Sometimes they say that building monuments over tombs caused worshiping of tombs and they know this Hadith from Prophet as their proof: “Allah damned Yahud, because they transformed tombs of their prophets to mosques.”¹

But it is clear to all Muslims that nobody worships tombs of Awliya Allah and there is a clear and explicit difference between “worship” and “pilgrimage”. We pilgrimage departed persons and respect to superiors of Islam and martyrs of the way of Islam and ask them to pray for us, as we do the same for living people and respect to elders and superiors and ask them to pray for us.

Does any wise person say that pilgrimage of superiors in their living time like said before is worship, infidelity and polytheism? Pilgrimage after the death is the same.

Prophet of Islam (s.a.) had been going for pilgrimage of tombs in Baqi and there are lots of cabbalas about pilgrimage of tomb of Prophet (s.a.) quoted in Sonni resources.

If Allah damned Yahud it was because that they made tombs of prophets as place of prostration, while no Muslim makes none of tombs as his/her prostration place.

It is interesting that the dome and monument of Prophet of Islam (s.a.) has raised to sky nowadays alongside the Masjid Alnabi and all Muslims, even Wahhabies, perform obligatory prayers in five times and Mustahab prayers in other times in the holy shrine (that place of Masjid Alnabi which is next to tomb of his holiness and connected to that), and at the end, pilgrimage the tomb of holy Prophet (s.a.).

Does this act consider as worshiping the tombs and is it Haraam? Or the sacred tomb of Prophet (s.a.) is an exception? Are proofs for polytheism and being Haraam of worshiping other than Allah excludable?!

Surely, pilgrimage of tombs has no relation to worshiping, and performing prayers beside the tomb of holy Prophet (s.a.) or other Awliya Allah has no problem and above Hadith is for those who really worship tombs.

People who are familiar with pilgrimage of tombs of Imams (a.s.) by Shiites of the world know that at the time of obligatory prayers when Muazzin starts Azaan, all Muslims stand faced to Qibla and perform prayers in groups (Jama’at) and at the beginning of pilgrimage first they say “Allah Akbar” (Allah is the greatest) hundred times and after the pilgrimage perform two Rak’at of Mustahab prayer faced to Qibla, in order that at the beginning and at the end cleared that worship is only for Allah.

But unfortunately accusation and trumping up, due to especial purposes, has begun and Wahhabi minority accuse their oppositions with difference accusations.

The best way of thinking of good purpose for their acts is to say that they are not able to analyze issues well and they did not understand the reality of monotheism and polytheism and they do not know the difference between pilgrimage and worship specifically, due to their lack of knowledge.

1- Sahih of Bokhari, vol. 1, page 110, this meaning plus “valnesari” is cited in Sahih of Muslim (vol.2, page 67).