al-Tahdhir min Tazim al-Athar Ghayr al-Mashrua
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- al-Dar al-Haditha
al-Tahdhir min Ta'zim al-Athar Ghayr al-Mashru'ah (Warning Against Venerating Unlegislated Relics) is a theological treatise by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Muhsin al-Abbad (b. 1353 AH / 1934 CE) that argues against the veneration and religious revival of historical physical sites and unlegislated relics, warning that such practices serve as avenues leading to polytheism (shirk) .
Background and Occasion
Al-Abbad wrote the treatise as a direct rejoinder to an article written by Umar Kamil and published in the al-Risalah supplement of the Saudi newspaper al-Madinah on Friday, 18 Muharram 1424 AH . Kamil's article, titled "No Fear for the Land of the Two Holy Sanctuaries from Polytheism and Idolatry", argued that polytheism cannot return to the Arabian Peninsula, that reviving prophetic sites does not lead to idolatry, and cited the practice of Abd Allah ibn Umar following prophetic traces as well as reports permitting seeking blessings (tabarruk) at the Prophet's grave and pulpit .
Contents and Core Arguments
The treatise refutes the claims raised in the article through several theological and textual points:
- Possibility of Polytheism Returning: Al-Abbad refutes the notion that the Arabian Peninsula is permanently immune from idolatry . He cites authentic traditions mentioning the return of idolatry near the end of time—such as the worship of Dhu al-Khalasa and al-Lat and al-'Uzza—as well as the historical apostasy of Arab tribes after the Prophet's death . Citing the scholar Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman Aba Butayn, he reconciles these reports with the hadith concerning Satan's despair of being worshipped by explaining that Satan's despair was either his own assumption or that it meant the entirety of the community would not unite upon idolatry .
- Following Prophetic Footsteps: Addressing the argument based on Ibn Umar's tracking of places where the Prophet ﷺ prayed, al-Abbad cites Ibn Taymiyyah to show that Ibn Umar acted out of personal emulation and did not seek blessings from those spots . He highlights that the other Companions, including Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib, did not seek out such locations . He records the narration of al-Ma'rur ibn Suwayd wherein Umar explicitly forbade travelers between Mecca and Medina from intentionally praying at a roadside spot where the Prophet ﷺ had merely happened to stop, warning that earlier religious communities were destroyed by turning the relics of their prophets into shrines .
- Spatial vs. Bodily Relics: The author distinguishes between spatial sites (al-athar al-makaniyyah) and physical bodily relics (al-athar al-jasadiyyah) . Spatial veneration is strictly limited to places sanctioned by revelation—such as the Prophet's Mosque, the Sacred Mosque, al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Quba Mosque—while all other places must not be singled out for visitation or prayer . He invokes the principle of blocking the means to prohibited ends (sadd al-dhara'i'), citing Ibn al-Qayyim's I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in . Seeking blessings from bodily relics (such as hair or items touched by the Prophet's body) was permissible during his lifetime and for those who possessed verified physical items, but this was a unique prerogative (khasa'is) of the Prophet ﷺ that no longer exists in reality and cannot be extended to righteous individuals, referencing rulings from al-Shatibi and al-Nawawi .
Publication
The work is a concise treatise consisting of 47 pages . It was published as a standalone volume in Egypt by al-Dar al-Haditha in a first edition in 1425 AH . It was subsequently included within the third edition of the author's collected works (Kutub wa-Rasa'il Abd al-Muhsin ibn Hamad al-Abbad al-Badr), published by Maktabat Libya al-Jadida in Tripoli in 1435 AH .
Answer updated