from a dead person, or to seek to draw near to Allah through him, or to engage in similar practices that some people regard as acts of religion and devotion. This shows the believer that these are innovations which the Companions regarded not as approved practices, but as reprehensible ones.

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This would suffice even if no prohibition indicating that these practices are forbidden had been transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions. How much more so when his mass-transmitted Sunnah indicates that they are forbidden.

For example, in the two Sahīh collections, Ā’ishah said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said during the illness from which he never recovered: ‘May Allah curse the Jews and Christians; they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.’ Were it not for that, his grave would have been left exposed; however, he feared—or it was feared—that it would be taken as a place of worship.”

This is part of al-Bukhārī’s wording. Also in the two Sahīh collections, Ā’ishah said:

“During the illness of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, some of his wives mentioned a church they had seen in Abyssinia called Māriyah. They spoke of its beauty and the images within it. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, raised his head and said: ‘When a righteous man among those people died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and then make those images within it. Those are the worst of creation in Allah’s sight.’”