Making sacrifices and vows to the pious and the righteous

Some people nowadays falsely claim by making sacrifices or Vows to any dead saints, prophet’s household, is a GRAVE WORSHIP, IT’S HARAM, SHIRK, KUFR, IT’S NOT PART OF ISLAM….. because it’s a practice of polytheistic in nature and are derived from pagans.

Deeds only rewarded by their intentions

It is narrated on the authority of Amir al-Mu’minin (Leader of the Believers), Abu Hafs ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), say

“Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and his Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for.”

Related by Bukhari & Muslim

Conveying Rewards to the Deceased (Isaal-E-Thawab)

There is nothing wrong with passing the reward of good deeds to family, friends and other Muslims whether they are dead or alive and it is hoped in the Mercy of Allah (SWT) that they will Insha’Allah be benefitted.

Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas (RA) narrated that mother of Sad bin ‘Ubada (RA) died in his absence. He (RA) said, “O Allah’s Apostle (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam)! My mother died in my absence; will it be of any benefit for her if I give Sadaqa on her behalf?” The Prophet (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said, “Yes,” Sad said, “I make you a witness that I gave my garden called Al Makhraf in charity on her behalf.” [Bukhari]

Abu Huraira (Allah be well pleased with him) reported that a person said to Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him): My father died and left behind property without making any will regarding it. Would he be relieved of the burden of his sin if I give sadaqah on his behalf He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes. (Muslim)

When a person makes a sacrifice or vow to the pious or the righteous, he is in fact dedicating the reward of these acts to them, whether or not he explicitly states this by saying: “This is for so-and-so” or “I dedicate the reward to so-and-so” or “I slaughtered this [animal] and make this vow for so-and-so”. The above statements do not denote directing these acts to other than Allah. This is similar to a person who gives out in charity and says, “I give out this charity for the sake of Allah and dedicate its reward to so-and-so.

” Sa’d ibn ‘Ibadah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “O Messenger of Allah! Umm Sa’d passed away. Which form of sadaqah is best?” The Prophet replied, “Water.” So he dug a well and said, “This is for Umm Sa’d” [Reported by Abu Dawud, al-Nisa`i and Ahmed].

Based on this, a vow or a sacrifice made to a pious or a righteous person in this sense is valid and does not constitute shirk [associating partners to Allah] as some allege.

Nor is it inconsistent with Tawheed [Oneness of Allah] and sincerity in worshipping Allah Almighty, since the person making the sacrifice or vow only intends to dedicate their reward to the deceased. It is an act of worship dedicated to Allah and its reward donated to the deceased. 

Shirk in Vows or Sacrifices

The only time it will be a Shirk if the person believes a vow or a sacrifice made to a pious or a righteous person can INDEPENDENTLY harm or benefit, no muslim has such belief, even the most ignorance muslim knows very well that, it is ONLY ALLAH who can truly Benefit or Harm, nobody from his creatures has such power. Therefore the act carried out is only to PLEASE ALLAH ALONE.

Some people outwardly make remarks such as ” So and So pious would be happy by receiving reward of this sacrifice” this is due to some hadiths they heard from scholars that “deeds are presented to the deceased”

Are Deeds are presented to the deceased?

Imam Suyuti (Allah have mercy on him) authored a book related to the states of the deceased and the grave. Therein is a chapter entitled, “Presentation of the deeds of the living to the deceased” [Suyuti, Sharh as-Sudur].
He relates: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Certainly your actions are presented to your close relatives and kinsfolk from amongst the deceased. So, if your actions were good, they are delighted by it and if they are other than that – they say, “Our Lord, do not cause them to die until You guide then like You guided us.” [Imam Ahmad: Musnad from Anas with some weakness in the chain or narration]
He also relates: Abu Ayyub (Allah be pleased with him) said: “Your actions are presented to the deceased. If they see good they are happy and delighted and they say this if from Your immense favor upon your servant so complete it. If they see evil they say,” Our Lord reject it!”. [Ibn Mubarak: az-Zuhd with a sound chain, Ibn Ibi Dunya: al-Munamat]
He relates from an-Nʿumān bin Basheer, who said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Fear Allah regarding your brothers from the inhabitants of the grave for certainly your actions are presented to them”.[al-Bayhaqi: Shuab al-Iman, Ibn Ibi Dunya: al-Munamat]
These narrations are just some of what Imam Suyuti (Allah have mercy on him) has related in his book. From this we can understand that our actions are seen by our loved ones after death and they are pleased by our good actions and repudiate our foul actions.

Anas ibn Maalik narrated that the Prophet said: “Your deeds are presented to your relatives and your families from the dead. If your deeds are good, they would be pleased with it, and if it is other than this, then they would say: “O Allah! Do not cause them to die until You guide them in the same way that You have guided us.” [Ahmad, and Al-Albaani classified it as authentic in As-Silsilah As-Saheehah (under No. 2758)]

The reward of deeds that were offered on behalf of the dead reaches them, even supplicating for them, and other good deeds. It appears that the dead is informed about the person who did it on his behalf. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: “Verily, Allah raises the degree of the pious slave in Paradise, and the slave would say: “O Lord! How (or wherefrom) did I get this?” Allah would say: “It is because of your son asking forgiveness for you.” [Ahmad and Ibn Maajah]

Kinds of Vows

At this point, it is worthy to note that there are two kinds of vows: Conditional and unconditional.

 The conditional vow:

Scholars maintain that this kind of vow is disliked due to the words of ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “The Prophet [pbuh] forbade making vows and said, ‘It [the vow] will not avert anything but will only force the miser to give up something” [Muslim and Bukhari]. It is better for a Muslim to draw close to Allah through his pious deeds and obedience without attaching a condition to his vow. 

Unconditional Vows:

Vows to do an act of worship are of two kinds. They include acts which are similar in kind to an obligatory act of worship such as prayers, fasts, Hajj and so forth and they must be fulfilled according to the opinion of the majority of scholars. The other type includes acts which are not similar in kind to obligatory acts of worship, yet are meritorious. These include building mosques, joining a funeral procession, Tashmeet [asking Allah to have mercy on the person who sneezes] and so forth. These are necessary to fulfill according to the majority of scholars except for the Hanafis.

It is claimed that a vow made to a deceased is invalid due to the impossibility of him receiving the object of the vow.

This is false since the intention of the person making the vow is to direct it to Allah and dedicate its reward to the deceased.