The Ruling on Visiting Graves for the Purpose of Seeking Blessing and Holding Feasts for the Awliya

Question:
A listener from Jordan who did not give his name says in his first question: We know that seeking aid from graves and asking for help from those buried in them is a form of shirk (associating partners with Allah). In our village, when a man has a child, whether a boy or a girl, they take the child to the graves, to what is called the wali (close friend of Allah) or the righteous person, exactly forty days after the birth. They prepare food and drink there, such as tea and other things, and they place green branches on the grave. They also take some of the grave’s soil. When they return, they hold a feast called “the dinner of the dead.” When they slaughter an animal, they say, “This is for so-and-so the wali,” naming him by name. The question is: What is the ruling on this visit? What is your opinion of this practice and of this feast which is intended for the wali? May Allah reward you.

Answer:
This visit with this intention is a forbidden bid'ah (religious innovation), and these actions, such as placing trees on the grave of the deceased,