37- What a Muslim does with his close relative who is a Mushrik, And Abu Talib died upon Shirk

The Ahadeeth of Tawheed

from the

Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah

 of

Shaykh Al-Albaani

Translated by

Abbas Abu Yahya

Chapters of Tawheed and the Shahadtayn

Part 14

37- What a Muslim does with his close relative who is a Mushrik,

And Abu Talib died upon Shirk

161- The Messenger of Allaah said to Ali bin Abu Talib: 'Go and bury your father.'

He said; 'No, I won't bury him, because he died as a Mushrik.'

The Messenger said to him: 'Go and bury him, and don't speak to anyone until you come to me.'

I came to him and I had signs of dirt and dust upon me. He ordered me to wash, so I washed and he supplicated for me with supplications which would not please me to exchange anything for them on the face of this earth.

From the benefits of the hadeeth

1- That it is permissible for a Muslim to take the responsibilities of burying his close Mushrik relative. This does not negate his hate for his relative's shirk.

Do you not see that 'Alee refused to bury his father the first time. Whereby, he said: 'he died as a mushrik'   thinking that if he buried him then this would enter into being in alliance with his father which is prohibited.  Like the saying of Allaah Ta’ala: <<Take not as friends the people who incurred the Wrath of Allaah >>  

When the Messenger ordered him again to bury his father he hastened to fulfill the Messenger's order. And he left that which seemed to be correct to him the first time. It is also from obedience, that a person leaves his own opinion for the command of his Prophet - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam. 

It appears to me that the son burying his mushrik father or his mother is the last of what the son possesses of good companionship with his mushrik father in this world.  As for after the burial then it is not allowed for him to pray for him, nor seek forgiveness for him, this is due to the clear statement of Allaah Ta'ala: <<It is not proper for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allaah's Forgiveness for the Mushrikeen even though they be of kin>>

So, if this is the case, what is the situation of the one who supplicates for mercy and forgiveness on the pages of newspapers and magazines for some of the kuffar, announcing their deaths, for a small amount of dirhams!

The one who is concerned for his hereafter should fear Allaah.

2- It is not legislated for him to wash the unbeliever, nor should he shroud him.  And nor should he pray upon him even if he is a close relative, since, the Prophet - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam did not order Alee to do so.  If this had been permissible, the Prophet - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam would have mentioned it, since delaying the explanation of an order when there is a need for it, is not permissible. This is the Madhab of the Hambalees and other than them.

3- It is not legislated for the relatives of that Mushrik to follow the funeral procession.  Because the Prophet - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam did not do this for his uncle. His uncle was the kindest and the most compassionate of the people to him.  Even to the extent that the Prophet supplicated to Allaah for him, whereby his uncle's punishment will be the least in the Hellfire, as has been previously explained.

And in all of this there is a lesson for those people who have been deceived by their ancestry, but they do not do any thing for their hereafter with their Lord, and Allaah the Great spoke the truth when He said: << There will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another. >>

  38- Giving the Kaffir the glad-tidings of the Hellfire and Passing by the Places where the Mushrikeen Where Destroyed

18- 'When ever you pass by the grave of a kaffir then give him the glad tidings of the Hellfire.'

The Origin Of the hadeeth

'A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said: ‘My father used to keep good relations with his relatives and he used to do such and such good deeds so where is he?”  He -sall'Allaahu alayhi wa sallam- said 'in the fire':  

It was as if the Bedouin was upset due to this, so he said, “O Messenger of Allaah, then where is your father?”

He said: 'Whenever you pass by the grave of a kaffir then give him the glad tidings of the Hellfire.'

The Bedouin accepted Islaam and he said; the Messenger of Allaah -sall'Allaahu alayhi wa sallam- gave me the responsibility of a task; I did not pass by a grave of a kaffir except that I gave him the glad tidings of the Hellfire.'

From the understanding of the hadeeth

There is a great benefit in this hadeeth which many of the general books of fiqh have neglected which is none other than the legislation of giving the kaffir the glad tidings of the Hellfire if you pass by his grave.

What is in this legislation is not hidden, since it contains that which awakens the believer and reminds him of the danger of the sin of the kaffir, who has committed a great sin which would make all of the sins of the world facing him seem like nothing if they were all gathered together.  The sin is disbelief in Allaah Azza wa Jal and committing shirk with him, which Allaah Ta'ala explained His severe hatred of such that He excludes shirk from His forgiveness.  He says << Verily, Allaah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases >>

This is why the Messenger - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - said; 'That the biggest of the major sins is that you associate a partner to Allaah while He is the One who created you.'

Agreed upon.

Without doubt ignorance about this benefit is what leads some Muslims to fall into that which is contrary to what Allaah, the Most Wise, intends by this benefit.

With certainty we know that many of the Muslims come to the lands of the kuffar to take care of some of their general or specific interests.  However, they do not suffice themselves with just this, rather they intend to visit some of the graves of those who are called great men from amongst the kuffar.  They place flowers and wreaths and they stand in front of those graves with humility and sadness which indicates being pleased with those in the graves and not having a detest for them.  They do this even though the best example i.e. that of the Prophets - alayhim assalam - dictates the opposite of what they do, as is mentioned in this authentic hadeeth.  Listen to the statement of Allaah Azza wa Jal:

<< Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibraheem and those with him, when they said to their people: Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allaah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever >>   the Ayaah.

This is their stance against those who were alive, so what about those are dead!!

Bukhaaree (2/120) and Muslim (8/221) narrate on the authority of Ibn Umar that the Messenger - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said to them when he passed by Hijr (a place where the people had been destroyed):

'Do not enter upon these people who were punished, except that you cry, and if you do not cry then do not enter upon them, so what afflicted them does not afflict you.'  Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah 19

[He veiled his face with is garment while he was on his mount]

Ahmad narrated this and the extra wording is from his book.

Sadeeq Hasan Khan mentioned a heading for this hadeeth in his book 'Nazl al-Abraar' p.293, which is; 'Chapter : crying and fear while passing by the graves of the oppressors and the place where they were destroyed, and showing the need of going back to Allaah Ta'ala and warning against being neglectful about this.'

I ask Allaah Ta'ala to give us the understanding of our Deen and inspire us to perform actions according to it.  Indeed He is the One who hears and answers.