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Refuting the Sufi View (Part-1)

Some Sufis quote a Hadith of Sahih Bukhari & claim that ‘Urs is a Sunnah’; this article is a
refutation to their claim
In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful

This article is to refute the Sufi explanation of the following hadith in Sahih Bukhari. They quote this incident
in which the prophet (pbuh) visited the graves of martyrs of Uhud & claim that Urs (annual gathering in
shrines) is a Sunnah.

Uqba bin Amir narrated ‘Once the prophet (pbuh) went out and offered the funeral prayers for the martyrs of
Uhud, and then went to the pulpit & said, ‘ I will pave the way for you as your predecessor and will be a
witness over you; and by Allah, I am looking at my Haud (Al Kawther) just now, and the keys of the treasure
of the earth have been given to me; and by Allah, I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah
after me, but I am afraid that you will strive and struggle against each other over these treasure of
world’(Sahih Bukhari: The Book of Ar Riqaq : Hadith No.6590)

(Note: Based on the above hadith they also say that the prophet (pbuh) has the knowledge of unseen & also
that there will not be any shirk in the Ummah of Mohammad (pbuh). I have refuted these views in other articles.
This article is to refute only the Urs!)

Sufi explanation of ‘Urs’ from this hadith

The prophet (pbuh) took the companions; he also took his pulpit & visited the place where the martyrs of
Uhud were buried. He prayed for them & delivered a sermon in that place. Thus according to them
gathering at the grave and delivering sermons is a Sunnah. So analogically, the annul gathering in the
shrines of the Awliyas, which is called Urs is also a Sunnah (as per their understanding).

The three vital points

Any person who reads the above hadith can clearly understand the following:

(1) The place at which the incident took place is not specified
(2) The time at which the incident took place is not specified
(3) The graves are ‘only’ of the martyrs of Uhud

If we have a detailed discussion of the above three points; this issue will become clear to anyone who has
an unbiased mind.

(1) Where this incident took place?

According these Sufis, this incident took place near the graves of the martyrs of Uhud. Although the hadith
is not clear about the location, let us be generous and accept their view & agree that it took place near
the graves.

(2) When this incident took place?

Although the above hadith is not clear about the time; there are other hadiths on the same incident which
exactly tell us when this incident took place.

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Narrated Uqba bin Amir: Allah's Apostle offered the funeral prayers of the martyrs of Uhud eight years after
(their death), as if bidding farewell to the living and the dead, then he ascended the pulpit and said, "I am
your predecessor before you, and I am a witness on you, and your promised place to meet me will be Al-Haud
(i.e. the Tank) (on the Day of Resurrection), and I am (now) looking at it from this place of mine. I am not
afraid that you will worship others besides Allah, but I am afraid that worldly life will tempt you and cause you
to compete with each other for it." That was the last look which I cast on Allah's Apostle. (Sahih Bukhari: The
Book of Al Maghazi: Hadith No.4042)

The prophet (pbuh) offered the funeral prayer for the slain of Uhud eight years later, as if bidding farewell to
the living & dead. (Sunnan Abu Dawood: The Book of Funerals: Hadith no.3224)

It is clear from the above hadiths that this incident took place eight years after the battle of Uhud. The
battle of uhud happened in 3rd Hijrah & this incident took place in 10th Hijrah.

Why did the prophet (pbuh) made such gathering after 8 years? Why he did not do it every year? The
prophet (pbuh) was about to leave this world in 10th Hijrah and he wanted to bid farewell to the living &
the dead. Hence he prayed for the martyrs of Uhud in 10th Hijrah. This is also confirmed by the statement
in the above hadith “Allah's Apostle offered the funeral prayers of the martyrs of Uhud eight years after
(their death), as if bidding farewell to the living and the dead”.

The fact that the prophet (pbuh) did not do it every year is a strong proof that such gathering at the
graves is not a Sunnah.

Further, it is not reported that the Sahabas (companions) of the prophet (pbuh) made any such annual
gathering in the graves of the martyrs of Uhud after the death of the prophet (pbuh). Do these Sufis
understand sunnah better than the Sahabas? Even the four Khalifas, Abubacker, Umar, Usman & Ali (May
Allah be pleased with them all) never made such gathering. This is another proof that this is not a Sunnah!

(3) The graves are ‘only’ of the martyrs of Uhud

The graves near which the gathering took place are that of the martyrs & not other pious believers. If this
gathering is really a Sunnah, the prophet (pbuh) would have made similar gatherings in the graves of all
other pious companions and also martyrs of other battles.

Conclusion

If the Sufis still use this hadith as an evidence to prove Urs is a Sunnah, they should also satisfy the
following conditions for their Urs as per this hadith:

(1) They have to do Urs every 8 years & not every year; since the prophet (pbuh) did this gathering
after 8 years & not every year

(2) They have to do Urs only on the graves of the Awliyas who are martyrs & not all Awliyas; since the
prophet (pbuh) did not do this for all pious believers

(3) They should not include women in their Urs; since the prophet (pbuh) did not take women along with
him for this gathering

(4) They should not sing qawwalis (songs) or dance or spend their nights in the grave of the Awliyas;
since the prophet (pbuh) did not do it

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(5) They should not cook food, sacrifice & ask for intercession of the Awliyas; since the prophet (pbuh)
did not cook, sacrifice or ask for the intercession of the martyrs

(6) They should not decorate the grave with flowers, lights, etc; since the prophet (pbuh) did not do
such decorations

(7) The graves of the Awliyas should be like that of the martyrs of Uhud i.e they should be in level with
the ground, neither built, plastered nor painted

I am more than sure that these people will never derive the above Seven Sunnahs of the prophet (pbuh)
from the same hadith. They only pick & choose portions which suit their belief & discard portions which
goes against their belief.

A simple question! Which grave is more deserving for Urs than the grave of the prophet (pbuh)? How come
none of the Sahabas did this Urs on his grave? Are these Sufis more knowledgeable in understanding the
Sunnah than the Sahabas? Definitely not !

In view of above, it is obvious that the so called Urs is not the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) but it is an
innovation in the deen of Islam.

The Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a sermon: "The best of the speech is embodied in the Book of Allah, and
the best of the guidance is the guidance given by Muhammad. And the most evil affairs are their innovations;
and every innovation is error." (Sahih Muslim: Book of Prayer: Hadith No. 1885)

(Note: There are various other hadiths and verses in the Quran which are strongly against this so called ‘Urs
’in the Shrines. I purposely did not quote them because I want to use their (Sufis) own evidence against
themselves. Hence I restricted myself to the hadiths which are related to the incident quoted by these Sufis)

Let Allah keep us away from such innovations and help us to understand the Quran & the Sunnah of
the prophet (pbuh) as understood by the Sahabas. Ameen!

‘All truth in this article is from Allah & all mistakes are of mine only’

Article by: Syed Shanawaz

Edited by: Answering – Allegations Team

Date: June ‘2010

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