Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 2 of 2

Xli ibn Abi Tdlib 443
how more may refer to the book Ufool Madh-hub ash-Shia al-
~rnarni~~ah.~~~
The Muslims have one Ka'bah, which they face in their
prayers and supplications, to which they go on pilgrimage and
around which they circumambulate (perform tawif); as for the Shia,
they have the shrines of the dead What they do at these
shrines has been forbidden by AUah (g) and His Messenger, and
everything that is forbidden by Allah (&) and His Messenger is
blameworthy and disallowed, whether the one who does it claims to
be Sunni or Shiite. It is well known in the religion of Islam that the
Prophet a) did not enjoin the actions that they speak of with regard
to shrines, and he did not prescribe for his Ummah any rituals to be
performed at the graves of prophets and righteous people. That is the
religion of the polytheists, of whom AUah (g) says: BAnd they have
said: 'You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor
Suwi?', nor Yaghooth, nor Ya 'ooq nor Nasr' [these are the names of
their idols].'B (Qur'an 71: 23)
Ibn 'Abhh and others said about those idols: "These are the
names of righteous men among the people of Nooh (m). When they
died, Satan inspired their people to set up idols in the places where
they used to sit and to call them by their names. They did that, but the
idols were not worshipped until those people died and knowledge
was lost, then they were worshipped."636 Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali
ihn Abi T%b (&) said to Ahu al-Hayij al-Asadi: "Shall I not send
you on the same mission as the Messenger of Allah (g) sent me?
'Do not leave any image without erasing it or any built-up grave
without levelling it."'637 Some of the Shiite reports affirmed the
same meaning. Al-Kulayni narrated from Abu AbduUah that Amir al-
Mu'mineen 'Ali(4)
said: "The Messenger of AUah (gJ sent me to
Madinah and said: 'Do not leave any image without erasing it or any
grave without levelling it."'638 St was narrated that Abu Abdnllah