Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Wahhabism Is It An Innovation To Commemorate The Birth And Death Anniversaries Of Awliya Allah? The Wahhabis consider the honouring of birth and death anniversaries of awliya and divine personalities to be forbidden and an innovation. They are the staunch enemies of the awliya Allah and religious leaders and consider the gatherings on their birth and death anniversaries to be ( haram ) prohibited.
📌Muhammad Hamid al-Faqi, the leader of group ‘Ansar al-Sunnat al-Muhammadiyya’ in his footnotes to his book al-Fath al-Majid writes: الذكريات التي ملاءت البلاد بإسم الأولياء هى نوعٌ من العبادة لهم وتعظيمهم “Remembering and celebrating on the days of birth and death of awliya amounts to one kind of worshipping them and respecting before them.”[^1] The root of all their mistakes is that because they have not determined any limit and margin for polytheism ( shirk ), tawhid and specially the meaning of 'ibada , they think that every kind of respect and honour is worship.
As you must have noticed, he has brought the word of 'ibada and homage close to each other and imagines that both give the same meaning. In the one of next chapters, we shall explain the meaning of 'ibada and clearly prove that every honour and respect to the virtuous servants of God with the intention that they are the ‘servants’ of Allah, does not result in their worship at all. Therefore, we shall examine this discussion from another angle (not polytheism in 'ibada ).
Undoubtedly, Qur’an has repeatedly praised the Prophets and awliya with eloquent and rhetorical words. About Zakaria, Yahya and others the Qur’an says: إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا ۖ وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ “Surely they used to hasten, one with another, in deeds of goodness and to call upon Us, hoping and fearing, and they were humble before Us.
(al-'Anbiya 21:90)” Now, if in a gathering which is held under their name, someone portrays them in a similar manner which has come down in the contents of this verse and by this way honours them, has he done anything other than obeying the Holy Qur’an? About the household of the Prophet, Allah (swt) says: وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا "And they give food out of love for Him to the poor and the orphan and the captive.