ource:
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/...h-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503546116
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto,Ontario, Canada, states:
A number of things should be clear in the mind of every Muslim:
1.
In Islam, we must not ask, pray, or supplicate to any one other than Allah. This is why we repeat several times a day in our prayer, "You alone do we worship, and from You alone we seek assistance." (Al-Fatihah: 5)
2. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told his cousin, Ibn `Abbas, "if you ask, ask of Allah, if you seek assistance, seek assistance from Allah."
3.
In the Qur'an, Allah tells us that He is "closer to us than our own jugular vein" (Qaf: 16), and that He knows our innermost thoughts, before we even express them.
4. He (Allah) also guarantees that no matter how ugly our sins are, we can always call upon Him directly, without any intermediary. He has also promised to answer us, so long as we turn to Him sincerely.
In the light of what we said above, no Muslim must think that there is any justification in Islam for calling upon anyone other than Allah. To do so would be nothing short of shirk or associating partners with Allah. Such a practice never existed in the best generations of Islam. We are told to follow their example in religion.
Moreover, according to the Qur'an,
the pagans of Makkah who called upon deities other than Allah are cited as saying, "we only worship them in order to bring us closer to Allah." (Az-Zumar: 3) And "They are our intercessors before Allah." (Yunus: 18). It is, therefore, safe to conclude that the practice of calling upon saints, dead or alive, is nothing but a form of shirk. No Muslim should ever contemplate such a practice, if he/she is keen on keeping his/her religion intact.
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Source:
http://www.askthescholar.com/question-d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... qstID=1257" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Question: Istighatha (beseeching favours) on the qabr (grave from the dead): Is it shirk or not?
Answer: Istighatha means calling upon for assistance. The Qur'an and the Sunnah establish tawhid (pure monotheism) as the corner stone of Islam; and thus calling upon anyone other than Allah in matters, which are soley under the control of Allah, is deemed as pure shirk (negation of monotheism).
The Qur'an condemns the pagans for their calling upon deities other than Allah under the false pretext, they are intermediaries in worship. Allah says, "they were commanded to worship Allah alone" (Qur'an: 98: 5).We as Muslims repeat the following in our daily prayers," You alone we worship, and You alone we call for assistance." The Prophet, peace be upon him, taught his cousin, Ibn Abbas,' My son, if you ask, ask of Allah, if you seek assistance, seek assistance from Allah. '
Therefore, to go to graves in order to seek succor from the dead is considered as shirk. We are allowed to visit graves only for praying for them, and not for seeking blessings from them.Such a practice was unknown in the time of Prophet, his companions as well as the pious generations, including those of the four imams.
We may do well to heed the words of Imam Harith al-Muhasibi, "They, whose hearts Allah has opened for His guidance, and, are therefore true in faith, and thus keen on gaining closer to Allah, would only follow the path of the wise ones: They shall observe the strict rules of the shari'ah --as established in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the consensus of the righteous imams.". He also said, "Beware of innovations in religion...do not depart from the path of the Prophet's companions, for, assuredly, they were on the truth and clear light; if you were to do so, you are certainly straying away from the truth."
So no matter how saintly or pious the person buried in a grave is, we are not allowed to call upon him for assistance. To do so is shirk, and shirk is an unpardonable sin in Islam.
"Surely, Allah will not forgive those who associate partners with Him. But, He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And those who associate partners with Allah have certainly gone far astray." ( Qur'an: 4: 116 ).
May Allah help us to remain steadfast on the path of tawhid--aameen.
