Allah kī sar ta baqadam shān haiN yeh,
in-sā nahīN insān, woh insān haiN yeh,
Qur’an tu īmān batātā inhaiN,
īman yeh kehta hai merī jān haiN yeh
– hada`iq e bahakshish
Imam Ahmad Rida Khan Baraylawi
Translated by Abu Hanzala
(Released by www.aqdas.co.uk)
Question
It is the unanimous belief of Ahlu’s Sunnah wa’l Jama’ah that Sayyīdina Abū Bakr al-Siddīq radiyAllahu ‘anh is the best of men after the Prophets ‘alaihim assalam. Zayd and Khālid are both Sayyids. Zayd says that whoever gives precedence to ‘Alī radiyAllahu ‘anh over Abū Bakr Siddīq radiyAllahu ‘anh; Salâh behind such a person is makrūh. Khālid says that I openly proclaim that ‘Alī radiyAllahu ‘anh has precedence over Abū Bakr Siddīq radiyAllahu ‘anh and every Sayyid is Tafdīli and Salah behind Tafdīlis is not makrūh. Moreover, whoever says that Salah behind Tafdīlis is makrūh; then Salah behind such a person is itself makrūh.
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Answer
There is a consensus of all Ahlu’s Sunnah that Siddīq Akbar and Fārūq A’adham radiyAllahu ‘anhuma are greater than Mawla ‘Alī karramAllahu ta’ala wajhahu’l karim. It has been explained by the Imāms that whoever gives precedence to Mawla ‘Alī upon these two is an innovator and heretic and Salah behind such a person is makrūh. Fatawa Khulasa, Fath al-Qadīr, Bahr al-Ra’iq and Fatawa Alamgīrī and many other books have it: Inna fadla ‘Aliyyan ‘alaihima famubtadi’ [If someone gives precedence to ‘Alī over Siddīq and Fārūq, he is a Mubtadi]. It is in Ghunya and Radd al-Muhtar: Salah behind a heretic is makruh in all cases. It is in Arkan Arba’a: Salah behind a Tafdili Shi’a is strongly prohibited. Strongly prohibited means makrūh tahrīman; performing it is a sin and it is wājib to repeat.
And Allah ta’āla knows best.
imām ahl as-sunnah imām aĥmad razā al-qâdrī
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1. sach’chī bāt sikhāte ye haiN
sīdhī rāh chalātey ye haiN
2. TūTī nāw tirāte ye haiN
hiltī nīw jamātey ye haiN
3. TūTī ās bandhāte ye haiN
chūTī nabz chalātey ye haiN
4. qaşr e danā tak kis ki rasāyī
jātey ye haiN ātey ye haiN
5. us ki bakh-shish in kā şadqā
detā wo hai dilātey ye haiN
6. un ke hāth meiN har kunjī hai
mālik e kull kahlātey ye haiN
7. innā aáţaynāka’l kawthar
sārī kasrat pātey ye haiN
8. rabb hai muúţī yeh haiN qāsim
rizq us kā hai khilātey ye haiN
9. apni banī ham āp bigāDeN
kawn banāye? banātey ye haiN
10. lākhoN balāyeN karoroN dushman
kawn bachāye bachātey ye haiN
11. nazáa e rūĥ meiN āsāni dey
kalimah yād dilātey ye haiN
12. marqad meiN bandoN ko thapak kar
mīthī nīnd sulātey ye haiN
13. bāp jahāN beTey se bhāgey
luţf wahāN farmātey ye haiN
14. māN jab iklautey ko choRey
aa aa kah ke bulātey ye haiN
15. ik sajdey meiN gir kar apnī
girtī ummat uThātey ye haiN
16. THanDā THanDā mīthā mīthā
pītey ham haiN pilātey ye haiN
17. keh do razā se khush ho kush rah
muzhdah razā ka sunātey ye haiN
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Translation:
1. He (RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam) is the one who teaches us the true word;
And it is he who makes us tread the right path
2. He makes our scuttled ship to sail
It is he who fastens the shaky sails
3. He strengthens our lost hopes
And he makes faltering pulses to beat steadily
4. Who has ever reached the heights of Danā
It is he, who goes and comes unhindered! (a reference to the heights RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam reached in the night of miýrāj)
5. It is surely Allāh táālā who forgives, but as a charity of RasūlAllāh
It is Allāh táālā who gives; and it is RasūlAllāh who distributes.
6. All the keys are in the hands of RasūlAllāh
He is known as the master of all.
7. By the virtue of the verse “O beloved, We have given thee Al-Kawthar”
It is he who has received the most of every good thing.
8. Allāh is the giver and Rasul is the distributor
Rizq (sustenance) is from Allāh, and he feeds us.
9. Even that is which is getting along well is ruined by us
Who sets these matters right? It is him; our master.
10. A million troubles; a billion enemies
Who saves us from them? It is him; our master.
11. During the agony of final moments, while in throes of death
He comforts us by reminding us the kalimah
12. In the grave, he pats us tenderly,
And makes us fall into a sweet sleep
13. On that day, when father flees from his own son
It is he who protects us.
14. When a mothers shall desert her only dear child
It is he who calls us lovingly towards himself
15. He falls on the ground in prostration,
To save his failing ummah from falling.
16. The cool and sweet drinks (at the kawthar and beyond)
Is what we drink and it is he, who gives us the drink.
17. Tell Raza to be joyful and remain happy forever
[O Raza] It is he who gives the glad tidings of raza [raza=Allāh is Pleased]
There are two types of prostration that are forbidden:
Sajdah Ibadāh: It is the unanimous and accepted belief of all Muslims that only Allah Ta’āla is worthy of worship and Sajdah Ibadāh can only be made for Him. Prostrating in worship to anything or anyone besides Allah ta’āla is Shirk (polytheism), the most severe Kufr (disbelief).
It is stated in the blessed Qur’an:
Worship Allah only and do not ascribe anyone as His partner. (Sūrah an-Nisa, Verse 36)
Sajdah Ibadāh was never permissible for anyone.
Do not prostrate to the sun or the moon but prostrate to Allah. (Surah Hā-Meem, Verse 37)
Sajdah Ta’zīmī: In the previous Ummah, for e.g. the Ummah of Prophet Yūsuf ‘alayhis salam, the performance of Sajdah Ta’zīmī was permissible.
The blessed Qur’an states:
And remember when We ordered the Angels to prostrate to Adam. (Sūrah Baqarah, Verse 34)
They (the parents and brothers of Prophet Yūsuf ‘alayhis salam) fell in prostration to him. (Sūrah Yūsuf, Verse 100)
In our Sharī’a, i.e. the Sharī’a of Sayyidunā Muhammad Mustafa sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, Sajdah Ta’zīmī is prohibited. Hence, prostrating to respect a Prophet álayhis salâm, any Walī, the Holy Ka’aba, a spiritual Shaykh, tombs of a Walī, parents, etc. is Haram and contrary to the Sharī’a of Islam. This is proven from the blessed Qur’ân, blessed Hadīth and rulings of the ‘Ulama of Islam.
The blessed Quran: ‘Abd bin Hamīd reports in his Musnad that Imām Hasan Basrī radiyAllāhu ‘anh stated:
A Sahabī submitted to the noble Messenger of Allah sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “We greet you like how we greet one another. Should we not prostrate to you?” The beloved Messenger of Allah sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied, “No, but respect your Nabī and Sajdah is the right of Allah alone. Make Sajdah for Him because prostrating to anyone besides Him is not permitted.”
Due to this occurrence, verse 80 of Sūrah Aale ‘Imran and a few verses prior to it were revealed.
Allah ta’āla states:
Will he order you to do disbelief even though you have become Muslims. (Sūrah Aale ‘Imran, verse 80)
Although some Mufassirīn [commentators] of the blessed Qur’an have commented that this verse was revealed concerning the Christians of Najraan, but the general body of Mufassirīn, e.g. Imām Rāzī, Imām an-Nasafī, Imām as-Suyūtī, ‘Allama Sulayman Jamal, etc. have cited the first incident as the reason for the revelation of this verse. [Refer to Tafsīr al-Kabīr, Tafsīr Madarik, Tafsīr Jalalyn, Hāshiya Jamal ala Jalalyn, etc. under this verse.]
So, it is established that when some of the blessed Sahaba [companions] asked the beloved Messenger of Allah sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam to permit them to perform a Sajdah of respect, he sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam objected and said that Sajdah must be made for Allah Ta’āla alone!
The word ‘Kufr’ was used in the Qur’an to demonstrate the great degree of prohibition on an act such as Sajdah Ta’zīmī, i.e. it is the likeness of disbelief (kufr suwarī).
Blessed Hadīths: There are many Prophetic traditions that can be cited but for the sake of brevity, we present only three Hadīths.
Abū Hurayrah radiyAllāhu ‘anh states that the beloved Messenger of Allah sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said,
If I were to allow anyone to perform prostration before another, I would have ordered a woman to prostrate to her husband. (Mishkat al-Masabīh, pp. 281, with reference to Tirmidhī)
Mullah ‘Alī Qarī comments under the Hadīth,
[The performance of] prostration for ghayr (other than) Allah is [totally] impermissible. (Mirqat 3:467)
Qais bin Sa’ad radiyAllāhu ‘anh states,
I visited the city of Heera where I saw that the people were performing Sajdah for their leaders. In my heart I pondered over the thought that [surely] the beloved Messenger of Allah sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is much more worthy of prostration.” The blessed companion then related what he witnessed to the noble Messenger sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and said that the noble Prophet sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam was more worthy of prostration. The beloved Messenger sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam asked him, “If you pass my blessed Rawdah (resting place), will you prostrate to it?” He answered, “No.” The beloved Messenger of Allah sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam then said, “Don’t ever prostrate to it. If I were to command prostration [to anyone], I would certainly order women to prostrate to their husbands.” (Mishkat al-Masabīh, pp. 286, with reference to Abū Dawūd)
The mother of the believers, Sayyidāh Ayesha rađiyAllāhu ‘anha reports that the Master of both worlds sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said,
May the curse of Allah be upon the Jews and Christians as they have made the graves of their Prophets places to which they prostrate. (Mishkat al-Masabīh, pp. 69, with reference to Bukharī and Muslim)
The Muĥaddithīn have explained that the Jews and Christians would prostrate towards the graves and tombs of their Prophets. Refer to Mullah Alī Qarī’s, Mirqat [1:456] and Shaykh al-Muhaqqiq ‘Abd-al Haqq’s, Ashi’atul Lam’āt [1:330].
Rulings of the ‘Ulama: Shah ‘Abd-al Azīz Muhaddith ad-Dehlwī states,
There is ‘Ijma (consensus) on such prostrating being prohibited. (Fatawa ‘Azīzia 1:101)
Refer to the treatise az-Zubdatu’z Zakiyyah li Taĥrīmi Sujūd at-Taĥiyyah of Shaykh al-Islam wa al-Muslimīn Imām Ahmad Razā Khān al-Qadrī for the complete discussion on this topic.
Islam 