Allah, Most High, says (interpretation of meaning): O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul created at a command from Him. Quran 4:171 It means, ‘O people of the Gospel (the Christians), do not transgress the limits with regard to your religion, lest you be negligent of it.’ They transgressed the proper limits of the sound belief in Prophet ‘Eesa (Jesus), elevating him from being a Prophet and Messenger of Allah to lordship, which is exclusive to Allah, The Exalted. The ayah warned them against lying about Allah, Exalted be He, by claiming that He has a wife and a child! O Christian who went to excess in religion, ‘Eesa is not the son of Allah, as you claim. Rather, he is the son of Maryam (Mary) and has no father. He is the slave of Allah and one of His creation and Messengers; He created him from His Word with which He sent Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) to Maryam to breathe into her womb and thus she got pregnant with him by the permission of Allah.” [355] See: ((At-Tafseer Al-Muharrar - Surat An-Nisa)) (p.: 773).

The Prophet ? warned his nation against excessiveness in general. It was narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ? said: “Beware of excessiveness in religion. Indeed, excessiveness in religion caused those nations before you to perish.” [356] It was reported by Al-Nasaa’i (no. 3057) with this wording, Ibn Maajah (no. 3029), and Ahmad (no. 1851). It was classified as Saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh (3871), Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr in “Al-Tamheed” (24/428), Ibn Taymiyyah in “Iqtidaa’ Al-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem” (1/327), and Ahmad Shaakir in his revision of “Musnad Ahmad” (3/257), Ibn Baaz in “Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa” (1/231), and Al-Albaanee in “Saheeh Sunan Al-Nasaa’i” (no. 3057), and its chain of transmission was judged as authentic according to the conditions stipulated by Muslim: Al-Nawawee in “Al-Majmoo’” ) (8/171), and Shu‘ayb Al-Arnaa’oot in his revision of ((Musnad Ahmad)) (no. 1851). Aboo Na‘eem said in “Hilyat al-Awliya’” (2/253): “It was narrated only by ‘Awf ibn Al-Arabi on the authority of Ziyaad ibn Husayn, who was one of the good reporters narrating on the authority of Aboo Al-‘Aaliyah.

Excessive veneration of the righteous is the first reason that caused the children of Adam to fall into major Shirk. Allah, Most High, says (interpretation of meaning): And they said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwaa‘ or Yaghooth and Ya‘ooq and Nasr. Quran 71:23
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said about the names (of their false gods) stated in this ayah: “These were the names of righteous men among the people of Nooh. When they died, Satan enticed their people to make idols of them (the dead righteous men) in the places where they used to sit and name those idols after them. They did, but the idols were only venerated and were not worshipped at that point. When those people died and knowledge was lost among their people, the idols were worshipped (by the following generations).” [357] Narrated by Al-Bukhaaree (no. 4920)

Ibn Taymiyyah said: “Verily, many misguided worshippers and Sufis fell into excessive veneration of the Prophets and the righteous to the extent that many of them held the beliefs on Hulool and Itihaad, which are worse and more heinous than those held by the Christians, or equal to them (in terms of gravity and heinousness).” [358] See: ((Iqtidaa’ Al-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem)) (1/83-89)

Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “One of the main reasons for the emergence of idol-worship was the excessive veneration of the created beings, elevating them above their status, attributing divinity to them, and likening them to Allah, The Exalted. Such a sinful act of Tashbeeh (likening Allah to His creation) was committed by previous nations, and Allah, Exalted be He, denounced it and sent down His Messengers and Books to instruct people on its invalidity and refute the claims of those who followed this path.” [359] See: ((Ighaaat Al-Lahfan Fee Masaa’id Al-Shaytaan)) (2/978).

Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Al-Wahhaab said: (A Muslim or an adherent to the Sunnah may depart from Islam (fall into Shirk and Kufr) during these times, for many reasons, including excessiveness in religion that was denounced by Allah in the Quran. Allah, Most High, says (interpretation of meaning): Say, "O People of the Scripture, do not exceed limits in your religion beyond the truth. Quran 5:77

‘Alee ibn Aboo Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) burned the extremist Rafidites; he ordered trenches to be dug for them at the gates of Kinda and threw them therein. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) agreed that they must be sentenced to death ... Likewise, the excessive veneration of some (Sufi) Shaykhs, rather even excessive veneration of ‘Alee ibn Aboo Taalib, Prophet ‘Eesa, and the like. Whoever excessively venerates a Prophet or a righteous person, and attributes divinity to him, such as saying: ‘O my master, so-and-so, help me, or relieve me, or provide for me, or give me strength,’ or ‘I am under your protection,’ and the like of sayings, has committed an act of Shirk and falsehood. Whoever utters these sayings should be advised to repent or otherwise will be killed (for apostasy).” [360] See: ((Mufeed Al-Mustafeed fee Kufr Taarik Al-Tawheed)) (Printed as part of Mu’alafaat Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Al-Wahhaab, Part One) (p.: 291).

Below are some types of forbidden excessive veneration of the righteous that may lead to Shirk:
1-   Excessively praising them:
Exaggeration in praising the righteous people may eventually lead to falling into major Shirk in Lordship (Ruboobiyah), by believing that some allies of Allah dispose of the affairs of the worldly life, can hear people’s supplications and answer them after their death, or that they can benefit and harm them, or that they know the Unseen.

This exaggeration may also lead to falling into Shirk in Divinity (Uloohiyyah), such as calling upon the dead people instead of Allah and seeking refuge with them. The Prophet ? even warned against excessiveness in praising him. It was narrated on the authority of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ? said: “Do not exaggerate in praising me as Christians praised the son of Maryam, for I am only a slave. So, call me the slave of Allah and His Messenger.” [361] Narrated by Al-Bukhaaree (no. 3445)

Ibn Hajar said: (Ibn Al-Teen said: ‘He ? forbade Muslims from exaggeration in praising him like the Christians did with Prophet ‘Eesa; the Christians exaggerated in his praise so much that some even claimed that he was God, and some argued that he was the son of God. He ? then followed the prohibition by saying, ‘I am the slave of Allah.’ [362] See: ((Fat-h Al-Baari)) (12/149).
If this applies to the Prophet ?, the master of all children of Adam, it applies to other human beings for greater reasons. Thus, no human being should be excessively praised.

2-   Making images (statues) of the allies of Allah and the righteous:
The first act of Shirk committed by the children of Adam was due to the excessive veneration of the righteous people by making images and statues of them, like what the people of Prophet Nooh did.

Ibn Al-Qayyim said: (Many of the righteous predecessors said: ‘These were righteous people from the People of Nooh, and when they died, their people excessively venerated their graves, then erected statues of them, and later on worshipped them. These people were lured by the temptations of the graves and statues, to which the Prophet ? referred in the agreed-upon Hadeeth narrated by ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Umm Habeebah and Umm Salamah mentioned a church they had seen in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and in the church there were images (statues). When they told the Prophet ? of this, he said, "When a pious man among those people died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and make these images (statues) in it. Those people are the most wicked of all the Creation in the sight of Allah.” This narration combined the mention of both statues and graves. [363] See: ((Ighaathat Al-Lahfaan fee Masaa’id Al-Shaytaan)) (1/332)

Given the gravity of making such statues, much Divine textual proofs were reported emphasizing the stern warnings against the image-makers and stressing the prohibition of image-making. For example, it was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ? said: “The image-makers shall receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection.” [364] Narrated by Al-Bukhaaree (no. 5950) with this wording, and Muslim (no. 2109)

Al-Khattaabee said: (An image-maker refers the one who makes three dimensional images of animate beings like animals ... The prescribed punishment for image-making is severe because these images are being worshipped besides Allah, and some people are inclined to them. [365] See: ((A‘laam Al-Hadeeth)) (3/2160).

Ibn Al-‘Arabee said: (I saw some people at the front of Alexandria whenever any of them died, they would make a wooden statue of him or her in the best form, place it in their spot inside their house, clothe the men with their outfits and women with their jewelry, and close the door. Whenever a calamity befell any of them or they are in distress, they would open the door and sit beside the statue to vent out their grief and cry their hearts out until they find solace. Then, they would close the door and leave! After the passage of time, they worshipped such statues along with their other idols and statues.” [366] See: ((Ahkaam Al-Quraan)) (4/9)

Ibn Hubayrah said: (The promised punishment for the image-makers is severe because they make idols. Even if they are not explicitly worshiped in the present time, people’s fondness and inclination towards them are strong enough to fear that it may lead to their worship in the future.” [367] See: ((Al-Ifsaah ‘an Ma‘aani Al-Sihaah)) (2/30).

Aboo Al-Hayyaaj Al-Asadi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “‘Alee ibn Aboo Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: “Shall I send you for a mission for which the Prophet ? had sent me earlier: ‘Do not leave an idol unless it is destroyed, nor leave an up leveled grave until you have leveled it down to ground.’” Another version of the report reads: “(Do not leave) an image without obliterating it.” [368] Narrated by Muslim (no. 969)

In his commentary on this Hadeeth, Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: (The point of making mention of the prominent (high) grave in the context of speaking about (prohibited) images is that they both are means leading to Shirk. The early emergence of Shirk among the people of Prophet Nooh was because they made images (statues) of their righteous people and worshipped them after prolonged periods of time. The same goes for the prominent (high) graves; people may excessively venerate them to the extent of taking them as objects of worship besides Allah, Exalted be He, and this is what happened in some Muslim countries.” [369] See: ((Al-Qawl Al-Mufeed ‘ala Kitaab Al-Tawheed)) (2/449)

Ibn Al-’Arabee narrated the consensus on the impermissibility of three-dimensional images, saying: (The Hadeeths about the prohibition of images are numerous ... the three-dimensional images are forbidden according to the consensus of scholars. [370] See: ((‘Aarithat Al-Ahwathi)) (7/186)

Ibn Baaz said: (There is no difference in this between three-dimensional images and those drawn on jackets or sheets of paper or the like, nor between images of human beings and other animate objects). [371] See: ((Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz)) (4/219)



3-   Building high graves for the righteous and elite and building shrines over them:
Aboo Al-Hayyaaj Al-Asadi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “‘Alee ibn Aboo Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: ‘Shall I send you for a mission for which the Prophet ? had sent me: ‘Do not leave an idol unless it is destroyed, nor you leave an up leveled grave unless you level it down to ground.’” [372] Narrated by Muslim (no. 969)
Ibn Taymiyyah said: (The scholars of Islam agreed that it is not permissible to build such shrines over the graves.) [373] See: ((Majmoo’ Fataawa)) (27/448)

Al-Barkawi said about the grave worshippers: (These misguided people who lead others astray went so far in their misguidance to the extent of prescribing a pilgrimage to the graves and establishing certain rituals for it. One of these extremist grave worshippers even compiled a book entitled ‘Manaasik Hajj Al-Mashaahid (Rituals of Pilgrimage to the Shrines),” holding these shrines equal to the Sacred House! It is no secret that such a sinful act takes the doer out of the fold of Islam and ushers him into idol-worship ... There is no doubt that it incurs countless evils). [374] See: ((Ziyarrat Al-Quboor Al-Shar‘iyyah wa Al-Shirkiyyah)) (p. 25-28)

Sulaymaan ibn ‘Abdullaah Aal Al-Shaykh said: (The scholars unanimously agreed that
it is forbidden to build any structure over the graves, and it is incumbent to demolish such structures). [375] See: ((Tayseer Al-`Azeez Al-Hameed)) (p. 278)