Ruling on going to astrologers and believing them

 

Is it permissible to go to astrologers and to believe what they say, or not?
Al-Nasaa’i narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The prayer of the one who goes to them and believes them will not be accepted.” Is this correct? Please explain to us what was narrated from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and what the scholars have said.

Praise be to Allaah. 

There are many ahaadeeth
which state that this is haraam, such as the hadeeth narrated from Safiyah
bint Abi ‘Ubayd from one of the wives of the Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), who narrated that he said: “Whoever
goes to a soothsayer and asks him about something and believes him, his
prayer will not be accepted for forty days.” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh).

 Qusaybah ibn
al-Mukhaariq said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘Al-‘ayaafah,
al-tiyarah and al-turuq [kinds of augury] are all part of al-jabt
[witchcraft or idolatry].’” This was narrated by Abu Dawood with a saheeh
isnaad. Abu Dawood said: Al-‘ayaafah,
al-khatt and al-turuq are all kinds of augury, whereby a bird
is released and is watched to see whether it flies to the right or to the
left. If it flies to the right it is taken as a good omen and if it flies
to the left it is taken as a bad omen. Al-Jawhari said: al-jabt
is a word which may be applied to idols, soothsayers, magicians,
astrologers etc.

 It was narrated that
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
seeks knowledge from the stars is seeking one of the branches of
witchcraft…” Narrated by Abu Dawood with a saheeh
isnaad.

 It was narrated that
Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I am
still close to the time of Jaahiliyyah [i.e., I am new in Islam]. Allaah
has brought Islam to us, but there are among us men who go to soothsayers
(fortune tellers).’ He said, ‘Do not go to them.’ I said, ‘And
there are men among us who practise augury [watch birds for omens].’ He
said, ‘That is something which they make up. Do not believe them.’”
(Narrated by Muslim).

 It was narrated from
Abu Mas’ood al-Badri that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade the price of a dog, the fee of a
prostitute and the payment of a soothsayer. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and
Muslim).

 It was reported that
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “Some people asked
the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
about soothsayers. He said, ‘They are nothing.’ They said, ‘O
Messenger of Allaah, sometimes they say something and it comes true.’
The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: ‘That is a word of truth that the jinn snatches and whispers into
the ear of his familiar, but they mix a hundred lies with it.’”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).

 It was narrated from
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to
a soothsayer and believes what he says, or has intercourse with a woman in
her back passage, has nothing to do with that which has been revealed to
Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” (Narrated by
Abu Dawood).

 … The scholars have
stated that it is haraam to deal with such matters or to go to find out
about them or to believe in them. It is haraam to pay them money, and
anyone who is suffering from any of these things must hasten to repent
from it. And Allaah knows best.

Will good deeds avail a person anything if he dies as a kaafir?

 

When a non-muslim, leads the life in this
world not committing any major sins, doing all good deeds as he can, and lives as a very
good human-being and dies as a non-muslim, will he be going to heaven because of good
deeds or will be led into hell since he was not a muslim and (knowingly or unknowingly)not
accepted the oneness of Allah?
Please clarify.

Praise be to Allaah.

If a person dies following a religion other than Islam, then
Paradise will be forbidden for him, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with
Allâh, then Allâh has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode”
[al-Maa’idah 5:72]

Good deeds done by a person whilst he is a kaafir will not
benefit him in the Hereafter at all, because Allaah says (interpretation of
the meanings):

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will
never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

“And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers,
polytheists, sinners) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating
particles of dust” [al-Furqaan 25:23]

“Those who deny Our Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses,
lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and the Meeting in the Hereafter (Day of
Resurrection,), vain are their deeds. Are they requited with anything except
what they used to do?” [al-A’raaf 7:147]

‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) a question similar to that asked here. She (may Allaah be
pleased with her) said: “O Messenger of Allaah, during the Jaahiliyyah
Ibn Jud’aan used to uphold the ties of kinship and feed the poor. Will
that be of any avail to him?” He said, “No, that will not be of any
avail to him, because he never said ‘O Lord, forgive me my sins on the
Day of Judgement.’” (Narrated by Imaam Muslim – may Allaah
have mercy on him) in his Saheeh, 214).

But if the kaafir never heard about Islam and Da’wah never
reached him, then Allaah will test him on the Day of Resurrection (please see
Question #1244). And Allaah knows best.

Is this durood shirk?

 

Is it shirk to recite this darood :


“ALLAHUMA SALL-E-WASALLIM  ‘ALAA SAYEDINA MOHAMMADIN QAD DAQAT HEELATI ADRIKNI YA RASOOL ALLAH "

Praise be to Allaah. 

Yes, this counts as shirk, because
it is seeking the help of the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and complaining about one’s
situation to him. This implies that the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) can hear the call of those
who call upon him in any place, and that he helps those who seek his
help, and that he can relieve their distress. The Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not able to do this
when he was alive, so how about after his death? He does not know the
unseen, and he does not possess the power to cause harm or bring benefits
to himself or to others. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):

“Say
(O Muhammad): “I possess no power over benefit or hurt to myself except
as Allaah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghayb (Unseen), I should
have secured for myself an abundance of wealth” (al-A’raaf 7:188)

“And
your Lord said: “Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism)
and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation)” (Ghaafir
40:60)

“And when My slaves ask you
(O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to
them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant
when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor)” (al-Baqarah
2:186)

 So
people should not call on anyone except Allaah; they should not seek
the help of anyone except Him; they should not place their hopes in
anyone except Him; they should not put their trust in anyone except
Him. Allaah alone is the One in Whose hand is sovereignty and goodness,
and He is Able to do all things.

 Knowing
the unseen, relieving distress, hearing the call of those who call upon
Him and responding to them, are all things which only the Lord does.
Whoever attributes any of these things to anyone else is a mushrik who
is guilty of major shirk (shirk akbar).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):

“Is
not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when
he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors
of the earth, generations after generations? Is there any ilaah (god)
with Allaah? Little is that you remember!” (al-Naml 27:62)

“Say:
None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghayb (Unseen) except Allaah”
(al-Naml 27:65)

 Allaah
is the One Who forgives sins, relieves distress and knows what is in
people’s hearts. People should not seek these things – forgiveness of
sins, relief from distress and other things which no one is able to
do except Allaah – from anyone other than Him, for He is the Only One
Who is able to do that.

Is it permissible to give the reward of an action to someone who offered sacrifices to someone other than Allaah out of ignorance?

 

According to what he has been told, his father offered sacrifices to someone other than Allaah. Now he wants to offer charity on his father’s behalf and perform Hajj on his behalf, and he blames his father’s falling into that (sin) on the fact that there were no scholars or teachers to advise him. What is the ruling on all of that?

Praise be to Allaah. 

If his father is known to have been a good and righteous
Muslim, he should not believe anything that he is told to the contrary
by those who  are not of sound character. It is Sunnah for him
to make du’aa’ for him and to give charity on his behalf, unless he
knows for sure that his father died in shirk.
That knowledge would come about if he has the testimony of two or more
sound witnesses who can testify that they saw him offering a sacrifice
to someone other than Allaah, such as the occupant of a grave, etc.,
or heard him calling upon anyone other than Allaah. If that happens,
then he should refrain from making du’aa’ for him, and his case rests
with Allaah, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked his Lord for permission
to pray for forgiveness for his mother, and Allaah did not give him
permission, although she had died during the Jaahiliyyah as a follower
of the religion of the kuffaar. Then he asked his Lord for permission
to visit her grave, and He gave him permission. That indicates that
whoever dies in shirk,
even if he is ignorant, we cannot make du’aa’ for him, or pray for forgiveness
for him, or give charity on his behalf, or perform Hajj on his behalf.
As for those who die in places which the call of Allaah has not reached,
their case rests with Allaah.

 The correct scholarly view is that they will be tested
on the Day of Resurrection; if they obey, they will go to Paradise and
if they disobey they will go to Hell, because of the saheeh ahaadeeth
which have been narrated describing that. 

Is it permissible to call upon a dead wali (“saint”) or Hazrat ‘Ali

 

forgive me, I have more than 1 question.


1. Is the Prophet Sallalahu Alaihe Wasallam or any other being apart from Allah Omnipresent?


2. Can we call on anyone in times of need ie. a dead saint or Hazrat Ali Radialahahu anhu etc?


Please could you quote the relevent Hadith and Qur'an Ayahs

Praise be to Allaah. 

First of all, we must comment on your saying in your
question, “or any other being apart from Allah…” We must point out that
this wording is wrong, because it may be taken as meaning that you think
that Allaah is a created being; but we are sure that you do not believe
that. 

Firstly:

Allaah said to His Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):

“Verily, you (O Muhammad) will die,
and verily, they (too) will die” [al-Zumar 39:30]  

And Allaah said (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Muhammad is no more than a Messenger, and indeed
(many) Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed,
will you then turn back on your heels (as disbelievers)?” [Aal
‘Imraan 3:144]

“And We granted not to any human being
immortality before you (O Muhammad); then if you die, would they live
forever? [al-Anbiyaa’ 21:34]  

Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said, in his speech after the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had died, “Whoever used
to worship Muhammad, Muhammad has died, but whoever used to worship
Allaah, Allaah is Alive and will never die.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari).

This and similar evidence
indicates that Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was a human being like all other
human beings, who died as they die, and will never be immortal just
as no one before him was immortal.

Whoever wants to put the Prophet
beyond the human realm and claim that the Prophet is present in all
places, is the one who should be asked to produce evidence (daleel).
How does he know that the Prophet is omnipresent at all times? Moreover,
those who make the same claim with regard to Allaah (should know that)
this is kufr, deviation and misguidance. This belief implies that Allaah
is present even in dirty places like bathrooms etc. – Glorified be Allaah
far above what they say.

Secondly:

-                    
You have to read the book Fath al-Majeed Sharh Kitaab
al-Tawheed, by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Hasan.

-                    
Know that du’aa’ and asking for help are forms of worship, as
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me [i.e. believe in
My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond
to your (invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not
invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they
will surely enter Hell in humiliation!’” [Ghaafir
40:40]

And according to a report
narrated by al-Tirmidhi, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Du’aa’ is worship.”

 So it is not permissible
to offer du’aa’ to or call upon anyone except Allaah. But the evidence
indicates that it is permissible to ask another person for some things,
but that is subject to two conditions : 

1-                 
That it should be something possible and the person should be
able to do it, such as asking a person to give you money when you are
in need of it. But if it is something that he is not able to do, then
it is not permissible for you to ask him, such as asking a man to let
you be one of the people of Paradise, because he is not able to do that
even if he is a righteous and pious man.

2-                 
The person who is asked should be capable, such as one who is
alive. It is not permissible to call upon the dead, as Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“And those, whom
you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmeer (the
thin membrane over the date stone).

If
you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in
case) they were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you
[Faatir 35:13-14]