Is it appropriate to ask help from those who are in the grave?

Dear Brother / Sister,

One of the issues that Arabia-centered Wahhabis dwell on the most is shirk (polytheism). They regard even opening hands and praying by turning toward graves as shirk. Many people who went to hajj saw the officials near the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) warning those who turn toward the grave of the Prophet to make him a means of the acceptance of their prayers by saying, “Do not do so; that is shirk. Ask directly from Allah.” One of the verses they use as evidence regarding the issue is as follows:

وَمَنْ اَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَدْعُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللّٰهِ مَنْ لاَيَسْتَج۪يبُ لَهُٓ اِلٰى يَوْمِ الْقِيٰمَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَآئِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ “And who is more astray than one who invokes besides Allah, such as will not answer him to the Day of Judgment, and who (in fact) are unconscious of their call (to them)?” (al-Ahqaf, 5)

We think a healthy evaluation can be made regarding the issue if the following points are taken into consideration:

- What the verse mentions and describes in the first place is idols. Praying to idols is definitely wrong and it is exactly as it is described in the verse.

- To worship those in the grave is one thing and to use them as a means in prayer is another thing.

- In fact, everybody who died from Hz. Adam to the present day is alive in terms of their spirit. The spirit does not die when a person dies; it only leaves the body. The Prophet (pbuh) addressed the polytheists who had died at the Battle of Badr as follows:

“I have found the victory my Lord promised me to be true. Have you also found the penalty He promised you to be true?” The Companions were surprised by that talk. Hz. Umar said, "O Messenger of Allah! They are dead bodies that have no spirits. Why do you talk to them?" The Prophet said, "You do not hear what I say better than they do but they cannot answer." (Bukhari, Maghazi 8; Muslim, Jannah, 77)

From this point of view, it is understood that not only martyrs, who are definitely alive according to the verses of the Quran, but everybody is alive. If some of them were given the duty of helping those in difficulty by Allah, it is not based on sound logic to reject it.

-The Prophet (pbuh) states the following: “…Send greetings to me because your greetings (salawat) reach me no matter where you are.” (Abu Davud, Manasik, 100)

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