Agar bhatti at one's Qabr

[Hafeez]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Since the death of my late Grandad(may Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) grant him jannah) last summer i have visited his Qabr on a regular basis to read Fatiha, alhumdulillah.

Sometimes my cousins and myself have lit agaar bhati at the grave site, a relative of mine condemned this practice of using agar bhati at gravesites as it is a "hindu tradition".

what i would like to know is this relative correct? is it "ok" to use agar bhati at ones qabr?

please state some sources i.e. Quran or hadith on this issue to help clear my confusion

jazakallah khair

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem


Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu


All Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon His Most Beloved, and Final Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam)


Jazak-Allah for your question. To have light upon a grave, so that the place is recognised as the burial place of someone special, or to have some form of marker in order for it to be recognised has been declared as permissable by some of the 'ulama' of the Ahl as-Sunnah school of thought.


As far as incense sticks are concerned, then there is nothing that states in the Qur'an al kareem or even the hadith shareef, that this is a Hindu tradition. Just because some of the Muslims may have the initiative of keeping a gravesight clean, and full of greenery, and sweet smelling, does not necessitate the fact that just because the Hindus are indulged in a similar practice, that we follow them.


A Muslim washes his hand before eating, so does a Hindu, a Muslim changes his clothes to go to prayer, so does a Hindu, a Muslim kisses his daughter out of love, so does the Hindu, a Muslim brushes his teeth with toothpaste, so does a Hindu, does this mean that we should cease to commit all those acts, and many others which the Hindus commit, simply because they are Hindus, or should we keep our traditions of keeping places clean, visiting places, keeping them tidy, keeping them smelling fresh, by keeping such traditions alive by adopting various methods, so long as the tradition is fulfilled?


In any event, it is known that the Hindus do not bury their dead, but have them cremated, so where then does this assertion of being a 'Hindu tradition' lie, or is it just hatred and enmity towards the common Muslims, and getting them to think and act, the way they do?


In any event, the onus of proof is on not upon you to prove from the Qur'an al kareem or hadith, whether a permissable act is in force, but rather upon the claimant, who claims that it is a Hindu tradition. He must prove from the Qur'an al kareem or hadith, that whether the general practice of keeping the area around graves is a Hindu tradition, which I think is completely impossible to justify his claim. In any case he does prove that it is haram from the Qur'an al kareem or hadith, that it is prohibited, then I myself shall cease to use incense sticks to keep bad spirits away, and to keep the mala'ikah within our company.


May Allah the Almighty keep us away from heresay, which has nothing to do with the Qur'an al kareem or hadith, and from false claims and may He help us to be guided upon that path which is beloved to Him, and His Most Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa aalihi wa Sallam)



Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab



M. Waseem Ashrafi