Al-Imâm al-Yâfi’î wrote: “Seeing the dead in good or bad conditions is what Allâhu ta’âlâ grants to some of His servants as a kashf or karâma. It is for the purpose of giving good news to the living, of giving admonition, of mediating benefactions on behalf of the dead or of helping the [dead’s] debts to be paid. The dead are seen mostly in dreams. Nevertheless, there are people who see them when they are awake. This is a karâma for walîs and men of hâl.” In another place in his book, he wrote: “The ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna declare that the souls of the dead in ’Illiyyîn or Sijjîn are sent back to their bodies in graves occasionally, that is, when Allâhu ta’âlâ wishes. This happens mostly on Friday nights. The dead meet and talk with one another. Those who deserve Paradise attain blessings. Those who are to be tortured are tortured. Souls are given blessings or tortures in ’Illiyyîn and Sijjîn respectively even though their bodies are not there. In the grave, however, both the soul and the body are granted blessings or punished.” Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya says in his book Kitâb ar-rûh: “It can be concluded from these records [of events] that the state (hâl) of the soul varies with its strength or weakness, greatness or humbleness. The states of great souls are not the same as those of others. It is known that the souls in this world have different states depending on their strength or weakness or speed. Compared to the soul who is controlled by the body, the soul who has escaped the slavery, connection and disposition of his body has a different strength, influence, ability to help, speed and relation to Allâhu ta’âlâ and to the world of substances. The soul itself is superior, pure, great and capable of great help. He becomes more than he is after he departs from the body. He can do many other things. The souls of the dead are seen in dreams and can do extraordinary things they were not able to do when they were alive and attached to their bodies. It has been witnessed many a time that one, two or several persons have overcome a big army. Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), Abu Bakr and ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ) many times were seen in dreams, their causing a disbelieving and unjust enemy’s rout and defeat. What we have written here is compatible with the tafsîrs by some mufassirs of the fifth âyat of Sûrat an-Nâzi’ât, for example, the interpretation of [Qâdî ’Abdullâh] al-Baidâwî [ash-Shirâzî, d. Tebriz, 685 A.H. (1281)]: ‘The soul of a walî goes to the world of angels when he departs from the body. Then he goes to wander in Paradise’s gardens. He keep us a relation with his body, too, and influences it.’ ”
PART EIGHT. It was revealed by Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Rasûl that it is permissible for the living to be cognizant of the blessings and punishments in graves and to see it with their bodily eyes. The ’ulamâ’ of the Ahl as-Sunnat wa ’l-Jamâ’a report unanimously that there is blessings or punishment in the grave and that it is necessary to believe that it happens both to the soul and the body. This is explained in books of aqâ’id in detail. Only the Mu’tazila and Khârijîs do not believe in the punishment in the grave. It is evident from hadîths, the athars of as-Sahâbat al-kirâm (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în) and the written works of Salaf as-sâlihîn that there is punishment in the grave. Some ignorant people do not believe it because they do not know of these documents. It will be useful to note some of these documents to strengthen their îmân.
As dealt with above, prophets are alive in their graves with a kind of life we do not know. It is reported [in the Sahîhain] by al-Bukhârî and Muslim that they performed hajj after they died. As for the people who are not prophets, Abu Nu’aim quotes Thâbit al-Banânî as saying, “I asked Hamîd at-Tawîl, ‘Do only prophets perform salât in their graves?’ He said, ‘No. Other people may perform it, too.’ Then I said, ‘Oh my Rabb! May You make it fall to Thâbit’s lot, too, to perform salât in his grave if You ever permit a person to perform salât in his grave!’ ” Again Abu Nu’aim reports: Jubair said, “I swear by Allah who is the ony Creator! I placed Thâbit al-Banânî into the grave. Hamîd at-Tawîl was with me, too. We covered him with soil. The soil gave way on one side. I looked into the grave and saw him performing salât.” [Muhammad] Ibn Jarîr [at-Tabarî, d. 310 A.H. (923)], in his book Tahzîb al-Âthâr, and Abu Nu’aim narrate from Ibrâhim ibn Sâmit that people who passed by Thâbit al-Banânî’s grave at dawn said that they heard the Qur’ân al-karîmbeing recited from his grave. [Abu ’l-Faraj ’Abd ar-Rahmân] Ibn al-Jawzî [al-Hanbalî, d. 597 A.H. (1200)], too, writes this in his book Safwât as-Safwa. At-Tirmidî, Hâkim and al-Baihakî quote ’Abdullâh ibn ’Abbâs as saying, “Some Sahâbîs set up a tent at a place where there was a grave that could not be noticed. They heard Sûrat al-Mulk being recited inside the tent. Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) came in the tent after the recitiation ended. When they told him what they had heard, he said, ‘This honourable sûra protects men from the punishment in the grave.’ ” In his book Kitâb ar-rûh, Abu ’l-Qâsim as-Sa’dî wrote: “Thishadîth sharîf confirms that the dead recite [the Qur’ân al-karîm] in their graves. ’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar, too, had set up a tent somewhere, and he heard the Qur’ân al-karîm being recited in the tent. He told it to Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), who confirmed his words.” Hadîth scholar Zain ad-dîn ibn Rajab [Abu ’l-Faraj ’Abd ar-Rahmân al-Hanbalî, d. 795 A.H. (1393)], in his book Ahwâl al-qubûr, wrote: “Allâhu ta’âlâ endows His beloved servants with performing pious deeds in their graves. The duty of performing ’ibâda ends when a human being dies. ’Ibâda done in the grave will not be recompensed, but the dead enjoy remembering Allâhu ta’âlâ and performing ’ibâda. So do angels and the people in Paradise. They find pleasure in worshipping, because dhikr and ’ibâda are the sweetest things for pure-souled people. Those with sick souls cannot get the taste of this pleasure.” Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, in his Kitâb ar-rûh, Ibn Taimiyya, al-Imâm as-Suyûtî in his Sharh as-sudûr, and many other ’ulamâ’ wrote the same. Abu ’l-Hasan ibn Barâ’ wrote in his work Rawda, “Ibrâhîm, a grave-digger, said, ‘I dug a grave. I perceived a smell of musk from the grave and from pieces of adobe. I looked into the grave and saw an old person reciting the Qur’ân al-karîm.’ Muhammad ibn Is’hâq ibn Manda [d. 395 A.H. (1005)] quoted ’Âsim as-Suqâtî as saying, ‘We dug a grave in the city of Balkh. The interior of the neighbouring grave became visible. A green-shrouded old person was reading the Holy Qur’ân which he was holding in his hands.’ ” There are many such events written in this book. Hadîth scholar Abu Muhammad Halâl [’Abdullâh al-Mâlikî, d. Egypt, 616 A.H. (1219),] wrote in his book Karâmât al-awliyâ’ that Abu Yûsuf al-Ghasûlî said he visited Hadrat Ibrâhîm ibn Ad’ham in Damascus. “I saw a wonderful thing today,” Hadrat Ibrâhîm said. “What was it?” Abu Yûsuf asked. “I was standing by a grave in that graveyard. The grave split open. A green shrouded old person appeared. ‘Oh Ibrahîm! Allâhu ta’âlâ brought me back to life for you. You may ask any question you wish,’ he said, ‘How did Allâhu ta’âlâ treat you?’ I asked. ‘My bad deeds had surrounded me. [But] He said He forgave me for three reasons: Because I had loved whom He loved, because I had never drank alcoholic drinks in the world and because I had arrived in His Audience with my white beard. He declared He would be ashamed of punishing Muslims who would come to His Audience in that manner.’ Then the old person disappeared in the grave.” Ibn al-Jawzî wrote in his book Safwat as-Safwa: “Umm al-Aswad quoted Mu’âza, her wet-nurse, as saying, ‘The world has become a prison for me since Abu ’s-Sahbâ and my son got martyred. I enjoy nothing. Yet I want to live only with the hope that I might do something that would make me attain Allâhu ta’âlâ’s pleasure and in this way meet Abu ’s-Sahbâ and my son in Paradise.’ Muhammad ibn Husain said that Mu’âza wept when she was about to die. And then she smiled. When asked why she did so, she said, ‘I was sorry because I was quitting [because of coming death] salât, fasting, reading the Qur’ân al-karîm and repeating Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Name. Then I saw Abu ’s-Sahbâ. He was wearing a green, two-pieced dress. I had not seen him so when he was alive. And this is why I smiled.’ Mu’âza had seen Hadrat ’Â’isha (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ) and narrated hadîths on her authority. Great ’ulamâ’ such as Hasan al-Basrî, Abu Qilâba and Yazîd ar-Rakâshî narrated hadîths from Mu’âza.”
There have been people who witnessed the punishment in the grave. The 46th âyat karîma of Sûrat al-Mu’min says, “The fire of Hell they are to go to is shown to Pharaoh and his people every morning and evening.” The hadîth ash-sharîf in the Sahîhain of al-Bukhârî and Muslim says, “If you were able to keep it a secret, I would pray that He shall make you hear the torture in the grave as He has made me hear it.” The punishment in the grave is inflicted both on the soul and the body together because they had committed unbelief and sins together. The punishment of the soul solely is not compatible with Divine Wisdom and Justice. The ’ulamâ’ declare that, although the body is seen to decay and disappear in the grave, it exists in Allâhu ta’âlâ’s knowledge. Many Sahâbîs saw and told that both the souls and the bodies of the dead were tortured. Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, in Kitâb ar-rûh, al-Imâm as-Suyûtî, in Sharh as-sudûr, and Ibn Rajab, in his book Ahwal al-qudûr, wrote: “A person said in the presence of Rasûlullâh(sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), ‘I saw someone come out from the earth. A man struck him with a stick and he disappeared into the ground, and this was repeated whenever he rose from the earth.’ Rasûlullâh remarked, ‘It was Abu Jahl that you saw. He will be tortured like that until the Resurrection.’ ” This khabar and similar ones confirm that everyone may see what is happening inside a grave like prophets and awliyâ’ do. Awliyâ’s seeing can never be denied. They see by Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Qudra (Omnipotence).
All of what we have written up to here proves that the dead are alive in graves with a life unknown to us, which may be called ‘gravelife.’ All ’ulumâ’ of Islam have said that death is not the end of existence but a migration from one house to another. Prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salâwâtu wa ’t-taslîmât) and awliyâ’ (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) endeavoured to disseminate Islam, so they all acquired the degree of being martyrs [after death]. It is openly stated in the Qur’ân al-karîm that martyrs are alive. Then, why should it be strange to make tasabbub, tashaffu’ and tawassul through them? ‘Tasabbub’ means to ask them as causes (sabab) to help in Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Audience. ‘Tawassul’ means to ask them to pray for us, because they are Allâhu ta’âlâ’s beloved servants both in this world and the next. The Qur’ân al-karîm declares that they will attain whatever they want and that they will be granted whatever they wish. Can a person be blamed for asking of such dead people for the things that may be asked of living people? Can a person be reproved for having recourse to dead prophets and walîs as causes or mediators, while he believes that Allâhu ta’âlâ Himself alone will create the things expected from them and that there is no creator but Allah? Those who think that they decayed and became soil or nonexistent deny all these. Those who do not know Islam and cannot understand their honour and superiority do not believe. People who do not understand the honour and superiority ofprophets and awliyâ’ are ignorant of the religion. They have not comprehended Islam. Muslims whom they regard as ignorant are more learned and intelligent than they are. It was stated in hadîths and conveyed unanimously by Muslim ’ulamâ’ that it is permissible to go to the graves of prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salâwâtu wa ’t-taslîmat) and awliyâ’, to ask Allâhu ta’âlâ for something through their mediation and causation and to entreat them to intercede for us on the Day of Judgement. Our praise and thanks be to Allâhu ta’âlâ who has bestowed on us the belief in the hadîths of the Highest of Mankind, Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm), and in the books of the distinguished beloved people who have followed him! If our Rabb had not granted this great favour, we would not have been able to understand and find it out by ourselves and would have perished.
Now we shall quote the âyats which verify that it is permissible to ask Allâhu ta’âlâ to create through prophets and awliyâ’, that is, by taking them as causes and mediators: “Oh Believers! Fear Allâhu ta’âlâ! Seek for a means to approach Him!” (Al-Mâ’ida, 38) “There are those who pray and perform ’ibâda. They seek a means, a cause, to approach their Rabb. They want the cause that will take them closest to Allâhu ta’âlâ.” (Al-Isrâ, 57)[70] In these âyats, Allâhu ta’âlâ commands men to hold fast to the causes, the intermediaries, through which, He declares, they may approach closest to Him. He did not prescribe intermediaries as certain things. Therefore, everything which makes people attain Allâhu ta’âlâ’s approval, that is, not only [the dead’s] prayers -contrary to what the Kharijîs believe- but also their intercession, status and virtues in Allâhu ta’âlâ’s view and they themselves are all intermediaries. The ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna have said that prophets and their followers themselves, their intercession, grades, karâmât and prayers are mediators as well as the path, that is, the belief, ’ibâda and ikhlâs they possessed. Those who claim that they could not be mediators thus slander the Qur’ân al-karîm, the Hadîth ash-sharîf, prophets and awliyâ. It is clearly stated in the Qur’ân al-karîm and the Hadîth ash-sharîf thatprophets and awliyâ’ can be made intermediaries.
The 33rd âyat of Sûrat al-Anfâl declares, “I shall not punish those unbelievers as long as you are near them.” As written in books of tafsîr and [the Sahâh of] al-Bukhârî, the disbelievers mocked our Prophet by saying, “Tell your Allah to punish us soon.” The above âyat karîma was revealed upon this, declaring that the existence of Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed body near them prevented the punishment. It cannot be said that Rasûlullâh prevented the punishment by the virtue of his prophethood or by praying or interceding, because neither the unbelievers were to be prayed or interceded for nor the prophethood in which they disbelieved would do them any good.
The same âyat says, “Allâhu ta’âlâ does not punish them because they ask for forgiveness.” Most of Salaf as-sâlihîn said that this âyat karîma meant, “I do not punish them because they will have children who will ask for forgiveness.” Allâhu ta’âlâ declared, “I do not punish them,” for He had decreed in the eternity to have kâfirs’ descendants believe. Therefore, according to the ’ulamâ’ who said so, the motes of the coming Muslims in the blood of the kâfirs were the causes which prevented the punishment.
Allâhu ta’âlâ declares, “The earth would be upset if Allâhu ta’âlâ had set mankind free against one another.” (Al-Baqara, 251; al-Hajj, 40) Some ’ulamâ’ of tafsîr interpreted this âyat karîma as, “The world would have been in utter disorder if Allâhu ta’âlâ had created no believer, but solely unbelievers. The [existence of] bodies of believers protect the world against disorder.” Salvation is in man himself and cannot be attained as a result of his deeds. This is why it was declared, “A human being is sa’îd(good) or shaqî (bad) before he comes to this world,” in a hadîth sharîf. It is in appearance that good deeds affect being sa’îd, but it is not so in reality. This is why it was declared, “A person commits bad deeds which will take him to Hell; he nears Hell. If he is sa’îd in Umm al-kitâb, that is, in Divine Knowledge, he does something which will take him to Paradise in his last days and goes to Paradise,” in a hadîth sharîf. Man’s deeds do not take him to Paradise. They act as causes for his going to Paradise. And that is why a hadîth sharîf says, “No one is to go to Paradise for his good deeds or ’ibâdât.” When it was asked, “Is it the same for you, Oh Rasûl-Allâh?” he answered, “It is the same for me, too. I am to attain salvation only through Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Mercy and Benevolence.” One cannot say that a man who performs good deeds and ’ibâdât will certainly go to Paradise. But it can be said that a man who was determined to be sa’îd in eternity will certainly go to Paradise. Being sa’îd or shaqî does not depend on man’s deeds, but on his very person (or essence, dhât). It was for his blessed person that Allâhu ta’âlâ chose Muhammad (alaihi ’s-salâm) from among men and made him superior to His other prophets. Every believer acknowledges this. It is the same for the superiorities of rasûls, nabîs and walîs. Degree, rank and every superiority depends on one’s dhât, which does not depend on rank in turn. [For example, a man is not valuable because he is a general, but he has become a general because he is a valuable person.] Then, it has become apparent that the Wahhâbite claims, such as “The matter, objects and persons cannot be causes,” are wrong. Âyats, hadîths and Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) sunna show that they are on a wrong and heretical path.
A hadîth sharîf says, “Our sick people recover by means of the blessings of our soil and the saliva of one of us and by Allâhu ta’âlâ’s permission.” Allâhu ta’âlâ grants health if someone mixes clean soil with his clean saliva and gives it to a sick person as medicine. Soil and saliva, or the medicines of a druggist with certain effects, are all substances, materials, that is, they are dhâts. They cannot be thought to have rank or virtue or to intercede. It is declared, “The Zamzam water has uses according to the intention of the one who drinks it,” in a hadîth sahîh in the Sahîh of Imâm Muslim ash-Shâfi’î (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih). Zamzam water, when drank with the intention of obtaining whatever use, whether it pertains to this world or the hereafter, renders that use. This has been witnessed many times. Everyone knows that Zamzam water is a dhât, a substance, and cannot be thought to affect through its rank or to pray and intercede so that it may give health and help.
As defined in a hadîth sahîh and unanimously reported by all scholars of fiqh, the place o visiting (tawâf) between the door of the Ka’ba and the stone, Hajar al-aswad, is called Multazam. If someone touches his belly to the wall of the Ka’ba at this place and, making Multazam a means for the acceptance of his prayer, entreats Allâhu ta’âlâ, He protects him against loss and defect. This has been experienced many times. As everyone knows, Multazam is a group of several stones in the wall of the Ka’ba. These stones are dhâts, that is, materials. As Allâhu ta’âlâ has given certain peculiarities to each substance, so He has given these stones the property of being a means for goodness, for good use. [As He has given aspirin the effect to relieve pain, quinine to kill malarial plasmodia, and alcoholic drink to cause intoxication, so He has given these stones the effect of being a means for the acceptance of prayers, unlike other stones.]
Such useful effects have been given to the visiting-place under the spout on the northern side of the Ka’ba, to the place named Maqân al-Ibrâhîm, which is opposite the door of the Ka’ba in Masjid al-Harâm, and to kissing and touching with the hand or face Hajar al-aswad, the black stone on one corner of the Ka’ba. Allâhu ta’âlâ has given these substances the effect of making acceptable the prayers of those who recommend themselves through them, that is, who pray putting them as intermediaries. While it is known, seen and believed that these substances act as means for the acceptance of prayers, wouldn’t it be possible that prayers will be accepted through the mediation ofRasûlullâh and Allâhu ta’âlâ’s beloved servants who follow him? If someone dares to say that the established beneficial causation or mediation of earthly soil, some certain people’s saliva, Zamzam water, the stones of Multazam, Maqâm al-Ibrâhîm, where there are the footprints of the Prophet Ibrâhîm’s blessed feet, and Hajar al-aswad does not prove the graves ofprophets and awliyâ’ to be causes or intermediaries, these words of his show that he is ignorant of Islam and is not ashamed of Allâhu ta’âlâ and Rasûlullâh and Muslims. For this reason, as-Sahâbat al-kirâm (’alaihimu ’r-ridwân) esteemed Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) honourable personality very much and respected him very deeply.
’Urwat ibn Mas’ûd as-Saqafî’s words which were quoted by al-Bukhârî and others were well known: “I went to Rasûlullâh as the envoy for the unbelievers for the Hudaibia Peace. Afterwards, I returned to Mecca and said to the notables of the Quraish, ‘As you know, I have visited Persian shahs called Chostroe, Byzantian kings called Caesar and Abyssinian sovereigns called Negus many times. I have not seen them respected in any way as much as Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm) is respected by his companions. I did not see his saliva fall to the ground -his companions catch it with their hands and rub it on their faces and eyes. Rushing to catch the water he used while taking ablution, they save it for its blessing. His companions catch every hair of his before it falls to the ground when his hair is cut or beard is trimmed, and they keep it as a most precious gem. They cannot look at his face because of their respect for him and modesty.’ “ It is understood from this report how much as-Sahâbat al-kirâm respected the tiny particles from Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) dhât, even the things which may be regarded as dirty and ugly by other people. Can it be said that this deep respect and modesty were because his blessed saliva and the ablution-water which touched his blessed organs would pray or intercede for them, or had any rank or value? They were all substances. But they were valuable for having come from the most honourable dhât, his [body] material. The lâ-madhhabî, although they say that they are real religious men and monotheists, holdRasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) equal to the idol al-Lât. They liken to idolatry what Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în) had done and ordered. We seek refuge in Allah from saying, thinking or believing as they do.
There are so many hadîths which comfirm that it is permissible to ask for a wish from Allâhu ta’âlâ by putting prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salawâtu wa ’t-taslîmât) and distinguished, beloved awliyâ, who have followed them, as intermediaries, that our wicked enemies cannot ever answer them. They fall into utter bewilderment. As it is written in the books of al-Bukhârî and Muslim, Asmâ’ bint Abî Bakr (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ wa Abîhâ), showing a silken-collar, green gown (jubba) of our Prophet to the people around her, said, “Hadrat ’Â’isha had this gown with her. I took it after her death. We cure our sick people by putting it on. Our sick people get well by wearing it.” As it is seen as-Sahâbat al-kirâm (’alaihimu ’r-ridwân) used that gown as a means to restore health, because Allâhu ta’âlâ’s beloved Prophet (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa Âlihî wa sallam), the possessor of all kinds of superiorities, had worn it.
Al-Hamîdî quotes ’Abdullâh ibn Mawhib in his book, which he composed from the two sahîh books [of al-Bukhârî and Muslim], as saying, “My wife gave me a cup of water and sent me to our mother Umm Salama. Hadrat Umm Salama brought a silver box. These wasRasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed beard in it. She stirred the water in the cup with the blessed [hairs of] beard and took it out. People who were struck by an evil eye or had some other trouble used to bring water and have it done so and recovered health by drinking it. I looked into the silver box and saw a few red hairs.”
Al-Hamîdî quotes Sahl ibn Sa’d in the same book: “Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) gave me his blessed shirt as a gift. My mother wanted to take it from me. ‘I shall keep it for my shroud,’ I told her. She said, ‘I wanted to get blessings from our master Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed shirt.’ “ It is seen that theProphet’s Companions used his blessed shirt as a means and a cause to attain salvation from punishment [in the next world].
It is written by al-Bukhârî and Muslim that Umm Salîm said, “Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) was sleeping near me. His blessed face was in pearls of sweat. He woke up while I was collecting his sweat and putting it some where. ‘Oh Umm Salîm! What are you doing?’ he asked. ‘Oh Rasûl-Allâh! I want our children to be blessed with your sweat,’ I said, ‘You are doing well,’ he said.” In the commentary of the bookMasâbih, Ibn Malak wrote: “This hadîth sharîf shows that it is permissible to seek Allâhu ta’âlâ’s approval through the things that the superiors of tasawwuf, ’ulamâ’ and sulahâ’ used.”
Imâm Muslim wrote in his Sahîh: “Medinans used to take cups of water to Rasûlullâh(sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) after he performed the morning salât. He would dip his blessed hands into every cup.” And Ibn al-Jawzî wrote in his Bayânu ’l-mushkîli ’l-hadîth: “Thus, Medinans would attain blessings through Rasûlullâh. It is better that an ’âlim should not refuse those who come to him to attain blessings in this way.” It is understood from this statement of Ibn al-Jawzî and the writings of al-Imâm an-Nawawî in the commentary to the Sahîh of Muslim, of Qâdî ’Iyâd in Sharh-i Muslim and of the Hanafî ’âlim Ibn Malak that this way of asking for blessings and advantages, contrary to what the Khârijîs think, is not peculiar to Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) only.[71]
Al-Bukhârî quoted Ibn Sîrîn in his Sahîh: “It fell to my lot to have a piece of our master Rasûlullâh’s blessed beard. I mentioned it to ’Ubaida. ‘I would like more than anything else in the world to have a hair of that blessed beard,’ he said.”
Al-Bukhârî wrote that Anas ibn Mâlik, who had the honour of being is Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) service for a long time willed that a hair of the blessed beard be buried with him, wishing to enter Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Audience with it. It is written in the book Shifâ’: “One of Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) superiorities and karâmât and blessings is this: Khâlid ibn Walîd (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) used to carry in his turban a hair of the blessed beard of Rasûlullâh. He won all the battles in which he had that hair with him.” Why, then, should not the wishes be granted by Allâhu ta’âlâ whenRasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed person is intended as a intermediary, while Khâlid attained his wishes due to a blessed hair of his? Al-Imâm al-Bûsûrî (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih), the great scholar of Islam and a lover of Rasûlullâh, expresses this subtlety very beautifully in Qâsidat al-Burda.
Al-Bukhârî and Muslim quote ’Abdullâh ibn ’Abbâs in their Sahîhain as saying, “Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) came by two graves. He understood that both of them were in torture. He asked for a date branch. He broke it into two and planted them on the graves. ‘Their suffering will be less as long as these remain green,’ he said.” The Hadîth ash-sharîf teaches that green branches of a date tree may be put on graves in order that the suffering be diminished. Allâhu ta’âlâ lessens the torture in the grave as a blessing of green grass. Green grass is a dhât, a substance. Diminution of torture through planting is not peculiar to Rasûlullâh. It is an unanimity among the ’ulamâ’ of Islam that green date branches may be planted on graves at any time. It is for this that cypresses have been planted in Muslim graveyards. Why should it not be permissible to put the most superior of all beings and creatures [the Prophet] as a cause or an intermediary, while such an object as a date branch can cause diminution of torture? Can anyone have any objections to this if he has wisdom and can think reasonably?
It is permissible to make the substance, the dhât, a means to please