The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ... - IslamHouse.com

The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
into the religion. That request was rejected and he [the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)] sent al-Mugheerah ibn
Shubah and Abu Sufyaan ibn Harb with them and ordered them to
demolish it. 1
Furthermore, Muslim records in his Sahih that Ali ibn Abu Taalib said
to al-Asadi, “Shall I not send you on the same type of mission that the
Messenger of Allah sent me on: Do not leave any statue without
demolishing it and do not leave any raised grave without leveling it.”
As for the visitation of graves, they are of two types: that
which is permissible and that which is forbidden, according to
whether they are in accord with the Shareeah or not. The Shareeah
recognizes three important reasons for visiting the graves: (1)
remembering the hereafter, which is specifically mentioned in the
hadith; (2) being good to the deceased, not cutting off relations or
forgetting them; (3) fulfilling the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him), in which he advised the visiting of
the graves, thus helping the visitor, and making prayers for the
deceased, which also helps the deceased. Thus, one can realize that the
deceased is more in need of the living, because the living can still
make supplications for them. The innovators have completely turned
this concept around and go to the deceased and ask of him.
Furthermore, what is forbidden is to make the gravesite a place
of worship, a mosque, a place of animal slaughter, a place of rituals
such as circumambulation and so on. This is what happened to many
of the gravesites over time, with big mausoleums built over them in
complete disobedience to the instructions of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him). In fact, many poor people believe
that visiting certain graves is sufficient for the Hajj. One can find
thousands of visitors flocking to those gravesites, with even books
written on the proper rites to be performed at those graves, while the
mosques are left empty. In any case, the followers of ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab did not see any harm in visiting graves in the proper
manner, free of innovations, sins and idolatry. 2
1 Quoted in al-Abdul-Lateef, p. 315.
2 According to Bethmann, in Bridge to Islam, the “Wahhabis” prohibited all forms
of visits to graves. See al-Uthaimeen, pp. 124-6. On pages 126f, he also gives
the arguments of those who approve of such forbidden visits.
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