In addition, the same practices are carried out at the graves of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Maʿrūf al-Karkhī, and others, as well as at the grave of Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī (1). Similar rites used to take place in Bahrān at a grave known as “the grave of al-Anṣārī” (2), and at countless other graves throughout the Muslim lands—too many to enumerate. Over many of these graves people have even erected mosques—some of them on unlawfully seized property—just as they have built over the graves of Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī, and others.

These distinguished Imams are to be loved and emulated; we should revive what they revived of the religion and pray for their forgiveness, mercy, and divine acceptance. Yet turning their graves into festivals is among the matters Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. Making it a habit to visit these graves at a fixed time, or to hold a general gathering there at a specific time, is precisely treating them as a festival, as stated earlier. I know of no difference of opinion on this point among the Muslim (3) scholars.

Let no one be deceived by the prevalence of these unsound customs, for this is a form of imitating the People of the Scripture, about which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—informed us would arise in this community.

The root of the matter is merely the belief that supplication made in their vicinity possesses special merit (4); were it not for that belief (5)