Visiting specific graves and certain places for specific beliefs
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Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. Then: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what
was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from: the honorable judge of the Badr Court, the honorable Shaykh Talal ibn 'Abd Allah al-Humaidan, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (31 S) and date 25/4/1425 AH. The questioner asked a question, the text of which is as follows: A group of people believe that visiting the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, and seeking nearness to Allah through them, brings them closer to Allah. So they have made it a habit to visit specific graves at specific times. This includes some of them constantly visiting the Badr cemetery, especially on the 11th and 12th of the month of Rabi' al-Awwal every year, and also on the 16th and 17th of the month of Ramadan every year, and visiting what they call "al-Hanan," which is a high place in the Badr Province, due to beliefs they hold, and other graves. There are also people who welcome them, set up feasts for them when they visit, feel comforted by their presence, and inquire about news for them, regarding the presence or absence of members of the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice at that cemetery when the elders of those people visit it; so that they can avoid having reports drawn up documenting those visits, especially on the aforementioned days. In fact, some of the elders of those people have written their call in some newspapers, calling for the establishment of tourism activities in that province, under the pretext of tourism, and Allah knows best
their intention and purpose, among other things that occur from that aforementioned group. The question, O our honorable Shaykh, is as follows: First: Are the graves of the martyrs of the Battle of Badr located in a specific place, as they claim? And is there a valid text or report indicating the determination of their location? Since that group has determined a specific place for them, which they visit when they go to that general cemetery in Badr Province. Second: Has anything been reported regarding the virtue of visiting the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, such as the martyrs of the Battle of Badr and others, in addition to what has been reported regarding the encouragement to visit graves? Third: What is the ruling on traveling specifically to visit the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, such as the martyrs of the Battle of Badr and others? Fourth: What is the ruling on one who hosts those who come to visit such graves, comforts them, sits with them, and inquires about news for them? Is he rewarded for that or punished? Especially since the visitors travel to this province to visit what they claim to be the graves of the martyrs of the Battle of Badr. Fifth: What action should we take toward those who host those visitors after advising them and warning them of Allah? And is it permissible
for us to boycott him because of that action? I hope our honorable father will answer in detail about this; because I have seen that visiting such graves is greatly increasing, and the call for it in the newspapers has increased its seekers, which has misled the ignorant and increased people's inquiries to us in Badr Province. So I wanted to seek your ruling on this, due to people's trust in what you rule for them, and because this topic requires a specific fatwa that clarifies the truth for people and calls them to it. And Allah is the Helper.
First:
Badr
Second:
Sunan Ibn Majah 1569Sahih (Darussalam)
Third:
Bulugh al-Maram 5:58
Fourth:
Fifth:
[Al-Ma'idah 5:2]
was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from: the honorable judge of the Badr Court, the honorable Shaykh Talal ibn 'Abd Allah al-Humaidan, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (31 S) and date 25/4/1425 AH. The questioner asked a question, the text of which is as follows: A group of people believe that visiting the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, and seeking nearness to Allah through them, brings them closer to Allah. So they have made it a habit to visit specific graves at specific times. This includes some of them constantly visiting the Badr cemetery, especially on the 11th and 12th of the month of Rabi' al-Awwal every year, and also on the 16th and 17th of the month of Ramadan every year, and visiting what they call "al-Hanan," which is a high place in the Badr Province, due to beliefs they hold, and other graves. There are also people who welcome them, set up feasts for them when they visit, feel comforted by their presence, and inquire about news for them, regarding the presence or absence of members of the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice at that cemetery when the elders of those people visit it; so that they can avoid having reports drawn up documenting those visits, especially on the aforementioned days. In fact, some of the elders of those people have written their call in some newspapers, calling for the establishment of tourism activities in that province, under the pretext of tourism, and Allah knows best
their intention and purpose, among other things that occur from that aforementioned group. The question, O our honorable Shaykh, is as follows: First: Are the graves of the martyrs of the Battle of Badr located in a specific place, as they claim? And is there a valid text or report indicating the determination of their location? Since that group has determined a specific place for them, which they visit when they go to that general cemetery in Badr Province. Second: Has anything been reported regarding the virtue of visiting the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, such as the martyrs of the Battle of Badr and others, in addition to what has been reported regarding the encouragement to visit graves? Third: What is the ruling on traveling specifically to visit the graves of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, such as the martyrs of the Battle of Badr and others? Fourth: What is the ruling on one who hosts those who come to visit such graves, comforts them, sits with them, and inquires about news for them? Is he rewarded for that or punished? Especially since the visitors travel to this province to visit what they claim to be the graves of the martyrs of the Battle of Badr. Fifth: What action should we take toward those who host those visitors after advising them and warning them of Allah? And is it permissible
for us to boycott him because of that action? I hope our honorable father will answer in detail about this; because I have seen that visiting such graves is greatly increasing, and the call for it in the newspapers has increased its seekers, which has misled the ignorant and increased people's inquiries to us in Badr Province. So I wanted to seek your ruling on this, due to people's trust in what you rule for them, and because this topic requires a specific fatwa that clarifies the truth for people and calls them to it. And Allah is the Helper.
First:
Badr
Second:
Visit the graves, for they will remind you of the Hereafter.
زوروا القبور فإنها تذكركم الآخرةThird:
One should not undertake journeys except to three mosques: al-Masque al-Haram (in Makkah ), the Aqsa mosque, or this mosque (in Madinah).
لا تشد الرحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجد : المسجد الحرام ، ومسجدي هذا ، والمسجد الأقصىFourth:
Fifth:
And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلاَ تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.