The Ruling on Seeking Aid from the Awliya and the Righteous
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Q291: The questioner says: There are those who fall into seeking nearness to Allah through other than Allah, and they seek aid from the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, even though they worship Allah with their words, pray, and fast. When we forbid them from doing so, they become stubborn, argue, and try to distort the meanings of the Qur'an. They say: "I do not ask these people directly for sustenance, benefit, or the removal of harm, but I ask Allah through their blessing, righteousness, and piety." Is there a difference between one who asks directly and one who asks Allah through them? And is this speaker correct or not?
A291: Seeking nearness to Allah through the dead and the absent is a forbidden matter that is not permissible;
because the dead and the absent are unable to do any of what is asked of them. Then, the ruling on this varies according to the type of seeking nearness. If the one seeking nearness through the dead approaches him with something of worship, such as slaughtering for him, making a vow to him, supplicating to him, or asking him for aid and needs, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), which takes one out of the religion—may Allah protect us from it—because it diverts a type of worship to other than Allah. Whoever worships other than Allah with any type of worship has associated partners with Allah and has apostatized from the religion of Islam, even if he prays, fasts, performs Hajj, and does what he does, because he has invalidated his Islam by the nullifiers he has committed, may Allah protect us from it. He is like the one who performs wudu' (ablution) and then breaks it, for shirk nullifies Islam, even if he prays, fasts, and performs Hajj, as long as he approaches the dead, the absent, the jinn, or the angels with any type of worship, slaughters for them, makes vows to them, or calls out their names. This is major shirk. However, if seeking nearness through the dead or the absent means that he supplicates to Allah and says, for example, "I ask You by the right of so-and-so" or "by the status of so-and-so," then this is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that does not reach the level of major shirk, but it is a forbidden bid'ah,
and it is a means to shirk and a gate leading to shirk. So the conclusion is: it is not permissible to seek nearness to Allah through the dead or the absent by any type of seeking nearness. If he asks them for a need, this is major shirk. If he asks Allah by their status and their right, this is a forbidden bid'ah and a means to shirk. As for the questioner's statement that he is stubborn and says, "I do not call upon them, but I call upon Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, through their righteousness and piety," this is exactly the statement of the first polytheists. As Allah the Exalted said about them:[Yunus 10:18], and as Allah said about them: [Az-Zumar 39:3]. The first polytheists knew that these dead people are not able to create, provide sustenance, give life, or cause death, and they acknowledge
that this belongs to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and they only want from these people mere intercession and mere mediation, just as their brothers among the polytheists today make this excuse.
A291: Seeking nearness to Allah through the dead and the absent is a forbidden matter that is not permissible;
because the dead and the absent are unable to do any of what is asked of them. Then, the ruling on this varies according to the type of seeking nearness. If the one seeking nearness through the dead approaches him with something of worship, such as slaughtering for him, making a vow to him, supplicating to him, or asking him for aid and needs, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), which takes one out of the religion—may Allah protect us from it—because it diverts a type of worship to other than Allah. Whoever worships other than Allah with any type of worship has associated partners with Allah and has apostatized from the religion of Islam, even if he prays, fasts, performs Hajj, and does what he does, because he has invalidated his Islam by the nullifiers he has committed, may Allah protect us from it. He is like the one who performs wudu' (ablution) and then breaks it, for shirk nullifies Islam, even if he prays, fasts, and performs Hajj, as long as he approaches the dead, the absent, the jinn, or the angels with any type of worship, slaughters for them, makes vows to them, or calls out their names. This is major shirk. However, if seeking nearness through the dead or the absent means that he supplicates to Allah and says, for example, "I ask You by the right of so-and-so" or "by the status of so-and-so," then this is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that does not reach the level of major shirk, but it is a forbidden bid'ah,
and it is a means to shirk and a gate leading to shirk. So the conclusion is: it is not permissible to seek nearness to Allah through the dead or the absent by any type of seeking nearness. If he asks them for a need, this is major shirk. If he asks Allah by their status and their right, this is a forbidden bid'ah and a means to shirk. As for the questioner's statement that he is stubborn and says, "I do not call upon them, but I call upon Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, through their righteousness and piety," this is exactly the statement of the first polytheists. As Allah the Exalted said about them:
And they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلاَ يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاَءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِAnd those who take protectors besides Him [say], "We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِthat this belongs to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and they only want from these people mere intercession and mere mediation, just as their brothers among the polytheists today make this excuse.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.