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Renaissance
Islamic Journal·Pakistan

A journal of Islamic research in continuous monthly circulation since 1991. Published by Al-Mawrid.

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Monthly Renaissance
EST. 1991 · LAHORE
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Archive/Vol. 8 · № 3/Razing Down Shrines
ARTICLE ID q752
In this issue
A New Breed of IntellectualsSūrahs Takwīr - InfitārThe Last Khutbah of the Prophet (sws)Mawlānā Amīn Ahsan Islāhī (1904-97)Citizenship of an Islamic State

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1 min · 144 words
Miscellaneous
— Miscellaneous —

Razing Down Shrines

DS
Dr. Shehzad Saleem
April 1998 · 1 min read

What do you say about these graves of saints in Pakistan? Some say they should be demolished to just 6 inches in height. Is this allowed in Islam?

 

According to the Qur’ān, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil are among the obligations of an Islamic State (see Sūrah Haj verse 41). To obliterate every manifestation of shirk (polytheism), therefore is an obligation which a state must carry out. Shrines of saints if they become centres of shirk can be razed down by the state. However, if a state can purify them of polytheistic practices, without actually dismembering them, then it is not necessary to raze them down. The real thing is to eliminate polytheistic practices at such places.

It must also be kept in mind that no one else except the state has any authority to tamper with such places.


DS
Dr. Shehzad Saleem

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Cite
Dr. Shehzad Saleem (1998). Razing Down Shrines. Monthly Renaissance, 8(3).