Urs - Commemorating the Anniversary of Demise

 *'Urs - Commemorating the Anniversary of Demise*

*▪Proofs from the Qur'an:*

1. وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَانِي بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا

"And He has made me (Prophet Īsā) blessed wherever I be; and ordained upon me prayer and charity, as long as I live."

(Maryam: 31)

2. وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّا

"And peace is upon me the day I was born, and on the day I shall taste death, and on the day I will be raised alive."

(Maryam: 33)

3. جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا وَمَن صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ ۖ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَدْخُلُونَ عَلَيْهِم مِّن كُلِّ بَابٍ .

سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُم بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ ۚ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ

"The everlasting Gardens of Eden which they shall enter, along with the deserving (those who believed) among their forefathers and their wives and their descendants - the angels will enter upon them from every gate (to congratulate them when first entering). (The angels will say) 'Peace be upon you, the recompense of your patience - so what an excellent gain is the final abode!'"

(Al-Ra'd: 23-24)

*●Proofs from Prophetic traditions*

1. The Prophet ﷺ would visit the martyrs of Uhud once a year and pray for them reciting the verse, "Peace be upon you, the recompense of your patience - so what an excellent gain is the final abode!" (Al-Ra'd: 24). This was also practiced by our master Abū Bakr, our master 'Umar and our master 'Uthmān, may Allah be pleased with them all.

《Al-Musannaf of Imām 'Abd al-Razzāq and Tafsīr al-Qurtubī》

2. The blessed daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, Lady Fātimah (may Allah be pleased with her) would visit the martyrs of Uhud and pray for them.

《Al-Bayhaqī》

3. Muhammad Ibn Wāsi' (may Allah be pleased with him) would visit the deceased every Friday. He would say, "A hadīth has reached me, 'The deceased recognise those who visit them on Fridays, and (also) the day before it and the day after it.'"

《Al-Bayhaqī》

*●Proofs from the works of classical scholars*

1. Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azīz al-Dihlawī writes, "Secondly, many people gather and, after completing the Qur'an and Fātiha, distribute food among those present. Although this part was not practiced in the time of the Prophet ﷺ or of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, there is nothing wrong in someone doing so. Rather, the deceased attain benefit from the actions of the living."

《al-Fatāwā al-'Azīziyya》

2. Shaykh Hājī Imdādullāh Muhājir al-Makkī writes: "The truth is to visit the graves individually or in a group, to send the reward to the deceased, to fix a day (to do so) are all (individually) permissible; so to do all these aspects together is also permissible."

《Fayşlah Haft Mas'ala》

3. Shaykh Waliyyullāh al-Dihlawī writes: "...One should revere the moment of time a walī passes away, as it is a moment of blessings."

《Hama'āt》

*● The Beliefs of the Ahl al-Sunnah Wa al-Jama'ah*

• To commemorate the death anniversary of a Walī is permissible and a means of attaining blessings.

• 'Urs consists of four things which have been proven to be permissible:

1. Visiting the graves of the Awliya yearly

2. Fixing a date

3. Attaining blessings from the Awliyā

4. Sending the reward of good deeds to their souls

• If an unlawful (or prohibited) act occurs in these gatherings then it should be stopped immediately and prohibited from arising again. However, this can not form the basis of deeming such gatherings impermissible per se - otherwise, we would have to deem the Eids and many other gatherings harām.