The ruling on supplicating to the dead other than Allah
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Question:
This questioner from Sudan says, Your Eminence the Shaykh: In the hadith:Riyad as-Salihin 1383 Some people go to the grave of a person, perhaps a Shaykh, and ask him for this and that. Is that permissible? What is the ruling in the Shari'ah on the one who does that? And how do we make du'a' for the deceased based on this hadith? How do we make du'a' after death?
May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
You say: O Allah, forgive my father; O Allah, forgive him; O Allah, have mercy on him; O Allah, save him from the Fire; and the like of that. This is the du'a' for him.
As for making du'a' to the dead, and turning to the dead and saying to him: O so-and-so, help me, or I am under your protection, or aid me; this is major shirk. Or intercede for me, or I am under your guardianship, or the like of that; this is major shirk. This is what the mushrikin did with al-Lat and al-Uzza, and with their idols. And this is what the mushrikin did with the Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, and with al-Badawi, and with al-Husayn. This is not permissible.
One does not say: O my master so-and-so, help me, or I am under your protection, or I am under your guardianship, or intercede for me. This is not said to the dead; it is said to the living. One says to the living: Intercede for me, make du'a' to Allah for me; it is not contrary to the living. You say: Make du'a' to Allah to forgive me, make du'a' to Allah to have mercy on me. There is no harm in that.
As for the dead, you say to him: O so-and-so, O Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir, or O Husayn, or O Sayyidah Zaynab, or O so-and-so—and he is dead—make du'a' to Allah for me. This is not permissible; because he is not able, he cannot do anything. Or intercede for me; this is tawassul through a dead person who is not able, like the one who says to the idol: Help me, or intercede for me. It is an inanimate object with no power over anything. So asking the dead, seeking aid from the dead, and seeking intercession from the dead; this is the action of the mushrikin, and this is what is wrong, and it is not permissible. Rather, it is from major shirk. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
And the same applies to the absent ones: O angels of Allah, O Jibril, O Mikail, or O jinn of so-and-so, O jinn of al-Dhahrān, O jinn of al-Hasa, O jinn of America, O jinn of Egypt, or O jinn of so-and-so. All of this is from major shirk. And Allah has criticized some of the mushrikin in this. He said about them: [al-Jinn:6] meaning: they increased them in evil and affliction. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.
This questioner from Sudan says, Your Eminence the Shaykh: In the hadith:
When a man dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him (for the deceased).
إذا مات ابن آدم انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث: صدقة جارية، أو علم ينتفع به، أو ولد صالح يدعو لهIbn Salih makes du'a' for him
ابن صالح يدعو لهMay Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
You say: O Allah, forgive my father; O Allah, forgive him; O Allah, have mercy on him; O Allah, save him from the Fire; and the like of that. This is the du'a' for him.
As for making du'a' to the dead, and turning to the dead and saying to him: O so-and-so, help me, or I am under your protection, or aid me; this is major shirk. Or intercede for me, or I am under your guardianship, or the like of that; this is major shirk. This is what the mushrikin did with al-Lat and al-Uzza, and with their idols. And this is what the mushrikin did with the Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, and with al-Badawi, and with al-Husayn. This is not permissible.
One does not say: O my master so-and-so, help me, or I am under your protection, or I am under your guardianship, or intercede for me. This is not said to the dead; it is said to the living. One says to the living: Intercede for me, make du'a' to Allah for me; it is not contrary to the living. You say: Make du'a' to Allah to forgive me, make du'a' to Allah to have mercy on me. There is no harm in that.
As for the dead, you say to him: O so-and-so, O Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir, or O Husayn, or O Sayyidah Zaynab, or O so-and-so—and he is dead—make du'a' to Allah for me. This is not permissible; because he is not able, he cannot do anything. Or intercede for me; this is tawassul through a dead person who is not able, like the one who says to the idol: Help me, or intercede for me. It is an inanimate object with no power over anything. So asking the dead, seeking aid from the dead, and seeking intercession from the dead; this is the action of the mushrikin, and this is what is wrong, and it is not permissible. Rather, it is from major shirk. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
And the same applies to the absent ones: O angels of Allah, O Jibril, O Mikail, or O jinn of so-and-so, O jinn of al-Dhahrān, O jinn of al-Hasa, O jinn of America, O jinn of Egypt, or O jinn of so-and-so. All of this is from major shirk. And Allah has criticized some of the mushrikin in this. He said about them:
And there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden.
وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًاThe presenter: May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.