Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/288)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

And as Mālik said in the report related by Ibn Wahb:

“When one greets the Prophet ﷺ, he stands with his face toward the grave, not toward the qiblah; he comes close, offers salām, and makes supplication, and he is not to touch the grave with his hand (1). We have already cited his statement that one sends blessings upon him and prays for him.”

It is well known that sending blessings upon him and praying for him secures his intercession for a servant on the Day of Resurrection, just as he ﷺ said in the sound ḥadīth:

“When you hear the muʾadhdhin, repeat what he says; then send blessings upon me, for whoever sends one blessing upon me, Allah will send ten blessings upon him. Then ask Allah to grant me al-Wasīlah, for it is a rank in Paradise that is fitting only for one servant of Allah, and I hope to be that servant. Whoever asks Allah to grant me al-Wasīlah (2) shall receive my intercession on the Day of Resurrection.” (3)

Thus Mālik’s statement in this account—if it is indeed reliably attributed to him—(4) means that if you face him, invoke blessings and peace upon him, and ask Allah to grant him al-Wasīlah, he will intercede for you on the Day of Resurrection. On that Day all nations will seek nearness to Allah through his intercession, and a servant’s seeking his intercession in this life is (5) to perform the very acts by which he will intercede for him on the Day of Resurrection, such as asking Allah to grant him al-Wasīlah and the like (6).

Likewise, the version transmitted from him by Ibn Wahb states: when one greets the Prophet ﷺ and makes supplication, he is to stand facing the grave, not the qiblah, and to supplicate (7) and offer salām—that is, to pray for the Prophet ﷺ and for his two Companions.

(1) See Qadi Iyad, al-Shifaʾ, 2:84. (2) In MS B a marginal addition appears above the line: fa-qad, i.e., fa-qad ḥallat ʿalayhi (“for it has already come upon him”). (3) Recorded by Muslim, Book of Prayer, chapter “The recommendation to repeat the words of the muʾadhdhin (caller to prayer),” no. 384 (1:288–89). Muslim ends the report with the phrase: ḥallat lahu al-shafaʿa (intercession is thereby granted to him). (4) MS A reads: fa-maʿnahu (“so its meaning is…”). (5) The printed edition has: ilā Allāh bi-shafāʿatihi (“to Allah by means of his intercession”). (6) The printed edition reads: huwa bi-ṭāʿatihi wa-fiʿl- (“it is through his obedience and deeds…”). (7) MS A: wa-yadnu (“and he draws near”); MS T: fa-yadnu (“then he draws near”).

وكما قال في رواية ابن وهب عنه: " إذا سلم على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقف ووجهه إلى القبر لا إلى القبلة، ويدنو ويسلم ويدعو، ولا يمس القبر بيده (١) وقد تقدم قوله: إنه يصلي عليه ويدعو له " . ومعلوم أن الصلاة عليه والدعاء له يوجب شفاعته للعبد يوم القيامة، كما قال صلى الله عليه وسلم في الحديث الصحيح: «إذا سمعتم المؤذن فقولوا مثلما يقول: ثم صلوا علي فإنه من صلى علي مرة صلى الله عليه عشرًا، ثم سلوا الله لي الوسيلة فإنها درجة في الجنة لا تنبغي إلا لعبد من عباد الله، وأرجو أن أكون ذلك العبد، فمن سأل الله لي الوسيلة (٢) حلت عليه شفاعتي يوم القيامة» (٣) . فقول مالك في هذه الحكاية - إن كان ثابتًا عنه - (٤) معناه: إنك إذا استقبلته وصليت عليه وسلمت عليه، وسألت الله له الوسيلة، يشفع فيك يوم القيامة فإن الأمم يوم القيامة يتوسلون (٥) بشفاعته واستشفاع العبد به في الدنيا هو (٦) فعل ما يشفع به له يوم القيامة، كسؤال الله له الوسيلة ونحو ذلك. وكذلك ما نقل عنه من رواية ابن وهب: إذا سلم على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ودعا، يقف ووجهه إلى القبر لا إلى القبلة، ويدعو (٧) ويسلم، يعني دعاءه للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وصاحبيه.

(١) انظر: كتاب (الشفا) للقاضي عياض (٢ / ٨٤) . (٢) في (ب) : علق فوق السطر: فقد. أي: فقد حلت عليه. (٣) أخرجه مسلم، كتاب الصلاة، باب استحباب القول مثل قول المؤذن، الحديث رقم (٣٨٤) ، (١ / ٢٨٨، ٢٨٩) وآخره في مسلم، قال " حلت له الشفاعة ". (٤) في (أ) : فمعناه. (٥) في المطبوعة: إلى الله بشفاعته. (٦) في المطبوعة: هو بطاعته وفعل. (٧) في (أ) : ويدنو. وفي (ط) : فيدنو.