The likeness of those who take Auliya' (protectors and helpers) other than Allah is as the likeness of a spider, who builds (for itself) a house, but verily, the frailest (weakest) of houses is the spider's house; if they but knew. S. 29:41
And as for those who take as Auliya' (guardians, supporters, helpers, protectors, etc.) others besides Him [i.e. they take false deities other than Allah (as) protectors, and they worship them] Allah is Hafiz (Protector) over them (i.e. takes care of their deeds and will recompense them), and you (O Muhammad SAW) are not a Wakil (guardian or a disposer of their affairs) over them (to protect their deeds, etc.). S. 42:6
Or have they taken (for worship) Auliya' (guardians, supporters, helpers, protectors, etc.) besides Him? But Allah, He ALONE is the Wali (Protector, etc.). And it is He Who gives life to the dead, and He is Able to do all things. S. 42:9
In front of them there is Hell, and that which they have earned will be of no profit to them, nor (will be of any profit to them) those whom they have taken as Auliya' (protectors, helpers, etc.) besides Allah. And theirs will be a great torment. S. 45:10
Allah has full knowledge of your enemies, and Allah is Sufficient as a Wali (Protector), and Allah is Sufficient as a Helper. S. 4:45
Verily, Allah! Unto Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, He gives life and He causes death. And besides Allah you have neither any Wali (protector or guardian) nor any helper. S. 9:116
Allah it is He Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them in six Days. Then He Istawa (rose over) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). You (mankind) have none, besides Him, as a Wali (protector or helper etc.) or an intercessor. Will you not then remember (or be admonished)? S. 32:4
And He it is Who sends down the rain after they have despaired, and spreads abroad His Mercy. And He is the Wali (Helper, Supporter, Protector, etc.), Worthy of all Praise. S. 42:28
The Quran, in many places, outright prohibits Muslims from seeking friends and protectors from any other entity besides Allah, even if they happen to be his servants like the prophets:
Do then those who disbelieve think that they can take My slaves [i.e., the angels, God's Messengers, 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), etc.] as Auliyâ' (lords, gods, protectors, etc.) besides Me? Verily, We have prepared Hell as an entertainment for the disbelievers (in the Oneness of God Islâmic Monotheism). S. 18:102
O children of Israel! call to mind My favor which I bestowed on you and that I made you excel the nations. And be on your guard against a day when ONE SOUL shall not avail ANOTHER in the least, neither shall intercession on its behalf be accepted, nor shall any compensation be taken from it, nor shall they be helped. S. 2:47-48
O children of Israel, call to mind My favor which I bestowed on you and that I made you excel the nations. And be on your guard against a day when NO SOUL shall avail ANOTHER in the least neither shall any compensation be accepted from it, nor shall intercession profit it, nor shall they be helped. S. 2:122-123
[from Faith Square]
It is not permissible for graves to be left in mosques, whether that is the grave of a wali (“saint”) or of anyone else, because the Messenger (PBUH) forbade that and warned against that, and he cursed the Jews and Christians for doing that. It was narrated that he (PBUH) said: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians, for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” [Bukhaari, 1330, Muslim, 529]
He (PBUH) also said: “When a righteous man died among them, they would build a place of worship over his grave and put those images in it. They are the most evil of mankind before Allaah.” (Al-Bukhaari, 427; Muslim, 528)
He(PBUH) said: “Those who came before you took the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship – I forbid you to do that.” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, 532, from Jundab ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Bajali).
So the Prophet (PBUH) forbade taking graves as places of worship and he cursed those who do that, stating that they are the most evil of mankind. So we must beware of that. It is known that everyone who prays at a grave (Dargah) is taking it as a place of worship, and whoever builds a mosque over a grave (Dargah) has taken it as a place of worship. So we must keep graves far away from the mosques and not put graves inside mosques, in obedience to the command of the Prophet (PBUH) and so as to avoid the curse issued by our Lord against those who build places of worship over graves, because when a person prays in a mosque in which there is a grave, the Shaytaan tempt them to call upon the deceased or to seek his help, or to pray to him or prostrate to him, thus committing major shirk (polytheism) and going out of fold of Islam.
[islamqa.com]
Muslims were, early on, aware of the significance of the Sunnah and its authority. They, one generation after the other, were keen to preserve theSunnah because they saw that as a part of the preserving of the last revelations man is ever to receive. Their efforts were unabated, and the remarkable job they did is unparalleled in the experience of any other religion or civilization.
At the time of the Prophet:
One of the main reasons behind this is the fact that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam clearly taught the Companions the importance of his Sunnah, its place in Islam and their role in saving it, teaching and conveying it to others around them and to those who would come after them. In so doing, he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam followed an effective methodology, which will be briefly outlined below:
1. He emphasised the importance of seeking knowledge and teaching it to others. He said: “Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim (male and female).” [Ibn Maajah]
Also, he said: “Whosoever pursues a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will thereby make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah (mosques), reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, without tranquility descending upon them, mercy enveloping them and angels surrounding them, and Allah making mention of them to those (angels) who are with Him.” [Muslim]
2. He always had a centre for teaching. Most of the time, it was the mosque.
3. He was soft in his dealings and always facilitated things and made them easy for others. He was merciful and humble and made himself readily available.
4. He never pushed people into anything. Instead, he gradually taught them and led them to change. He always motivated them to follow his example and be their best.
5. He would not continuously teach or work with them, but he would give them enough breaks to avoid overstressing or boring them.
6. He spoke plainly and clearly and he talked to people at their level of understanding and intellectual ability. Whenever appropriate, he spoke to people in their own dialect for the Arabs had different dialects.
7. He used the method of repetition. He would repeat whatever he wanted to stress for three times to insure that all heard him properly and clearly understood what he was saying.
8. When questioned, he would give more than what is expected as an answer and use the occasion to further clarify things for all, and teach about other things.
9. Whenever the Prophet had to choose between two ways, he chose the easier way, which had facility and mercy if there was nothing forbidden in that, and he kept away from the difficult and harsh ways.
10. He attached special attention to teaching the women and provided them special times for questions. He encouraged them to ask and learn.
11. He used to do his best in everything, and he perfected whatever he did, thus setting an example for others.
The era of the Companions and their Followers
The Companions did their utmost to convey Islam to the generations succeeding them in the best and most accurate way possible. They sincerely loved it, honestly lived according to it and faithfully preserved it and kept any impurity or irregularity out of it.
Their role in the preservation of Islam was one of utmost importance to its continuation, but they were highly prepared for it by the best teacher and trainer, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Thus the studying of this era, especially with respect to the history and authority of the Sunnah, is necessary to all Students of Knowledge.For detailed reading there are many books on Hadiths and Sunnah:
Methodology of the Companions in Preserving the Sunnah
Before discussing the Companions’ ways of learning, practising, preserving and conveying of the Sunnah, it is worthwhile to shed some light on the main points one needs to understand about the Companions and their methodology:
1. The Companions were fully aware of the responsibility they shoulder after the death of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
2. The Companions are all trustworthy. They never doubted one another in the matters of this religion and the narration of Hadith.
3. The Companions have developed a methodology for scrutinising Hadiths and narrators, and by doing that have established the rules of ascertaining narrations for those who came after them.
4. The ability of different Companions to understand the Sunnah, memorise it and convey it varied from one Companion to another.
5. The Companions left Makkah and Madinah to many places around the Muslim world, at the time, for the purpose of delivering the message and teaching Islam to those who accepted it thus spreading the Sunnah throughout the land.
It is interesting to note that about 750 Companions narrated Hadiths, seven of whom narrated a high number of Hadiths, and about 20 narrated an average number, the rest narrated a small number.
The seven who narrated a large number of Hadiths are: Abu Hurairah who narrated 5,374 Hadiths, ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Umar narrated 2,630, Anas Ibn Maalik narrated 2,286, ‘Aa’ishah narrated 2,210, ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Abbaas narrated 1,660, Jaabir Ibn ‘Abdullaah narrated 1,540, and Abu Sa’eed AI-Khudri narrated 1,100 Hadiths. They understood their role and were aware of the significance of their ability in narrating the Hadiths and did their best to deliver them diligently and accurately. Muslims of all times are indebted to them.
courtesy: www.islamweb.net
