Seeking Nearness to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) Through the Persons of the Prophets, the Righteous, and the Awliya (Close Friends of Allah), or Through Their Status
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Fatwa No. ( 18461 )
Q: A student of knowledge in Indonesia is asking about the validity of the permissibility of seeking nearness to Allah through the status of the people of graves, namely the prophets and the righteous . He wants a response to a book which briefly states that seeking nearness through them is permissible, indeed recommended, and that it was the practice of the prophets, the messengers, and the righteous predecessors. The author claims that no one has denied it except Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah . The author of this book claims to be from the people of the Sunnah and the community, and stated that it is permissible to seek nearness to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) before his life, during his life, and after his death, citing hadiths for each period. He also claimed that Ahmad sought nearness to al-Shafi'i , and that al-Shafi'i sought nearness to Abu Hanifah . He cited statements attributed to some scholars and righteous people, and mentioned that supplication is answered at the graves of the righteous. I ask your eminence to respond to this, and to assess the validity of the hadiths he mentioned, such as the hadith of Adam's sin, and the hadith of seeking nearness through al-Abbas . Was this during the life of al-Abbas or after his death? Please note that this Indonesian brother works as a driver and prays with me in the mosque daily. He photographed 16 pages of this book for me. I ask for your guidance.
A: First: Seeking nearness to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) through the persons of the prophets, the righteous, and the awliya (close friends of Allah), or through their status, is a religious innovation (bid'ah) and one of the means to associating partners with Allah (shirk). As for
seeking nearness through the supplication of the prophets and the righteous during their lifetimes for the person seeking nearness through them, it is permissible and there is no harm in it, just as the Muslims sought nearness to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during a drought to ask him to seek rain for them, and just as the blind man sought nearness to him (peace and blessings be upon him) to ask Allah to restore his sight, so he supplicated for him and Allah restored his sight. As for seeking nearness through faith in them, love for them, and following them, this is an act of drawing near to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and obedience to Him, both during their lifetimes and after their deaths. As for seeking nearness by asking for their supplication after their death, this is shirk; because nothing is asked of the dead, neither supplication nor anything else. As for seeking nearness through their status, or by swearing by them, or by their right with Allah, this is an innovative seeking of nearness that is not permissible. We have issued a fatwa on this matter, the text of which is as follows: "Is it permissible for a Muslim to seek nearness to Allah through the prophets and the righteous? I have come across the statement of some scholars that seeking nearness through the awliya is not harmful, because the supplication therein is directed to Allah. I have also seen some of them contradicting this statement. What is the ruling of the Shari'ah in this matter?" And it answered: "A wali (close friend of Allah) is everyone who believes in Allah and fears Him, so he does what He (Glorified and Exalted is He) has commanded him and refrains from what He has forbidden him. Allah the Exalted said:[Yunus 10:62-63].
Seeking nearness to Allah through His awliya (close friends of Allah) has types: 1- A person asks a living wali to supplicate to Allah for him for abundant provision, healing from illness, guidance, success, or the like. This is permissible. Among this is the request of some of the Companions to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the rain was delayed from them, asking him to seek rain for them. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked his Lord to send down rain, and He answered his supplication and sent down rain upon them. Among this is the seeking of rain by the Companions through al-Abbas during the caliphate of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and their request of him to supplicate to Allah for the sending down of rain. So al-Abbas supplicated to his Lord and the Companions said "Ameen" to his supplication, and other such instances that occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of a Muslim asking his Muslim brother to supplicate to his Lord for him to bring benefit or remove harm. 2- A person calls upon Allah, seeking nearness to Him through his love for His Prophet and his following of him, and through his love for the awliya of Allah, by saying: "O Allah, I ask You by my love for Your Prophet and my following of him, and by my love for Your awliya, to give me such and such." This is permissible; because it is seeking nearness from the servant to his Lord through his righteous deeds. Of this is what is established regarding the seeking of nearness of the three men in the cave through their righteous deeds
and good deeds. 3- A person asks Allah by the status of His prophets or by the status of one of His awliya, by saying: "O Allah, I ask You by the status of Your Prophet, or by the status of al-Husayn, for example." This is not permissible; because the status of the awliya of Allah, even though it is great with Allah, and especially the status of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), is not a legislated cause for the acceptance of supplication. For this reason, the Companions, when they faced a drought, turned away from seeking nearness through his status (peace and blessings be upon him) in the supplication for rain to seeking nearness through the supplication of his uncle al-Abbas , even though his (peace and blessings be upon him) status is above all status. It is not known from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that they sought nearness through him (peace and blessings be upon him) after his death, and they are the best of the generations, the most knowledgeable of people regarding his right, and the most loving of them for him. 4- A servant asks his Lord for his need while swearing by his wali or his prophet, or by the right of his prophet or his awliya, by saying: "O Allah, I ask You for such and such by Your wali so-and-so, or by the right of Your prophet so-and-so." This is not permissible, for swearing by a created being to a created being is prohibited, and it is more strictly prohibited to do so to Allah the Creator. Then, no right is obligatory for a created being upon the Creator merely by his obedience to Him (Glorified and Exalted is He) such that one would swear by it to Allah. This is what the evidence testifies to, and it is by this that the Islamic creed is preserved, and the means to shirk are blocked. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon
our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. Second: Supplicating to Allah at shrines and graves is a religious innovation (bid'ah), and it is one of the means to shirk; because deliberately seeking to supplicate to Allah at graves is a means to shirk with Allah; because it leads to supplicating to the dead. For this reason, 'Ali ibn al-Husayn rebuked the man who used to come to an opening near the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and deliberately seek to supplicate there. He recited to him the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Shall I not tell you a hadith I heard from my father from my grandfather from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 5:1006 It was narrated in (al-Mukhtarat). If this is the case for one who deliberately seeks to supplicate at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), how much more so for others. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: A student of knowledge in Indonesia is asking about the validity of the permissibility of seeking nearness to Allah through the status of the people of graves, namely the prophets and the righteous . He wants a response to a book which briefly states that seeking nearness through them is permissible, indeed recommended, and that it was the practice of the prophets, the messengers, and the righteous predecessors. The author claims that no one has denied it except Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah . The author of this book claims to be from the people of the Sunnah and the community, and stated that it is permissible to seek nearness to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) before his life, during his life, and after his death, citing hadiths for each period. He also claimed that Ahmad sought nearness to al-Shafi'i , and that al-Shafi'i sought nearness to Abu Hanifah . He cited statements attributed to some scholars and righteous people, and mentioned that supplication is answered at the graves of the righteous. I ask your eminence to respond to this, and to assess the validity of the hadiths he mentioned, such as the hadith of Adam's sin, and the hadith of seeking nearness through al-Abbas . Was this during the life of al-Abbas or after his death? Please note that this Indonesian brother works as a driver and prays with me in the mosque daily. He photographed 16 pages of this book for me. I ask for your guidance.
A: First: Seeking nearness to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) through the persons of the prophets, the righteous, and the awliya (close friends of Allah), or through their status, is a religious innovation (bid'ah) and one of the means to associating partners with Allah (shirk). As for
seeking nearness through the supplication of the prophets and the righteous during their lifetimes for the person seeking nearness through them, it is permissible and there is no harm in it, just as the Muslims sought nearness to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during a drought to ask him to seek rain for them, and just as the blind man sought nearness to him (peace and blessings be upon him) to ask Allah to restore his sight, so he supplicated for him and Allah restored his sight. As for seeking nearness through faith in them, love for them, and following them, this is an act of drawing near to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and obedience to Him, both during their lifetimes and after their deaths. As for seeking nearness by asking for their supplication after their death, this is shirk; because nothing is asked of the dead, neither supplication nor anything else. As for seeking nearness through their status, or by swearing by them, or by their right with Allah, this is an innovative seeking of nearness that is not permissible. We have issued a fatwa on this matter, the text of which is as follows: "Is it permissible for a Muslim to seek nearness to Allah through the prophets and the righteous? I have come across the statement of some scholars that seeking nearness through the awliya is not harmful, because the supplication therein is directed to Allah. I have also seen some of them contradicting this statement. What is the ruling of the Shari'ah in this matter?" And it answered: "A wali (close friend of Allah) is everyone who believes in Allah and fears Him, so he does what He (Glorified and Exalted is He) has commanded him and refrains from what He has forbidden him. Allah the Exalted said:
(62) Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve (63) Those who believed and were fearing Allah
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (62) الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَSeeking nearness to Allah through His awliya (close friends of Allah) has types: 1- A person asks a living wali to supplicate to Allah for him for abundant provision, healing from illness, guidance, success, or the like. This is permissible. Among this is the request of some of the Companions to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the rain was delayed from them, asking him to seek rain for them. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked his Lord to send down rain, and He answered his supplication and sent down rain upon them. Among this is the seeking of rain by the Companions through al-Abbas during the caliphate of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and their request of him to supplicate to Allah for the sending down of rain. So al-Abbas supplicated to his Lord and the Companions said "Ameen" to his supplication, and other such instances that occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of a Muslim asking his Muslim brother to supplicate to his Lord for him to bring benefit or remove harm. 2- A person calls upon Allah, seeking nearness to Him through his love for His Prophet and his following of him, and through his love for the awliya of Allah, by saying: "O Allah, I ask You by my love for Your Prophet and my following of him, and by my love for Your awliya, to give me such and such." This is permissible; because it is seeking nearness from the servant to his Lord through his righteous deeds. Of this is what is established regarding the seeking of nearness of the three men in the cave through their righteous deeds
and good deeds. 3- A person asks Allah by the status of His prophets or by the status of one of His awliya, by saying: "O Allah, I ask You by the status of Your Prophet, or by the status of al-Husayn, for example." This is not permissible; because the status of the awliya of Allah, even though it is great with Allah, and especially the status of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), is not a legislated cause for the acceptance of supplication. For this reason, the Companions, when they faced a drought, turned away from seeking nearness through his status (peace and blessings be upon him) in the supplication for rain to seeking nearness through the supplication of his uncle al-Abbas , even though his (peace and blessings be upon him) status is above all status. It is not known from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that they sought nearness through him (peace and blessings be upon him) after his death, and they are the best of the generations, the most knowledgeable of people regarding his right, and the most loving of them for him. 4- A servant asks his Lord for his need while swearing by his wali or his prophet, or by the right of his prophet or his awliya, by saying: "O Allah, I ask You for such and such by Your wali so-and-so, or by the right of Your prophet so-and-so." This is not permissible, for swearing by a created being to a created being is prohibited, and it is more strictly prohibited to do so to Allah the Creator. Then, no right is obligatory for a created being upon the Creator merely by his obedience to Him (Glorified and Exalted is He) such that one would swear by it to Allah. This is what the evidence testifies to, and it is by this that the Islamic creed is preserved, and the means to shirk are blocked. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon
our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. Second: Supplicating to Allah at shrines and graves is a religious innovation (bid'ah), and it is one of the means to shirk; because deliberately seeking to supplicate to Allah at graves is a means to shirk with Allah; because it leads to supplicating to the dead. For this reason, 'Ali ibn al-Husayn rebuked the man who used to come to an opening near the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and deliberately seek to supplicate there. He recited to him the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Shall I not tell you a hadith I heard from my father from my grandfather from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Do not take my grave as a place of celebration, nor your houses as graves, and send prayers upon me, for your salutations reach me wherever you are.
لا تتخذوا قبري عيدًا، ولا بيوتكم قبورًا، وصلوا علي فإن تسليمكم يبلغني أين كنتم
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.