Who is Sayyid al-Badawi, and was he a wali (close friend of Allah)?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner asks: Who is Sayyid al-Badawi? And was he a wali (close friend of Allah), or did he not pray?

Answer:
He is biographed in the book *Al-'Aqd al-Thamin fi 'Ulama al-Balad al-Amin* by al-Fasi. He is given a long biography stating that he was originally from the people of Makkah and that he went to the Maghreb, passing through Egypt. Yes, he passed through Egypt. They say that he entered the mosque, urinated in it, and left without praying the Friday prayer. They said, "This is a wali (close friend of Allah); he would not have done this act unless he were a wali (close friend of Allah)." When he died, they built the famous shrine of al-Badawi over his grave, because they believe that a wali (close friend of Allah) is not held accountable for whatever he does, whatever he does, because it is permissible for him to do so. They believed that he only did these acts because he was a wali (close friend of Allah). Thus, they held this ugly, false belief about him. Now, those who visit him, slaughter animals at his grave, and perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) at his grave by the thousands—may Allah protect us from that. He is the greatest idol in Egypt. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.