The ruling on what the Sufis do in designating specific nights for dhikr and specific forms for it, and their saying "Maddad, O so-and-so"
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Fatwa number ( 3560 ):
Q: The shaykhs of the tariqas of the Sufis are widespread in the countries, and they give the murids oaths, and whoever takes the oath must never betray it. They designate specific nights for group dhikr with specific names; such as Allah, or Hayy, or Qayyum, or Ah, in the form of circles or rows, standing or sitting, swaying to the right or left, with a group chanting anthems and praises for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the other prophets and the righteous, usually with drums, hand drums, and flutes. Some of the attendees may pay money called: Nuqta, and sometimes there are no hand drums, flutes, or Nuqta. Then the reciters say: Maddad, O our master al-Husayn, Maddad, O Lady
Zaynab, Maddad, O master, O Badawi , Maddad, O my grandfather, O Messenger of Allah, Maddad, O awliya (close friends of Allah). And some people vow a sheep or money or the like for al-Sayyid al-Badawi or al-Husayn or Lady Zaynab or others. And they may slaughter a ram at the shrine of the shaykh for whom the vow was made and put the vowed money in the box at the shrine of the shaykh. Are these matters permissible or forbidden? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
A: First: The Muslims, men and women, used to make covenants with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and pledge allegiance to him regarding Islam in belief, speech, and action. And Allah the Exalted commanded them to obey Him in everything He brought them from the Qur'an and the authentic hadiths about Him, and He coupled their obedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with obedience to Him, Glorified is His status. Indeed, He made their obedience to Him part of obedience to Him, Mighty and Majestic, in many verses of the Qur'an. He said:[An-Nisa 4:69] And He said: [An-Nisa 4:80] And He said: [Al-Ma'idah 5:92] And He made, Glorified is He, their following of Him in what He brought them from the Book and the Sunnah a sign
of their love for Allah and a cause for His love of them and His forgiveness of their sins. So He said, Glorified is His status:[Ali 'Imran 3:31-32] It is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he pledged allegiance to any of his Companions, neither the Rightly Guided Caliphs nor others, or made a covenant with them in the manner of the shaykhs of the tariqas of the Sufis , who take oaths from their murids to remember Allah with specific singular names from the names of Allah, such as Allah, Hayy, and Qayyum, and to make that their dhikr which they commit to and repeat every day and night, not going beyond those names to other names of Allah except with the permission of the shaykh, otherwise they would be disobedient to the shaykh, ill-mannered with him, and it is feared that the servants of the names will harm them for exceeding the limits. Add to that that every shaykh of the shaykhs of the tariqas of the Sufis strives his utmost to sow the seeds of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and division between his murids and the murids of the other shaykhs, until they divided their religion and became sects and parties, each calling to his innovation and warning his murids against showing loyalty to the shaykhs of the other tariqas of the Sufis or taking their oaths or moving to the tariqa of another shaykh... and so on of the obligations for which Allah has not sent down any authority, and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has not legislated. So true was His saying about them, the Exalted: [Al-An'am 6:159]
For it is not known of him that he remembered Allah with a singular name such as: Hayy, or Qayyum, or Haqq, or Allah, nor did he command remembering with it or making it a dhikr to be repeated every day and night. Nor is it known of him that he warned against the believers showing loyalty to one another; rather, he commanded their loyalty and love for one another, as Allah the Exalted praised them for that, saying:[At-Tawbah 9:71] And it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sahih al-Bukhari 13 Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim . And it is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sahih al-Bukhari 6064 Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim .
Second: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the virtue of gathering to recite, study, reflect upon, and understand the meanings of the Book of Allah. He said (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 2699a narrated by Muslim . He also demonstrated his meaning by his actions; sometimes he would recite and let those of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) present hear him, to teach them how to recite and pace the recitation. Sometimes he would order some of his Companions to recite, out of his love for hearing it from others. It is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): . It was narrated by al-Bukhari. He would intersperse his sermons with admonition, fearing they would become bored, and he would sit with them in the mosque or elsewhere to guide them and teach them matters of their religion. Sometimes he would pose questions to them to alert them and draw their attention, so that when their minds were engaged and they were eager for the answer, he would give it to them, and it would take the best place in their hearts, and they would memorize and understand it in the best way.
This is established in what al-Bukhari and others narrated from Abu Waqid al-Laythi (may Allah be pleased with him), and in what al-Bukhari and others also narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 62, and so on, which is a practical explanation of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) gathering with them for the remembrance of Allah, being teaching, guidance, admonition, testing, and recitation of the Book of Allah with understanding and consideration. It is not known
of him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he specified days and nights of the week in which he and his Companions would gather to remember Allah the Exalted in groups, using a singular name from His beautiful names, standing or sitting in circles or rows, swaying like drunkards and swaying like dancers, delighted by the tunes of the songs, the melodies of the singers, the drums and hand drums, and the sounds of the flutes. By this, it is known that what the Sufis do today is an invented religious innovation and a loathsome misguidance; because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1718a agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Third: The saying of the group of reciters: "Help, O our master al-Husayn, help, O lady Zaynab, help, O Badi'i , O Shaykh of the Arabs, help, O Messenger of Allah, help, O friends of Allah..." and the like of that is the most deniable and the greatest sin, for it is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that takes its speaker out of the religion of Islam, and we seek refuge in Allah from that; because it is a call to the dead to give them good, and to aid them and repel or remove a harm from them. That is because the meaning of "help" (maddad) here is giving, aid, and support. So the meaning of the speaker's saying: "(Give us your help, O master, O Badi'i , help, O lady Zaynab ... etc.)" is: give us your gift and your good, and remove the hardship from us and repel the calamity from us. And this is major shirk. Allah the Exalted said, after explaining His management of the universe and His subjugation of it to His will: [Fatir 35:13-14]
So He named their supplication: shirk (associating partners with Allah), and He the Exalted said:[Al-Ahqaf 46:5-6] So He the Exalted informed that those called upon other than Him, from the prophets and the righteous, are heedless of the supplication of those who call upon them and do not respond to their supplication ever, and that they will be their enemies and will disbelieve in their worship of them. And He said: [Al-A'raf 7:191-194] the verses, and He said: [Al-Mu'minun 23:117] So He the Exalted informed that whoever calls upon the dead or the like of them other than Allah has no success because of his disbelief due to his calling upon other than Allah. Fourth: A vow of obedience, such as slaughtering livestock and spending money in the causes of righteousness, is worship, due to Allah the Exalted's praise of those who fulfill it and His promise of reward for it.
He the Exalted said: And He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:270] And on this basis, whoever vows obedience to Allah must fulfill it, and whoever vows to slaughter for other than Allah has committed shirk (associating partners with Allah), and it is forbidden for him to fulfill it, and he must repent from the shirk and its branches. He the Exalted said: [Al-An'am 6:162-163] And He said: [Al-Kawthar 108:1-2]. So the Muslim must follow the Book of Allah the Exalted and proceed on the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and worship Allah the Exalted as He has prescribed, and be sincere in supplication and all types of worship, such as vows to Him, reliance upon Him, and turning to Him in hardship and ease. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: The shaykhs of the tariqas of the Sufis are widespread in the countries, and they give the murids oaths, and whoever takes the oath must never betray it. They designate specific nights for group dhikr with specific names; such as Allah, or Hayy, or Qayyum, or Ah, in the form of circles or rows, standing or sitting, swaying to the right or left, with a group chanting anthems and praises for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the other prophets and the righteous, usually with drums, hand drums, and flutes. Some of the attendees may pay money called: Nuqta, and sometimes there are no hand drums, flutes, or Nuqta. Then the reciters say: Maddad, O our master al-Husayn, Maddad, O Lady
Zaynab, Maddad, O master, O Badawi , Maddad, O my grandfather, O Messenger of Allah, Maddad, O awliya (close friends of Allah). And some people vow a sheep or money or the like for al-Sayyid al-Badawi or al-Husayn or Lady Zaynab or others. And they may slaughter a ram at the shrine of the shaykh for whom the vow was made and put the vowed money in the box at the shrine of the shaykh. Are these matters permissible or forbidden? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
A: First: The Muslims, men and women, used to make covenants with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and pledge allegiance to him regarding Islam in belief, speech, and action. And Allah the Exalted commanded them to obey Him in everything He brought them from the Qur'an and the authentic hadiths about Him, and He coupled their obedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with obedience to Him, Glorified is His status. Indeed, He made their obedience to Him part of obedience to Him, Mighty and Majestic, in many verses of the Qur'an. He said:
And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions.
وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقًاHe who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah; but those who turn away - We have not sent you over them as a guardian.
مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ وَمَنْ تَوَلَّى فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًاAnd obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware. And if you turn away - then know that upon Our Messenger is only [the responsibility for] clear notification.
وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَاحْذَرُوا فَإِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا عَلَى رَسُولِنَا الْبَلاغُ الْمُبِينُof their love for Allah and a cause for His love of them and His forgiveness of their sins. So He said, Glorified is His status:
(31) Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (32) Say, "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers.
قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (31) قُلْ أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَIndeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects - you, [O Muhammad], are not [associated] with them in anything. Their affair is only [left] to Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَFor it is not known of him that he remembered Allah with a singular name such as: Hayy, or Qayyum, or Haqq, or Allah, nor did he command remembering with it or making it a dhikr to be repeated every day and night. Nor is it known of him that he warned against the believers showing loyalty to one another; rather, he commanded their loyalty and love for one another, as Allah the Exalted praised them for that, saying:
The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُولَئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌNone of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself.
لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى يحب لأخيه ما يحب لنفسهBeware of suspicion, for suspicion is the worst of false tales; and do not look for the others' faults and do not spy, and do not be jealous of one another, and do not desert (cut your relation with) one another, and do not hate one another; and O Allah's worshipers! Be brothers (as Allah has ordered you!")
إياكم والظن، فإن الظن أكذب الحديث، ولا تحسسوا ولا تجسسوا ولا تحاسدوا ولا تدابروا ولا تباغضوا وكونوا عباد الله إخوانًاSecond: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the virtue of gathering to recite, study, reflect upon, and understand the meanings of the Book of Allah. He said (peace and blessings be upon him):
those persons who assemble in the house among the houses of Allah (mosques) and recite the Book of Allah and they learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves) there would descend upon them tranquility and mercy would cover them and the angels would surround them and Allah mentions them in the presence of those near Him
ما اجتمع قوم في بيت من بيوت الله يتلون كتاب الله ويتدارسونه بينهم إلاَّ نزلت عليهم السكينة وغشيتهم الرحمة وحفتهم الملائكة وذكرهم الله فيمن عنده"Read to me." He said, "Shall I read to you while it was revealed to you?" He said, "Indeed, I love to hear it from someone other than myself." So Abdullah read to him the chapter of al-Nisa until he reached: "So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness and bring you [O Muhammad] over these [people] as a witness?" He said, "Stop." And his eyes were gushing with tears.
اقرأ عَلَيَّ، قال: أأقرأ عليك وعليك أنزل؟ قال: فإني أحب أن أسمعه من غيري، فقرأ عليه عبد الله سورة النساء حتى بلغ: فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِنْ كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَؤُلاءِ شَهِيدًا فقال: أمسك، فإذا عيناه تذرفانThis is established in what al-Bukhari and others narrated from Abu Waqid al-Laythi (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in the mosque with the people when three men came in. Two of them came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and one went away. So they stood before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for one of them, he found a gap in the circle and sat in it. As for the other, he sat behind them. And as for the third, he turned his back and left. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished, he said: "Shall I inform you about the three men? As for one of them, he sought refuge in Allah, so Allah sheltered him. As for the other, he was shy, so Allah was shy of him. And as for the other, he turned away, so Allah turned away from him."
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بينما هو جالس في المسجد والناس معه إذ أقبل ثلاثة نفر، فأقبل اثنان إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وذهب واحد، قال: فوقفا على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فأما أحدهما فوجد في الحلقة فرجة فجلس فيها، وأما الآخر فجلس خلفهم، وأما الثالث فأدبر ذاهبًا، فلما فرغ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: ألا أخبركم عن النفر الثلاثة؟ أما أحدهم فأوى إلى الله فآواه الله، وأما الآخر فاستحيا فاستحيا الله منه، وأما الآخر فأعرض فأعرض الله عنه"Amongst the trees, there is a tree, the leaves of which do not fall and is like a Muslim. Tell me the name of that tree." Everybody started thinking about the trees of the desert areas. And I thought of the date-palm tree. The others then asked, "Please inform us what is that tree, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?" He replied, "It is the date-palm tree."
إن من الشجر شجرة لا يسقط ورقها وإنها مثل المؤمن حدثوني ما هي؟ فوقع الناس في شجر البوادي، وقال عبد الله فوقع في نفسي أنها النخلة، ثم قالوا: حدثنا ما هي يا رسول الله؟ قال: هي النخلةof him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he specified days and nights of the week in which he and his Companions would gather to remember Allah the Exalted in groups, using a singular name from His beautiful names, standing or sitting in circles or rows, swaying like drunkards and swaying like dancers, delighted by the tunes of the songs, the melodies of the singers, the drums and hand drums, and the sounds of the flutes. By this, it is known that what the Sufis do today is an invented religious innovation and a loathsome misguidance; because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردThat is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed. (14) If you invoke them, they do not hear your supplication; and if they heard, they would not respond to you. And on the Day of Resurrection they will deny your association. And none can inform you like [one] Acquainted [with all matters].
ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ (13) إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لاَ يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ وَلاَ يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍSo He named their supplication: shirk (associating partners with Allah), and He the Exalted said:
(5) And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they, of their invocation, are unaware. (6) And when the people are gathered [that Day], they [who were invoked] will be enemies to them, and they will be deniers of their worship.
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَنْ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ (5) وَإِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُوا لَهُمْ أَعْدَاءً وَكَانُوا بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَافِرِينَ(191) Do they associate with Him those who create nothing and they are [themselves] created? (192) And the false deities are unable to [give] them help, nor can they help themselves. (193) And if you [believers] invite them to guidance, they will not follow you. It is all the same for you whether you invite them or you are silent. (194) Indeed, those you [polytheists] call upon besides Allah are servants like you. So call upon them and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful.
أَيُشْرِكُونَ مَا لاَ يَخْلُقُ شَيْئًا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ (191) وَلاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ لَهُمْ نَصْرًا وَلاَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَنْصُرُونَ (192) وَإِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَى لاَ يَتَّبِعُوكُمْ سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْكُمْ أَدَعَوْتُمُوهُمْ أَمْ أَنْتُمْ صَامِتُونَ (193) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ فَادْعُوهُمْ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَAnd whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof - then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.
وَمَنْ يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ لاَ بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَHe the Exalted said:
They fulfill their vows
يُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِAnd whatever you spend of expenditures or make of vows - indeed, Allah knows of it
وَمَا أَنْفَقْتُمْ مِنْ نَفَقَةٍ أَوْ نَذَرْتُمْ مِنْ نَذْرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُهُ(162) Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. (163) No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims."
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (162) لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ(1) Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar. (2) So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].
إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ (1) فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.