The Ruling on Writing the Names of the Awliya (Close Friends of Allah) on Carts and Cars

What is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding those who write certain phrases on the sides of their carts, and most of them in my country do this, such as saying: "O Shaykh al-Tum, and Dambaka, O Shaykh al-Yaqut, O Shaykh al-Mukhashfi," knowing that these people, as they claim, are awliya (close friends of Allah) and they are dead, and their graves have domes over them and are visited for seeking blessing, according to their claim? Please guide us, may Allah reward you with good.
Answer: This action is not permissible; rather, it is an abomination, and it is shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is because their intention is to turn to these people to protect their cars and to protect their passengers. For this reason, they write on them: "So-and-so, so-and-so," or "O Messenger of Allah," or "O Ali," or the like. All of this is not permissible, and it is all major shirk, because it is calling for aid from other than Allah, seeking refuge in other than Allah, and supplicating to other than Allah. They intend by this that they will be provided with what causes the safety of their journey and their travel, whether inside or outside. So such an action is not permissible. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. I hope for a complete definition of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and who they are. Do they have distinctive signs? Is it permissible to visit them for seeking blessing and fulfilling needs, whether they are alive or dead? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh: The awliya (close friends of Allah) are the people of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and faith. They are the people of righteousness and uprightness upon the religion of Allah. They are upon what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came with. These are the awliya (close friends of Allah). They are the people of taqwa and the people of faith, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [Yunus: 62]. Then He explained them and said: [Yunus: 63]. These are the awliya (close friends of Allah), as stated in Surat Yunus. And He said in Surat al-Anfal: [al-Anfal: 34].
So the awliya (close friends of Allah) are the people of taqwa, the people of faith, those who obeyed Allah and His Messenger and were upright upon the religion of Allah, and left shirk and sins. These are the awliya (close friends of Allah). It is obligatory to love them for the sake of Allah, but it is not permissible to supplicate to them other than to Allah, nor to call for aid from them, nor to build over their graves. This is an abomination. Nor is it permissible to build over the graves of the Prophets. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , narrated by Muslim in the Sahih. So he rebuked the people for making mosques over the graves of the Prophets and the righteous, and warned them against it, and cursed whoever did this. And Muslim narrated in the Sahih from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: .
So no dome, room, or mosque is to be built over it. Rather, one must beware of that. Rather, the graves are to be left exposed to the sun, as they were in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in al-Baqi', and elsewhere in the open land where there is no building, so that the grave is raised above the ground by a span or so, so that it is known to be a grave. It is not to be built over, nor plastered, nor have a dome or mosque placed over it. All of this is not permissible. And these domes and mosques that are placed over graves are among the causes of shirk. When the common people see them, exalted by the domes and mosques, and perhaps they are carpeted and perhaps perfumed, this becomes one of the causes of shirk. It is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that leads to major shirk. We ask Allah for safety. If the common people see this action, they supplicate to them other than to Allah, call for aid from them, rub themselves against them, and so on.
As for visiting a believer to greet his brother, meaning: to greet his grave if it is exposed and raised, with no dome or mosque or the like, there is no harm. Rather, it is a sunnah (recommended practice). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So if one visits the graves to greet them and supplicate for them, this is praiseworthy, and it is a sunnah. But if one visits them to supplicate to them other than to Allah, or to call for aid from them, or to ask them for help, this is major shirk and is not permissible. Like the one who says to the occupant of the grave: "Help, help," or "O my master so-and-so, help me," or "aid me," or "heal my sick one," or "I am under your protection," or "I am under your patronage." This is supplication to other than Allah and shirk with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) . This is of the same kind as the action of the first jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic age of ignorance), Abu Jahl and his like.
So it is obligatory upon the Muslims to beware of these matters and to advise and counsel one another to leave them wherever they are. As for the living among them, if one visits them to greet them out of love for them in Allah, there is no harm. One visits them out of love for them in Allah, not for seeking blessing from them. But one visits them... greets them, inquires about their conditions, and discusses with them in good or in knowledge. All of this is good. Or to ask them to supplicate for him so that they seek forgiveness for him. There is no harm in that either... He said: "Seek forgiveness for me" or "Supplicate for me." There is no harm. But if one visits him because of the belief in him that he is supplicated to other than Allah, or that he is suitable to be worshipped other than to Allah, alive or dead, because he benefits or harms, or because he acts in the universe, or the like of that from the beliefs of the ignorant, this is not permissible. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): [al-A'raf: 188].
So if he (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the master of creation and the best of creation, does not possess benefit or harm for others, nor does he know the unseen, how about others among the people? Knowledge of the unseen is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) , who is the Benefactor, the Harmer, the Giver, the Withholder, (Mighty and Majestic). So no one has the right to supplicate to other than Allah through the dead, or the absent, or trees and stones, or the jinn, or the angels. Rather, this is shirk with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) .
And he has no right to believe in any of the created beings that he benefits and harms other than Allah, or that he is suitable to be worshipped other than to Allah and supplicated to other than to Allah. All of this is a false belief and kufr (disbelief). We ask Allah for safety. As for the living person who is present and capable, if he says: "O my brother, help me with such-and-such," there is no harm. A living person who is present, you say to him: "Help me with repairing my car," or "with building my house," or "with my farm," and he is capable, hears you, and is able to help you with what Allah makes easy. There is no harm. These are permissible matters among people. Allah the Exalted said in the story of Musa: [al-Qasas: 15]. Because he is alive and hears his speech, and Musa is able to aid him, so there is no harm in this.
As for supplicating to the dead, or calling for aid from the dead or the absent—meaning, one believes that they hear his supplication and can benefit or harm—this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is the practice of the first age of ignorance (jahiliyyah); may Allah grant us safety from it. Even if one says, "I did not intend that they benefit or harm," or even if he says, "I intend that they are intercessors with Allah," this is the shirk of the polytheists. The polytheists did not intend that they benefit or harm; rather, they wanted them to be intercessors with Allah, and they wanted them to bring them closer to Allah, as the Exalted said: [Yunus:18]. Allah the Sublime said: [Yunus:18]. He called it shirk (associating partners with Allah), and He said in Surat al-Zumar: [al-Zumar:3]. They did not say that they benefit or harm; they did not say: . This is their belief: they know that the One who benefits and harms is Allah alone, but they ask the awliya (close friends of Allah), or the prophets, or the angels to intercede with Allah so that He will grant them their requests. They claim that they are intercessors and that they bring them closer to Allah, and they do not believe that they act in the universe or benefit or harm. No, this is not the belief of the age of ignorance. And yet, Allah declared them disbelievers, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fought them for this shirk of theirs.
So it is obligatory upon everyone who claims Islam to be careful and to understand his religion, and to beware of attaching oneself to the people of the graves, and supplicating to them other than to Allah, and calling for aid from them, and making vows for them, and slaughtering for them. And this is the shirk of the jahiliyyah. As some people do this at the grave of al-Sayyid al-Badawi, or al-Sayyid al-Husayn, or Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir in Iraq, or others. All of this is shirk with Allah and is not permissible. Not with al-Husayn, nor with al-Badawi, nor with Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, nor with others among the people, nor with Ibn 'Arabi in the Levant, nor with others.
It is obligatory to be sincere to Allah in worship, because it is His right, (Glorified and Exalted is He).
Allah the Exalted said: [al-Bayyinah: 5]. And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [al-Isra: 23], meaning: He commanded and advised that you not worship except Him. And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [al-Baqarah: 21]. And He (Mighty and Majestic) said: [adh-Dhariyat: 56]. This is the foundation of the religion and the basis of the religion, and this is the greatest obligation and the most important obligation: that you worship Allah alone, with your supplication, your vow, your slaughter, your prayer, your fasting, and other than that.
And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-An'am: 162-163]. The term *nusuk* (rituals) applies to both slaughter and worship. Just as prayer is for Allah, so is slaughter for Allah. Therefore, one who slaughters for the jinn, or seeks nearness to the people of graves, trees, or idols through sacrifices, commits shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Likewise, their supplication to them, calling for their aid, and seeking help, such as standing at a grave and saying: "Help, help," or calling out to someone nearby: "O my master al-Badawi, help, help," or "O my master al-Husayn, help, help," or "O my master 'Abd al-Qadir, help, help"—this is major shirk. This is shirk with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and worship of other than Him. He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Jinn: 18] The word "anyone" is general, encompassing the prophets and others. It is an indefinite noun in the context of prohibition, which generalizes to include the prophets, the angels, the jinn, and mankind.
And He, the Exalted, said: [Yunus: 106], meaning the polytheists. And He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Mu'minun: 117]. Thus, He named those who call upon other than Allah as disbelievers, even if they say, "We do not call them gods," or if they say, "We call them masters" or "We call them awliya (close friends of Allah)." Whenever they call upon them and seek their aid, they have made them gods, even if they do not name them gods. Names are not to be considered; realities are what matter. Therefore, one who worships someone other than Allah and seeks their aid has made that person a god, even if he does not name him a god, even if he calls him "the master" or "the wali (close friend of Allah)" or by other names. The consideration in matters is based on realities and meanings, not on words.
We ask Allah to guide our brothers... all Muslims. We ask Allah to guide the ignorant to the truth and guidance, and to increase among the Muslims scholars of truth and scholars of guidance; so that they may make the people see clearly and guide them to the tawhid (the oneness of Allah) of Allah, and to the truth with which Allah sent His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
And we ask Allah to guide the ignorant to learn, to ask, to be discerning, and not to be satisfied with blind following (taqlid). My advice to everyone who visits graves, calls upon graves, or is ignorant of the rulings of Allah, my advice to everyone is to ask the scholars, the scholars of truth, the scholars of the Sunnah, the people of insight. Ask them, such as the supporters of the Sunnah in Egypt, such as the Shaykh of al-Azhar, such as the scholars of the Sunnah in the Levant, in Jordan, in any place. The known scholars of truth, characterized by the Sunnah, tawhid (the oneness of Allah), sincerity, and insight. And so in every place, in Africa, in Europe, in America, in every place.
It is obligatory (wajib) for one who is ignorant of the ruling to ask and not to proceed with anything without insight. Allah says, the Exalted, in His great Book: [An-Nahl: 43]. And it is narrated from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said to a people who issued rulings without knowledge: . And the Companions used to ask him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he would teach them and answer them, even the women would ask him and he would answer them. And some of the women said to him: . So it is obligatory for the scholars to be open to the ignorant so that they may teach them, and to take care of the Book and the Sunnah, and for the fatwas (scholarly legal rulings) to be from the Book and the Sunnah, not from blind following (taqlid), but from the great Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His trustworthy Messenger. The scholar must be discerning through the path of the Book and the Sunnah, and must teach the people in the light of the Book and the Sunnah, and must guide them to the rulings of Allah which His great Book and the Sunnah of His trustworthy Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicate, and must beware of being lenient in these matters.
May Allah grant everyone guidance and success.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.