entombed therein are Awliya' (pious people). So, what would they do if they told that such monuments are attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), knowing that Satan unremittingly seizes the most suitable times to mislead people, and thus Allah (Exalted be He) says about it:
[Iblîs (Satan)] said: "By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all, "Except Your chosen slaves amongst them (i.e. faithful, obedient, true believers of Islâmic Monotheism)."
He (Exalted be He) also says about Satan, the Enemy of Allah:
(Iblîs) said: "Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path. "Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You)."
In addition, it set Adam astray and caused him to be driven out of Jannah (Paradise), although Allah (Exalted be He) had warned Adam against Satan, and showed him that Satan was his enemy, as Allah (Exalted be He) says in Surat (chapter) Taha:
Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray. Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him with forgiveness, and gave him guidance.
Another example is the story of the Children of Israel with AlSamiry when he molded for them, out of their possessions, a calf to worship other than Allah. Then, Satan made this act fairseeming to t them, although it was clearly Batil (false). It has been authentically reported in Jami` (Hadith Compilation of) AlTirmidhy and others through a Sahih (an authentic) chain of narrators from Abu Waqid Allaythi (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
We went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to Hunayn, while we had just recently left Kufr (disbelief). The Mushriks (pl. one who associates others with Allah in worship) had a lotetree which they would frequent and to hang their swords upon it. They called it 'Dhat Anwat (possessor of medals of honor)'. When we passed by a lotetree, we asked, "O Messenger of Allah, would you make for us a Dhat Anwat just like their Dhat Anwat?" Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Most Great)! This way that you have mentioned by the One (Allah) in Whose Hand my soul is is ineed just like what the Children of Israel asked Musa, 'make for us a god like their gods'. Certainly you will follow the ways of those who went before you.
Thus, he likened their saying, 'make for us another Dhat Anwat, just like their Dhat Anwat' to that of the Children of Israel. 'make for us a god just like their gods'. This indicates that it is meanings and purposes, and not sheer words, that count. And due to the gravity of the crime of Shirk and its threats in ruining one's work, we find AlKhalil Allah's Close Fellow; Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be upon him) invoke Allah to safeguard him and his children against Shirk. Allah (Exalted be He) says:
And (remember) when Ibrâhîm (Abraham) said: "O my Lord! Make this city (Makkah) one of peace and security, and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols. O my Lord! They have indeed led astray many among mankind.
If the prophets and messengers being the best of creations, the most knowledgeable among them about Allah, and the most and are most fearful of Him were afraid of this, then others are more likely to fall into this trap. Hence, they should be warned of it, and all the means leading to it should be blocked.
No matter how much care the followers of the truth take of precautions or reservations, it will not protect the ignorant people from the corruptions entailing sanctifying monuments. This is because people differ in terms of their understanding,
vulnerability and their search for the truth to a great extent, and therefore the people of Nuh (peace be upon him) worshipped Wadd, Suwa`, Yaghuth, Ya`uq and Nasra (these are the names of their idols), although the original purpose of hewing them out was to remind people of the good deeds of those individuals and thus encourage them to emulate these persons, not the idolize or worship them besides Allah. However, Satan misguided those who came after those people who carved such sculptures, and led them to worship the idols instead of Allah. This was the reason of Shirk among Banu Adam (the Children of Adam), as was reported by AlBukhari (may Allah be Merciful with him), in his Sahih (authentic book of Hadith).
It was narrated by Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) in the Tafsir (explanation) of Allah's (Exalted be He) saying:
"And they have said: 'You shall not leave your gods: nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwâ', nor Yaghûth, nor Ya' ûq nor Nasr' (these are the names of their idols).
said that these are names of righteous men from the people of Nuh. He added that when they perished, Satan inspired their people to set statues in the seats where those righteous men used to sit, and to name the statues after the names of those people. Sure enough, they did it. Then, the were worshipped only after those who had made them perished and knowledge was discarded.
As for examples from the practices of the Jews and Christians, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) ordered us to guard against their ways, because it is the path to aberration and loss. Besides, it is impermissible to imitate them in their ways since they contradict our Islamic Shari`ah. They were also known for their misguidance, following their own whims, distortion of what was revealed to them through their prophets. Due to these reasons and others, we are forbidden to imitate them or to copy their ways. For, the corruption which would entail taking care of and restoring and reviving monuments are inescapable, and none other than Allah (Exalted be He) can know the extent and types of their evil consequences. Therefore it is Wajib (obligatory) to prevent the revival of monuments in order to avoid that which could lead to further corruption. It is known that the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him); may Allah be pleased with them, were the most knowledgeable people regarding the Religion of Allah, the most loved by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the best to give advice to the Slaves of Allah. However, they did not revive or sanctify these monuments, or even advise others to revive them.
Rather, when ' Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw some people travel to the tree by which the Companions pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him), he ordered
that it be rooted out lest people could idolize it and thus stoop to worshipping it besides Allah. Thereupon, the Muslims thanked him for doing so and considered this as one of his commendable acts (may Allah be pleased with him).
Moreover, if reviving these monuments or visiting them were a lawful act, then the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have done so in Makkah and after the Hijrah (Prophet's migration to Madinah) or ordered people to do so, or his Companions would have either done so themselves or recommended others to do it, knowing that it has been previously mentioned that they were the most knowledgeable among people of the Shari`ah of Allah, the most loved by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the best to give advice to the Servants of Allah. It has not been proven that he (peace be upon him) or his Companions visited the cave of Hira' when they were in Makkah, or in the cave of Thawr. They did not even do so during the `Umrah (lesser pilgrimage), the Year of Conquest, or the Farewell Pilgrimage. Besides, they did not make their way to the place of the two tents of Um Ma`bad, or the place of the tree of the pledge. Therefore, it became known that visiting the places, and paving the roads which lead to it is an innovated concept, which has no basis in the Shari`ah of Allah, and is among the gravest things that lead to major Shirk (associating others with Allah in His worship). And since establishing buildings on graves and using them as Masjids (mosques) is one of the gravest things that lead to Shirk, the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade it, and he cursed the Jews and Christians for making the graves of their prophets Masjids, informing us that anyone who does so is the most evil of creations.
It was authentically reported in Sahih Muslim (may Allah be merciful with him) from Jundub ibn `Abdullah AlBajaly (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: 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 Masjids; I forbid you to do that.
Besides, inSahih Muslim too, it was narrated from Jabir ibn `Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade the plastering of the graves, sitting on them, and building on them. AlTirmidhy added the following through an authentic chain of narrators, and inscribing on them. The Hadiths carrying a similar meanings are plenty.
In addition, the perfect Islamic Shari`ah has indicated the obligation of blocking all verbal and practical means leading to shirk, and scholars corroborated this with countless proofs. Of those proofs, scholar Ibn Al Qayyim (may Allah be merciful with him) in his book [I`lam AlMuwaqi`in] mentioned ninety nine, all of which prove the obligation of blocking all the means leading to Shirk or to sins. Such proofs include Allah's (Exalted be He) saying:
And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allâh, lest they insult Allâh wrongfully without knowledge.
and the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): No prayer is to be offered after the morning prayer until the sun rises, and no prayer is to be offered after 'Asr until the sun sets. This is meant to block the means leading to worship of the sun instead of Allah.
It is also meant to prevent imitation of those who do such acts. Another mentioned proof is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade the building of Masjids on top of grave yards, and cursed those who do so. He also forbade the plastering of the graves, honoring them, and taking them as Masjids. Moreover, he forbade facing it in prayer or offering prayer there. Likewise, he ordered the leveling of them (to ground), and forbade that people light lamps on them or travel to them, so that this would not be a pretext to taking them as idols or associating them with Allah in worship. Indeed, this is deemed forbidden for all people, those who idolize them and those who do not mean to do so, in order to block the means leading evil.
What is Wajib (obligation) upon the Muslim scholars and governors is to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in this and in other matters. They are also obliged to forbid whatever the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade, and to prevent anything which could lead to Shirk, mischief, sin or idolization of the prophets and the Awliya' (pious people) in order to protect Tawhid (Monotheism) and block the means leading to Shirk. We ask Allah to mend the affairs of Muslims and grant them comprehension of the religion, and to grant success to Muslim scholars and governors to that which will involves their improvement and salvation in this world and the Hereafter. We also ask Allah to guide the Muslim to act upon the Shari`ah of Allah in all affairs, and to set all Muslims on His Straight Path, for He is Able to do all that. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon His Servant, His Messenger and our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and companions and those who uprightly follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment.