It is said that in your youth you were among those who sought nearness to Allah through graves. Is this true?
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The questioner : There is a brother whose apparent situation is that he has a doubt. He means, the question is directed to the Shaykh: in your youth, in a small place, were you among those who sought nearness to Allah through graves? Is this true?
The Shaykh : I say that by the grace of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, He has protected me from this. But it appears that the man heard something and misunderstood it. I had a father, may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away. He was a man of knowledge and methodology. I grew up following him from my early childhood, going with him to the mosques and to the places he visited for graves. So I used to go with him, without a doubt, while I was still a young boy who did not understand the Sunnah, religious innovation, shirk (associating partners with Allah), tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and the like. But soon I began to open up and learn, until the matter reached the point where, by the grace and mercy of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, I clarified to my father that your intention in going to the mosques that contain graves, and your intention in praying in them, is among the matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah) that our Lord, the 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 many times, "Warning the One Who Prostrates from Taking Graves as Mosques". Perhaps the questioner heard that I was in the early days of my life, meaning I used to go with my father and follow him in his visits, and I used to pray with him, for example, in the Mosque of Banu Umayyah, where there is 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 qiblah (direction of prayer) is built upon it, and it is visited and called upon for aid besides Allah. Some people there tell an anecdote that a woman came seeking aid from Yahya (peace be upon him) and said, "My son is sick," and he heard her... then he said, "Another person came and took him with him. He said to her, 'There is a sick person,' of course." The point is 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 this mosque at all, because it is intended to be called upon besides Allah and besides all other mosques. Why? Because it contains the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him). So this is perhaps the origin of the question the questioner asked. As for me seeking nearness to Allah in my supplications and prayers and other matters, that is something from which our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, has protected us, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The questioner : In conclusion, we thank the honorable 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 ask the Shaykh. We ask Allah, the 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 understand that the brothers' understanding is that this methodology and this path that is followed is the methodology 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 the religion of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, which was sent down from the sky. And we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to benefit us with what we have heard. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I say that by the grace of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, He has protected me from this. But it appears that the man heard something and misunderstood it. I had a father, may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away. He was a man of knowledge and methodology. I grew up following him from my early childhood, going with him to the mosques and to the places he visited for graves. So I used to go with him, without a doubt, while I was still a young boy who did not understand the Sunnah, religious innovation, shirk (associating partners with Allah), tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and the like. But soon I began to open up and learn, until the matter reached the point where, by the grace and mercy of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, I clarified to my father that your intention in going to the mosques that contain graves, and your intention in praying in them, is among the matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah) that our Lord, the 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 many times, "Warning the One Who Prostrates from Taking Graves as Mosques". Perhaps the questioner heard that I was in the early days of my life, meaning I used to go with my father and follow him in his visits, and I used to pray with him, for example, in the Mosque of Banu Umayyah, where there is 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 qiblah (direction of prayer) is built upon it, and it is visited and called upon for aid besides Allah. Some people there tell an anecdote that a woman came seeking aid from Yahya (peace be upon him) and said, "My son is sick," and he heard her... then he said, "Another person came and took him with him. He said to her, 'There is a sick person,' of course." The point is 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 this mosque at all, because it is intended to be called upon besides Allah and besides all other mosques. Why? Because it contains the grave of Yahya (peace be upon him). So this is perhaps the origin of the question the questioner asked. As for me seeking nearness to Allah in my supplications and prayers and other matters, that is something from which our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, has protected us, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The questioner : In conclusion, we thank the honorable 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 ask the Shaykh. We ask Allah, the 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 understand that the brothers' understanding is that this methodology and this path that is followed is the methodology 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 the religion of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, which was sent down from the sky. And we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to benefit us with what we have heard. May Allah reward you with good.