SHIRK BY CALLING ALI OR HUSAYN (RADHI ALLAHU ANHUM) OR DEAD PEOPLE
By Mustafa Abdul Kadir
NEW!! - Correct Islamic tawassul and forbidden tawassul...(Fatwa of Shiekh Al-Munajjid)
Contents:
1. Is the shaheed (martyr) alive?
3. Who is the ever-living who never dies?
4. What does Quran say about dying?
5. What does Quran say about those people who call or invoke others besides Allah?
6. What is the Islamic perspective about intercession?
7. Ali may Allah be pleased with him can help no one after his death
I
greet you with the greeting words of paradise As Salamu Alaykum. All praise be
to Allah the and may peace and blessings be upon his last messenger Muhammad
sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. We
seek His Help and we seek His Forgiveness. We seek refuge with Him from the evil
of our souls and the evil of our actions. Whosoever Allah guides then none can
misguide him, and whosoever Allah leaves to stray then none can guide him. I
bear witness that there is none worthy of worship save Allah, the One Who has no
partner and we bear witness that Muhammad (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) is his
servant and Messenger. The
best speech is the Speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of
Muhammad (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam), and the worst of all affairs are the
newly invented matters (in the religion)"
(Saheeh Muslim). Allah the Almighty says:
"This
day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and
have chosen for you Islaam as your religion" (Surat
Al-Maida 5: 04)
The topic that is going to be discussed is about people who have deviated from the truth (commonly from Shia sect, e.g. Rafida, etc....) who call, or rather invoke others besides Allah. A good example of this would be by calling people who are dead and in the grave, like Ali or Husayn, may Allah be pleased with them.
According to the Arabic language, 'Ya' is used for someone who can hear you and is near to you. For example: 'Ya Allah' or the saying of 'Ya RasoolAllah' when the prophet was alive. If one says 'Ya' believing that Ali or Husayn can themselves listen to what they are saying and help them and that they are EVERYWHERE then indeed this is unislamic because these qualities are for Allah alone. Now if Ali or Husayn can hear thousands of people calling him and respond to every single one then they are taking him as god. They decide to call them rather than Allah The Most High. They ask for help from them although they can't help nor respond to their invocations, Allah the Ever-Living, the Ever-Existent (Al-Hayy Al-Qayoom) says in Surat Fatir: If you pray to (or call upon) them they cannot hear your prayers (or your call) and even if they could hear you they could not answer you (grant your request). On the Day of Resurrection they will deny your associating them with Allah. O mankind! None can inform you about all this except the One Who is All-Aware. (Surat Fatir 35:14)
In our daily prayers we read the opening chapter of Quran, Surat Al-Faitha and in ayat 5 we read: O'Allah! You Alone we worship and You Alone we call on for help. (Surat Al-Fatiha 1:05)
This
is a matter of importance because Allah forgives any sins except shirk
(ascribing partners with Allah). Allah subhana wa Ta’ala has said in Surat An-Nisaa:
Surely Allah will
never forgive the one who commits the sin of shirk and may
‘Shirk’
literally means sharing or associating partners. In Islamic terms it means
associating partners with Allah and is equivalent to idolatry.
Bismillah
Surely Allah does
not forgive shirk (associating any partner with Him); and may forgive sins other
than that if He so pleases. This is because one who commits shirk with Allah,
does indeed invent a great sinful lie. (Surat An-Nisaa 4:48)
…Whoever
commits shirk (joins partners with Allah), Allah will
This is the
guidance from Allah; He bestows it upon whom He pleases of His
We have enjoined
man to show kindness to his parents; but if they (your
1. First of all lets discuss some ayahs that mention that the shaheed (martyr) is alive with references from hadeeth insha'Allah:
Do not say about those who are slain in the cause of Allah (martyrs), that they are dead. Nay, they are alive, but you do not perceive it. (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:154)
This does NOT mean that they are physically alive, so they cannot hear us, nor can they talk, nor can they walk, nor can they hold anything. Even if they are spiritually alive, they still have no contact with this world, because there is a barrier between this life and the next. Allah subhana wa Ta'ala tells us in Surat Al-Muminoon about death coming unto people and how their is a barrier between them and the world:
These people will never refrain from wrongdoing until when death comes to anyone of them, he will say: "O Rabb! Send me back, so that I may do good deeds in the world that I have left behind." Never! This is just a statement which carries no value, it will be too late because there will be a barrier between them and the world they have just left till the Day they are raised to life again. (Surat Al-Muminoon 23:99-100)
The shuhada (martyrs) are the throne of Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful) and their souls live in the hearts of green birds. Let's have a look at an ayah and some hadeeth concerning this.
Think not of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead. Nay they live finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord. (Surat Alee-e-Imran 3:169)
Muslim reported that Abdullah narrated: It has been narrated on the authority of Masruq who said: We asked Abdullah about the Qur'anic verse: "Think not of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead. Nay, they are alive, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord...." (iii.169). He said: We asked the meaning of the verse (from the Holy Prophet) who said: The souls of the martyrs live in the bodies of green birds who have their nests in chandeliers hung from the throne of the Almighty. They eat the fruits of Paradise wherever they like and then nestle in these chandeliers. Once their Lord cast a glance at them and said: Do ye want anything? They said: What more can we desire? We eat the fruit of Paradise wherever we like. Their Lord asked them the same question thrice. When they saw that they would continue to be asked and not left (without answering the question), they said: O Lord, we wish that Thou mayest return our souls to our bodies so that we may be slain in Thy cause once again. When He (Allah) saw that they had no need, they were left (to their joy in heaven). (Saheeh Muslim Number. 873)
Narrated Utbah ibn Abdus Sulami: Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The slain are of three types: 1) A believer who strives with his property and person in Allah's cause and when he meets the enemy he fights till he is killed. (Of him the Prophet said that that martyr who has suffered trial is in Allah's tent under His Throne and is not excelled by the prophets except in the degree of the prophetic office.) 2) A believer who mingles a good deed with another which is evil, who fights with his person and property in Allah's cause, fighting till he is killed when he meets the enemy. (Of him the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said that it is a cleansing agent which has obliterated his sins and his errors, for the sword obliterates errors, and he will be introduced by whichever of the gates of Paradise he wishes.) 3) A hypocrite who strives with his person and property, and when he meets the enemy fights till he is killed; but that one will go to Hell, for the sword does not obliterate hypocrisy." (Tirmidhi Number. 1077)
2. Secondly, everyone shall taste death. Let's have a look at Qur'anic evidences for this:
O Muhammad, We have not granted immortality to any human before you: so if you are to die, will these unbelievers live forever? Every soul is bound to have the taste of death. We are putting all of you to a test by passing you through bad and good conditions, and finally you shall return to Us.(Surat Al-Anbiyaa 21:34-35)
3. Only Allah is Al-Hayy and Al-Qayoom – The Ever-Living, The Ever-Existent:
Put your trust in the Ever-Living (Allah) Who never dies: celebrate His praise, for He Alone is sufficient to be aware of the sins of His servants. (Surat Al-Furqan 25:58)
He is the Ever-Living. There is no god but Him. Therefore call upon Him with your sincere devotion. Praise be to Allah, the Rabb of the worlds. (Surat Ghafir 40:65)
4. Now let's see what the Quran mentions about dying:
It is Allah Who has created you, then provides you your daily bread, then He causes you to die, and then He will bring you back to life. Is there any of your shoraka' (associates you have set up besides Allah) who can do any of these things? Glory be to Him, and exalted be He above the shirk these people commit. (Surat Rum 30:40)
So if Allah says in the Quran that He causes us to die then we must not reject it. Let's see more Qur'anic proofs:
Surely it is Allah to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes to die. You have none besides Allah to protect or to help. (Surat At-Tauba 9:116)
It
is He Who gives you life and causes you to die. It is He Who when He decides to
do something, needs only to say: "Be," and it is. (Surat Ghafir 40:68)
5. Now lets have a look at what the Quran says about those who call or invoke besides Allah:
O Prophet,
say: "Have you ever considered your associate gods to whom you call upon
besides Allah? Show me anything that they have created in the earth! Or what
is their share in the creation of the heavens? Or have We given them a Book from
which they derive a provision of shirk? Nay, in fact the wrongdoers promise each
other nothing but delusions. (Surat Fatir 35:40)
Now pay attention to these ayats, in Surat Al-A'raf which clearly explains the shirk for those people who call on the dead.
Do they
associate with Him those deities who can create nothing but are themselves
created, they have neither the ability to help them, nor can they help
themselves? (Surat Al-A’raf 7:191-192)
If you
invite them to guidance they will not follow you. It will be all the same for
you whether you call them or hold your peace. In fact those whom you call
besides Allah are bondmen (slaves), like yourselves. Well call them, and let
them answer you, if what you say is true! (Surat Al-A’raf 7:193-194)
Have they
feet to walk with? Have they hands to hold with? Have they eyes to see with?
Have they ears to hear with? O Muhammad, say: "Call on your shoraka'
(partners you have set up besides Allah) and collectively plot against me
and give me no respite! My protector is Allah Who has revealed this Book and He
is the protecting friend of the righteous. (Surat Al-A’raf 7:195-196)
On the
contrary, those whom you call besides Him have neither the ability to help
you, nor can they help themselves. (Surat Al-A’raf 7:197)
Now let's see more Qur'anic evidences.....
Would you
invoke Bal (their invented god) and forsake the best of the Creators (Surat As-Saffat
37:125)
Yet the
unbelievers have taken besides Him other gods which can create nothing but
O Prophet,
tell them: "I have been forbidden to invoke those whom you invoke besides
Allah. How can I do this when clear revelations have come to me from my
Rabb, and I have been commanded to submit myself to the Rabb of the
worlds." (Surat Ghafir 40:66)
Ask them:
"Have you pondered on those whom you invoke besides Allah? Show me
anything that they have created in the earth, or do they have any share in the
creation of the heavens? Bring me any Book revealed before this, or some remnant
of divine knowledge in support of your beliefs if you are telling the
truth." And who could be more astray than the one who invokes those deities
besides Allah who cannot answer him till the Day of Resurrection - which, in
fact, are not even aware that they are being invoked? And when mankind shall be
assembled on the Day of Judgement, they will become enemies of those who invoked
them and deny their worship altogether. (Surat Al-Ahqaf 46:04 - 06)
Ask them to
think carefully and answer: "When you face a disaster or the last Hour
approaches you, do you call for help anyone other than Allah? Answer me if you
are truthful!"
No, on Him Alone you will call, and forget those whom you have set up as His
partners; then if He pleases, He relieves you from the affliction about which
you have prayed to Him.(Surat
Al-An’am 6:40-41)
O
Muhammad, tell them: "I am forbidden to worship those whom you call upon
besides Allah." Say: "I am not going to follow your wishes: if I
do, I would be lost and cease to be from the rightly guided." (Surat Al-An’am
6:56)
Ask the
mushrikin: "Should we call on those, instead of Allah, who can neither
benefit us nor harm us? Should we turn upon our heels after Allah has guided
us to the Right Way? Like the one whom Shaitan has misled and is wandering
around in the land, while his friends are calling him to the right way,
shouting: "Come this way!" Tell them: "Allah's guidance is the
only guidance. We are commanded to surrender (become Muslims) to the Rabb of the
worlds (Surat Al-An’am 6:71)
Who can be
more unjust than the one who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His
revelations? Such people will have their destined portion from the Book (what
was written for them to receive during their life on earth); until when Our
messengers (angels of death) arrive to take away their souls, they will ask:
"Where are those gods whom you used to invoke besides Allah?" They
will reply: "They have forsaken us" and they will bear witness against
themselves (admit) that they were indeed kuffar
I am leaving
you and those whom you invoke besides Allah: I will call upon my Rabb and I
am sure my prayers to my Rabb will not be ignored". (Surat Maryam 19:48)
O mankind!
Here is an example for your understanding, so listen to it carefully. Those
deities whom you call besides Allah, cannot create a single fly, even if
they all combined their forces, rather, if a fly snatches away anything from
them they cannot even get it back; how feebleminded are the suppliants and
how powerless are those whom they supplicate! (Surat Al-Hajj 22:73)
6. As for some people they say that intercession is allowed with Allah's permission, so Ali or Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them) is our intercessor with Allah. Let's see the evidence that some of them may bring.
On that Day, no intercession will avail except the one to whom the Beneficent (Allah) shall grant permission and would like to give him a hearing. (Surat Ta-Ha 20:109)
No intercession before Allah can avail anyone except for the one for whom He permits. Until when terror will be removed from their hearts, they shall ask the intercessors: "What has your Rabb ordained?" They will answer: "The Truth," He is the Most High, the Great. (Surat Saba 34:23)
How many are the angels in the heavens; yet their intercession can avail none unless Allah gives them permission in favor of whom He wants and is pleased with. (Surat An-Najm 53:26)
Allah! There is
no god but Him: the Living, the Eternal. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. To Him
belongs all that is in the Heavens and the Earth. Who can intercede with Him
without His permission?….. (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:255)
Who has given them the right to intercede for the whole nation (Ummah)? or thousands of people? Let's have a look at few ayats and hadeeth concerning the issue of intercession.
Should I take other gods besides Him? If the Compassionate (Allah) should intend to harm me, their intercession will avail me nothing, nor will they be able to save me. (Surat Ya-Sin 36:23)
None of their shoraka' (gods which they had set up besides Allah), will be there to intercede for them and they themselves will disown their shoraka'. (Surat Ar-Rum 30:13)
Now let's see the Islamic perspective about intercession from the sunnah of Muhammad sallallahu alayhe wa sallam:
Abu Dawood reported that Abud Darda' narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The intercession of a martyr will be accepted for seventy members of his family. (Abu-Dawood, Number. 1042)
Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is for every apostle a prayer which is granted, but every prophet showed haste in his prayer. I have, however, reserved my prayer for the intercession of my Ummah on the Day of Resurrection, and it would be granted, if Allah so willed, in case of everyone amongst my Ummah provided he dies without associating anything with Allah. (Muslim, Number. 87)
Narrated
Abu Hurayrah:
Narrated
Jabir bin Abdullah:
Allah's
Apostle said, "I have been given five things which were not given to any
amongst the Prophets before me. These are:
1.
Allah made me victorious by awe (by His frightening my enemies) for a
distance of one month's journey.
2.
The earth has been made for me (and for my followers) a place for praying
and a thing to perform Tayammum.
Therefore my followers can pray wherever the time of a prayer
is due.
3.
The booty has been made Halal (lawful) for me (and was not made so for
anyone else).
4.
Every Prophet used to be sent to his nation exclusively but I have been
sent to all mankind.
5.
I have been given the right of intercession (on the Day of
Resurrection.)
(Bukhari
Volume 1. Number 429)
As for those who say that they (Ali or Husayn-may Allah be pleased with them) are our intercessors with Allah, then they have forged a lie. Allah Azza wa Jall has said in Surat Yunus:
Who can be
more unjust than the one who himself forges a lie, then ascribes it to Allah or
falsifies His real Revelations? Indeed, such criminals can never prosper. They
worship other deities besides Allah, who can neither harm them nor benefit them,
and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allah." O
Muhammad, say to them: "Are you informing Allah of what He knows to exist
neither in the heavens nor on the earth? Glory to Him! He is far above from
having the partners they ascribe to Him!" (Surat Yunus 10:17-18)
7. Does Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, help anyone in times of calamities?
Ali, may Allah be please with him, was killed without being aware of his assassin's scheme, nor was he able to protect himself from it. How then could it be alleged that he can ward off calamities from others after his death, when he could not ward it off himself when he was alive? He who believes that Ali or any dead person can extend a benefit to others, or help them obtain it, or ward of evil from them is a Mushrik, because these things are restricted to Allah, Glorious is He. Therefore, whoever believes that a creature can do that and he seeks his help, then he takes such one for a god. Allah, the Exalted, says:
If Allah afflicts you with a calamity, none can remove it but He; and if He intends to bestow a favor, none can withhold His bounty. He bestows it on whomsoever of His servants He pleases; He is the Forgiving, the Merciful." (Surat Yunus 10:107)
The Permanent Committee
(Fatawa Islamiyah - Volume 1. English translation, Page 28)
8. We must do our duty to enjoin the good and forbid evil, however if they (mushrikin) start to deny it or ridicule the ayats then we should leave the conversation or change the topic as Allah the Most High has said:
He has already
revealed for you in the Book that when you hear Allah's revelations being denied
or ridiculed by people, you must not sit with them unless they change
When you see
those who are engaged in arguments about Our revelations, turn away from them
until they change their topic of discussion. If Shaitan ever makes you forget
this commandment, then as soon as you realize, withdraw from the company of
wrongdoers. (Surat Al-An’am 6:68)
Brothers and Sisters, you have seen the ayats which clearly explain the shirk that is involved in Calling others besides Allah. They cannot hear us, nor can they talk, nor can they walk, nor can they hold anything. The living and the dead are not alike, so what benefit are they getting? Spread this document or these ayats for the sake of Allah, and enjoin the good and forbid the evil…Allah has said in surat At-Tauba:
Those
that turn to Allah in repentance, serve Him, praise Him, move about in the land
for His sake, make Rakuh (bow down in prayer) and Sajud (prostrate themselves in
prayer), enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and observe the limits
(permissions and prohibitions) set by Allah (they are the ones who make such a
bargain with Allah). O Prophet, proclaim the good news to such believers. (Surat
At-Tauba 9:112)
And also in surat Alee’Imran Allah Subhana wa Ta’ala has said:
Let
there arise from among you a band of people who should invite to righteousness,
enjoin good and forbid evil; such are the ones who shall be successful. (Alee’Imran
3:104)
We can now
see that it is shirk to call upon the dead, and if I have made any errors or
mistakes then know that it is from me or Shaitan. I ask Allah to forgive me if I
have made any mistakes or errors, and please do inform me if you see any errors
by messaging me in paltalk – the username is “ Islam the best religion ”
and I ask Allah to accept this from me and guide those who have gone away from
the path of truth and deviated, ameen. I will finish by stating that the truth
has been told, whether you accept it or reject it then that is your choice.
Allah The Most High says in Surat Al-Kahf:
O Prophet proclaim: "This is the Truth from your Rabb. Now let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it." As for those who reject it, for such wrongdoers We have prepared a Fire whose flames will hem them in like the walls of a tent. When they cry for help, they will be showered with water as hot as molten brass, which will scald their faces. What a dreadful drink and what a horrible residence! (Surat Al-Kahf 18:29)
For questions or comments, please email me at: mustafa_abdul_kadir@hotmail.com