Wahhabism and Its Refutation

[The Main Part]

The following is translated, for the most part, from the Pasha's book:

Wahhabism was established by Muhammad ibn, Abd al-Wahhab. He was born in Huraimila in the Najd in 1111 (1699) and died in 1206 (1791).

Formerly, he had been to Basra, Baghdad, Iran, India and Damascus with the view of travelling and trading, where he found the vicious books written by Ahmad Ibn Taimiyya of Harran

[661-728  (1263-1328), d. in Damascus], the contents of which were incompatible with the Ahl al-Sunna.

Being very cunning and talkative, he became known as ash-Shaikh an-Najdi. In order to increase his fame, he attended the lectures of Hanbali 'ulama' in Medina and later in Damascus and wrote many books when he returned to the Najd. His book Kitab at-tawhid (Meccan scholars wrote very beautiful answers to Kitab at-tawhid and refuted it with sound documents in 1221. The collection of their refutations, titled Saif al-Jabbar which was later printed in Pakistan, was reproduced by Isik  Kitabevi in Istanbul in 1395 [19751) was annotated by his grandson,

Abd ar-Rahman, and was interpolated and published in Egypt with the title Fath al-majid by a Wahhabi called Muhammad Hamid. [In 1970, preparing refutations to the corrupt writings in it, I published them in my book, “Advice for the Wahhabi.” Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's ideas deceived the villagers, the inhabitants of Dar'iyya and their chief, Muhammad ibn Sa'ud. The number of those who accepted his ideas, which he called Wahhabism, increased and he imposed himself as the qadi and Muhammad ibn Sa'ud as the amir (ruler). He declared it as a law that only their descendants should succeed them.

Muhammad's father, 'Abd al-Wahhab, who was a good [Sunni] Moslem, and the 'ulama' in Medina understood from Muhammad's words that he would start a heretical movement and advised everybody not to talk with him. But he proclaimed Wahhabism in 1150 (1737). To deceive the ignorant and lead them astray, he spoke ill of the ijtihads of the 'ulama' of Islam. He went so far as to call the Ahl as-Sunna "kafir". He said that he who visited the shrine of a prophet or of a wali and addressed him as "Ya Nabi Allah!" (O Allah's Prophet) or as, e.g. "Ya 'Abd al-Qadir!" would become a polytheist (mushrik).

In the view of the Wahhabi, he who says that anybody besides Allah did something becomes a polytheist, a kafir. For example, he who said, "Such and such medicine relieved the pain." or " Allah accepted my prayers near the tomb of such and such prophet or wali," would become a disbeliever. To prove this idea; he puts forth as documents the ayat, "Iyyaka nasta'in" (Only Thy help we ask) of the surat al-F atiha and the ayats telling about tawakkul. [The correct meanings of these ayats by the Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' and the concepts of tawhid and tawakkul are written in detail in the chapter "Tawakkul" of Sa'adate Abadiyeh by the author. Those who know the correct meaning of 'tawhid' will understand that the Wahhabis, who consider themselves muwahhids, are not muwahhids but another group of those who, under the mask of "tawhid", want to break the Ahl at-tawhid to pieces and to make reform in Islam.]

At the end of the second part of the book Al-Usul al-arba'a fi tardid al-Wahhabiyya, Hadrat Hakim as-Sirhindi al-Mujaddidi writes:

"The Wahhabis and the non-madhhabite people cannot comprehend the meanings of 'majaz' (allegory, symbol) and 'isti'ara' (metaphor).

Whenever somebody says that he did something, they call him a polytheist or a disbeliever though his expression is a majaz.(Majaz is the use of a word not in its usual or obvious literal meaning but in a sense connected to its meaning. When a word special to Allahu ta'ala is used for men in a majazi sense, the Wahhabis take it in its literal meaning and call the one who uses it metaphorically a polytheist and disbeliever; they are unaware that such words are used for men in metaphorical senses in the Quran and Hadith.)

Whereas, Allahu ta'ala declares in many ayats of the Holy Quran that He is the Real Maker of every act and that man is the majazi (symbolic, so-called) maker. In the 57th ayat of the surat al-An'am and in surat Yusuf; He says, 'The decision (hukm) is Allah's alone,' that is, Allahu ta'ala is the only Decider (Hakim). In the 64th ayat of the surat anNisa', He says, 'They will not be [considered to be true] believers until they make thee [the Prophet] judge (yuhakkimunaka) of what is in dispute between them.' The former ayat states that Allahu ta'ala is the only Real Hakim, and the latter states that man can be metaphorically said to be a hakim.

("Every Moslem knows that Allahu ta'ala alone is the One who gives life and takes life, for He declares, 'He alone gives and takes life; in the 56th ayat of the surat Yusuf and 'Allah is the One who makes man dead at the time of his death,' in the 42nd ayat of the surat az-zumar. In the 12th ayat of the surat as-Sajda, He said as a majaz, 'The angel who is appointed as the deputy to take life takes your life.’

"Allahu ta'ala alone is the One who gives health to the sick, for the 80th ayat of the surat ash-shu'ara' says, 'When I become sick, only He gives me recovery.' He quotes Hadrat 'Isa in the 49th ayat of the surat al-Imran as saying, 'I heal him who is blind and the abrasa (A skin-diseased person, albino or vitiligo, with complete or partial whiteness of the skin.), and I bring the dead back to life by Allah's permission.' The one who gives child to man is actually He; He declares in the 18th ayat of the surat Mariam that [the Archangel], Hadrat Jabra'il's words, 'I will give you a pure son, was majazi.

"The real protector of man is Allahu ta'ala. The 257th ayat of the surat al-Baqara states this openly; 'Allah is the Wali (Protector, Guardian) of those who believe.' And by saying, 'Your wali is Allah and His Prophet,' and 'The Prophet protects the believers more than they protect themselves, in the 56th and 6th ayats of the suras al-Ma'ida and al-Ahzab respectively, He means that man, too, though symbolically, is a wali. Similarly, the real helper is Allahu ta'ala, and He also said 'mu'in' (helper) for men metaphorically. He said in the third ayat of the surat al-Ma'ida, 'Help you one another in goodness and piety (taqwa).' The Wahhabis use the word 'mushrik' (polytheist) for those Moslems who call somebody an abd (servant, slave) of someone other than Allah, for example, ‘Abd an-Nabi' or  ‘Abd ar-Rasul'; however, in the 32nd ayat of the surat an-Nur, it is declared : 'Give in marriage your unmarried women and those pious ones among your male and female slaves.' The Real Rabb (Trainer) is Allahu ta' ala, but someone other than Allah can also be called 'rabb' metaphorically; in the 41st ayat of the surat Yusuf it is said, 'Remember me in the presence of your rabb.’

" 'Istighatha' is. what the Wahhabis oppose most: 'to ask help or protection of someone other than Allah,' which they call polytheism. It is true that, as all Moslems know, istighatha is only for Allahu ta'ala. Yet it is permissible to say metaphorically that one can do istighatha of someone, for, it is declared in the 15th ayat of the surat al-Qasas: 'People of his tribe did istighatha, of him against the enemy.' A hadith says, 'They will do istighatha of Adam at the place of Mahshar.' A hadith written in Al-hisn al-hasin, says, 'He who needs help should say, "Oh Allah's servants! Help me!"' This hadith commands that one should [in case] call for help of someone not near him." (Hakim al-Ummat Khwaja Muhammad Hasan Jan Sahib as-Sirhindi al-Mujaddidi, Al-usul al-Arba'a (in Persian), India, 1346 (1928); photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1395 (1975).

The author refutes the Wahhabis and other nonmadhhabite people also in his Arabic work Ta'rikh an-najat, India, 1350 (with Urdu translation); photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, 1396 [1976].) To ask for shafa'a and help from Rasulullah and awliya' does not mean to abandon Allah or forget that He is the Creator. It is like expecting rain from Allah through the cause or means (wasita) of clouds, expecting cure from Allah by taking medicine, expecting victory from Allah by using cannons, bombs, rockets and aeroplanes.

These are causes. Allah creates everything through causes. It is not polytheism (shirk) to stick to these prophets always clung to causes. As we causes. The go to a fountain to drink water, which Allah has created, and to the bakery to eat bread, which again Allah has created, and as we make armaments and drill and train our troops so that Allah would give us victory, so we set our hearts on the soul of a prophet or a wali in order that Allah would accept our prayers. To use radio in order to hear the sound which Allah creates through the means of electro-magnetic waves does not mean to abandon Allah and have recourse to a box, for, Allah is the One who gives this peculiarity, this power, to the installation in the radio box. Allah has concealed His Omnipotence in everything. A polytheist worships idols but does not think of Allah. A Moslem, when he uses causes and means, thinks of Allah, who gives effectiveness and peculiarities to the causes and creatures. Whatever he wishes he expects from Allah. He knows that whatever he gets comes from Allah. The Wahhabis do stick to and make use of means in worldly affairs. They satisfy their sensual desires by any means, but they call it "polytheism" to procure means for winning the next world. What conception of tawhid is this?

Because those words of Muhammad ibn Abd  al-Wahhab were all right with sensual desires, those who did not have religious knowledge were easily taken in. They claimed that the Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama and Moslems of the right path were disbelievers. Amirs found Wahhabism just right with their desires to increase their power and to extend their lands and territories. They forced the Arab clans to become Wahhabi. They killed those who did not believe them. Villagers, from fear of death, obeyed the amir of Dar'iyya, Muhammad ibn Sa'ud. To become soldiers of the amir well suited their desires to attack the property, life and chastity of non-Wahhabis.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's brother, Shaikh Sulaiman, was an Ahl as-Sunna , alim. This  blessed person refuted Wahhabism in his book, "Assawa'iq al-ilahiyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahhabiyya" (Printed by Nuhbat al-Ahbar, Baghdad, in 1306 11889]. reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1396 11975}.) and worked against the dissemination of its heretical tenets.

Muhammad' s teachers, who realized that Muhammad had opened a way leading to evil, refuted his deviant books. They announced that he had gone astray. They rebuted Wahhabism through ayats and hadiths. Yet all these increased the Wahhabis' resentment and hostility against Moslems.

The heretical tenets of Wahhabism spread not through knowledge but through cruelty and bloodshed. Of the cruel who stained their hands with blood in this way, the amir of Dar'iyya, Muhammad ibn Sa'ud, was the most stony-hearted.

This man, who was the ancestor of the amirs of today's Sa'udi Arabia, was of the Banu Hanifa clan and was one of the descendants of those who had believed Musailamat al-kadhdhab as a prophet.

The Wahhabis talk as if they were sincere in believing in the Oneness of Allah and thus escaping disbelief, and as if all Moslems had been polytheists for six hundred years, and the Wahhabis have been trying to save them from kufr. To prove themselves right, they put forth the fifth ayat of the surat alAhqaf and the 106th ayat of the surat Yunus.

Whereas, all the Qoran's commentaries unanimously  write that these two ayats and many an ayat like these have all been sent down aiming at polytheists. The first of these ayats is: "No one is more deviated than he who abandons Allah and prays to things which will never hear till the end of the world" And the other is: "Tell the Meccan polytheists, 'I was commanded not to pray to things, useful or harmful, other than Allah. If you pray to anyone but Allah, you will be torturing and doing harm to yourselves!’"

The Wahhabis, in their book, "Kashf ashshubhat," misinterpret the third ayat of the surat az-Zumar, in which Allah declares, "Those who accept things other than Allah as guardians say, 'If we worship them, we worship them so that they might help us approach Allah and in tercede for us."' This ayat quotes the words of polytheists who worship idols. The Wahhabis liken Moslems who ask for shafa' a (intercession) to such polytheists and intentionally say that polytheists also believed that the'ir; idols were not creative and that Allah alone was the Creator. In the interpretation of this ayat, the book Ruh al-bayan says, "Human creatures are created with the ability to acknowledge the Creator who created them and everything. Every human creature feels the desire to worship his Creator and to be drawn towards Him. Yet, this ability and desire are worthless, for, the nafs, the Satan or bad companions might deceive man, and as a result, this innate desire being destroyed, man becomes either a polytheist or an unbeliever in the Creator and in the Last Day like atheist freemasons. The valuable thing is the ma'rifa that ensures from tawhid. Its sign is/ to believe the prophets and their books by following them, that is, it is such an instance of being drawn towards Allah. It was in its creation for the Satan to prostrate, but it refused to prostrate in a manner unsuitable to its creation, and philosophers became kafirs because they wanted to approach Allah not by following the prophets but -their own reason. Moslems, to approach Allah, adapt themselves to the Shari'a, thus their hearts get filled with spiritual light, and the attribute 'jamal' (beauty) [of Allah] manifests itself to their spirits.

Polytheists, to approach Allah, follow not the Prophet or the Shari' a but their nafses and bida'h, and thus their hearts get darkened and spirits get obscured. Allah, at the end of this ayat, tells that they lie in their statement, 'We worship idols so that they shall intercede for us.' " As it is easily understood, it is very unjust of the Wahhabis to take the 25th ayat of the surat Luqman which says: "If you ask disbelievers, 'Who created the earth and the skies?' they will say, 'Certainly Allah created.' "and the 87th ayat of the surat az-Zukhruf which says, "If you ask those who worship things other than Allah, 'Who created these?' they will say, 'Certainly Allah created.’ " as

documents and to say, "Polytheists, too, knew that  the Creator was Allah alone. They worshipped idols so that they would intercede for them on the Day of Judgement. For this reason they became polytheists and disbelievers." (This ayat was interpreted (tafsir), and it was proved that the Wahhabis misinterpreted this ayat, also by Jamil Sidqi as-Zahawi, an 'alim from Iraq, in his work "Al-fajr as-Sadiq fi ar-raddiala munkiri 't-tawassuli wa 'l-karamati wa 'l-hawariq" (Egypt, 1323/1905; photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1396/1979). Jamil Sidqi taught 'ilm alkalam at the University of Istanbul. He died in 1355/1936. The 1956 edition of Munjid gives a picture of him.)

These words of the Wahhabis are very wrong and very unsound, for we Moslems neither worship the prophets or awliya' nor say that they are companions or partners of Allah. We believe that the prophets and awliya' were creatures and human beings and that they are not worth worshipping.

We believe that they are the beloved creatures of Allah and Allah will pity His human creatures for the sake of His beloved. It is Allah alone who creates harm and profit. He alone is worth worshipping. We say that He pities His human creatures for the sake of His beloved. As for polytheists, though they say that their idols are not creative, they believe that they are worth worshipping and that is why they worship them. Because they say that idols are worth worshipping, they become polytheists. Otherwise, they would not become polytheists for saying that they wanted to be interceded. (To ask the shafa'a of idols is superstitious, a false belief It is unlawful in Islam to believe so, yet it is not polytheism.)

It is seen that the Wahhabis' likening of the Ahl as-Sunna to idolatrouS disbelievers is quite wrong. All the ayats they put forth were sent for idolatrous disbelievers and polytheists. The book, "Kashf ash-shubuhat" gives wrong meanings to ayats and uses sophisms and says that the Ahl as-Sunna Moslems are polytheists. It recommends that non Wahhabite Moslems should be killed and that their property should be confiscated.

Hadrat Abdullah ibn 'Umar transmitted the two hadiths which say, "They have left the right course. They have imputed to Moslems the [meaning of the] ayats descending for disbelievers," and "Of what I fear, on behalf of my ummah, the  most horrible thing is their interpretation of the Quran according to their own opinions and their out-of-place translations." These two hadiths notified that the Wahhabis would appear and, by misinterpreting the ayats that had descended for disbelievers, they would refer them to Moslems.

Another person who, realizing that Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab had heretical ideas and later  would be harmful, advised him was Muhammad ibn Sulaiman al-Madani [d. in Medina in 1194 (1779)] , one of the great 'ulama' of Medina. He was a Shafi'i faqih and wrote many books. His annotation on Ibn Hajar al-Makki's At-tuhfat almuhtaj, a commentary to the book Minhaj, has won a great fame. In Al-fatawa, his two-volumed book refuting Wahhabism, he said, "O Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab! Don't slander Moslems! For Allah's sake 1 advise you. Yes, if someone says that someone other than Allah creates actions, tell him the truth! But those who cling to causes (wasila) and who believe that both causes and the effective power in them are created by Allah cannot be called disbelievers. You are a Moslem, too. It is better to call one Moslem 'disbeliever' than calling all Moslems. He who leaves the crowd will go astray more easily. The 114th ayat of the surat an-Nisa' proves my word right: "We will drag the person who, after leaning the way to guidance, opposes the Prophet and deviates from the believers' path along the direction to which he has deviated, and then we will throw him into Hell the terrible."'

Though the Wahhabis have innumerable wrong tenets, their religion is based on three principles:

1. They say that rites, 'ibadat, are included in iman and that he who does not perform a fard (for

example, ritual salat because of laziness, or zakat because of stinginess, though he would believe it to be a fard) will become a disbeliever and he must be killed and his possessions must be distributed among the Wahhabis.

Ash-Shihristani wrote: "The Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' have unanimously said that 'ibadat are not included in iman. He who does not perform a fard because of laziness, though he believes it to be a fard, does not become a disbeliever. There has not been a unanimity only for those who do not perform ritual salat; according to the Hanbali madhhab, he who does not perform salat because of laziness becomes a disbeliever." (Al-milal wa 'nnihal, Turkish version, p. 63, Cairo, 1070 A.H )

In the Hanbali madhhab, it was said that only he who did not perform salat became a disbeliever.

It was not said for other kinds of ibadat. Therefore, it would be wrong to consider the Wahhabis as Hanbali in this respect. Those who do not belong to any of the four madhhabs are not of the Ahl as-Sunna. We explained before that those who do not belong to the Ahl as-Sunna cannot be Hanbali, either. (See my Advice for the Wahhabi fordetail on the same subject.)

2. They say that he who asks for shafa'a from the souls of the prophets or awliya' or visits their tombs and prays by considering them as intermediaries becomes a disbeliever, and that the dead do not have any sense.

If the one who talked to a dead person in a grave would be a disbeliever, our Prophet, great 'ulama' and the awliya' would not have prayed in this manner. It was our Prophet's custom to visit the Baki Cemetery in Medina and the martyrs of Uhud. In fact, it is written on the 485th page of the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid that he greeted and talked to them.

Our Prophet always said in his prayers, "Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-haqqi's-sa'ilina 'alaika," (O my Allah! I ask Thee for the sake of those persons whom Thou hast given whenever they asked) and recommended to pray so. When he entered Fatima, the mother of Hadrat 'Ali, with his own blessed hands, he said, "Ighfir li-ummi Fatimata binta Asad wa wassi' 'alaiha mad-halaha bi-haqqi nabiyyika wa 'l-anbiya'illadhina min qabli innaka arhamu 'r-rahimin." (O Allah! Forgive

Mother Fatima bint Asad, her sins! Widen the place she is in! Accept this prayer of mine for the right (love) of Thy Prophet and of the prophets who came before me! Thou art the Most Merciful of the merciful!) In a hadith given by an-Nasa'i and at-Tirmidhi, it is told that the Prophet ordered a blind man, who asked him to pray for his cure, to perform ablution and salat of two rak'as and then to say, "Allahumma inni as'aluka wa atawajjahu ilaika bi-nabiyyika Muhammadin nabi r-Rahma, ya Muhammadu inni atawajjahu bika ila Rabbi fi hajatihadhehi li takdiya li, Allahuma fa-shaffi'hu fiyya." In this prayer the blind man was commanded to put Hadrat Muhammad as an intermediary so that his prayer would be accepted. As-Sahaba often recited this prayer. This prayer is also quoted in the book Al-hisn al-hasin with its references and, in its explanation, is interpreted as, "I turn towards Thee through Thine Prophet."

These prayers show that it is permissible to put those whom Allah loves as intermediaries and to pray to Allah by saying "For their sake."

Shaikh 'Ali Mahfuz (d. 1361/1942). one of the great 'ulama' of Jamit al-Azhar praised Ibn Taimiyya and , Abduh much in his book Al-ibda'.

Nevertheless, he wrote: " It is not right to say that the awliya' dispose worldly affairs after death, such as curing the ill, rescuing those who are about to be drowned, helping those who are against the enemy and having the lost things he found. It is wrong to say that, because the awliya' are very great, Allah has left these tasks to them and they do what they wish and that he who clings to them will not go wrong. But, among His awliya' Allah blesses the ones whom He wants, whether they are alive or dead, and through their karamat He cures the ill, rescues him who is about to be drowned, helps him who is against the enemy and makes the lost things be found. This is logical. Also the Quran teaches these facts." (Shaikh 'AliMahfuz, Al-ibda', p. 213, Cairo, 1956. 'Abdullah ad-Dasuqi and Yusuf ad-Dajwi, professors at Jami ., al-Azhar, wrote eulogies at the end of Al-ibda' )

Hadrat 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi wrote: "A hadith qudsi, which al-Bukhari reported from Abu Huraira, says: 'Allahu ta'ala declared, "My human servants cannot approach Me through any thing as close as they approach through the fard. If My human creatures do the supererogatory 'ibadat, I like them so much so that they hear with Me, see with Me, hold everything with Me and walk with Me, and I give them whatever they ask ofMe. If they trust in Me, I protect them." , The supererogatory 'ibadat mentioned here are [as written in Maraq al-falah and at-Tahtawi's annotation] the sunna and supererogatory 'ibadat done by those who do the fard 'ibadat. This hadith shows that he who, after doing the fard 'ibadat, does the supererogatory ones will earn Allah' s love and his prayers will be accepted." ('Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi, Al-hadiqat an-nadiyya, p. 182, Istanbul, 1290.)

Whether alive or dead, when such people pray for others, they get what they wish. Such people hear even when they are dead. As they did when they were alive, they do not turn down those who ask empty-handed, but they pray for them.

For this reason, a hadith declares, "When you are in trouble in your affairs, ask for help of those who are in graves!"

In actual fact, "Moslems are still Moslems when they are dead just as when they are asleep.

Prophets are still prophets after death just as when they were asleep. Because, it is the soul who is a Moslem or a prophet. When man dies, his soul does not change. This fact is written in the book 'Umdat al-' aqa'id by Imam Abdullah an-Nasafi [edited in London in 1259 A.H. (1843)] Likewise, the awliya' are still awliya' when they are dead just as when they are asleep. He who does not believe it is ignorant, stubborn. We have proved in another book of mine that the awliya' possess karamat after they die, too." (Al-hadiqa, p. 290.)

The Hanafi scholar Ahmad ibn Sayyid Muhammad al-Makki al-Hamawi and the Shafi'i scholars Ahmad ibn Ahmad as-Suja'i and Muhammad ash-Shawbari al-Misri wrote booklets in which they proved with evidences that the awliya' possessed karamat, that their karamat continued after their death, and that tawassul and istighatha at their graves was permitted (ja'iz). (These three booklets were published together with Hadrat Ahmad Zaini Dahlan's Ad-durar-as-saniyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala l-Wahhabiyya in Cairo in 1319 (1901) and 1347 (1928); photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, in Istanbul, in 1396 (1976).)

And "a true hadith which the hadith scholars Hudhaima, ad-Dara Qutni and at-Tabarani conveyed from Abdullah ibn 'Umar , declares: 'It became wajib for me to intercede for those who would visit my shrine.' Imam al-Manawi, too, quoted this hadith in his book Kunuz ad-daqa'iq.

In addition, he wrote the hadith. 'After my death: visiting my shrine is like visiting me when I am alive,' from Ibn Hibban, and the hadith, 'I will intercede for him who visits my shrine,' from atTabarani. The following two marfu' hadiths, the first One quoted by Imam al-Bazzar from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar and the second one written in Sahih of Moslem and quoted from  Abdullah ibn 'Umar, are known by almost every Moslem: 'It became halal for me to intercede for those who would visit my shrine'; 'On the Day of Judgement I shall intercede for those who would come to Medina to visit my shrine.' " (Mir' at al-Madina (Mir' at al-Haramain), p. 106.)

It is a great good news that it is said in the hadith, "He who carries out the hajj and then visits my grave will have visited me when I am alive." which was quoted by at-Tabarani, ad-Dara Qutni and ['Abd ar-Rahman] Ibn al-Jawzi. The hadith, "The one who does not visit me after carrying out the hajj will have hurt me," which ad-Dara Qutni quotes, alludes to those who neglect to visit the Prophet's shrine after hajj though they do not have any excuse.

'Abd al-'Aziz, the rector of the Islamic University of Medina, wrote in his Tahqiq wa Idah, "None of the [above] hadiths [recommending the visit] has any 'sanad' (support) or document. The Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taimiyya told that all of them were mawdu'." He denies it like all Wahhabis,

despite the fact that the 'sanads' of these hadiths are written in detail in the eighth volume of azZarkani's commentary to Al-mawahib and at the end of the fourth volume of as-Samhudi's

Wafa' alwafa'. In these books, it is also written that these hadiths were hasan and that Ibn Taimiyya's comment was groundless. The rector and instructors of the Medina university thus try to calumniate the writings of Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' and to spread the Wahhabi tenets all over the world with their books.

The' Wahhabis, in order to make Moslem and non-Moslem nations believe that they are the real Moslems, follow a new policy: 'they have founded an Islamic centre called the Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami in Mecca and gathered the ignorant, hired men of religious profession they have chosen from every country, to whom they pay salaries of hundreds of golds. Because these ignorant men of religious posts have no knowledge about the books of the Ahl- as-Sunna scholars, they use them as tools. From this centre to the whole world, they disseminate the heretical tenets of Wahhabism, which they call the "fatwas of world Moslem unity "

There are many hadiths telling that Rasulullah is alive in his tomb in an unknown life. Their being numerous signifies that they are sound. Of these hadiths, the following two are written in six famous books of the Hadith: "I will hear the salawat recited at my shrine. I will be informed with the salawat recited at a distance". "If a person recites salawat at my shrine, Allah sends an angel and informs me of this salawat. I will intercede for him on the Day of Judgement. "

If a Moslem goes to the grave of a dead Moslem, whom he knew when he was alive, and greets him, the dead Moslem will recognize and reply him. A hadith communicated by Ibn Abi 'd-dunya declares that a dead Moslem recognizes and answers the one who greets him and gets happy. If a person greets the dead people whom he did not know, they become pleased and answer him. While good Moslems and martyrs recognize and answer those who greet them, is it possible that Rasulullah would not? As the sun in the sky illuminates the whole world so Rasulullah answers all simultaneous greetings simultaneously.

A hadith says, "After my death, I will hear as I do when I am alive." Another hadith given by Abu Ya'la says, "Prophets are alive in their graves.

They perform ritual salat." Ibrahim ibn Bishar and Sayyid Ahmad ar-Rifa'i and many awliya' said that they had heard the reply when they had greeted Rasulullah.

The great Moslem scholar Jalal ad-din as-Suyuti wrote the book Sharafal-muhkam as an answer to the question if it was true that Sayyid Ahmad ar-Rifa'i had kissed Rasulullah' s blessed hand. In this book he proved by reasonable and traditional evidences that Rasulullah was alive in his shrine in an incomprehensible life and that he heard and answered greetings. He also told in this book that on the Mi'raj Night Rasulullah saw Hadrat Musa (Moses) worshipping in his grave.

A hadith, which A'ishat related, says, "I suffer the pain of the poisonous meat I ate at Khaibar. Because of that poison my aorta almost fails to function now-" This hadith shows that, in addition to the prophethood, Allah has given the status of martyrdom to Hadrat Muhammad, the Highest of Mankind. Allah declares in the Quran, in the 169th ayat of the surat al-'Imran, "Never regard those who have been killed on the way to Allah as dead! They are alive in Allah's view. They are nourished." No doubt this great Prophet, who has been poisoned on the way to Allah, is on top of the honourable status defined in this ayat.

The hadith given by Ibn Hibban says, 'Prophets' blessed bodies never rot. If a Moslem recites salawat for me, an angel Conveys that salawat to me and says, 'So and so's son and so and so recited salawat and greeted you."'

The hadith given by Ibn Maja says, "On Fridays recite salawat for me repeatedly. The salawat will be communicated to me as soon as it is recited." Hadrat Abu 'd-darda', one of those who were in Company of the Prophet at that moment, asked, "Will it be communicated to you after you die, too?" The Prophet said, " Yes, I will be informed of it after my death, for, it is haram for the earth to cause the prophets to rot." They are alive after death, and they are nourished.

Hadrat 'Umar, after the conquest of Quds (Jerusalem), went into the Prophet's shrine and visited his grave and greeted him. Hadrat 'Umar ibn Abd al-' Aziz, who was a great wali, usually sent officials from Damascus to Medina and had them recite salawat at the Prophet's shrine and greet him. Hadrat 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, after returning from each travel, would go direct to the Prophet's shrine. (Hujrat as-Sa'ada, the room where the graves of the Prophet and of his two immediate caliphs are). First he would visit Rasulullah, then Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and then his father and greet them.

Imam Nafi' said, "More than a hundred times I saw Hadrat 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar go into the Prophet's shrine and say, 'As-salamu 'alaika ya Rasulullah!" One day Hadrat 'Ali went into the Masjid ashSharif and when he saw the grave of Hadrat Fatima he wept, and when he saw the Prophet's grave he wept the more. Then, saying, 'As-salamu 'alaika ya Rasulullah' and 'As-salamu 'alaikuma.

According to al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa one should carry out the hajj first and then go to Medina and visit Rasulullah. So is written in the fatwa of Abu 'l-Laith as-Samarqandi.

Qadi 'Iyad, author of the book Shifa' Imam an-Nawawi, a Shafi'i 'alim, and Ibn Humam, a Hanafi 'alim, said that there had formed ijma' al-Umma on that it was necessary to visit the Prophet' s shrine. Some alims said that it was wajib. As a matter of fact, it is a sunna to visit graves, a fact which is also written in the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid.

The 63rd ayat of the surat an-Nisa' declares:

" If they, after tyrannizing over their nafses, come to you (the Prophet) and beg Allah's (My) pardon, and if My Messenger (you) apologizes on behalf of them, they will certainly find Allah as the Receiver of Repentance and Merciful." This ayat indicates that Rasulullah will intercede and his shafa' a (intercession) will be accepted. Also, it commands us to visit the Prophet's shrine and ask for shafa'a.

A hadith says: "It is suitable to set off on a long journey only with the view of visiting three mosques." This hadith points out that it is reward deserving to go on a long journey with the purpose of visiting the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, the Masjid an-Nabi in Medina and the Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. For this reason, those who go on hajj but do not visit the Prophet's shrine, in the Masjid an-Nabi, will be deprived of this reward.

A hadith says, "Do not make a [place of} festival of my shrine." Hadrat Abd al-' Azim al-Munziti, a hadith alim, explained this hadith as:

"Do not consider it enough to visit my shrine only once a year, like on feast days. Try to visit me every time.!,' As a matter of fact, it is not permitted to perform ritual salat at the cemetery.

It was said that this hadith might come to man "For visiting my shrine, do not fix a certain day like a feast." Jews and Christians, during their visit to their prophets, habitually assembled together, played instruments, sang songs and acted ceremoniously. These hadiths imply that we should not make merry with forbidden things on feast days, we should not play reeds or drums or gather to act ceremoniously during our visit. We should visit and greet, pray and leave silently without staying long.

Al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa said that Visiting the Prophet's shrine was the most valuable sunna, and there are some scholars who said that it was wajib. For this reason, visiting the Prophet's shrine is allowed as a vow in the Sahfi'i madhhab.

In fact, "Allah, in His Word, 'If I had not created you, I would not have created anything!" (This hadith qudsi is quoted also in Hadrat al-Imam ar-Rabbani's Maktubat, vol. III 122nd letter.) points out that Hadrat Muhammad is the Habibullah (Allah's Darling) and that He loves him very much. Even an average person will not refuse something asked for the sake of his darling. It is easy to have a lover do so mething for the sake of his beloved. If a person says, 'O my Allah! For the sake of Thy Habib, Muhammad, I ask of Thee,' this wish of his will not be refused. The trivial worldly affairs, however, are not worth rutting Rasulullah's sake as a means." (Mir'at al-Madina, p. 1282.)

As-Sayyid Ahmad bin Zaini Dahlan, Mufti of Mecca, was a great 'alim and the Shaikh alkhutaba' in the Shafi'i madhhab. He wrote many works. He explained the real purposes of the Wahhabis and proved through ayats and hadiths that they were deviated, in his books Khulasat alkalam fi bayani umara'i balad al-Haram, Fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahhabiyyati atba'u madhhabi Ibn Taimiyya and Ad-durar as-saniyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahabiyya. In Khulasat al-kalam, he told how they deceived the ignorant ones of Moslems and refuted them one by one. He proved that their words were lies and slanders. He wrote:

"It is acceptable and permissible to pray through the mediation of Rasulullah when he is dead as it was done when he was alive. Likewise, it is shown in the Hadith that it is also permissible to pray through the mediation of the awliya' and pious Moslems. [The writings on the 167, 170, 191, 208, 248, 353, 414, 416,482, 486 and 505th pages of the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid are lampoons against Moslems.] The Ahl as-Sunna 'ulama' say that it is Allah alone who gives the effectiveness, who creates, invents, gives use or harm and annihilates. He does not have a partner.

Neither prophets nor any other living or dead person can create effectiveness, use or harm. However, since they are the beloved servants of Allah, we bless ourselves with them. The Wahhabis believe that the living can affect but the dead cannot. [It is written on the 70, 77, 98, 104, 239, 248, 323, 503 and 504th pages of the book Fath al-majid' 'He who asks a dead person or a living one who is absent for something becomes a polytheist. Man can be asked for what is within his power. It is not permissible to ask for what are within Allah's Power alone.' It is written on its 70th page, 'A living person can pray for the things that has been asked of him, and Allah accepts it and creates that thing. To ask a dead or an absent person means to ask for what is not within his power, which is polytheism.' It is written on its 136th page, 'To bless oneself with the graves of pious Moslems is polytheism like worshipping the idols named al-Lat and Manat.' It is written on its 208th page, 'It is polytheism to ask the dead people for what one needs or to pray through the dead. It is ignorance to ask a dead person without being permitted by Allah, and they are not designated as intermediaries for interceding or for being permitted to intercede. The prerequisite of intercession is iman.

But the person who asks the dead to intercede is a polytheist. This prevents the Permission.' In fact, the book contradicts itself: it is written on its 200th page." The skies fear Allah. Allah creates sense in skies. They perceive. It has been declared in the Qoran that the earth and the skies praise and laud Allah. As-Sahaba heard the pieces of stone praise and laud Allah when Rasulullah took them in his hands, the pillar called Hannana in the Masjid moan, and the food praise and laud Allah.' It shows their stupidity to say that the prophets and awliya' do not have sense, while on the other hand, to say that mountains, stones and pillars have sense and conscience. The Wahhabis become polytheists by saying that the living can be made intermediaries but the dead cannot be made intermediaries. For this statement means that the living hear and affect but the dead do not hear or affect, and that those other than Allah can affect, and they, too, call those who believe so polytheists.

The reality is that the dead and the living are intermediaries. It is Allah alone who affects and creates. The rumour telling that al-Imam al-a'zam prohibited to pray through the mediation of Rasulullah, which is written in Alusi's Qoran commentary, is mendacious, for, no 'alim has ever reported such news from al-Imam al-a'zam. The 'ulama' told that it was permissible. The words tawassul, tashaffu', istighatha and tawajjuh have the same meaning. They are all permissible. It is declared in the Sahih of al-Bukhari, 'On the Day of Judgement, people will ask for Hadrat Adam's intercession first. Hadrat Bilal ibn Harith, one of the notables of as-Sahaba, visited Rasulullah's grave and said, 'O Rasulallah! Pray on behalf of your umma that it shall rain!' and it rained. Disbelievers who said that idols would intercede for them worshipped idols. But the believers who ask for intercession do not worship the prophets or awliya'. 'It is declared in the Qoran, "Intercession can be done only with His Permission," and “Only the accepted people will be interceded for."' How does the person who asks for intercession know that the Prophet will be permitted to intercede for him?

Moreover, how does he know he is one of the accepted and ask for intercession?' These words both disagree with hadiths and contradict the book itself, because the same book says on its 208th page, 'The prerequisite of intercession is iman.' In the prayer which we are ordered to recite after the adhan, it is mentioned that Allah has promised our Prophet the Attributes of Fadila and Wasila. He declared that he will intercede for those who recite this prayer, for those who say salawat and for those who visit his grave. Similarly, many more hadiths show that our Prophet has been permitted to intercede for whomever he likes. The hadith, 'I will intercede for those who have committed big sins,' shows that he will be permitted to intercede for anybody who has iman. Of the forty hadiths on the 130th page ofShawahid al-haqq, the thirteenth one says, 'I will intercede on the Day of Judgement. I will say, "O Allah! Put those who have iman as much as a mote of mustard in their hearts into Paradise." They will enter Paradise. Then, I will tell those who have something little in their hearts to enter Paradise.' Al-Bukhari wrote this hadith, too. 'Istighatha' means 'tawassul, to put someone as an intermediary, to ask for his help, and for his prayer'. To ask someone for shafa'a means to pray to Allah so that one can leave the world with iman in one's last breath for His sake. It is written at many places of the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid, particularly on the 323rd page, 'It is polytheism to ask an absent person for his intercession. Allah orders to war against polytheists.' Whereas, Rasulullah used to tell [himself] , 'O Muhammad.! I am turning to wards my Allah by putting you as an intermediary.' After his death, as-Sahaba frequently said this prayer. A hadith communicated by at-Tabarani declares, 'Ifa person who is left alone in a desert loses something, he shall coy, "O Allah's servants! Help me. !" For, Allah has servants whom you do not see.' Ibn Hajar al-Makki said in his commentary to Idah al-manasik that this prayer had been proved many times. As reported by Abu Dawud and many others, one evening when he was on a journey, the Prophet said, 'O my Allah's earth.! Against your evils I trust myself to Allah." (Khulasat al-Kalam, Bab asSalam, Mecca, 1305. Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1395 (1975).)

Al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa said, "I was in Medina. Shaikh Ayyub as-Sahtiani, who was a wellknown pious Moslem, went into the Masjid ash-Sharif. I followed him. Hadrat Shaikh faced Rasulullah's tomb and stood with his back to the qibla. Then he went out." Hadrat Ibn Jama'a wrote in his book Al-mansak al-kabir, "While visiting, after performing a salat of two rak'as and praying near the minbar (pulpit), one should come to the qibla side of the Hujrat as-Sa'ada and, the Prophet's blessed head being on one's left, should stay two metres away from the wall of al-Marqad ash-Sharif [the Prophet's shrine] , then, leaving the qibla wall behind and turning slowly till he faces the Muwajahat as-Sa'ada, should greet. This is so in all the madhhabs."

'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi, while explaining the twenty-third of the "Disasters Caused by the Tongue", writes: "It is makruh to say, while praying, 'for the right of the prophets, or 'for the right of [such and such living or dead] wali and to ask Allah for something by saying so, for, it has been said that no creature has any right on Allah, that is, Allah does not have to do whatever anybody would like. It is right, yet Allah promised His beloved servants and recognized a right for them on Himself, that is, He will accept their wish.

He declared in the Qoran that He gave a right to His human servants on Himself, for example, 'It has become a right on Us to help the believers.' It is declared in Al-fatawa al-Bizaziyya, 'It is permitted to ask for something for the sake of a prophet or a dead or living wali by mentioning his name." (Al-Hadiqa.)

As it is seen, Moslem scholars said that it was permissible to pray to Allah through the right and love which Allah had given to His beloved ones.

And no scholar has said that it would be polytheism to pray with the idea that men have rights on Allah. Only the Wahhabis say so. Though the Wahhabis praise Al-fatawa al-Bizaziyya in their book Fath al-majid and put forth his fatwas as documents, they oppose him in this respect. Also, Hadimi, while explaining the "Disasters Caused by the Tongue", wrote: " 'For the right of Thy Prophet Muhammad,' and, during the wars he asked for Allah' s help for the right of the poor among the Muhajirun. Also there were many Moslem 'ulama' who prayed, For the sake of those people whom Thou hast given whenever they asked Thee.' and, 'For right of Muhammad al-Ghazali,' and who wrote these prayers in their books." (Hadimi, Bariqa, Istanbul, 1284.)

The book Al-hisn al-hasin is full of such prayers. It is written in 'Alusi's Ghaliyya, too, that, when Hadrat Adam asked to be forgiven for the right of Hadrat Muhammad, Allah declared, "He (Muhammad) is the one I like most among Mine human creatures. I forgave thee for his right. If it hadn't been for Muhammad, I wouldn't have created thee."

The Wahhabi writes: "Imam Zain al-'Abidin saw a man pray near the Prophet's grave and interrupted him by telling him the hadith, Recite salawat for me. Wherever you are, your greeting will be communicated to me."' It narrates the event incorrectly and goes on, "Hence, it is forbidden to go near a grave and pray and recite salawat, which is sort of making graves places of festival. It is forbidden for those who go to perform ritual salat in the Masjid an-Nabi to approach the tomb with the view of greeting. None of the Sahaba did so. They prevented those who wanted to do so. No other deed but the salawat recited and the greetings said by his umma will be communicated to the Prophet." (Fath al-Majid, p.

259).

He also writes that the Sa'u di government placed soldiers near the Prophet's shrine in the Masjid an-Nabi to prevent Moslems from doing so.

(Ibid., p.234.)

Hadrat Yusuf an-Nabhani, at many places of his book on Wahhabism, refutes theselies: "Imam Zain al-'Abidin did not forbid the visitation to the blessed shrine of the Prophet. But he forbade unsuitable and unlawful behaviours during visiting.

His grandson, imam Ja'far as-Sadiq, used to visit the Prophet's shrine, and, standing near the pillar which stood in the direction of the Rawda, greet and say, 'His blessed head is on this side.' 'Do not make [a place of] festival of my shrine,' means 'Do not visit my shrine on certain days like feast days. Visit me every time.' " (Shawahid al-haqq, p. 80, 3rd. Edn., Cairo, 1385 (1965).)

"Abu 'Abdullah al-Qurtubi writes in his Attadhkira that the deeds of the Prophet's umma are communicated to him every morning and every evening." (pp. 88, 106) "Caliph Mansur, during his visit to the Prophet's Shrine, asked Imam Malik, 'Shall 1 face the tomb or the qibla?' Imam Malik said, 'How could you turn away your face from Rasulullah? He is the cau se of your and your father

Adam's forgiveness!' " (pp. 89, 116) "The hadith,  'Visit sbrines!' is a command. If  a haram is committed during the visit, not the visit itself but the haram should be forbidden,' (p. 92) "Imam an-Nawawi says in his Adhkar, 'It is a sunna to visit the shrines of the Prophet and of the pious Moslems and to stay lo ng near such places of visitation.' " (p. 98) "Ibn Humam, in his Fath al-qadir, quotes the hadith transmitted by ad-Dara Qutni and al-Bazzar which says, 'If some one visits me [my shrine] only with a view to visit me and not to do anytbing else, he has the right to be in terceded by me on the Day of Judgement.' " (p.l00)."Allah favoured the awliya' with karamat.

Their karamat are witnessed frequently even after their death. They are able to be helpful after death, too. It is permitted to have them intercede with Allah. But one should ask help of them in a lawful manner. It is not permitted to say, 'I willgive that much... for you if you give me what I request,' or 'if you cure my sick relative,' which is often uttered by the ignorant. However, this cannot be regarded as an act causing kufr or polytheism, because even the utterly ignorant does not think that the wali would create. He wants the wali to be the cause in Allah's creating. He thinks that the wali is a human creature whom Allah loves, and says, 'Please ask Allah to favour me with what I wish; He will not reject your prayer.' As a matter of fact, Rasulullah said, 'There are many people who are considered low and worthless but who are Allah's beloved creatures. When they want to do something, Allah certainly creates it. , This hadith is also quoted on the 381st page of the Wahhabite book Fath al-majid. Obeying such hadiths Moslems want the awliya' to intercede. Imam Ahmad, ash-Shafi'i, Malik and al-Imam al-a'zam Abu Hanifa said that it was Ja'iz (possible, permissible) to attain baraka (blessing) through the shrines of the pious. Those who say that they are of the Ahl as-Sunna or that they belong to one of the Ahl as-Sunna madhhabs has to say as those imams said.

If not, one may decide that they are not of the Ahl as-Sunna but liars." (p.l 18).

It is written in the subject of going on hajj on behalf of someone else, in the book Al-fatawa alHindiyya, (Prepared by Shaikh Nizam Mu 'in ad-din an-Naqshabandi and others in the time of Muhammad Awrankzib 'Alamgir ibn Shah Jihan of the Gurganiyya State (reigned 1068-1118/1658-1707); printed in Cairo in 1310; 3rd edn. 1393 (1973).) "

It is permissible to devote the thawab of an 'ibada to anybody. Therefore the thawab of salat, fast, alms, pilgrimage, of recitation of the Qoran, dhikr, of visitation of the tombs of the prophets, martyrs, awliya' and pious Moslems, of giving a shroud for a corpse and of all charities and good deeds can be devoted." It is understood from this passage, too, that visiting the graves of the awliya' does bring thawab.

The Wahhabis say, "It causes kufr (infidelity) and shirk (polytheism) to build a dome over a grave, to light oil-lamps for those who worship and serve in shrines and to vow alms for the souls of the dead! The inhabitants of al-Haramain [Mecca and Medina] have worshipped domes and walls up to now..

Building a dome over a grave is haram if it is for ostentation or ornamentation. If it is for protecting the grave from destruction, it is makruh.

If it is intended lest a thief or an animal should break in, it is permissible. But it should not be made a place of visiting, that is, one should not say that it should be visited at certain times; yet one should have tawassul of and recite Qoran for the dead when one passes by a grave.

It is not makruh to bury corpses in a building that has been built before. As-Sahaba buried Rasulullah and his two caliphs in a building. None of them stood against it. The Hadith informs that their unanimity could not be heresy. Great Islamic scholar Ibn Abidin wrote: "Some scholars said that it was makruh to put a covering cloth, a skullcap or a turban over the graves of pious

Moslems or awliya'. The book Al-fatawa al-hujja says that it is makruh if it is intended to show everybody the greatness of the one in the grave and lest he should be insulted and so that those who visit him will be respectful and in good manners.

Deeds, acts that are not prohibited in al-adillat ash Shar'iyya should be judged in view of the intention involved. It is true that in the time of as-Sahana neither domes were built over graves, nor sarcophagus [stone or wooden] and clothes were put on graves. But none of them was against the interment of Rasullulah and his two caliphs in a room. For this reason, and for carrying out the commands in, 'Do not step on graves!' and 'Do not be disrespectful to your dead!' and because they were not prohibited, they cannot be bid as though they were done afterwards. All fiqh books communicate that right after the farewell tawaf [the act of going round the Ka'ba during the hajj] it is necessary to go out of the Masjid al-Haram as an act of respect towards the Ka'ba. Whereas, as-Sahaba, because they respected the Ka'ba in every point, did not use to do so. The posterity, being unable to show that much reverence, our 'ulama' declared that it was necessary to show respect by exiting the Masjid walking backwards.

Thus they made it possible for us to be respectful like as-Sahaba. Likewise, it became permissible to cover the graves of the pious and of the awliya' with cloth or to build domes over them in order to be respectful like as-Sahaba. Great savant, Abd alGhani an-Nabulusi explains this in detail in his book Kashf an-nur." (Ibn 'Abidin, Hasbiyatu Durr al-mukhtar (Radd al-mukhtar) p. 232, vol. V. Bulaq, 1272; Kashf an-nur and Jalal ad-din as-Suyuti's Tanwir al-halak fi imkani ru 'yati 'nNabi jiharan wa 'l-malak were edited together the third time with the title Al-minhat al-wahbiyya, Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1974.) In the blessed city of Medina, there were many shrines called "mashhad" in the Baki Cemetery. The Wahhabis destroyed all of them. Except the Wahhabis, no Islamic 'alim has said that it would be polytheism or kufr to build domed tombs or to visit tombs.

Except these deviated people, no one has ever been seen demolishing tombs.

At the end of the book Halabi-i kabir, it is written, "If a person decides his land to be a cemetery and if there is empty space in it, it is permissible for one to build a domed tomb in it with a view to burying corpses. When there is not any other empty space left, this tomb shall be demolished and graves shall be dug [at its ground].

For this is a place belonging to the awqaf, devoted to be a cemetery." If building domed tombs had been known to be polytheistic, or if domed tombs had been considered to be idols, it would have been always necessary to demolish them.

The famous Wahhabite book says: "The one who intends to get blessed (tabarruk) with a tree, stone, grave or the like becomes a polytheist.

Graves have been idolized by building domes over them. The people of the Jahiliyya Ages, too, worshipped pious persons and statues. Today, all such and more excessive acts are committed at shrines and graves. To attempt to get blessed with the graves of pious persons is like worshipping the idol al-Lat. These polytheists suppose that the awliya' hear and answer their prayers. They say that they approach the dead by making vows and giving alms for graves. All these acts are major polytheism. The polytheist is still a polytheist even if he would call himself another name. Praying the dead respectfully and affectionately, slaughtering animals, making vows and other similar acts are all polytheistic whatever they call it. The polytheists of the present time, using the words 'ta'zim' (respect) and 'tabarruk', say permissible for what they do." (Fath al-majid, p.133.)

I have already translated in my various books .the answers given by Moslem scholars to such offensive lampoons of the Wahhabis against the Ahl as-Sunna Moslems. In the following, a passage from the book Al-usul al-arba'a fi tardid al-Wahhabiyya is translated to show to the vigilant reader that the Wahhabis deceive and deviate themselves and take Moslems to ruination:

"The Qoran, Hadith, the sayings and acts of the Salaf as-salihin and most of the 'ulama' document point that it is permissible to show ta'zim (respect, honour) to somebody other than Allahu ta'ala. The 32nd ayat of the surat al-Hajj states:

"When one shows honour (yu'azzim) to Allah's sha'a'ir, this behaviour is out of the heart's taqwa. 'Sha'a'ir' means 'indications, signs'. Hadrat Abd alHaqq ad-Dahlawi said, 'Sha'a'ir is the plural of sha'ira, which means indication ('alama). Anything that reminds Allahu ta'ala when seen is an indication of Allahu ta'ala.' The 158th ayat of the surat al-Baqara says: " As-Safa and al-Marwa are among the sha'a'ir of Allah." As understood from this ayat, the hills as-Safa and al-Marwa are not the only indications of Allahu ta'ala. There are other indications as well. And not only the similar places 'Arafat Muzdalifa and Mina should be cited to be the indications. Shah Wali-Allah ad-Dahlawi says on the 69th page of his work Hujjat-Allahi 'l-baligha, 'The greatest indications of Allahu ta'ala are four: the Qoran, the Ka'ba,the Prophet and the ritual prayers.' And on the 30th page of his book Altaf al-Quds, he says, 'To love the indications of Allahu ta'ala means to love anything that reminds Allahu ta'ala. To love the awliya' of Allahu ta'ala is the same.' (The hadith quoted in Ibn Abi Shaiba's Musnad and al-Manawi's Kunuz ad-daqa'iq says: "Allahu ta'ala is remembered when awliya are seen. ")

So the awliya', too, are among the indications.

While the two hills near the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, namely as-Safa and al-Marwa, between which the Prophet Isma'il's mother Hadrat Hajar had walked, are among the indications of Allahu ta'ala, and can cause one to remember that blessed mother, why should not the places where the Prophet Hadrat Muhammad, who is the most superior of the creatures and the Darling of Allahu ta'ala, was born and brought up and the places where he worshipped, migrated, performed salat and passed away and his blessed shrine and the places of his Al (Ahl al-Bait: Household of the Prophet) and companions be counted among the indications? Why do the Wahhabis destroy these places?

"When the Qoran is read attentively and equitably, it will be easily seen that many ayats express 'ta'zim' for Rasulullah. In the surat al-Hujurat it is declared: 'O those who believe! Do not pass yourselves beyond Allah and His Prophet! O those who believe! Do not speak louder than the Prophet's voice.' Do not call him as you call one another.' The reward for the deeds of those who would do so will vanish! Allah fills with taqwa hearts of those who lower their voices in the presence of Allah 's Prophet; He forgives their sins and gives much reward. Those who shout at him from the outside are thoughtless;, it is better for them to wait till he comes out. It is apparent to the one who reads and thinks over these five ayats equitably how much Allahu ta'ala praises the ta'zim that will b e shown to His Beloved Prophet, and how importantly He commands the Umma to be respectful and modest towards him. The degree of this importance can be judged by that the reward for all the deeds of those who would speak louder before him is of no avail. These ayats came as a penalty for the seventy people of the Banu Tamim tribe who had called the Prophet shouting disrespectfully from the outside in Medina. Today the Wahhabis say that they belong to the Banu Tamim tribe. It should have been for this that Rasulullah said, 'The violent and torturous people are in the East,' and 'The Satan will arouse disunion from there,' pointing to a direction towards the Najd. Another name used for the Wahhabis is 'Najdis', for they have spread out the Najd country [on the Arabian Peninsula]. The disunion predicted in the above hadith came out twelve hundred years later: the Wahhabis came from the Najd to the Hijaz, plundered Moslems' possessions, killed the men and enslaved the women and children. They committed the basest evils that disbelievers yet committed.

"In the above ayats, the repetitive phrase 'O those who believe,' shows that all Moslems of all centuries till the Last Day are commanded to be respectful towards Rasulullah. If the command had been only for his companions, 'O the Companions of the Prophet,' would have been said. As a matter of fact, the phrases, 'O the wives of the Prophet,' and 'O the people of Medina,' are qoranic. The same phrase, 'O those who believe,' is used in the ayats stating that ritual prayers, fast, pilgrimage, zakat and other 'ibadas are fard for all Moslems of all times till the Last Day. So, the Wahhabis' idea that 'the Prophet was to be respected when he was alive; neither respect is to be shown to nor help is to be asked from him after his death,' is groundless in view of these ayats.

"The above ayats, indicate that ta'zim towards others besides Allahu ta'ala is also necessary. The 104th ayat of the surat al-Baqara states: 'O those who believe! Do not say, "Ra'ina" Ito the Prophet], but say, "Look upon us." You be listeners Ito Allah's commands]. , Believers used to say, 'Ra'ina,' (observe, protect us) to the Prophet.

'Ra'ina' also meant 'to swevar, to blemish' in the Jewish language, and the Jews used this words for the Prophet in this sense. Because it also had this bad meaning, Allahu ta 'ala forbade the believers to use this word and protected His Prophet against the possibility of being disrespected. In order for this respect to be shown till the end of the world. He said, 'O those who believe! "

"In the 33rd ayat of the surat al-Anfal, Allahu ta'ala declares, 'Allah will not punish them while you are with them,' and promises not to punish them till the end of the world. This ayat refutes the Wahhabis' claim that the Prophet went away and became soil.

They destroy the blessed places inherited from Rasulullah. They say that these places make people polytheists. If it were polytheism to pray to Allahu ta'ala at sacred places, Allahu ta'ala would not have ordered us to go on hajj. Rasulullah would not have kissed the Hajar al-aswad while he was performing tawaf; nobody would pray at, Arafat and Muzdalifa; stones would not be thrown at Mina, and Moslems would not walk between asSafa and al-Marwa. These sacred places would not have been so respected.

"When Sa'd ibn Ma'adh, the head of the Ansar, came to where they assembled, Rasulullah said, 'Stand up for your leader!' This command was intended for all of them to do honour to Sa'd. It is wrong to say, 'Sa'd was ill. It was intended that he should be helped off his riding-animal,' beca.use the order was for all of them. If it were intended for helping him, the order would have been for one or two persons; only 'for Sa' d' would have been said, and there would have been no need to say, 'for your leader.'

"Every time he went from Medina to Mecca for hajj, Abdullah ibn 'Umar stopped and performed salat and prayed at the sacred places where Rasulullah had sat. He would get ble ssed (tabarruk) with these places. He used to put his hands on Rasulullah's minbar (pulpit) and then rub them on his face. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal used to kiss the Hujrat as-Sa'ada and the pulpit to get blessed

by them. The Wahhabis, on the one hand, say that they belong to the Hanbali madhhab, and, on the other, regard as 'polytheism' what the imam of this madhhab did. Then, their claim to be Hanbali is a lie. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal put Imam as-hShafi'i's shirt into water and drank the water to obtain blessings. Hadrat Khalid ibn Zaid Abu Ayyub al-Ansari rubbed his face against Rasulullah's blessed grave and, when someone wanted to lift him up, he said: 'Leave me! 1 came not for the stones or soil but for the audience of Rasulullah.'

"As-Sahaba used to get blessed with the things that belonged to Rasulullah. They received blessings from the water he used in ablution and from his blessed sweat, shirt, sceptre, sword, shoes, glass, ring, in short, from anything he used. Hadrat, Umm Salama, the mother of the faithful, kept a hair from his blessed beard. When ill people came, she would dip the hair into water and have them drink the water. With his blessed glass, they used to drink water for health. Imam al-Bukhari' s grave smelt musk, and people took soil from the grave to get blessed with it. The 'ulama' of hadith and fiqh permitted such actions, while the Wahhabis regard them as polytheism and disbelief." (Al-usul alarba'a, part one.)

In the times of as-Sahaba and the Tabi'un, and even till the end of the first millennium, there were many awliya' and sulaha' (pl. of salih, the pious). People used to visit and receive blessings from them as well as attaining their prayers. There was no need to make intermediary (tawassul) of the dead or to get blessed (tabarruk) with lifeless things. That these actions were rare in those days does not mean that they were forbidden. If they had been forbidden, there would have been those who would prevent them. No 'alim prevented them.

As the Last Age has set in, however, bid'as and disbelief have increased, the youth have been deceived by the enemies of Islam in the disguises of religious authorities and scientists, and, because irreligiousness and apostasy has suited their purposes, dictators and the cruel, the slaves of their nafses, have given great support to this current.

The number of 'alims and walis has decreased, even there has been seen none in the last de cades, and it has become a must to get blessed with the graves of and the things inherited from the awliya'.

To the unanimity of the 'ulama' (The writings of the 'ulama' on this subject are quoted in Ahmad bin Zaini Dahlau's Ad-durar as-Saniyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahhabiyya, Egypt, 1319 and 1347; photographic reproduction by Isik Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1395 (1975).) of Islam, this lawful practice itself should not be prevented even though prohibited behaviours (harams) have been introduced into it as it has been the same with every hadith and religious affairs, but the bid'as introduced should be removed.