When you were young, you were among those who sought nearness to Allah through graves; is this true?

The questioner : A doubt has arisen for the one who appears to be... he says—meaning the speech is directed to—The Shaykh : —: That in the days of your youth, when you were young, you were among those who sought nearness to Allah through graves; is this true?

The Shaykh : I say: By the grace of Allah—Mighty and Majestic—He has protected me from this. But it seems the man heard something and misunderstood it, or perhaps my father—may Allah have mercy on him—passed away. He was a man of religious knowledge and methodology, and I grew up following him from my early childhood. I would go with him to the mosques and to the places of grave visitation. So, without a doubt, I would go with him while I was still a young man, not understanding the Sunnah and religious innovation, or shirk (associating partners with Allah) and tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and the like. But soon I began to open up and know, until the matter reached the point where, by the grace of Allah—Mighty and Majestic—and His mercy, I clarified to my father that your intention in going to the mosques that contain graves, with the intention of praying in them, is among the matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah) that our Lord—Mighty and Majestic—has forbidden in His Book, and our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his hadith. And among that was the book that has been reprinted repeatedly, "Warning the One Who Prostrates from Taking Graves as Mosques." It is possibleThe questioner : that I heard that in the early days of my life, I used to go with my father and follow him in his visits, and I would pray, for example, with him in the Mosque of Banu Umayyah, which contains a grave that is claimed to be the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him). This claim is false and has no basis. But the grave is clear, and a dome is built over it, and it is visited and called upon for aid besides Allah. Some people there tell an anecdote about a woman who called upon Yahya (peace be upon him) for aid, saying to him: "My son is sick." The caretaker heard her, so he said to her: "Another person has come," and he took her with him to the sick person. [Everyone laughs!]
So the intention was that I used to pray with my father in this mosque. But when the truth became clear to me, I no longer prayed in this mosque, perhaps for fifty years. I have not entered the mosque at all; because it is intended to be called upon besides Allah, unlike all other mosques. Why? Because it contains the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him). So this is perhaps the origin of the question that was asked.The questioner : As for me seeking nearness to Allah in my supplications and prayers through other than Allah; this is something from which our Lord—Mighty and Majestic—has protected us, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The questioner : In conclusion, we thank His EminenceThe Shaykh : Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani. The questions the brothers asked were long, and if Allah wills, another opportunity may come, if Allah wills, where we askThe Shaykh : And we ask Allah—Mighty and Majestic—to guide everyone to what He loves and is pleased with. Perhaps in what we have heard there is a lesson, or we can say that the brothers have understood that this methodology, or this path that is followed, is the way of the Salaf (the earliest generations) and their path. It is not a newly invented matter, nor is it a new matter, but rather it is this religion of Allah—Mighty and Majestic—which came down from the sky... We ask Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—to benefit us with what we have heard, and may Allah reward you with good...