al-wafa', vol. 2 page 444 and al-Khalidi in Sulh al-'Ikhwan, page 57 and others.

[8] This incident has been narrated by a group like al-Subki in Shifa al-Saqam narrating from Ibn 'Asakir, and Ibn al-'Athir in Usd al-ghaba, vol. 1 page 28.

[9] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 4 page 515