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I've heard that going to graveyards and performing worship in front of the deads is forbidden, and is called "grave worship". Is that true? What is grave worship? what actions and situations are considered so? and what are the consequences of that? (I heard it makes one mushrik). |
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I will answer you from the Quran only I am not going to use logic, sweet words or use unrelated verses. Allah says in the Quran:
This is a clear order to tell Muslims that Allah is near. Just ask him directly by Saying O Allah Now, what happens in the shrines or at the graves is that people go to the shrines and the graves of the pious people and say for example: O Hussien, Ask allah to forgive our sins. This is considered shirk(Grave worshipper) He is dead. He can't do anything. Not to mention you are basically ignoring the command in the Quran that says you must ask allah directly. Another clear evidence from the Quran:
Prophet Mohammed said that Dua'a(supplication) is considered worshipping.
And if you read Surah Nuh. You will find the verse that talks about pious people who lived before Nuh. WHen they died. People used to visit their graves and ask them to do things only Allah can do. In the Quran:
Because of these people who made the pious people as gods. Allah sent Nuh to them so that he can bring them back to the correct path of worshiping only allah. Now, Are we allowed to pray inside a mosque that was built over a grave ? Prophet Mohammed said :
Abi Dawud- Saheeh by Al-Albani Another dangerous thing muslims do is praying towards the grave instead of praying towards the Qibla here is one example :
This is clearly grave worshiping and is considered haram. Another wrong thing muslims do, Is that they think that reading Quran or making supplication near the grave would make your supplications more acceptable or the deeds of reading Quran would be multiplied. Another wrong thing is that by touching or visitng the grave you would be blessed by allah. Ok,now to a different subject. I am not sure if you are looking for this, But Mosques are not allowed to be built over graves. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) said :
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This answer is somewhat taken fom a discussion with @alummat in the chat-room: Worshiping anyone beside Allah is Shirk. But not everything is necessarily Shirk, even if it seems to you it is a kind of worshiping-a-being-other-than-Allah. The most famous example is the prostration of Angels for Adam, peace be upon him. The only one who refused to prostrate in that case was Satan and of course the only one who committed a sin in that case was again Satan. I know that the angels did prostrate for Adam was due to the direct command of Allah but I'm grabbing your attention to the fact that anyway it is possible that some prostrations done are not considered as Shirk. If there exists a possibility that prostration for someone is not Shirk then there would exist the possibility for many other things also not be Shirk, after all prostration is the highest state of worshiping according to Hadeeth and perhaps that's why a mosque is called Masjid (مسجد: place for Sojud or prostration). You may then ask that the command for prostration was to the angels and not for the humans to prostrate for anyone else but let me then bring you some evidences from Qur'aan:
But what do such verses really mean, worshiping someone else by the command of Allah? Allah Himself ordering for Shirk? Of course not! Neither Allah stated that to the angels nor Joseph ordered such to his father to fall in prostration for him, even though he was a prophet (and his father was a prophet too). The following is what the interpretation of the verse [12:100] brings on the desk, a Shia interpretation by Ahlul Bayt though:
So it is now clear that such prostration was indeed for respecting him but praying Allah, and of course Jacob --peace be upon him-- was not a Mushrik. Now let me add one point, in one verse Allah stress that:
This verse has an apparent meaning (Tafseer) and some hidden meanings (Ta'weel). You may like to think about the apparent meaning of the verse how herbs and the trees prostrate to Allah, do they bow or what? This can shift your understanding of deeds in Islam. Actually even someone when greets another person from a far distance that the second person couldn't hear his voice, he may simply put his hand over his chest, recite the greeting slowly (enough to show he is saying something) and bend very slightly so that the second person understands he is saying a greeting to him. And who can ever claim this slight bending is praying someone beside Allah and thus Shirk? Another example is such a respecting tradition done at the beginning and ending of a fight in some martial arts. If it was the case that any bending was to be considered as Shirk a practicing Muslim should have been so careful all the times never to bend when something or someone is standing or sleeping or walking in front of him, tying his shoes or scraching his knees or picking up something mistakenly dropped on the ground from his hand and etc ... That way, the life would have been quite difficult and it is clear that Islam categorizes such a way of thinking as وسواس (Satanic inspirations from inside). Therefore, all that I can say is that the intention is the ultimate point, judging and interpreting any deed highly depends on its background intention and it is backed by a famous Hadeeth from Imam Redha peace be upon him: الأعمال بالنیات. Accusing the others for Shirk would of course be questioned in the Day and as Shirk is the biggest sin in Islam wrongly accusing someone for that would be the biggest wrong blame. Thus here I stress over the fact that Specifically Shia Muslims, who go to Ziyarah at the shrines, don't prostrate for Ahlul Bayt --peace be upon them-- or their descendants or other saints. We pray Allah near them but not toward them, rather only toward Qiblah (although an encouraged Salah need not be toward Qiblah, it can be done even while walking and etc, but anyway, certainly the graves are not Qiblah to those who are doing the Ziyarah). For your interest, we do not agree that prostration can be easily practiced by anyone in front of anyone. Indeed we do not do that at all but in front of Allah and while being at a Fardh prayer then also only toward Qiblah. This answer encourages the questioner to ask the people who are doing such Ziyarah's, case by the case, about their intentions, before to judge them. And last but by no means least, note that all the Muslims pray toward a stone-made buiding named ka'bah and no one can raise the question if it is Shirk. Both worshiping and Shirk should be fully understood before judging the others if they are Mushrik or not. PS. What follows are the points I can say about another answer given by brother @Suhaib:
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