or to a righteous man, or even to someone they merely presume to be a prophet, a Companion, or a saint—calling upon him and directing their hopes toward him.

Among them is one who imagines that this is the very purpose of the ḥajj; he feels no intention except toward the buried creature, and some of them deem it more beneficial than the pilgrimage to the Sacred House.

Among their shaykhs is the man who sets out for ḥajj but, once he reaches Madinah, turns back, thinking that this is more meritorious.

Among their uninformed followers are those who fancy that visiting graves is obligatory, and some of them address the buried dead exactly as one would address the Ever-Living who never dies, saying, “O Master so-and-so, forgive me, have mercy on me, accept my repentance,” or, “Settle my debt for me, grant me victory over so-and-so; I am under your protection and in your care.”

They may even vow their children to the occupant of the grave and set free for him roaming animals—cattle and the like—just as the pagans used to release such animals for their idols. The Exalted says:

“Allah has ordained no Baḥīrah, nor Sāʾibah, nor Waṣīlah, nor Ḥām” (5:103),

and He says:

“They assign to Allah, from what He has produced of crops and livestock, a share, and they say, ‘This is for Allah’—so they claim—‘and this is for our partners.’ Yet what is for their partners never reaches Allah, whereas what is for Allah ends up going to their partners. Evil indeed is what they decide.” (6:136).