What is the ruling on partisanship in Islam? What is the Muslim's position regarding it? And what is the ruling on building mosques over graves?

The questioner : He says, "The Ummah has been afflicted with partisanship, just as the Salaf were afflicted with sects and the Khalaf with schools of jurisprudence. What is the Muslim's position regarding this? Then what is its ruling, its reality, and the reality of organization? Another question from someone else: What is the Muslim's position regarding partisanship and da'wah gatherings from the perspective of loyalty and disavowal and love?"

The Shaykh : We have spoken about this issue in a previous session, and I do not see the time as suitable now to delve into it in detail again, and perhaps there will be another detailed discussion. However, we say that partisanship in Islam—I am saying this clearly now—is a misguiding religious innovation. Regarding religious innovation, there is a precise detail: the misguiding religious innovation is every newly invented matter intended to draw near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and to worship Him. If this innovation occurs and is not contrary to the Shari'ah in another aspect, it is sufficient for its being an innovation that the intention behind it is to increase drawing near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), and it becomes a misguiding religious innovation because the matter of worshipping Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has been completed by the descent of His saying: the verse, and by the explanation of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), such as his saying, as in Sahih Muslim: and the other hadith: So there is no room for inventing some matters with the intention of increasing drawing near to Allah. Whoever does that has legislated in the religion what Allah has not legislated, and this is a severe rebuke for him, as you know: But the worst of religious innovations—and the intention of this statement is that the Muslim draws near to Allah by disobeying Allah (Mighty and Majestic)—for example, we cite an example that exists in many Islamic countries, before this time by many years: they pray toward the graves of their righteous people and their close friends of Allah. This is a matter that is prohibited, as you know, and there is no need for detail. Along with the prohibition, they draw near to Allah, exactly as our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) narrated in the Noble Qur'an about the polytheists: They associate partners with Allah on one hand, and they draw near to Allah with this shirk on the other hand. This is the worst of the types of religious innovations: that the Muslim draws near to Allah with what is forbidden by the Shari'ah. From that also, from the perspective of seeking blessing, they claim to seek blessing from the righteous by building mosques over graves. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed whoever did that in mass-transmitted hadiths. Despite that, some Muslims, due to their ignorance and the silence of scholars in some countries regarding them, draw near by building mosques over graves. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said—I mention one hadith—and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So we say that building mosques over graves is forbidden, not an innovation, because the Messenger prohibited it. But the innovation comes from drawing near with this forbidden thing. If you understand this phrase regarding the misguiding religious innovation: that the misguiding religious innovation is inventing something that has no basis in the Shari'ah with the intention of drawing near to Allah, and worse than that is that the Muslim draws near to Allah with what Allah has prohibited, turning the forbidden into worship. This is the worst of religious innovations. If you understand that and remember with me that partisanship is prohibited in the Qur'an, let alone in the Sunnah: So if the Muslim is called to this grouping and this partisanship, and he approves of every party on earth, while he knows that the truth is one and does not multiply, and that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) affirmed that by His saying in the Qur'an: