A man made a supplication and said: “O Allah, by the right of Your Prophet Muhammad, provide for me.” He also said: “If Muhammad were alive, he would intercede for me.”

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A man says, “O Allah, by the right of Your Prophet Muhammad, I ask You to provide for me.” He was asked why he said that, and he replied, “If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) were alive, he would intercede for me with Allah. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) were alive, he would intercede for me with Allah. But the Messenger has a right with his Lord, which is intercession.”

Answer:
If he were alive, he would intercede for him with Allah. What prevents him from saying this? He does not say, “I ask You by the right of the Messenger.” He says, “I ask You, O Allah,” directly, without seeking nearness to Allah through the right of the Messenger. Allah is near and responsive (Glorified and Exalted is He). It is not prescribed for us to ask Him by the Messenger, or by the right of the Messenger, or by the status of the Messenger. But if he says, “I ask You by my love for the Messenger, or my following of the Messenger, or my faith in him,” this is an action; it is seeking nearness to Allah through righteous deeds. Yes.