1- Ibn ‘Aqīl al-Ḥanbalī (d. 513 A.H.):
"When the ignoramus rabble found religious duties demanding, they left the dictates of the Sharī‘ah regarding worship for their own innovated constructions. This became easy for them since it was what they themselves
invented.
As far as I am concerned, they are Kuffār because of these innovations.
An example of this is the glorification and honoring of graves in ways
and manners prohibited by the Sharī‘ah by setting up torches on graves, kissing, and perfuming them. They also ask the dead to meet their needs and write on such graves, reading, “O my master, do such and such for me.” They take the earth from graves for blessing, pour perfumes on it, and travel to such graves. They tie up pieces of clothing on trees (for blessing or protection) in imitation of those who worship Al-Lāt and Al-‘Uzzá.
You will not find among such individuals one who can research an issue of
Zakāh to such an extent that he will provide an appropriate ruling on that
which is binding on him. But you see them condemning and castigating
anyone who does not venerate the shrine of Al-Kaff, or does not rub himself
with the red brick dust of the Al-Malmusah mosque on Wednesday."
📕 Ibn Al-Jawzī, Talbīs Iblīs, p. 914
2- Imam Abū Shāmah Al-Maqdisī ash-Shāfi‘ī (d. 665 A.H.):
"He talks about how bid‘ah is divided into haram and makruh. When speaking about the haram kinds of bid‘ah, he mentions how many of the ignorant are guilty of the Shirk alluded to in Surah 42:21 because they follow their Shaykhs who justify violating clear commandments in Islam.
Similar to this, he speaks about how among the principles of the kufr of idol worshippers is venerating and seeking help from the saints."
📕 Al-Bā‘ith ‘alá Inkār al-Bida‘ wal-Ḥawādith, pp. 25-26:
3- Imam Shihāb ad-Dīn Al-Qarāfī al-Mālikī (d. 684 A.H.):
He spoke about how many of the ignoramuses among the Sufis fell into kufr for exaggerating the status and abilities of their Shaykhs to the point of believing that Allah gave them the power of “kun” to will things into effect
📕 Anwār al-Burūq fi Anwār al-Furūq, vol. 4, p. 446
4- Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 A.H.)
Whoever seeks aid (istaghātha) from a deceased person or one who is not
present from humans, such that he supplicated to him during difficulties and times of burden, and he asks of him the fulfillment of needs, so he says: ‘Oh
my master (sayyidī) so and so, I am under your protection.’ Or he says when
the enemy attacks him, ‘Oh my master so and so,’ seeking aid in removing
hardship. Or he says this when he is sick, poor, and other than that from his
needs. This (individual) is misguided, ignorant, a polytheist, and a
disobeyer of Allah by the agreement of the Muslims
📕 Jāmiʿ ar-Risāʾil, vol. 3, pp.145-151
5- Imam Ibn Kathīr ash-Shāf‘ī (d. 774 A.H.):
And in this month, Shaykh Taqī ad-Dīn ibn Taymiyyah went to masjid al-
Nāranj and ordered his companions, along with stonemasons, to cut a rock
that was by Qalūṭ river—and it is visited and has vows made to it—So it
was cut, and he brought comfort to the Muslims from it along with the
Shirk displayed to it.
📕 Al-Bidāyah wal-Nihāyah, vol. 18, p. 46
6- Ibn an-Naḥās ash-Shāf‘ī (d. 814 A.H.):
Among which is setting up torches at shrines of stone, trees, rivers, and
wells. And they say such objects accept vows. All of these are not only
reprehensible innovations but despicable evil that is obligatory to wipe out.
Most of these ignoramuses believe these objects bring benefit or prevent
harm, cure the sick, and return the lost home if a vow is made for it. This is
Shirk and antagonism toward Allah and His Prophet.
📕 Tanbīhul-Ghāfilīn, p. 522
7- Taqiyyuddīn Al-Maqrīzī ash-Shāfi‘ī (d. 845 A.H.)
And it has reached me that the marble by the gate they introduced in the
masjid had been erected in the form of a grave. For God’s sake! Verily, the
fitnah with this place, and another in the same area known as Ja‘far Aṣ-
Ṣādiq, is very great! For both have become like the pagan altars of old
which the Arab polytheists had erected. The foolish and women rush to
these places at times of tribulation. They bring forth to these two places their problems and needs whose solutions they ought to seek from Allah alone.
They ask in these two places what none has ability over except Allah
alone. Examples of which are: paying back debts, seeking a child, and other
related requests. They make vows of gifting olive oil to these places with
the assumption that that will protect them from life’s challenges and that it
will bring benefits! By my life, this is an effort in futility! We thank Allah
for the safety of religious admonitions and the contemplation of the affairs
of those gone past
📕 Al-Mawā‘iẓ wal-‘Itibār bi-dhikr Al-Khiṭaṭ wal-Āthār, vol. 3, p. 94
Elsewhere, Al-Maqrīzī distinguishes between Tawḥīd ar-Rubūbīyyah and Tawḥīd al-Ulūhīyyah, and he mentions that the bulk of the major Shirk committed by polytheists fell under Tawḥīd al-Ulūhīyyah. He also mentions how people who visit graves fall under different categories and that those who go to the graves and call upon the dead are guilty of Shirk al-Ulūhīyyah and love.
📕 Tajrīd at-Tawḥīd al-Mufīd, pp. 14-20
8- Qāsim b. Quṭlūbughā (d. 879 A.H.)
"As for vows that most of the laity make, as is observed, in which case a
person has a missing or a sick loved one or urgent needs, he then proceeds
to some of the acclaimed saints. He puts his vest on his head and says: “O
my master so and so, if you return my missing person or cure my sick, or
resolve my need, I promise to give you a charity of such and such gold or
silver or food or water or candles or oil." This vow is void by the consensus
of scholars for several reasons:
Among these is that this is a vow for a creature, and a vow to creatures is not permitted because it is an act of worship. Acts of worship are not meant for other than Allah. And [another reason] is that the vow is given to a dead person who does not possess anything. And [another reason] is that if he thinks that the dead can do things without Allah’s Will, then his belief is kufr."
📕 Maṭālib Ahl al-Qurbah fī Sharḥ Du‘ā’ Abī Ḥarbah, p. 168
Notice how Ibn Quṭlūbughā states that giving vows to others other than Allah is Shirk, and he provides this as a separate reason for it being Shirk than a possible (because he said, “if”) belief in attributing self-sufficiency to the entity.
Prominent Ḥanafī scholars succeeding Ibn Quṭlūbughā relayed his words in agreement,
such as Ibn Nujaym (d. 970 A.H.),
‘Alā’ ad-Dīn al-Ḥaṣfakī (d. 1088 A.H.), aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī (d. 1231 A.H.), Ibn ‘Ābidīn (d. 1252 A.H.)
al-Baḥr ar-Rāiq, vol. 2, p. 320
9- Ibn Ṭāhir Al-Fattanī al-Ḥanafī (d. 986 A.H.)
And among them are those who deliberately travel to visit the graves of
Prophets and pious people to pray by their graves and offer Ṣalāh there as
well. They ask the dead for their needs. This is not permitted by any Muslim scholar, for worship and requesting help or needs are for Allah alone.
📕 Majma‘ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 2, p. 444
10- Aḥmad b. ‘Abdul Aḥad As-Sirhindī al-Ḥanafī (d. 1034 A.H.):
Dissociating from Kufr is a condition for the validity of Islam. So also is
avoiding any taint of Shirk on Tawhīd (Islamic monotheism). Seeking help
and protection from sickness and diseases from idols and Ṭāghūt has
become prevalent among the ignoramuses who ascribe themselves to Islam; this is the very essence of Shirk and misguidance… unto Allah we
complain about the situation of misguided people who strive to seek the judgment of the very Ṭāghūt they were told to disbelieve in…most women
are afflicted with this type of prohibited seeking of assistance because of
the presence of complete ignorance in them.
They seek prevention from calamity with these empty names that apply to no real entity. So severely are they afflicted by the people and practices of Shirk… just as some ignoramuses among those who ascribe themselves to Islam –particularly women- who carry out practices of the people of Kufr. And all of these constitute Shirk and Kufr in Islam. Allah says:
And most of them do not believe in Allah except they still commit Shirk (Qur’ān, 12:102)
Their slaughtering of animals vowed to the graves of their shaykhs is also deemed Shirk by jurists in various juristic views. Examples of these:
they fast for them … and they seek their needs from them with these fasting,
and they claim such shaykhs resolve their problems! This action is Shirk
in worshiping Allah and seeking help from another creature in resolving
a need by offering them worship.
📕 Al-Muntakhabāt min al-Maktūbāt, vol. 3, p. 45
11- Aḥmad b. ‘Abdul Qādir ar-Rūmī Al-Ḥanafī (d. 1041 A.H.)
And some of them do Istighāthah with creatures, whether dead or alive,
Muslim or non-Muslim. And Shayṭān takes the shape of such individuals
and solves the needs of those who did Istighāthah with him. So the ignorant
assume it was the dead person he had sought Istighāthah of. This is not as
he has imagined; it is the Shayṭān who misled him because he had committed Shirk. For verily, Shaytan leads humans astray according to his ability… if he were to assist them in achieving some goals, he harms them in far greater ways. If the individual identifies as Muslim, Shayṭān comes to him in the form of those sheikhs he has a good opinion of; for Shayṭān comes many times in the form of pious people; the exception is the Prophet, whom he cannot take his shape.
12- Imam Ḍiyā’ ad-Dīn Ṣāliḥ b. Mahdī Al-Kawkabānī (d. 1108 A.H.)
One of the Sharīfs of Makkah came to me. He used to be a Ṣūfī while I use
to reprimand him for it. When he came, he was in a state of shock saying: I
mentioned Allah and His Messenger to someone and he responded to me
angrily: I do not know Allah and His Prophet, I only know my Shaykh!
Some intelligent people visited Ibn ‘Abbās and saw how people went into
extremes about him. He said to one of the principals, teachers, and Ṣūfis of
Makkah: the people of Aṭ-Ṭā’if do not know Allah; they have taken Ibn
‘Abbās as a god besides Allah! He immediately lost face with that teacher
who reprimanded him saying: I did not think you were this ignorant and
heedless! Even if they do not know Allah, it is sufficient that they know ibn
‘Abbās because he knows Allah!
They came up with lots of lies and fabrications, among which is that Al-
Junayd was once walking on water while he chanted: O Allah! O Allah!
He, however, said to his student: You should say: O Junayd! O Junayd! As
they both walked on the water, the student said: O Allah! And He began
sinking, to which Junayd reprimanded him and told him to continue with
saying, “O Junayd!” When the student repented and started saying “O
Junayd!” he started walking on water again! (Of such horrendous lies) is their statement Munkar and Nakīr came to a
dead person in his grave, and as they asked him: who is your Lord? He
replied my Shaykh so-and-so. They repeated the question, and he repeated
the answer. The two angels then said He is truthful, then they let him be!!
Whosever condemns these is called blockheaded and helpless! They accuse
him of not loving the Awliyā,
or other forms of name-calling. They have surpassed those Allah described: We worship them only to draw closer
to God (Qur’ān, 39:3)
There appears to be no solution to these people other than the sword, but those in authority now are the most ignorant of Allah’s creatures and the most deceived by these issues.
📕 al-Abḥāth al-Musaddadah fi Funūn Muta‘addidah, pp. 158-159
13- Imam Ad-Dahlawī (d. 1176 A.H.)
“Realise that asking needs from the dead, [even] while recognising that this is a means to having it fulfilled, is kufr. It must be avoided. This kalimah (i.e. the shahādah) forbids it, and yet people today are engrossed in it.” (al-Khayr al-Kathīr, al-Majlis al-‘Ilmī, p. 105)
13- Thanā’ullah Al-‘Uthmānī Al-Pānībuttī Al-Ḥanafī (1225 A.H.)
It is not allowed to worship other than Allah, as it is not permissible to seek
the help of others other than Him, as this is solely a right of Allah. As He
Himself, glorified is He, restricted this with the statement:
You alone, we worship; You alone, we seek help from (Surah 1:5)
It is not allowed to call on Awliyā because it is worship and neither is it
allowed to prostrate or genuflect to graves nor make Ṭawāf around them
because Ṭawāf is meant for the Ka‘bah alone and its Ṭawāf is an act of worship like Ṣalāh. This is not permissible for other than Allah. It is also not permissible to supplicate to Awliyā’ and Prophets at times of tribulation, whether dead or alive, because supplications are acts of worship. This is categorically mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah.
Unfortunately, you see some ignoramuses saying, at times of crisis,
“O Shaikh Abdul-Qādir Al-Jaylānī do something for Allah’s sake!”
Some of them will say: “O khawājah Shamsuddīn Al-Pānībūttī do
something for Allah’s sake”! All of these are not permissible. In fact, it is
Shirk and Kufr. Because Allah said: Verily, those you call unto besides
Allah are creatures like you, call on them and let us see if they will respond to you if you are truly truthful (Qur’ān, 7:194)
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