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WAHHABISM
AND ITS REFUTATION
BY: THE AHL AS-SUNNA

By: Ayyub Sabri Pasha

In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful

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Table of Contents
[Introduction] ................................................................3
[The Main Part] ..............................................................4

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[Introduction]
The Wahhabis are one of the groups who name themselves as Moslems
while, in fact, they strive to demolish Islam.
Ayyub Sabri Pasha [d. 1308 (1890)], Rear Admiral in the time of the
thirty-fourth Ottoman sultan 'Abd al-Hamid Khan II [1258-1336 (1842-
1918), buried in the shrine of Sultan Mahmud, in Istanbul], wrote a history
book in which he told about Wahhabism in full detail. (Mir'atal-Haramain,
pp. 99 vol. III; five volumes in Turkish, Matba'a-i Bahriye, Istanbul, 1301-
1306.)

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[The Main Part]

The following is translated, for the most part, from the Pasha's book:
Wahhabism was established by Muhammad ibn, Abd al-Wahhab. He was
born in Huraimila in the Najd in 1111 (1699) and died in 1206 (1791).
Formerly, he had been to Basra, Baghdad, Iran, India and Damascus with
the view of travelling and trading, where he found the vicious books written
by Ahmad Ibn Taimiyya of Harran
[661-728 (1263-1328), d. in Damascus], the contents of which were
incompatible with the Ahl al-Sunna.
Being very cunning and talkative, he became known as ash-Shaikh an-
Najdi. In order to increase his fame, he attended the lectures of Hanbali
'ulama' in Medina and later in Damascus and wrote many books when he
returned to the Najd. His book Kitab at-tawhid (Meccan scholars wrote very
beautiful answers to Kitab at-tawhid and refuted it with sound documents in
1221. The collection of their refutations, titled Saif al-Jabbar which was
later printed in Pakistan, was reproduced by Isik Kitabevi in Istanbul in
1395 [19751) was annotated by his grandson,
Abd ar-Rahman, and was interpolated and published in Egypt with the
title Fath al-majid by a Wahhabi called Muhammad Hamid. [In 1970,
preparing refutations to the corrupt writings in it, I published them in my
book, “Advice for the Wahhabi.” Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's ideas
deceived the villagers, the inhabitants of Dar'iyya and their chief,
Muhammad ibn Sa'ud. The number of those who accepted his ideas, which
he called Wahhabism, increased and he imposed himself as the qadi and
Muhammad ibn Sa'ud as the amir (ruler). He declared it as a law that only
their descendants should succeed them.
Muhammad's father, 'Abd al-Wahhab, who was a good [Sunni] Moslem,
and the 'ulama' in Medina understood from Muhammad's words that he
would start a heretical movement and advised everybody not to talk with
him. But he proclaimed Wahhabism in 1150 (1737). To deceive the ignorant
and lead them astray, he spoke ill of the ijtihads of the 'ulama' of Islam. He
went so far as to call the Ahl as-Sunna "kafir". He said that he who visited
the shrine of a prophet or of a wali and addressed him as "Ya Nabi Allah!"
(O Allah's Prophet) or as, e.g. "Ya 'Abd al-Qadir!" would become a
polytheist (mushrik).
In the view of the Wahhabi, he who says that anybody besides Allah did
something becomes a polytheist, a kafir. For example, he who said, "Such
and such medicine relieved the pain." or " Allah accepted my prayers near
the tomb of such and such prophet or wali," would become a disbeliever. To
prove this idea; he puts forth as documents the ayat, "Iyyaka nasta'in" (Only
Thy help we ask) of the surat al-F atiha and the ayats telling about tawakkul.
[The correct meanings of these ayats by the Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' and the
concepts of tawhid and tawakkul are written in detail in the chapter
"Tawakkul" of Sa'adate Abadiyeh by the author. Those who know the
correct meaning of 'tawhid' will understand that the Wahhabis, who consider
themselves muwahhids, are not muwahhids but another group of those who,
under the mask of "tawhid", want to break the Ahl at-tawhid to pieces and to
make reform in Islam.]

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At the end of the second part of the book Al-Usul al-arba'a fi tardid al-
Wahhabiyya, Hadrat Hakim as-Sirhindi al-Mujaddidi writes:
"The Wahhabis and the non-madhhabite people cannot comprehend the
meanings of 'majaz' (allegory, symbol) and 'isti'ara' (metaphor).
Whenever somebody says that he did something, they call him a
polytheist or a disbeliever though his expression is a majaz. (Majaz is the
use of a word not in its usual or obvious literal meaning but in a sense
connected to its meaning. When a word special to Allahu ta'ala is used for
men in a majazi sense, the Wahhabis take it in its literal meaning and call
the one who uses it metaphorically a polytheist and disbeliever; they are
unaware that such words are used for men in metaphorical senses in the
Quran and Hadith.)
Whereas, Allahu ta'ala declares in many ayats of the Holy Quran that He
is the Real Maker of every act and that man is the majazi (symbolic, so-
called) maker. In the 57th ayat of the surat al-An'am and in surat Yusuf; He
says, 'The decision (hukm) is Allah's alone,' that is, Allahu ta'ala is the only
Decider (Hakim). In the 64th ayat of the surat anNisa', He says, 'They will
not be [considered to be true] believers until they make thee [the Prophet]
judge (yuhakkimunaka) of what is in dispute between them.' The former
ayat states that Allahu ta'ala is the only Real Hakim, and the latter states that
man can be metaphorically said to be a hakim.
("Every Moslem knows that Allahu ta'ala alone is the One who gives life
and takes life, for He declares, 'He alone gives and takes life; in the 56th
ayat of the surat Yusuf and 'Allah is the One who makes man dead at the
time of his death,' in the 42nd ayat of the surat az-zumar. In the 12th ayat of
the surat as-Sajda, He said as a majaz, 'The angel who is appointed as the
deputy to take life takes your life.’
"Allahu ta'ala alone is the One who gives health to the sick, for the 80th
ayat of the surat ash-shu'ara' says, 'When I become sick, only He gives me
recovery.' He quotes Hadrat 'Isa in the 49th ayat of the surat al-Imran as
saying, 'I heal him who is blind and the abrasa (A skin-diseased person,
albino or vitiligo, with complete or partial whiteness of the skin.), and I
bring the dead back to life by Allah's permission.' The one who gives child
to man is actually He; He declares in the 18th ayat of the surat Mariam that
[the Archangel], Hadrat Jabra'il's words, 'I will give you a pure son, was
majazi.
"The real protector of man is Allahu ta'ala. The 257th ayat of the surat al-
Baqara states this openly; 'Allah is the Wali (Protector, Guardian) of those
who believe.' And by saying, 'Your wali is Allah and His Prophet,' and 'The
Prophet protects the believers more than they protect themselves, in the 56th
and 6th ayats of the suras al-Ma'ida and al-Ahzab respectively, He means
that man, too, though symbolically, is a wali. Similarly, the real helper is
Allahu ta'ala, and He also said 'mu'in' (helper) for men metaphorically. He
said in the third ayat of the surat al-Ma'ida, 'Help you one another in
goodness and piety (taqwa).' The Wahhabis use the word 'mushrik'
(polytheist) for those Moslems who call somebody an abd (servant, slave) of
someone other than Allah, for example, ‘Abd an-Nabi' or ‘Abd ar-Rasul';
however, in the 32nd ayat of the surat an-Nur, it is declared : 'Give in

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marriage your unmarried women and those pious ones among your male and
female slaves.' The Real Rabb (Trainer) is Allahu ta' ala, but someone other
than Allah can also be called 'rabb' metaphorically; in the 41st ayat of the
surat Yusuf it is said, 'Remember me in the presence of your rabb.’
" 'Istighatha' is. what the Wahhabis oppose most: 'to ask help or
protection of someone other than Allah,' which they call polytheism. It is
true that, as all Moslems know, istighatha is only for Allahu ta'ala. Yet it is
permissible to say metaphorically that one can do istighatha of someone,
for, it is declared in the 15th ayat of the surat al-Qasas: 'People of his tribe
did istighatha, of him against the enemy.' A hadith says, 'They will do
istighatha of Adam at the place of Mahshar.' A hadith written in Al-hisn al-
hasin, says, 'He who needs help should say, "Oh Allah's servants! Help
me!"' This hadith commands that one should [in case] call for help of
someone not near him." (Hakim al-Ummat Khwaja Muhammad Hasan Jan
Sahib as-Sirhindi al-Mujaddidi, Al-usul al-Arba'a (in Persian), India, 1346
(1928); photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1395 (1975).
The author refutes the Wahhabis and other nonmadhhabite people also in
his Arabic work Ta'rikh an-najat, India, 1350 (with Urdu translation);
photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, 1396 [1976].) To ask for shafa'a
and help from Rasulullah and awliya' does not mean to abandon Allah or
forget that He is the Creator. It is like expecting rain from Allah through the
cause or means (wasita) of clouds, expecting cure from Allah by taking
medicine, expecting victory from Allah by using cannons, bombs, rockets
and aeroplanes.
These are causes. Allah creates everything through causes. It is not
polytheism (shirk) to stick to these prophets always clung to causes. As we
causes. The go to a fountain to drink water, which Allah has created, and to
the bakery to eat bread, which again Allah has created, and as we make
armaments and drill and train our troops so that Allah would give us victory,
so we set our hearts on the soul of a prophet or a wali in order that Allah
would accept our prayers. To use radio in order to hear the sound which
Allah creates through the means of electro-magnetic waves does not mean
to abandon Allah and have recourse to a box, for, Allah is the One who
gives this peculiarity, this power, to the installation in the radio box. Allah
has concealed His Omnipotence in everything. A polytheist worships idols
but does not think of Allah. A Moslem, when he uses causes and means,
thinks of Allah, who gives effectiveness and peculiarities to the causes and
creatures. Whatever he wishes he expects from Allah. He knows that
whatever he gets comes from Allah. The Wahhabis do stick to and make use
of means in worldly affairs. They satisfy their sensual desires by any means,
but they call it "polytheism" to procure means for winning the next world.
What conception of tawhid is this?
Because those words of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab were all right
with sensual desires, those who did not have religious knowledge were
easily taken in. They claimed that the Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama and Moslems of
the right path were disbelievers. Amirs found Wahhabism just right with
their desires to increase their power and to extend their lands and territories.
They forced the Arab clans to become Wahhabi. They killed those who did

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not believe them. Villagers, from fear of death, obeyed the amir of Dar'iyya,
Muhammad ibn Sa'ud. To become soldiers of the amir well suited their
desires to attack the property, life and chastity of non-Wahhabis.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's brother, Shaikh Sulaiman, was an Ahl
as-Sunna , alim. This blessed person refuted Wahhabism in his book,
"Assawa'iq al-ilahiyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahhabiyya" (Printed by Nuhbat al-
Ahbar, Baghdad, in 1306 11889]. reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul,
1396 11975}.) and worked against the dissemination of its heretical tenets.
Muhammad' s teachers, who realized that Muhammad had opened a way
leading to evil, refuted his deviant books. They announced that he had gone
astray. They rebuted Wahhabism through ayats and hadiths. Yet all these
increased the Wahhabis' resentment and hostility against Moslems.
The heretical tenets of Wahhabism spread not through knowledge but
through cruelty and bloodshed. Of the cruel who stained their hands with
blood in this way, the amir of Dar'iyya, Muhammad ibn Sa'ud, was the most
stony-hearted.
This man, who was the ancestor of the amirs of today's Sa'udi Arabia,
was of the Banu Hanifa clan and was one of the descendants of those who
had believed Musailamat al-kadhdhab as a prophet.
The Wahhabis talk as if they were sincere in believing in the Oneness of
Allah and thus escaping disbelief, and as if all Moslems had been
polytheists for six hundred years, and the Wahhabis have been trying to save
them from kufr. To prove themselves right, they put forth the fifth ayat of
the surat alAhqaf and the 106th ayat of the surat Yunus.
Whereas, all the Qoran's commentaries unanimously write that these two
ayats and many an ayat like these have all been sent down aiming at
polytheists. The first of these ayats is: "No one is more deviated than he who
abandons Allah and prays to things which will never hear till the end of the
world" And the other is: "Tell the Meccan polytheists, 'I was commanded
not to pray to things, useful or harmful, other than Allah. If you pray to
anyone but Allah, you will be torturing and doing harm to yourselves!’"
The Wahhabis, in their book, "Kashf ashshubhat," misinterpret the third
ayat of the surat az-Zumar, in which Allah declares, "Those who accept
things other than Allah as guardians say, 'If we worship them, we worship
them so that they might help us approach Allah and in tercede for us."' This
ayat quotes the words of polytheists who worship idols. The Wahhabis liken
Moslems who ask for shafa' a (intercession) to such polytheists and
intentionally say that polytheists also believed that the'ir; idols were not
creative and that Allah alone was the Creator. In the interpretation of this
ayat, the book Ruh al-bayan says, "Human creatures are created with the
ability to acknowledge the Creator who created them and everything. Every
human creature feels the desire to worship his Creator and to be drawn
towards Him. Yet, this ability and desire are worthless, for, the nafs, the
Satan or bad companions might deceive man, and as a result, this innate
desire being destroyed, man becomes either a polytheist or an unbeliever in
the Creator and in the Last Day like atheist freemasons. The valuable thing
is the ma'rifa that ensures from tawhid. Its sign is/ to believe the prophets
and their books by following them, that is, it is such an instance of being

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drawn towards Allah. It was in its creation for the Satan to prostrate, but it
refused to prostrate in a manner unsuitable to its creation, and philosophers
became kafirs because they wanted to approach Allah not by following the
prophets but -their own reason. Moslems, to approach Allah, adapt
themselves to the Shari'a, thus their hearts get filled with spiritual light, and
the attribute 'jamal' (beauty) [of Allah] manifests itself to their spirits.
Polytheists, to approach Allah, follow not the Prophet or the Shari' a but
their nafses and bida'h, and thus their hearts get darkened and spirits get
obscured. Allah, at the end of this ayat, tells that they lie in their statement,
'We worship idols so that they shall intercede for us.' " As it is easily
understood, it is very unjust of the Wahhabis to take the 25th ayat of the
surat Luqman which says: "If you ask disbelievers, 'Who created the earth
and the skies?' they will say, 'Certainly Allah created.' "and the 87th ayat of
the surat az-Zukhruf which says, "If you ask those who worship things other
than Allah, 'Who created these?' they will say, 'Certainly Allah created.’ " as
documents and to say, "Polytheists, too, knew that the Creator was Allah
alone. They worshipped idols so that they would intercede for them on the
Day of Judgement. For this reason they became polytheists and
disbelievers." (This ayat was interpreted (tafsir), and it was proved that the
Wahhabis misinterpreted this ayat, also by Jamil Sidqi as-Zahawi, an 'alim
from Iraq, in his work "Al-fajr as-Sadiq fi ar-raddiala munkiri 't-tawassuli
wa 'l-karamati wa 'l-hawariq" (Egypt, 1323/1905; photographic reproduction
by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1396/1979). Jamil Sidqi taught 'ilm alkalam at the
University of Istanbul. He died in 1355/1936. The 1956 edition of Munjid
gives a picture of him.)
These words of the Wahhabis are very wrong and very unsound, for we
Moslems neither worship the prophets or awliya' nor say that they are
companions or partners of Allah. We believe that the prophets and awliya'
were creatures and human beings and that they are not worth worshipping.
We believe that they are the beloved creatures of Allah and Allah will
pity His human creatures for the sake of His beloved. It is Allah alone who
creates harm and profit. He alone is worth worshipping. We say that He
pities His human creatures for the sake of His beloved. As for polytheists,
though they say that their idols are not creative, they believe that they are
worth worshipping and that is why they worship them. Because they say
that idols are worth worshipping, they become polytheists. Otherwise, they
would not become polytheists for saying that they wanted to be interceded.
(To ask the shafa'a of idols is superstitious, a false belief It is unlawful in
Islam to believe so, yet it is not polytheism.)
It is seen that the Wahhabis' likening of the Ahl as-Sunna to idolatrouS
disbelievers is quite wrong. All the ayats they put forth were sent for
idolatrous disbelievers and polytheists. The book, "Kashf ash-shubuhat"
gives wrong meanings to ayats and uses sophisms and says that the Ahl as-
Sunna Moslems are polytheists. It recommends that non Wahhabite
Moslems should be killed and that their property should be confiscated.
Hadrat Abdullah ibn 'Umar transmitted the two hadiths which say, "They
have left the right course. They have imputed to Moslems the [meaning of
the] ayats descending for disbelievers," and "Of what I fear, on behalf of my

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ummah, the most horrible thing is their interpretation of the Quran

according to their own opinions and their out-of-place translations." These
two hadiths notified that the Wahhabis would appear and, by misinterpreting
the ayats that had descended for disbelievers, they would refer them to
Moslems.
Another person who, realizing that Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab had
heretical ideas and later would be harmful, advised him was Muhammad
ibn Sulaiman al-Madani [d. in Medina in 1194 (1779)] , one of the great
'ulama' of Medina. He was a Shafi'i faqih and wrote many books. His
annotation on Ibn Hajar al-Makki's At-tuhfat almuhtaj, a commentary to the
book Minhaj, has won a great fame. In Al-fatawa, his two-volumed book
refuting Wahhabism, he said, "O Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab! Don't
slander Moslems! For Allah's sake 1 advise you. Yes, if someone says that
someone other than Allah creates actions, tell him the truth! But those who
cling to causes (wasila) and who believe that both causes and the effective
power in them are created by Allah cannot be called disbelievers. You are a
Moslem, too. It is better to call one Moslem 'disbeliever' than calling all
Moslems. He who leaves the crowd will go astray more easily. The 114th
ayat of the surat an-Nisa' proves my word right: "We will drag the person
who, after leaning the way to guidance, opposes the Prophet and deviates
from the believers' path along the direction to which he has deviated, and
then we will throw him into Hell the terrible."'
Though the Wahhabis have innumerable wrong tenets, their religion is
based on three principles:
1. They say that rites, 'ibadat, are included in iman and that he who does
not perform a fard (for
example, ritual salat because of laziness, or zakat because of stinginess,
though he would believe it to be a fard) will become a disbeliever and he
must be killed and his possessions must be distributed among the Wahhabis.
Ash-Shihristani wrote: "The Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' have unanimously said
that 'ibadat are not included in iman. He who does not perform a fard
because of laziness, though he believes it to be a fard, does not become a
disbeliever. There has not been a unanimity only for those who do not
perform ritual salat; according to the Hanbali madhhab, he who does not
perform salat because of laziness becomes a disbeliever." (Al-milal wa
'nnihal, Turkish version, p. 63, Cairo, 1070 A.H )
In the Hanbali madhhab, it was said that only he who did not perform
salat became a disbeliever.
It was not said for other kinds of ibadat. Therefore, it would be wrong to
consider the Wahhabis as Hanbali in this respect. Those who do not belong
to any of the four madhhabs are not of the Ahl as-Sunna. We explained
before that those who do not belong to the Ahl as-Sunna cannot be Hanbali,
either. (See my Advice for the Wahhabi fordetail on the same subject.)
2. They say that he who asks for shafa'a from the souls of the prophets or
awliya' or visits their tombs and prays by considering them as intermediaries
becomes a disbeliever, and that the dead do not have any sense.
If the one who talked to a dead person in a grave would be a disbeliever,
our Prophet, great 'ulama' and the awliya' would not have prayed in this

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manner. It was our Prophet's custom to visit the Baki Cemetery in Medina
and the martyrs of Uhud. In fact, it is written on the 485th page of the
Wahhabite book Fath al-majid that he greeted and talked to them.
Our Prophet always said in his prayers, "Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-
haqqi's-sa'ilina 'alaika," (O my Allah! I ask Thee for the sake of those
persons whom Thou hast given whenever they asked) and recommended to
pray so. When he entered Fatima, the mother of Hadrat 'Ali, with his own
blessed hands, he said, "Ighfir li-ummi Fatimata binta Asad wa wassi' 'alaiha
mad-halaha bi-haqqi nabiyyika wa 'l-anbiya'illadhina min qabli innaka
arhamu 'r-rahimin." (O Allah! Forgive
Mother Fatima bint Asad, her sins! Widen the place she is in! Accept this
prayer of mine for the right (love) of Thy Prophet and of the prophets who
came before me! Thou art the Most Merciful of the merciful!) In a hadith
given by an-Nasa'i and at-Tirmidhi, it is told that the Prophet ordered a blind
man, who asked him to pray for his cure, to perform ablution and salat of
two rak'as and then to say, "Allahumma inni as'aluka wa atawajjahu ilaika
bi-nabiyyika Muhammadin nabi r-Rahma, ya Muhammadu inni atawajjahu
bika ila Rabbi fi hajatihadhehi li takdiya li, Allahuma fa-shaffi'hu fiyya." In
this prayer the blind man was commanded to put Hadrat Muhammad as an
intermediary so that his prayer would be accepted. As-Sahaba often recited
this prayer. This prayer is also quoted in the book Al-hisn al-hasin with its
references and, in its explanation, is interpreted as, "I turn towards Thee
through Thine Prophet."
These prayers show that it is permissible to put those whom Allah loves
as intermediaries and to pray to Allah by saying "For their sake."
Shaikh 'Ali Mahfuz (d. 1361/1942). one of the great 'ulama' of Jamit al-
Azhar praised Ibn Taimiyya and , Abduh much in his book Al-ibda'.
Nevertheless, he wrote: " It is not right to say that the awliya' dispose
worldly affairs after death, such as curing the ill, rescuing those who are
about to be drowned, helping those who are against the enemy and having
the lost things he found. It is wrong to say that, because the awliya' are very
great, Allah has left these tasks to them and they do what they wish and that
he who clings to them will not go wrong. But, among His awliya' Allah
blesses the ones whom He wants, whether they are alive or dead, and
through their karamat He cures the ill, rescues him who is about to be
drowned, helps him who is against the enemy and makes the lost things be
found. This is logical. Also the Quran teaches these facts." (Shaikh
'AliMahfuz, Al-ibda', p. 213, Cairo, 1956. 'Abdullah ad-Dasuqi and Yusuf
ad-Dajwi, professors at Jami ., al-Azhar, wrote eulogies at the end of Al-
ibda' )
Hadrat 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi wrote: "A hadith qudsi, which al-
Bukhari reported from Abu Huraira, says: 'Allahu ta'ala declared, "My
human servants cannot approach Me through any thing as close as they
approach through the fard. If My human creatures do the supererogatory
'ibadat, I like them so much so that they hear with Me, see with Me, hold
everything with Me and walk with Me, and I give them whatever they ask
ofMe. If they trust in Me, I protect them." , The supererogatory 'ibadat
mentioned here are [as written in Maraq al-falah and at-Tahtawi's

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annotation] the sunna and supererogatory 'ibadat done by those who do the
fard 'ibadat. This hadith shows that he who, after doing the fard 'ibadat, does
the supererogatory ones will earn Allah' s love and his prayers will be
accepted." ('Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi, Al-hadiqat an-nadiyya, p. 182,
Istanbul, 1290.)
Whether alive or dead, when such people pray for others, they get what
they wish. Such people hear even when they are dead. As they did when
they were alive, they do not turn down those who ask empty-handed, but
they pray for them.
For this reason, a hadith declares, "When you are in trouble in your
affairs, ask for help of those who are in graves!"
In actual fact, "Moslems are still Moslems when they are dead just as
when they are asleep.
Prophets are still prophets after death just as when they were asleep.
Because, it is the soul who is a Moslem or a prophet. When man dies, his
soul does not change. This fact is written in the book 'Umdat al-' aqa'id by
Imam Abdullah an-Nasafi [edited in London in 1259 A.H. (1843)] .
Likewise, the awliya' are still awliya' when they are dead just as when they
are asleep. He who does not believe it is ignorant, stubborn. We have
proved in another book of mine that the awliya' possess karamat after they
die, too." (Al-hadiqa, p. 290.)
The Hanafi scholar Ahmad ibn Sayyid Muhammad al-Makki al-Hamawi
and the Shafi'i scholars Ahmad ibn Ahmad as-Suja'i and Muhammad ash-
Shawbari al-Misri wrote booklets in which they proved with evidences that
the awliya' possessed karamat, that their karamat continued after their death,
and that tawassul and istighatha at their graves was permitted (ja'iz). (These
three booklets were published together with Hadrat Ahmad Zaini Dahlan's
Ad-durar-as-saniyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala l-Wahhabiyya in Cairo in 1319 (1901)
and 1347 (1928); photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, in Istanbul, in
1396 (1976).)
And "a true hadith which the hadith scholars Hudhaima, ad-Dara Qutni
and at-Tabarani conveyed from Abdullah ibn 'Umar , declares: 'It became
wajib for me to intercede for those who would visit my shrine.' Imam al-
Manawi, too, quoted this hadith in his book Kunuz ad-daqa'iq.
In addition, he wrote the hadith. 'After my death: visiting my shrine is
like visiting me when I am alive,' from Ibn Hibban, and the hadith, 'I will
intercede for him who visits my shrine,' from atTabarani. The following two
marfu' hadiths, the first One quoted by Imam al-Bazzar from 'Abdullah ibn
'Umar and the second one written in Sahih of Moslem and quoted from
Abdullah ibn 'Umar, are known by almost every Moslem: 'It became halal
for me to intercede for those who would visit my shrine'; 'On the Day of
Judgement I shall intercede for those who would come to Medina to visit
my shrine.' " (Mir' at al-Madina (Mir' at al-Haramain), p. 106.)
It is a great good news that it is said in the hadith, "He who carries out
the hajj and then visits my grave will have visited me when I am alive."
which was quoted by at-Tabarani, ad-Dara Qutni and ['Abd ar-Rahman] Ibn
al-Jawzi. The hadith, "The one who does not visit me after carrying out the
hajj will have hurt me," which ad-Dara Qutni quotes, alludes to those who

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neglect to visit the Prophet's shrine after hajj though they do not have any
excuse.
'Abd al-'Aziz, the rector of the Islamic University of Medina, wrote in his
Tahqiq wa Idah, "None of the [above] hadiths [recommending the visit] has
any 'sanad' (support) or document. The Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taimiyya told
that all of them were mawdu'." He denies it like all Wahhabis,
despite the fact that the 'sanads' of these hadiths are written in detail in
the eighth volume of azZarkani's commentary to Al-mawahib and at the end
of the fourth volume of as-Samhudi's
Wafa' alwafa'. In these books, it is also written that these hadiths were
hasan and that Ibn Taimiyya's comment was groundless. The rector and
instructors of the Medina university thus try to calumniate the writings of
Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' and to spread the Wahhabi tenets all over the world
with their books.
The' Wahhabis, in order to make Moslem and non-Moslem nations
believe that they are the real Moslems, follow a new policy: 'they have
founded an Islamic centre called the Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami in Mecca and
gathered the ignorant, hired men of religious profession they have chosen
from every country, to whom they pay salaries of hundreds of golds.
Because these ignorant men of religious posts have no knowledge about the
books of the Ahl- as-Sunna scholars, they use them as tools. From this
centre to the whole world, they disseminate the heretical tenets of
Wahhabism, which they call the "fatwas of world Moslem unity "
There are many hadiths telling that Rasulullah is alive in his tomb in an
unknown life. Their being numerous signifies that they are sound. Of these
hadiths, the following two are written in six famous books of the Hadith: "I
will hear the salawat recited at my shrine. I will be informed with the
salawat recited at a distance". "If a person recites salawat at my shrine,
Allah sends an angel and informs me of this salawat. I will intercede for him
on the Day of Judgement. "
If a Moslem goes to the grave of a dead Moslem, whom he knew when
he was alive, and greets him, the dead Moslem will recognize and reply
him. A hadith communicated by Ibn Abi 'd-dunya declares that a dead
Moslem recognizes and answers the one who greets him and gets happy. If a
person greets the dead people whom he did not know, they become pleased
and answer him. While good Moslems and martyrs recognize and answer
those who greet them, is it possible that Rasulullah would not? As the sun in
the sky illuminates the whole world so Rasulullah answers all simultaneous
greetings simultaneously.
A hadith says, "After my death, I will hear as I do when I am alive."
Another hadith given by Abu Ya'la says, "Prophets are alive in their graves.
They perform ritual salat." Ibrahim ibn Bishar and Sayyid Ahmad ar-
Rifa'i and many awliya' said that they had heard the reply when they had
greeted Rasulullah.
The great Moslem scholar Jalal ad-din as-Suyuti wrote the book
Sharafal-muhkam as an answer to the question if it was true that Sayyid
Ahmad ar-Rifa'i had kissed Rasulullah' s blessed hand. In this book he
proved by reasonable and traditional evidences that Rasulullah was alive in

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his shrine in an incomprehensible life and that he heard and answered

greetings. He also told in this book that on the Mi'raj Night Rasulullah saw
Hadrat Musa (Moses) worshipping in his grave.
A hadith, which A'ishat related, says, "I suffer the pain of the poisonous
meat I ate at Khaibar. Because of that poison my aorta almost fails to
function now-" This hadith shows that, in addition to the prophethood, Allah
has given the status of martyrdom to Hadrat Muhammad, the Highest of
Mankind. Allah declares in the Quran, in the 169th ayat of the surat al-
'Imran, "Never regard those who have been killed on the way to Allah as
dead! They are alive in Allah's view. They are nourished." No doubt this
great Prophet, who has been poisoned on the way to Allah, is on top of the
honourable status defined in this ayat.
The hadith given by Ibn Hibban says, 'Prophets' blessed bodies never rot.
If a Moslem recites salawat for me, an angel Conveys that salawat to me and
says, 'So and so's son and so and so recited salawat and greeted you."'
The hadith given by Ibn Maja says, "On Fridays recite salawat for me
repeatedly. The salawat will be communicated to me as soon as it is
recited." Hadrat Abu 'd-darda', one of those who were in Company of the
Prophet at that moment, asked, "Will it be communicated to you after you
die, too?" The Prophet said, " Yes, I will be informed of it after my death,
for, it is haram for the earth to cause the prophets to rot." They are alive
after death, and they are nourished.
Hadrat 'Umar, after the conquest of Quds (Jerusalem), went into the
Prophet's shrine and visited his grave and greeted him. Hadrat 'Umar ibn
Abd al-' Aziz, who was a great wali, usually sent officials from Damascus to
Medina and had them recite salawat at the Prophet's shrine and greet him.
Hadrat 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, after returning from each travel, would go
direct to the Prophet's shrine. (Hujrat as-Sa'ada, the room where the graves
of the Prophet and of his two immediate caliphs are). First he would visit
Rasulullah, then Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and then his father and greet them.
Imam Nafi' said, "More than a hundred times I saw Hadrat 'Abdullah ibn
'Umar go into the Prophet's shrine and say, 'As-salamu 'alaika ya
Rasulullah!" One day Hadrat 'Ali went into the Masjid ashSharif and when
he saw the grave of Hadrat Fatima he wept, and when he saw the Prophet's
grave he wept the more. Then, saying, 'As-salamu 'alaika ya Rasulullah' and
'As-salamu 'alaikuma.
According to al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa one should carry out the hajj
first and then go to Medina and visit Rasulullah. So is written in the fatwa of
Abu 'l-Laith as-Samarqandi.
Qadi 'Iyad, author of the book Shifa' Imam an-Nawawi, a Shafi'i 'alim,
and Ibn Humam, a Hanafi 'alim, said that there had formed ijma' al-Umma
on that it was necessary to visit the Prophet' s shrine. Some alims said that it
was wajib. As a matter of fact, it is a sunna to visit graves, a fact which is
also written in the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid.
The 63rd ayat of the surat an-Nisa' declares:
" If they, after tyrannizing over their nafses, come to you (the Prophet)
and beg Allah's (My) pardon, and if My Messenger (you) apologizes on
behalf of them, they will certainly find Allah as the Receiver of Repentance

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and Merciful." This ayat indicates that Rasulullah will intercede and his
shafa' a (intercession) will be accepted. Also, it commands us to visit the
Prophet's shrine and ask for shafa'a.
A hadith says: "It is suitable to set off on a long journey only with the
view of visiting three mosques." This hadith points out that it is reward
deserving to go on a long journey with the purpose of visiting the Masjid al-
Haram in Mecca, the Masjid an-Nabi in Medina and the Masjid al-Aqsa in
Jerusalem. For this reason, those who go on hajj but do not visit the
Prophet's shrine, in the Masjid an-Nabi, will be deprived of this reward.
A hadith says, "Do not make a [place of} festival of my shrine." Hadrat
Abd al-' Azim al-Munziti, a hadith alim, explained this hadith as:
"Do not consider it enough to visit my shrine only once a year, like on
feast days. Try to visit me every time.!,' As a matter of fact, it is not
permitted to perform ritual salat at the cemetery.
It was said that this hadith might come to man "For visiting my shrine, do
not fix a certain day like a feast." Jews and Christians, during their visit to
their prophets, habitually assembled together, played instruments, sang
songs and acted ceremoniously. These hadiths imply that we should not
make merry with forbidden things on feast days, we should not play reeds or
drums or gather to act ceremoniously during our visit. We should visit and
greet, pray and leave silently without staying long.
Al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa said that Visiting the Prophet's shrine was
the most valuable sunna, and there are some scholars who said that it was
wajib. For this reason, visiting the Prophet's shrine is allowed as a vow in
the Sahfi'i madhhab.
In fact, "Allah, in His Word, 'If I had not created you, I would not have
created anything!" (This hadith qudsi is quoted also in Hadrat al-Imam ar-
Rabbani's Maktubat, vol. III 122nd letter.) points out that Hadrat
Muhammad is the Habibullah (Allah's Darling) and that He loves him very
much. Even an average person will not refuse something asked for the sake
of his darling. It is easy to have a lover do so mething for the sake of his
beloved. If a person says, 'O my Allah! For the sake of Thy Habib,
Muhammad, I ask of Thee,' this wish of his will not be refused. The trivial
worldly affairs, however, are not worth rutting Rasulullah's sake as a
means." (Mir'at al-Madina, p. 1282.)
As-Sayyid Ahmad bin Zaini Dahlan, Mufti of Mecca, was a great 'alim
and the Shaikh alkhutaba' in the Shafi'i madhhab. He wrote many works. He
explained the real purposes of the Wahhabis and proved through ayats and
hadiths that they were deviated, in his books Khulasat alkalam fi bayani
umara'i balad al-Haram, Fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahhabiyyati atba'u madhhabi Ibn
Taimiyya and Ad-durar as-saniyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahabiyya. In Khulasat
al-kalam, he told how they deceived the ignorant ones of Moslems and
refuted them one by one. He proved that their words were lies and slanders.
He wrote:
"It is acceptable and permissible to pray through the mediation of
Rasulullah when he is dead as it was done when he was alive. Likewise, it is
shown in the Hadith that it is also permissible to pray through the mediation
of the awliya' and pious Moslems. [The writings on the 167, 170, 191, 208,

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248, 353, 414, 416,482, 486 and 505th pages of the Wahhabite book Fath
al-majid are lampoons against Moslems.] The Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' say that
it is Allah alone who gives the effectiveness, who creates, invents, gives use
or harm and annihilates. He does not have a partner.
Neither prophets nor any other living or dead person can create
effectiveness, use or harm. However, since they are the beloved servants of
Allah, we bless ourselves with them. The Wahhabis believe that the living
can affect but the dead cannot. [It is written on the 70, 77, 98, 104, 239, 248,
323, 503 and 504th pages of the book Fath al-majid' 'He who asks a dead
person or a living one who is absent for something becomes a polytheist.
Man can be asked for what is within his power. It is not permissible to ask
for what are within Allah's Power alone.' It is written on its 70th page, 'A
living person can pray for the things that has been asked of him, and Allah
accepts it and creates that thing. To ask a dead or an absent person means to
ask for what is not within his power, which is polytheism.' It is written on its
136th page, 'To bless oneself with the graves of pious Moslems is
polytheism like worshipping the idols named al-Lat and Manat.' It is written
on its 208th page, 'It is polytheism to ask the dead people for what one
needs or to pray through the dead. It is ignorance to ask a dead person
without being permitted by Allah, and they are not designated as
intermediaries for interceding or for being permitted to intercede. The
prerequisite of intercession is iman.
But the person who asks the dead to intercede is a polytheist. This
prevents the Permission.' In fact, the book contradicts itself: it is written on
its 200th page." The skies fear Allah. Allah creates sense in skies. They
perceive. It has been declared in the Qoran that the earth and the skies praise
and laud Allah. As-Sahaba heard the pieces of stone praise and laud Allah
when Rasulullah took them in his hands, the pillar called Hannana in the
Masjid moan, and the food praise and laud Allah.' It shows their stupidity to
say that the prophets and awliya' do not have sense, while on the other hand,
to say that mountains, stones and pillars have sense and conscience. The
Wahhabis become polytheists by saying that the living can be made
intermediaries but the dead cannot be made intermediaries. For this
statement means that the living hear and affect but the dead do not hear or
affect, and that those other than Allah can affect, and they, too, call those
who believe so polytheists.
The reality is that the dead and the living are intermediaries. It is Allah
alone who affects and creates. The rumour telling that al-Imam al-a'zam
prohibited to pray through the mediation of Rasulullah, which is written in
Alusi's Qoran commentary, is mendacious, for, no 'alim has ever reported
such news from al-Imam al-a'zam. The 'ulama' told that it was permissible.
The words tawassul, tashaffu', istighatha and tawajjuh have the same
meaning. They are all permissible. It is declared in the Sahih of al-Bukhari,
'On the Day of Judgement, people will ask for Hadrat Adam's intercession
first. Hadrat Bilal ibn Harith, one of the notables of as-Sahaba, visited
Rasulullah's grave and said, 'O Rasulallah! Pray on behalf of your umma
that it shall rain!' and it rained. Disbelievers who said that idols would
intercede for them worshipped idols. But the believers who ask for

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intercession do not worship the prophets or awliya'. 'It is declared in the

Qoran, "Intercession can be done only with His Permission," and “Only the
accepted people will be interceded for."' How does the person who asks for
intercession know that the Prophet will be permitted to intercede for him?
Moreover, how does he know he is one of the accepted and ask for
intercession?' These words both disagree with hadiths and contradict the
book itself, because the same book says on its 208th page, 'The prerequisite
of intercession is iman.' In the prayer which we are ordered to recite after
the adhan, it is mentioned that Allah has promised our Prophet the
Attributes of Fadila and Wasila. He declared that he will intercede for those
who recite this prayer, for those who say salawat and for those who visit his
grave. Similarly, many more hadiths show that our Prophet has been
permitted to intercede for whomever he likes. The hadith, 'I will intercede
for those who have committed big sins,' shows that he will be permitted to
intercede for anybody who has iman. Of the forty hadiths on the 130th page
ofShawahid al-haqq, the thirteenth one says, 'I will intercede on the Day of
Judgement. I will say, "O Allah! Put those who have iman as much as a
mote of mustard in their hearts into Paradise." They will enter Paradise.
Then, I will tell those who have something little in their hearts to enter
Paradise.' Al-Bukhari wrote this hadith, too. 'Istighatha' means 'tawassul, to
put someone as an intermediary, to ask for his help, and for his prayer'. To
ask someone for shafa'a means to pray to Allah so that one can leave the
world with iman in one's last breath for His sake. It is written at many places
of the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid, particularly on the 323rd page, 'It is
polytheism to ask an absent person for his intercession. Allah orders to war
against polytheists.' Whereas, Rasulullah used to tell [himself] , 'O
Muhammad.! I am turning to wards my Allah by putting you as an
intermediary.' After his death, as-Sahaba frequently said this prayer. A
hadith communicated by at-Tabarani declares, 'Ifa person who is left alone
in a desert loses something, he shall coy, "O Allah's servants! Help me. !"
For, Allah has servants whom you do not see.' Ibn Hajar al-Makki said in
his commentary to Idah al-manasik that this prayer had been proved many
times. As reported by Abu Dawud and many others, one evening when he
was on a journey, the Prophet said, 'O my Allah's earth.! Against your evils
I trust myself to Allah." (Khulasat al-Kalam, Bab asSalam, Mecca, 1305.
Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1395 (1975).)
Al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa said, "I was in Medina. Shaikh Ayyub as-
Sahtiani, who was a wellknown pious Moslem, went into the Masjid ash-
Sharif. I followed him. Hadrat Shaikh faced Rasulullah's tomb and stood
with his back to the qibla. Then he went out." Hadrat Ibn Jama'a wrote in his
book Al-mansak al-kabir, "While visiting, after performing a salat of two
rak'as and praying near the minbar (pulpit), one should come to the qibla
side of the Hujrat as-Sa'ada and, the Prophet's blessed head being on one's
left, should stay two metres away from the wall of al-Marqad ash-Sharif [the
Prophet's shrine] , then, leaving the qibla wall behind and turning slowly till
he faces the Muwajahat as-Sa'ada, should greet. This is so in all the
madhhabs."

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'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi, while explaining the twenty-third of the

"Disasters Caused by the Tongue", writes: "It is makruh to say, while
praying, 'for the right of the prophets, or 'for the right of [such and such
living or dead] wali and to ask Allah for something by saying so, for, it has
been said that no creature has any right on Allah, that is, Allah does not
have to do whatever anybody would like. It is right, yet Allah promised His
beloved servants and recognized a right for them on Himself, that is, He will
accept their wish.
He declared in the Qoran that He gave a right to His human servants on
Himself, for example, 'It has become a right on Us to help the believers.' It
is declared in Al-fatawa al-Bizaziyya, 'It is permitted to ask for something
for the sake of a prophet or a dead or living wali by mentioning his name."
(Al-Hadiqa.)
As it is seen, Moslem scholars said that it was permissible to pray to
Allah through the right and love which Allah had given to His beloved ones.
And no scholar has said that it would be polytheism to pray with the idea
that men have rights on Allah. Only the Wahhabis say so. Though the
Wahhabis praise Al-fatawa al-Bizaziyya in their book Fath al-majid and put
forth his fatwas as documents, they oppose him in this respect. Also,
Hadimi, while explaining the "Disasters Caused by the Tongue", wrote: "
'For the right of Thy Prophet Muhammad,' and, during the wars he asked for
Allah' s help for the right of the poor among the Muhajirun. Also there were
many Moslem 'ulama' who prayed, For the sake of those people whom Thou
hast given whenever they asked Thee.' and, 'For right of Muhammad al-
Ghazali,' and who wrote these prayers in their books." (Hadimi, Bariqa,
Istanbul, 1284.)
The book Al-hisn al-hasin is full of such prayers. It is written in 'Alusi's
Ghaliyya, too, that, when Hadrat Adam asked to be forgiven for the right of
Hadrat Muhammad, Allah declared, "He (Muhammad) is the one I like most
among Mine human creatures. I forgave thee for his right. If it hadn't been
for Muhammad, I wouldn't have created thee."
The Wahhabi writes: "Imam Zain al-'Abidin saw a man pray near the
Prophet's grave and interrupted him by telling him the hadith, Recite salawat
for me. Wherever you are, your greeting will be communicated to me."' It
narrates the event incorrectly and goes on, "Hence, it is forbidden to go
near a grave and pray and recite salawat, which is sort of making graves
places of festival. It is forbidden for those who go to perform ritual salat in
the Masjid an-Nabi to approach the tomb with the view of greeting. None of
the Sahaba did so. They prevented those who wanted to do so. No other
deed but the salawat recited and the greetings said by his umma will be
communicated to the Prophet." (Fath al-Majid, p.
259).
He also writes that the Sa'u di government placed soldiers near the
Prophet's shrine in the Masjid an-Nabi to prevent Moslems from doing so.
(Ibid., p.234.)
Hadrat Yusuf an-Nabhani, at many places of his book on Wahhabism,
refutes theselies: "Imam Zain al-'Abidin did not forbid the visitation to the

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blessed shrine of the Prophet. But he forbade unsuitable and unlawful

behaviours during visiting.
His grandson, imam Ja'far as-Sadiq, used to visit the Prophet's shrine,
and, standing near the pillar which stood in the direction of the Rawda, greet
and say, 'His blessed head is on this side.' 'Do not make [a place of] festival
of my shrine,' means 'Do not visit my shrine on certain days like feast days.
Visit me every time.' " (Shawahid al-haqq, p. 80, 3rd. Edn., Cairo, 1385
(1965).)
"Abu 'Abdullah al-Qurtubi writes in his Attadhkira that the deeds of the
Prophet's umma are communicated to him every morning and every
evening." (pp. 88, 106) "Caliph Mansur, during his visit to the Prophet's
Shrine, asked Imam Malik, 'Shall 1 face the tomb or the qibla?' Imam Malik
said, 'How could you turn away your face from Rasulullah? He is the cau se
of your and your father
Adam's forgiveness!' " (pp. 89, 116) "The hadith, 'Visit sbrines!' is a
command. If a haram is committed during the visit, not the visit itself but
the haram should be forbidden,' (p. 92) "Imam an-Nawawi says in his
Adhkar, 'It is a sunna to visit the shrines of the Prophet and of the pious
Moslems and to stay lo ng near such places of visitation.' " (p. 98) "Ibn
Humam, in his Fath al-qadir, quotes the hadith transmitted by ad-Dara Qutni
and al-Bazzar which says, 'If some one visits me [my shrine] only with a
view to visit me and not to do anytbing else, he has the right to be in
terceded by me on the Day of Judgement.' " (p.l00)."Allah favoured the
awliya' with karamat.
Their karamat are witnessed frequently even after their death. They are
able to be helpful after death, too. It is permitted to have them intercede with
Allah. But one should ask help of them in a lawful manner. It is not
permitted to say, 'I willgive that much... for you if you give me what I
request,' or 'if you cure my sick relative,' which is often uttered by the
ignorant. However, this cannot be regarded as an act causing kufr or
polytheism, because even the utterly ignorant does not think that the wali
would create. He wants the wali to be the cause in Allah's creating. He
thinks that the wali is a human creature whom Allah loves, and says, 'Please
ask Allah to favour me with what I wish; He will not reject your prayer.' As
a matter of fact, Rasulullah said, 'There are many people who are considered
low and worthless but who are Allah's beloved creatures. When they want to
do something, Allah certainly creates it. , This hadith is also quoted on the
381st page of the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid. Obeying such hadiths
Moslems want the awliya' to intercede. Imam Ahmad, ash-Shafi'i, Malik
and al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa said that it was Ja'iz (possible,
permissible) to attain baraka (blessing) through the shrines of the pious.
Those who say that they are of the Ahl as-Sunna or that they belong to one
of the Ahl as-Sunna madhhabs has to say as those imams said.
If not, one may decide that they are not of the Ahl as-Sunna but liars."
(p.l 18).
It is written in the subject of going on hajj on behalf of someone else, in
the book Al-fatawa alHindiyya, (Prepared by Shaikh Nizam Mu 'in ad-din
an-Naqshabandi and others in the time of Muhammad Awrankzib 'Alamgir

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ibn Shah Jihan of the Gurganiyya State (reigned 1068-1118/1658-1707);

printed in Cairo in 1310; 3rd edn. 1393 (1973).) "
It is permissible to devote the thawab of an 'ibada to anybody. Therefore
the thawab of salat, fast, alms, pilgrimage, of recitation of the Qoran, dhikr,
of visitation of the tombs of the prophets, martyrs, awliya' and pious
Moslems, of giving a shroud for a corpse and of all charities and good deeds
can be devoted." It is understood from this passage, too, that visiting the
graves of the awliya' does bring thawab.
The Wahhabis say, "It causes kufr (infidelity) and shirk (polytheism) to
build a dome over a grave, to light oil-lamps for those who worship and
serve in shrines and to vow alms for the souls of the dead! The inhabitants
of al-Haramain [Mecca and Medina] have worshipped domes and walls up
to now..
Building a dome over a grave is haram if it is for ostentation or
ornamentation. If it is for protecting the grave from destruction, it is
makruh.
If it is intended lest a thief or an animal should break in, it is permissible.
But it should not be made a place of visiting, that is, one should not say that
it should be visited at certain times; yet one should have tawassul of and
recite Qoran for the dead when one passes by a grave.
It is not makruh to bury corpses in a building that has been built before.
As-Sahaba buried Rasulullah and his two caliphs in a building. None of
them stood against it. The Hadith informs that their unanimity could not be
heresy. Great Islamic scholar Ibn Abidin wrote: "Some scholars said that it
was makruh to put a covering cloth, a skullcap or a turban over the graves of
pious
Moslems or awliya'. The book Al-fatawa al-hujja says that it is makruh if
it is intended to show everybody the greatness of the one in the grave and
lest he should be insulted and so that those who visit him will be respectful
and in good manners.
Deeds, acts that are not prohibited in al-adillat ash Shar'iyya should be
judged in view of the intention involved. It is true that in the time of as-
Sahana neither domes were built over graves, nor sarcophagus [stone or
wooden] and clothes were put on graves. But none of them was against the
interment of Rasullulah and his two caliphs in a room. For this reason, and
for carrying out the commands in, 'Do not step on graves!' and 'Do not be
disrespectful to your dead!' and because they were not prohibited, they
cannot be bid as though they were done afterwards. All fiqh books
communicate that right after the farewell tawaf [the act of going round the
Ka'ba during the hajj] it is necessary to go out of the Masjid al-Haram as an
act of respect towards the Ka'ba. Whereas, as-Sahaba, because they
respected the Ka'ba in every point, did not use to do so. The posterity, being
unable to show that much reverence, our 'ulama' declared that it was
necessary to show respect by exiting the Masjid walking backwards.
Thus they made it possible for us to be respectful like as-Sahaba.
Likewise, it became permissible to cover the graves of the pious and of the
awliya' with cloth or to build domes over them in order to be respectful like
as-Sahaba. Great savant, Abd alGhani an-Nabulusi explains this in detail in

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his book Kashf an-nur." (Ibn 'Abidin, Hasbiyatu Durr al-mukhtar (Radd al-
mukhtar) p. 232, vol. V. Bulaq, 1272; Kashf an-nur and Jalal ad-din as-
Suyuti's Tanwir al-halak fi imkani ru 'yati 'nNabi jiharan wa 'l-malak were
edited together the third time with the title Al-minhat al-wahbiyya, Isik
Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1974.) In the blessed city of Medina, there were many
shrines called "mashhad" in the Baki Cemetery. The Wahhabis destroyed all
of them. Except the Wahhabis, no Islamic 'alim has said that it would be
polytheism or kufr to build domed tombs or to visit tombs.
Except these deviated people, no one has ever been seen demolishing
tombs.
At the end of the book Halabi-i kabir, it is written, "If a person decides
his land to be a cemetery and if there is empty space in it, it is permissible
for one to build a domed tomb in it with a view to burying corpses. When
there is not any other empty space left, this tomb shall be demolished and
graves shall be dug [at its ground].
For this is a place belonging to the awqaf, devoted to be a cemetery." If
building domed tombs had been known to be polytheistic, or if domed
tombs had been considered to be idols, it would have been always necessary
to demolish them.
The famous Wahhabite book says: "The one who intends to get blessed
(tabarruk) with a tree, stone, grave or the like becomes a polytheist.
Graves have been idolized by building domes over them. The people of
the Jahiliyya Ages, too, worshipped pious persons and statues. Today, all
such and more excessive acts are committed at shrines and graves. To
attempt to get blessed with the graves of pious persons is like worshipping
the idol al-Lat. These polytheists suppose that the awliya' hear and answer
their prayers. They say that they approach the dead by making vows and
giving alms for graves. All these acts are major polytheism. The polytheist
is still a polytheist even if he would call himself another name. Praying the
dead respectfully and affectionately, slaughtering animals, making vows and
other similar acts are all polytheistic whatever they call it. The polytheists of
the present time, using the words 'ta'zim' (respect) and 'tabarruk', say
permissible for what they do." (Fath al-majid, p.133.)
I have already translated in my various books .the answers given by
Moslem scholars to such offensive lampoons of the Wahhabis against the
Ahl as-Sunna Moslems. In the following, a passage from the book Al-usul
al-arba'a fi tardid al-Wahhabiyya is translated to show to the vigilant reader
that the Wahhabis deceive and deviate themselves and take Moslems to
ruination:
"The Qoran, Hadith, the sayings and acts of the Salaf as-salihin and most
of the 'ulama' document point that it is permissible to show ta'zim (respect,
honour) to somebody other than Allahu ta'ala. The 32nd ayat of the surat al-
Hajj states:
"When one shows honour (yu'azzim) to Allah's sha'a'ir, this behaviour is
out of the heart's taqwa. 'Sha'a'ir' means 'indications, signs'. Hadrat Abd
alHaqq ad-Dahlawi said, 'Sha'a'ir is the plural of sha'ira, which means
indication ('alama). Anything that reminds Allahu ta'ala when seen is an
indication of Allahu ta'ala.' The 158th ayat of the surat al-Baqara says: " As-

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Safa and al-Marwa are among the sha'a'ir of Allah." As understood from this
ayat, the hills as-Safa and al-Marwa are not the only indications of Allahu
ta'ala. There are other indications as well. And not only the similar places
'Arafat Muzdalifa and Mina should be cited to be the indications. Shah
Wali-Allah ad-Dahlawi says on the 69th page of his work Hujjat-Allahi 'l-
baligha, 'The greatest indications of Allahu ta'ala are four: the Qoran, the
Ka'ba,the Prophet and the ritual prayers.' And on the 30th page of his book
Altaf al-Quds, he says, 'To love the indications of Allahu ta'ala means to
love anything that reminds Allahu ta'ala. To love the awliya' of Allahu ta'ala
is the same.' (The hadith quoted in Ibn Abi Shaiba's Musnad and al-
Manawi's Kunuz ad-daqa'iq says: "Allahu ta'ala is remembered when awliya
are seen. ")
So the awliya', too, are among the indications.
While the two hills near the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, namely as-Safa
and al-Marwa, between which the Prophet Isma'il's mother Hadrat Hajar
had walked, are among the indications of Allahu ta'ala, and can cause one to
remember that blessed mother, why should not the places where the Prophet
Hadrat Muhammad, who is the most superior of the creatures and the
Darling of Allahu ta'ala, was born and brought up and the places where he
worshipped, migrated, performed salat and passed away and his blessed
shrine and the places of his Al (Ahl al-Bait: Household of the Prophet) and
companions be counted among the indications? Why do the Wahhabis
destroy these places?
"When the Qoran is read attentively and equitably, it will be easily seen
that many ayats express 'ta'zim' for Rasulullah. In the surat al-Hujurat it is
declared: 'O those who believe! Do not pass yourselves beyond Allah and
His Prophet! O those who believe! Do not speak louder than the Prophet's
voice.' Do not call him as you call one another.' The reward for the deeds of
those who would do so will vanish! Allah fills with taqwa hearts of those
who lower their voices in the presence of Allah 's Prophet; He forgives their
sins and gives much reward. Those who shout at him from the outside are
thoughtless;, it is better for them to wait till he comes out. It is apparent to
the one who reads and thinks over these five ayats equitably how much
Allahu ta'ala praises the ta'zim that will b e shown to His Beloved Prophet,
and how importantly He commands the Umma to be respectful and modest
towards him. The degree of this importance can be judged by that the
reward for all the deeds of those who would speak louder before him is of
no avail. These ayats came as a penalty for the seventy people of the Banu
Tamim tribe who had called the Prophet shouting disrespectfully from the
outside in Medina. Today the Wahhabis say that they belong to the Banu
Tamim tribe. It should have been for this that Rasulullah said, 'The violent
and torturous people are in the East,' and 'The Satan will arouse disunion
from there,' pointing to a direction towards the Najd. Another name used for
the Wahhabis is 'Najdis', for they have spread out the Najd country [on the
Arabian Peninsula]. The disunion predicted in the above hadith came out
twelve hundred years later: the Wahhabis came from the Najd to the Hijaz,
plundered Moslems' possessions, killed the men and enslaved the women

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and children. They committed the basest evils that disbelievers yet
committed.
"In the above ayats, the repetitive phrase 'O those who believe,' shows
that all Moslems of all centuries till the Last Day are commanded to be
respectful towards Rasulullah. If the command had been only for his
companions, 'O the Companions of the Prophet,' would have been said. As a
matter of fact, the phrases, 'O the wives of the Prophet,' and 'O the people of
Medina,' are qoranic. The same phrase, 'O those who believe,' is used in the
ayats stating that ritual prayers, fast, pilgrimage, zakat and other 'ibadas are
fard for all Moslems of all times till the Last Day. So, the Wahhabis' idea
that 'the Prophet was to be respected when he was alive; neither respect is to
be shown to nor help is to be asked from him after his death,' is groundless
in view of these ayats.
"The above ayats, indicate that ta'zim towards others besides Allahu
ta'ala is also necessary. The 104th ayat of the surat al-Baqara states: 'O those
who believe! Do not say, "Ra'ina" Ito the Prophet], but say, "Look upon us."
You be listeners Ito Allah's commands]. , Believers used to say, 'Ra'ina,'
(observe, protect us) to the Prophet.
'Ra'ina' also meant 'to swevar, to blemish' in the Jewish language, and the
Jews used this words for the Prophet in this sense. Because it also had this
bad meaning, Allahu ta 'ala forbade the believers to use this word and
protected His Prophet against the possibility of being disrespected. In order
for this respect to be shown till the end of the world. He said, 'O those who
believe! "
"In the 33rd ayat of the surat al-Anfal, Allahu ta'ala declares, 'Allah will
not punish them while you are with them,' and promises not to punish them
till the end of the world. This ayat refutes the Wahhabis' claim that the
Prophet went away and became soil.
They destroy the blessed places inherited from Rasulullah. They say that
these places make people polytheists. If it were polytheism to pray to Allahu
ta'ala at sacred places, Allahu ta'ala would not have ordered us to go on hajj.
Rasulullah would not have kissed the Hajar al-aswad while he was
performing tawaf; nobody would pray at, Arafat and Muzdalifa; stones
would not be thrown at Mina, and Moslems would not walk between asSafa
and al-Marwa. These sacred places would not have been so respected.
"When Sa'd ibn Ma'adh, the head of the Ansar, came to where they
assembled, Rasulullah said, 'Stand up for your leader!' This command was
intended for all of them to do honour to Sa'd. It is wrong to say, 'Sa'd was ill.
It was intended that he should be helped off his riding-animal,' beca.use the
order was for all of them. If it were intended for helping him, the order
would have been for one or two persons; only 'for Sa' d' would have been
said, and there would have been no need to say, 'for your leader.'
"Every time he went from Medina to Mecca for hajj, Abdullah ibn 'Umar
stopped and performed salat and prayed at the sacred places where
Rasulullah had sat. He would get ble ssed (tabarruk) with these places. He
used to put his hands on Rasulullah's minbar (pulpit) and then rub them on
his face. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal used to kiss the Hujrat as-Sa'ada and the
pulpit to get blessed

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by them. The Wahhabis, on the one hand, say that they belong to the
Hanbali madhhab, and, on the other, regard as 'polytheism' what the imam
of this madhhab did. Then, their claim to be Hanbali is a lie. Imam Ahmad
ibn Hanbal put Imam as-hShafi'i's shirt into water and drank the water to
obtain blessings. Hadrat Khalid ibn Zaid Abu Ayyub al-Ansari rubbed his
face against Rasulullah's blessed grave and, when someone wanted to lift
him up, he said: 'Leave me! 1 came not for the stones or soil but for the
audience of Rasulullah.'
"As-Sahaba used to get blessed with the things that belonged to
Rasulullah. They received blessings from the water he used in ablution and
from his blessed sweat, shirt, sceptre, sword, shoes, glass, ring, in short,
from anything he used. Hadrat, Umm Salama, the mother of the faithful,
kept a hair from his blessed beard. When ill people came, she would dip the
hair into water and have them drink the water. With his blessed glass, they
used to drink water for health. Imam al-Bukhari' s grave smelt musk, and
people took soil from the grave to get blessed with it. The 'ulama' of hadith
and fiqh permitted such actions, while the Wahhabis regard them as
polytheism and disbelief." (Al-usul alarba'a, part one.)
In the times of as-Sahaba and the Tabi'un, and even till the end of the
first millennium, there were many awliya' and sulaha' (pl. of salih, the
pious). People used to visit and receive blessings from them as well as
attaining their prayers. There was no need to make intermediary (tawassul)
of the dead or to get blessed (tabarruk) with lifeless things. That these
actions were rare in those days does not mean that they were forbidden. If
they had been forbidden, there would have been those who would prevent
them. No 'alim prevented them.
As the Last Age has set in, however, bid'as and disbelief have increased,
the youth have been deceived by the enemies of Islam in the disguises of
religious authorities and scientists, and, because irreligiousness and apostasy
has suited their purposes, dictators and the cruel, the slaves of their nafses,
have given great support to this current.
The number of 'alims and walis has decreased, even there has been seen
none in the last de cades, and it has become a must to get blessed with the
graves of and the things inherited from the awliya'.
To the unanimity of the 'ulama' (The writings of the 'ulama' on this
subject are quoted in Ahmad bin Zaini Dahlau's Ad-durar as-Saniyya fi 'r-
raddi 'ala 'l-Wahhabiyya, Egypt, 1319 and 1347; photographic reproduction
by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1395 (1975).) of Islam, this lawful practice itself
should not be prevented even though prohibited behaviours (harams) have
been introduced into it as it has been the same with every hadith and
religious affairs, but the bid'as introduced should be removed.

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