Among the criticisms leveled against Shaykh 'Abd al-Hamid Kashk and al-Sha'rawi is that they do not denounce the actions of the grave-worshippers and the Sufis, nor do they expose their defects.
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The Shaykh : So here we observe that the scholars are truly the ones who study the Book in its entirety, and especially what concerns the rectification of creed, then worship. As for the scientific, cosmic, and natural aspects, these undoubtedly benefit and increase the believer's faith in the power of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His oneness and wisdom. But before that, it was obligatory for them to know how to worship Allah, not associating anything with Him. Today, if I tell you that in every land in the world you will find Muslims who deliberately visit graves, and some of them take the grave—of a wali or a righteous person—as a Ka'bah and circumambulate around it. Did you go to Egypt in your time?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Did you see the shrine of al-Husayn and Sayyidah Zaynab and Ahmad al-Badawi?
The questioner : By Allah, I have heard of them, but I have not seen them.
The Shaykh : You have not seen them? It seems to me that you are Jordanian!
The questioner : I am Jordanian, but now I am Saudi.
The Shaykh : But originally, are you Jordanian?
The questioner : My father is Saudi and my mother is Jordanian, but I was Jordanian and raised in Jordan.
The Shaykh : My intention with the question was: did you live in Jordan?
The questioner : Of course, for forty years.
The Shaykh : That is it, that is the point. Do you hear of the shrine of Sayyid Shu'ayb?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, did you see that huge grave that they treat in that way?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : All of this is to mislead people. They come and offer vows and seek nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) through them. This calamity exists in every land in the world. And Shaykh al-Sha'rawi and Kashk do not say a single word. Why?
Because they do not want to confront the people, for they will turn away from them, and they want to attract hearts with such sweet, beautiful words.
In Damascus, there is some of this. In Aleppo, there is something stranger than this! I have added a trait to you: I am Albanian, then Damascene, then Jordanian, so I know these lands; each one has a virtue or a calamity. Of course, Syria has famous capitals like Damascus and Aleppo, and between them Homs and Hama, and so on. In Aleppo, there is a large Umayyad mosque comparable to the Umayyad Mosque in the capital. In the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, they claim that Yahya (peace be upon him) is buried in it. In the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, they claim his father, meaning Zakariyya, is buried in it. Each of the two graves is a destination, and each has a custodian whose job is: by the will of Allah, to guide people on how to visit this grave and that one, and how they must offer vows. One of them told me in Damascus:
A woman came to visit the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him) in the mosque in Damascus. The custodian heard her, and it appears he had some awareness, but he had taken the custodianship as a means of livelihood. This custodian heard a poor woman standing and supplicating, saying to him: "O my master Yahya, I have come seeking nearness to Allah through you so that our Lord will heal my son." What did the custodian say, mocking her? He said to her: "O lady, a lady came before you, so my master Yahya went with her to heal her son or daughter, or whatever, and so on." These are blatant, explicit acts of shirk (associating partners with Allah). In Aleppo, there was a grave, and praise be to Allah, it was removed, not for religious reasons but for the beautification of the capital. In Aleppo, there was a grave that would have saved you from the misguidance that occurs there: it was called "The Judge of Needs." The name of the deceased: "The Judge of Needs." And it was a destination from every place, especially from women. One would be barren and not give birth, and a year or two would pass, and by the will of Allah, she would go to "The Judge of Needs." What does she do?!
The grave of "The Judge of Needs," of course, has a shrine like these shrines we are talking about, and the grave has a hump. So Satan, through the custodian there, suggested that if the barren woman came and rode on the grave like this and made these movements, she would become pregnant, by the will of Allah, in his claim. And then she would come back and the matter would be revealed that this custodian, with his cunning methods, suggests to these women of weak minds that she must spend the night here so that "The Judge of Needs" will appear to her. And indeed, she thinks this talk is true and spends that night, and there is no one in that shrine but her and him. This alone is enough for the Muslim to know his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):. When the day is half over, he appears in white clothing with a pleasant scent, and he appears little by little before this woman in a form that carries some awe. She had been instructed beforehand that she must spend the night so that "The Judge of Needs" would appear to her. "The Judge of Needs" appears to her, he approaches her little by little until he has intercourse with her, and it sometimes happens that she becomes pregnant. Who impregnated her?!
This wicked, cunning custodian, who takes the grave as a cover and is called "The Judge of Needs," for years the people of Aleppo, men and women, believed in this great misguidance. And the shaykhs, in the name of the miracles of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and that Allah gives them, as some say: "What was not a prophetic miracle was a miracle for a wali", these misguidances continue and no one denies them except a few individuals who are cast out on the earth because they call to the truth.
And the discussion in this field, unfortunately, is very, very wide. But regarding Shaykh al-Sha'rawi, on one hand, he is truly beneficial, but on other hands, he misleads people with it because they do not know. This is something related to the answer to that question.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Did you see the shrine of al-Husayn and Sayyidah Zaynab and Ahmad al-Badawi?
The questioner : By Allah, I have heard of them, but I have not seen them.
The Shaykh : You have not seen them? It seems to me that you are Jordanian!
The questioner : I am Jordanian, but now I am Saudi.
The Shaykh : But originally, are you Jordanian?
The questioner : My father is Saudi and my mother is Jordanian, but I was Jordanian and raised in Jordan.
The Shaykh : My intention with the question was: did you live in Jordan?
The questioner : Of course, for forty years.
The Shaykh : That is it, that is the point. Do you hear of the shrine of Sayyid Shu'ayb?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, did you see that huge grave that they treat in that way?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : All of this is to mislead people. They come and offer vows and seek nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) through them. This calamity exists in every land in the world. And Shaykh al-Sha'rawi and Kashk do not say a single word. Why?
Because they do not want to confront the people, for they will turn away from them, and they want to attract hearts with such sweet, beautiful words.
In Damascus, there is some of this. In Aleppo, there is something stranger than this! I have added a trait to you: I am Albanian, then Damascene, then Jordanian, so I know these lands; each one has a virtue or a calamity. Of course, Syria has famous capitals like Damascus and Aleppo, and between them Homs and Hama, and so on. In Aleppo, there is a large Umayyad mosque comparable to the Umayyad Mosque in the capital. In the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, they claim that Yahya (peace be upon him) is buried in it. In the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, they claim his father, meaning Zakariyya, is buried in it. Each of the two graves is a destination, and each has a custodian whose job is: by the will of Allah, to guide people on how to visit this grave and that one, and how they must offer vows. One of them told me in Damascus:
A woman came to visit the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him) in the mosque in Damascus. The custodian heard her, and it appears he had some awareness, but he had taken the custodianship as a means of livelihood. This custodian heard a poor woman standing and supplicating, saying to him: "O my master Yahya, I have come seeking nearness to Allah through you so that our Lord will heal my son." What did the custodian say, mocking her? He said to her: "O lady, a lady came before you, so my master Yahya went with her to heal her son or daughter, or whatever, and so on." These are blatant, explicit acts of shirk (associating partners with Allah). In Aleppo, there was a grave, and praise be to Allah, it was removed, not for religious reasons but for the beautification of the capital. In Aleppo, there was a grave that would have saved you from the misguidance that occurs there: it was called "The Judge of Needs." The name of the deceased: "The Judge of Needs." And it was a destination from every place, especially from women. One would be barren and not give birth, and a year or two would pass, and by the will of Allah, she would go to "The Judge of Needs." What does she do?!
The grave of "The Judge of Needs," of course, has a shrine like these shrines we are talking about, and the grave has a hump. So Satan, through the custodian there, suggested that if the barren woman came and rode on the grave like this and made these movements, she would become pregnant, by the will of Allah, in his claim. And then she would come back and the matter would be revealed that this custodian, with his cunning methods, suggests to these women of weak minds that she must spend the night here so that "The Judge of Needs" will appear to her. And indeed, she thinks this talk is true and spends that night, and there is no one in that shrine but her and him. This alone is enough for the Muslim to know his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
No man is in seclusion with a woman except that Satan is the third among them.
ما اختلى رجل بامرأة إلا كان الشيطان ثالثهماThis wicked, cunning custodian, who takes the grave as a cover and is called "The Judge of Needs," for years the people of Aleppo, men and women, believed in this great misguidance. And the shaykhs, in the name of the miracles of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and that Allah gives them, as some say: "What was not a prophetic miracle was a miracle for a wali", these misguidances continue and no one denies them except a few individuals who are cast out on the earth because they call to the truth.
And the discussion in this field, unfortunately, is very, very wide. But regarding Shaykh al-Sha'rawi, on one hand, he is truly beneficial, but on other hands, he misleads people with it because they do not know. This is something related to the answer to that question.