The Ruling on Seeking Aid from the Dead
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Question:
There is a group of people who seek help from the dead and from the shaykhs, and some of the brothers say to them: You are committing shirk (associating partners with Allah) with this act, and they boycott them. What is your guidance? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Yes, seeking help from the dead, or calling for aid from the dead, or from trees, or stones, or idols, or from the jinn, or from the angels, or from the messengers, all of this is major shirk, all of it is shirk with Allah .
And likewise, if the shaykhs are dead, or absent, and one believes that they can benefit him, or intercede for him, and he calls upon them other than Allah, or calls for aid from them, all of this is major shirk. And Allah has sent down His great Book regarding this, and He sent His noble messengers—(peace and blessings be upon them)—and He said in His great Book: [Surah al-Jinn: 18] And He said, (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Surah al-Mu'minun: 117] And He said, (Exalted and Majestic is He): [Surah Fatir: 13-14] He named their calling upon them shirk.
So it is not permissible for a Muslim to call upon the dead, or call for aid from them, or make vows to them, or slaughter for them, drawing near to them with sacrifices, or call for aid from them in times of hardship. All of this is major shirk. This is the practice of the disbelievers of Quraysh and others. These are the actions of the disbelievers at the graves of the dead, and at their idols, and the things they worship other than Allah.
And the absent one is like the dead one. The one who is absent from you is like the dead one. He calls upon an absent one believing that he hears his supplication, and that he has a secret, calling him, for example, if he is in Egypt, or in Makkah, or in any place, calling him from afar. This is like calling upon the dead; it is major shirk.
As for the one who is present and hears your words, you say: O Abdullah, help me with such-and-such, lend me such-and-such, help me fix the car, help me lift this stone, help me lift this door, help me lift this plank. There is no harm in this, if he is present, hears your words, and is able to help you. There is no harm in this, as Allah said in the story of Musa: [Surah al-Qasas: 15] Because Musa hears the words and is able to act; so there is no harm.
And likewise, your fear of an enemy, you close the door, or you flee from one country to another; out of fear of the enemy. There is no harm in this, as Allah said, (Exalted and Majestic is He), in the story of Musa: [Surah al-Qasas: 21] Meaning he left Egypt fearing the retinue of the family of Fir'awn, when he killed the man. So the thing that a person does with the one who is present, or with the group who are present, or out of fear of a present enemy, distancing himself from him so that he does not punish him, and fleeing to a distant place so that it is safer for him, all of this is without harm. These are ordinary matters, and matters related to causes, tangible and known, in which there is no blame.
As for calling upon the dead, and those absent from you, and idols, and trees, and stones, this is major shirk. This is the practice of the first polytheists, the worshippers of al-Lat, al-'Uzza, and Manat, and the practice of the people of Nuh, the people of Hud, the people of Salih, and others of the disbelievers. These are their actions.
So it is obligatory for the person of intellect to distinguish between the two matters, and to be upon clear understanding. If you say to your brother: O my brother, hand me this prayer mat, or hand me this vessel, or lend me such-and-such, this is a person who is present and hears your words; there is no harm in this by the consensus of the Muslims, there is no blame in that. Or in building, or in war, and jihad, you seek his help, you say: Give me the weapon, advance to such-and-such place, walk in such-and-such place, guard such-and-such place. All of this is without harm. These are ordinary, prescribed matters, commanded to be done. The one who does them is not worshipping other than Allah, rather they are tangible matters, within human capability, with which people deal. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
There is a group of people who seek help from the dead and from the shaykhs, and some of the brothers say to them: You are committing shirk (associating partners with Allah) with this act, and they boycott them. What is your guidance? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Yes, seeking help from the dead, or calling for aid from the dead, or from trees, or stones, or idols, or from the jinn, or from the angels, or from the messengers, all of this is major shirk, all of it is shirk with Allah .
And likewise, if the shaykhs are dead, or absent, and one believes that they can benefit him, or intercede for him, and he calls upon them other than Allah, or calls for aid from them, all of this is major shirk. And Allah has sent down His great Book regarding this, and He sent His noble messengers—(peace and blessings be upon them)—and He said in His great Book:
And [He revealed] that the masjids are for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah anyone.
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًاAnd whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof - then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.
وَمَنْ يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ لا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ إِنَّهُ لا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَThat is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed. (14) If you invoke them, they do not hear your supplication; and if they heard, they would not respond to you. And on the Day of Resurrection they will deny your association.
ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْSo it is not permissible for a Muslim to call upon the dead, or call for aid from them, or make vows to them, or slaughter for them, drawing near to them with sacrifices, or call for aid from them in times of hardship. All of this is major shirk. This is the practice of the disbelievers of Quraysh and others. These are the actions of the disbelievers at the graves of the dead, and at their idols, and the things they worship other than Allah.
And the absent one is like the dead one. The one who is absent from you is like the dead one. He calls upon an absent one believing that he hears his supplication, and that he has a secret, calling him, for example, if he is in Egypt, or in Makkah, or in any place, calling him from afar. This is like calling upon the dead; it is major shirk.
As for the one who is present and hears your words, you say: O Abdullah, help me with such-and-such, lend me such-and-such, help me fix the car, help me lift this stone, help me lift this door, help me lift this plank. There is no harm in this, if he is present, hears your words, and is able to help you. There is no harm in this, as Allah said in the story of Musa:
the one from his faction called for help to him against the one from his enemy
فَاسْتَغَاثَهُ الَّذِي مِنْ شِيعَتِهِ عَلَى الَّذِي مِنْ عَدُوِّهِAnd likewise, your fear of an enemy, you close the door, or you flee from one country to another; out of fear of the enemy. There is no harm in this, as Allah said, (Exalted and Majestic is He), in the story of Musa:
So he left it, fearful and anticipating [apprehension].
فَخَرَجَ مِنْهَا خَائِفًا يَتَرَقَّبُAs for calling upon the dead, and those absent from you, and idols, and trees, and stones, this is major shirk. This is the practice of the first polytheists, the worshippers of al-Lat, al-'Uzza, and Manat, and the practice of the people of Nuh, the people of Hud, the people of Salih, and others of the disbelievers. These are their actions.
So it is obligatory for the person of intellect to distinguish between the two matters, and to be upon clear understanding. If you say to your brother: O my brother, hand me this prayer mat, or hand me this vessel, or lend me such-and-such, this is a person who is present and hears your words; there is no harm in this by the consensus of the Muslims, there is no blame in that. Or in building, or in war, and jihad, you seek his help, you say: Give me the weapon, advance to such-and-such place, walk in such-and-such place, guard such-and-such place. All of this is without harm. These are ordinary, prescribed matters, commanded to be done. The one who does them is not worshipping other than Allah, rather they are tangible matters, within human capability, with which people deal. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.