The Ruling on Seeking Nearness to Allah Through the Awliya in Supplication

Question:
May Allah reward you. In one of her questions, she says, may Allah preserve you: If I ask my mother to make du'a' (supplication) for me, and my mother sometimes seeks nearness to Allah in her du'a' through the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, is her du'a' accepted in this manner?

Answer:
This is an innovated form of du'a'. Seeking nearness to Allah through the awliya and the righteous in du'a' is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah). If her intention in seeking nearness to the awliya and the righteous is that she slaughters animals for them, or makes vows to them, or calls upon them for aid, then this is a grave shirk. However, if her intention is that she calls upon Allah the Exalted and seeks nearness to the righteous, meaning through them and their status, without associating partners with Him, or sacrificing to them, or performing any act of worship directed at them, then this is considered an innovation. Seeking nearness in this sense is an innovation. It is obligatory for the Muslim to call upon Allah directly. Seeking nearness to Allah is only done through the righteous deeds that Allah has prescribed, or by seeking nearness to Allah through His names and attributes, for Allah has the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them. Or one may seek nearness to Allah through the du'a' of the living righteous, by asking them to make du'a' for him. This is the well-known form of seeking nearness. As for seeking nearness through the status of the righteous, or the right of the righteous, or the rank of the righteous, this is not permissible, and it is an innovation.