Exegesis of the phenomenon of the coffin that moves by itself and the ruling on karamat (miracles granted to a righteous person)
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Question:
And the brother 'Abd al-Muhsin Muhammad Musa sent a message from... A phenomenon among us, which is that a deceased person was being carried on a coffin, but the coffin began to move on its own, and it started rotating around the entire town, and no one was able to stop it until Allah willed, and they loaded it onto a car to go to the cemetery. What is the explanation of this phenomenon? Is it a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) from the awliya (close friends of Allah)? Or does it have no connection to the deed? I hope you will clarify this and inform us.
Answer:
If this report is authentic, then the apparent reality, and Allah knows best, is that it is the work of the jinn and the shayatin to deceive people, or to make them believe that this man is one of the awliya (close friends of Allah) so that they worship him alongside Allah, dig at his grave, build a mosque on it, and so on. This is what appears to be the case with this coffin that is moving on its own; it seems that the shayatin are carrying it. The shayatin see us, but we do not see them, as He the Exalted said:[Al-A'raf 7:27] They may carry a person from one country to another, or from one region to another. They may stand in the mosque at 'Arafah, playing with people and deluding them, while they are the enemies of Allah. Therefore, one should never be deceived by this; rather, this is the work of the shayatin and the wicked jinn to delude and deceive. They may intend by this to make the ignorant believe that the owner of the coffin is one of the awliya (close friends of Allah) who is worshipped alongside Allah and called upon alongside Allah, as the ignorant suppose. They did this with al-Badawi and others, and the ignorant did this with al-Husayn because he is the son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and they did this with Shaykh 'Abd al-Khalid and others, worshipping them alongside Allah under the claim that they are awliya (close friends of Allah). This is a great ignorance. Yes. When its time comes. Yes. It is never permissible to worship anyone alongside Him. Not the prophets, and not anyone other than the prophets. Worship is His right, Glorified and Exalted is He: [Al-Fatihah 1:5] And they cover the grave from them [Al-Isra 17:23] [Al-Bayyinah 98:5] their oath.
Even if a person appears in the air, even if he splits water, even if he does anything, and even if it is called a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person), he is not worshipped alongside Allah, and he does not become a wali (close friend of Allah) unless he is obedient to Allah, follows His Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law), avoids His prohibitions, and is bound by the Shari'ah in all his affairs. This is the wali (close friend of Allah); this is the believer. But even so, he is not worshipped alongside Allah. The spirit of the best of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the greatest thing with Allah is not worshipped. Worship is the right of Allah alone. As al-Masih (Jesus) said to them: "I only intended for you to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." The point is that worship is the right of Allah, and it is not permissible for any person, not the prophets, and not anyone other than the prophets. Rather, it is the right of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
These deceptions and these confusions from the shayatin, which occur sometimes in some regions and countries, one must be cautious of them and be alert to them. And anything that contradicts the Shari'ah of Allah, one should not be deceived by it, nor should one pay attention to it. For the Sunnah (the Prophet's way) of Allah for His servants is that a coffin does not move by itself; it must be carried. The Companions of the Prophet carried the funeral of the original [Companions]; the Companions witnessed the coffins, and they did not move in their [regions], nor did they travel in their [regions]. It is all the work of the shayatin who think that this person is one of the prophets of Allah so that he is worshipped alongside Allah, and so that they believe in him what is not due except to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. And the awliya (close friends of Allah), however they may be
And the brother 'Abd al-Muhsin Muhammad Musa sent a message from... A phenomenon among us, which is that a deceased person was being carried on a coffin, but the coffin began to move on its own, and it started rotating around the entire town, and no one was able to stop it until Allah willed, and they loaded it onto a car to go to the cemetery. What is the explanation of this phenomenon? Is it a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) from the awliya (close friends of Allah)? Or does it have no connection to the deed? I hope you will clarify this and inform us.
Answer:
If this report is authentic, then the apparent reality, and Allah knows best, is that it is the work of the jinn and the shayatin to deceive people, or to make them believe that this man is one of the awliya (close friends of Allah) so that they worship him alongside Allah, dig at his grave, build a mosque on it, and so on. This is what appears to be the case with this coffin that is moving on its own; it seems that the shayatin are carrying it. The shayatin see us, but we do not see them, as He the Exalted said:
Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them
إِنَّهُ يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْIt is You we worship and You we ask for help.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُyour Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him
رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُAnd they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَEven if a person appears in the air, even if he splits water, even if he does anything, and even if it is called a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person), he is not worshipped alongside Allah, and he does not become a wali (close friend of Allah) unless he is obedient to Allah, follows His Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law), avoids His prohibitions, and is bound by the Shari'ah in all his affairs. This is the wali (close friend of Allah); this is the believer. But even so, he is not worshipped alongside Allah. The spirit of the best of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the greatest thing with Allah is not worshipped. Worship is the right of Allah alone. As al-Masih (Jesus) said to them: "I only intended for you to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." The point is that worship is the right of Allah, and it is not permissible for any person, not the prophets, and not anyone other than the prophets. Rather, it is the right of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
These deceptions and these confusions from the shayatin, which occur sometimes in some regions and countries, one must be cautious of them and be alert to them. And anything that contradicts the Shari'ah of Allah, one should not be deceived by it, nor should one pay attention to it. For the Sunnah (the Prophet's way) of Allah for His servants is that a coffin does not move by itself; it must be carried. The Companions of the Prophet carried the funeral of the original [Companions]; the Companions witnessed the coffins, and they did not move in their [regions], nor did they travel in their [regions]. It is all the work of the shayatin who think that this person is one of the prophets of Allah so that he is worshipped alongside Allah, and so that they believe in him what is not due except to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. And the awliya (close friends of Allah), however they may be
Source
فتاوى في العقيدة - 2 - ابن باز — archive.org (29:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.