decayed—that is, decomposed?” He replied, “Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the flesh of the prophets.”

Allah Most High has said in His Book concerning the polytheists among the people of Noah, peace be upon him:

“And they said, ‘Never abandon your gods; never abandon Wadd, Suwā‘, Yaghūth, Ya‘ūq or Nasr.’”

Ibn ‘Abbās and others among the early generations said: These were righteous men among Noah’s people. When they died, the people remained in devotion at their graves, then fashioned statues of them and worshipped them. This was the beginning of idol worship.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, therefore forbade taking graves as places of worship, to close the door to associating partners with Allah. Likewise, he forbade prayer at sunrise and sunset, because the polytheists prostrate to the sun at those times, and Satan accompanies it as it rises and sets. Prayer at those times would thus resemble the prayer of the polytheists, so he closed this door.

Satan leads the children of Adam astray to the extent that he is able. Whoever worships the sun, moon and stars and invokes them—as those who practise invoking the stars do—has a devil descend upon him, speak to him and tell him about certain matters. They call this “the spirit of the stars,” but it is a devil. Although a devil may help a person achieve some of his aims, he harms him many times more than he benefits him. Whoever obeys him will ultimately come to evil, unless Allah turns to him in forgiveness. Likewise, devils may speak to idol worshippers