The Ruling on Saying Certain Phrases
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Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the Honorable President of the Court of Al-Ula Province in his letter number (13 1 Kh) dated 14/3/1425 AH, containing a question about the ruling on certain phrases uttered by many of the common people, which are: 1. Their saying: "I am entering upon Allah and your parents." 2. Their saying: "I am entering upon Allah and upon your parents." 3. Their saying: "I am entering upon your parents." 4. Their saying: "Jirah" when you ask you for something and you refuse, he says: "Jirah." 5. Their saying: "Jirah upon you." 6. Their saying: "By the mercy of Allah upon you, unless you give me such-and-such or dine with me." 7. Their saying: "By the mercy of your parents, unless you give me such-and-such." 8. Their saying: "By the help, you are generous."
9. Their saying: "May Allah disfigure your face." 10. Their saying: "Allah with good." 11. Their saying: "I ask you by the face of Allah, the face of Allah upon you," which is said when a person asks for something from this world. 12. Their saying: "May Allah wrong you," in response to some saying: "You wrong me." 13. Their saying: "May Allah inquire about your condition," which is said when one person asks another: "How are you?" and the other says: "May Allah inquire about your condition." 14. Their saying: "So-and-so does not deserve this," which is said when someone is struck by illness or a calamity. 15. Their saying: "Muhammad interceded for you," which they say when a strong wind or heavy rain comes, or it is said to one who talks too much or lies in his speech. It was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (2776) and date 23/3/1425 AH.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry, it answered as follows: The question contains permissible phrases and others that require detailed explanation, as follows: First: Permissible phrases include: "When Suhayl rises, beware of the flood," for this intends the possibility of occurrence and the possibility of rain falling, and taking precaution for it.
Second: Forbidden phrases: These are what came in (the first and second) of their saying: "I am entering upon Allah and your parents" or "I am entering upon Allah and upon your parents," where it is not permissible to coordinate with the letter "waw" the entering, which means seeking refuge, and it is not permissible to say: "I seek refuge in Allah and in so-and-so." As for the ruling on the phrase that came in (the eighth), which is: "By the help," it is an oath by other than Allah, so it is not permissible. As for what came in (the ninth), which is a man saying to another: "May Allah disfigure his face," it is not permissible, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explicitly prohibited that in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 172. It was narrated by al-Bukhari in (Al-Adab al-Mufrad). As for what came in (the tenth) of the phrases mentioned at the beginning of the research, which is: "Allah with good," it is defective speech that is not permissible to be made a substitute for the prescribed salam. As for the ruling on the phrase mentioned in (the eleventh), which is: "I ask you by the face of Allah" and "the face of Allah upon you," the President of the Court of Al-Ula Province mentioned that the intended meaning by the common people of "the face of Allah upon you" is: I have made Allah between me and you, so if you revere the face of Allah, then accept or comply with what I said to you or what I requested from you; because the face of Allah is great, so it is as if it is a request by the face of Allah. The answer is: That is not permissible
due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 1671Da'if (Al-Albani). As for their saying: "The face of Allah upon you," it is not permissible for anyone to seek intercession with Allah over any of the creation, for Allah is greater and more exalted than to be used as an intercessor to His creation, and that is because the rank of the one to whom intercession is sought is higher than the rank of the intercessor, so how is it correct to make Allah the Exalted an intercessor with anyone? As for what came in (the twelfth), which is some people saying: "May Allah wrong you," this is forbidden; because injustice is impossible for Allah, and it is not permissible to attribute it to Him, as He the Exalted said: [Al-Kahf 18:49]. As for what came in (the thirteenth), which is the common people saying: "May Allah inquire about your condition," it is not permissible; because of what it implies of Allah’s need for others and the shortcoming of His knowledge from encompassing everything. As for what came in (the fourteenth), which is the common people saying: "So-and-so does not deserve this," it is not permissible; because of what it contains of objection to the divine decree. As for the ruling on the phrase in (the fifteenth), which is the common people saying: "Muhammad interceded for you," the President of the Court of Al-Ula Province mentioned that the intended meaning of the common people in that is the exaltation of the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and seeking nearness to Allah through him and seeking intercession with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). This is not permissible after his death (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was not mentioned from any of his Companions or from the righteous predecessors of the Ummah whose knowledge is transmitted and who are followed as an example. Third: Phrases that require detailed explanation, such as: "I am entering upon your parents"; if
his parents are alive and he seeks refuge with them in what they are able to do and they hear him, it is permissible, and if they are dead, it is not permissible; because it is seeking refuge with the dead. As for the ruling on the phrases that came in (the fourth, fifth, and sixth), the President of the Court of Al-Ula Province was addressed to ask about the intended meaning of the common people of these phrases, and his answer was as follows: "The intended meaning by the common people of saying: 'Jirah and Jirah upon you' is: I seek refuge in Allah over you, meaning: exaltation of the neighbor of Allah, this is how the common people say it, and some of them say it means: 'May Allah place upon you,' meaning: He makes Allah between you and Him, so that you comply with his request, and some of them say: We do not know the meaning of the word, but we are accustomed to saying it, and we intend behind it to compel the person to do the requested matter." And the answer is that these phrases are ambiguous, and the Muslim should be cautious of them, and there is ample room in the Arabic language that suffices for them. As for what came in (the seventh), which is their saying: "By the mercy of your parents, unless you give me such-and-such," it is possible that it is an oath and swearing by other than Allah, so it would be like: "By the help," and it is possible that it is a supplication for mercy for the parents, and the presence of the letter of oath is apparent, so it should be left. This, and Allah knows best.
9. Their saying: "May Allah disfigure your face." 10. Their saying: "Allah with good." 11. Their saying: "I ask you by the face of Allah, the face of Allah upon you," which is said when a person asks for something from this world. 12. Their saying: "May Allah wrong you," in response to some saying: "You wrong me." 13. Their saying: "May Allah inquire about your condition," which is said when one person asks another: "How are you?" and the other says: "May Allah inquire about your condition." 14. Their saying: "So-and-so does not deserve this," which is said when someone is struck by illness or a calamity. 15. Their saying: "Muhammad interceded for you," which they say when a strong wind or heavy rain comes, or it is said to one who talks too much or lies in his speech. It was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (2776) and date 23/3/1425 AH.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry, it answered as follows: The question contains permissible phrases and others that require detailed explanation, as follows: First: Permissible phrases include: "When Suhayl rises, beware of the flood," for this intends the possibility of occurrence and the possibility of rain falling, and taking precaution for it.
Second: Forbidden phrases: These are what came in (the first and second) of their saying: "I am entering upon Allah and your parents" or "I am entering upon Allah and upon your parents," where it is not permissible to coordinate with the letter "waw" the entering, which means seeking refuge, and it is not permissible to say: "I seek refuge in Allah and in so-and-so." As for the ruling on the phrase that came in (the eighth), which is: "By the help," it is an oath by other than Allah, so it is not permissible. As for what came in (the ninth), which is a man saying to another: "May Allah disfigure his face," it is not permissible, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explicitly prohibited that in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"Do not say, 'May Allah make your face ugly.'"
لا تقولوا : قبح الله وجههdue to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Nothing but Paradise must be begged for Allah's sake.
لا يسأل بوجه الله إلا الجنةAnd your Lord does injustice to no one.
وَلاَ يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًاhis parents are alive and he seeks refuge with them in what they are able to do and they hear him, it is permissible, and if they are dead, it is not permissible; because it is seeking refuge with the dead. As for the ruling on the phrases that came in (the fourth, fifth, and sixth), the President of the Court of Al-Ula Province was addressed to ask about the intended meaning of the common people of these phrases, and his answer was as follows: "The intended meaning by the common people of saying: 'Jirah and Jirah upon you' is: I seek refuge in Allah over you, meaning: exaltation of the neighbor of Allah, this is how the common people say it, and some of them say it means: 'May Allah place upon you,' meaning: He makes Allah between you and Him, so that you comply with his request, and some of them say: We do not know the meaning of the word, but we are accustomed to saying it, and we intend behind it to compel the person to do the requested matter." And the answer is that these phrases are ambiguous, and the Muslim should be cautious of them, and there is ample room in the Arabic language that suffices for them. As for what came in (the seventh), which is their saying: "By the mercy of your parents, unless you give me such-and-such," it is possible that it is an oath and swearing by other than Allah, so it would be like: "By the help," and it is possible that it is a supplication for mercy for the parents, and the presence of the letter of oath is apparent, so it should be left. This, and Allah knows best.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.