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

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359<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Life</strong>, <strong>Teachings</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong> ibn Abdul-Wahhaab<br />

“Allah cursed the Jews <strong>and</strong> Christians for they took the graves <strong>of</strong> their<br />

prophets as mosques.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) <strong>The</strong> Prophet (peace<br />

<strong>and</strong> blessings <strong>of</strong> Allah be upon him) also said,<br />

�ﺪﹺﺟﺎ�ﺴ�ﻣ �ﻢﹺﻬ�ﺋﺎ�ﻴﹺﺒ�ﻧﹶﺃ �ﺭﻮ�ﺒﹸﻗ ﺍﻭﹸﺬ�ﺨ�ﺗﺍ �ﻦﻳ�ﺬﱠﻟﺍ ﹺﺱﺎ�ﻨﻟﺍ �ﺭﺍ�ﺮ�ﺷ ﱠﻥﹶﺃ ﺍﻮ�ﻤﹶﻠ�ﻋﺍ�ﻭ<br />

“Know that the worst <strong>of</strong> all people are those who take the graves <strong>of</strong><br />

their prophets as mosques.” 1<br />

One can see from the examples <strong>of</strong> the previous peoples that the<br />

graves <strong>of</strong> deceased pious—or sometimes even impious—people can<br />

be the greatest threat to the purity <strong>of</strong> one’s tauheed. Hence, the<br />

Prophet (peace <strong>and</strong> blessings <strong>of</strong> Allah be upon him), as inspired by<br />

Allah, blocked all the means that could possibly lead to a grave<br />

tempting a person to an incorrect act <strong>of</strong> worship. Thus, the Prophet<br />

(peace <strong>and</strong> blessings <strong>of</strong> Allah be upon him) prohibited elevating<br />

graves, writing on them, sitting on them, taking them as mosques,<br />

facing them while praying <strong>and</strong> undertaking a journey solely to visit<br />

them. 2<br />

<strong>The</strong> Prophet (peace <strong>and</strong> blessings <strong>of</strong> Allah be upon him) was<br />

also obviously very concerned about how the people would behave<br />

towards him. 3 This was only natural since it was the earlier prophets<br />

<strong>and</strong> righteous individuals who were later worshipped or treated in<br />

ways that constitute an affront to the true tauheed. Thus, in numerous<br />

hadith, the Prophet (peace <strong>and</strong> blessings <strong>of</strong> Allah be upon him) gave<br />

instructions that clearly indicate that one must be very careful in such<br />

a matter. For example, he said,<br />

�ﻪﹸﻟﻮ�ﺳ�ﺭ�ﻭ �ﻪﱠﻠﻟﺍ �ﺪ�ﺒ�ﻋ ﺍﻮﹸﻟﻮﹸﻘﹶﻓ �ﻩ�ﺪ�ﺒ�ﻋ ﺎ�ﻧﹶﺃ ﺎ�ﻤ�ﻧﹺﺈﹶﻓ �ﻢ�ﻳ�ﺮ�ﻣ �ﻦ�ﺑﺍ ﻯ�ﺭﺎ�ﺼ�ﻨﻟﺍ �ﺕ�ﺮﹾﻃﹶﺃ ﺎ�ﻤﹶﻛ ﻲﹺﻧﻭ�ﺮﹾﻄ�ﺗ ﻻ<br />

1 Recorded by Ahmad. According to Shuaib al-Arnaaoot, et al., its chain is sahih.<br />

See Shuaib al-Arnaaoot, et al., footnotes to Musnad, vol. 3, p. 221.<br />

2 <strong>The</strong> evidence from the hadith for all <strong>of</strong> these points may be found in<br />

<strong>Muhammad</strong> al-Khamees, Bayaan al-Shirk wa Wasaailuhu ind Ulamaa al-<br />

Maalikiyyah (Riyadh: Daar al-Watan, 1413 A.H.), pp. 28-30.<br />

3 Since many <strong>of</strong> these instructions are <strong>com</strong>ing from the hadith, the term “the<br />

Prophet (peace <strong>and</strong> blessings <strong>of</strong> Allah be upon him)…” is being used. However,<br />

this does not mean that the matter was simply a case <strong>of</strong> the Prophet’s own<br />

thinking <strong>and</strong> conclusion. <strong>The</strong>se teachings came from him <strong>and</strong> were revealed or<br />

approved <strong>of</strong> by Allah.

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