The utmost aim of veneration and its most perfect form should be exclusively dedicated to Allah, alone with no partner; He is the only One Worthy of the perfect exaltation and veneration. For He alone is the one praised for all matters for His own Sake, while others are praised and venerated in accordance with their statues in the Sight of Allah and in the manner prescribed by Allah. Any veneration that goes beyond what is prescribed by the Sharee’ah is forbidden and is not authorized by Allah, The Exalted.

Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be within His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right Hand. Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him. Quran 39: 67.

Ibn Taymiyyah said: (Allah, Exalted be He, must be dearer to the slave than all things. Rather, none is worthy of his perfect love and complete humbleness except Him. If anything is loved for other than the Sake of Allah, such love is corrupt, and if anything is venerated by other than what He prescribed, such veneration is invalid.” [376] See: ((Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa)) (10/153).

Based on the above, veneration of objects falls into two categories:

1-   Prescribed veneration, which is within the proper limits set by the religion.

2-   Unprescribed veneration that goes beyond what is delineated in the religion, and it is commonly referred to as sanctification.

The Sharee’ah has venerated some places, times, and assemblies, and elevated their statuses by prescribing special worshipful acts that Allah, Exalted be He, loves and is Pleased with to be performed in these places, times, and assemblies. It is permissible to venerate these sacred and blessed places, times, and assemblies. An Example of these venerated places is the Ka‘bah; Allah, Exalted be He, prescribed Tawaaf around it as a worshipful act devoted to Him. Another example is Al-Safa and Al-Marwah Mounts; Allah, Exalted be He, prescribed Sa‘y between them (i.e., going back and forth between them as part of the Hajj and ‘Umrah rituals) as a worshipful act devoted to Him. The same goes for ‘Arafah Mount; Allah, Exalted be He, prescribed standing within its boundaries on the 9th day of Thul-Hijjah during Hajj as a worshipful act devoted to Him, and the Prophet’s Mosque that Allah, Exalted be He, prescribed that it should be venerated by performing worshipful acts therein and decreed that the rewards for the prayers performed therein should be multiplied. Moreover, He also prescribed the veneration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and decreed that the rewards for the prayers performed therein should be multiplied. Examples of the venerated times as per the Sharee’ah are the days of Hajj, the days of Tashreeq (the 11th, 12th, and 13th of Thul-Hijjah), the month of Ramadan, Fridays, Mondays, Thursdays, ‘Eid Al-Fitr, and ‘Eid Al-Ad-ha. Examples of the venerated congregations are the Eclipse Prayers (solar and lunar eclipses), Istisqaa’ (rain-seeking) Prayer (both performing in congregation), religious circles of knowledge at mosques to learn and reflect on the Quran and acquire knowledge, and the like. The veneration of such places, times, and assemblies should be done in accordance with the manner of veneration prescribed by Allah, Exalted be He, and His Messenger ? without excess, because such veneration is an act of worship devoted to Allah, Exalted be He, and acts of worship are Tawqeefiyyah (i.e., strictly determined only by divine revelation, the Quran or the Sunnah). It is impermissible to add, omit, or modify any worshipful act except with divine textual evidence from the Quran or the Sunnah.

Likewise, it is not permissible to perform special worshipful acts to venerate the things whose veneration is prescribed by Allah, The Exalted. For example, Friday is a venerated day, but the Sharee’ah did not prescribe performing special acts of worship particularly on that day such as fasting or performing night prayers, rather such practice was deemed forbidden.

It was narrated from Aboo Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ? said: “Do not single out the night (preceding) Friday among all other nights by performing night prayer, and do not single out Friday among days by observing fasting, unless any of you is accustomed to fast (on dates) which happened to coincide with this day (Friday).”. [377] Narrated by Muslim (no. 1144) Moreover, Islam also forbids performing worshipful acts in the places, days, or assemblies where and when non-Muslims perform their worshipful acts, because it involves imitating them. Therefore, it is prescribed to fast on the 9th of Muharram along with the 10th day to avoid imitating the Jews who fast on the 10th of Muharram. [378] See: ((Al-Madkhal Li-Diraasat Al-Sharee‘ah Al-Islaamiyyah)) by Ibraaheem Al-Brayakaan (p. 180)