The ruling on asking a deceased person for supplication at his grave

Question:
What is the ruling, O Shaykh, on one who comes to the dead and says, "Call upon Allah for me"?

Answer:
It is permissible. This is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), such as saying, “Intercede for me,” or “Intercede for me and ask Allah for me.” “Intercede for me” and “ask Allah for me” are one and the same; that is the meaning. If one says to the deceased, “Ask for me,” or “Intercede for me,” or “Help me,” or “Cure my sick person,” this is shirk. The deceased’s deeds are cut off; he cannot supplicate for you, nor can he intercede for you, except on the Day of Resurrection. If he says, “No,” the matter is over. This is the religion of the polytheists. They do not worship them except to say, “They brought us close to Allah. These are our intercessors with Allah.” That is what they say. But you say, “O Allah, forgive him. O Allah, have mercy on this Your servant. O Allah, save him from the Fire. O Allah, admit him to Paradise.” He needs your supplication, and they need you to supplicate for them. What do they have? He needs you; you supplicate for him. It is as if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he finished burying someone, would stand over the grave and seek forgiveness for his brother. It is the same as the prayer for the deceased; it is not asked for. And when he visited the graves, he would supplicate for them. He taught his Companions (peace and blessings be upon him) to say, “When you visit the graves, he taught them to say: May Allah have mercy on those who came before and those who came after. And he would say, “O Allah, forgive the people of al-Baqirah from Your creation. May Allah forgive us and you.” This is how one visits the graves: one supplicates for them, even though they have no power and no intellect. They need the supplication, that you supplicate for them, seek forgiveness for them, and ask for mercy for them. What do they have? You ask them to intercede for a sick person, but they could not ward off sickness or death from themselves. They are poor in relation to Allah. Allah is the Rich, the Praiseworthy. They are poor while they are alive; how much more so when they are dead? They are poor while they are alive, even if they were kings. When they die, their poverty is greater and their need is greater. Their deeds are cut off, except for what they left running in their lifetimes, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He did not say that he supplicates to him other than Allah; he said that he supplicates for him.

The presenter:
But it is correct.