The ruling on one who dies while believing that other than Allah can benefit or harm
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His Eminence the Shaykh: We know that Allah knows we love you for the sake of Allah, and as for our question, it is about one who believes that the buried awliya (close friends of Allah) benefit them or harm them! While they believe in the existence of the Creator and they establish the prayer, what is the fate of these people after their death? Will they be considered disbelievers or monotheists?
I ask Allah to love you as you have loved me in Him, and to make us all among the beloved of Allah and the awliya (close friends of Allah).
The awliya (close friends of Allah) of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, are those who combined two descriptions: faith, and mindfulness of Allah,As Allah the Exalted said: [Yunus:62-63] And when that is the case, before we say that this is the grave of a wali (close friend of Allah), we need to look into the biography of this deceased person: is he among the believers who are mindful of Allah? If so, then it is hoped that he is among the awliya (close friends of Allah). Or is he among the charlatans, sorcerers, and deceivers who appear to people with the appearance of righteousness, while they are the farthest people from righteousness? Then he is not a wali (close friend of Allah), even if he claims to be one. This is the first point.
Second: If it is established that, based on what appears to us of his condition, he is among the believers who are mindful of Allah, then we hope for him good, and we know that he himself does not possess any benefit or harm for himself, and that he did not believe and be mindful of Allah except out of fear of the punishment of Allah; he has no share in the matter. If he does not possess anything for himself, how can he possess it for us? And how can he possess it for us when he is now a lifeless corpse, and perhaps the earth has eaten him? And if Allah said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): [Al-A'raf:188] And He said to him: [Al-An'am:50] And He said to him: [Al-Jinn:21-23] meaning: my duty is only to convey the message. If that is the case, then those below him are even more so.
And the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when drought and barrenness descended upon them in the era of the Commander of the Faithful 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) in the famous year known as the Year of the Ash, they did not seek rain through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and they did not come to the grave to say: O Messenger of Allah! Call upon Allah to give us rain, and call upon Allah to send us relief. Rather, they called upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and 'Umar asked al-Abbas to stand and call upon Allah, the Exalted, for rain.
But despite that, these people who come to the awliya (close friends of Allah) and call upon them, and they are ignorant, there is no one with them who teaches them, and no one who alerts them,But they say: We are Muslims who pray, give charity, fast, perform Hajj, strive, and pray the late-night prayer, but they do not know anything about this matter, and no one has alerted them to it, and no one has informed them of it. So these people are excused due to their ignorance, and it is ruled that they are Muslims,And as for the one who was informed that this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) but he persisted and said: "This is the religion of my fathers and my grandfathers, and I cannot deviate from it." Then it is ruled that he is a disbeliever;Because his statement is like the statement of the one who said: [Al-Zukhruf:23] .
I ask Allah to love you as you have loved me in Him, and to make us all among the beloved of Allah and the awliya (close friends of Allah).
The awliya (close friends of Allah) of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, are those who combined two descriptions: faith, and mindfulness of Allah,As Allah the Exalted said:
(62) Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve (63) Those who believed and were fearing Allah
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَSecond: If it is established that, based on what appears to us of his condition, he is among the believers who are mindful of Allah, then we hope for him good, and we know that he himself does not possess any benefit or harm for himself, and that he did not believe and be mindful of Allah except out of fear of the punishment of Allah; he has no share in the matter. If he does not possess anything for himself, how can he possess it for us? And how can he possess it for us when he is now a lifeless corpse, and perhaps the earth has eaten him? And if Allah said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Say, "I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed.
قُلْ لا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعاً وَلا ضَرّاً إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُI do not tell you that I have the depositories [containing the provision] of Allah or that I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel
قُلْ لا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِنْدِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ(21) Say, "Indeed, I do not possess for you [the power of] harm or right direction." (22) Say, "Indeed, there will never protect me from Allah anyone [if I should disobey], nor will I find in other than Him a refuge. (23) But [I have for you] only notification from Allah, and His messages."
قُلْ إِنِّي لا أَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ ضَرّاً وَلا رَشَداً * قُلْ إِنِّي لَنْ يُجِيرَنِي مِنَ اللَّهِ أَحَدٌ وَلَنْ أَجِدَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَداً * إِلَّا بَلاغاً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِسَالاتِهِAnd the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when drought and barrenness descended upon them in the era of the Commander of the Faithful 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) in the famous year known as the Year of the Ash, they did not seek rain through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and they did not come to the grave to say: O Messenger of Allah! Call upon Allah to give us rain, and call upon Allah to send us relief. Rather, they called upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and 'Umar asked al-Abbas to stand and call upon Allah, the Exalted, for rain.
But despite that, these people who come to the awliya (close friends of Allah) and call upon them, and they are ignorant, there is no one with them who teaches them, and no one who alerts them,But they say: We are Muslims who pray, give charity, fast, perform Hajj, strive, and pray the late-night prayer, but they do not know anything about this matter, and no one has alerted them to it, and no one has informed them of it. So these people are excused due to their ignorance, and it is ruled that they are Muslims,And as for the one who was informed that this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) but he persisted and said: "This is the religion of my fathers and my grandfathers, and I cannot deviate from it." Then it is ruled that he is a disbeliever;Because his statement is like the statement of the one who said: