Sheets on Graves and Seeking Help from the Awliya

Question

In which cases is it permissible to lay a covering sheet on shrines and to seek help (istimdad) from the awliya of Allah?

Answer

Laying a sheet on shrines is forbidden: [ar]تُكْرَهُ السُّتُورُ عَلَى الْقُبُورِ[/ar] “Covers over graves are disliked (makruh).” As for seeking help from the souls of the awliya of Allah — that is, holding the belief that when we, caught in some calamity, call out to these saints and ask them for help, they hear our cry everywhere and come to our aid — this belief is not an…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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