Question: While it is certain that our Prophet "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' is dead, which is clearly declared in the thirtieth ayat of Zumar Sura, is it justifiable to go on asking for shafaat from the dead by visiting graves? Since we read the ayats, "All shafaats are accomplished with Allah's permission" and "Only the person whom He permits can intercede with Him" and "The shafaat of intercessors will be of no avail to them," isn't the term "Shafaat, O Messenger of Allah!' the most loathsome shirk?

Answer: The ayats quoted above, let alone showing that there is no shafaat, show that shafaat will be performed. If a person who knows Arabic attempts to interpret Qur'an al- karim, he will, as above, infer wrong, even opposite meanings and thus slip out of the right way. Unaware of the fact that his faith and iman has been undermined, and perhaps smeared with disbelief, he thinks of himself as a true Muslim and struggles to vilify true Muslims. If Qur'an al-karim could be understood by knowing the Arabic language well, the Arabian Christians in Beirut should have understood Qur'an al-karim better than anyone else. But, in fact, they have understood nothing of Qur'an al-karim and have not even been honored with becoming Muslims.

To understand the meaning of Qur'an al-karim, it is necessary to learn well branches of knowledge such as 'ilm-i lughat, 'ilm-i matn-i lughat 'ilm-i badi', 'ilm-i bayan, 'ilm-i ma'ani, 'ilm-i balaghat, 'ilm-i usul-i tafsir, to be profoundly learned in the complementary branches of knowledge such as sarf and nahw (Arabic grammar) and logic, to know well the clear meanings, the included meanings, the divinely aimed meanings of ayats, the meanings necessitated by them, when, why and for whom each ayat al-karima descended, and with which hadith ash-Sharifs and how ayat al-karimas are explained. Only such deeply learned savants can interpret Qur'an al-karim. That is, they can understand the divine meaning from the divine word. The attempt of a person with no such knowledge to interpret Qur'an al- karim is similar to an elementary student attempting to read university books or to perform chemical experiments. We have often read in newspapers that many a such poor person fell victim to his own experiments. Those who do not possess all this knowledge should resort to tafsirs, from which they will try to understand the meanings which learned people understood and wrote. Reading and understanding tafsirs require knowing Arabic and the complementary branches of knowledge well. We, who know nothing of these branches, can understand nothing from tafsirs. If we, relying on the diplomas which we acquired from high schools and faculties, attempt to dive into the knowledge of tafsir, of which we are so unaware, we will destroy ourselves. Like a certified person who goes out in the sea though he does not know how to swim, we would have behaved ignorantly, stupidly.

The great savants of tafsir, who were specialized in the branches of knowledge mentioned above and who have been distinguished people of the Islamic world for centuries, and the exalted savants of the Islamic din, who have been praised in the hadith ash-Sharif "Al-'ulama (scholars) are prophets' inheritors," did not interpret the ayat al- karimas existing in the question above as the questioner understands them. With their deep knowledge and keen insight, they understood their correct meanings. They declared that the divine meaning was not so.

Hadrat Qadi Baidawi, with whom the savants of tafsir crown themselves and who is the master of the specialists of this branch, interprets these ayat al-karimas as follows in his world-famous tafsir, which is one of the basic pillars of the din:

He interprets the thirtieth ayat al-karima of Zumar Sura: "You will die. Those disbelievers will die, too. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will settle up with each other in the presence of Allah. It will be revealed that you are right, and the polytheists are wrong, corrupt." It is written in Tafsir-i Husaini and also in the tafsir of Mawakib, which is a translation of the former, "The disbelievers of Mecca said, "Muhammad "alaihis- salam" will die, and we will get rid of him.' And Allahu ta'ala declared: "Yes, you will die. But those polytheists also will surely die. It is blatant ignorance for those people who will certainly die to wait for another's death.' " This ayat al-karima was revealed in order to explain that the disbelievers were on the wrong path. It does not state anything indicating that Rasulullah "sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam' will become senseless, soulless earth after dying, nor does it even imply anything approximating to it. Death means to leave worldly life. This is not to be interpreted as the annihilation of the life in the grave or as the death of the soul.

As for the forty-fourth ayat al-karima of Zumar Sura, it is interpreted as: "The disbelievers of the Quraish say that their idols will intercede for them. Tell them that no one can intercede without Allahu ta'ala's permission." It is so wrong to interpret an ayat al- karima declaring that "idols and statues cannot intercede" to mean that "Rasulullah cannot intercede." Rasulullah "sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam' will be allowed to intercede, and he will intercede for those Believers whom he likes. Also, the interpretation of Ayat-al Kursi in Baqara Sura communicates that this is so.

And the forty-eighth ayat al-karima of Muddassir Sura is interpreted as: "If those who are allowed to intercede do so for the disbelievers, their intercession will not be helpful to the disbelievers."

As it is understood, all the ayat al-karimas declare that shafaat, that is, helping Believers, will be permitted and disbelievers will not be interceded for. There are various hadith ash-Sharifs stating that Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' will intercede for the Believers:

A hadith ash-Sharif conveyed by Hatib-i Baghdadi states: "Of my Ummat, I shall intercede for those who love my Ahl al-bayt."

A hadith ash-Sharif quoted by Imam-i Ahmad in his book Musnad states: "Of my Ummat, I shall intercede for those who have committed grave sins."

A hadith ash-Sharif quoted in Dailami's Musnad states: "I shall intercede for everybody except those who spoke ill of my Sahaba."

A hadith ash-Sharif which is, again, conveyed by Dailami, states: "Of my Ummat, I shall intercede for those who tormented their nafs and who were deceived by their nafs."

A hadith ash-Sharif conveyed by Hatib-i Baghdadi states: "Of my Ummat, I shall intercede for those with many sins."

A hadith ash-Sharif conveyed by Ibni Abi Shayba states: "On the Day of Resurrection, I shall be the first to rise out of the grave and I shall be the first to intercede."

A hadith ash-Sharif conveyed by Imam-i Muslim states: "On the Day of Resurrection, I shall intercede first."

A hadith ash-Sharif written on the twenty-eighth page of the explanation of Shir'at-ul- Islam states: "A person who does not believe in my Shafaat will not benefit from it."

The eighth of the forty hadith ash-Sharifs transmitted by Ahmad ibni Kamal Effendi states: "My shafaat has become haram (forbidden) for the person who misses my Sunnat." That is, he declared: "I shall not intercede for the person who abandons the iman which he had at his birth, the person who does not become Muslim."

A hadith ash-Sharif quoted in the books Bukhari, Muslim and Sunan states: "It has become wajib for me to intercede for the person who visits my grave."

A hadith ash-Sharif quoted by Tabarani "rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih' states: "I will be an intercessor of the person who visits my grave." These two hadith ash-Sharifs show that it is necessary to visit Rasulullah's grave.

There are many other hadith ash-Sharifs declaring that our master Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' will intercede in various ways. It is written on the sixty-seventh page of the book Milal-Nihal, "It is written in Khulasa that it is not permissible to perform namaz behind a person who disbelieves the fact that Rasulullah will intercede, the angels of kiraman katibin, or the ruyat (seeing Allahu ta'ala) in Paradise." Accordingly, you must not perform namaz behind an imam who is a Wahhabi.

The savants of the Ahl as-sunnat state that on the Day of Resurrection every prophet will intercede. Then, savants will intercede. Then, martyrs will intercede. Then, devoted Muslims will intercede, then those hafizes who recite Qur'an al-karim with tajwid but not melodiously and for Allah's sake, and then small children will intercede. Those hadith ash- Sharifs declaring that this is so are written in a brief explanation of Tazkira-i Qurtubi and also in Birghiwi Vasiyetnamesi. It is written in many books of fiqh that when performing a prayer called janaza namaz for children it is good to say, "O Allah! Make this child an intercessor!"

Those hadith ash-Sharifs declaring that the good will intercede for the sinners on the Day of Resurrection are so numerous that he who disbelieves the fact despite these hadith ash- Sharifs may be thought of as either a vulgar ignoramus or as a wretch who has been deceived by the people who have been striving to demolish Islam. Therefore, rather than thinking of the person who asks the question above as a denier of Shafaat, we will suppose that he means to say that it is not permissible to visit graves and to ask for something from a dead person.

Today some people say that it is shirk to visit the Awliya and to ask for something from the dead. They say that those who visit a Wali, those who ask for shafaat from Rasulullah are disbelievers, that is, non-Muslims. The savants of the Ahl as-sunnat prove with various documents in books of kalam and fiqh that it is permissible to pray through a dead Muslim. After explaining the janaza namaz, the book Durr-ul-mukhtar quotes the hadith ash-Sharif "I had prohibited you from visiting graves. From now on visit graves!" This hadith ash-Sharif commands us to visit graves. In explaining this, Ibni Abidin says, "On Friday, and on the days preceding and following it, a dead Muslim recognizes those who visit him. Muhammad Wasi' says that this is so and adds that hence it is understood that Friday is superior to the other days. Ibni Abi Shayba has reported that Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' used to visit the graves of the martyrs of Uhud every year and say to them, "Assalamu alaikum." It is good to visit by standing at a distance, too. Ibni Hajar says in his fatwa, "Visiting Awliya's graves should not be neglected even if there are haram (forbidden) things, e.g. if there are women among the men." For, a person does not neglect his worship because of a sin committed by another. Likewise, carrying a dead person should not be abandoned for this same reason. Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' used to go to the cemetery of Baki' in order to visit the graves of His Sahaba "ridwanullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain', and, standing, he used to address them, "Assalamu alaikum.' It is preferable to stand by the foot-side of the grave. It is permissible by the head-side as well. Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' recited a part of Baqara Sura by the head-side of a grave, and he recited the rest at its foot-side. It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif: "If the person who enters the graveyard recites Yasin Sura, on that day the torment of the dead will decrease. He will be given as many thawabs as the number of the dead.' Another hadith ash-Sharif declares: "If one recites Ikhlas Sura eleven times and sends its thawabs to the dead, one will be given as many thawabs as the number of the dead.'

It is written in the fiqh book Hidaya, "It is permissible for a person to present the thawabs of his supererogatory worships such as namaz, fast and alms to somebody else." Furthermore, while explaining zakat, the book Tatarhaniyya states, "If a person who gives supererogatory alms intends that its thawab be given to all Believers, it will be very good. Without any decrease in his own thawab, the thawab will reach all Believers. Such is the Madhhab of the Ahl as-sunnat wal-jamaat. According to the Hanafi and Hanbali Madhhabs, also the thawab of worships done with the body such as namaz and reading Qur'an al-karim can be offered as a gift in this manner. The Mutazila group believes that none of them can be offered as a gift. These are written at length in the book Fath-ul-Qadir. Also, the savants of the Shafi'i Madhhab have said that the Qur'an al-karim recited and its prayer sent will be useful to a dead Muslim, for Allah's compassion and barakat will descend on the place where Qur'an al-karim is read. Very likely the prayer said at that time will be accepted. The thawab of the fard and nafila worships can be sent to the dead and living, too. As it is permissible to intend the blessings for others while worshipping, so it is permissible to pray for oneself and then to present the blessings to somebody else; it has been declared so. It has been stated that the blessings for worships that are fard can be presented likewise. Without being divided, the thawab will reach as a whole to each of those to whom it is presented. The thawab of any kind of worship can be sent to the blessed soul of Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam', too. Abdullah ibni 'Umar used to perform 'Umra on behalf of Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam'. He did so although Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' had not told him to do so after his death. Ibnissarraj read the entire Qur'an al-karim more than ten thousand times for Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam'. He also sacrificed an animal (and intended its thawab) for his blessed soul. It has been said that his grade and honor will increase with these presents."

Hadrat Abdulhaq-i Dahlawi states on the hundred and thirty-second page of the second volume of his Persian book Madarij-un-Nubuwwat, "In the ghaza of Badr, seventy soldiers from the disbelievers' army, which consisted of more than nine hundred soldiers, were killed. Twenty-four of them were thrown into a ditch full of carrion. Rasulullah "sall- Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' came near the ditch three days later. Mentioning the names of a few of them, he declared: "Have you received the torments which your Rabb (Allah) and His Messenger communicated? I have attained the victory which my Rabb promised me.' Upon hearing this, 'Umar "radi-Allahu 'anh' said, "O Rasulallah! Why are you talking to the lifeless dead?' He declared: "You do not hear my words better than they do! But they cannot answer.' This hadith ash-Sharif is reported unanimously by the savants of Hadith. This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the dead as well as the alive hear, but the former cannot answer. Another hadith ash-Sharif communicated in Muslim-i Sharif declares: "As a congregation disassembles after an interment, the dead person hears the steps." When visiting the Baqi cemetery, Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' used to greet the dead being there, and he used to talk to them. Could anything be said to a person who does not hear or understand? Indeed, it would be quite absurd.

Question: A dead person's hearing the steps indicates that he will hear until he answers the questions of the angels. Does this come to mean that he will always hear?

Answer: The hadith ash-Sharif does not say that he will hear until he answers the questions. Later he will be enlivened again so that he will hear the questions and answer them, yet this hearing is different from that one.

Question: A dead person hears Rasulullah's "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' words only. And this is a mujiza (the Prophet's miracle). How can it ever be correct to say that he will hear anybody's words?

Answer: Limiting or otherwise explaining something which is clearly stated in a hadith ash-Sharif requires proving that the thing cannot be as it is stated clearly. Allahu ta'ala is able to make the dead hear without ears and nerves, in a way unknown to us.

Question: It is declared in the thirty-fifth ayat al-karima of Fatir Sura: "You cannot make the dead hear. You are not the one who causes the one in the grave to hear!" How can that hadith ash-Sharif be true despite this ayat? The answer given to Hadrat 'Umar "radi-Allahu 'anh' may be "knowing better," and it may have been conveyed to us erroneously as "hearing better," for the dead certainly know the matters of the next world better than the living.

Answer: No Muslim can think that there may be an error in a hadith ash-Sharif reported by such a dependable person as Hadrat 'Umar "radi-Allahu 'anh'. As for this ayat al- karima, it means, "You cannot make the dead hear. Allahu ta'ala makes your voice heard." Rasulullah "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' had been striving so that the disbelievers of Mecca would have iman. He had been worrying because they would not believe. This ayat al-karima descended at that time. The statement, "You cannot make the dead hear," means, "You cannot make the dead hearts, i.e. disbelievers, attain iman." Disbelievers' bodies are likened to graves and their hearts to the dead. Hadith-i-Sharifs and the books of great men of din state that the dead hear and understand. No reports canceling these reports have been given. Please read my English book Advice for the Muslim.

It is declared in the seventeenth ayat al-karima of Anfal Sura: "You did not shoot (the arrows which you shot at the disbelievers); Allahu ta'ala shot (them)." By misunderstanding this ayat al-karima, it would be wrong to say that man does not do his actions or to think that it is not permissible to ask for something from a man. If the case were so, such words as "the tree gave fruit," "the food nourished me," "the medicine stopped the pain," and "the stone broke the window," would be wrong, and they would be sins. In fact, those who interpret this ayat al-karima erroneously always use many such phrases. These words and the like mean "The said thing became a cause, a means for the action of the said work." For example, the stone caused the window to break. Allahu ta'ala, alone, makes, creates everything. There is no creator besides Allahu ta'ala. It would be shirk (to attribute a partner to Allahu ta'ala) to say that man created such and such a thing. It would be a very despicable word. But Allahu ta'ala has made men means for His creating many things. This is His divine 'adat.

Tafsir-i Baidawi interprets this ayat al-karima as follows: "O Muhammad! That handful of soil which you threw at the disbelievers was not brought to their eyes by you. Allahu ta'ala brought it to their eyes. Or, the bayonet which you threw at Ubayya ibni Halaf in the ghaza of Uhud was not thrust into that disbeliever's body by you. Allahu ta'ala thrust it." It is written in the tafsirs of Husaini and Mazhari, "On account of acquiring, wishing and causing, "man did the actions' is stated. And on account of creating, "Allah made them' is stated. Allahu ta'ala declares: "Dawud (the Prophet David) killed Jalut (Goliath).' On the other hand, He declares to Hadrat Muhammad, "Not you, but I threw it.' Thus He implies that Hadrat Muhammad's grade is more exalted."

The seventy-eighth ayat of Nisa Sura purports: "O man! Every favor that comes upon you comes as a kindness, a blessing from Allahu ta'ala. And every care and nuisance comes as a requite for your evil-doings. Allahu ta'ala creates and sends them all." [Allahu ta'ala sends sorrows and disasters not as a retribution for sins, but as a blessing that will bring about an absolution from sins.] As it is seen, Allahu ta'ala creates many things through causes. To cling to the causes, to expect and to ask from the causes means to expect and to ask from Him. And asking for shafaat from the Prophet "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam' is like asking for medicine from a doctor and expecting rain from the clouds. Clinging to such causes is not attributing partners to Allahu ta'ala, but it is following His 'adat and obeying Him. He declares: "He who wants to obey Me should obey My Messenger!"

The Mutazila group disbelieved the fact that there will be shafaat. The couplet "The good will intercede for those with sins as big as mountains," in the qasida of Amali states that there will be shafaat. An explanation of this qasida, with the title Nuhbat-ul-lali, has been published by Hakikat Kitabevi.

Also to make a vow to a Wali by observing its conditions means to entreat Allahu ta'ala by making use of a blessed person as an intermediary, since one considers oneself so sinful that one does not have the face to pray. For example, as it has been experienced many times, the wish is accepted when stated as, "Let it be my vow that if my sick (relative etc.) becomes well, or if my such and such job is accomplished, I will read Yasin Sura three times, or I will sacrifice a sheep for Allahu ta'ala's sake, its thawab being upon Hadrat Sayyidat Nafisa." Here, the sura of Yasin is read three times, or the sheep is sacrificed, for Allahu ta'ala's sake, its thawab is donated to Hadrat Sayyidat Nafisa, through whose intercession Allahu ta'ala heals the sick person or removes the nuisance or repels the accident. It is haram to sacrifice the sheep near a grave. It should not be slaughtered near a grave; it should not resemble the idolaters' slaughtering it near an idol. According to a hadith ash-Sharif which Ibni Abidin quotes while explaining how to perform the supererogatory namaz as a vow, a worship which has been vowed for the fulfillment of a wish does not fulfill the wish. The worship is not done for the fulfillment of the wish. Allahu ta'ala, having pity because of the worship or because of a favor done to a beloved slave of His, accepts and bestows the wish.

It is written in Sharh-i maqasid, "According to philosophers, for recognizing things it is necessary that their images be formed on the sense organs. When man dies and his soul leaves his body, the sense organs do not function, they become rotten and disintegrate. It becomes impossible to recognize things. When the condition for the occurrence of something ceases to exist, that thing does not occur, they say. In response to them, we say that recognizing things does not require the sense organs. For, things are recognized with their images, appearances being formed neither on the sense organs nor on the soul. Furthermore, it would be an unsubstantiated, dry claim to say that the image cannot be formed directly on the soul without having to be formed on the sense organs. According to the Islamic belief, the soul, after leaving the body, acquires a new comprehension and capacity of perceiving the states of the living, especially the states of those people whom he knew when he was in the world. For this reason, by visiting the graves of the Awliya "qaddasAllahu ta'ala asrarah-um-ul-'aziz' and by asking for help from their blessed souls one attains many blessings and it falls to one's lot to get rid of trouble.

After leaving the body, the soul still has a relationship with the body and with the soil holding the body. If a person visits this soil and turns towards the soul of a Wali, their souls meet with each other and derive benefits from each other."

It is written in Tafsir-i kabir, "When man's soul, leaving the body, gets rid of his worldly relations, he goes to the world of angels, to the sacred ranks. The forces peculiar to that world settle on him. He can do many things. For example, a person can dream of his master, and learn what he does not know by asking his master." Fakhr-ud-din-i Radi says in the eighteenth chapter of his book Almatalib-ul-aliyya, "If one goes to the grave of a Wali who has a mature soul, a pure nafs and strong effectiveness, and if he stays there for a while thinking of the Wali, his soul gets attached to the soil. Since the Wali's soul is attached to the soil too, one's soul will meet the Wali's soul. The two souls will be like two mirrors opposite each other. The marifats, the maturities in each of them will be reflected on the other. They both will gain many benefits." Hadrat Ala'uddin-i Attar "rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih' said, "He who visits the graves of shaikhs will get as much of an advantage as he understands them and gets attached to them. Many advantages are derived from their graves. But it is more useful to get attached to their souls, [that is, to practice rabita]. For, being far or near does not have any effect in this"

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