Appealing to God via Prophet and the Ahlul Bayt Not “Polytheism”

Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Speaking on the Egyptian satellite television channel “Capital Broadcast Centre,” Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the former Grand Mufti of Egypt, stated that a helpless person who cannot do what the Prophet Muhammad and his Ahlul-Bayt have done, has done it and if he wants to do tawassul or appeal to the Prophet in supplication, it is not a problem, as some claim, and he has not committed shirk (polytheism) – the association of partners to God.

The top Sunni scholar added that when someone says “Oh God, for the sake of our master Husayn…” and another says “I swear by the Prophet…” it is not considered associating partners with God and one says that this is considered associating partners with God has a “mental disorder.”

He also said that when a person who vows to God Almighty that he will do a certain action due to his love for Imam Husayn, it is a form of oath, not associating partners with God.

Sheikh Gomaa said that swearing to God is a form of worship and the Prophet of Islam also performed such actions of worship. This is while heretical extremists do not know this and consider it an innovation and mock those who perform such action.

The former Grand Mufti of Egypt said that these extremist groups have deviated from the true path of Islam and have introduced into the religion these same falsehoods have led to bloodshed in Iraq and Syria. He added that extremist, radical and heretical elements which act heinously have sought to create a parallel structure within Islam and we have always warned about their actions, which show a lack of religion and are barbaric actions.

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