My mother believes in the awliya (close friends of Allah) and asks them for her needs, and she goes to them whenever she has a problem, and we have advised her many times, and she used to keep the papers she takes
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The questioner : ... and my father when we were young, and our mother raised us, but there is a problem related to our mother: she believes in the awliya (close friends of Allah) and asks them for her needs, and when she faces any problem, she goes to them. We have advised her many times, and she used to keep many of the papers she takes from the places she visits regarding these awliya. In the end, I collected the papers and items that I considered forbidden and destroyed them, so she got angry at me and cut off ties with me. What should I do? And will I be considered one who severs family ties?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
Indeed, among the greatest acts of dutifulness to parents is for a person to call them to the oneness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and to obedience to Him, for in that lies their salvation from the Fire, and it is more effective than dutifulness to them through giving money, financial maintenance, physical service, and the like. It is obligatory for you to advise this mother and to warn her of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and to make it clear to her that going to the awliya (close friends of Allah), if it is to their graves and calling for aid from them and seeking their help and asking them for her needs, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion, and it is the most unjust injustice and the greatest of sins. And Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:72] And if those who claim to be awliya (close friends of Allah) are living, then it is not permissible for her to attach her heart to these awliya, or to make them her refuge when calamities, disasters, and hardships befall her, but rather she should attach her heart to the Lord of the worlds, who created her, brought her into existence from nothing, and provided her with blessings. Then, these awliya (close friends of Allah) who claim to be awliya of Allah may be among the enemies of Allah (Mighty and Majestic); they may call people to elevate them above the status Allah has assigned them, and perhaps if you investigated, you would find in them shortcomings in what Allah has commanded them or violations of what Allah has forbidden them. Not everyone who claims to be a wali (close friend of Allah) is a wali, even if he appears as a worshipper, a devotee, and one who renounces the world; his outward appearance may be like this, but his inner self burns with desire for the world, fame, and people’s exaltation of him.
In summary: It is obligatory for you to be dutiful to this mother, and to advise her and guide her, and to bring her beneficial tapes and useful books. As for your burning the false and forbidden supplications and recitations you found with her, this is part of your dutifulness to her, and it does not harm you if she gets angry at you; rather, this is the completion of your reward, that you are harmed for the sake of Allah and through enjoining good and forbidding evil. Indeed, Ibrahim called his father to the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and his father said to him:[Maryam 19:46] Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
Indeed, among the greatest acts of dutifulness to parents is for a person to call them to the oneness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and to obedience to Him, for in that lies their salvation from the Fire, and it is more effective than dutifulness to them through giving money, financial maintenance, physical service, and the like. It is obligatory for you to advise this mother and to warn her of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and to make it clear to her that going to the awliya (close friends of Allah), if it is to their graves and calling for aid from them and seeking their help and asking them for her needs, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion, and it is the most unjust injustice and the greatest of sins. And Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.
إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍIn summary: It is obligatory for you to be dutiful to this mother, and to advise her and guide her, and to bring her beneficial tapes and useful books. As for your burning the false and forbidden supplications and recitations you found with her, this is part of your dutifulness to her, and it does not harm you if she gets angry at you; rather, this is the completion of your reward, that you are harmed for the sake of Allah and through enjoining good and forbidding evil. Indeed, Ibrahim called his father to the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and his father said to him:
If you do not desist, I will surely stone you, so avoid me a prolonged time."
لَئِنْ لَمْ تَنتَهِ لَأَرْجُمَنَّكَ وَاهْجُرْنِي مَلِيًّاThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh.