Introduction
This is the refutation of weak ahadith in the book "Beseeching for Help" (Istighāthah) by Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Chapter 3 Justification of Istighāthah after Death, I will not quote rulings deduced by Dr Qadri due to their length because when a hadith is weak then there is no reason to deduce ruling, specially without quoting any Salaf and Muhaddith.
Tahir ul Qadri quoted
Ibn-ul-Fir āsī narrates that Firāsī said to the Prophet peace be upon him: 'O Messenger of Allāh! Shall I beg you for something?' He r eplied: No, and if you can't help begging, then you should beseech the pious and the righteous ( for help).[ Beseeching for Help" (Istighāthah) page 69]
Response
a) Above hadeeth is weak This is extract from Daeef Abu Dawud Shaykh al-Albani
Ibn al Farasi and Muslim bin Makshi are not known
1. Ibn al Farasi
Ibn e Hajar asqalani said in at-Taqreeb
ابن الفراسي عن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - وقيل عن أبيه عن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - لا يعرف اسمه
Ibn al Farisi narrates from Prophet peace be upon him, It is said he narrated From his father and his father narrates from Prophet peace beupon him I don't know his name
Ibn hajar said: No one narrates from him except Muslim bin Makshi[Tahdeeb at tahdeeb]
2. Muslim bin Makshi
Imam ad-Dahabee said: No one narrated from him except Bakr bin sawadah [Meezan al aitedaal] [see Daeef abu dawood hadeeth no: 292]
b) How on earth Qadri is using this hadeeth on asking help from dead? Muhadditheen (Imam Abu Dawood and Nisai) mentioned this hadeeth in Kitab az-Zakat. Secondly, Prophet peace be upon him rejected begging in the first place, only in the case of necessity he allowed; surely Prophet peace be upon him was talking about alive people, because no one can ask zakat from the dead. If yes then for how many times Qadri issued the fatwa of asking Zakat from the dead people?
c) The hadith before it says Narated By Abdullah ibn Mas'ud : The Prophet (pbuh) said: If one who is afflicted with poverty refers it to PEOPLE, his poverty will not be brought to an end; but if one refers it to Allah, He will soon give him sufficiency, either by a speedy death or by a sufficiency which comes later.[Abu Dawood hadith no: 1645 authenticated by al-Hakim and ad-Dahabee agreed with him.]
This hadith proves what tahir ul qadri is trying to promote is false i.e asking help from dead auliyah.
Tahir ul Qadri quoted from Musnad al-Bazzar:
Your deeds are presented to me. I f they are good, I express my gratitude to Allāh, and if the deeds are not good, then I pray to Allāh for your forgiveness[page 75 ibid]
Response
1. Critique on the text
4.This is not Mutwatir hadith
Brelvis need mutwatir hadith for their creed but here they are accepting this weak narration for their one of the main creed.
5. If cahin is authentic that does not necessarily mean text is authentic
Haythamee said regarding the hadeeth of Ibne Masood: "tradition had been reported by al- Bazzār and its sub-narrators are all of sahīh" [Majma'-uz-zawā'id (9:24)]
Response is that
Hafiz Noor ud din al-Haythamee himself endorsed the verdicts of Hafiz Al-Bazzar in Kashf al-Astar hadith no: 793
قَالَ الْبَزَّارُ : لا نَعْلَمُهُ يُرْوَى عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ إِلا بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ )
Secondly Hafiz Ibn Katheer says:
" الحكم بالصحة أو الحسن على الإسناد لا يلزم منه الحكم بذلك على المتن ، إذ قد يكون شاذاً أو معللاً "
The fact that the isnaad is deemed to be saheeh or hasan does not necessarily mean that the same applies to the text, because it may be shaadhdh (odd) or mu'allal (faulty). Ikhtisaar 'Uloom al-Hadeeth (p. 43).
Comment: It is already proven above that the text is odd
6. The hadith is not proving any kind of istegatha (Sufi Commentaries)
It is not evidence for istighatha because it says that our deeds like Durood is presented to him (peace be upon him), it says nothing about us making duaa to them, asking them for forgiveness or help.
Critique on Chain
a) Hafiz al-Bazzar himself said after quoting the hadeeth
وهذا الحديث آخره لا نعلمه يروى عن عبد الله إلا من هذا الوجه بهذا الإسناد.
"We don't know the end of this Hadeeth to have been narrated from 'Abdullah except from this angle through this specific chain of narration". [Musnad al Bazzar]
b) Hafiz Ibne Kathir endorsed the wordings of Hafiz al-Bazzar in Al Bidaya wal Nihaya 5/275
Note: These people need mutwatir hadeeth to prove their false creed, above hadith is weak leave a side mutwatir.
c) Hafiz al 'Iraqee, shaykh of Ibn Hajar asqalani said:
1. Sufiyan is mudallis narrating from (an)
2. Abdul Majeed is mudallis and had very weak memory. Imam Muslim brought him only in mutab'iat not for Ihtijaj.
3. Text of the hadith is very odd(Shadh) and against authentic ahadith.
4. If the chain is authentic that does not mean hadith is authentic plus this hadith is not mutwatir.
5. To sum up, the Hadeeth, even if confirmed to be authentic, has nothing to do with Istighaathah (praying for help from the Prophet ).
Tahir ul Qadri quoted:
Ibn-ul-Qayyim has written an exhaustive book on "the soul" which is the most authentic book on this subject. At one place he has reported from 'Abdullāh bin Mubārak that Abū Ayyūb al-Ansār ī said: The deeds of the living are presented to the dead. If they see virtuous (deeds), they are pleased and rejoiced, and if they see ( evil) deeds, they say: 'O Allāh! Return them.'[page 80 Ibid]
Response
This is the chain quoted by Ibn al Qayyim
قال عبد الله بن المبارك حدثنى ثور بن يزيد عن ابراهيم عن أبى أيوب قال تعرض أعمال الأحياء على الموتى فإذا رأوا حسنا فرحوا واستبشروا وإن رأوا سوءا قالوا اللهم راجع به
Abdullah bin Mubarak said Narrated to us Thawr bin Yazeed from Ibraheem from Abu Ayyub al Ansaree....(and the narration)
a) Ibraheem an-Nakhee is Mudallis [Tabqat ul Mudalliseen 2/35], he is narrating from (an), b)secondly, there is discontinuity between him and Abu Ayyub Al-Ansaree, Because Ibraheem was born in 47 h and Abu ayyub al Ansaree died in 55 h, meaning Ibraheem was only 8 years old when Abu Ayyub al Ansaree died.
There is another rout of this narration in Kitab az-Zuhud of Abdullah bin Mubarak, It can clear the saying of Abu Ayyub al-Ansaree May Allah be pleased with him
443 أخبركم أبو عمر بن حيوية وأبو بكر الوراق قالا أخبرنا يحيى قال حدثنا الحسين قال أخبرنا ابن المبارك قال أخبرنا ثور بن يزيد عن أبي رهم السماعي عن أبي أيوب الأنصاري قال إذا قبضت نفس العبد تلقاه أهل الرحمة من عباد الله كما يلقون البشير في الدنيا فيقبلون عليه ليسألوه فيقول بعضهم لبعض أنظروا أخاكم حتى يستريح فإنه كان في كرب فيقبلون عليه فيسألونه ما فعل فلان ما فعلت فلانة هل تزوجت فإذا سألوا عن الرجل قد مات قبله قال لهم إنه قد هلك فيقولون إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون ذهب به إلى أمه الهاوية فبئست الأم وبئست المربية قال فيعرض عليهم
أعمالهم فإذا رأوا حسنا فرحوا واستبشروا وقالوا هذه نعمتك على عبدك فأتمها وإن رأوا سوء قالوا اللهم راجع بعبدك
Translation: Abu Ayyub al-Ansari said: When a servant's souls is taken (at death) (the souls of) Allah's servants who have been granted mercy receive him (in heaven) as (eagerly as) a carrier of glad tidings is received in the first life. They come to him and ask questions : But some of them say : give your brother some time to rest , because he was in grief ( in the first life)
Then (after a while) they gather around him and ask him, What did so and so man do ? Did she get married If they ask him about a man who had died before him and he tells them "He already died " , they say ."To Allah we belong and unto Him we will return (after Resurrection)!He must have gone to his mother , the (Fire) abyss. That is indeed the worst mother and the worst caretaker."
He also tells them about the actions (of their living acquintances) .If they find them good (for an individual) they say : O Allah , this is Your favor upon your servant , so complete it for him (until death)." And if they find them bad , they say ,"O Allah bring Your servant back (to the right) ."[Kitab az-Zuhud of Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak hadeeth no: 443, Authenticated by Shaykh AL-AlBani in Silsilah as-Saheeha no: 2758]
Comment: After reading this clear text it is clear that what Abu Ayyub al-Ansaree is saying. This was actually a discussion between the new soul who recently met the other good souls and all this was a part of the conversation between them at that point of time, Now how on earth such things can be taken as a proof for Istegatha from dead saints for your needs?
Ibn al-Qayyim himself explained
المسألة الثانية وهى أن ارواح الموتى هل تتلاقي وتتزاور وتتذاكر أم لا ؟
وهي أيضاً مسألة شريفة كبيرة القدر وجوابُها : أن الأرواح قسمان : أرواح معذبة ، وأرواح منعَّمة ؛ فالمعذبة في شغل بما هي فيه من العذاب عن التزاور والتلاقي ، والأرواح المنعمة المرسلة غير المحبوسة تتلاقى وتتزاور وتتذاكر ما كان منها في الدنيا وما يكون من أهل الدنيا ، فتكون كل روح مع رفيقها الذي هو على مثل عملها ، وروح نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في الرفيق الأعلى ، قال الله تعالى : ( وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقاً) النساء/69 وهذه المعية ثابتة في الدنيا ، وفي دار البرزخ ، وفي دار الجزاء ، و " المرء مع من أحب " في هذه الدور الثلاثة ، ... وقال تعالى : ( يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ * ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً * فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي * وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي) الفجر/27-30 أي : ادخلي جملتهم وكوني معهم ، وهذا يقال للروح عند الموت ... وقد أخبرنا الله سبحانه وتعالى عن الشهداء بأنهم ( أَحْيَاءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ) وأنهم (وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ مِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ ) وأنهم ( يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍ ) وهذا يدل على تلاقيهم من ثلاثة أوجه : أحدها : أنهم عند ربهم يرزقون ، وإذا كانوا أحياء فهم يتلاقون ، الثاني : أنهم إنما استبشروا بإخوانهم لقدومهم ولقائهم لهم ، الثالث : أن لفظ " يستبشرون " يفيد في اللغة أنهم يبشر بعضهم بعضاً مثل يتباشرون .
The second issue is whether the souls of the dead meet one another, visit one another and talk to one another.
This is a good question. The answer is that souls are of two types: those that are punished and those that are blessed. Those that are punished are too preoccupied with the torment that they are facing to visit and meet one another, but the souls that are blessed are free and are not detained, so they meet one another, visit one another and talk about what they used to do in this world and what happened to the people of this world. So each soul will be with its friends who did similar good deeds. The soul of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is with the highest companions. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And whoso obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allaah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddeeqoon (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As‑Siddeeq), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!"
[al-Nisa' 4:69]
This togetherness is confirmed in this world, in al-Barzakh and in the abode of reward (Paradise), and "A man will be with those whom he loves" in these three realms... Allaah says "(It will be said to the pious — believers of Islamic Monotheism): 'O (you) the one in (complete) rest and satisfaction!
28. 'Come back to your Lord,— well‑pleased (yourself) and well‑pleasing (unto Him)!
29. 'Enter you then among My (honoured) slaves,
30. 'And enter you My Paradise!'"
[al-Fajr 89:27-30]
i.e., enter among them and be one of them. This is said to the soul at the time of death... And Allaah has told us that the martyrs are: "are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision" [Aal 'Imraan 3:169]; they "rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind" [Aal 'Imraan 3:170] and "They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allaah" [Aal 'Imraan 3:171]. This indicates that they will meet one another in three ways: (1) they are with their Lord and are given provision, and if they are alive then they meet one another; (2) they rejoice at the arrival of their brothers and their meeting with them; and (3) the word yastabshiroon (translated as "rejoice") implies that they pass the good news to one another. [Kitab Al-Rooh, p. 17, 18.]
Now this is clear that Ibn al-Qayyim is talking about when new soul meet other good souls it tells them the affairs of the people which the particular soul have seen in the world. It can not tell them all the deeds or future deeds because the soul have not seen those affairs.
Tahir ul Qadri quoted
"'Ibād bin 'Ibād called on I br āhīm bin Sālih and at that time Ibrāhīm bin Sālih was the r uler of Palestine. 'Ibād bin 'Ibād said to him: give me some advice. Ibrāh m bin Sālih said: What should I advise you? May God make you a pious man! I have received the news that the deeds of the living are presented to their dead relatives. Now you just reflect on your deeds which are presented to the Messenger of Allāh .After r elating this, I brāh īm bin Sālih cried so bitterly that his beard became wet."
Response
This is not Quran nor hadith, this is not the saying of any Companion. This is totally against Quran,
a) Allah says in Surah al Hajj Ayah 76 "He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them. And to Allah will be returned [all] matters."
b) Allah says in Surah al Baqrah ayah 210 " They do not wait aught but that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds along with the angels, and the matter has (already) been decided; and (all) matters are returned to Allah."
c) Allah says in Surah Al-e-Imran Ayah 109 "And whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah's; and to Allah all things return"
d) Allah says in Surah al-Hadeed ayah 5 "His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and to Allah are (all) affairs returned".
Comment: Allah is very clear in the Qur`an, one can not quote saying of any other later scholar against Qur`an and Sunnah.
If Tahir ul Qadri is trying to prove from Ibn al-Qaayim that he allowed asking help from dead then this is his mistake because Ibn al-Qayyim said:
ففي هذه القصة ما فعله المهاجرون والأنصار رضي الله عنهم من تعمية قبره لئلا يفتتن به ، ولم يبرزوه للدعاء عنده والتبرك به ، ولو ظفر به المتأخرون لجالدوا عليه بالسيف ولعبدوه من دون الله
In this story the Muhajiroun and Ansaar RadhiAllah anhum hide his (Daniel's Peace be upon him) grave in order to prevent the people from getting more fascinated by him; to prevent them from supplicating near it or seeking his blessings. But if the body of that man was found by those who came after those early pious Muslims, they would fight one another and they would even worship him besides Allah. [Hadiya tul Mustafeed Commentary of Kitab At Tawheed page 226 of English Translation]
He said while discussing forms of shirk
ومن أنواعه ؛ طلب الحوائج من الموتى والاستغاثة بهم والتوجه إليهم ، وهذا أصل شرك العالم ، فإن الميت قد انقطع عمله وهو لا يملك لنفسه ضراً ولا نفعا
"From the forms (of Shirk): Requesting the dead for needs, seeking their aid and turning to them. This is the basis for Shirk in the world. This is because the actions of the dead have ceased. He is not able to harm or benefit himself, let alone the one who seeks his aid, or asks him to fulfil his need, or asks him to intercede for him with Allah [Madarij al-Salikin (1/332)]
Comment: These quotes are clearly against the creed of Tahir ul Qadri.
conti..
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