Wiping over Idols and Praying in Shrines
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The Shaykh did not err in this matter. I have seen in some foreign lands a doctor who wipes over an idol, claiming it is 'Aziz (peace be upon him), and weeps before it. Just as I saw previously, they claim it is the grave of al-Husayn ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), which is in the mosque's courtyard, and they arrange the Qur'an before it. What is the ruling on this? And does he know anything more?
Answer:
All of this is invalid. And if they hope for this idol, or seek from it, or call upon it for aid, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah). And it is not permissible to pray in a mosque that contains an idol; prayer is not permissible in it, because with it, it is not a mosque, but rather a shrine called a shrine, not a mosque. Yes.
The Shaykh did not err in this matter. I have seen in some foreign lands a doctor who wipes over an idol, claiming it is 'Aziz (peace be upon him), and weeps before it. Just as I saw previously, they claim it is the grave of al-Husayn ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), which is in the mosque's courtyard, and they arrange the Qur'an before it. What is the ruling on this? And does he know anything more?
Answer:
All of this is invalid. And if they hope for this idol, or seek from it, or call upon it for aid, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah). And it is not permissible to pray in a mosque that contains an idol; prayer is not permissible in it, because with it, it is not a mosque, but rather a shrine called a shrine, not a mosque. Yes.
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين في تحقيق دعوة الأنبياء والمرسلين، باب من تبرك بشجر أو حجر ونحوهما — islamhouse.com (59:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.