Welcome to Islam, - The concept of worship -II

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Worship covers all aspects of life: Worshipping Allaah does indeed necessitate using all one’s limbs in the obedience of Allaah and carrying out His orders. One can worship Allaah by preventing his eyes from gazing at unlawful things and using them to look at what Allaah loves, like a copy of the Quran, books of knowledge etc. He can also worship Him by preventing his ears, hands and feet from all that Allaah forbids and using them in things that He enjoins and loves. Allaah says )what means(:“Say )O Mohammad(; Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen )mankind, jinns and all that exists(. He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.”]Quran 6:162-163[.
As for the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, love of worship has penetrated deep into his heart and the greatest manifestation of his worship is that he, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, submitted his whole life to Allaah in all his conditions. Allaah says )what means(:“And who can be better in religion than one who submits his face )himself( to Allaah and he is a Muhsin )a doer of good(.”]Quran 4:125[.
The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, used to fear Allaah and always seek for His forgiveness.He, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said: “By Allaah! I indeed invoke Allaah for forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.”)Al-Bukhaari( He sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam used to worship Allaah in the night and would keep on standing until his legs became swollen and when he sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam was asked,“O Messenger of Allaah! You do this when your former and latter sins have been forgiven?” He sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam would reply: “Should I not then be a grateful slave?”)Al-Bukhaari & Muslim(
However, the most wonderful aspect of the Prophet’s )sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam( worship is that astonishing combination of the highest level of worship and performance of his role as the head of his nation. He sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said:“By Allaah! I am the most fearful of Allaah among you, but I fast, and eat; I pray and I sleep and I marry women. Whoever differs from my way is not of me.”)Al-Bukhaari(
Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “The heart cannot be good, prosper, have felicity and easiness, enjoy and have tranquillity except through the worship of its Lord alone. Even if it attains all pleasures of this world it will not get peace and tranquillity, for it has a natural spontaneous need to its Lord because He is its Lord…”
Nullifiers of worship, and reasons for rejecting it: Not fulfilling the two conditions of accepting a deed )namely, sincerely and coinciding with the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam(, are the foremost reasons one's deed may be rejected as we have mentioned before. One of the Salaf )the righteous predecessors(, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “Indeed, Allaah has bestowed His favour upon His servants and commanded them to be grateful as much as they can, for gratitude, however little it may be, is a price for the favour, however big it may be. If one is not grateful, he has exposed the favour to extinction…”
The effort exerted by the Salaf in worship: Our Salaf, may Allaah have mercy upon them … people who’s hearts were full of love for Allaah in all their conditions … they then became delighted … their souls became tranquil … peace ruled over their limbs … then, thoughts of love replaced those of disobedience … the will to move nearer to Him replaced that of displeasing Him … movements of the tongue became that of obedience or contrary to disobedience.
When Naafi’, may Allaah have mercy upon him, was asked about the activities of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, at home, he replied: “He used to perform ablution for every prayer and recite Quran in between them ]i.e. in between ablution and prayer.[” ]End of quote[.
Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said – while describing efforts of Salaf in worship, “I have met people and I have accompanied groups. They )i.e. the people I have met and accompanied( did not use to rejoice at whatever came their way of the beauties of this world; nor did they use to get sad over whatever departed from them of this world. Rather, the world was less significant to them than the soil over which they walked. They would act by the book of their Lord and the Sunnah of the Prophet. During the night they stood up in prayer, prostrated their faces and wept out of fear of Allaah.” ]End of quote[.
Whenever Ibn ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, missed a congregational prayer, he would atone for that by a day of fasting, a night vigil )in prayer( and manumission of a slave.
The wife of ‘Umar ibn Abdul-‘Azeez, may Allaah have mercy upon her, said: “I have never seen anyone who prayed fasted and feared Allaah more than him )meaning her husband(. He would pray ‘Ishaa’ prayer and then sit mentioning Allaah until he was overcome by slumber. He would remember some of the issues of the Last Day while he was on his bed and tremble like a sparrow and then sit down weeping. I would then cover him with a sheet.” ]End of quote[.
Wakee’, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “Al-A’mash, may Allaah have mercy upon him, never missed the opening Takbeer )in a congregational prayer( for almost seventy years and I visited him for more than six years, and I have never seen him performing a missed Raka’ah.” ]End of quote[.
Sulaymaan Ibn Hamzah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, also said: “I have never prayed an obligatory prayer alone except twice and even then I felt as if I had not prayed it at all.” ]End of quote[. It should be noted that he was almost ninety years old when he died.
Through worship, a believer’s soul becomes tranquil, that tranquillity energises it and tells it, “O soul! Be happy, for the home is near and reunion is imminent”. Therefore, do not terminate your journey and thus be denied reaching the home of the loved ones.
This is how our Salaf, may Allaah have mercy upon them, were… and this how we should be.









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Welcome to Islam, - The concept of worship - I

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A Muslim should go on in life remembering the purpose of his creation and the objective for which he exists in this life. Allaah clarifies to us this objective saying )what means(:“And I created not the jinn and humans except that they should worship Me )alone(.”]Quran 51:56[.
This verse plainly explains the purpose of our creation; that our lives should not be spent except in worshipping Allaah. Prayer, fasting, alms giving, Hajj, truthfulness, trustworthiness, being dutiful to parents, supplication, reading the Quran, hoping for Allaah’s mercy and being afraid of His punishment are all acts of worship.
The best deed to perform:The greatest type of worship is to perform that which Allaah makes obligatory on His servants and to refrain from all that He forbids. Abu Hurayrah narrated that Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam )may Allaah exalt his mention( said:“Allaah says: ‘The most beloved deeds with which my slave comes nearer to me are what I have enjoined on him.’”)Al-Bukhaari(.
Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “Since the Salaf lived their whole life in worship, it is then necessary for us to know with which type of worship they started, and which one have they given priority.” He then answered: "The best acts of worship are the most pleasing to Allaah in that particular time. The best act of worship during the presence of a guest is to take care of him and not to be distracted from that by other recommended acts of worship. This is also in performing one’s duties towards one’s wife and family. The best act of worship in the night is to be occupied with prayer, reciting the Quran, supplication and Thikr. The best thing during the time of the Athaan )i.e. the call for prayer( is to leave whatever worship one is doing and answer the Mu`aththin )i.e. the one calling the Athaan( by repeating what he says. The best thing during the time of the five obligatory prayers is to exert one's efforts in their prompt performance. The best thing when the poor is in dire need of assistance is to assist him and give that preference over supererogatory Thikr. The best thing to do when your brother is sick or dead is to visit him, attend his funeral, and give that priority over your supererogatory Thikr. And the best thing to do when you are afflicted and suffer people’s harm is to be patient and not to run away from them." ]End of quote[
The Muslim should be moving in between stations of servitude. If you see the scholars you see him with them; if you see those who are devotedly performing acts of worship, you see him with them, and if you see those giving generously in charity, you see him with them!
The conditions of accepting an act of worship:Indeed what has afflicted Muslims in the course of their long history and what is afflicting them today is a consequence of their deviation from the real concept of worship and application of the two conditions for acts of worship to be accepted, which are: sincerity and following the path of the messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam. While abandoning sincerity leads to directing acts of worship that are solely Allaah’s to others besides Him; lack of following the path of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, leads to the appearance of various kinds of worship for which there is no permission from Allaah nor recommendation from His Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.
However, some people restrict the concept of worship to rituals only. Whenever this set of people works, they abstain completely from worship and whenever they worship, they keep away completely from work. This is unfortunately the most common belief. It is the people who hold this concept who say, “What does religion have to do with a woman’s dressing and her work?" "What does religion have to do with our personal behaviour?" Their purpose is to remove religion from one’s life and confine it only to the mosque. That is why you see someone who prays, fasts, and reads Quran, yet he cheats, bribes, takes bribes and wrongs others. You also see a woman who prays yet she disobeys laws of Allaah by dressing immodestly and mingling with men.
Deeds which one performs habitually become acts of worship through good intentions. The farmer in his farm, the labourer, the trader, or the practitioner of any other profession is capable of turning his occupation into an act of worship, provided that he does not tarnish it with cheating, lying, tricking etc. This is the concept of worship in its wider sense. To have a full imagination of acts of obedience makes a Muslim full of good, mercy, and benefits for his fellow human beings, thereby encouraging him to do more acts of worship and assist his nation.
It is possible for you to add a viable brick into the structure of this nation and add to your scale of good deeds weighty works, which may appear insignificant to you. Listen to what the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said:“Do you want me to tell you of what is better than the rank of fasting, prayer and charity?”The Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allaah.” He, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said:“Conciliating between people among whom there is discord.”)Abu Daawood( He, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, also said:“Whoever visits a sick person or a brother of his for Allaah’s sake, a caller will call him thus, ‘You are good and your passage is good. May you take Paradise for an abode.’ ”)At-Tirmithi(.
Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said:“While a man was walking along the road, he saw a branch of a tree with thorns lying on the road and he removed it, so Allaah appreciated his deed )and thus rewarded him( for that and forgave his sins.”)Muslim(. It is also reported that the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said:“Deeds of my nation – both the good and evil – were shown to me and I found that among their good deeds is the removal of harmful things from the pathway.”)Muslim(.
Restricting righteous deeds to special acts of worship makes seekers of piety spend all their time in repetition of limited deeds as if they do not see that other ways lead to the pleasure of Allaah.









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Dought & clear, - The wilaayah of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him)

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Was the caliph ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib Waliy-Allah, as mentioned in the hadeeth of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that ‘Ali is “your ruler (waliy) after me” or “I am of ‘Ali and ‘Ali is of me”? Are these things true?
Are ‘Ali, Faatimah, al-Husayn and al-Hasan of the same status as the Prophets (not the Messengers)?
Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (praise be to Allah) – according to the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah – is one of the honoured close friends (awliya’ – sing. waliy) of Allah and one of the guided leaders (imams). He is the fourth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the fourth of the ten who were given the glad tidings of Paradise, who are the best of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them). His virtues and good qualities are too many to be counted, to such an extent that some of our scholars compiled books focusing only on them, such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal inManaaqib ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, and Imam an-Nasaa’i inKhasaa’is ‘Ali.
Secondly:
Among his virtues are the following:
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “You are of me and I am of you.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 2699
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
That is, in lineage, relationship by marriage, in seniority (in Islam), in love and in other ways. End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 7/507
Another of these qualities was mentioned in the report narrated by ‘Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him who said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sent out an army and appointed ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib as their leader. He went out on the campaign, and he acquired a slave woman as booty. They objected to that, and four of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) made an agreement and said: When we meet the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), we will tell them about what ‘Ali did.
When the Muslims returned from a journey, they would start by visiting the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then they would go to their homes. When the army came back, they greeted the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and one of the four stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah, have you not seen that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib did such and such? The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) turned away from him. Then the second one stood up and said something like what he had said, and he turned away from him. Then the third one stood up and said something like what he had said, and he turned away from him. Then the fourth one stood up and said something similar to what they had said. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) turned to him, with anger visible on his face, and said:
“What do you want from ‘Ali, what do you want from ‘Ali, what do you want from ‘Ali? ‘Ali is of me and I am of him. He is the waliy of every believer after I am gone.”
Narrated by Ahmad, 33/154, Mu’sasat ar-Risaalah edition; at-Tirmidhi, no 3712; and many others, all of them via Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan, who said: Yazeed ar-Rashk told me, from Mutarriq ibn ‘Abdullah, from ‘Imraan ibn Husayn. Adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said it is one of the reports narrated only by Ja‘far. End quote fromSiyar A‘laam an-Nubala’, 8/199
Our scholars differed concerning this hadeeth; there are two views:
1.
The first view is that the hadeeth is acceptable.
At-Tirmidhi said:
This hadeeth is hasan ghareeb; we know of it only through this isnaad from the hadeeth of Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan. End quote.
Al-Haakim said:
It is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim. End quote. Adh-Dhahabi did not say anything about it.
Al-Mustadrak, 3/119
It was classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan as he narrated in hisSaheeh, 15/374
Ibn ‘Adiyy (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan an-Nasaa’i included it in hisSihaah, but al-Bukhaari did not include it (in hisSaheeh). End quote.
Al-Kaamil, 2/146
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its isnaad is qawiy. End quote.
Al-Isaabah, 4/569
It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inas-Silsilah as-Saheehah, no. 2223
Their evidence for the soundness of this hadeeth is that many of the scholars regarded Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan ad-Dab‘i as thiqah (trustworthy) and that they found other two corroborating reports of the hadeeth, the first of which is from Ibn ‘Abbaas inMusnad Ahmad(1/330) and inMusnad at-Tayaalisi(4/470 – Hajar edn under the supervision of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Muhsin at-Turki). Its isnaad includes Abu Balj, concerning whom there is a difference of opinion. The second corroborating report is from the hadeeth of Buraydah ibn al-Husayb inMusnad Ahmad(38/118). Its isnaad includes Ajlah ibn ‘Abdullah al-Kindi, who is a Shi‘i and da‘eef. It was also narrated by more than one narrator from Buraydah with different wording; one such report appears inSaheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 4350.
2.
The second view is that the hadeeth is da‘eef (weak).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is false and fabricated according to the consensus of hadeeth scholars. End quote.
Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, 7/385
It was classed as da‘eef by the commentators onMusnad Ahmad(Mu’sasat ar-Risaalah edn.)
The reason for their describing it as da‘eef is Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan ad-Dab‘i who was the only one to narrate it. Yahya ibn Sa‘eed al-Qattaan regarded him as da‘eef. ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Mahdi did not feel at ease with his hadeeth. Al-Bukhaari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some of his hadeeth go against other scholars. ‘Ali ibn al-Madeeni said: He narrated a great deal from Thaabit, and the rest of his hadeeth are munkar (rejected).
Ibn Sa‘d said: He was thiqah (trustworthy) but there was some weakness in him. SeeTahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, 2/97.
As the hadeeth scholars were also unanimously agreed that he was an extreme Shi‘i who reviled Mu‘aawiyah, a number of scholars favoured the view that the hadeeths which were narrated only by him were to be regarded as da‘eef, because the hadeeth narrated only by someone like him is not to be accepted, especially since what he narrated in this case is something that supports his bid‘ah (innovation). This is the view we are inclined to favour with regard to the hadeeths which speak of virtues (of ‘Ali).
Thirdly:
Even if we assume that the hadeeth is saheeh and acceptable, there is no evidence in it whatsoever to support what the Shi‘ah want to prove about the caliphate belonging to ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) after the death of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). This is for a number of reasons:
1.
The word waliy has many meanings in Arabic; what evidence do the Shi‘ah have that what it means here is caliphate? Al-Fayroozabadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:Walymay mean closeness, nearness, or rain after rain. Waliy may mean: loved one, friend, or supporter. Wilaayah may mean rulership or authority. Wala’ may mean ownership. Mawla may mean owner, slave, the one who manumits a slave, the manumitted slave, companion, relative such as a cousin and so on, neighbour, ally, son, paternal uncle, guest, partner, or sister’s son. Al-Waliy may mean the Lord, the Helper, or the Bestower of blessings; or it may mean the recipient of blessings, lover, follower or son-in-law. End quote.
Al-Qaamoos al-Muheet, p. 1732
2.
If what is meant is rulership and caliphate, then how could the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) have said “the waliy of every believer after I am gone”, when ‘Ali was the caliph only of those who lived at his time, and he was not the leader of every believer until the Day of Resurrection?
3.
In some versions of the hadeeth it says, “The waliy of every believer in this world and in the Hereafter.”Musnad Ahmad, 5/179. This version indicates that what is meant by waliy here is not rulership; how could he be a ruler of the believers in the Hereafter?!
4.
We have not heard of this hadeeth being quoted by ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) or by any of his supporters or even by any of the noble Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them), as evidence for the caliphate of ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) after the death of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
The correct meaning of this word is love, help and support. Love for ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) is obligatory upon every believer, as is helping and supporting him in adhering to the truth.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The words “He is the waliy of every believer after I am gone” are falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Rather during his life and after his death he is the waliy of every believer, and every believer is his waliy in life and in death. Wilaayah (love, support, friendship) that is the opposite of enmity is not limited to any particular time. As for wilaayah in the sense of rulership, the word should be waali (ruler) and not waliy; thus the wording would be, “the waali (ruler) of every believer after I am gone”, as it is said that in the funeral prayer, when both the waliy (the next of kin) and the waaliy (ruler or governor) are present, the waaliy (ruler) is given precedence with regard to leading the prayer, according to the view of most scholars; others said that the waliy (next of kin) should be given precedence.
The words “ ‘Ali is the waliy of every believer after I am gone” cannot be attributed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), because if he had meantmuwaalaah(in the sense of loving ‘Ali) , he would not have needed to say “after I am gone”; if he had meant rulership, he would have said “waalin ‘ala(ruler over) every believer”. End quote.
Minhaaj as-Sunnah, 7/278
See also the answer to question no. 26794
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
There is nothing in these words to clearly suggest that what is meant is caliphate. That is because themawlais like thewaliy. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, your Waliy (Protector or Helper) is Allah, His Messenger, and the believers...”
[al-Maa’idah 5:55]
“but if you help one another against him (Muhammad SAW), then verily, Allah is his Mawla (Lord, or Master, or Protector, etc.), and Jibrael (Gabriel), and the righteous among the believers, and furthermore, the angels are his helpers”
[at-Tahreem 66:4].
It is clear that the Messenger is thewaliyof the believers and that they are also hismawlas. It is also clear that Allah is the Waliy of the believers and that they are His awliya’ (pl. of waliy, i.e., close friends), and that the believers are awliya’ of one another. So muwaalaah (love) is the opposite of enmity and it is affirmed in the case of both parties. Because one of the two parties (namely Allah) is greater in status, His wilaayah towards them is in the sense of kindness and grace, and the wilaayah of the other party (the believers) is obedience and worship. Just as Allah loves the believers and the believers love Him, muwaalah is the opposite of enmity, war and betrayal. The disbelievers do not love Allah and His Messenger, and they fight and oppose Allah and His Messenger. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Take not My enemies and your enemies (i.e. disbelievers and polytheists, etc.) as friends”
[al-Mumtahanah 60:1].
And He will requite them for that, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger”
[al-Baqarah 2:279].
He is the Waliy of the believers, and He is their Mawla. He brings them forth from the depths of darkness to the light. As that is the case, then what is meant by saying that Allah is the Waliy and Mawla of the believers, and that the Messenger is their waliy and mawla, and that ‘Ali is their mawla, is that muwaalaah which is the opposite of enmity.
The believers take Allah and His Messenger as friends in the sense of muwaalaah that is the opposite of enmity. This ruling is firmly established for every believer. And ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is one of the believers whom the believers take as friends and allies (awliya’).
This hadeeth affirms that ‘Ali is a believer in the true sense and testifies that he is deserving of muwaalaah (love) both inwardly and outwardly. This is a refutation of what his enemies among the Khaarijis and Naasibis say about him, but it does not suggest that the believers do not have any mawla other than him. How can that be the case when the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has mawaali (pl. of mawla), who are the righteous believers. Similarly, ‘Ali also has mawaali, namely the believers who take him as a friend. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Aslam, Ghifaar, Muzaynah, Juhaynah, Quraysh and the Ansaar have no mawla except Allah and His Messenger.” They are described as mawaali of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) just as the righteous believers are described as his mawaali, and Allah and His Messenger are their mawla.
To sum up, there is a difference between the waliy, mawla etc. and the waali. Wilaayah in the sense of that which is the opposite of enmity is one thing, and wilaayah in the sense of rulership is something else. The hadeeth refers only to the former, not the latter. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not say, “If I am someone’s waali (ruler), ‘Ali is also his waali”; rather the wording is: “If I am someone’s mawla (close friend), then ‘Ali is also his mawla.”
This is one of the things which indicate that he was not referring to caliphate. The fact that he is the waliy of every believer is true during the lifetime of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and is not deferred until the time after the Prophet’s death. With regard to caliphate, he could not become caliph until after the Prophet’s death. Thus it is known that this is not what is meant here.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is closer to the believers than their own selves, during his lifetime and after his death, until the Day of Resurrection; if he appointed someone to a position of authority during his lifetime – or if we assume that he appointed someone to a position of authority matters during his lifetime, or we assume that he appointed to take charge after his death, and that person became caliph either on the basis of a text or consensus – then that person would be more entitled to the position of caliphate and he would be closer to the believers than their own selves. But no one other than the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) could ever be closer to any believer than his own self, especially during his lifetime. With regard to ‘Ali or anyone else being the mawla of every believer, this is true and applied to ‘Ali during the lifetime of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and after his death, and after the death of ‘Ali. So today ‘Ali is still the mawla of every believer, but today he is not waali (ruler, in charge) over people. The same applies to the rest of the believers; they are awliya’ of one another, in life and in death. End quote.
Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, 7/322-325
Fourthly:
With regard to the claim that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Faatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them all) are of the same status as the Prophets, this is a false and invalid claim. In fact it is kufr (disbelief) that nullifies a Muslim’s ‘aqeedah (belief), because it is contrary to the consensus of the scholars that no one other than the Prophets can attain the status of the Prophets. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allah chooses Messengers from angels and from men. Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer”
[al-Hajj 22:75].
The Messengers and Prophets are the chosen from among Allah’s creation. Anyone who claims otherwise is required to produce evidence, and no one can ever prove that ‘Ali, Faatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn are of the same status as the Prophets except by lying, distorting and fabricating hadeeths and reports.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Whoever exaggerates about the awliya’ (close friends of Allah, “saints”), or those whom they call the awliya’ of Allah, or the “people of Allah”, or the wise, or the philosophers, and other names that they regard as akin to the title of prophet, and they regard them as being like the Prophets or better than the Prophets, should be asked to repent. If he repents, all well and good, otherwise he is to be executed.
End quote fromas-Safadiyyah, 1/262
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Whoever believes that someone other than the Prophets is better than them, or equal to them, has disbelieved. Consensus on that point was narrated by more than one of the scholars. What good can there be in a people whose beliefs imply that they are disbelievers?
End quote fromRisaalah fi’r-Radd ‘ala ar-Raafidah, p. 29. See also:al-Fasl fi’l-Milal wa’l-Ahwa’ an-Nihal, 4/21
And Allah knows best.









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