Prohibition of Traveling to a Living Wali and Adopting Innovations from Him

We return in this episode to a message we received from Qawad Duka in Sudan, sent by a listener there named Ahmad bin Allah Babakar. Our brother Ahmad raised some of his questions in a previous episode, and in this episode he asks and says: There are living people to whom our simple people go to take what is called the "path" and to take the Fatiha from them; because their supplication is answered, according to the expression of our simple people. Knowing that my family rides vehicles to visit them because their place is far from the village, and this costs them amounts they are in dire need of. Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good and guide you?
Answer: The Sufi paths are among the things people have innovated, and most Sufis are people of religious innovation and people of ignorance. And their legislating special paths for people in dhikr has no basis; rather, it is from religious innovations.
So it is obligatory: that they do not connect with them for this matter, and that they do not ask about this matter, and that they do not follow them. Rather, it is obligatory upon the people of knowledge to warn them and explain the truth to them and guide them to it; because most of them are ignorant imitators of others. So it is obligatory to teach them and guide them, and that religious innovations are the most disliked by Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Surat al-Shura: 21]. And the noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning: rejected.
It is obligatory for the scholars and the servants of Allah to adhere to the Shari'ah and not to legislate for the people anything that Allah has not legislated, neither in words nor in deeds. One who is known for Sufism should not be followed, nor should his words and guidance be acted upon, because he does not possess knowledge; rather, these are paths that some of them received from others, innovated, and followed. Therefore, it is not permissible to take them from them; rather, it is obligatory to guide and direct them to good, teach them what benefits them, and explain the Sunnah to them so that they may be upright upon it and so that they may abandon religious innovations.
And among that is their closing supplications with the Fatiha, or teaching the Fatiha for the purpose of transferring its reward, so that they transfer it to so-and-so or so-and-so. This has no basis. A person reads the Qur'an and reads the Fatiha to benefit and learn and seek reward from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Yes, some scholars said: that there is no harm in reading for the dead and transferring its reward to the dead or the living, in that he reads and makes its reward for so-and-so. But there is no evidence for it, and the Chosen One (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do it, nor did his Companions. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to read for people, he used to read... until he transferred it to them, and the Companions did not do this (may Allah be pleased with them).
So it is better for the believer to leave this thing and to be content with what the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) established and received from their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But he supplicates for his dead with forgiveness and mercy, he gives charity on their behalf with money, he performs Hajj for those who have not performed Hajj, he performs 'Umrah for his dead, there is no harm, if he has performed Hajj for himself and 'Umrah for himself.
As for reading Qur'an for them and transferring its reward to them, there is no evidence for it, and what is befitting is to leave that; because there is no good in religious innovations and their evil is great. So his reading with the intention of transferring its reward to so-and-so or so-and-so, there is no evidence for it. It is feared for him that he has committed a blameworthy religious innovation, so it is better for him to leave that. And if some people of knowledge said that it is permissible; because the criterion is the evidence, not the words of people. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says: [Surat al-Nisa: 59], and He says (Exalted and Majestic is He): [Surat al-Shura: 10]. So if some people of knowledge say: that he reads for the dead, and others say: no, the issue is referred back to the words of Allah and the words of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And if we return to the words of Allah and to the words of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), we do not find in that anything indicating that the Qur'an is transferred to the dead or to other than the dead. Rather, a person reads the Qur'an to benefit and to reflect and to understand, and he obtains reward from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And if he supplicates for his Muslim brothers or for his Muslim dead or for his Muslim parents with forgiveness and mercy during his reading or at other times, all of this is permissible. But he reads to seek reward from Allah for himself, and to benefit from the Qur'an and learn the rulings of Allah and reflect and understand. This is what is prescribed.
May Allah guide the Muslims to all good. Yes.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.