Their Belief that the Imams are the Intermediaries between Allah and the creation

Wilayah is the Basis for the Acceptance of Deeds
April 12, 2017
Their Belief That the Imam can Prohibit and Make Lawful What he Desires
April 12, 2017

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Discussion Three

Their Belief that the Imams are the Intermediaries between Allah and the creation

 

The Shia claim that their twelve Imams are the intermediaries between Allah and His creation. Al Majlisi says regarding his Imams:

 

فإنهم حجب الرب والوسائط بينه وبين الخلق

They are the veils of the lord and the intermediaries between Him and the creation.[1]

 

In fact, he dedicated an entire chapter to this claim titled, ‘People cannot be guided except through them and they are the intermediaries between the creation and Allah and none will enter Jannat except those who recognised them.’[2] One of their narrations state that Abu ‘Abdullah said:

 

نحن السّبب بينكم وبين الله عزّ وجلّ

We are the intermediate between you and Allah.[3]

 

In the book Aqa’id al Imamiyyah, it is stated that the twelve Imams are:

 

أبواب الله والسبل إليه… إنهم كسفينة نوح من ركبها نجا ومن تخلف عنها غرق

The doors and the pathways that lead to Allah… They are like the ship of Nuh. Whoever climbs aboard will be saved and whoever stays behind will drown.[4]

 

Furthermore, the Muslims believe that the Prophets are the ones who convey the message and commands of Allah to His creation. The Imamiyyah, on the other hand, believe that this responsibility lies upon the shoulders of the Imams as well. According to them, the Imams receive revelation from Allah, as explained under the chapter regarding their beliefs regarding the Sunnah. That is not all: they even attribute to them such things which a Muslim believes to be the doing of Allah alone. This removes the one who believes in them from the religion of Tawhid to the religion of shirk.

A few examples of these polytheistic beliefs and acts are:

  • Believing that the guidance of the creation lies in the hands of the Imams,
  • Supplications are not accepted unless their names are invoked,
  • They are to be called for help at the time of difficulty,
  • Pilgrimage is carried out to their graves,
  • Hajj to their graves is greater than to the House of Allah (which Allah made as a sign for humanity),
  • Karbala’ has more sanctity than the Ka’bah,
  • The visitation of these graves have rites that are necessary to carry out (which are referred to as Manasik al Mashahid),
  • Tawaf is done of these graves and they are taken as the Qiblah just like the sanctified House of Allah.
 

If Allah permits, I will quote for you these beliefs, without any dishonesty, from the reliable books of the Shia. However, before presenting these quotations, I would like to highlight the fact that the concept of an intermediate between Allah and His creation is one that is completely foreign to Islamic teachings. Rather, it is a doctrine that was upheld by the polytheists. The very purpose of the Prophets was to liberate humanity from this type of polytheism. There are no barriers between a Muslim and his Lord. He does not need to turn to an intermediary when carrying out acts of worship or supplication. Allah says:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِيْ عَنِّيْ فَإِنِّي قَرِيْبٌ أُجِيْبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِيْ وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِيْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُوْنَ

And when my servants ask you concerning me—indeed I am near. I respond to the invocations of the caller when he calls upon me. So let them respond to me [by obedience] and believe in me so that they be [rightly] guided.[5]

 

ادْعُوْنِيْ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَسْتَكْبِرُوْنَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِيْ سَيَدْخُلُوْنَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِيْنَ

And your Rabb says, “Call upon me; I will respond to you.” Indeed, those who disdain my worship will enter Hell contemptibly.[6]

 

The people of knowledge are unanimous upon the fact that the one who places an intermediary between himself and Allah by relying upon him, asking him to fulfil his needs or supplicating to him has committed shirk and left the fold of Islam, as these were the beliefs of the polytheists. Allah relates the excuse that they would present for their acts:

مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُوْنَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفٰى

We only worship them so that they bring us nearer to Allah in position.[7]

 

When Ibn Taymiyah was asked regarding one who says, “It is necessary for us to have an intermediary between us and Allah, as we cannot reach Him except through it,” he replied:

 

If he means that we need someone to convey the laws of Allah, then this is correct. The creation cannot learn about the pleasure of Allah, His commandments and prohibitions except through the Messengers, who were sent by Allah to His creation. This is a fact that is agreed upon by the Muslims, Jews and Christians. All establish this intermediary between Allah and his creation. They are undoubtedly the Messengers of Allah who conveyed His commandments and prohibitions. Allah says:

 

اللَّهُ يَصْطَفِي مِنَ الْمَلائِكَةِ رُسُلاً وَمِنَ النَّاسِ

Allah chooses from the angels Messengers and from the people.[8]

 

Whoever rejects these intermediaries is a disbeliever according to all the religions.

On the other hand, if he means that it is necessary for the slaves of Allah to have an intermediary between them and Allah to whom they should supplicate and from whom they should seek favours so as to draw good and repel harm (for example he believes that the intermediary can provide sustenance for people, help them and guide them), then this is from the most sever forms of shirk, due to which Allah declared the polytheists as disbelievers. This (declaration) was on account of them taking others as guardians and intercessors. They would attempt to draw good towards themselves and ward off evil by means of these deities.

Thus, the one who takes the messengers, angels, Imams, or pious personalities as intermediaries and supplicates to them, depends on them, asks them for goodness or to repel evil (e.g. he asks them to forgive sins, guide hearts, remove difficulties or eliminate poverty) is a disbeliever according the consensus of the Muslims.

 

He goes on to say:

 

Whoever establishes intermediaries between Allah and His creation, like the intermediaries between a king and his people (i.e. in the sense that they are the ones who present to Allah the needs of the creation and Allah guides the creation, helps them and provides for them as the creation asks them and they ask Allah just as the intermediaries in the court of the king are requested to ask the king for the needs of the people due to their closeness to him and the awe that is maintained for him by the public or because their requests hold greater weight) is a disbeliever and a polytheist. It is necessary to ask him to repent. If he repents (then he will become a Muslim), otherwise he will be killed.[9]

 

Now, I will present the texts that I indicated to—in which polytheism is upheld and called towards, so that the polytheism that is hidden in Twelver Shi’ism may be seen in its true form.

 

a. Their belief that the guidance of mankind lies in the hands of the Imams

Abu ‘Abdullah says (as they allege):

 

بلية الناس عظيمة إن دعوناهم لم يجيبونا وإن تركناهم لم يهتدوا بغيرنا

The calamity of the people is great. If we call them, they do not respond to our call and if we leave them they will not be guided without us.[10]

 

This quotation establishes that people cannot be guided except through the Imams, and that people are undergoing perpetual difficulty on account of not responding to the call of the Imams. Both of these claims (confining the guidance of the people to the Imams and claiming that everyone is upon misguidance) are baseless lies. They go against divine texts, reason as well as reality. Another narration states:

 

قال أبو جعفر بنا عبد الله وبنا عرف الله وبنا وحد الله

Abu ‘Abdullah said, “It is only by means of us that Allah is worshipped, recognised, and taken as one who is free from partners.”[11]

 

In this text, guidance is not just confined to the Imams, but they are even declared its source. The truth is that guidance—in the sense that one is given the ability to accept the truth—is distributed only by Allah, the Rabb and the controller of hearts. He may intervene between a man and his heart and when He wishes for anything to happen he merely says “Be!” and it becomes. The Shia, by stating these narrations without any clauses, have made their Imams partners with Allah as far as granting guidance is concerned. This is the greatest form of shirk. Allah alone is the One who guides. He has no partners.

Allah says:

مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِي وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا

He whom Allah guides is the guided, but he whom He leaves astray – never will you find for him a protecting guide.[12]

 

Allah addressed His Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam saying:

إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِيْ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِيْ مَنْ يَّشَاءُ

Indeed you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom he wills. And he is most knowing of the (rightly) guided.[13]

 

As for guidance in the form of pointing out the truth and directing people towards it, this was the responsibility of the Messengers and those who followed diligently in their footsteps. It cannot be confined to the Twelve Imams. Allah says:

 

قُلْ هَـذِهِ سَبِيْلِيْ أَدْعُوْ إِلَى اللّهِ عَلٰى بَصِيْرَةٍ أَنَاْ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِيْ

Say, “This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me.”[14]

 

The claim that humans cannot be guided without the Imams is indeed a bold statement against Allah.

 

b. Their belief that supplications are not accepted except if they contain the names of the Imams

It is claimed by them that the one who supplicates to Allah without the Imams cannot be successful. One of their narrations from the Imams states:

 

من دعا الله بنا أفلح، ومن دعا بغيرنا هلك واستهلك

Whoever supplicates to Allah with our names will be successful and whoever supplicates with others will be ruined and destroyed.[15]

 

Their audacity reached a level where they even claimed:

 

إنّ دعاء الأنبياء استجيب بالتّوسل والاستشفاع بهم صلوات الله عليهم أجمعين

The supplications of the Prophets were accepted due to considering them (the Imams) as mediums and intercessors.[16]

 

Al Majlisi supported this claim by means of eleven narrations.[17] He quotes many similar narrations in the chapters regarding the conditions faced by the Prophets, especially in the chapters regarding Adam, Musa, and Ibrahim ‘alayh al-Salam. Another chapter in which these appear is the chapter regarding the miracles of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.[18] Many narrations which convey the above meaning appears in their reliable works.[19] This dangerous claim is the stepping stone—in a discreet and disguised form—towards taking the Imams as deities. They are seen as the ones to whom one should turn at the time of need, just as they are perceived to be the saviours of those who are in trouble, the protectors of those who are in fear, the direction of those who supplicate and the ones whose names have to be added to supplications in order for them to have any effect. Is there any difference between these beliefs and the beliefs held by the polytheists regarding their idols?

Yes, there is one difference! The polytheists would at least adopt monotheism at the time of extreme difficulty. Allah says:

 

فَإِذَا رَكِبُوْا فِي الْفُلْكِ دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِيْنَ لَهُ الدِّيْنَ

And when they board a ship, they supplicate to Allah, with all sincerity to Him in religion (i.e. faith and hope).[20]

 

The Shia, on the other hand, commit shirk in both; times of ease as well as extreme difficulty. In fact, they believe that their difficulties cannot be removed except by uttering the names of their Imams in their supplications. One of their narrations state:

 

عن الرضا عليه السلام قال: لمّا أشرف نوح عليه السّلام على الغرق دعا الله بحقّنا فدفع الله عنه الغرق، ولمّا رمي إبراهيم في النّار دعا الله بحقّنا فجعل الله النّار عليه بردًا وسلامًا، وإنّ موسى عليه السّلام لمّا ضرب طريقًا في البحر دعا الله بحقّنا فجعله يبسًا، وإنّ عيسى عليه السّلام لمّا أراد اليهود قتله دعا الله بحقّنا فنجّي من القتل فرفعه الله

It is reported from al Rida ‘alayh al-Salam that he said, “When Nuh ‘alayh al-Salam was about to drown, he supplicated to Allah through our right, so Allah saved him from drowning. When Ibrahim was thrown in the fire, he supplicated to Allah through our right, so Allah made the fire cool and peaceful for him. When Musa ‘alayh al-Salam took the path of the sea, he supplicated to Allah through our rights, so Allah made it dry. When the Jews wanted to kill Isa ‘alayh al-Salam, he supplicated to Allah by way of our rights, so Allah saved him from being killed and raised him.”[21]

 

If the above sent shivers down your spine, then try to prepare yourself for what is still coming. As if the claim that the supplications of the Prophets were only accepted because of the Imams was not heretical enough, they go on to claim that the conditions that came upon certain Prophets was on account of the stance held by them towards the Imams. This is what they say regarding Adam ‘alayh al-Salam:

 

لما أسكنه الله الجنة مثّل له النبي وعلي والحسن والحسين صلوات الله عليهم فنظر إليهم بحسد، ثم عرضت عليه الولاية فأنكرها فرمته الجنة بأوراقها، فلما تاب إلى الله من حسده وأقر بالولاية ودعا بحق الخمسة محمد وعلي وفاطمة والحسن والحسين صلوات الله عليهم غفر الله له وذلك قوله فَتَلَقّٰى آدَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ

When Allah placed him in Jannat, Nabi, ‘Ali, Hassan, and Hussain appeared before him whom he looked at with jealousy. Thereafter, Wilayah was presented to him which he rejected. Thereupon, Jannat threw all its leaves at him. When he repented to Allah from his jealousy, accepted the Wilayah, and supplicated regarding through the medium of the five; Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hassan, and Hussain; Allah forgave him. This is what is being referred to in the statement of Allah, “Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words and He accepted his repentance.”[22]

 

As for Yunus ‘alayh al-Salam, they claim that Allah kept him in the stomach of the whale due his rejection of the Wilayah of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Allah only removed him when he accepted it.[23]

These are the concoctions and fabrications of the Shia. The message of Allah is in stark contradiction to their claims. He says:

 

وَلِلّهِ الأَسْمَاء الْحُسْنٰى فَادْعُوْهُ بِهَا

And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.[24]

 

Allah did not say, ‘invoke Him by the names of the Imams’ or ‘at their graves and tombs.’ Similarly, He says:

 

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُوْنِيْ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ

And your Lord says, “Call upon me; I will respond to you.”[25]

 

If the acceptance of supplications was based upon mentioning the names of the Imams, he would have said, “Invoke me by the names of the Imams and I will accept”. The reality is that these concoctions of the Shia are actually reasons for supplications to be rejected, as the foundation for the acceptance of supplications is sincerity and not associating anyone as a partner with Allah. Allah says:

 

فَادْعُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِيْنَ لَهُ الدِّيْنَ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُوْنَ

So invoke Allah, being sincere to Him in religion, although the disbelievers dislike it.[26]

 

وَادْعُوْهُ مُخْلِصِيْنَ لَهُ الدِّيْنَ

And invoke Him, being sincere to Him in religion.[27]

 

These Imams are from the human race. They are no different. Allah says:

 

إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ تَدْعُوْنَ مِن دُوْنِ اللّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ فَادْعُوْهُمْ فَلْيَسْتَجِيْبُوْا لَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِيْنَ

Indeed, those whom you call upon besides Allah are servants just like you. So call upon them and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful.[28]

 

As far as worshipping Allah and invoking him is concerned, He did not place any pious person, angel, or Nabi in between. All are the slaves of Allah. He says:

لَّن يَسْتَنكِفَ الْمَسِيْحُ أَن يَّكُوْنَ عَبْداً لِّلّهِ وَلَا الْمَلآئِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُوْنَ

Never would the Messiah ever be disdained to be a servant of Allah, nor would the angels near (o Him in status])[29]

 

إِن كُلُّ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ إِلَّا آتِي الرَّحْمٰنِ عَبْدًا

There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he will appear before the Most Merciful as a servant.[30]

 

The nurturing that a Shia undergoes by saying all of his supplications and invocations to Allah in the above-stated manner is indeed dangerous. The seeds of turning towards a being other than Allah are planted in his heart and mind. The tendency of turning towards humans instead of Allah grows within him. He is then enveloped in this type of polytheistic beliefs and his children and grandchildren are made to follow suit. At times, it reaches such extremes that he completely forgets Allah, as the names of Imams are always on his tongue and heart at the time of supplicating. This is the end result of following his seniors and uttering those words.

Some of their narrations explicitly support this. It is stated in one narration that a Shia wrote to his Imam complaining to him or asking him:

 

إنّ الرّجل يحبّ أن يفضي إلى إمامه ما يحبّ أن يفضي إلى ربّه

A man wishes to say to his Imam that which he wishes to say to His Rabb.

 

The reply was:

إذا كانت لك حاجة فحرّك شفتيك، فإنّ الجواب يأتيك

When you have a need, move your lips. A reply will come to you.[31]

 

It is as if they are quicker to respond and have a greater ability to fulfil needs. The extremism of this shirk makes the shirk of the pre-Islamic era seem mild. The bitter fruits of these tales can be witnessed at the graves of the Imams. The preposterousness of the claim that the supplications of the Prophets were accepted only after they invoked the Imams as intermediaries is self-evident, as the Imams did not exist in the lifetime of the Prophets. It is also a call towards shirk, as they (Twelvers) believe that the basis for the acceptance of supplications is the mention of the Imams names. This is not dissimilar to the claims of the polytheists that their idols would draw them closer to Allah. Their claim is debunked in the Qur’an, as Allah states that the Prophets called out to Him alone, using nothing besides His blessed name. He says regarding Yunus ‘alayh al-Salam:

فَنَادٰى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَن لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّيْ كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِيْنَ

And he called out within the darkness, “There is no deity except you; exalted are you. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”[32]

 

The statement uttered by Adam ‘alayh al-Salam and his honourable wife was recorded by Allah and conveyed to us. The Qur’an quotes them:

 

قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُوْنَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِيْنَ

They said, “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if you do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.”[33]

 

The aforementioned narration of the Shia, therefore, is an outright forgery, for those who know what Islam is about. It has emerged from the whimsical fantasy of a disbeliever and endeavoured to inject polytheism into Islamic beliefs. Allah says regarding such people:

 

يُرِيْدُوْنَ لِيُطْفِؤُوْا نُوْرَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُوْرِهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُوْنَ

They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.[34]

 

The irony of it all is that the narrations regarding the supplications of the Imams to Allah in the books of the Shia belie this belief of theirs. Amir al Mu’minin would say, as recorded in their books:

 

إلهي أفكّر في عفوك فتهون عليّ خطيئتي، ثم أذكر العظيم من أخذك فتعظم علي بليتي، ثم قال: آه إن أنا قرأت في الصحف سيئة أنا ناسيها وأنت محصيها، فتقول: خذوه! فيا له من مأخوذ لا تنجيه عشيرته، ولا تنفعه قبيلته

O my lord! I ponder over your (willingness to) pardon due to which my sins seem trivial to me. Then I ruminate over the severity of your punishment, and my tribulation thus seems overwhelming to me. Aah! (How will I fair?) If I read in the scroll of deeds a sin that I had forgotten but you had recorded. You thereafter say “Grab him!” Pity upon the one who will be held without his relatives being of any avail to him and his tribe of any benefit.[35]

 

The above is not a rare supplication. In fact, many such supplications are narrated from each Imam. Al Majlisi narrates most of them in his Bihar.[36]

 

c. Istighathah from the Imams

Istighathah [37] is only sought from Allah. However, the Shia call towards seeking Istighathah from their Imams in matters which are not in the control of anyone besides Allah. Some narrations stipulate a specific role for each Imam. One narration says:

 

“.. أمّا عليّ بن الحسين فللنّجاة من السّلاطين ونفث الشّياطين، وأمّا محمّد بن علي وجعفر بن محمّد فللآخرة وما تبتغيه من طاعة الله عزّ وجلّ، وأمّا موسى بن جعفر فالتمس به العافية من الله عزّ وجلّ، وأمّا عليّ بن موسى فاطلب به السّلامة في البراري والبحار، وأمّا محمّد بن علي فاستنزل به الرّزق من الله تعالى، وأمّا عليّ بن محمّد فللنّوافل وبرّ الإخوان وما تبتغيه من طاعة الله عزّ وجلّ، وأمّا الحسن بن عليّ فللآخرة، وأمّا صاحب الزّمان فإذا بلغ منك السّيف الذّبح فاستعن به فإنّه يعينك

Seeking the help of ‘Ali ibn Hussain is to be safe from the tyranny of rulers and from the spells of the devils, as to Muhammad ibn ‘Ali and Jafar ibn Muhammad, their help is sought for matters of afterlife and in order to attain the obedience of Allah. Musa ibn Jafar, seek through his medium overall well-being from Allah. Seek protection in desserts and the oceans through ‘Ali ibn Musa. Draw your sustenance from Allah with Muhammad ibn ‘Ali. The help of ‘Ali ibn Muhammad should be sought for non-obligatory acts, good behaviour towards brothers and that which you seek from the obedience of Allah. Hassan ibn ‘Ali is for the hereafter. If you are about to be slain with a sword then call out to the Imam of the era (Mahdi), and he will help you.[38]

 

The author of al Bihar followed this by a supplication which included all of these unacceptable forms of Istighathah, which he considered an explanation of the text.[39] Al Majlisi stated regarding them:

الشّفاء الأكبر والدّواء الأعظم لمن استشفى بهم

The greatest cure and the greatest medicine is for the one who seeks cure through them.[40]

 

According to them, the Imams are the ones from whom help should be sought and in who one places his reliance. Thus, a Shia turns his attention towards his Imam (as stated in their narrations) and says regarding their awaited Imam:

 

أركان البلاد وقضاة الأحكام وأبواب الإيمان.. منائح العطاء بكم إنفاذه محتومًا مقرونًا فما شيء منه إلا وأنتم له السّبب وإليه السّبيل.. فلا نجاة ولا مفزع إلا أنتم ولا مذهب عنكم يا أعين الله النّاظرة

The pillars of the countries, the judges of the law, the doors of Iman… the givers of gifts! It is by your blessing that a task is accomplished in a definite and joint manner. There is nothing thereof except that you are its cause and pathway… there is no way to being saved and no place of refuge except you. It is not possible to go away from you, O seeing eyes of Allah…[41]

 

The attribution of aspects that are the sole prerogative of Allah to the Imams in the above text is quite evident. They are considered the cause behind all happenings, there is no refuge but with them, granting favours becomes definite through them etc. There are many more invocations that resemble the above quoted one as far as deviation and extremism regarding the Imams is concerned. They go to the extent of declaring them the creators of the earth and the heavens. These can be found in their compilations on invocations such as Mafatih al Jinan, Umdat al Za’ir, etc. These also appear in their reliable books under the chapters concerning the tombs and invocations. Studying and analysing them would require a separate discussion. You will see the true and appalling face of Saba’ism in invocations which suggest that ‘Ali was a deity.

They even write letters and place them on the graves of the Imams, as they believe that these graves (which cannot harm or benefit anyone) are the stations of hope and the places that are to be rushed to at the time of need. They say:

 

إذا كان لك حاجة إلى الله عزّ وجلّ فاكتب رقعة على بركة الله، واطرحها على قبر من قبور الأئمّة إن شئت، أو فشدّها واختمها واعجن طينًا نظيفًا واجعلها فيه، واطرحها في نهر جارٍ، أو بئر عميقة، أو غدير ماء، فإنّها تصل إلى السّيّد عليه السّلام وهو يتولّى قضاء حاجتك بنفسه

If you need something from Allah, write a note with the blessings of Allah and throw it upon one of the graves of the Imams, if you want. Alternatively, tie it up, put a seal on it, knead clean soil, place it inside and throw it in a flowing river, deep well, or a pool of water. It will definitely reach the Master and he will personally fulfil your need.[42]

 

Thereafter, they explain the manner in which the note should be written:

 

بسم الله الرّحمن الرّحيم، كتبت إليك يا مولاي صلوات الله عليك مستغيثًا..، فأغثني يا مولاي صلوات الله عليك عند اللّهف، وقدّم المسألة لله عزّ وجلّ في أمري قبل حلول التّلف وشماتة الأعداء، فبك بسطت النّعمة عليّ، واسأل الله (الخطاب للإمام في قبره) جلّ جلاله لي نصرًا عزيزًا

In the name of Allah, the entirely merciful, the most gracious. I write to you O my master, may the blessings of Allah be upon you, asking for help… So help me, O my master (may the blessings of Allah be upon you) at the time of distress and present my matter to Allah before destruction comes my way and the enemies celebrate. It is only because of you that bounties have become my lot. (And addressing the Imam) Allah help me with a mighty victory.[43]

 

Then he should climb up at a river or pool and call out to one of the doors[44] of the awaited one saying:

 

يا فلان بن فلان سلام الله عليك، أشهد أنّ وفاتك في سبيل الله وأنت حيّ عند الله مرزوق، وقد خاطبتك في حياتك التي لك عند الله جلّ وعزّ، وهذه رقعتي وحاجتي إلى مولانا عليه السّلام فسلّمها إليه فأنت الثّقة الأمين

O so and so! May the greetings of Allah be upon you! I testify that your death was in the path of Allah and you are alive by Allah, receiving sustenance. I speak to you in your life that you have by Allah. This is my request and need to our master ‘alayh al-Salam, so hand it to him as you are reliable and trustworthy.[45]

 

They state:

ثم ارم بها في النّهر وكأنّك تخيل لك أنّك تسلّمها إليه

Thereafter, throw it in the river and imagine that you are handing it to him.[46]

 

There are many letters (not just notes) that are sent to this non-existent awaited one. Genealogists and historians who have researched the subject have found that the person who is anticipated by the Shia was never born as Hassan al ‘Askari passed away without having any children, as will be discussed. It is for this reason that Ibn Taymiyyah said regarding him:

He has no reality and he never existed.[47]

 

Despite this, they have fabricated narrations to establish that it is part of the religion to send notes to the non-existent one seeking his help in such matters that are in the sole control of Allah. Another example of this is:

 

تكتب رقعة إلى صاحب الزّمان وتكتب فيها “بسم الله الرّحمن الرّحيم، توسّلت بحجّة الله الخلف الصّالح محمد بن الحسن بن علي بن محمد بن علي بن موسى بن جعفر بن محمد بن علي بن الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب، النّبأ العظيم، والصّراط المستقيم، والحبل المتين، عصمة الملجأ، وقسيم الجنّة والنّار أتوسّل إليك بآبائك الطّاهرين.. وأمّهاتك الطّاهرات، الباقيات الصّالحات.. أن تكون وسيلتي إلى الله عزّ وجلّ في كشف ضرّي وحلّ عقدي وفرج حسرتي، وكشف بليّتي…

A note should be written to the Imam of the era in which it should be stated, “In the name of Allah, the entirely Merciful, the most Gracious. I take as an intermediary the proof of Allah, the pious successor Muhammad ibn Hassan ibn ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Musa ibn Jafar ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hussain ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib; who is the great news, the straight path, the strong rope, the protection of the refugee, the divider of (the inhabitants) Heaven and Hell. I ask you through the blessings of your pure fathers… and your pure mothers, who were embodiments of unceasing good that you be an intermediary for me by Allah for removing my plight, solving my problem, removing my regret and eliminating my dilemma…”[48]

 

They continue:

ثم تكتب رقعة أخرى لله سبحانه وتطيب الرّقعتين، وتُحمل رقعة الباري تعالى في رقعة الإمام رضي الله عنه وتطرحهما في نهرٍ جارٍ أو بئر ماء بعد أن تجعلهما في طين حرّ

Then, another note should be written for Allah and subsequently, both should be fragranced. The note to Allah should be placed inside the note to the Imam and both should be thrown in a flowing river or in a well, after they are placed in hot soil.[49]

 

Look at the titles with which the non-existent Imam is addressed. He is described as; the protection of the refugee, the one who removes regrets and eliminates dilemmas. These are attributes that are not used for any being besides the one who answers the call of the hard-pressed when he supplicates and removes evil; the one who guides to the straight path those who turn in submission to Him, i.e. Allah. However, these people have assigned these attributes to one who does not even exist. Ponder over the sentence that appears towards the end of the quotation, i.e. “The note to Allah should be placed inside the note to the Imam”. It is as if they have placed their Imam at the fore-front at the time of seeking their needs.

Al Majlisi quotes another supplication to the awaited one. This one reads:

 

ارجع فيما أنت بسبيله إلى الله تعالى، واستعن بصاحب الزمان عليه السلام، واتخذه لك مفزعًا، فإنه نعم المعين، وهو عصمة أوليائه المؤمنين.. وقل: السلام عليك يا إمام المسلمين والمؤمنين، السلام عليك يا وارث علم النبيين، السلام عليك يا عصمة الدين، السلام عليك يا معز المؤمنين المستضعفين، السلام عليك يا مذل الكافرين المتكبرين الظالمين، السلام عليك يا مولاي يا صاحب الزمان.. يا مولاي، حاجتي كذا وكذا فاشفع لي في نجاحها

Turn to Allah in your affairs and seek help from the Imam of the era. Take him as your place of refuge, as he is the best helper and protector of his believing friends… Say, “Peace be upon you, O Imam of the Muslims and Mu’mins, peace be upon you, O heir of the knowledge of the Prophets, peace be upon you, O protector of the religion, peace be upon you O the honourer of the weak believers, peace be upon you, O the disgracer of the oppressive and proud disbelievers, peace be upon you, O my master, O the man of the era…O my master! These are my needs, so intercede for me for its success.”[50]

 

How is it that the ‘man of the era’ is described in the above manner when, according to them, he was unable to appear before his followers due to his fear of being killed (as stated in their authentic narrations—which will appear later)? How is it that a being like him is asked to fulfil needs, which can only be fulfilled by the remover of all difficulties (i.e. Allah)? The Imam is unable to protect himself, which is why he has been hiding in his cave, far out of the sight of everyone!

 

d. Their belief that Hajj to the tombs is greater than Hajj to the House of Allah

Ibn Taymiyyah says:

 

Reliable people have informed me that amongst them are those who believe that Hajj to the tombs is greater than Hajj to the Ka’bah. Thus, they believe that committing shirk is greater than worshipping Allah alone. This is the greatest form of faith in the devil.[51]

 

This matter, regarding which a scholar from the Ahlus Sunnah—who went the extra mile to follow the developments in the Rafidi camp—stated that it reached him through reliable sources is openly declared in the reliable books of the Shia. Tens of narrations emphatically state that visiting the tombs is greater than Hajj to the sanctified House of Allah. The following is stated in al Kafi and other books:

 

إنّ زيارة قبر الحسين تعدل عشرين حجّة، وأفضل من عشرين عمرة وحجّة

Visiting the grave of Hussain is equivalent to twenty Hajj, and greater than twenty Hajj and ‘Umrahs.[52]

 

On one occasion, a follower said to the Imam:

إنّي حججت تسع عشرة حجّة، وتسع عشرة عمرة

I performed Hajj nine times and ‘Umrah nineteen times.

 

The Imam (sarcastically) replied:

حجّ حجّة أخرى، واعتمر عمرة أخرى، تكتب لك زيارة قبر الحسين عليه السّلام

Perform one more Hajj and one more ‘Umrah, you will get the reward of visiting the grave of Hussain ‘alayh al-Salam.[53]

 

It is as if he is saying, ‘Why did you undertake all the difficulty when visiting the grave of Hussain is greater than your acts?’ He asks him to undertake one more Hajj and one more ‘Umrah for this reward to be accrued instead of simply telling him to visit the grave of Hussain once, thus mocking him and making him regret his actions. Their narrations go on expounding the superiority of visiting the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu and the other Imams over the fifth pillar of Islam (Hajj to the House of Allah).

The contents of these narrations makes one believe that their inventor uttered them without being in his senses, or he was a totally bigoted disbeliever. They cannot be surpassed as far as the extent to which they have strayed in this aspect is concerned. A person, after reading their narrations will be convinced that this is the religion of polytheists and not monotheist Muslims. All of these teachings are unheard of among Muslims. It is the teachings of their so-called scholars and Ayatollahs and certainly not the religion of the Rabb of the universe. Their source is not that which was revealed upon the leader of the Messengers but rather it is the guesswork and imaginations of their own men. A closer look at these narrations leaves one convinced that there was a definite motive behind them, i.e. changing the religion of the Muslims and turning them away from their Qiblah, the House of the Rabb of the universe.

This is the message that is presented in their narrations, in many different ways. The idea behind this repetition is to entrench this belief in the hearts of the simple-minded and the ignorant ones, as innovations are quickly accepted by them.[54] Our observation can be understood from the following narration of theirs:

 

A villager from Yemen sets out to visit the grave of Hussain—as stated in the narration. On the way, he meets who they refer to al Sadiq (as Jafar ibn ‘Abdullah al Sadiq has nothing to do with them and their narrations), who asks him regarding the effects of visiting the grave of Hussain. The villager replies:

إنه يرى البركة من ذلك في نفسه وأهله وأولاده وأمواله وقضاء حوائجه

He will see the blessings therefrom in himself, his family, his children, his wealth and when he fulfils his needs.

Abu ‘Abdullah then says (as their narration claims):

أفلا أزيدك من فضله فضلاً يا أخا اليمن؟

Should I not add a virtue to its virtues for you, O brother from Yemen?

The villager replies, “Increase me, O son of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

Then, the following took place:

إن زيارة أبي عبد الله عليه السلام تعدل حجة مقبولة زاكية مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وآله فتعجب من ذلك، فقال له: أي والله وحجتين مبرورتين متقبلتين زاكيتين مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فتعجب، فلم يزل أبو عبد الله عليه السلام يزيد حتى قال: ثلاثين حجة مبرورة متقبلة زاكية مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

Abu ‘Abdullah said to him, “Visiting Abu ‘Abdullah (himself) is equal to a pure Hajj in the company of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.”

Thereupon the villager expressed surprise so he added; “By the oath of Allah, it is equal to performing Hajj which is righteous, accepted and pure in the company of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam twice.”

The villager was still surprised, so Abu ‘Abdullah kept adding to the numbers until he said, “Hajj which is righteous, accepted and pure in the company of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam thirty times.”[55]

 

Jafar al Sadiq is alleged to have established in this strange manner, which is more like the talks of children, that visiting the graves is greater than performing Hajj thirty times. They even attribute these lies, in the same laughable manner, to Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. However, in this case the words alone expose their lies, unlike the case of the Imam where it was only the meaning of the narrations. The narration states:

 

كان الحسين عليه السلام ذات يوم في حجر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو يلاعبه ويضاحكه، وإن عائشة قالت: يا رسول الله ما أشد إعجابك بهذا الصبي!! فقال لها: وكيف لا أحبه وأعجب به وهو ثمرة فؤادي وقرة عيني، أما إن أمتي ستقتله فمن زاره بعد وفاته كتب الله له حجة من حججي، قالت: يا رسول الله حجة من حججك؟!، قال: نعم وحجتين، قالت: حجتين؟ قال: نعم وأربعًا. فلم تزل تزاده وهو يزيد حتى بلغ سبعين حجة من حجج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بأعماره

Hussain ‘alayh al-Salam was once on the lap of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam who was playing and laughing with him. Aisha said, ‘O Rasul Allah, your amazement with this child is indeed immense.’

He replied to her saying, “How can I not be amazed with him and love him when he is the fruit of my heart and the coolness of my eyes? Listen! My ummah will kill him. So, whoever visits him after his death, Allah will write for him a Hajj from my Hajj.”

She said, “O Rasul Allah, a Hajj from your Hajj?”

He replied, “Yes, two Hajj.”

She asked ‘Two Hajj?’

He answered, “Yes, four.”

She continued to add and he increased until it reached seventy Hajj from the Hajj of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam along with their ‘Umrahs.[56]

 

Another narration states:

من زار قبر أبي عبد الله كتب الله له ثمانين حجة مبرورة

Allah will record eighty accepted Hajj for the one who visits the grave of Abu ‘Abdullah.[57]

 

Another narration surpasses this and states:

من أتى قبر الحسين عليه السّلام عارفًا بحقّه كان كمن حجّ مائة حجّة مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

Whoever visits the grave of Hussain, understanding his rights, he is like one who performed Hajj a hundred times with Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.[58]

 

One hundred is only the entry level for these fabricators. The other narrations run in the thousands. When that too is not enough, they add on a variety of other rewards, as if the religion is only about gallivanting to graves and standing by them. Wasa’il al Shia (as well as other books) report that Abu Jafar said to Muhammad ibn Muslim:

لو يعلم الناس ما في زيارة الحسين عليه السلام من الفضل لماتوا شوقًا، وتقطعت أنفسهم عليه حسرات،

If people knew what is (achieved) in the visitation of Hussain ‘alayh al-Salam, they would die out of enthusiasm and their souls would shred to pieces in regret.

Muhammad ibn Muslim asked:

وما فيه؟

And what is in it?

Abu Jafar replied:

 

قال: من زاره تشوقًا إليه كتب الله له ألف حجّة متقبّلة، وألف عمرة مبرورة، وأجر ألف شهيد من شهداء بدر، وأجر ألف صائم، وثواب ألف صدقة مقبولة، وثواب ألف نسمة أريد بها وجه الله، ولم يزل محفوظًا سنته من كلّ آفة أهونها الشيطان،ووكل به ملك كريم يحفظه من بين يديه ومن خلفه وعن يمينه وعن شماله ومن فوق رأسه ومن تحت قدمه، فإن مات سنته حضرته ملائكة الرّحمن يحضرون غسله وأكفانه والاستغفار له ويشيّعونه إلى قبره بالاستغفار له، ويفسح له في قبره مدّ بصره، ويؤمنه الله من ضغطة القبر، ومن منكر ونكير يروعانه، ويفتح له باب إلى الجنة، ويعطى كتابه بيمينه ويعطى له يوم القيامة نور يضيء لنوره ما بين المشرق والمغرب، وينادي مناد هذا من زار الحسين شوقًا إليه، فلا يبقى أحد يوم القيامة إلا تمنّى يومئذ أنّه كان من زوّار الحسين عليه السّلام

Whoever visits him with enthusiasm towards him, Allah will record for him a thousand accepted Hajj, a thousand virtuous ‘Umrah, the reward of a thousand martyrs like the martyrs of Badr, the reward of a thousand fasting people, the reward of a thousand accepted charities, a thousand souls which were only intended for Allah, he will be protected from every calamity for a year, the least of them being Shaitan. And a noble angel will be appointed to protect him from his front, back, right, left, above his head and below his feet.

If he dies in that year, the angels of al Rahman will present themselves before him; they will witness the washing (of his body), the shrouding (of his body in burial cloths), the forgiveness that is sought for him and they will accompany him to his grave whilst seeking forgiveness for him. They will widen his grave as far as his eyes can see, save him from the squeezing of the grave and from Munkar and Nakir (who would have otherwise) scared him and the door of heaven will be opened for him. He will be given his book in the right hand. He will be given light on the Day of Judgment that will shine from the east to the west and an announcer will announce, ‘This is the one who visited Hussain out of enthusiasm for him.’ There will be no person on the Day of Judgment, except that he will wish that he was from those who visited Hussain.[59]

 

Another narration recounts the rewards of visiting his grave:

 

إن الرجل منكم ليغتسل في الفرات ثم يأتي قبر الحسين عارفًا بحقه فيعطيه الله بكل قدم يرفعها أو يضعها مائة حجة مقبولة، ومائة عمرة مبرورة، مائة غزوة مع نبي مرسل أو إمام عادل

A man amongst you who takes a bath in the Euphrates and then comes to the grave of Hussain, understanding his rights; Allah will grant him in return for every time that he raised or dropped his foot, one hundred accepted Hajj, one hundred righteous ‘Umrah, and a hundred campaigns under a Nabi who was sent or a just Imam.[60]

 

A third narration states:

 

من زار الحسين عليه السلام يوم عاشوراء حتى يظل عنده باكيًا لقي الله عز وجل يوم القيامة بثواب ألفي ألف حجة، وألفي ألف عمرة، وألفي ألف غزوة، وثواب كل حجة وعمرة وغزوة كثواب من حج واعتمر وغزا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ومع الأئمة الراشدين صلوات الله عليهم

Whoever visits Hussain on the day of ‘Ashura and stays by him until he cries will meet Allah on the Day on Judgment with the reward of two million Hajj, two million ‘Umrah, and two million campaigns. The reward of each of (these) Hajj, ‘Umrah and campaigns is equivalent to the (reward) of one who did Hajj, ‘Umrah and went out on a campaign with Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the guided Imams.[61]

 

The narration goes on to mention that this reward will also be accrued by one who could not visit his grave on this day as long as he climbs on the roof of his house and greets him by gesture, curses his killers, wails and cries for him and he does not go out on that day for any of his needs. Narrations of this type are found in abundance in their books. Quoting all of them will waste a lot of our resources and sicken our hearts, as they are narrations which are aimed at turning people away from worshipping the Allah—the Majestic—to worshipping the creation, who are themselves in need.

The ultimate goal of these narrations is to drive people towards discarding and forsaking the laws and teachings of Islam. Unimaginable rewards are kept in merely moving ones feet in the direction of a certain grave. Why then, will a person not believe that contravening all the prohibitions will not affect him? It is obvious that he will take his crimes very lightly and he will eventually turn away completely from the commands of Allah.

If there was any truth to these promises, the Noble Qur’an would have definitely mentioned it in some way or the other. Is it not strange that the Qur’an clearly mentions Hajj but makes absolutely no mention of visiting the graves, whereas, according to them, visiting the grave holds much more virtue? This was picked up by one of the Shia who could not understand why visiting the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu held so much of virtue, to the extent that it exceeded the rewards of Hajj manifold, even though it was not mentioned in the Qur’an (which is a sign that indicates the falseness of narrations). Hence, after hearing about these rewards from the Imam, he asked:

 

قد فرض الله على الناس حج البيت، ولم يذكر زيارة قبر الحسين عليه السلام

(Why is it) that Allah made Hajj of the House compulsory upon the people, but did not mention the visiting of Husain’s ‘alayh al-Salam grave?

 

The Imam replied (in a most imprecise manner):

وإن كان كذلك فإن هذا شيء جعله الله هكذا

Since it is like that, this is a matter that Allah has made like this.[62]

 

They have confessed that the Qur’an is free of any such nonsense, despite the fact that they are the masters of ‘hidden interpretations’. This is sufficient a proof to debunk all that their books contain on the subject, as there is no greater proof then a confession. They destroyed their home with their own hands! It is as if the Imam said, “I have no answer for this. The matter is like that. Allah did not explain to His slaves the manner and guidelines of worshipping Him.”

After presenting his imprecise answer, he wishes to redeem himself by giving an answer that is not even remotely related to the question. He said:

 

أما سمعت قول أمير المؤمنين: إن باطن القدم أحق بالمسح من ظاهر القدم، ولكن الله فرض هذا على العباد

Did you not hear the statement of Amir al Mu’minin, “The bottom of the foot[63] is more deserving of being wiped than the top of the foot, but Allah ordained this (wiping of the top of foot) upon the slaves.”[64]

 

Here, they are confessing that visiting the graves is like the bottom of the foot, i.e. it is not among that which was commanded by Allah. Thereafter, he continues with his meaningless speech:

أوما علمت أن الموقف لو كان في الحرم كان أفضل لأجل الحرم ولكن الله صنع ذلك في غير الحرم

Do you not know that if the place of standing (at ‘Arafat) was in the Haram, it would have been better, on account of the Haram? However, Allah placed it away from the Haram.[65]

 

This is another confession that visiting the graves was not made compulsory, even though this sect believes that it holds a greater position. Furthermore, in their attempt to present an excuse, they consider themselves in a position to pass comments regarding the decisions of Allah. They hint that Allah did not do that which was more appropriate and correct (Allah is way above all that which the foolish say), as He did not place ‘Arafat inside the Haram. In this way, the bigoted sect, who fabricated narrations to fool the ignorant, have puked out the negativity that was hidden in them regarding the law and wisdom of Allah, and they have portrayed themselves as advisors regarding His matters.

As stated before, their narrations on this subject are abundant. I have before me a huge amount of this filth, which will boggle the mind of one who has not been polluted with these tales. There are so many narrations that I cannot decide as to which ones I should take and which ones I should leave. Each one of them contains such statements that will shock and disturb one who has the slightest relationship with the Book of Allah, or the slightest amount of concern for his religion. They are only acceptable to those who have shackled their brains in their fanaticism and desires and those who take pride in doing evil simply to promote their sect and stance.

If only the Shia could pause for a moment, remove themselves from subservience to these narrations and ponder with impartiality regarding these narrations which take them into the abyss of shirk! They are made to forget their Rabb and instead hold onto the grave of one of the creation, who cannot even decide regarding his own benefit, harm, life and resurrection. Allah says:

 

إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ تَدْعُوْنَ مِن دُوْنِ اللّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ

Indeed, those you [polytheists] call upon besides Allah are servants [i.e., creations] like you.

 

Another surprising matter related to the subject is that when a narration appeared to contradict these lies which emphasise the superiority of this innovation over Hajj to the sanctified House of Allah, al Majlisi (the distinguished scholar of the Shia) rejected this, practicing upon Taqiyyah. One narration states:

 

عن حنان قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام: ما تقول في زيارة قبر الحسين صلوات الله عليه فإنه بلغنا عن بعضكم أنه قال: تعدل حجة وعمرة؟ قال فقال: ما أضعف هذا الحديث ما تعدل هذا كله ولكن زوروه ولا تجفوه فإنه سيد شباب أهل الجنة

Hannan says, “I asked Abu ‘Abdullah ‘alayh al-Salam, ‘What do you say regarding visiting the grave of Hussain, as it has reached us from one of you that he said, ‘It is equal to Hajj and ‘Umrah’?”

He replied, “This narration is extremely weak. It is not equal to all of that. They have forged this. However, do not become indifferent towards him as he is the leader of the youth of Jannat.”[66]

 

Al Majlisi explains in his interpretation of this text, which demolishes the stack of narrations quoted by him and exposes the deviance that his people hold onto:

لعل المراد أنها لا تعدل الواجبين من الحج والعمرة والأظهر أنه محمول على التقية

Perhaps it means that it is not equal to the obligatory Hajj and ‘Umrah, but the more likely possibility is that it should be taken as Taqiyyah.[67]

 

In other words, Imam Jafar lied to please the Ahlus Sunnah, or out of fear for them, but his statement (without any interpretation) has no place in the Shia religion. This is what the Rafidah do to all the narrations of the Ahlul Bayt, which do not suit their agenda; they render them meaningless by means of the ever-ready excuse of Taqiyyah. The result of this is that Shi’ism has turned into a religion based totally on the desires of their so-called scholars, and it has nothing to do with the Ahlul Bayt.

 

Visiting Karbala’ on the Day of ‘Arafah is greater than visiting it on any other day

Among the strong indications that these narrations were forged with the purpose of turning the Muslims away from the House of their Rabb, causing disunity among them, jeopardising their matters and causing them to turn away from one another (on account of this annual get-together) is that visiting on the Day of ‘Arafah is given special virtue . They say:

 

من أتى قبر الحسين عارفًا بحقّه في غير يوم عيد كتب الله له عشرين حجّة وعشرين عمرة مبرورات مقبولات.. ومن أتاه في يوم عيد كتب الله له مائة حجّة ومائة عمرة.. ومن أتاه يوم عرفة عارفًا بحقّه كتب الله له ألف حجّة وألف عمرة مبرورات متقبّلات، وألف غزوة مع نبي مرسل أو إمام عادل

Whoever visits the grave of Hussain on a day other than the day of ‘Id, Allah will record for him twenty accepted and virtuous Hajj and ‘Umrah…Whoever visits him on the day of Id, Allah will record for him one hundred Hajj and ‘Umrah. Whoever visits him on the day of ‘Arafah, knowing his rights, Allah will record a thousand accepted and virtuous Hajj, ‘Umrah and a thousand campaigns with a sent Nabi or a just Imam.[68]

 

Some of their narrations have explicit mention of the ultimate goal. Jafar al Sadiq said (according to their slander):

 

لو أنّي حدّثتكم بفضل زيارته وبفضل قبره لتركتم الحجّ رأسًا وما حجّ منكم أحد، ويحك أما علمت أنّ الله اتّخذ كربلاء حرمًا آمنًا مباركًا قبل أن يتّخذ مكّة حرمًا

If I were to tell you the virtues of visiting him and the virtues of his grave, you would have left Hajj completely, and none of you would have performed Hajj. Woe unto you, do you not know that Allah made Karbala’ a sanctified peaceful and blessed land even before he made Makkah a sanctified place…[69]

 

Did you not see how he (the forger of the narration) subtly indicated that it is preferable to abandon the command of Hajj and to head to Karbala’ instead? He also says:

إنّ الله يبدأ بالنّظر إلى زوّار قبر الحسين بن علي عشيّة عرفة قبل نظره إلى أهل الموقف

Allah begins by looking at the visitors of the grave of Hussain ibn ‘Ali on the evening of ‘Arafah, even before looking at the people of ‘Arafah.

 

The narrator asked him regarding the reason behind this. He replied:

 

لأنّ في أولئك أولاد زنا وليس في هؤلاء أولاد زنا

Because there are illegitimates among those and there are no illegitimates among these.[70]

 

Illegitimates, according to the Shia, refer to non-Shias.[71]

It seems as if the objective behind these narrations was attained, at least in some cases. One of the narrators of these tales, after hearing the supplication that Imam Jafar made on behalf of those who visit the grave of Hussain said:

 

والله لقد تمنيت أني زرته ولم أحج

By Allah, I really wish I had visited him instead of doing Hajj.[72]

 

Another narration states:

 

أن يتنفل بالحج والعمرة فمنعه من ذلك شغل دنيا أو عائق فأتى الحسين بن علي في يوم عرفة أجزأه ذلك من أداء حجته وضاعف الله له بذلك أضعافًا مضاعفة (قال الراوي): قلت: كم تعدل حجة وكم تعدل عمرة؟ قال: لا يحصى ذلك. قلت: مائة. قال: ومن يحصي ذلك؟ قلت: ألف. قال: وأكثر، ثم قال: وإن تعدوا نعمة الله لا تحصوها

Whoever wishes to perform optional Hajj or ‘Umrah, but he is held back due to involvement in worldly occupations or difficulties, and thus goes to Hussain ibn ‘Ali on the Day of ‘Arafah, it will be sufficient for him (as far as performing his Hajj is concerned) and Allah will multiply (his reward) manifold on account of that.

I (the narrator) asked, “How many Hajj and ‘Umrah will it be equal to?”

He replied, “That cannot be counted.”

I asked, “A hundred?”

He replied, “Who can count that?”

I asked, ‘A thousand?’

He replied, ‘Even more.’

Then, he added, “If you count the bounty of Allah, you will not encompass it.”[73]

 

As you may have realised, the beginning of this narration indicates that Hajj holds more virtue than visiting the grave of Hussain, which only serves as compensation. The same text does not end until this is reversed! Their scholar, al Fayd al Kashani comments on the narrations which state the merits of visiting the grave of Hussain saying:

 

إن هذا ليس بكثير على من جعله الله إمامًا للمؤمنين، وله خلق السّماوات والأرضين، وجعله صراطه وسبيله، وعينه، ودليله، وبابه الذي يؤتى منه، وحبله المتّصل بينه وبين عباده من رسل وأنبياء وحجج وأولياء، هذا مع أنّ مقابرهم رضي الله عنهم فيها أيضًا إنفاق أموال، ورجاء آمال، وإشخاص أبدان، وهجران أوطان، وتحمّل مشاق، وتجديد ميثاق، وشهود شعائر، وحضور مشاعر

This is not a lot upon the one who Allah made the Imam of the believers, for whom he created the heavens and the earths, whom he made his road, path, eye, guide, the door from which he is approached and His rope which connects him to His messengers, Prophets Hujjahs, and friends from the creation. This is despite the reality that (for) their graves money is spent, bodies are presented, hometowns are left, difficulties are undertaken, promises are renewed, the great signs are witnessed and rituals are performed.[74]

 

Ponder over this extremism! Hussain is made the rope and intermediary between Allah and His creation. He is even named the ‘eye and door to Allah’. Look at how he tries to establish the virtues of visiting the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu by citing such actions which are from the very pathways to shirk such as; undertaking a special journey to the grave, spending money for or at the grave whilst seeking intercession, pinning hopes upon it and all the other pathways to shirk. Despite all the shirk in this ritual, it is considered by them to be the best action.[75]

 

Visiting the grave of Hussain is the best action

Visiting the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu is not only better than Hajj according to this sect, rather; it is the most virtuous act. Their narrations state that it is:

أفضل ما يكون من الأعمال

The best of actions.[76]

 

Another narration states:

من أحبّ الأعمال زيارة قبر الحسين

From the most beloved actions is the visitation of the grave of Hussain.[77]

 

Al Majlisi dedicated an entire chapter to this, in which he has quoted narrations of this nature.[78] It is in this manner that the directives and laws of Islam are forgotten. They devote themselves to shrines and graves and consider this to be the best of actions without any proof, except that which their imaginations concoct and their devils reveal. As a result, they sculpt a religion which has nothing to do with Allah.

 

Karbala’ is greater than the Ka’bah

The Qiblah of the Muslims and the most honourable and virtuous land of the Muslims is the sanctified House of Allah. It is the only place around which Tawaf (circumambulation) is mandatory. It is that piece of land that Allah made a place of return and security. Muslims gather annually on this blessed land, and all the Muslims face its direction. However, the narrations of the Shia have a different message. They state that this blessed land is nothing more than a humiliated and valueless tail of Karbala’.[79]

The motive behind these tales is obvious. The annual gathering of the Muslims in these pure lands robs the enemies of their peaceful sleep. Their eyes are hurt by the sight of so many Muslims in one place. Thus, they have exhausted all their resources and tried in every possible manner to turn the hearts of the Muslims away from these places. The ready-made path to this was Shi’ism. Thus, they said, “The grave of Hussain is greater than the Ka’bah, the sanctified House.” Thereafter, they concocted narrations and falsely attributed them to members of the Ahlul Bayt to prove that their belief does have some basis. In this way they hoped to get their idea into the hearts of the inattentive ones, the ignorant, those who follow their desires, the innovators, bigots, disgruntled ones and those seeking to cause disunity and mayhem in the ummah.

The Shia consider Karbala’ and the other cities in which the graves of their Imams are situated (as they claim) to be holy and sanctified cities. Thus, Kufah, Qum, and the other cities are all regarded as sanctified places. One narration states:

 

إنّ الكوفة حرم الله وحرم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حرم أمير المؤمنين، وإنّ الصّلاة فيها بألف صلاة والدّرهم بألف درهم

Kufah is the Haram (sanctified area) of Allah, His Rasul, and Amir al Mu’minin. Salah in it is equal to a thousand salah and a dirham spent there is equivalent to a thousand dirhams.[80]

 

They report from Jafar al Sadiq:

 

إنّ لله حرمًا هو مكّة، ولرسوله حرمًا وهو المدينة، ولأمير المؤمنين حرمًا وهو الكوفة، ولنا حرمًا وهو قم ستدفن فيه امرأة من ولدي تسمّى فاطمة، من زارها وجبت له الجنّة

Allah has a Haram, which is Makkah; His Rasul has a Haram, which is Madinah; Amir al Mu’minin has Haram, which is Kufah and we have a Haram, which is Qum. A woman from my offspring, by the name of Fatimah will be buried there. Whoever visits her, Jannat will become compulsory for him.[81]

 

‘Ali ibn Hassan (as they allege) said:

 

اتّخذ الله أرض كربلاء حرمًا آمنًا مباركًا قبل أن يخلق الله أرض الكعبة ويتّخذها حرمًا بأربعة وعشرين ألف عام، وقدّسها وبارك عليها، فما زالت قبل خلق الله الخلق مقدّسة مباركة ولا تزال كذلك حتى يجعلها الله أفضل أرض في الجنّة، وأفضل منزل ومسكن يسكن فيه أولياءه في الجنّة

Allah made Karbala’ sanctified, secure, and blessed land twenty four thousand years before he created the land of the Ka’bah and sanctified it. He made it sacred and blessed. It remained sacred and blessed, even before Allah created the creation, and it will remain like that until Allah makes it the best land in Jannat, and it will be the best place and house in which his friends will stay when in Jannat.[82]

 

Karbala’ is revered as it has in it the body of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu. The question now arises; was Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu buried twenty four thousand years before the creation of the Ka’bah? Another question is; why is Madinah not given this merit, as it contains the blessed body of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? Indeed, this is an open contradiction which pulls the carpet from under their feet. It reveals that the motive and goal of these narrations is not to revere Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu, but rather to plot against the ummah and their religion.

There are many narrations in their books which grant superiority to Karbala’ over the House of Allah. Amongst their tales is a conversation that took place between Karbala’ and the Ka’bah. Besides the irreligious contents of this tale, it even reflects their lack of any intelligence. They attribute to Jafar al Sadiq:

 

إن أرض الكعبة قالت: من مثلي وقد بني بيت الله على ظهري يأتيني الناس من كل فجر عميق وجعلت حرم الله وأمنه.فأوحى الله أن كفي وقرّي ما فضل ما فضّلت به فيما أعطيت أرض كربلاء إلا بمنزلة الإبرة غرست في البحر فحملت من ماء البحر، ولولا تربة كربلاء ما فضلتك، ولولا من تضمنه أرض كربلاء ما خلقتك ولا خلقت البيت الذي به افتخرت، فقرِّي واستقري وكوني ذنبًا متواضعًا ذليلاً مهينًا غير مستنكف ولا مستكبر لأرض كربلاء وإلا سخت بك وهويت بك في نار جهنم

The land of the Ka’bah said, “Who is like me? The House of Allah was built upon me. People come to me from every nook and corner and I was made the Haram of Allah and His secure land.”

Thereupon, Allah revealed to it, “Stop and calm down. The merit that you have been given in comparison to that which Karbala’ has been accorded, is like a needle that was dipped in the ocean and carried some of its water. Had it not been for the sand of Karbala’, I would not have granted any merit to you. If it was not for that which the land of Karbala’ contains, I would not have created you or the house on the basis of which you are being proud, so calm down and be a humiliated and valueless tail without any haughtiness or pride for the land of Karbala’, otherwise I will become angry with you and fling you into the fire of Jahannam.”[83]

 

The Ka’bah (as they claim) did not take heed to this advice. It did not express humility before the land of the Ka’bah by becoming the humiliated and valueless tail. Thus, the punishment descended upon it. In fact, every place and all the waters of the world, besides Karbala’ received this punishment. Their narrations state:

 

فما من ماء ولا أرض إلا عوقبت لترك التواضع لله، حتى سلط الله على الكعبة المشركين، وأرسل إلى زمزم ماء مالحًا حتى أفسد طعمه

There is no land or water, except that it was punished for not having humility before Allah. Allah gave the polytheists power over the Ka’bah and he sent salty water to Zam Zam, which gave it a bad taste.[84]

 

It is only Karbala’ that was saved from the punishment, even though it boastfully stated (as they imagine):

 

أنا أرض الله المقدسة المباركة، الشفاء في تربتي ومائي ولا فخر

I am the sacred and sanctified land of Allah. Cure lies in my soil and water and I have no pride.[85]

 

This is only a portion of that which they claim regarding Karbala’. Gathering and studying all of their narrations would require a separate volume. However, it would be an insult to the intellect to scrutinise these narrations as they have a greater resemblance to the blabbering of insane people as opposed to the speech of mentally balanced people. If I did not find it in their reliable books and in many of their narrations, I would have brushed it aside as something that is not established (in their religion). Undoubtedly, these narrations are a scathing attack against the Ahlul Bayt, who they claim to love and support. They are in reality, more vicious towards them than the open enemies. The shamelessness contained herein is so severe that it leads a civilised Shia (who reads it and wishes to believe it) towards the brink of deviation and atheism.

The fabricator of these tales failed miserably in his attempt to turn Muslims away from the Ka’bah, as the only people who are affected by these narrations and visit Karbala’ are those whose ears have been blocked from the truth and their eyes have been blinded from it on account of their fanaticism. The result is that they continue to dwell in the valleys of misguidance.

As long as the Book of Allah remains among the Muslims, they will never be affected by these plots. It is only those who abandon the Book of Allah, and instead take the word of the Hujjahs, Sayyids, Ayatollahs and that which his sect does—even though it has no proof from the Qur’an—who will be affected. The one who narrates this tale from Jafar al Sadiq is a person by the name of Safwan al Jammal. The Shia declare him to be reliable.[86] He is the one who will bear the burden of these lies, if this chain is not another hallucination, as I did not find anyone by this name in the books of narrators of the Ahlus Sunnah that I referred to.

 

The angels appear before the visitors of Hussain and Allah has private conversations with them

The extremism of the Shia as far as their narrations concerning the merits of visiting the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu surpassed all imaginable limits. The intelligence is stunned upon seeing the extent to which they went. Imam Jafar is alleged to have said:

 

من خرج من منزله يريد زيارة الحسين كتب الله له بكلّ خطوة حسنة.. إلى أن قال: وإذا قضى مناسكه.. أتاه ملك فقال له: أنا رسول الله، ربّك يقرئك السّلام ويقول لك: استأنف فقد غفر لك ما مضى

Whoever leaves his home with the desire to visit Hussain, Allah records for him a good deed upon every step…When he completes his rites, an angel appears before him an says, “I am the messenger of Allah, your Rabb. He is sending greetings to you and saying to you, ‘Start afresh, as he has forgiven whatever passed.’”[87]

 

The angels meet the visitors of the grave, convey to them the greetings of Allah and distribute among them certificates of forgiveness. This claim surpasses the speech of the insane by a few levels. Much worse is the following claim:

 

فإذا أتاه (يعني أتى الزّائر قبر الحسين) ناجاه الله فقال: عبدي، سلني أعطك، ادعني أجبك

When he (the visitor of the grave of Hussain) comes to him, Allah personally converses with him saying, “My slave, ask me, I will grant you. Call out to me, I will answer.”[88]

 

In this way, they attribute lies to Allah, an act which can only be carried out by one who does not believe in Allah at all. This is their claim despite the fact that they have adopted the viewpoint of those who do not believe in the attributes of Allah regarding the speech of Allah. “Allah personally speaks to the visitors of Hussain.” Most certainly, this is a dangerous lie and a great slander!

As usual, they were not satisfied with the degree of their extremism. They go on to claim that Allah (who is far beyond all the claims of the evil ones) himself visits the graves of the Imams, along with the Shia. Al Bihar of al Majlisi states:

 

إنّ قبر أمير المؤمنين يزوره الله مع الملائكة ويزوره الأنبياء ويزوره المؤمنون

Allah visits the grave of Amir al Mu’minin along with the angels. The Prophets as well as the believers also visit it.[89]

 

Heinous indeed is that which comes out of their mouths and is written by their pens. They say nothing but lies.

 

The rites of the graves

Visiting the graves is among the obligations of their religion.[90] The one who leaves it out is considered a disbeliever (kafir).[91] Al Majlisi dedicated a chapter thus titled, ‘the chapter (proving that) visiting him[92] is obligatory, compulsory and it has been commanded and the criticism, reproach and warning that is narrated for its abandoning. In this chapter, he quotes forty of their narrations.[93] This is the starting point. It is followed by their stipulation of rites like the rites carried out during Hajj. Ibn Taymiyyah says:

 

Their scholar, Ibn al Nu’man—more well-known as al Mufid by them—authored a book titled, Manasik al Mashahid, in which he made the graves of the creation places around which Tawaf is performed just as it is performed around the Ka’bah which Allah made as a place of support for the people. It is the first house that was placed for people. Hence it is the only place around which Tawaf is performed, the only place towards which salah should performed and the only place which is travelled to for Hajj (by divine command).[94]

 

However, in this day and age, their scholar, Agha Buzurg al Tahrani has revealed to us in his book, Kitab al Dhariah, that the compilations that are exclusively regarding the graves and their rites are no less than sixty in number.[95] All of these books were written to lay the foundations of shirk that was to follow. Besides these books, their reliable books of narrations have specific chapters dedicated to the subject, as will be expounded upon. Below, we present to you some of the rites:

 

 I. Performing Tawaf around graves

Ibn Taymiyyah says:

 

There is consensus among the Muslims that Tawaf does not take place around anything besides the Ka’bah.[96] The scholars of the Shia on the other hand, have ordained for their followers Tawaf around the graves of the deceased Imams. To support this shirk, they fabricated narrations in the names of the Ahlul Bayt. Al Majlisi states that in one of (the narrations regarding) visitation of some of the Imams, it is stated, “Except that we perform Tawaf around your tombs,” and in other narrations it is stated, “Kissed the sides of the grave.” He also states that al Rida (according to his beliefs) would perform Tawaf around the grave of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.[97]

 

He established these polytheistic rites in his religion from texts like the one quoted above. He did not look at the explicit and categorical texts in the Book of Allah which prohibit polytheism and promise that the Fire of Jahannam will be the ghastly abode of those who engage in it. Furthermore, he was confused by the contradictory narrations, as usual, which demolishes their view on these aspects. Since these narrations are also reported from the Imams, he resorts to interpreting them differently.

Some of their narrations prohibit doing Tawaf around the graves of the Imams. They report from their Imam:

 

لا تشرب وأنت قائم ولا تطف بقبر، ..فإن من فعل ذلك فلا يلومنّ إلا نفسه، ومن فعل شيئًا من ذلك لم يكن يفارقه إلا ما شاء الله

Do not drink whilst standing and do not do Tawaf of a grave… Whoever does so should not blame anyone besides himself and whoever does any of that, it will not leave him except for the period that Allah wishes.[98]

 

Al Majlisi really put himself through trouble trying to get around this one. He says:

 

يحتمل أن يكون النّهي عن الطّواف بالعدد المخصوص الذي يُطاف بالبيت

It is possible that the specific number of Tawafs which are performed around the Ka’bah is being prohibited.[99]

 

Ponder over this act of al Majlisi. Instead of attempting to comply with that which is in the Book of Allah, the practice of the Muslims and the narration of the Shia which says, “Do not do Tawaf of a grave,” by prohibiting his people from this innovation (in which lies his salvation as well as theirs), he chooses to interpret the text so that it does not go against this act of theirs. He simply had to accept this narration as it is and interpret the other narrations, as they are unestablished and they lead to misguidance and shirk. However, he chose to insist that his deviant cult-rite is established by further stating:

يحتمل أن يكون المراد بالطواف المنفي هنا التغوط

It is possible that the prohibition from Tawaf here refers to relieving oneself.[100]

 

The religion of the Shia is not that which is established from the Imams. Rather, it is that which al Majlisi establishes (as you have read). Similarly, the actions of the Shia are an imitation of the actions of their scholars and not the actions of the Imams. They turned away from the command of the Imam, who said, “Do not do Tawaf around a grave,” just as they turned away from the commands of Allah, His Rasul salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the consensus of the Muslims. Thus, they deviated from the straight path and led their people astray.

 

 II. Salah at the grave

It is from the rites of visiting the tombs that a person performs two or more units of salah at the graves of the Imams. At times, they even take these graves as the Qiblah. The reward of each unit (rak’ah) surpasses that of hundreds of Hajj. One narration states:

 

الصّلاة في حرم الحسين لك بكلّ ركعة تركعها عنده كثواب من حجّ ألف حجّة، واعتمر ألف عمرة، وأعتق ألف رقبة، وكأنّما وقف في سبيل الله ألف ألف مرّة مع نبي مرسل

For each rak’ah that you perform in the Haram of Hussain, you will be granted the reward of one who carried out a thousand Hajj, a thousand ‘Umrah, and it is as if one stood in the path of Allah a million times in the company of a Nabi who was sent.[101]

 

This reward is not specific to the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu. It applies to the graves of all the Imams. Al Bihar states:

 

من زار الرضا أو واحدًا من الأئمة فصلى عنده.. فإنه يكتب له… وله بكل خطة مائة حجة، ومائة عمرة، وعتق مائة رقبة في سبل الله، وكتب له مائة حسنة، وحط عنه مائة سيئة

Whoever visits al Rida[102] or one of the Imams and performs salah at his grave side, he will be granted…[103] and upon each step, he will receive one hundred Hajj, one hundred ‘Umrah, freeing of one hundred slaves, one hundred good deeds, and one hundred sins will be wiped out.[104]

 

Salah at the grave is considered more virtuous than Hajj to the House of Allah. They prefer that which is akin to shirk over Tawhid. This is not surprising, as the polytheists have always claimed that their religion is superior to the religion of Allah, and that they are more guided than the believers. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam cursed those who perform salah at graves. He salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

 

لعنة الله على اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد

May Allah curse the Jews and Christians. They took the graves of their Prophets as places of salah.[105]

 

Al Bukhari and Muslim report that during the final illness of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, a church in Abyssinia was mentioned in his presence. It was praised for its beauty and pictures. Thereupon, he salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

 

إن أولئك إذا مات فيهم الرجل الصالح بنوا على قبره مسجدًا، وصوروا فيه تلك التصاوير، أولئك شرار الخلق عند الله

When a pious person would pass away from these people, they would build a Masjid upon his grave and place in it those pictures. They are the worst of creation according to Allah.[106]

 

This is not something that is a “Sunni view”. The same appears in the books of the Shia. However, as per their habit, the scholars of the Shia do away with it by way of interpretation.

 

III. Prostrating at the graves

Among the rites of visiting the grave is prostrating towards it, rubbing ones cheeks on it, kissing the entrance, and speaking to the person inside until one runs out of breath, as they explain. Al Majlisi, under the chapter, ‘That which is desirable to do at his grave’[107] mentions that the one who they refer to as the Sheikh al Ta’ifah says whilst describing the actions that are to be done on a Friday visit:

 

ثم تنكبّ على القبر وتقول: مولاي إمامي، مظلوم استعدى على ظالمه، النّصر، النّصر حتى ينقطع النّفس

Then he will fall upon the grave (prostrate) and say, “My master, my Imam. I am oppressed. His oppressors have transgressed against me. Help! Help!” until his breath runs out.[108]

 

In most of their discussions regarding these visitations, they emphasise prostrating upon the grave and supplicating to it during the visit and at the end of it. In Imam Jafar’s advice concerning the rites of visiting Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu (as they allege), they are commanded to fast for three days prior to their visit. This should be followed by bathing, wearing clean clothes, and performing two units of salah. Thereafter, he says:

 

فإذا أتيت الباب فقف خارج القبّة، وأوم بطرفك نحو القبر وقل: يا مولاي يا أبا عبد الله يا ابن رسول الله عبدك وابن عبدك وابن أمتك، الذّليل بين يديك، المقصّر في علو قدرك، المعترف بحقّك، جاءك مستجيرًا بذمّتك، قاصدًا إلى حرمك، متوجّهًا إلى مقامك – إلى أن قال:- ثمّ انكبّ على القبر وقُل: يا مولاي أتيتك خائفًا فآمنّي، وأتيتك مستجيرًا فأجرني.. ثم انكبّ على القبر ثانية

When you reach the door, stand outside the dome, indicate with your eyes towards the grave and say, “O my master, O Abu ‘Abdullah, O son of Rasulullah, your slave, the son of your slave, the son of your slave-girl… the humiliated one before you, the one who falls short regarding your lofty status and the one who acknowledges your rights has come to you seeking your protection, heading towards your Haram, going towards your place…” Then you should fall prostrate upon the grave and say, “O my master, I have come to you in a state of fear, so grant me safety, and I came to seeking protection so protect me…then fall prostrate upon the grave a second time…”[109]

 

The narration continues to mention supplications that will be directed to the creation instead of Allah, along with humbling oneself at their graves in the same manner that one humbles himself before Allah. If this is not shirk, then what is shirk? Al Mufid said something similar to this:

 

فإذا أردت الخروج فانكبّ على القبر وقبّله… ثم ارجع إلى مشهد الحسين وقل: السّلام عليك يا أبا عبد الله، أنت لي جُنَّة من العذاب

When you wish to exit, fall prostrate upon the grave and kiss it… then return to the grave of Hussain and say, “Peace be upon you, O Hussain, you are my shield from the punishment.”[110]

 

Thus, in their religion, associating partners with Allah is from that which is recommended. Prostrating to the grave or towards the one inside it is termed by them as ‘inkibab’. Then, they supplicate to one who has passed away and does not even have control over that which is beneficial or harmful for him as if they are supplicating to the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who has complete control over everything. Allah says:

 

وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَّدْعُوْ مِنْ دُوْنِ اللَّهِ مَنْ لَا يَسْتَجِيْبُ لَهُ إِلٰى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُوْنَ

And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection [i.e., never], and they, of their invocation, are unaware.[111]

 

They believe that this act of shirk is “the best act of worship and they bluff their followers into thinking that it makes compulsory the forgiveness of sins, entry into Jannat, salvation from the fire, shedding of evil deeds, raising of ranks, and acceptance of supplications.”[112] This act also makes “compulsory a long life, protection of ones being and wealth, increase in sustenance, ease of difficulties, and fulfilment of needs.”[113] Furthermore, it is “equal to Hajj, ‘Umrah, Jihad, and freeing slaves”,[114] among the other imaginary virtues that they have attached to it. Who can now doubt that they add to the religion of Allah that which has absolutely no basis?

They hold onto any acts of shirk, major or minor, even if they cannot find any proof from their books (which have so many acts of shirk that they do not need to go beyond them) to substantiate it. As an example, al Majlisi says:

 

وأمّا تقبيل الأعتاب فلم نقف على نصّ يعتدّ به ولكن عليه الإماميّة

As for kissing the entrances, we did not come across any reliable text. However, the Imamiyyah have been doing it.[115]

 

In other words, they do these acts in blind-imitation of their predecessors. It is as if their souls were not satisfied with the abundant shirk and acts thereof which is found in their books. Thus, they held on to that which their predecessors were doing. They are no different to the polytheists who said:

إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِم مُّهْتَدُوْنَ

Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are, in their footsteps, following.[116]

 

Each Imam has a new set of polytheistic ideas attributed to him. This is to the extent that the awaited one—who is yet to be born—also has new ideas regarding the subject, such as facing the grave in salah whilst facing ones back to the Ka’bah (as will appear later) and rubbing the cheeks on the grave; as they believe that the command to do this was issued from the ‘blessed corner’, i.e. from the awaited Mahdi through the medium of the representatives. They believe that the Mahdi said:

والذي عليه العمل أن يضع خدّه الأيمن على القبر

That which is practiced upon is that he places his right cheek upon the grave.[117]

 

It is for this reason that their scholars state that among the etiquette of visiting these graves is:

 

وضع الخدّ الأيمن عند الفراغ من الزّيارة والدّعاء

Placing the right cheek upon completing the visit and supplication.[118]

They state:

لا كراهة في تقبيل الضّرايح؛ بل هو سنّة عندنا ولو كان هناك تقية فتركه أولى

There is no problem with kissing the grave. In fact, it is Sunnah according to us. However, if there is (a reason to do) Taqiyyah, then it is better to leave it out.[119]

 

These are new ideas that were innovated by the evil scholars of the Rafidah. The Muslims are unanimous that nothing should be touched or kissed besides the two right Rukns (the two pillars of the Ka’bah). The Hajar Aswad is touched and kissed, whilst the Rukn Yemani is only touched. There is a view that it should also be kissed, however, this view is weak. There is nothing else that should be kissed or touched, even the rest of the Ka’bah, the boulder, the room of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the rest of the graves of the Prophets ‘alayhim al-Salam.[120]

The motive behind these ideas is to stop people from the religion of Allah and to call towards shirk. The pathway to it is set by these acts. There are some supplications which go hand in hand with these rituals the end result of which is the deification of the Imams which makes the Shirk of the Shia far worse than that of the polytheists of the pre-Islamic era.

 

IV. Taking the grave as a Qiblah like the House of Allah

The leading scholar of the Shia, al Majlisi says:

 

إنّ استقبال القبر أمر لازم، وإن لم يكن موافقًا للقبلة.. واستقبال القبر للزّائر بمنزلة استقبال القبلة وهو وجه الله، أي جهته التي أمر النّاس باستقبالها في تلك الحالة

Facing the grave is a mandatory matter, even if it is not in the same direction as the Qiblah… Facing the grave, for the visitor is like facing the Qiblah; and it is the face of Allah, i.e. His direction, that he commanded the people to face in that condition.[121]

 

Look at what al Majlisi does when he finds (as usual) the following two narrations of his sect contradicting one another:

 
  1. عن أبي جعفر محمد الباقر يقول: “إنّ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.. قال: لا تتّخذوا قبري قبلة ولا مسجدًا، فإنّ الله عزّ وجلّ لعن الذين اتّخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد

Abu Jafar Muhammad al Baqir said, “Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘Do not take my grave as a Qiblah or a place of salah, as Allah cursed those who took the graves of their Prophets as places of salah.’”[122]

 
  1. كتب الحميري إلى النّاحية المقدّسة يسأل عن الرّجل يزور قبور الأئمّة عليهم السّلام.. هل يجوز لمن صلّى عند بعض قبورهم عليهم السّلام أن يقوم وراء القبر ويجعل القبر قبلة أم يقوم عند رأسه أو رجليه؟ وهل يجوز أن يتقدم القبر ويصلي ويجعل القبر خلفه أم لا؟ فأجاب.. أمّا الصّلاة فإنّها خلفه ويجعل القبر أمامه، ولا يجوز أن يصلي بين يديه ولا عن يمينه ولا عن يساره؛ لأن الإمام صلى الله عليه لا يتقدم عليه ولا يساوي

Al Himyari[123] wrote to the sacred corner (the non-existent awaited Mahdi) asking about a man who visits the graves of the Imams, “Is it permissible for the one who performs salah at the graves of some of them ‘alayhim al-Salam to stand behind the grave and take the grave as Qiblah and should he stand by the head or feet? Is it permissible to stand in front of the grave and perform salah with the grave behind him or not?”

 

The (imaginary) Mahdi replied, “As for salah, it is behind the Imam and the grave should be in front of him. It is not permissible to perform salah in front of it, to the right of it or to the left of it, as the Imam is not stood in front of, nor is he stood next to.”[124]

Al Majlisi gives preference to the second one. He says:

 

يمكن حمل الخبر السّابق على التّقية أو على أنّه لا يجوز أن يجعل قبورهم بمنزلة الكعبة يتوجّه إليها من كلّ جانب

It is possible to interpret the first narration as Taqiyyah or that it is not permissible to take their graves to be like the Ka’bah, which is faced from every direction.[125]

 

Among the scholars are those who interpret the first narration to mean salah in congregation and the second to mean individual salah. The narrations which support the second narration (of taking the grave as a Qiblah) will appear under the chapters of visiting.[126]

This is how their scholars supported shirk and rejected the truth, even though it appeared in their books. Al Majlisi gives preference to that which is reported from the awaited one, which has no reality to it and rejects that which is reported from Abu Jafar from Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, which matches the teachings of the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims. Another juncture where al Majlisi was reluctant to accept the word of his Imam is when he spoke regarding the manner of visiting the grave from far. He said:

 

اغتسل يوم الجمعة أو أي يوم شئت، والبس أطهر ثيابك واصعد إلى أعلى موضع في دارك أو الصّحراء فاستقبل القبلة بوجهك بعدما تبيّن أنّ القبر هنالك

Bath on Friday or any other day that you wish, wear your clothes which are most pure and climb to the highest place of your house or an open field. Face the Qiblah after ascertaining that the grave is there (in the same direction).

 

Al Majlisi could not stomach this, as facing the grave is compulsory in his religion. Thus he said:

 

قوله: فاستقبل القبلة بوجهك لعله عليه السلام إنما قال ذلك لمن أمكنه استقبال القبر والقبلة معًا… ويحتمل أن يكون المراد بالقبلة هنا جهة القبر مجازًا.. ولا يبعد أن تكون القبلة تصحيف القبر

His statement, ‘Face the Qiblah’; perhaps he only said that regarding one for whom it is possible to face both, the grave as well as the Qiblah… It is possible that the figurative meaning of Qiblah i.e. the grave, is meant here… It is not far-fetched that ‘Qiblah’ was mistakenly written in place of ‘grave’.[127]

 

He had to go present all of these interpretations and twist the meaning to this extent to defend this stance of his regarding his sect:

 

حكموا باستقبال القبر مطلقًا وهو الموافق للأخبار الأخر في زيارة البعيد

They have declared that the grave should be faced at all times (i.e. during the different types of visitations), and this is in compliance with the other narrations regarding visiting from afar.[128]

 

He also says:

 

إنه مع بعد الزائر عن القبر يستحسن استقبال القبر في الصلاة واستدبار الكعبة

Even though the visitor is far from the grave, it is preferable that he should face the grave and face his back towards the Ka’bah.[129]

 

This is regarding the two rak’ats of Ziyarat (visiting), regarding which they say:

 

إن ركعتي الزيارة لابد منهما عند كل قبر

The two rak’ats of Ziyarat are necessary at every grave.[130]

 

This is not surprising from a nation who believes that Karbala’ is greater than the Ka’bah. What is the name of this religion, which tells its followers to face their backs to the Ka’bah and their faces to the graves of the Imams? What is the name of the religion of the scholars who call towards this? They may adopt any name for themselves, except Islam. Islam is a religion of monotheism. The Rasul of Islam salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam strictly prohibited performing salah at graves. What then do you think he would say regarding performing salah towards the grave?

The irony, yet again, is that the prohibition from taking graves as places of salah and facing them appears in the very books of the Shia such as Al Wasa’il of al Hurr al ‘Amili[131] amongst others. Similarly, their books also state that performing salah towards any direction besides the Qiblah is incorrect.[132] The endless contradictions in this religion is quite amazing! Nonetheless, that which was presented to you is only a fraction of what appears in their reliable sources on the topic of the graves. There is much more to it. The matter of the graves and its rites received the same amount of attention by them as the matter of Imamah.

The reliable books of their religion dedicate special sections to this, yet you will not find any of this in the books of the Muslims, who uphold monotheism. In Bihar al Anwar of al Majlisi, there is a special book which is titled, Kitab al Maza’ (the book of the tomb). This book contains many chapters and hundreds of narrations. This book takes up almost three volumes of the latest print of Bihar al Anwar.[133]

Wasa’il al Shia of al Hurr al ‘Amili contains 106 chapters under the title, ‘Chapters of the tomb’.[134] Al Wafi (which gathers the four seminal Shia books) by al Kashani has thirty three chapters under the title, ‘The chapters of the tombs and graves’.[135] Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih by Ibn Babuwayh (one of their reliable works) has many chapters regarding the tombs and honouring them such as ‘The chapter regarding the soil of Hussain and the precincts of his grave’ and ‘Chapters regarding visiting the Imams and its virtues’.[136] Mustadrak al Wasa’il contains 86 chapters in which 276 narrations regarding visitations and the tombs are quoted.[137] This is besides that which is contained in their other books which are equal in status to the eight fundamental sources (according to them) like Thawab al Amal of Ibn Babuwayh and others.

Besides all of the above, they have special books that were written in the past and in recent times regarding these visitations. A few of them are; Kamil al Ziyarat by Ibn Qulawayh, Mafatih al Jinan by ‘Abbas al Qummi, ‘Umdat al Za’ir by Haydar al Hussaini and Diya’ al Salihin by al Jawhari, etc. All of these books state the (fictitious) merits accrued by one who undertakes a special journey to visit the graves of the Imams, do Tawaf around them, supplicate in their precincts and call out for help to the ones inside them. They also mention hundreds of supplications in which the extreme utterances regarding the Imams raise them to the point of taking them as partners to the Creator. Only Allah knows the exact extent to which they go to in committing shirk.

The effect of their commitment to this doctrine, which destroys the foundation of Tawhid is quite visible in the lands of the Shia. There, you will see that the houses of shirk, referred to as Mash-hads are well-attended, whereas the houses of Tawhid (the Masjids) are neglected. To this day, they remain committed to these acts of Shirk, as will be explained, Allah willing.[138]

 

Analysing the practice of visiting the graves

The Muslims have one Ka’bah which they face when performing salah and at the time of supplication. It is the only place towards which they travel for the purposes of Hajj and Tawaf. The Shia on the other hand have Mazars, Mash-hads, and Ka’bah which are all the graves of dead people believed to be the Imams[139] as well as others.[140] These graves (according to them) compete with the House of Allah and even surpass it. Shirk is upheld in them and Tawhid is destroyed.

It is sometimes claimed that shirk and tombs are wide-spread in the lands of the Ahlus Sunnah as well. Ibn Taymiyyah dealt with this question under the discussion regarding the exaggeration of the Shia with regard to their Imams due to which they innovated many an practices. He says, “If it is said, ‘A lot of that which you have described from the extremism, shirk, and innovations of the Shia regarding their Imams is found among those who are attributed to the Sunnah…’” He then replies by saying that whatever is prohibited by Allah and His Rasul salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is definitely worthy of criticism, whether the person doing it is attributed to the Sunnah or he is from the Shia. However, that which the Rafidah do in these aspects (which contradict the Qur’an and Sunnah) surpasses that which is done by the Ahlus Sunnah.[141]

An important difference that I would like to highlight is that those of the Ahlus Sunnah who carry out these acts are doing so whilst turning away from their beliefs whereas the Shia who carry out these acts do so due to the encouragement and rewards promised in their books for these acts. In other words, these acts are proven from Shia texts and refuted in Sunni texts. Based on this, that which is found among the Ahlus Sunnah can be corrected and reformed as opposed to that which is found among the Shia, as it will be necessary to first change their seminal books.

The greatest danger and sickness is that shirk is portrayed as the truth in the reliable books of the Shia, and it has become the actual din. Their seminal books, have many chapters, which include hundreds of narrations in which shirk is strengthened and re-iterated. As we explained, they even dedicated complete books to this evil. The Shia adopted the same extremism regarding their Imams that the Christians adopted regarding ‘Isa ‘alayh al-Salam.

The Rawafid have left out worshipping Allah, hence you will see the Masjids (which Allah commanded to be raised and wherein his name should be remembered) are deserted whilst they revere the tombs that are built upon the graves. They attach themselves to these places in the same way that the polytheists would attach themselves to their idols. They perform Hajj to these places instead of the House of Allah, and they consider travelling to them, doing Tawaf of them, performing salah by them, offering sacrifices in their vicinity, prostrating upon the grave, seeking help from it, and asking it for cure to be the greatest acts of worship, as proven earlier.

Who can be more misguided than those who prefer shirk over Tawhid, the Mash-hads over the Masjids, and Karbala’ over Makkah, ‘Arafah, and Mina?[142] Who can be more misguided than one who exchanges the truth for falsehood and then believes that he is more rightly-guided than those who believe in Allah? It is obvious that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not command his Ummah to do any of these deeds at the Mash-hads, nor did he ask them to carry out any ‘rites’ when visiting the graves of the Prophets and the pious. Rather, this is from the religion of the polytheists regarding whom Allah said:

 

وَقَالُوْا لا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَّلا سُوَاعًا وَلا يَغُوْثَ وَيَعُوْقَ وَنَسْرًا

And they said, “Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq and Nasr.”[143]

 

Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhu and others have stated:

 

هؤلاء.. أسماء رجال صالحين من قوم نوح، فلما هلكوا أوحى الشيطان إلى قومهم أن انصبوا إلى مجالسهم التي كانوا يجلسون أنصابًا وسموها بأسمائهم، ففعلوا، فلم تعبد، حتى إذا هلك أولئك وتنسخ العلم عبدت

These were the names of pious men from the nation of Nuh. When they passed away, the devil inspired their nation that they should erect statues at the places that these people would sit and name them after them. Thus, they did this. The (statues) were not worshipped (by them), however when this generation passed away and knowledge faded, they were worshipped.[144]

 

Amir al Mu’minin ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu said to Abu Hayaj al Asadi:

 

ألا أبعثك على ما بعثني عليه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم؟ أن لا تدع تمثالاً إلا طمسته، ولا قبرًا مشرفًا إلا سويته

Should I not send you to do that for which Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sent me? Do not leave any statue except that you destroy it and do not leave any raised grave except that you flatten it.[145]

 

Hadith of smilar meaning are found in Shia narrations as well. Al Kulayni reports from Abu ‘Abdullah:

 

قال أمير المؤمنين عليه السّلام: بعثني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى المدينة فقال: لا تدع صورة إلا محوتها ولا قبرًا إلا سوّيته

Amir al Mu’minin ‘alayh al-Salam said, “Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sent me to Madinah and said, ‘Do not leave any picture, except that you scratch it out and do not leave any grave except that you flatten it.”’[146]

 

Another narration states:

بعثني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في هدم القبور وكسر الصّور

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sent me to destroy graves and pictures.[147]

 

Abu ‘Abdullah says:

نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يصلى على قبر أو يقعد عليه أو يبنى عليه

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam prohibited performing salah, sitting on, and building upon a grave.[148]

 

Abu ‘Abdullah said on another occasion:

لا تبنوا على القبور.. فإنّ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كره ذلك

Do not build upon graves… Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam disliked that.[149]

 

He also reports from his fore-fathers, who in turn report that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:

 

نهى أن يجصّص المقابر

He salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam forbade plastering graves.[150]

 

Al Hurr al ‘Amili claimed that this prohibition included all graves “besides the grave of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Imams, and that this prohibition was merely to show dislike.”[151] The above narrations are quite explicit in their purport, and they contain no exceptions. Similarly, there is no ambiguity in the fact that prohibition (and not merely dislike) was being declared. Al ‘Amili has no proof to back his claim besides the acts confined to his nation and the fabrications that are found in their books.

This is in fact a proof that the act is unfounded, as it does not conform to the Qur’an, Sunnah or the consensus of the Ummah—amongst whom are the Ahlul Bayt, who warned against these acts on account of them leading towards shirk. Further, the wisdom behind the prohibition does not differ from grave to grave. In fact, there is greater danger of shirk at the graves of the Imams as compared to normal people. The origin of shirk is exaggeration and extremism regarding the pious.[152]

The Shia books contain narrations which are in stark conflict with their polytheistic beliefs. The supplications of the Imams to Allah, their display of humility in His court and their confinement of their attention to him (which the Shia narrate) expose the falseness of their beliefs and they expose the fact that the happenings at the tombs have no link at all with the teachings of these illustrious people. Jafar al Sadiq says in his supplication (as admitted by the Shia in their books):

 

اللّهم إنّي أصبحت لا أملك لنفسي ضرًّا ولا نفعًا ولا حياة ولا موتًا ولا نشورًا، قد ذلّ مصرعي، واستكان مضجعي، وظهر ضري، وانقطع عذري، وقل ناصري، وأسلمني أهلي ووالدي وولدي بعد قيام حجتك عليّ، وظهور براهينك عندي، ووضوح أدلتك لي. اللهم وقد.. أعيت الحيل، وتغلقت الطرق، وضاقت المذاهب، ودرست الآمال إلا منك، وانقطع الرّجاء إلا من جهتك

O Allah I am witnessing the morning in a state that I do not have any control over that which is harmful for me, beneficial for me, my life, my death, and my resurrection. The strongest point of my body has become humble, my side has become motionless, my difficulty has become apparent, my excuse has come to an end, and my helpers have become few. My family, my father, and my son have handed me over after your proof became established against me and your evidence and substantiations have become clear to me. O Allah… plans have become useless, roads have been blocked and paths have become narrow. Allah hopes have faded except in you and all expectations have come to an end except from you.[153]

 

This is the manner in which Jafar al Sadiq pleas in the court of His Rabb. He does not have any control over that which is beneficial or harmful for him. How is it then that he has control of this for others? This supplication was whilst he was alive. After his death, how can anything be expected from him? Similar supplications have been narrated from many of the Imams.[154] The Shia also report the supplication of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu, whilst picturing himself in his grave. He said:

 

إلهي كأني بنفسي قد أضجعت في حقرتها، وانصرف عنها المشيعون من جيرتها.. ولم يخف على الناظرين ضرّ فاقتها.. قد توسدت الثرى وعجز حيلتها..

O my Lord, it is as if I am made to lay in its lowest part and those who accompanied it (my body) have turned away from its vicinity… The harmfulness of its deficiency was not hidden to the onlookers… It took the soil as a pillow and its plans have become useless…[155]

 

He has no plan of his own. Rather, he relies upon the mercy and benevolence of Allah. How then can a person ask for intercession and forgiveness at his grave and forget the One Whose mercy is all-Encompassing and Whose bounty is tremendous. Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu could not defend himself from being killed, so how could he be asked for that which is not in the control of anyone besides Allah? Added to that, the books of the Shia report that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would seek protection on behalf of Hassan and Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhuma using these words:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم: أعيذ نفسي وديني وأهلي ومالي وولدي وخواتيم عملي، وما رزقني ربي وخولني بعزة ربي وعظمة الله..

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Most Merciful. I seek protection with the honour and grandeur of Allah for myself, my religion, my family, my wealth, my offspring, my final acts, and that which my Rabb provided me with and gave me.[156]

 

He is unable to protect himself from the evil that comes his way except through the protection of Allah. If this was whilst he was alive, then what can be said about him after his death? In a nutshell, there are no intermediaries between Allah and His creation. If someone wants to insist that intermediaries did exist, his claim will only be correct if he is intending those intermediaries who passed the message of Allah to the creation, i.e. the Prophets’. Besides them, there are no intermediaries of any type.

 
 

NEXT⇒ Their Belief That the Imam can Prohibit and Make Lawful What he Desires


[1] Bihar al Anwar 23/97

[2] ibid

[3] Bihar al Anwar 23/101

[4] Aqa’id al Imamah by al Muzaffar pg. 98-99

[5] Surah al Baqarah: 186

[6] Surah Ghafir: 60

[7] Surah al Zumar: 3

[8] Surah al Hajj: 75

[9] Ibn Taymiyyah: Majmu Fatawa 1/121. Also refer to Abu Batin: al Intisar li Hizb Allah al Muwahhidin pg. 30-31, killing a renegade can only take place in a legitimate Islamic state.

[10] Amali al Saduq pg. 363, Bihar al Anwar 23/99

[11] Bihar al Anwar 23/103

[12] Surah a-Kahf: 17

[13] Surah al Qasas: 56

[14] Surah Yusuf: 108

[15] Al Tabari: Basharat al Mustafa pg. 117-119, al Bihar 23/103, Wasa’il al Shia 4/1142

[16] This is the name of one of the chapters in Bihar al Anwar 26/319

[17] ibid

[18] Bihar al Anwar 26/334

[19] As examples, refer to Tafsir al Ayyashi 1/41, Ibn Babuwayh: al Khisal 1/130, Maani al Akhbar pg. 42, al Tabarsi: al Ihtijaj pg. 27-28, Tafsir al Hasan al Askari pg. 117, 118, Wasa’il al Shia 4/1139 etc.

[20] Surah al ‘Ankabut: 65

[21] Bihar al Anwar 26/325, Wasa’il al Shia 4/1143

[22] Surah al Baqarah: 37

The quotation above can be found in Tafsir al Ayyashi 1/41 and Bihar al Anwar 26/333-334

[23] Tafsir Furat pg. 13, Bihar al Anwar 26/333-334

[24] Surah al A’raf: 180

[25] Surah Ghafir: 60

[26] Surah Ghafir: 14

[27] Surah al A’raf: 29

[28] Surah al A’raf: 194

[29] Surah al Nisa: 172

[30] Surah Maryam: 93

[31] Bihar al Anwar 94/22

[32] Surah al Anbiya’’: 87

[33] Surah al A’raf: 23

[34] Surah al Saff: 8

[35] Amali al Saduq pg. 48, Bihar al Anwar 94/92

[36] Especially in the 94th volume.

[37] Istighathah means to call for help. It is similar to dua, except that it is done specifically at the time of difficulty, whereas supplication is done at all times. Refer to Ibn Taymiyah: al Radd ‘ala al Bakri pg. 88, Sulaiman ibn ‘Abd al Wahhab: Taysir al Aziz al Hamid pg. 214-215, Ibn Sa’di: al Qawl al Sadid pg 48-49

[38] Bihar al Anwar 94/33

[39] ibid

[40] Bihar al Anwar 94/33

[41] Bihar al Anwar 94/37

[42] Bihar al Anwar 94/29

[43] Bihar al Anwar 94/29-30

[44] There are four doors, i.e. ‘Uthman ibn Sa’id, his son Muhammad, Hasan ibn Ruh and ‘Ali al Samari. Bihar al Anwar 94/30. Refer to the chapter on Ghaybah in this book as well.

[45] Bihar al Anwar 94/3

[46] ibid

[47] Majmu Fatawa 28/401

[48] Bihar al Anwar 94/29

[49] This means such soil which has no pebbles in it. Bihar al Anwar 94/28

[50] Bihar al Anwar 94/31-32

[51] Mihaj al Sunnah 2/124

[52] Furu al Kafi 1/324, Ibn Babuwayh: Thawab al Amal pg. 52, al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam 2/16, Ibn Quluwiyah: Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 161, Al Hurr al ‘Amili: Wasa’il al Shia 10/348

[53] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam 2/16, Wasa’il al Shia 10/348, Bihar al Anwar 101/38

[54] It is for this reason that Ayub al Sakhtiyani would say, ‘It is from the good-fortune of a new-Muslim and a non-Arab that Allah guides them to a scholar from the Ahlus Sunnah’. Sharh Usul Itiqad Ahlus Sunnah.

[55] Ibn Babuwayh al Qummi: Thawab al Amal pg. 52, Al Hurr al ‘Amili: Wasa’il al Shia 10/350-351

[56] Wasa’il al Shia 10/351-352

[57] Thawab al Amal pg. 52, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 162, Wasa’il al Shia 10/350

[58] Thawab al Amal pg. 52, Wasa’il al Shia 10/350

[59] Wasa’il al Shia 1/353, Bihar al Anwar 101/18

[60] Wasa’il al Shia 10/379, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 185

[61] Bihar al Anwar 101/290, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 176

[62] Bihar al Anwar 101/33, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 266

[63] The more accurate version of the statement of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu is ‘the bottom of the leather sock’.

[64] Bihar al Anwar 101/33, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 266

[65] Bihar al Anwar 101/33, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 266

 

[66] Bihar al Anwar 101/35, Qurb al Isnad pg. 48

[67] Bihar al Anwar 101/35, Qurb al Isnad pg. 48

[68] Al Kulayni: Furu al Kafi 1/324, Ibn Babuwayh: Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih 1/182, al Tusi: al Tahdhib 2/16, Ibn Qulawayh: Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 169, Thawab al Amal pg. 50, al Hurr al ‘Amili: Wasa’il al Shia 10/359

[69] Bihar al Anwar 101/33, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 266

[70] Al Fayd al Kashani: al Wafi vol. 2, 8/222

[71] Proof of this is the statement attributed to Abu Jafar in al Kafi. He said (as they allege):

والله إنّ النّاس كلّهم أولاد بغايا ما خلال شيعتنا

By Allah, people are all sons of prostitutes, besides our Shia.

Al Kulayni: al Rawdah min al Kafi pg. 135 (Lukhnow print 1996). Refer to Bihar al Anwar 24/311

Ibrahim ibn Abi Yahya relates that Jafar ibn Muhammad said:

ما من مولود يولد إلا وإبليس من الأبالسة بحضرته، فإن علم الله أنّ المولود من شيعتنا حجبه من ذلك الشّيطان، وإن لم يكن المولود من شيعتنا أثبت الشّيطان إصبعه في دبر الغلام فكان مأبونًا، وفي فرج الجارية فكانت فاجرة

Not a single child is born except that one of the senior devils are present by him. If Allah knows that the child will be from our Shia, He veils him from that devil. If he is not from our Shia, the devil inserts his finger into the backside of the boy, causing him to become a sissy, and into the private part of the girl, causing her to become an evil doer.

Tafsir al Ayyashi 2/218, al Burhan 2/139.

Al Majlisi dedicated a chapter to this subject in his Bihar, under the title, ‘People will be called by the names of their mothers, except the Shia’. He quotes twelve narrations in this chapter. Bihar al Anwar 7/237. Refer to Tafsir Nur al Thaqalayn 2/513 as well.

[72] Wasa’il al Shia 10/321, Furu al Kafi 335, Thawab al Amal pg. 35

[73] Al Wafi vol. 2, 8/223

[74] Al Wafi vol. 2, 8/223

[75] One wonders, when this is what their narrations state, then why is it that their scholars have not practiced upon them. Why have they not abandoned Hajj? One possible reason is that they wish to be present at the largest gathering in the world in order to spread their baseless ideas among all other Muslims. Another reason is that they fear criticism from the Muslims, which would then spoil their opportunities to carry out their efforts in calling towards their cult (an act that they take as an obligation). The reality is that these narrations remove from a person’s heart any desire that might have been there to visit the House of Allah.

[76] Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 146, Bihar al Anwar 49/101

[77] Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 146, Bihar al Anwar 49/101

[78] The name of the chapter is, ‘Visiting his grave is the best of actions’. Bihar al Anwar 101/49

[79] The exact text will appear along with the reference.

[80] Al Wafi vol. 2, 8/215

[81] A famous city in Iran. All the inhabitants of this city belong to the Twelver Shia. Refer to Mujam al Buldan 4/397. The reason why they revere the city is because the daughter of the seventh Imam, Fatimah bint Musa is buried there. Refer to ‘Abd al Razzaq al Hussaini: Mashahid al Itrah pg. 62.

[82] Bihar al Anwar 101/107

[83] Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 270, Bihar al Anwar 101/109

[84] Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 270, Bihar al Anwar 101/109

[85] Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 270, Bihar al Anwar 101/109

[86] Mujam Rijal al Hadith 9/121

[87] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Tahdhib 2/14, Ibn Qulawayh: Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 132, Thawab al Amal pg. 51, Wasa’il al Shia 10/341-342

[88] Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 132, Wasa’il al Shia 10/342, Thawab al Amal pg. 51

[89] Bihar al Anwar 100/258

[90] Refer to the narrations of Tahdhib al Ahkam of al Tusi 2/14, Kamil al Ziyarat of Ibn Qulawayh pg. 194, Wasa’il al Shia of al Hurr al ‘Amili 10/333-337.

[91] Wasa’il al Shia narrates from Harun ibn Kharijah who asked Abu ‘Abdullah:

سألته عمن ترك الزيارة زيارة قبر الحسين عليه السلام من غير علة، فقال: هذا رجل من أهل النار

I asked him regarding one who leaves out visiting the grave of Hussain ‘alayh al-Salam without any excuse. He replied, “This is a man from the people of the fire.”

Wasa’il al Shia 10/336-337, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 193

[92] i.e. Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu

[93] Bihar al Anwar 101/1-11

[94] Minhaj al Sunnah 1/175, Majmu al Fatawa 17/498

[95] Refer to al Dhariah 20/316-326

[96] Majmu Fatawa 4/521

[97] Bihar al Anwar 100/126

[98] Ibn Babuwayh pg. 283, Bihar al Anwar 100/126

[99] Bihar al Anwar 100/126

[100] Bihar al Anwar 100/127

[101] Al Wafi vol.2, 8/234

[102] The grave of ‘Ali al Rida is considered the most important place in Iran. It is the most revered place by the Shia. It has a huge dome covered in gold. ‘Abdullah Fayyad: Mushahadati fi l-Iran pg. 102. This is because the graves, looking after them, and performing rituals at them are from the core of their religion.

[103] He mentions the same rewards as those mentioned in the previous narrations along with a few additions.

[104] Bihar al Anwar 100/137-138

[105] Al Bukhari (with Fath al Bari) 1/532, 3/200, 3/255, 6/294, 8/140, 10/277. The meaning of this hadith is reported in Muslim (pg. 376-377), Ahmed 1/218, 6/80, 84, 121, 146, 229, 252, 255, 275 and al Darami 1/326 as well.

[106] Al Bukhari 1/523, 3/208, Muslim 1/375-376, Musnad Abi Awanah 1/400-410, Ahmed 6/51, al Bayhaqi 4/80

[107] Bihar al Anwar 101/285

[108] Bihar al Anwar 101/285

[109] Bihar al Anwar 101/257-261, An al Mazar al Kabir by Muhammad al Mash-hadi pg. 143-144

[110] Bihar al Anwar 101/257-261, An al Mazar al Kabir pg. 154

[111] Surah al Ahqaf: 5

[112] This is a chapter-heading of Bihar al Anwar. The chapter contains 37 narrations to ‘prove’ this. 101/21-28

[113] This is another chapter-heading of Bihar al Anwar. The chapter contains 17 narrations. 101/45-48

[114] This is yet another chapter-heading of Bihar al Anwar. The chapter contains 84 narrations. 101/28-44

[115] Bihar al Anwar 100/136, Umdat al Za’ir pg. 29

[116] Surah al Zukhruf: 23

[117] Umdat al Za’ir pg. 31

[118] Bihar al Anwar 100/134, Umdat al Za’ir pg. 30

[119] Bihar al Anwar 100/136

[120] Majmu Fatawa 4/521

[121] Bihar al Anwar 101/369

[122] Ibn Babuwayh: Ilal al Shara’i pg. 358, Bihar al Anwar 100/128

[123] ‘Abdullah ibn Jafar ibn Malik al Himyari. One of the great liars who claimed to have had correspondences with the awaited Mahdi. He is considered reliable by the Rawafid. Refer to al Fahrist of al Tusi pg. 132, Rijal al Hilli pg. 106

[124] Al Tabarsi: Al Ihtijaj 2/312, Bihar al Anwar 100/128

[125] As it (the grave) is only the Qiblah from one direction according to them, unlike the Ka’bah which is the Qiblah from all directions. This is not out of their reverence for the Ka’bah but rather because they fear that it may lead to someone being in front of the grave, as is indicated to in al Tawqi.

[126] Bihar al Anwar 100/128

[127] Bihar al Anwar 101/369

[128] Bihar al Anwar 101/369-370

[129] Bihar al Anwar 101/135

[130] Bihar al Anwar 101/134

[131] It is narrated in the books of the Shia that ‘Ali ibn Hussain said, “Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘Do not take my grave as a Qiblah or a Masjid. Indeed Allah cursed the Jews upon taking the graves of their Prophets as Masjids.”’ Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih 1/57, Wasa’il al Shia 3/455. However, the religion of these people is based upon their scholars, who laid for them a foundational principle, “Oppose the masses (Ahlus Sunnah).” Thus, they have led their people far away from the straight path.

[132] The author of al Wasa’il quoted five narrations in which this meaning is conveyed. Refer to Wasa’il al Shia 3/277. For further reading of the invalidity of performing salah towards any direction besides the Qiblah according to them, refer to Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih 1/79, 122, Tahdhib al Ahkam 1/146, 178, 192, 218, Furu l-Kafi 1/83

[133] They are 100, 101 and 102.

[134] 10/251

[135] Vol. 2 8/193

[136] Refer to Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih 2/338

[137] Refer to al Nur al Tabarsi: Mustadrak al Wasa’il 2/189-234

[138] Refer to chapter three of the fourth section.

[139] Many of these graves which are attributed to the Imams do not contain their bodies. Neither is the place in Najaf, which is believed to be the grave of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu, his actual grave nor is the place in Karbala’, which is believed to be the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu, his actual grave. This is something that is supported by historical records, even if the Shia insist on denying it. Muhibb al Din al Khatib: al Muntaqa pg. 158.

For further reading, refer to Majmu al Fatawa 27/446. Ibn Taymiyyah says, “The reality of this is that most of these graves and tombs are disputed and false. Only a few of them can be traced with some certainty, after lengthy research. This is because knowing them and building masjids upon them is not part of the teachings of Islam.”

[140] The extremism of the Rafidah in their attachment to graves led them towards showing devotion to the graves of people besides the Imams as well. For example, refer to the chapter of the ‘virtues of visiting the grave of ‘Abd al ‘Azim al Hasani’ in Bihar al Anwar (102/268). In here it is stated that Hasan al ‘Askari said:

من زار قبر عبد العظيم كان كمن زار قبر الحسين

Whoever visits the grave of ‘Abd al ‘Azim is like the one who visited the grave of Hussain. Bihar al Anwar 102/268, Thawab al Amal pg. 89, Kamil al Ziyarat pg. 324

Similarly, al Majlisi has a chapter about visiting Fatimah bint Musa in Qum. Refer to Bihar al Anwar 102/265

[141] Refer to Minhaj al Sunnah 1/177-178

[142] Al Jurjani: al Muaradah fi al Radd ala al Rafidah scroll 71

[143] Surah Nuh: 23

[144] Al Bukhari with Fath al Bari pg. 8/667

[145] Muslim 4/88, 89, Abu Dawood 3/548, al Tirmidhi 3/366, al Nasa’i 4/88-89, Ahmed 1/96-129, Abu Dawood al Tayalisi 1/168, al Hakim 1/369, al Bayhaqi (in al Sunan) 4/3

[146] Furu al Kafi 2/227, Wasa’il al Shia 2/829

[147] Furu al Kafi 2/227, Wasa’il al Shia 2/870

[148] Al Tusi: Tahdhib al Ahkam 1/130, Wasa’il al Shia 2/869

[149] Tahdhib al Ahkam 1/130, al Barqi: al Mahasin pg. 612, Wasa’il al Shia 2/870

[150] Ibn Babuwayh: Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih 2/194, Amali al Saduq pg. 253, Wasa’il al Shia 2/870

[151] This is clearly stated in the chapter heading (Building upon the grave of anyone besides the grave of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Imams is disliked). Wasa’il al Shia 2/869. However, the strange reality is that none of the narrations in this chapter substantiate his claim. Rather, they oppose the stance of the Shia.

[152] Refer to Kitab al Tawhid (with its commentary Taysir al Aziz al Hamid) pg. 305

[153] Bihar al Anwar 86/318, Mahj al Dawat pg. 216

[154] Refer to Bihar 86/240, 94/89

[155] Bihar al Anwar 94/93-94

[156] Bihar al Anwar 94/264, Mahj al Dawat pg. 13