The cult of saints in Islam

As Muslims conquered countries and lands whose inhabitants had previously adhered to pagan and polytheistic beliefs, various elements of these religions penetrated into Islam. According to Ignaz Goldzier , the cult of saints has become a convenient channel for penetrating into the religion the remnants of more ancient beliefs. The former pagan deities worshiped by the inhabitants of the conquered lands, in connection with the new realities, were reincarnated as Muslim saints - avliya. Popular religion often runs counter to official and systematic Islamic theology ^[1] .

The most distinct connection between ancient beliefs and the modern cult of saints can be traced in those places where the Muslim shrine is located on the site of the former pagan temple . This is also evidenced by the fact that some saints retained their former pagan name. The Central Asian saints Bibi-Seshanbi, Bibi-Mushkil-Kusho, Joumard-Kassab, Barn-ona, Hubby and others were revered by the local peoples long before their conversion to Islam. In the image of the hero of Siyavush you can see the image of a dying and resurrecting deity , and in the legends of Hassan and Hussein , Kusama ibn Abbas or Kunya-Urgench Jamiljan, the motifs of myths about the “suffering deity” are traced ^[1] .

Around the tombs of Bahauddin Naqshband ( Bukhara ) and Bavaris-bobo ( Khiva ), processions and processions with flowers were organized annually, in which you can trace the remains of the traditions of ancient agricultural cults ^[1] .

In the cult of saints of some Muslim regions, one can notice the remains of the pre-Islamic cult of the ancestors, when the founder of the clan and other elders deified and endowed supernatural powers over time. For example, it is believed that some Turkmen saints disdain and even hostility to certain tribes and clans that were guilty of them even when they were alive, and vice versa, they primarily help their relatives, despite the claim that “the saints are fair "And help everyone equally.

According to popular beliefs, saints can work miracles, are able to communicate directly with Allah and even argue with him, threaten him. For example, the legend of Saint Divan-i-Burkh ( Kaz. Shayy-Bұrı diwan among Kazakhs , Turk. Burkut baba or Turk. Burkut diwana among Turkmens ) says that he stood for 40 days on one foot (sometimes: on the big toe or little finger of the left foot) without water and food and asked Allah to destroy Hell . God does not agree to his request, and the offended Divan-i-Burkh with one foot destroys one of the branches of Hell. According to another version, Allah destroys all levels of Hell, except for one. It is believed among Turkmens that Allah entrusted the management of rain to Burkut Baba, and he walks through the sky, using his staff to push the clouds and whip them with a whip when it needs rain. In one legend about Burkut-Burkh, he destroys the corner of the throne of Allah due to the fact that he does not give offspring to childless spouses, and threatens to endow them with children. In the Bukhara version of the legend, the saint threatens Allah with a sling , forcing him to give posterity to the merchant. Allah explains his concession by the fact that if he did not agree, “he would turn heaven and earth” ^[1] .

One of the abilities of saints is the protection and patronage of their relatives and descendants. It is known that the Central Asian robbers were afraid to encroach on the herds of the descendants of the Khoja , fearing anger from a powerful ancestor. The commoners were afraid even to compete with the descendants of the saints, and before the start of the races and similar competitions they handed the first prize to the Khojis ^[1] .

According to Shiite theologians, imams from the clan of Ali ibn Abu Talib are in charge of fulfilling needs. To do this, you should throw a note with a wish to the grave of one of the imams or (if there is no grave nearby) into a river or a deep well, and the request will certainly reach the saint ^[2] . To obtain the intercession of Hussein, Shiites eat the earth of his grave ^[3] .

An integral part of the Muslim cult of saints is a pilgrimage to the burial places of saints, imams, etc., figures of Islam. The tombs erected above the graves of saints become the centers of the “holy” cities ( al-Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, Mashhad in Iran, Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan) ^[4] .

The purpose of the pilgrimage ( ziyarat ) to the graves of saints is to receive grace and protection from the saint. When committing a ziyarat to the saints, Muslims read surahs from the Koran near the grave, perform a ritual tour around it ( tawaf ), and perform sacrifices ^[5] . Many Muslims, when visiting the graves, directly ask the dead to satisfy their needs, perform earthly obeisances ( sujudas ) and rub against the grave, which is equated by theologians as idol worship. Others offer their prayers, using the saints as intercessors before Allah . It is also widely believed among Muslims that prayers near the graves of saints are better accepted by Allah ^[6] .

Most of the holy places in Muslim countries are the graves of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad from Ali and Fatima ( seyids and sheriffs ) or the four Righteous Caliphs ( ovlyad ). It is traditionally believed that they have supernatural powers and can work miracles ( karamatas ) ^[1] .

• Ali-zade A. A. Cult of saints in Islam and Christianity // Journal Ecology, Philosophy, Culture. - B. , 2000. - Issue. 24 .
• Basilov V.N. Cult of saints in Islam. - M .: Thought , 1970 .-- 144 p.
• Goldzier I. The cult of saints in Islam. - M. , 1938.
• Klimovich L.I. Rites, holidays and cults of saints in Islam. - Terrible, 1958.
• Saints // Soviet Historical Encyclopedia : in 16 vol. / Ed. E. M. Zhukova . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1969. - T. 12: Reparations - Slavs. - 972 stb.
• Saints - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
• Seleznev A. G., Selezneva I. A., Belich I. V. Cult of saints in Siberian Islam: the specifics of the universal. - M .: Marjani, 2009 .-- 211 p.