Imam Abu Haneefa & Asking help from Prophet (PBUH)

Some extreme Sufis quote this statement of Imam Abu Hanifa to justify their shirk.

Mujtahid, Imam ibn al-Hammam (d. 861 AH), mentions in his Fath al-Qadir (Sharh al-Hidaya) the following narration (2/336):

امام اعظم ابوحنیفه
یا أكرم الثقلین یا كنز الوری
جدلی بجودك و أرضنی برضاكا
أنا طامع فی الجود منك و لم یكن
لأبی حنیفة فی الأنام سواكا

“When Imam Abu Hanifa visited Medina, he stood in front of the honorable grave (of the Prophet) and said,

“O (YA), most honorable of the Two Weighty Ones (humankind and jinn)!
O (YA), treasure of mankind, shower your generosity upon me and please me with your pleasure.
I am aspiring for your generosity, and there is no one for Abu Hanifa in the world but you.”

Response

Even though I could not verify these statements, even if this quote exists, we would need a full chain of narrators from Ibn al-Hummam to Imam Abu Hanifa, because Ibn al-Hummam died in 861 AH while Abu Hanifa (RA) died in 150 AH. Who can realistically provide a chain spanning these seven centuries?

If Ibn al-Hummam is to be considered the yardstick for determining truth and falsehood, then let me quote him where he opposes these Sufis.

Ibn Humam said

عند أكثر مشايخنا هو أن الميت لا يسمع عندهم على ما صرحوا به في كتاب الأيمان في باب اليمين بالضرب . لو حلف لا يكلمه فكلمه ميتا لا يحنث ; لأنها تنعقد على ما يفهم ، والميت ليس كذلك لعدم السماع . وأورد قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم في أهل القليب أقول منهم وأجابوا تارة بأنه مردود من عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت : كيف يقول صلى الله عليه وسلم ذلك والله تعالى يقول { وما أنت بمسمع من في القبور } {إنك لا تسمع الموتى } وتارة بأن تلك خصوصية له صلى الله عليه وسلم معجزة وزيادة حسرة على الكافرين ، وتارة بأنه من ضرب المثل كما قال علي رضي الله عنه .
ويشكل عليهم ما في مسلم { إن الميت ليسمع قرع نعالهم إذا انصرفوا } اللهم إلا أن يخصوا ذلك بأول الوضع في القبر مقدمة للسؤال جمعا بينه وبين الآيتين فإنهما يفيدان تحقيق عدم سماعهم ، فإنه تعالى شبه الكفار بالموتى لإفادة تعذر سماعهم وهو فرع عدم سماع الموتى

According to most of our teachers, the dead cannot hear. This is explained in Kitab al-Eeman, Chapter: Al-Yameen bil Darab, where it states that if someone swears not to speak to someone and then “speaks” to them after they are dead, he has not broken his oath. This is because the meaning of speaking is to make the other person understand, and since the dead cannot understand—because they cannot hear—the oath is not violated.

Some people object, citing the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding the dead of the ditch of Badr:

“What I am saying to them, even you cannot hear more distinctly than they.”

Our teachers replied that Aisha (RA) rejected this, asking: How can the Prophet (peace be upon him) say this when Allah says, ‘You cannot make those in the graves hear’ [Fatir: 22]?

Other explanations are:

1. It was a miracle, so that the Prophet could reprimand the disbelievers.

2. It was only a lesson for the living, not the dead.

. [Fath ul Qadeer Book of Prayers Chapter of Funereal]

Ibn ‘Abdin also accepted this, as he said:

“This is the conclusion of what Ibn al-Hummam mentioned in Fath al-Qadir here and in the chapter on funerals.”
[Dar al-Muhtar, vol. 3, p. 180]

Mufti Taqi Usmani also affirms this in his fatwa, stating:

“It was narrated from ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she took the position of negating the hearing of the dead and interpreted the hadith regarding the people of Badr accordingly. A group of ‘ulama agreed with her on this. Al-Qadi Abu Ya’la, among the great Hanbalis, also preferred this view. Ibn al-Hummam (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that most Hanafi scholars hold the view that the dead do not hear, using as proof Allah’s statements:

‘Truly thou canst not cause the dead to listen’ (27:80)
‘Thou canst not make those to hear who are in graves’ (35:22).

For this reason, the Hanafis say: if one swears he will not speak to someone and then speaks to him when he is dead, he has not broken his oath.”
(Takmilah Fath al-Mulhim, vol. 6, pp. 188–189)

According to Ibn al-Hummam, if one believes that Prophets know the ghayb (unseen) independently, then that is kufr. This is important because when some Sufis ask help from the Prophets or awliyā’, they believe that these individuals know their requests and hear them. Ibn al-Hummam commented on this, stating:

ﻭﺫﻜﺭ ﺍﻟﺤﻨﻔﻴﺔ ﺘﺼﺭﻴﺤﺎ ﺒﺎﻟﺘﻜﻔﻴﺭ ﺒﺎﻋﺘﻘﺎﺩ ﺃﻥ ﺍﻟﻨﺒﻲ ﻴﻌﻠﻡ ﺍﻟﻐﻴﺏ ﻟﻤﻌﺎﺭﻀﺔ ﻗﻭﻟﻪ ﺘﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻗﻝ ﻻ ﻴﻌﻠﻡ ﻤﻥ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺴﻤﺎﻭﺍﺕ ﻭﺍﻷﺭﺽ ﺍﻟﻐﻴﺏ ﺇﻻ ﺍﷲ

The Hanafis clearly state that it is kufr (disbelief) if someone holds the belief that Prophets know the unseen, because this contradicts the Qur’anic verse in Surat An-Naml [27:65]:

“Say, ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah.’”

(Al-Musayara ma‘ al-Musamara, p. 235).

Mullah Ali Qari affirmed this in Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar, and Azeemabadi quoted it in Awn al-Ma‘bud under Hadith no. 4240.

In short, if you ask for help from the Prophets or Awliyā’ and believe that they know and hear your requests, then this is kufr.

Ibn al-Hummam also said:

وَيُكْرَهُ النَّوْمُ عِنْدَ الْقَبْرِ وَقَضَاءُ الْحَاجَةِ، بَلْ أَوْلَى وَكُلُّ مَا لَمْ يُعْهَدْ فِي السُّنَّةِ، وَالْمَعْهُودُ مِنْهَا لَيْسَ إلَّا زِيَارَتَهَا وَالدُّعَاءَ عِنْدَهَا قَائِمًا كَمَا كَانَ يَفْعَلُ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – فِي الْخُرُوجِ إلَى الْبَقِيعِ وَيَقُولُ: «السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ دَارَ قَوْمٍ مُؤْمِنِينَ، وَإِنَّا إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ بِكُمْ لَاحِقُونَ، أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ الْعَافِيَةَ» .
“It is disliked to sleep near the grave and relieving his needs, and all that is not justified by Sunnah, and what is justified by the Sunnah is only to visit graves, to read invocations while standing as would the Prophet (peace be upon him) do when he was going to Baqi and say: Peace be upon you, inhabitants of the dwellings who are of the community of the believers. If Allah wills we shall join you. We supplicate to Allah to grant us and you well being.”[Fath Al-Qadir”, vol 2 p 102, Maktabah Rashidiya]

Note: Ibn al-Hummam did believe that at the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him), one can ask Allah for one’s needs, using the Prophet as a means to Allah. This is not shirk, but a disputed issue among scholars. Some say it is an innovation, while others recommend it.

Now, let me quote from a Hanafi scholar who rejected this idea, going back to Imam Abu Hanifa:

Muhiydeen Muhammad ibn Ali al-Birqivi al-Hanafi (b. 929 AH) said in Ziyarat al-Quboor (p. 58), explaining how Muslims should visit the grave of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa salam):

قال سلمة بن وردان : رأيت أنس بن مالك يسلم على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم يسند ظهره إلى جدار القبر ثم يدعو ، وهذا مما لا نزاع فيه بين العلماء وإنما نزاعهم في وقت السلام عليه قال أبو حنيفة رحمه الله : يستقبل القبلة عند السلام أيضاً ولا يستقبل القبر وقال غيره : يستقبل القبر عند السلام خاصة ولم يقل أحد من الأئمة الأربعة أنه يستقبل القبر عند الدعاء ، إلا حكاية مكذوبة عن مالك ؛ ومذهبه بخلافها ، وكذلك الحكاية المنقولة عن الشافعي رحمه الله كان يقصد الدعاء عند قبر أبي حنيفة رحمه الله ـ فإنها من الكذب الظاهر بل قالوا : إنه يستقبل القبلة وقت الدعاء ولا يستقبل القبر حتى يكون الدعاء عند القبر ، فإن الدعاء عبادة كما ثبت في الترمذي مرفوعاً ” الدعاء هو العبادة ” فالسلف من الصحابة والتابعين جردوا العبادة لله تعالى ، ولم يفعلوا عند القبر منها شيئاً إلا ما أذن فيه النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من السلام على أصحابها والاستغفار لهم والترحم عليهم .

Salamah ibn Waradan said:

“I saw Anas ibn Malik offering salam to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Then he turned his back toward the wall of the grave and made du‘a. This part is undisputed among scholars; the only dispute concerns the time of salam.
Abu Hanifa said that one should face the qiblah during salam and should not face the grave. Others said that one should face the grave during salam only. None of the four Imams said to face the grave during du‘a, except for a false report attributed to Malik, whose madhhab actually opposes this. Similarly, a story reported from Shafi‘i stating that he made du‘a at Abu Hanifa’s grave is also a blatant lie. Rather, the scholars said one should face the qiblah during du‘a and not face the grave, so that du‘a is not done on graves.
This is because du‘a is worship, as established in Tirmidhi in marfu‘ form (words of the Prophet): ‘Du‘a is worship.’ The Salaf, including the Sahabah and Tabi‘un, performed worship solely for Allah and did not do anything on graves except what the Prophet (peace be upon him) permitted, such as salam to his companions, istighfar, and invoking mercy for them.”

Now, some quotes from Hanafi Fatawa:

a) Fatawa of Abdul Hai Lakhnawi (Hanafi)

Question: What is the stance regarding a person who believes that Awliyā’ know and hear the one invoking them from afar, and talks to them as if they are present, makes vows for them, and claims, “I made vows for them”?

Answer:

“The creed of such a person is invalid, and there is a danger of kufr, because listening to invocations by Awliyā’ is not proven. At all times, knowledge of the unseen is a specialty of Allah alone. This is mentioned in Fatawa Bazariyyah:

‘One becomes a kafir by claiming that the souls of the Mashaykh are present and know what is happening.’

The same book says:
‘If someone marries by making Allah and His Prophet witnesses, he is kafir because he assumed that the Prophet has knowledge of the unseen. Vows are prohibited if they are made for anyone other than Allah. Any vows made in this manner are also prohibited,’ as mentioned in Durr al-Mukhtar and Bahr al-Raiq. Allah knows best.”

(Majmoo‘ Fatawa Abu Hasanaat Abdul Hai Lakhnawi Hanafi, Vol. Kitab al-Aqaid, pp. 46–47, Urdu translation)

He also said:

Question: If a person believes that Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah have mercy on him) has the power to hear anyone who calls him from anywhere and turn his attention toward the caller, what is the ruling of Shari‘ah regarding this belief?

Answer: This belief is not just against the aqā‘id of Islam, but constitutes shirk. Hearing the call of everyone from anywhere at all times is an attribute specific only to Allah, Most High; none of the creation possesses it. Allah knows best.
(Majmu‘ al-Fatāwa of Imam Abdul Hai Farangi Mahalli, Vol. I, p. 73)

He also said:

Question: What is the ruling regarding a person whose creed is that the spirits of scholars are present and that they know everything?

Answer: He is not a Muslim. It is mentioned in Fatawa Bazariyyah:

“One becomes a kafir with the statement that the souls of the Mashaykh are present and know everything.”

Allah knows best.
(Fatawa Abdul Hai Lakhnawi, Kitab al-Aqā‘id, p. 85)

b) Fatwa of Imam Abu Hanifa:

If people rely only on books without authentic chains of narration, let me quote something clear from the Hanafi Imams.

It is mentioned in the book of fiqh Ghara‘ib fi Tahqiq al-Madhahib, quoted by Shaykh Salahuddin Yusuf as-Salafi in his Tafsir of the Qur’an, and by Muhammad Husayn Neylwi Hanafi Deobandi in his book Shifa’ al-Sudur fi Tahqiq ‘Adm Sima’ man fil Qubur (p. 61). They cited the book of Allama Bashir al-Din Usmani Qinnawji, a student of Shah Muhammad Ishaq Dehlvi.

رأى الامام ابو حنيفة من ياتى القبور لاهل الصلاح فيسلم ويخاطب ويتكلم ويقول يا أهل القبور هل لكم من خبر وهل عندكم من اثر انى اتيتكم من شهور وليس سؤلى الاالدعافهل دريتم ام غفلتم فسمع ابوحنيفة بقول يخاطبه بهم فقال هل اجابولك قال لافقال له سحقا لك وتربت يداك كيف تكلم اجسادا لايستطيعون جوابا ولايملكون شياء ولا يسمعون صوتا وقراوما انت بمسمع من فى القبور

Imam Abu Hanifa saw someone visiting the graves of pious people, giving them salam, addressing them, and saying:
“O people of righteousness, have you any news? Have you any narration? I have been coming to you for months, invoking you, and there is nothing in my request except du‘a. Did you understand, or were you absent-minded?”
Abu Hanifa asked him: “Did they answer you?”
He replied: “No.”
Abu Hanifa said:
“May curse be upon you, and may your hands perish! How do you speak to bodies that cannot answer, possess nothing, and cannot hear any voice?”
He then recited the verse:
“And you cannot make those in graves to hear.”
(Tafheem al-Masa’il by Maulana Muhammad Basheer Qinnawji, quoting Ghara‘ib fi Tahqiq al-Madhahib; narration accepted by Muhammad Husayn Neylwi Hanafi)

c) It is mentioned in Radd al-Muhtar and Dur al-Mukhtar (Vol. 3, p. 427; Vol. 2, p. 483):

واعلم أن النذر الذي يقع للأموات من أكثر العوام وما يؤخذ من الدراهم والشمع والزيت ونحوها إلى ضرائح الأولياء الكرام تقرباً إليهم فهو بالإجماع باطل وحرام

It should be known that many people offer Nazar or Niyaz in the name of the dead, present sacrifices to gain the nearness of the Awliyā’ al-Kirām, and offer their wealth, light wax, and pour oil on the graves of the Awliyā’ al-Kirām. All these acts are false and prohibited by consensus.
Ibn Abideen said:

أما لو نذر زيتا لإيقاد قنديل فوق ضريح الشيخ أو في المنارة كما يفعل النساء من نذر الزيت لسيدي عبد القادر ويوقد في المنارة جهة المشرق فهو باطل ، وأقبح منه النذر بقراءة المولد في المنابر ومع اشتماله على الغناء واللعب وإيهاب ثواب ذلك إلى حضرة المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم ( قوله ولا سيما في هذه الأعصار ) ولا سيما في مولد السيد أحمد البدوي نهر ( قوله ولقد قال إلخ ) ذكر ذلك هنا في النهر ، ولا يخفى على ذوي الأفهام أن مراد الإمام بهذا الكلام إنما هو ذم العوام والتباعد عن نسبتهم إليه بأي وجه يرام ولو بإسقاط الولاء الثابت الانبرام ، وذلك بسبب جهلهم العام وتغييرهم لكثير من الأحكام ، وتقربهم بما هو باطل وحرام ; فهم كالأنعام يتغير بهم الأعلام ، ويتبرءون من شنائعهم العظام كما هو أدب الأنبياء الكرام حيث يتبرءون من الأباعد والأرحام بمخالفتهم الملك العلام فافهم ما ذكرناه والسلام . .

However, if someone vows oil to light a lamp above the Shaykh’s grave or in a minaret  as women do by vowing oil for Sayyid ‘Abd al-Qadir and lighting it in the minaret towards the east  this is invalid. Even worse is vowing to recite the Mawlid on pulpits, especially when it includes singing, play, and attributing the reward to the presence of the Prophet [peace be upon him].

(His words, ‘and especially in these times’) — and particularly during the Mawlid of Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi  refers to the current widespread practices. (His words, ‘and indeed he said…’) are mentioned here to clarify this point.

It is not hidden to the understanding people that the Imam’s intention in this statement is to criticize the common people (al-‘awam) and distance them from attributing their improper actions to him in any unacceptable way, even if it involves disregarding legitimate spiritual ties. This is due to their general ignorance, their alteration of many rulings, and their acts of drawing close to Allah through what is false and forbidden. They are like cattle whose behavior changes with circumstances and who disassociate from their major sins, as is the manner of the noble Prophets, who disassociate from the wrongdoers and from their relatives by opposing the Almighty King. Understand what we have mentioned.

d) In the Sharḥ of Dur al‑Muhtār, namely Radd al‑Muḥtār, it is mentioned:

مطلب في النذر الذي يقع للأموات من أكثر العوام من شمع أو زيت أو نحوه
قوله (تقرباً إليهم) كأن يقول يا سيدي فلان إن رددت غائبي أو عوفي مريضي أو قضيت حاجتي فلك من الذهب أو الفضة أو الطعام أو الشمع أو الزيت كذا
قوله (باطل وحرام) لوجوه منها أنه نذر لمخلوق، والنذر للمخلوق لا يجوز لأنه عبادة، والعبادة لا تكون لمخلوق، ومنها أن المنذور له ميت والميت لا يملك، ومنها أنه إن ظن أن الميت يتصرف في الأمور دون الله تعالى واعتقد ذلك كفر
إلا إن قال: يا الله، إني نذرت لك إن شفيت مريضي أو رددت غائبي أو قضيت حاجتي أن أطعم الفقراء الذين بباب السيدة نفيسة أو الإمام الشافعي أو الإمام الليث أو أشتري حصراً لمساجدهم أو زيتاً لوقودها أو دراهم لمن يقوم بشعائرها، إلى غير ذلك مما فيه نفع للفقراء، فالنذر لله عز وجل.

“And know that the vows (nadhr) made to the dead by the majority of the laypeople such as offering candles, oil, and similar items at the shrines of the noble Awliyā’ in order to gain closeness to them are such that one may say: ‘O my master so‑and‑so, if you return my lost person, cure my illness, or fulfill my need, then for you I will give gold, silver, food, candles, or oil.’

This is invalid and prohibited for several reasons. Among them is that the vow is made to a created being, and making a vow to a created being is not permissible because a vow is an act of worship, and worship cannot be directed to creation. Another reason is that the one to whom the vow is made is dead, and the dead do not possess ownership. Another reason is that if one believes that the dead have control over affairs besides Allah, then this belief constitutes disbelief.

However, if one says: ‘O Allah, I vow to You that if You cure my illness, return my lost one, or fulfill my need, I will feed the poor at the door of Sayyidah Nafīsah, or Imām al‑Shāfiʿī, or Imām al‑Layth, or purchase mats for their mosques, or oil for their lamps, or money for those who maintain them’, and the vow is made for Allah and benefits the poor, then such a vow is valid.”

(Ḥāshiyat Radd al‑Muḥtār, 2/439)

e) It is mentioned in Fatāwā al‑Hindiyyah (Vol. 1, p. 216), a work compiled by approximately 500 Hanafi scholars:

وَالنَّذْرُ الَّذِي يَقَعُ مِنْ أَكْثَرِ الْعَوَامِّ بِأَنْ يَأْتِيَ إِلَى قَبْرِ بَعْضِ الصُّلَحَاءِ وَيَرْفَعَ سِتْرَهُ قَائِلًا يَا سَيِّدِي فُلَانٌ إِنْ قَضَيْتَ حَاجَتِي فَلَكَ مِنِّي مِنَ الذَّهَبِ مِثْلًا كَذَا بَاطِلٌ إِجْمَاعًا

Translation:
It is common among the general public that they go to the grave of a pious person and make a vow, saying: “O such‑and‑such pious person, if my need is fulfilled, I will sacrifice a certain amount of gold for you.”

Such a vow is invalid and prohibited by scholarly consensus.
(End quote)

f) Mahmud Shukri Al-Alusi, said in “Ghayatul Amani” in refutation of An-Nabbahani about Tawassul with du’a:
“And this is done with alive people, and not dead, and this is Tawassul with their du’a and their Shafa’ah (intercession), because the alive is sought for that, and as for the dead, nothing is sought from him, neither Du’a nor anything else.” (“Ghayatul Amani” v 2 p 335)

Mahmud Shukri al-Ālūsī’s Rebuttal of Extreme Sufi Positions

g) Mahmud al‑Alusi (Hanafi), the Mufti of Baghdad, said in his famous Tafsir:

وأما إذا كان المطلوب منه ميتاً أو غائباً فلا يستريب عالم أنه غير جائز وأنه من البدع التي لم يفعلها أحد من السلف

As for when the person being sought is dead or absent, it is clear to scholars that this is not permissible and it is an innovation (bid‘ah) that none of the Salaf practiced.
(Imam Mahmud al‑Alusi, Tafsir al‑Qur’an “Ruh al‑Ma‘ani”, Tafsir of the verse on seeking wasilah, al-Maidah 5:35)

Keys of Heavens and the Earth are only belong to Allah, He said:

وأخرج ابن الأنباري وغيره، عن ابن عباس – رضي الله تعالى عنهما – أن الوسيلة الحاجة، وأنشد له قول عنترة :

إن الرجال لهم إليك وسيلة إن يأخذوك تكحلي وتخضبي

وكأن المعنى حينئذ: اطلبوا متوجهين إليه حاجتكم؛ فإن بيده – عز شأنه – مقاليد السماوات والأرض، ولا تطلبوها متوجهين إلى غيره، فتكونوا كضعيف عاذ بقرملة.

Ibn al-Anbari and others narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that wasilah (seeking a means) refers to the need (hajah). He also cited a line of poetry by Antara:

“Indeed, men have a means to you, if they take you, they adorn themselves with kohl and henna.”

The intended meaning here is: Direct your needs toward Him (Allah), for in His Hand  Glorified and Exalted is He are the keys of the heavens and the earth. Do not direct your needs to anyone else, lest you be like a weak person seeking refuge with a broken shard. [Ruh al Ma`ani 6/125]

He also said:

واستدل بعض الناس بهذه الآية على مشروعية الاستغاثة بالصالحين، وجعلهم وسيلة بين الله تعالى وبين العباد، والقسم على الله تعالى  بهم، بأن يقال: اللهم إنا نقسم عليك بفلان أن تعطينا كذا، ومنهم من يقول للغائب أو الميت من عباد الله تعالى الصالحين: يا فلان ادع الله تعالى ليرزقني كذا وكذا، ويزعمون أن ذلك من باب ابتغاء الوسيلة، ويروون عن النبي – صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم – أنه قال: « إذا أعيتكم الأمور فعليكم بأهل القبور، أو فاستغيثوا بأهل القبور » وكل ذلك بعيد عن الحق بمراحل.

Some people used this verse as evidence for the permissibility of seeking aid (al-istighāthah) from the righteous, making them an intermediary between Allah and His servants, and swearing oaths by Allah using them, by saying: “O Allah, we swear by You by so-and-so that You grant us such-and-such.” Among them are those who say to an absent or deceased righteous servant of Allah: “O so-and-so, ask Allah to provide me with such-and-such.” They claim that this is from seeking the means (ibtighā’ al-waseelah), and they narrate from the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him that he said: “When matters become difficult for you, turn to the people of the graves,” or “seek aid from the people of the graves.” All of that is far from the truth by great distances.

[Ruh al Ma`ani 6/125]

Regarding asking a living pious person for supplication versus one who has passed away, Al-Ālūsī said:

وتحقيق الكلام في هذا المقام أن الاستغاثة بمخلوق وجعله وسيلة بمعنى طلب الدعاء منه لا شك في جوازه، إن كان المطلوب منه حيا، ولا يتوقف على أفضليته من الطالب، بل قد يطلب الفاضل من المفضول، فقد صح أنه – صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم – قال لعمر – رضي الله تعالى عنه – لما استأذنه في العمرة: «لا تنسنا يا أخي من دعائك»، وأمره أيضا أن يطلب من أويس القرني – رحمة الله تعالى عليه – أن يستغفر له، وأمر أمته – صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم – بطلب الوسيلة له كما مر آنفا، وبأن يصلوا عليه.

وأما إذا كان المطلوب منه ميتا أو غائبا فلا يستريب عالم أنه غير جائز، وأنه من البدع التي لم يفعلها أحد من السلف، نعم، السلام على أهل القبور  مشروع، ومخاطبتهم جائزة، فقد صح أنه – صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم – كان يعلم أصحابه إذا زاروا القبور أن يقولوا: « السلام عليكم أهل الديار من المؤمنين، وإنا إن شاء تعالى بكم لاحقون، يرحم الله تعالى المستقدمين منا ومنكم والمستأخرين، نسأل الله تعالى لنا ولكم العافية، اللهم لا تحرمنا أجرهم ولا تفتنا بعدهم، واغفر لنا ولهم ».

ولم يرد عن أحد من الصحابة – رضي الله تعالى عنهم، وهم أحرص الخلق على كل خير – أنه طلب من ميت شيئا، بل قد صح عن ابن عمر – رضي الله تعالى عنهما – أنه كان يقول إذ دخل الحجرة النبوية زائرا: السلام عليك يا رسول الله، السلام عليك يا أبا بكر، السلام عليك يا أبت، ثم ينصرف، ولا يزيد على ذلك ، ولا يطلب من سيد العالمين – صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم – أو من ضجيعيه المكرمين – رضي الله تعالى عنهما – شيئا، وهم أكرم من ضمتهم البسيطة، وأرفع قدرا من سائر من أحاطت به الأفلاك المحيطة.

The accurate discourse in this place is that seeking aid from a created being and making him a means, in the sense of requesting supplication from him, is undoubtedly permissible if the one being requested from is alive. It does not depend on him being superior to the requester; rather, the superior may request from the inferior. It is authentically reported that he—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said to ‘Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—when he sought his permission for ‘Umrah: “Do not forget us, my brother, in your supplication.” And he also ordered him to ask Uways al-Qarnī—may Allah have mercy on him—to seek forgiveness for him. And he ordered his nation—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—to seek al-waseelah for him as mentioned earlier, and to send prayers upon him.

As for if the one being requested from is deceased or absent, then no scholar is in doubt that it is not permissible, and that it is from the innovations that none of the predecessors (salaf) did. Yes, giving peace (salām) upon the people of the graves is legislated, and addressing them is permissible. It is authentically reported that he—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—used to teach his companions, when they visited graves, to say: “Peace be upon you, O people of the dwellings, among the believers, and we, if Allah wills, will join you. May Allah have mercy on those of us who have gone ahead and those who come later. We ask Allah for well-being for us and for you. O Allah, do not deprive us of their reward and do not try us after them, and forgive us and them.”

Nothing is reported from any of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them, and they were the most eager of creation for every good—that they requested anything from a deceased person. Rather, it is authentically reported from Ibn ‘Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both—that when he entered the Prophet’s chamber as a visitor, he would say: “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon you, O Abā Bakr. Peace be upon you, O my father,” then he would depart, not adding to that, and not requesting anything from the master of the worlds—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—or from his two noble companions lying beside him—may Allah be pleased with them both—even though they were the most noble people embraced by the earth, and of higher status than all others encompassed by the surrounding spheres.

[Rūḥ al-Ma‘ānī, 6/125]

He also said in Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, volume 13, page 155, under Surah al-Ḥajj, verse 73:

{ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ لَن يَخْلُقُواْ ذُبَاباً }
[الحج: 73] الخ إشارة إلى ذم الغالين في أولياء الله تعالى حيث يستغيثون بهم في الشدة غافلين عن الله تعالى وينذرون لهم النذور والعقلاء منهم يقولون: إنهم وسائلنا إلى الله تعالى وإنما ننذر لله عز وجل ونجعل ثوابه للولي، ولا يخفى أنهم في دعواهم الأولى أشبه الناس بعبدة الأصنام القائلين

“Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah cannot create even a fly.” [al-Ḥajj: 73]

This verse is an indication condemning those who exaggerate with respect to the awliyā’ of Allah, seeking their help during times of distress while being heedless of Allah Most High, and making vows (nadhr) to them. Even the more rational among them say: “They are our means to Allah Most High; we only make vows to Allah and dedicate the reward to the wali.” It is clear that in their first claim they closely resemble the idol-worshippers. (End quote)

What happened when al-Alūsī saw a man asking help from the dead?

Imam al Alusi said:
وقد قلت يوماً لرجل يستغيث في شدة ببعض الأموات وينادي يا فلان أغثني فقلت له: قل يا الله فقد قال سبحانه:
{ وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنّي فَإِنّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ }
[البقرة: 186] فغضب وبلغني أنه قال: فلان منكر على الأولياء،
“I once said to a man who was seeking help in distress from one of the dead and calling out, ‘O so-and-so, help me!’: ‘Say: O Allah!’ For Allah, the Exalted, says:

‘And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the supplication of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.’ [al-Baqarah: 186]

He became angry, and it later reached me that he said: ‘So-and-so is a denier of the awliyā’.’”

(Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, under Surah az-Zumar, verse 45)

h) ‘Alā’ al-Dīn al-Kāsānī al-Ḥanafī (d. 587 AH)

He mentioned in Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ (5/126):

(ويكره للرجل أن يقول في دعائه: أسألك بحق أنبيائك ورسلك وبحق فلان؛ لأنه لا حق لأحد على الله سبحانه وتعالى جل شأنه)

It is disliked for a person, in his supplication (duʿā’), to say: “I ask You by the right (ḥaqq) of Your Prophets and Messengers, or by the right of so-and-so,” because no one has any right over Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.

i) It is mentioned in Fatāwā al-Bazzāziyyah:

قال علماؤنا: من قال أرواح المشايخ حاضرة تعلم يكفر

“Our scholars have said: Whoever claims that the souls of the shaykhs are present and possess knowledge has committed disbelief (kufr).”

Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī quoted this in al-Baḥr (Book of Siyar), in the chapter on apostates.

j) Muḥammad ʿĀbid al-Sindī al-Ḥanafī

He states explicitly:

ولا يقول: يا صاحب القبر، يا فلان، اقض حاجتي، أو سلها من الله، أو كن لي شفيعًا عند الله، بل يقول: يا من لا يشرك في حكمه أحدًا، اقض لي حاجتي هذه

He should not say: “O occupant of the grave! O so-and-so, fulfill my need,” or “ask it from Allah on my behalf,” or “be an intercessor for me with Allah.”
Rather, he should say: “O One in whose judgment none is associated, fulfill this need of mine.”

(Ṭawāliʿ al-Anwār, commentary on Tanwīr al-Anṣār together with ad-Durr al-Mukhtār)

k) It is stated in Majmaʿ al-Anhur (a Ḥanafī reference):

ويكفر بقوله أرواح المشايخ حاضرة، تعلم

“One commits disbelief (kufr) by saying that the souls of the shaykhs are present and possess knowledge.”

(Majmaʿ al-Anhur, Kitāb al-Jihād wa al-Siyar, Chapter on Apostasy)

l) Qāḍī Shihāb al-Dīn Dawlat Ābādī (d. 894 AH) said:

وما يفعله الجهال على رأس كل حول وشهر ربيع الأول ليس بشيء، ويقومون عند ذكر مولده ﷺ ويزعمون أن روحه تجيء وحاضرة، فزعمهم باطل وهذا الاعتقاد شرك

“What the ignorant people do at the beginning of each year and in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal has no basis or value. They stand when the mention of his birth (peace and blessings be upon him) is made, claiming that his soul comes and is present. Their claim is false, and this belief is shirk.”

References:
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (1/27); Tuḥfat al-Quḍāh by Qāḍī Shihāb al-Dīn.
Quoted in Taṣḥīḥ al-ʿAqāʾid by Muḥammad Raʾīs Nadwī (p. 190) and Fatāwā Shaykh Shams al-Ḥaqq ʿAẓīmābādī (p. 166).

Note on the Scholar

He is Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Qāsim ʿUmar al-Zawālī, known as Shihāb al-Dīn al-Dawlat Ābādī al-Hindī al-Ḥanafī. He was among the great muftis of the Ḥanafī school and served as a judge (qāḍī). This is documented in:

• Subḥat al-Marjān fī Āthār Hindustān (p. 39)

• Nuzhat al-Khawāṭir

m) Imām Qāḍī Khān (d. 592 AH) said:

لأنه يعتقد أن الرسول يعلم الغيب وهو كفر

“Because he believes that the Messenger has knowledge of the unseen, and this is disbelief.”

Reference: Fatāwā Qāḍī Khān, Kitāb al-Nikāḥ, Faṣl fī Sharāʾiṭ al-Nikāḥ (1/154).

He also said:

وهو ما كان يعلم الغيب حين كان في الأحياء فكيف بعد الموت

“He (peace and blessings be upon him) did not possess knowledge of the unseen while he was alive; how, then, could he possess it after death?”

References:
Fatāwā Qāḍī Khān, Kitāb al-Siyar (4/468); al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah (2/226); al-Bazzāziyyah (6/325); al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq (3/88, 5/120).

Commentary:
Allah informed His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of certain matters of the unseen through revelation (waḥy). He did not possess independent or intrinsic knowledge of the unseen. After his blessed death, the chain of revelation has ceased; therefore, according to the jurists of the Ḥanafī school, he (peace be upon him) does not know what is occurring in the world.

n) It is mentioned in al-Durr al-Mukhtār, a book of fiqh (6/715), attributed to Abū Ḥanīfah:

وفي التاترخانية معزياً للمنتقى عن أبي يوسف عن أبي حنيفة: لا ينبغي لأحد أن يدعو الله إلا به، والدعاء المأذون فيه المأمور به ما استفيد من قوله تعالى:
﴿ولله الأسماء الحسنى فادعوه بها﴾

“It is not appropriate for anyone to supplicate to Allah except by Him. The permitted and commanded form of supplication is that which is derived from the saying of Allah, the Most High:
‘And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them.’”
(Sūrah al-Aʿrāf 7:180)

o) It is also mentioned in al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah (5/280). Al-Qudūrī said in his major work of fiqh, Sharḥ al-Karkhī, in the chapter on disliked matters:

Bishr ibn al-Walīd said:
“Abū Yūsuf narrated to us that Abū Ḥanīfah said: ‘It is not correct for anyone to supplicate to Allah except by Him, and I dislike that a person says: “By the right of so-and-so,” or “By the right of Your Prophets and Messengers,” or “By the right of Your Sacred House and the Sacred Precinct (Muzdalifah).”’”

See also: Sharḥ ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, p. 237.

(Note: Al-Qudūrī is Abū al-Ḥasan Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Ḥamdān, a leading jurist and teacher of al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī. He was born in 362 AH and died in 428 AH.)

p) Al-Zubaydī said in Sharḥ al-Iḥyāʾ (2/285):

“Abū Ḥanīfah and his two companions disliked that a person should say: ‘I ask You by the right of so-and-so,’ or ‘By the right of Your Prophets and Messengers,’ or ‘By the right of the Sacred House and the Sacred Precinct (Muzdalifah),’ and similar expressions—because no one has any right over Allah. Likewise, Abū Ḥanīfah and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī disliked that a person making supplication should say: ‘O Allah, I ask You by the glory of Your Throne.’”

q) Al-Qudūrī also said:

“Asking Allah by means of His creation is not permissible, because the creation has no right over the Creator; therefore, such a form of supplication is not allowed.”

Reported by: Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah in al-Qāʿidah al-Jalīlah.

r) Imām Birgivī al-Ḥanafī (d. 929 AH)

He said regarding the reason for authoring his book Ziyarat al-Qubur:
“لأنّ كثيراً من الناس في هذا الزمان جعلوا بعض القبور كالأوثان، يصلون عندها ويذبحون القربان ويصدر منهم أفعال وأقوال لا تليق بأهل الإيمان، فأردت أن أبين لهم ما ورد به الشرع في هذا الشأن، حتى يتميز الحق من الباطل عند من يريد تصحيح الإيمان والخلاص من كيد الشيطان، والنجاة من عذاب النيران، والدخول في دار الجنان. والله الهادي وعليه التكلان. اعلم أن السعادة العظمى، والكرامة الكبرى في الدنيا والعقبى لا تحصل إلا بمتابعة خاتم النبيين، صلوات الله عليه وعلى آله أجمعين، لكن الشيطان للإنسان عدو مبين، يصدهم بأنواع مكائده عن الصراط المستقيم، ويدعوهم إلى الإثم العظيم، ليكونوا من أصحاب الجحيم، وغاية بغيتهم سلب الإيمان حتى يكونوا من أهل الخلود في النيران. ومن أعظم مكائده التي كاد بها أكثر الناس، وما نجا منها إلا من لم يرد الله تعالى فتنته ما أوحاه قديماً وحديثاً إلى حزبه وأوليائه من الفتنة بالقبور حتى آل الأمر فيها إلى أن عُبد أربابها من دون الله تعالى، وعبدت قبورهم واتخذت أوثانا، وبنيت عليها الهياكل وصورت صور أربابها فيها، ثم جعلت تلك الصور أجساداً لها ظل، ثم جعلت أصناماً وعبدت مع الله تعالى”

Because many people in this time have treated some graves like idols: they pray at them, offer sacrifices, and commit actions and utter words unbefitting the people of faith. I wanted to clarify to them what the Shari‘ah has legislated regarding this matter, so that truth may be distinguished from falsehood for those who seek to correct their faith, be saved from the plots of Shaytan, escape the punishment of the Fire, and enter the Garden. Allah is the Guide, and upon Him we rely.

Know that the greatest happiness and the highest honor in this world and the Hereafter are only attained by following the Seal of the Prophets, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. Yet, Shaytan is a manifest enemy to mankind, and he turns them away from the Straight Path through various traps, enticing them to great sin so that they may be among the inhabitants of Hell. His ultimate goal is to strip them of faith so that they become among the eternally damned in the Fire.

Among his greatest schemes, by which he deceived most people — from which none were saved except those whom Allah did not subject to his trial — is what he inspired, in the past and present, to his party and followers: the trial of graves. This led to people worshipping other lords besides Allah, venerating graves, taking them as idols, building shrines upon them, shaping images of their supposed lords in these shrines, giving these images bodies with shadows, and then creating idols that were worshipped alongside Allah Almighty.” Ziyarat al-Qubur al-Shar‘iyyah wa al-Shirkiyyah (p. 7)

He also said:

فزيارة القبور لأجل الصلاة عندها والطواف بها وتقبيلها واستلامها وتعفير الخدود عليها وأخذ ترابها ودعاء أصحابها والاستعانة بهم، وسؤالهم النصر والرزق والعافية والولد وقضاء الديون وتفريج الكربات وإغاثة اللهفات وغير ذلك من الحاجات، التي كان عباد الأوثان يسألونها من أوثانهم، فليس شيء من ذلك مشروعًا باتفاق أئمة المسلمين إذ لم يفعله رسول الله ﷺ ولا أحد من الصحابة والتابعين وسائر أئمة الدين، بل أصل هذه الزيارة البدعية الشركية مأخوذة من عباد الأصنام

“Visiting graves for the purpose of praying at them; circumambulating them; kissing them; performing istilām upon them; rubbing one’s cheeks against them; taking their soil; supplicating to the occupants of the graves; seeking their aid (istiʿānah); asking them for victory, sustenance, well-being, children, repayment of debts, relief from hardships, assistance in distress, and other needs needs which the idol-worshippers used to ask of their idols none of this is sanctioned in the Sharīʿah, by consensus of the Imams of the Muslims. This is because neither the Messenger of Allah ﷺ nor any of the Companions, the Followers, or the Imams of the religion ever did such things. Rather, the foundation of this polytheistic and innovated form of grave visitation has been taken from the practices of idol-worshippers.”
[Ziyarat al-Qubur al-Shar‘iyyah wa al-Shirkiyyah (p. 33)]

Note:
Imām Birgivī was one of the great scholars of his time and was praised by many scholars, as stated in al-Mawsūʿah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah (Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia), citing several biographical works. Among them are:

• Muʿjam al-Muʾallifīn (9/124)

• al-Mujaddidūn fī al-Islām (p. 377)

• Hadiyyat al-ʿĀrifīn (2/252)

His biography states:

“Al-Birqawī (929–981 AH): He is Muḥammad ibn Bīr ʿAlī Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Birqawī al-Burūmī al-Ḥanafī. He was a scholar of fiqh, tafsīr, ḥadīth, admonition, Arabic grammar, and other disciplines. He built a school in the town of Birqi and was appointed to teach there. At times he taught, and at other times he delivered admonitions. People benefited from his admonitions, and students benefited from his lessons. Among his books are Inqādh al-Hālikīn fī ʿAdam Jawāz al-Ajrāʾ bil-Ujrah (fiqh), Inqādh al-Nāʾimīn wa Ilhām al-Qāṣirīn, Ḥāshiyat Sharḥ al-Wiqāyah, and Dhukhr al-Mutaʾakhkhirīn wa al-Nisāʾ fī Taʿrīf al-Aṭhār wa al-Dimāʾ.”

s) Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīriyyah states:

وَيَجِبُ إِكْفَارُ الرَّوَافِضِ فِي قَوْلِهِمْ بِرَجْعَةِ الْأَمْوَاتِ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا

“It is obligatory to declare the Rawāfiḍ (Shīʿah) disbelievers due to their belief that the dead return to this world.”

References:
al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah (17/54); al-Fatāwā al-Bazzāziyyah (printed on the margin of al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah, 6/318).

t) It is mentioned in Ḥāshiyat Radd al-Muḥtār (2/439):

u) ʿAllāmah Ḥusayn Khubāz al-Kashmīrī al-Ḥanafī (d. 1050 AH) said:

وَازْ كَلِمَاتِ كُفْرَاسْت نِدَا كَرْدَنِ اَمْوَات وَغَائِبَانْ رَا بِگُمَانِ آنْ كِه حَاضِرَانْد مِثْلِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَيَا عَبْدَ الْقَادِرِ وَمَانَنْدِ آنْ

“Among the words of disbelief is to call upon the dead and the absent while believing that they are present, such as saying: ‘Yā Rasūl Allāh’ or ‘Yā ʿAbd al-Qādir Jīlānī’ and the like.”

Reference:
Miftāḥ al-Qulūb, quoted by Shaykh Raʾīs Nadwī in Taṣḥīḥ al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 191.

Note:
Mullā Ḥusayn Khubāz was a jurist (faqīh) and a righteous scholar, as mentioned in Nuzhat al-Khawāṭir by ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Lakhnawī (vol. 5, biography of Ḥusayn Khubāz, p. 523, Dār Ibn Ḥazm).

v) Imām Abū Yūsuf (رحمه الله) instructed that Allah should be sought through recommended means (wasīlah):

حدثني علي بن إشكاب قال: سمعت أبي يقول: سمعت أبا يوسف يقول: يا قوم أريدوا بفعلكم الله، فإني لم أجلس مجلسًا قط أنوي فيه أن أتواضع إلا لم أقم حتى أعلوهم، ولم أجلس مجلسًا قط أنوي فيه أن أعلوهم إلا لم أقم حتى أفتضح

“O people, seek Allah through your deeds. I never sat in a gathering intending humility except that I rose above them, and I never sat in a gathering intending to dominate except that I rose humiliated.”

Reference:
Akhbār al-Quḍāh by Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥayyān (d. 306 AH), vol. 3, p. 285.

w) ʿAllāmah al-Zaylaʿī al-Ḥanafī said:

يُكْرَهُ أَنْ يَقُولَ فِي دُعَائِهِ بِحَقِّ فُلَانٍ، وَكَذَا بِحَقِّ أَنْبِيَائِكَ، وَأَوْلِيَائِكَ، أَوْ بِحَقِّ رُسُلِكَ، أَوْ بِحَقِّ الْبَيْتِ، أَوْ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَا حَقَّ لِلْخَلْقِ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى

“It is disliked for a person to say in supplication: ‘by the right of so-and-so,’ or ‘by the right of Your Prophets,’ or ‘Your saints,’ or ‘Your Messengers,’ or ‘by the right of the Sacred House,’ or ‘the Sacred Mashʿar,’ because no created being has any right over Allah, the Most High.”

Reference:
Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq Sharḥ Kanz al-Daqāʾiq, Kitāb al-Karāhiyyah, Faṣl fī al-Bayʿ, vol. 6, p. 31.

x) Ṣūfī and Ḥanafī Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṭāhir ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥanafī al-Pattānī al-Gujrātī (913–986 AH) on Istighāthah through the dead

He wrote:

فإن منهم من قصد بزيارة قبور الأنبياء والصلحاء أن يصلي عند قبورهم ويدعو عندها ويسألهم الحوائج وهذا لا يجوز عند أحد من علماء المسلمين فإن العبادة وطلب الحوائج والاستعانة حق لله وحده

“Among the people are those who, when visiting the graves of the Prophets and the righteous, intend to pray at their graves, supplicate there, and ask them for their needs. This is not permissible according to any of the scholars of Islam, because worship, seeking needs, and seeking help are the exclusive right of Allah alone.”

Reference:
Majmaʿ Biḥār al-Anwār fī Gharāʾib al-Tanzīl wa Laṭāʾif al-Akhbār, vol. 2, p. 73.
This work later became widely accepted, as noted in Nuzhat al-Khawāṭir, p. 410.

y) Imam San’-Allah al-Halabi al-Hanafi
The Imam of Makkah of his time, Imam San’-Allah al-Halabi al-Hanafi (died 1120 h) said in his book Sayful-Allah ala man Kad’dab ala Awliyaa-Allah:
هذا وإنه قد ظهر الآن فيما بين المسلمين ، جماعات يدعون أن للأولياء تصرفات في حياتهم ، وبعد الممات ، ويستغاث بهم في الشدائد والملمات ، وبهم تكشف المهمات ، فيأتون إلى قبورهم ، وينادونهم في قضاء الحاجات ، مستدلين على أن ذلك منهم كرامات.
وقرّرهم على ذلك من ادعى العلم بمسائل، وأمدهم بفتاوى ورسائل، وأثبتوا للأولياء – بزعمهم- الإخبار عن الغيب بطريق الكشف لهم بلا ريب، أو بطريق الإلهام أو منام!
وقالوا: منهم أبدال ، ونقباء ، وأوتاد ، ونجباء ، وسبعة وسبعون ، وأربعة وأربعون ، والقطب هو الغوث للناس ، وعليه المدار بلا التباس ، وجوزوا لهم الذبائح والنذور، وأثبتوا لهم فيهما الأجور.
وهذا الكلام فيه تفريط وإفراط ، بل فيه الهلاك الأبدي ، والعذاب السرمدي ، لما فيه من روائح الشرك المحقق ، ومضادة الكتاب العزيز المصدق ، ومخالف لعقائد الأئمة ، وما اجتمعت عليه الأمة

It has now become apparent among Muslims that there are groups claiming that the awliya’ (saints) have powers to act in this life and even after death, and that people seek their help in times of hardship and calamity, and that through them difficulties are removed. They go to their graves, call upon them to fulfill their needs, claiming that these are karamāt (miraculous favors) bestowed upon them.

Those who claim knowledge of religious matters have supported them in this, providing fatwas and treatises, and they assert that the awliya’ — according to them — are able to know the unseen either through kashf (spiritual unveiling), inspiration, or dreams.

They also claim that among them are abdal, nuqabā’, awtād, nujabā’, as well as the numbers seventy-seven and forty-four, and that the qutb (spiritual pole) is the ghawth for the people, upon whom everything depends without confusion. They have even allowed sacrifices and vows to be offered to them and claim rewards for these actions.

This discourse is both excessive and negligent, and in fact leads to eternal destruction and everlasting punishment, because it contains clear traces of shirk (polytheism), contradicts the Qur’ān, opposes the beliefs of the A’immah (scholarly imams), and is against what the ummah (Muslim community) has agreed upon.

z) Muhammad Hiyat Sindi al-Hanafi on innovations at graves

Once Shaykh Muhammad ibn ʿAbdul Wahhāb saw some people performing innovations at the grave of the Prophet ﷺ. He asked his teacher, Muhammad Hiyat Sindi al-Hanafi, about them. He replied:

“Verily, these people will be destroyed for what they are engaged in, and all that they are doing is in vain.”
(ʿUnwān al-Majd fī Tārīkh Najd by ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Bashr, Hanbali; cited in the book on Muhammad ibn ʿAbdul Wahhāb by Masood Alam Nadwi, p. 33)

aa) Qāsim ibn Qatlubaga al-Hanafi (879 H) on vows of laypeople and istighāthah at graves

Ibn Nujaym (Abu Ḥanīfah Thānī) said:

فَقَالَ الشَّيْخُ قَاسِمٌ فِي شَرْحِ الدُّرَرِ وَأَمَّا النَّذْرُ الَّذِي يُنْذِرُهُ أَكْثَرُ الْعَوَامّ عَلَى مَا هُوَ مُشَاهَدٌ كَأَنْ يَكُونَ لِإِنْسَانٍ غَائِبٌ أَوْ مَرِيضٌ، أَوْ لَهُ حَاجَةٌ ضَرُورِيَّةٌ فَيَأْتِي بَعْضَ الصُّلَحَاءِ فَيَجْعَلُ سُتْرَةً عَلَى رَأْسِهِ فَيَقُولُ يَا سَيِّدِي فُلَانٌ إنْ رُدَّ غَائِبِي، أَوْ عُوفِيَ مَرِيضِي أَوْ قُضِيَتْ حَاجَتِي فَلَكَ مِنْ الذَّهَبِ كَذَا، أَوْ مِنْ الْفِضَّةِ كَذَا، أَوْ مِنْ الطَّعَامِ كَذَا، أَوْ مِنْ الْمَاءِ كَذَا، أَوْ مِنْ الشَّمْعِ كَذَا، أَوْ مِنْ الزَّيْتِ كَذَا فَهَذَا النَّذْرُ بَاطِلٌ بِالْإِجْمَاعِ لِوُجُوهٍ مِنْهَا أَنَّهُ نَذْرُ مَخْلُوقٍ وَالنَّذْرُ لِلْمَخْلُوقِ لَا يَجُوزُ؛ لِأَنَّهُ عِبَادَةٌ وَالْعِبَادَةُ لَا تَكُونُ لِلْمَخْلُوقِ وَمِنْهَا أَنَّ الْمَنْذُورَ لَهُ مَيِّتٌ وَالْمَيِّتُ لَا يَمْلِكُ وَمِنْهَا إنْ ظَنَّ أَنَّ الْمَيِّتَ يَتَصَرَّفُ فِي الْأُمُورِ دُونَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَاعْتِقَادُهُ ذَلِكَ كُفْرٌ اللَّهُمَّ إلَّا أَنْ قَالَ يَا اللَّهُ إنِّي نَذَرْت لَك إنْ شَفَيْت مَرِيضِي، أَوْ رَدَدْت غَائِبِي أَوْ قَضَيْت حَاجَتِي أَنْ أُطْعِمَ الْفُقَرَاءَ الَّذِينَ بِبَابِ السَّيِّدَةِ نَفِيسَةَ، أَوْ الْفُقَرَاءَ الَّذِينَ بِبَابِ الْإِمَامِ الشَّافِعِيِّ، أَوْ الْإِمَامِ اللَّيْثِ، أَوْ أَشْتَرِي حُصْرًا لِمَسَاجِدِهِمْ، أَوْ زَيْتًا لِوَقُودِهَا أَوْ دَرَاهِمَ لِمَنْ يَقُومُ بِشَعَائِرِهَا إلَى غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِمَّا يَكُونُ فِيهِ نَفْعٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالنَّذْرُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

Shaykh Qāsim (ibn Qatlubaga al-Hanafi, 879 H) said in Sharh ad-Durar:

Regarding vows (nadhar) that many laypeople make: When they have an essential need, they come to some righteous person and say:
“O my master so-and-so, if you return my lost possession, cure my illness, or fulfill my need, then I will give you gold, silver, food, water, candles, oil, or the like.”

This vow is baatil (invalid) by consensus for several reasons:

1. The vow is made to a creation, and worship or vows should only be directed to Allah.

2. The person being vowed to may be dead, and the dead cannot own or grant anything.

3. Whoever believes that a dead person has control over affairs besides Allah is an unbeliever.

It is only permissible if the person says:
“O Allah! I promise You: if You cure my illness, return my lost possession, or fulfill my need, I shall feed the poor who are near the doors of Sayyidah Nafisah, or Imam Shafiʿi, or Imam Layth, or contribute to their mosques, oil, or those in need, and this vow is for Your sake alone.”
(Al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq 2/320–321)

ab) Ibn Arbshah (854 H) on the grave of King Taimoor (806 H)

Abu Muhammad Ahmad ibn Muhammad, known as Ibn Arbshah, said:

وقبره في مكانه المشهور، تنقل إليه النذور، وتطلب عنده الحاجات، ويبتهل عنده بالدعوات، وتخضع الملوك إذا مرت به إعظاماً، وربما تنزل عن مراكبها إجلالاً له وإكراما
His grave is in a well-known place where people make vows, ask for their needs, and supplicate. When the king passes by, he honors the grave, and sometimes even dismounts from his mount in respect and tribute.
(Ajāʾib al-Maqdūr fī Akhbār Taimūr 1/366)

ac) Saʿad al-Dīn al-Taftazānī al-Hanafi (714–793 H) on glorifying the deceased

Al-Taftazānī, quoting al-Rāzī and agreeing with him, said:

مات منهم من هو كامل المرتبة عند الله اتخذوا تمثلا على صورته وعظموه تشفعا إلى الله تعالى وتوسلا

When a person of great status in the sight of Allah dies, some people create an image of him and glorify him in order to seek his intercession (tawassul) with Allah.
(Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid 4/41–42)

ad) Ahmad bin Abdul Qadir al-Rumi [d. 1041H], a learned scholar from Akhisar in present-day Turkey, said in the preface of Majalis al-Abrar:

واحترز ما فيه من الاستمداد القبور وغيرها من فعل الكفر واهل الضلالة المضلة
“…precaution against what is contained in it regarding seeking aid from graves and other acts of disbelief, and from the people of misguidance who lead others astray.”

This book is divided into 100 majalis (chapters). In chapter 17, he writes:

“Among these practices is visiting these places to offer worship, circumambulate them, kiss them, perform istilam, put the dust of graves on their faces, take their soil, call upon the people of the graves, and ask them for aid (istigatha), sustenance, well-being, children, fulfillment of debts, relief from difficulties, and other needs — similar to what idol-worshippers ask of their idols. None of this is legislated by any imam of religion, as none of it was practiced by the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe [pbuh], nor by any Sahabah, Tabi‘in, or any of the imams of religion. Therefore, it is impossible that any of this is permissible or righteous.”

Shaykh Ahmad bin Abdul Qadir al-Rumi [may Allah have mercy on him] also writes in Majalis al-Abrar, chapter three, titled في بيان فضيلة الايمان:

“…There are those who seek aid (istigatha) from the creation, regardless of whether they are alive or dead, Muslim or non-Muslim. Shaytan then assumes the form of the person whose help is sought and fulfills the needs of the one seeking help. Consequently, these Muslims believe that Shaytan is the very person they called upon. However, this is not the case. In reality, it is Shaytan who misguides them when they associate partners with Allah. Shaytan leads astray the children of Adam [peace be upon him] according to his ability. So when Shaytan appears to help them, he is actually harming them far more than benefiting them.

Therefore, when a Muslim seeks aid from a shaykh he believes in, Shaytan may take the form of that shaykh — for Shaytan often assumes the forms of the pious, but he does not have the power to take the form of the Prophet of the Lord of the Worlds [Allah bless him and grant him peace]. If the shaykh whose aid is sought is among the knowledgeable, Shaytan does not convey to him what his followers said. But if he is among the ignorant, Shaytan informs him of their words and relays the shaykh’s response to them. Consequently, the ignorant believe that the shaykh has heard them and answered, despite the long distance.”

Comment: We have quoted approximately 30 Hanafi scholars against the creed of extreme Hanafi Sufis. There is also a fabricated qasida attributed to Imam Abu Hanifa by some ignorant individuals, known as Qasida-i Maymuna-i Mubaraka, also called Durru Maknun. This qasida is indeed fabricated, as confirmed by their own muftis, such as Mufti Ak. Husein.