Question : A question was asked regarding [the validity of] visiting the ancient mosques in Medina [seeking blessings from the relics of the Prophet].

Fatwa in Brief: Caring for relics and religious sites, as if they possess inherent nobility, leads to unbelief (shirk).

The Permanent Committee, Kitab Fatawa wa Bayanat Muhimma, p. 82

Response:

Seeking blessings through the heritage [relics] of the righteous is evidence of love. Thus, there can be no harm in this practice, so long as it remains within the limits of religion. And God knows best.

Commentary:

It is known that, when one human being loves another, he will love everything that is connected to the loved one. Yet, this kind of love should not lead people into exaggeration, so that the loved one is raised to an [unnaturally] high position. This happens, for instance, when a people so love their Prophet that they attribute to him the status of God, or close to divinity. The Prophet (upon him be peace) warned against such exaggeration in love. Rather, he said: “Do not exaggerate in praising me, as the Christians exaggerate in praising the son of Mary; but, rather call me the Slave of God, or [merely] His messenger” (a tradition narrated in Bukhari). [Within these parameters], the Prophet (upon him be peace) gave permission to his Companions to seek blessings from his relics. The reports confirming this are:

1.  In describing the Truce of Hudaybiyya, historians note how the Companions would surround the Prophet (upon him be peace) [to gain his blessings]. They swore how every drop of his saliva would fall into the [outstretched] hands of a Companion, who then would massage his face and skin with it [in order to benefit from the blessings of the Prophet]. When the Prophet ordered them to listen, they obeyed; and when he performed his ritual purification (wudu’), they all but fought for the water he used [in this purification].[1]

2.  Bukhari narrated that the Muslims would take the hands of the Prophet (upon him be peace) when he was in Mecca, and rub their faces with them. Likewise, Abu Juhayfa says: “I took the hand of the Prophet (upon him be peace), and placed it on my face; and I found that it [his hand] was colder than ice and smelt better than musk”. And Ahmad narrated how, when the people gathered around the Messenger of God (upon him be peace) after the morning-prayer in the Wada’ pilgrimage, Abu Yazid ibn Aswad was able to reach the Messenger of God (upon him be peace) because of his youth and great strength. [When Abu Yazid did so,] the Prophet (upon him be peace) put his hands on Abu Yazid’s face and chest, and the latter found that he had never smelt a more beautiful scent, nor felt a colder [more refreshing] sensation than this. [Accordingly] Al-Shawkani says: “It is legal to receive blessing through touching the people of grace, as the Prophet (upon him be peace) himself approved of this”.[2]

3.  Imam Ahmad is reported to have kept some hair of the Prophet (upon him be peace) in the sleeve of his shirt. During the days of the fitna over whether the Qur’an was created, al-Mu‘tasim refused to burn this shirt, because of the blessings of the hair [in it]. Imam Shafi‘i received blessings from Ahmad’s shirt when he washed it/through the water seeping from it.[3] [Similarly], there exist numerous reports of how the Companions received blessings by praying where the Prophet (upon him be peace) had prayed, placing their hands where he had placed his, on the honorable pulpit (manbar) and elsewhere. In a hadith, al-Nawawi describes “tahnik”, as this word appears in the Arabic language, a practice through which a child is kept safe from evil. Here, the Prophet (upon him be peace) gave his blessings to [protect] the newborn baby by chewing a date, then putting this date into the baby’s mouth. The scholars agree that tahnik is permitted, either with dates, or with any other food that carries the same kind of goodness. The one performing it [tahnik] must be from among the ranks of the righteous, that is to say, s/he must be from among those people from whom Muslims may receive blessings, regardless of whether such people are men or women.

Some of the Companions, such as ‘Abd Allah ibn Umm Maktum used to encourage the Prophet (upon him peace) to pray in his house, so that they could use it as a mosque; while Ibn ‘Umar used to follow closely in the steps of the Prophet (upon him be peace). In Sahih al-Bukhari, Musa ibn ‘Uqba is reported as saying: “I saw Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah checking places from the road and praying in them. He says that his [Salim’s] father prayed in them, and that he saw the Prophet (upon him be peace) [also] praying in such places”. Musa replied: “Nafi’ told me that Ibn ‘Umar was praying in these places [and so there was a likelihood that the Prophet had perhaps prayed too]”.

The Companions believed that they received blessings [simply] as a result of being close to the Prophet (upon him be peace). In Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet (upon him be peace) wore a silver ring on his ring finger, then Abu Bakr wore it after him, then ‘Uthman, until eventually it fell into the Aris well. On this ring was engraved “Muhammad the Messenger of God”. And in some versions, the ring stayed with ‘Uthman for 6 years; and they tried hard to find it in the well, but could not. Aris well is near the Qiba’ mosque and is known as “the well of the ring”. In al-Bukhari, there is a hadith in which al-Zubair ibn al-‘Awwam is reported to have struck ‘Ubayda ibn Sa‘id ibn al-‘As, with a spear headed stick (‘anza), on the day of Badr. The Prophet asked him [al-Zubair] to give him the stick, which he did. Abu Bakr then asked for the stick, then ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and eventually ‘Ali [took the same stick].  Also in another hadith included in al-Bukhari, ‘Umar (r.a.) did not cut the tree at which Radwan offered his oath of allegiance, except when people disagreed about it, and about its place.

Receiving the blessings from the relics of the Prophet (upon him be peace) and the righteous testifies to their love [for the Prophet or the pious ones]. Thus, there can be no harm in this practice, so long as it remains within the limits of religion. And God knows best.

Dr. Yassir ‘Abd al-‘Azim