Respect vs. Worship: Is Visiting Shrines Shirk? - Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

Yaum-e-Gham 1446 AH

Eve of 12th Shawwal 1446 AH

Thursday April 10th 2025

- The destruction of Jannatul Baqi took place on 8 Shawwāl 1343 (2 May 1925) by the Wahhabis, targeting the graves of the Ahlul Bayt, companions, and others in Medina. - Wahhabi ideology sees respect shown at graves as shirk, failing to differentiate between worship and reverence. - If not for fear of global backlash, Wahhabis might have demolished the Prophet’s grave and incorporated it into the mosque. - A fatwa from Wahhabi scholars states that prayer in a mosque containing a grave is invalid, and graves must be exhumed and relocated. - The Qur'an shows that expressions of humility, like bowing or prostrating, are not inherently acts of worship. - ‘Ibādat (worship) is defined as humility expressed toward someone believed to be God, true or false. - Prostration (sajdah) was commanded by Allah to the angels for Prophet Ādam and done by Ya‘qūb and his sons for Prophet Yūsuf, proving it’s not always worship. - Building shrines or visiting graves of righteous figures is not worship but an expression of respect and love. - No Muslim visits the graves of the Prophet or Imams with the intention of worshipping them—rather, it is a spiritual connection. - Despite the light and glory of shrines in Najaf, Karbala, Kazimayn, Samarrah, and Mashhad, Baqi remains desolate—yet the love for the Ahlul Bayt continues through remembrance and grief, especially for Sayyida Fatima.

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