The ruling on praying behind one who believes in seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous
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Q55: The questioner says: If there is a person who believes in or acknowledges seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous, is the prayer valid behind him?
A55: It is a condition for the imam that he be a Muslim of integrity, in his religion, his morals, and his uprightness. He should be a good example in adhering to the Sunnah and avoiding religious innovation, and in abandoning shirk (associating partners with Allah) and its means. Therefore, the one who adopts seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous, or the awliya (close friends of Allah), or the dead, on the basis of the custom of the worshippers of graves today, who use this, or consider it permissible; the prayer is not valid behind him, because his creed is flawed. If he seeks nearness to Allah through the righteous in the sense that he asks them for his needs, seeks relief from distress, calls out to them by their names, and calls upon them for aid, then he is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah); it is major shirk that expels one from the religion, and he is not a Muslim, let alone be taken as an imam for a mosque. It is obligatory for the Muslims to be aware of this, and not to put before their religion and their prayer anyone but one whose creed is sound and whose conduct is upright according to the Book and the Sunnah, avoiding innovations and open sinfulness. Even the Muslim open sinner, according to many scholars, is not valid as an imam if his sinfulness is practical. So how about the open sinner or the innovator who has a flaw in his creed? That is more severe, especially if, as we mentioned, he is among those who seek nearness to Allah through the dead and ask them for their needs. Then he is a mushrik with major shirk, and it is not permissible to pray behind him until he repents to Allah and returns to the fold of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the sincerity of worship to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to save the Muslims by their knowledge of their religion, and to grant them adherence to the Sunnah of their Prophet, and the abandonment of what contradicts it of innovations, superstitions, and newly invented matters, which they thought were part of the religion and believed to be part of the religion, while they are far, far removed from the religion.
Conducting oneself in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, while avoiding religious innovations and open sinfulness, is essential. Even a Muslim who is an open sinner is not considered a valid imam by many scholars, particularly if his sinfulness is practical. How much more so is this the case for an open sinner or an innovator who has a defect in his creed? This is even more severe, especially if, as we have mentioned, he is among those who seek nearness to Allah through the dead and ask them for their needs. Such a person is one who associates partners with Allah in major shirk, and it is not permissible to pray behind him until he repents to Allah and returns to the fold of the oneness of Allah and the sincerity of worship to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to save the Muslims by giving them knowledge of their religion, and to grant them adherence to the Sunnah of their Prophet, and the abandonment of the innovations, superstitions, and newly invented matters that they thought were part of the religion and believed to be part of the religion, whereas they are far removed from the religion.
A55: It is a condition for the imam that he be a Muslim of integrity, in his religion, his morals, and his uprightness. He should be a good example in adhering to the Sunnah and avoiding religious innovation, and in abandoning shirk (associating partners with Allah) and its means. Therefore, the one who adopts seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous, or the awliya (close friends of Allah), or the dead, on the basis of the custom of the worshippers of graves today, who use this, or consider it permissible; the prayer is not valid behind him, because his creed is flawed. If he seeks nearness to Allah through the righteous in the sense that he asks them for his needs, seeks relief from distress, calls out to them by their names, and calls upon them for aid, then he is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah); it is major shirk that expels one from the religion, and he is not a Muslim, let alone be taken as an imam for a mosque. It is obligatory for the Muslims to be aware of this, and not to put before their religion and their prayer anyone but one whose creed is sound and whose conduct is upright according to the Book and the Sunnah, avoiding innovations and open sinfulness. Even the Muslim open sinner, according to many scholars, is not valid as an imam if his sinfulness is practical. So how about the open sinner or the innovator who has a flaw in his creed? That is more severe, especially if, as we mentioned, he is among those who seek nearness to Allah through the dead and ask them for their needs. Then he is a mushrik with major shirk, and it is not permissible to pray behind him until he repents to Allah and returns to the fold of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the sincerity of worship to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to save the Muslims by their knowledge of their religion, and to grant them adherence to the Sunnah of their Prophet, and the abandonment of what contradicts it of innovations, superstitions, and newly invented matters, which they thought were part of the religion and believed to be part of the religion, while they are far, far removed from the religion.
Conducting oneself in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, while avoiding religious innovations and open sinfulness, is essential. Even a Muslim who is an open sinner is not considered a valid imam by many scholars, particularly if his sinfulness is practical. How much more so is this the case for an open sinner or an innovator who has a defect in his creed? This is even more severe, especially if, as we have mentioned, he is among those who seek nearness to Allah through the dead and ask them for their needs. Such a person is one who associates partners with Allah in major shirk, and it is not permissible to pray behind him until he repents to Allah and returns to the fold of the oneness of Allah and the sincerity of worship to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to save the Muslims by giving them knowledge of their religion, and to grant them adherence to the Sunnah of their Prophet, and the abandonment of the innovations, superstitions, and newly invented matters that they thought were part of the religion and believed to be part of the religion, whereas they are far removed from the religion.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.