Q 1: In your respected magazine, Issue 37 and precisely in the Fatawa Corner, I read the Fatwa no. 5783 which states that reading Qasidah Al-Burdah (The Poem of the Cloak) is a Bid`ah (innovation in religion) and you quoted a Hadith as evidence. You also added that there is no reward for reading this poem; rather some of its verses include major Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship that takes the Muslim out of Islam). For example, the poet reads: Noblest creature, you're my sole refuge,In suffering calamities that are so huge,Without your kind aid in other world,One misses footing in the oily road! Until the end of the poem.My question is: How can Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) be detected in the verses?

A: The verses contain Shirk because the poet seeks refuge in other than Allah at the time of calamity on the Day of Resurrection. Seeking refuge in other than Allah is Shirk because it is a kind of worship that is dedicated only to Allah. Moreover, the poet describes this world and the Hereafter as one of the bounties of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and this is definitely false, a sort of exceeding the proper limits, and a kind of dispossessing the sovereignty of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He). Finally, he writes that of the Prophet's knowledge is his knowledge of Al-Lawh-ul-Mahfuzh (the Preserved Tablet) (Part No. 1; Page No. 163) and the Pen. This description denotes that he knows the Ghayb (the Unseen) while Allah (Glorified be He) states: Say: “None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (Unseen) except Allâh” May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.