Bulugh al-Maram — Hadith #52304

On the authority of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said: “When Abdullah ibn Ubay died, his son came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: ‘Give me your shirt so I may shroud him in it.’ So he gave it to him.” Agreed upon. 1.1 - Authentic. Narrated by al-Bukhari (1269) and Muslim (2400). Other hadiths have come that appear to contradict the hadith of Ibn Umar, and the answer to that is explained in detail in “Subul al-Salam” and other works such as “al-Fath.” Note: Some scholars, such as al-Isma’ili, Ibn Hajar, and others, have inferred from this hadith the permissibility of requesting Seeking blessings from the relics of righteous people is not permissible! I say: No. Seeking blessings is only permissible from the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and not from the relics of other righteous and pious people. Our proof for this is that fundamental principle, which we proclaim day and night and teach to everyone, namely: “According to the understanding of the righteous predecessors.” This is what distinguishes the followers of the Salafi call from other callers, whether they be those of a particular school of jurisprudence, an intellectual call, or a partisan methodology. This example is a clear illustration that without this restriction, one enters into innovation through its widest gates, God forbid. In the Sunnah, we find that the Companions (may God be pleased with them) sought blessings from the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) ablution water, his sweat, and other relics, as recorded in the two Sahihs (Bukhari and Muslim) and other sources. But do we find the Companions or the righteous predecessors in the three preferred centuries doing this with the relics of anyone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? Undoubtedly, every fair-minded person will say: No, we do not. We say: If this were good, they would have preceded us in it. But since they did not do so and considered it a privilege specific to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we must not deviate from their understanding. Otherwise, we will fall into the same errors and misguidance that many people fall into because of their application of this condition, "according to the understanding of the righteous predecessors." Many of these people—if not all—despite their misguidance, still affirm the obligation to adhere to the Quran and Sunnah. Finally, I remind some of those who preside over gatherings and seminars these days that this principle has its proofs from the Book of Allah, the Exalted, and from the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), not as one of them claimed in some of his lessons! That throughout his scholarly life, he knew nothing but the Quran and Sunnah, and that this is what he received from his teachers, until the Salafis invented this statement. In any case, all of this is detailed in my treatise, "The Slandered Salafis." Praise be to Allah, first and last.