Question:

We return at the beginning of this episode to a message that reached the program from the listener: Sergeant Mahmoud Mohammed Ali, our brother appears to be Sudanese. We have presented some of his questions in a previous episode of this program. In this episode, he asks Your Eminence, saying: “We have some brothers who fall into some acts of Shirk (polytheism). He says that a Wali (saint/righteous man) whom he leans toward knows the Ghayb (the unseen), or possesses some knowledge of the unseen. Is it permissible for us to sit with such people? May Allah reward you.”

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow his guidance. To proceed:

Sitting with this person and those like him is not permissible except for the purpose of Da’wah (calling to the truth), teaching, guiding, and advising. This is because supplicating to the Awliya (saints) and seeking their help—whether they are occupants of graves or absent—is an act of major Shirk, which the Messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) came to forbid. The Noble Quran indicates the prohibition of this, and that it constitutes major Shirk.

Thus, supplicating to them, seeking their help, making vows to them, offering sacrifices to them, and circumambulating their graves—all of this is major Shirk. Believing that they know the unseen is major Kufr (disbelief), for no one knows the unseen except Allah alone, Exalted is He. The Messengers and others do not know the unseen; only Allah knows it, except for what Allah has taught them, just as He taught them things about the Hereafter, the end of times, and past eras. They have no knowledge of the unseen except what Allah has taught them, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in His Great Book:

“Say: ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (unseen) except Allah’“ [An-Naml: 65].

And He (Mighty and Majestic) says: “And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He.” [Al-An’am: 59].

And He commands His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to say to the people: “Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): ‘I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe.’“ [Al-A’raf: 188].

This is how he (peace and blessings be upon him) speaks, informing them that he is a warner and a bringer of glad tidings, not a knower of the unseen.

Furthermore, the Majestic and Exalted commands His Prophet to inform the people: “Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): ‘I don’t tell you that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor (that) I know the unseen; nor I tell you that I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me by inspiration.’“ [Al-An’am: 50].

Therefore, knowledge of the unseen belongs solely to Allah, the Exalted. Whoever claims that a specific saint—such as Ibn Arabi, Al-Hussein (may Allah be pleased with him), Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani, or others—knows the unseen, has committed disbelief, associated partners with Allah, and belied Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The same applies to whoever visits their graves to supplicate to them, seek their help, invoke them from afar in any place, make vows to them, or believe that they can benefit or harm, know the unseen, or respond to those who call upon them by removing adversity and bringing benefit, or anything similar. This is the major Shirk; this is the religion of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance), the religion of Quraysh in its state of ignorance and disbelief, the religion of Abu Jahl and his likes.

Consequently, supplicating to the dead, seeking help from the dead, sacrificing for the dead, asking them for healing, and likewise seeking aid from absent Jinn, angels, or others—all of this is major Shirk. It is obligatory to beware of this with the utmost caution. Yes.