Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/160)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

who rely on those funds to help them worship God alone, without partner—this is praiseworthy. Among the places in question are some that people imagine to be the grave of a prophet or a righteous man, though they are not; or that they suppose to be a station associated with him, though in fact they are not. As for a site that truly is his grave or his station, that belongs to the second category (1).

[Some of the sites and graves that people have innovated]

This is a vast subject, and I shall mention only a few concrete examples:

First, there are several locations in Damascus. One of them is a shrine dedicated to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb situated outside the Eastern Gate. Yet there is no disagreement among the scholars that Ubayy ibn Kaʿb died in Madinah and not in Damascus. God knows whose grave it really is, but it is certainly not the grave of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, the Companion of the Messenger of God (2).

Likewise, on the southern wall of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (3) there is a spot that people claim contains the grave of the Prophet Hūd, peace be upon him. I know of no scholar who has ever maintained that the Prophet Hūd died in Damascus. Rather, it has been said that he died in Yemen, and others have said that he died in Mecca—for his mission began in Yemen, and after the destruction of his people he migrated to Mecca. As for al-Shām, it was neither his homeland (4) nor his place of migration; hence for him to have died there—especially when the scholars do not mention it and, in fact, report the contrary—is exceedingly improbable.

There is also a shrine outside the Western Gate of Damascus said to be the grave of Uways al-Qaranī (5). I have never encountered anyone who claims that Uways died in Damascus, nor that he ever even headed toward the city

(1) This designation applies to something that possesses a special quality yet does not warrant being intentionally frequented for acts of worship. (2) Copy B has: “but it is not my father’s grave.” (3) The words “in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus” are missing in copy A. (4) The printed edition reads instead: “nor is it his house.” (5) He is Uways b. ʿAmir b. ʿAmr al-Qarani, the devout Yemeni renowned for his piety. ʿUmar b. al-Khattab reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “A man named Uways will come to you from Yemen. He has no one there except his mother. He once suffered from leucoderma; he prayed to Allah and it disappeared except for a spot the size of a dirham. Whoever of you meets him, ask him to seek forgiveness for you….” Muslim, Fadaʾil al-Sahaba, “The Merits of Uways al-Qarani,” no. 2542 (4/1968). It is related that ʿUmar asked him to pray for his forgiveness; when people began to notice him, he withdrew, later settling in Kufa. He was martyred at Siffin fighting alongside ʿAli, may Allah be pleased with him. See Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-Mizan, 1:471–75, no. 1449.

يستعينون بالمال على عبادة الله وحده لا شريك له- كان حسنا. فمن هذه الأمكنة ما يظن أنه قبر نبي، أو رجل صالح، وليس كذلك، أو يظن أنه مقام له، وليس كذلك. فأما ما كان قبرا له أو مقاما، فهذا من النوع الثاني (١) . [بعض الأمكنة والقبور التي ابتدعها الناس] وهذا باب واسع أذكر بعض أعيانه: فمن ذلك: عدة أمكنة بدمشق، مثل مشهد لأبي بن كعب خارج الباب الشرقي، ولا خلاف بين أهل العلم، أن أبي بن كعب إنما توفي بالمدينة، لم يمت بدمشق. والله أعلم قبر من هو، لكنه ليس (٢) بقبر أبي بن كعب صاحب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بلا شك. وكذلك مكان بالحائط القبلي، بجامع دمشق (٣) يقال إن فيه قبر هود عليه السلام، وما عملت أحدا من أهل العلم ذكر أن هودا النبي مات بدمشق، بل قد قيل إنه مات باليمن، وقيل بمكة، فإن مبعثه كان باليمن، ومهاجره بعد هلاك قومه كان إلى مكة، فأما الشام فلا داره (٤) ولا مهاجره، فموته بها -والحال هذه مع أن أهل العلم لم يذكروه بل ذكروا خلافه- في غاية البعد. وكذلك مشهد خارج الباب الغربي من دمشق، يقال إنه قبر أويس القرني (٥) وما علمت أن أحدا ذكر أن أويسا مات بدمشق، ولا هو متوجه

(١) وهو ما له خصيصة لا تقتضي قصده للعبادة فيه. (٢) في (ب) : لكن ليس هو بقبر أبي. (٣) بجامع دمشق: ساقطة من (أ) . (٤) في المطبوعة: فلا هي داره. (٥) هو: أويس بن عامر بن عمرو القرني اليمني العابد، من الأتقياء الصالحين، ورد في فضله عن عمر بن الخطاب أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم قال: (إن رجلا يأتيكم من اليمن يقال له: أويس، لا يدع باليمن غير أم له، وقد كان به بياض فدعا الله فأذهبه عنه إلا موضع الدرهم، فمن لقيه منكم فمروه فليستغفر لكم. .) الحديث، أخرجه مسلم في فضائل الصحابة، باب فضائل أويس القرني، الحديث رقم (٢٥٤٢) ، (٤ / ١٩٦٨) ، وذكر أن عمر طلب منه أن يستغفر له ففطن له الناس فهام على وجهه، ونزل الكوفة، توفي في صفين مع علي رضي الله عنه. انظر: لسان الميزان (١ / ٤٧١ ـ ٤٧٥) ، (ت١٤٤٩) .