What is the ruling on seeking blessing from the relics of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and what is your opinion regarding what is narrated from Ibn 'Umar that he used to seek blessing from the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The questioner : Another question regarding the issue of seeking blessing.

The Shaykh : What is the issue?

The questioner : Seeking blessing from the relics of the Messenger, whether connected to the Messenger, such as his hair, or separated, such as his clothes or the pulpit. It is narrated from Ibn 'Umar that he used to seek blessing from the pulpit of the Messenger. Similarly, from Imam Ahmad: Al-Dhahabi mentioned, in the context of arguing against the Hanbalis, that he used to seek blessing from the hairs of the Messenger, and also from the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So I do not know if these chains of narration are authentic, first from Ibn 'Umar, and then from Imam Ahmad. And what is the correct stance regarding this?

The Shaykh : As for Imam Ahmad, I do not know, because what is mentioned in the virtues of the Imams and the memorizers, there is no doubt that the scholars of hadith do not concern themselves with narrating these virtues as they concern themselves with narrating the hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with authentic chains of narration. And they mostly mention the virtues without mentioning a chain of narration for such virtues. Therefore, we cannot affirm or deny, and we leave the matter suspended until we are able to come upon a chain of narration to which the rules of hadith science can be applied. Then, no significant legal benefit follows from it. And these virtues mentioned in some biographies are, in my view, like what is narrated about the Children of Israel. And you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to say: And he said in some other hadiths: Because we may believe in something that is a lie, or deny something that is the truth. And so I say regarding some of the virtues, let alone the faults, we do not dwell on them much unless something comes with a chain of narration by which we authenticate the hadith or at least grade it as good. At that time, we say: this is established or it is not established. As for what you pointed out regarding some of what came from some of the Companions, there is no doubt that some of that is established and authentic from them. And the fact that some of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek blessing from his sweat (peace and blessings be upon him) and mix it with their perfume is something of which there is no doubt, as it is reported in *Sahih Muslim*. Therefore, a hadith scholar who is well-versed in the narrations and their transmission, authenticating and weakening them, cannot deny that such seeking of blessing occurred from some of the Companions regarding some of the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during his lifetime and after his death. But we see that this ruling should be blocked from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, because those who did that were the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) who knew tawhid (the oneness of Allah) with its correct meanings, and it does not occur to the mind that they might fall into some exaggeration regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), unlike these later people who came and exaggerated greatly regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in many forms. So we cannot compare the later generations to the earliest generations. If it is established, as we mentioned, from some of the Companions, then its best state is that it is permissible. And a permissible matter, if it is feared that corruption in belief or behavior will follow from it, must be stopped from the perspective of blocking the means to harm. Perhaps 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) had this far-sighted view when he performed Hajj during his caliphate and stopped at one of those stations, and he saw some people deviating from the main road and the path. When he asked where these people were going, it was said to him: there is a prayer place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayed, so they are intending to pray in this prayer place. So he said (may Allah be pleased with him): "Whoever catches the prayer in any of these prayer places where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayed, let him pray, and whoever does not, do not do it, for only those before you were destroyed by following the traces of their prophets" So this following was the cause of corruption and destruction for those before us, the Jews and the Christians. So it is no surprise or crime that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: And despite the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) advised his Ummah with this hadith, there are in this Ummah those who exaggerated regarding him and said:
"Leave what the Christians claimed about their Prophet *** And judge as you wish regarding him, praise and dispute"
This is one matter, and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): is another matter.