Ziyarah according to Sunnis and Shi`ah
As stated
earlier, Wahhabis think that ziyarah, like shafa'ah, is a
polytheistic act of seeking intermediation, and renders a person outside the
pale of religion. This is while ziyarah, according to the Ahl
as-Sunnah, has been considered permissible. In this context, as in many other
beliefs as well, Wahhabism is at odds with the Ahl as-Sunnah.
By
resorting to uncommon and strange statements, against which the Ahl as-Sunnah
have also complained, the Wahhabis have endeavored to portray Wahhabism as a
school of thought {madhhab}. But Muslims, the Ahl as-Sunnah in
particular, cannot permit the inclusion of this group in the list of Muslim
schools of thought {madhahib}.
The views of Ibn al-Qudamah
Ibn
al-Qudamah, a leading figure and faqih of the Ahl as-Sunnah, while
regarding ziyarah, like mourning, as consistent with the laws of
Islam, elaborates that ziyarah is permissible for men while undesiderable
{makruh} for women. In confirming this view, he has cited the
following tradition:
لَعَنَ
اللهُ
زُوّارَاتِ
القُبُورِ،
الْمُتَّخِذَاتِ
عَلَيْهِنَّ
الْمَسَاجِدَ
وَالسُّرَجَ.
Allah
curses the visitors of the graves, especially women who light candles on the
graves and take them as their place of prostration or mosque.
And he
adds,
In this
tradition, the phrase, “Allah curses…” implies aversion, and this aversion is
more intense for women according to their welfare; for, it is possible that by
going outside the house and to be present in the public, the rights of the
husband might be violated. The reason behind the curse on female visitors {za'irin}
is because of the fact that the people during the pre-Islamic period of
ignorance {jahiliyyah} used to visit the graves. After sometime, they
would construct statues and images on the grave. Then, these would be treated
as idols and they would pay reverence in front of these. So, they were cursed
and the visitation of the women was prohibited.[61]
In
continuation, he writes:
Visiting
graves is mustahabb for men. Regarding its being makruh or
impermissible for women, there are two pertinent traditions. According to a
tradition, it is mustahabb provided that, like men, they read beside
the grave surahs of at-Tawhid (al-Ikhlas) and Ya
Sin, and ayat al-Kursi, but according to another tradition, it is
not permissible. In case of its permissibility, man and woman should recite
this salutation:
السَّلاَمُ
عَلَيْكُمْ
أهْلَ
الدِّيَارِ مِنَ
الْمُؤمِنِينَ
وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ،
إنَّا إنْ
شَاءَ اللهُ
بِكُمْ
لاَحِقُونَ،
نَسْألُ اللهَ
لَنَا
وَلَكُمُ
العَافِيَةَ.
“Peace
be upon you, O believers and Muslims who inhabit these graves. We will join
you, God willing. We pray Allah for wellbeing for you and us.”[62]
Ibn
al-Qudamah does not regard the ziyarah as permissible for women, saying:
وَتُكْرَهُ
لِلنِّسَاءِ،
لأنَّ
النَّبِيَّ
قَالَ:
لَعَنَ اللهُ
زُوَّارَاتِ
القُبُورِ…
Ziyarah
for women is makruh (discommended) because the Prophet said, 'Allah
curses the women who visit the graves'.
He
believed that the Prophet (s) initially prohibited ziyarah for women
and the phrase, “Allah curses…” bespeaks of this fact. But afterward, he
considered the ziyarah for women as permissible, saying:
كُنْتُ
نَهَيْتُكُمْ
عَنْ
زِيَارَةِ
القُبُورِ،
فَزُورُوهَا.
I was
prohibiting you from visiting to grave in the past, but now you may do so.
Ibn
al-Qudamah also says:
وَرَوَى
التِّرْمِذِيُّ
أنَّ
عَائِشَةَ زَارَتْ
قَبْرَ
أخِيهَا.
Tirmidhi
narrated that 'a'ishah visited the grave of her brother ('Abd ar-Rahman).
In the
end, Ibn al-Qutadah concludes from the set of the decrees on the permissibility
and honor (of ziyarah) in the quoted hadiths that it is
loathsome for the women to perform ziyarah.[63]
The view of ‘Allamah Majlisi
In this
regard, 'Allamah Majlisi expresses thus:
Ziyarah
is good and recommended for men… But concerning the ziyarah for women,
there are two pertinent opinions. One opinion is that ziyarah for
women is loathsome… and the other opinion is that it is permissible provided
that they cover themselves from the sight of strangers {ghayr mahram}.[64]
According
to the belief of the Shi`ah, visiting the grave of the faithful is part of the Sunnah
of the Holy Prophet (s) and all Muslims have consensus of opinion that at the
time of death of a believer, he would go to his grave and express condolences
to the bereaved ones. It is also stated in the Holy Qur'an, thus:
﴿وَلاَ
تُصَلِّ
عَلَى أَحَدٍ
مِنْهُمْ
مَاتَ
أَبَدًا
وَلاَ تَقُمْ
عَلَى
قَبْرِهِ إِنَّهُمْ
كَفَرُوا
بِاللَّهِ
وَرَسُولِهِ
وَمَاتُوا
وَهُمْ
فَاسِقُونَ.﴾
And never pray over any of them when he
dies, nor stand on his graveside. They indeed defied Allah and His Apostle and
died as transgressors.[65]
This verse
is about the hypocrites {munafiqun} and expresses this point: O
Prophet! Do not go to the graveside of the hypocrites as you are doing with
respect to the graves of the faithful, and do not pray for their souls nor pray
over their graves because they defied Allah and His Apostle and they are
transgressors. That ziyarah is an indisputable principle and the
presence of believers at the graveside of one another is unquestionable
although there may possibly be differences of opinion among some Muslim schools
of thought concerning the secondary features of ziyarah.
Visiting the grave as an excellent sunnah
It is thus
recorded in history books attributed to the Ahl as-Sunnah: Every year the
Prophet (s) would visit the graves of the martyrs {shuhada'} of the
Battle of Uhud and recite this prayer {ziyarah}:
السَلاَمُ
عَلَيْكُمْ
بِمَا
صَبَرْتُمْ فَنِعْمَ
عُقْبَى
الدَّارِ.
Peace be
on you because you were constant, how excellent, is then, the issue of the
abode.
It is also
recorded that Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, like the Prophet (s), also used to
perform ziyarah. The daughter of the Prophet of Islam (s), °adrat
Fatimah az-Zahra ('a) would also visit the martyrs of Uhud two days a
week. During his visit to the martyrs, especially in the ziyarah to Hamzah
and Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr, the Holy Prophet (s) would recite this verse,
رِجَالٌ
صَدَقُوا مَا
عَاهَدُوا
اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ.
Men who fulfill what they have pledged to
Allah.[66]
In
addition to this, it is thus recorded in the book, As-Sahih that Abu
Sa'id al-Khudri would extend salutations to the grave of Hamzah… Umm Salamah,
one of the honorable wives of the Prophet (s), and individuals such as Abu
Hurayrah, Fatimah Khuza'iyyah, and 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar al-Khattab also used to
perform ziyarah to this group of martyrs.[67]
