What is the ruling on people who seek nearness to Allah through the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by saying after supplication: “By the status of our master Muhammad”?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on people who seek nearness to Allah through the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after a man’s supplication, saying: “By the status of our master Muhammad, guide us in light of this question?”
The Shaykh : We direct you to seek nearness to Allah through the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), because that is a religious innovation, and because the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not benefit you. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is only sought nearness to through what serves as a cause and means for attaining the intended purpose. The status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), in relation to the supplicant, does not benefit him. We do not doubt that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of the children of Adam and that he has a great status with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), like his other brothers among the messengers. However, his status with Allah is only of benefit to him (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), not to us. And Allah the Exalted has replaced the forbidden seeking of nearness with a permissible seeking of nearness. So why do we turn away from the permissible, prescribed seeking of nearness to a seeking of nearness that is not found in the Book or the Sunnah, and is not a cause for attaining the intended purpose? Among the types of seeking nearness in supplication is seeking nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) by His names in general, such as His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the famous supplication: and so on. Or seeking nearness by a specific name of Allah that is appropriate to what one is supplicating for, such as saying: “O Allah, O Wide in Forgiveness, forgive me,” or “O Merciful, have mercy on me,” or saying: “O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me, for You are the Forgiving, the Merciful,” and the like. And among them is the hadith: Mishkat al-Masabih 2497 Or seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His attributes, meaning by one of His attributes, such as Sahih al-Bukhari 6382 and so on, the prescribed supplication for guidance (istikharah). Or seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by one of His actions, such as His saying: “O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, for You are Praiseworthy, Majestic.” Or saying: “O Allah, as You bestowed upon so-and-so knowledge and action, so bestow upon me the like of that.” Or seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by faith in Him and following His Messenger, such as His saying: [Ali 'Imran 3:53] And such as His saying: [Ali 'Imran 3:16] And such as His saying: [Ali 'Imran 3:193] And among that is the seeking of nearness of the three men of the cave, upon whom a rock closed, and they were unable to remove it from the entrance of the cave, so they sought nearness to Allah the Exalted by their righteous deeds, and the hadith regarding that is famous and known. Or seeking nearness to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by one’s state, meaning the state of the supplicant, such as saying: “O Allah, I have wronged myself, so forgive me,” or saying: “O Allah, I am poor, so enrich me,” and like the saying of Musa (peace be upon him): [Al-Qasas 28:24] Or seeking nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) by the supplication of the righteous servant whose response is hoped for, such as the saying of 'Ukashah ibn Mihsan when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the seventy thousand who will enter Paradise without reckoning or punishment, he said: “Supplicate to Allah to make me among them”. These types of seeking nearness are prescribed types, and they are sufficient in place of seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by what is not a means. So seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by the status of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is an innovative, forbidden seeking of nearness, and in the prescribed, permissible seeking of nearness there is sufficiency for it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : We direct you to seek nearness to Allah through the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), because that is a religious innovation, and because the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not benefit you. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is only sought nearness to through what serves as a cause and means for attaining the intended purpose. The status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), in relation to the supplicant, does not benefit him. We do not doubt that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of the children of Adam and that he has a great status with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), like his other brothers among the messengers. However, his status with Allah is only of benefit to him (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), not to us. And Allah the Exalted has replaced the forbidden seeking of nearness with a permissible seeking of nearness. So why do we turn away from the permissible, prescribed seeking of nearness to a seeking of nearness that is not found in the Book or the Sunnah, and is not a cause for attaining the intended purpose? Among the types of seeking nearness in supplication is seeking nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) by His names in general, such as His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the famous supplication:
I ask You, O Allah, by every name that is Yours, by which You have named Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your Book, or which You have taught any of Your creation, or which You have kept exclusive in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the great Qur'an the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest.
أسألك اللهم بكل اسم هو لك، سميت به نفسك أو أنزلته في كتابك أو علمته أحد من خلقك أو استأثرت به في علم الغيب عندك أن تجعل القرآن العظيم ربيع قلبي، ونور صدريO God, by Thy knowledge of the unseen and Thy power to create, grant me life as long as Thou knowest life to be best for me, and take me when Thou knowest death to be best for me
اللهم بعلمك الغيب وقدرتك على الخلق أحيني إذا علمت الحياة خيرا لي وتوفني إذا علمت الوفاة خيرا ليAllahumma inni astakhiruka bi'ilmika, wa astaqdiruka biqudratika, wa as'aluka min fadlika-l-'azim
اللهم إني أستخيرك بعلمك، وأستقدرك بقدرتك، وأسألك من فضلك العظيمOur Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed the messenger Jesus, so register us among the witnesses [to truth]."
رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَThose who say, "Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire,"
الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِOur Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed
رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلإِيمَانِ أَنْ آمِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمْ فَآمَنَّاMy Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need."
رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.