First: he said in respect of Al­Madinah, "This sacred city contains many monumental sights. We, Arabs, do not pay due attention to them while visiting Paris and London. So, why do we, Muslims, not care about the monuments of the past ages,"... until he said, "Islam calls for...", etc. By these words, the writer invites us to imitate the people of Paris and London in the act of glorifying these sights and building memorials for them. It is strange and wondrous that a Muslim invites others to imitate the enemies of Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: He who imitates any people is one of them. O dear reader, glorifying monuments is not by building memorials, inscriptions, and following in the footsteps of non­Muslims. The true celebration of these monuments is to follow in the footsteps of the people who did these brilliant exploits, good morality, and defended the Cause of Allah patiently and sincerely with words and actions. This is the way that the Salaf (righteous predecessors) used to glorify the good deeds of their predecessors. As for glorifying monuments by buildings, decorations and inscriptions, it is against the way of the Salaf, but it is rather the way of the Jews, the Christians and those who imitate them. Indeed, it is one of the gravest means to Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) and the worship of prophets

and Awliya' (pious people) as shown by reality and by the Hadiths and the traditions reported in the books of Sunnah. So be careful and cautious! It is true that the Muslims should be ready beforehand for any hostility they may face. Thus, they should found factories for the benefit of their communities and invent weapons suitable for the time, not as an imitation of non­Muslims but because we obey Allah and his Messenger and follow the way of the Salaf and Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) and those who followed their way. The basic proof may be found in Allah's Saying: O you who believe! Take your precautions Allah also says: And make ready against them all you can of power The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone. Be keen to that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart... The Ayahs and the Hadiths are many in this context. They all indicate that Muslims should establish factories, weapons and foundations of good life in order to meet their needs and help themselves defend the truth against falsehood, protect their interests, support their religion, and restore their previous glories, and resist any hostility against them or their religion. This is the true meaning, O Mustafa Amin, of glorifying the monuments, not by buildings which you mentioned or the like. May Allah help us.

Second: the writer says, "Knowledge does not make Taqwa (fearing Allah as He should be feared) lie in weakness or fear, but rather in exploring the universe and scrutinizing its hidden and manifest secrets..." True Taqwa should not be in weakness, fear or being backward in the fields of reform as well as public and private interest. It should be a means to reflect upon the universe in order to realize Allah's Wisdom in creation and laws. The pious must be the bravest and the most keen on reform, for fear of Allah entails so. But the writer's words give the false impression that Taqwa is confined to knowledge of the universe and its secrets and following the example of those who reached the highest degree in this field. Rather,

knowledge of the secrets of the universe is only part of Taqwa. Taqwa, as defined by Muslim scholars, means: to abide by what Allah has commanded and abandon what He has forbidden out of faith, sincerity, devotion, love, desire and fear. This includes giving much care to public interest, establishing beneficial facilities, and following the example of the Salah (righteous predecessors) and pious scholars who preceded us in this field. There is nothing wrong in benefiting from the technologies made by the others regarding the secrets of the universe as well as other fields of knowledge that do not violate the purified Shari`ah but protect it from the plot of its enemies and suffice its people. It is the duty of Muslims to benefit from these technologies, not because they follow the non­Muslims but because Islam commands its followers to be heedful of what is beneficial and keep away from harms, as previously mentioned. The inventions of the non­Muslims, who reached the farthest point in this regard, have only pushed them to more Kufr (disbelief), atheism and corrupted morals. So people must not be fascinated by their knowledge and should not imitate them in their morals or costumes that contradict the teachings of Shari`ah. We should only take of their technologies that which is beneficial and urgently needed along with abiding by the teachings of our Shari`ah and being aware of anything that goes against it. So dear reader, be careful of this in order to be saved from a lot of errors and doubts ­ may Allah guide us to the straight path.

This speech combines true and wrong statements. As for the right side, it encourages the visitors of

Hamzah Ibn `Abdul­Muttalib's grave as well as the visitors of other graves to recall to memory their glorious exploits when they were alive such as Jihad, Calling to Islam, and giving much care to public interest, in order to follow their example. This truth must be recalled by every Muslim. Muslims must follow the example of those people in their entire life and try to be like them as much as they can.As for his statement that Allah does not reward the visitor for mere visiting, seeking blessings and supplication, this is a blatant error that contradict with Sahih (authentic) Hadiths reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in which he says: visit the graves for they remind you of the Hereafter. According to some other narrations: ..and make you renounce pleasure of worldly things.

The texts reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in this context indicate that the significance of visiting graves is to remember the Hereafter, keep from indulgence in worldly pleasures, and pray to Allah for forgiveness to the buried people. The writer overlooked this point in toto and encouraged another point reported in other Hadiths. If he had combined both points, he would not have missed the truth. As for visiting the graves for seeking blessings, this is not permissible in Islam. Indeed, it is one of the acts of Jahiliyyah (Pre­Islamic time of ignorance) and a characteristic of grave worshipers. So, we must be aware of such acts and prohibit visitors from committing this. It is authentically reportedin Sahih (book of authentic Hadiths) Muslim on the authority of Buraydah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to teach his Companions to recite the following when visiting the graves: 'Peace be upon you, the inhabitants of the graves of the believers and Muslims, and Allah willing we shall join you. We pray to Allah for well­being for ourselves and for you. In Al­Tirmidhy's book (Al­Jami`), it is related from Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed by the graves of Madinah and said, "May you be granted safety, O inmates of the graves. May Allah forgive you and us. You have preceded us, and we are to follow.'' This is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in visiting graves and showing the purpose of visiting them. As for seeking blessings from them, building over them, inscribing on them and heading to them for supplications, this is not an act of Sunnah. Rather, this is one of the traditions of the Jews, Christians, and the people of Jahiliyyah. We ask Allah to grant us and all Muslims safety.

Fourth: the writer mentions in his article that some Islamic nations have taken their kings as gods and made some of the righteous Muslims as patrons to draw them nearer to Allah, and founded for them domes and Masjids (mosques) built over their graves, not to eternize their glorious actions but to be places for worshiping the dead and supplicating to Allah. He added that if they had built the domes and Masjids to eternize the glorious actions of the dead, it would have been better...etc. This, however, combines both truth and falsehood. As for the truth, it is the writer's admittance that these acts of Bid`ah (innovation in religion) exist in some Islamic countries and his criticism of building domes (over graves) and Masjids as niches for worship and supplication to the dead. In fact, this is true and rampant in the neighboring countries ­ indeed we belong to Allah and indeed to Him we will return. We ask Allah to protect Muslims from this and to grant them understanding of religion with which He sent Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in order to know that these innovations go against Shari`ah and lead to worshiping people other than Allah. Falsehood lies in the writer's differentiation between building domes and Masjids for worship and supplication, and making them memorials. This distinction has no basis in religion. Moreover, it contradicts the Divine texts of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, which provide for the impermissibility of building domes or Masjids for this reason. This is because building domes and Masjids over graves for worshiping, supplicating, and seeking help from the dead is an act of Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) as the people of Jahiliyyah did with Al­Lat, Al­`Uzza, Manah and other idols. Indeed, building such memorials is a means to taking the people of the graves as partners with Allah. The Qur'an and the Sunnah condemn, warn, and prohibit these means of polytheism. It is authentically reported inthe Two Sahih books of Hadith (Al­Bukhari and Muslim)from `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: May Allah curse the Jews and Christians, for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets. `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) was warning (Muslims) against what they had done. Except for this reason, he would command that his grave should be prominent

but he feared lest it should be taken as a Masjid. According to a reportin Sahih Muslim on the authority of Jundub Ibn `Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Beware of those who preceded you and used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous men as places of worship, but you must not take graves as mosques; I forbid you to do that. It is also narrated in Sahih Muslim from Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over them. These Hadiths and others, which were related in the same context, indicate the prohibition of building domes and Masjids for this reason. The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned his nation against doing that to differ from the Jews and Christians who excessively glorified the dead, built places of worship on their graves, offered prayers for and supplicated to them. Thus, the Muslims may not fall prey to the means of shirk and worshiping the prophets and the righteous people besides Allah, as happened with other nations. This is the matter the Prophet (peace be upon him) feared