Chapter 22: The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Guidance In Safeguarding The Purity Of Tawhīd, Even At His Own Grave: He Closed Every Path That Leads To Polytheism (Shirk): Kitāb At-Tawheed.

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This is an explanation of Kitāb at-Tawheed of Shaikhul-Islaam Muhammad b. Abdul-Wahhāb (d. 1206H, rahimahullāh) by ash-Shaikh al-Allāmah Ahmad b. Yahyā an-Najmee (rahimahullāh).

So in this chapter, Shaikhul-Islām Muhammad b. Abdul-Wahhāb (rahimahullāh) said:

Chapter 22: That which has been narrated concerning the Chosen Prophet’s (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) safeguarding the purity of Tawhīd and closing every avenue that leads to polytheism (shirk).

Allah, the Most High, said:

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He is anxious over you, and towards the believers full of pity, kindness and merciful.” [At-Tawbah: 128]

Abu Hurairah (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) said that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “Do not turn your houses into graveyards, and do not make my grave into a place of ritual celebration. And send your prayers (salutations of peace and blessings of Allah and His praise) upon me, for indeed your prayers will reach me wherever you may be.” Reported by Abu Dawood with a hasan chain of narration, and all of its narrators are trustworthy. [Abu Dawood (2042), authenticated by Al-Albānee.]

‘Alee Ibn Al-Husayn stated that he saw a man coming to a gap that was next to the grave of the Prophet (ﷺ), so he entered it and and started supplicating. So ‘Alee Ibn Husayn prohibited him from that, and told him: “Shall I not relay to you a hadeeth that I heard from my father, from my grandfather, from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said: “Do not take my grave as a place of ‘eid (ritual celebration), nor your homes are graves. And send prayers upon me for verily your salutations (tasleem) will be conveyed to me from wherever you are.” It is reported in Al-Mukhtārah. [Reported by Abu Ya’lā in Al-Musnad (1/361, no. 469), Ad-Diyā Al-Maqdisee in Al-Mukhtārah (468), authenticated by Al-Albānee in Tahdheer As-Sājid (p. 85)]

The Explanation:

It is not possible to stand facing any wall of the room where the Prophet (ﷺ) and his two Companions are buried, and face the Qiblah at the same time. This closes a pathway to polytheism.

The Prophet (ﷺ) blocked the doors and means that lead to shirk (polytheistic practices). And from that is his saying: “Do not make my grave into a place of ‘Eid.” From his warnings is that when it was said to the Prophet (ﷺ): “O our master! The son of our master! O the best of us! The son of the best of us!” He responded: “O people! Say what you wish to say but do not let the Satan deceive and beguile you, for I am Muhammad the son of Abdullāh, the Messenger of Allah. By Allah! I do not like that you raise me beyond what Allah has raised me.” [Reported by Ahmad (3/153, no. 12573), Al-Albānee declared it as saheeh in As-Saheehah (1097)]

From his warnings also, is: When a man came to him and said: “O Allah’s Messenger! The people are exhausted and facing hardships, their families are suffering, their wealth is destroyed, their cattle has died – so seek from Allah rain for us for verily we seek your intercession with Allah. And we seek Allah’s intercession with you.” He replied: “Woe to you!! Do you know what you’re saying?!” The Messenger (ﷺ) glorified Allah, and he did not cease doing so until the effect of that was seen of the faces of his Companions, then he said: “Woe to you! Allah is not to be sought as an intercessor with any of his creation! Allah is greater than that. Woe to you! Do you know who Allah is?! His Throne is over the heavens like this – and he gestured with his fingers like a dome above him – and it creaks on account of Him as a saddle creaks on account of its rider.” [Abu Dawood (4726), declared weak by Al-Albānee].

All these narrations prove the Prophet’s safeguarding the purity of Tawheed. He supplicated to Allah that his his grave does not become like an idol that is worshipped. And his Lord answered his du’ā and protected his grave from that. Regarding this Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullāh) said in his An-Nooniyyah (p. 252):

“The Lord of the worlds answered his supplication; And surrounded him with three walls.”

There is around his grave a triangular wall so that no one is able to stand at his grave and face the Qiblah so that there may be between him and the Qiblah the grave. And it is surrounded by a grill or lattice work that prevents entry into the room – and it is the room of A’ishah wherein the Prophet (ﷺ) is buried, and likewise Abu and ‘Umar (radiyallāhu ‘anhumā).

Then the author mentions the statement of Allāh, the Most High:

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“Verily there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive injury. He is anxious over you – and with the believers he is kind and merciful.” [At-Tawbah: 128]

“It grieves him…” due to him not being pleased at all, “that you receive injury…” i.e. that which hurts you. “He is anxious over you” meaning that he is eager that you receive what benefits you.

There occurs in a hadeeth from the Prophet (ﷺ) that he said: “My similitude with you is like a man who built a fire,” meaning is the darkness of the night, “so the moths and flies started flying into it, so he waves them away from it. And I myself  am trying to hold you back from the fire by your garments, but you are slipping through my hands.” [Reported by Muslim (2285), Bukhāree (3426).

There is also a hadeeth of Sahl Ibn Sa’d which states: “I will reach the Hawd (the Drinking Lake) before you [on the Day of Resurrection]. Whoever comes to it will drink, and whoever drinks will never be thirsty again. There will come to me people I will recognise and they will recognise me – and they will be prevented from reaching me.” Abu Hāzim: I heard Nu’mān Ibn Abee Ayyāsh say when I narrated this hadeeth to them: “Is this what you Sahl say?” I said: “Yes. And I bear witness that I heard Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudree add the following from the Prophet, “They are from me!” So it will be said to the Prophet (ﷺ): “You do not know what they did after you.” So the Prophet will say: “Away from me, away from me! The ones who changed after me.” [Reported by Bukhāree (7050), Muslim (2290)]

The Prophet (ﷺ) is as Allah has described him: “With the believers he is kind and merciful. But if they turn away…” Meaning, they turn away and don’t accept what you have come with O Prophet,

فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ ۖ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

“But if they turn away, then say: Allah is sufficient for me, the is no god worthy of worship besides Him. Upon Him I rely and in Him I trust, and He is the Lord of the mighty Throne.” 

Baqī’ graveyard in Madinah. It is forbidden to pray in graveyards or turn them into places of ritual gatherings or celebrations.

In the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded his Ummah not to turn their homes into graves because it is graveyards wherein prayers are not performed, and Qur’ān is not recited therein. So it is necessary that people do pray in their homes, and recite the Qur’an in their homes too. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Do not make my grave into a place of ‘eid.” The Prophet forbade that his grave be turned into a place of celebration or rituals. So people go to his grave, and everyone who comes to it, he is telling them not to turn his grave into a place of gathering for rituals and celebrations.

And the term “Eid” used in the hadeeth refers to that which is customary for a person to practice such as the celebrations at particular times, such as ‘Eid al-Ad-hā (after Hajj), and ‘Eid al-Fitr (after Ramadān). And that which is taken as a custom of celebrations at particular locations. So the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade that people constantly come to his grave taking it as a place of gathering for ‘eid rituals. Rather, he commanded that salutations/supplications be made for him. He said: “And send your salutations of peace and blessings of Allah and His praise upon me, for indeed your prayers will reach me wherever you may be.” 

Then the author mentioned a narrations from ‘Alee Ibn Al-Husayn (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) that he saw a man coming to a gap that was next to the grave of the Prophet (ﷺ), so he entered it and and started supplicating. So ‘Alee Ibn Husayn prohibited him from that, and told him: “Shall I not relay to you a hadeeth that I heard from my father (Al-Husayn Ibn ‘Alee), from my grandfather (i.e. ‘Alee Ibn Abee Tālib), from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said: “Do not take my grave as a place of ‘eid (ritual celebration), nor your homes are graves. And send prayers upon me for verily your salutations (tasleem) will be conveyed to me from wherever you are.” It is reported in Al-Mukhtārah.

Shaikh ‘Abdur-Rahmān Ibn Sa’dee (rahimahullāh) said:

“Whoever looks into the texts of the Book and Sunnah in this subject matter, he will find many texts that encourage with everything that strengthens tawheed, and that which cultivates it, and nourishes it so that one is solely dependent upon Allah – and these texts confine and restrict the connection of the heart to Allah [alone], with desire and fear of Him – and urgently and avidly desiring His bounty and favour – and striving hard to attain that. And to be liberated from the servitude and enslavement of the created beings, and to relinquish [undeserved] connection to them from every aspect – or to exaggerate and go overboard with respect to any of the creation. And to establish the perfection by one’s deeds, both apparent and hidden. The texts specifically encourage with the spirit of worship, and that is pure sincere worship for Allah alone – then in opposition to this, He forbade all speech and actions that have within them exaggeration and excess veneration of the created beings. And He, the Most High, forbade from imitating the idolaters because that will invite the believer to incline towards them, so He forbade all speech and action that is feared will become a pathway to polytheism. So this is a mercy for the believers that they may go forth and fulfill that for which they were created, which is the worship of Allah, both apparent and hidden, and to perfect it. Then by that happiness and success is perfected for them. The proofs bearing witness to this are plentiful and well-known.”

See Al-Qawlus-Sadeed fee Maqāsidit-Tawheed pp. 86-87.

I say: How amazing are these tremendous sentences from this intelligent, skillful, and brilliant scholar – so all praise is due to Allah for that.


This fine explanation of the Book of Monotheism is called: “Ash-Sharh al-Moojaz al-Mumahhad li Tawheed al-Khāliq al-Mumajjad alladhi allafahu Shaikhul-Islam Muhammad”which means: “The Concise, Simple and Straight-forward Explanation of the Tawheed of the Exalted Creator – which was Authored by the Shaikhul-Islām Muhammad b. Abdul-Wahhāb.”

Here’s the Arabic text of this chapter:

End.

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