Ruling on Visiting the Graves of the Righteous, Kissing the Monuments, and Seeking Aid

Question:
A question from a farmer in Sweden from the village of al-Kawz. It is long and complex, but it must be read. He says: I ask you about visiting the graves of the righteous, and kissing the stone, i.e., the monuments. Is this permissible or not? And about praising the shaykhs, is it permissible or not? And about seeking aid or support from other than Allah, such as saying: "Aid, O Shaykh So-and-So," for example. Does he aid me from his grave or not?
Inform us, for we are ignorant of this, and we do not know if we are attributing the worship of the righteous servants of Allah to them. One person says: Some of the righteous servants of Allah can change a part of this world with a single word. Is it permissible to say this, or is it forbidden?
We hope you will guide us to the good for the sake of Allah, by the will of Allah.

Answer: Repeat the question.

Question: He says in his question, and we will take it point by point. He says in his question: We ask you about visiting the graves of the righteous, and kissing the stone, i.e., the monuments. Is this permissible or not?

Answer:
Visiting the graves of the righteous, and of Muslims in general, is a recommended practice (sunnah) and an act of drawing near to Allah. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the visiting of graves and encouraged it, and said: He said, (peace and blessings be upon him): And he taught his Companions (peace and blessings be upon him) that when they visited the graves, they should say: And in a hadith of Aisha, it says: .
So it is incumbent upon us, O Muslims, to know this ruling, and it is prescribed for us to do so; to visit the graves for the sake of remembrance, desire for the Hereafter, and asceticism in this world, and to do good to the dead by making du'a for them. A person visits them to pray for their forgiveness, mercy, and well-being; and to remember the Hereafter, and that he is going to what they have gone to, which is this death, so that he prepares for the Hereafter.
As for kissing graves, no, one does not kiss the stones, the soil, the walls if there are walls, or the bars if there are bars. All of this is reprehensible and not permissible. This is an act of exaggeration. It is not permissible to build over graves; rather, it is obligatory that they be left exposed with no structure over them. Making domes over them is a religious innovation, and likewise building mosques over them is among the religious innovations that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) condemned and forbade. He said: And Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, building over them, and writing on them."
So no one has the right to build over the graves, whether domes, mosques, or anything else. Nor does he have the right to kiss them, nor to seek blessing (tabarruk) from their soil, nor to ask the shaykh for aid as people do. It is not permissible to say: "O Messenger of Allah, aid, aid," or "O So-and-So, like Shaykh Abdul Qadir," or "O Shaykh al-Badawi, Sayyid al-Badawi," or "O al-Hasan, or O my master al-Hasan or al-Husayn," or "O So-and-So, or O Abu Hanifah," or "O Abu So-and-So." All of this is not permissible. Aid is not sought from the dead; it is sought from Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He): "O Lord, help me," "O Lord, have mercy on me," "O Lord, heal my sick one," "O Lord, provide for me." As for seeking aid from the dead, it is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah (may He be exalted) , major shirk, and an act of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah).
So one does not kiss the stones, nor the monuments, nor the soil, nor take the soil for blessing, nor seek aid from a created being, from the dead. As for the living person who is present, you say: "O my brother! Help me with such-and-such, assist me with such-and-such," and he is a living person present and capable, there is no harm in that. The living person who is present and capable, there is no harm. But the dead, no, do not say: "Aid, aid," and do not say: "Heal my sick one, and help me against my enemy, help us against the disbelievers." One does not say this to the dead. The dead person's deeds are cut off, and he has no control over the universe. Rather, control belongs to Allah alone (may He be exalted) , He is the Owner of all things, and He is the Subduer over His servants, and He is the Benefactor and the Harmer, the Giver and the Withholder, the Manager of the universe (may He be exalted) . As for the dead person, he is bound by his deeds and has no control. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Like the endowments (waqf) that he endows in his life , whether he writes it or it is for the students of knowledge, he has the reward of that .
As for his controlling the universe, or aiding this one, or helping this one, this is reprehensible and has no truth or validity. Rather, calling for aid from the dead, making vows to them, and drawing near to them with sacrifices, and seeking their aid and help, all of this is an act of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah), an act of the people of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and it is major shirk. One must beware of it. And it is obligatory upon you, O questioner, to inform the one who does this that this is reprehensible, and that it is shirk, and that he must abandon it and repent to Allah from it; because this is an act of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). Yes.