There is a mosque imam in our village who calls people to seek aid from the dead other than Allah, and he believes that this is among the matters that bring people closer to Allah.

The questioner : He says: There is a mosque imam in our village who calls people to seek aid from the dead other than Allah, and he believes that this is among the matters that bring people closer to Allah the Exalted. So, what is the ruling in Islam, in your view, regarding this man, and what is the ruling on praying behind him?

The Shaykh : I say that this man who calls to seeking aid from other than Allah is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), a caller to evil. It is not valid for him to be an imam for the Muslims, and one should not pray behind him. He must repent to Allah Mighty and Majestic before death overtakes him.
Seeking aid is only for Allah alone, and seeking aid is for a living being capable of rescuing the one who sought aid from him from distress, as in the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He: . As for seeking aid from the dead, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion.
And I call upon this man from this pulpit to repent to Allah Mighty and Majestic, and to know that seeking aid from the dead does not bring one closer to Allah, but rather it distances one from Allah Mighty and Majestic. And whoever seeks aid from the dead falls under the saying of Allah the Exalted: .