Over the course of Islamic history, there have been many unsuccessful attempts by various religious authorities and scholars to eradicate all traces of a possible cult of the dead from Islamic rites. The main goal of these attempts to change funerary practices was to prevent the temptation presented by graves (fitnat al-qubūr), because it was seen as possibly leading to polytheism, as well as to clearly differentiate Islamic rituals from those of other religions, most notably Christianity and Judaism. It is important to note that such attempts – if we are to believe in the authenticity of the Sunni tradition – were already being made in the early days of Islam. Muhammad himself feared that Muslims might imitate Christians and Jews in venerating the dead. As a result of traditionalist opposition to any religious practices that were not distinctly established by Muhammad, a wide gap soon arose between the traditionalists’ high ideals of ‘pure’ morality and faith unaffected by other religious traditions, on the one hand, and everyday popular practices, on the other.

The majority of ulama tried to adjust to the widespread popularity of grave visiting and condoned it, but a vocal minority of scholars has always claimed that such practices constitute an unlawful religious innovation (bidʿa), contradicting the principles of Sunna, the true Muslim path one must follow. What is more, these practices could also constitute shirk, threatening the pivotal pillar of Islamic identity as the only true monotheistic religion. These ulama came to the conclusion that some behaviours related to funerals resembled non-Muslim practice far too closely, and that a distinct funerary style could help to distinguish the identity of their religious community, while deepening the existing (and, they believed, desirable) boundaries between men and women. Nevertheless, despite these efforts, to this day many Muslims still flock on a regular basis to saints’ graves, asking for blessings or intercession and making vows and sacrifices.