5-Endless Bliss Fifth Fascicle - Hakikat Kitabevi

18 – BENEFITS of VISITING GRAVES
Lâ-madhhabî people [1] say that the deceased can give
neither benefit nor harm. It is written on the two hundred and
ninety-ninth page of their book Fath-ul-majîd, “Allah creates
karâmat in the hands of His believing slaves who have taqwâ.
Karâmat happens because of their prayers and pious acts.” It is
written on its five hundred and third page, “Prayers can be
asked for from the Prophet or from any pious Believer when he
is alive. But prayers cannot be asked for from the dead. The
dead are to be prayed for.” It is written on its two hundred and
eighth page, “It is shirk (polytheism) to ask for something, e.g.
help, from a dead person. A dead person does not give benefits
or harm. Nor can he ask for intercession from Allah. He who
asks for a dead person’s intercession becomes a polytheist.” It
is written on its four hundred and eighty-fifth page, “You visit
graves, and pray for the dead. Today polytheists have garbled
this; they are worshipping graves, asking and expecting help
from them. When the Messenger of Allah visited the cemetery
of Medina he stood against the graves and said, ‘Assalâmu
alaikum yâ ahlal-qubûr! May Allah forgive us and you! You
have gone before us. We have been left here to wait for our
turn.’ And he commanded his Umma to make their visits
likewise.” The book goes on as follows: “The Salaf-i sâlih (early
savants) would visit the Messenger of Allah. After making their
salâm, they would turn their back to the grave, and pray toward
the qibla. The same method is taught by the imâms of the four
Madhhabs.” It is written on its two hundred and seventy-second
page, “They ask for help from the dead Awliyâ as well as from
the living ones. They believe that they (the Awliyâ) can do good
or harm in the name of karâmat. Eccentricities like these mean
to worship beings other than Allah.” It is written on its two
hundred and fifty-eighth page, “Wheresoever you say salawât
for me, I shall be informed of it. A person who enters the masjid
in order to perform the salât is forbidden to approach the
Prophet’s grave to offer his salâm. None of the Sahâba stood in
front of the Prophet’s grave to offer his salâm.” As it is seen, the
statements in this book contradict one another and slander the
imâms of the four Madhhabs.
[1] People who do not belong to any of the (only) four rightful Madhhabs,
i.e. the Madhhabs named Hanafî, Mâlikî, Shâfi’î, and Hanbalî.
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