What is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous, with details?
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The questioner : This questioner, our brother Muhammad al-Shatili from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, al-Zulfi, says: “O honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous, with details? May Allah reward you with good.”
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Seeking nearness to Allah (tawassul) means adopting a means that leads to the intended goal. It is known that the means must be valid in leading to the intended goal. As for what is not valid in leading to the intended goal, it is invalid and not permissible to do, because what is built upon the invalid is invalid. Based on this principle, we know the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous. Seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous after their death is not permissible, because they will not benefit the one who seeks nearness through them, nor will they be able to pray for him or intercede for him with Allah except by Allah’s permission. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 949.
As for seeking nearness to Allah through the living righteous, this is of two types. The first type is seeking nearness through their righteous deeds, or their status with Allah, or the like of that. This is forbidden (haram).
An example of this is to say, “O Allah, I ask You by the prayer of so-and-so that You forgive me.” This is a prohibited and forbidden (muharram) type of seeking nearness, because the prayer of so-and-so does not benefit anyone but so-and-so, and you have no benefit from it. It is not a deed of yours such that you can say it benefits you with Allah.
Likewise, seeking nearness through the person of the righteous man or his status is prohibited and forbidden, because his person does not benefit you in any way, and his status does not benefit you in any way. So if you say “O Allah, I ask You by so-and-so”, whether he is alive or dead, it does not benefit you, and it is not permissible for you to seek nearness through him. Likewise, if you say “I ask You by the status of so-and-so”, whether he is alive or dead, it is not permissible for you to seek nearness through his status, because his status is not a means that leads you to your goal. His status is something he benefits from, not you.
The second type is seeking nearness to Allah through the living righteous by their supplication, and there is nothing wrong with this. For example, one might say, "O Allah, I ask You by the supplication of so-and-so that You accept his supplication", meaning that You accept his du'a', and then he asks that person to supplicate for him, and there is nothing wrong with this. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to seek nearness to Allah the Exalted through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), meaning through his supplication, as in the authentic collections from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man entered while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon on Friday and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been destroyed and the roads have been cut off, so call upon Allah to relieve us." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and saidSahih Muslim 897a So Allah sent down clouds, and there was thunder and lightning, and it rained. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not descend from the pulpit until the rain was dripping from his beard. In the second Friday, a man, or the first man, entered while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was delivering the sermon and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been drowned and the buildings have collapsed, so call upon Allah to hold it back from us." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) raised his hands and said Mishkat al-Masabih 5902 So the clouds cleared from the city, and the area around it became rainy. This is a permissible type of seeking nearness. But should a person ask another to supplicate for him? The answer to this is that we say it is not befitting for a person to ask another to supplicate for him for two reasons. The first reason is that there is a type of humility toward the one from whom the supplication is requested.
The second reason is that the one from whom the supplication is requested may be afflicted with arrogance and self-admiration, saying, “Who am I? I am the one through whose supplication people seek nearness to their Lord, so I am destroyed.” And without doubt, it is better for a person to ask Allah the Exalted himself than to ask another to pray to Allah for him. First, because if a person prays to his Lord himself, he has obeyed the command of Allah the Exalted in His saying:[Ghafir 40:60].
Second, if he prays to his Lord himself, he benefits from that by drawing near to Allah the Exalted, because supplication is worship, and worship draws one near to Allah.
Third, if he prays to his Lord himself, he feels the necessity of Allah the Exalted and his need for Him, and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is his refuge other than His creation.
Fourth, if he prays to his Lord himself, he prays to Allah the Exalted with whatever he wishes, in general and in detail, and thereby he achieves expansiveness in supplication, expansion in it, and persistence in it with Allah.
Fifth, if he prays to his Lord himself, he becomes reliant upon Allah and trusting in Him, not turning to anyone but Allah the Exalted. And without doubt, this has an effect in rectifying the heart and its goodness.
Sixth, if he prays to his Lord himself, he is safe from the one he asked to pray for him boasting over him.
And the important thing is that what is recommended (should) for a person is to pray to his Lord himself in fulfilling his needs for the reasons we mentioned, and perhaps there are other reasons that escaped us in this place. This is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous.
As for what some people think is seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous, which is in reality worship of them, it is not called seeking nearness, but it is shirk (associating partners with Allah). For example, saying to the owner of a grave, “O so-and-so, save me from the hardship,” “O so-and-so, make the matter easy for me,” and the like of what the ignorant do and think is from the category of seeking nearness, but it is in reality shirk, resembling the saying of the polytheists about whom Allah said:[Az-Zumar 39:3], meaning they say: [Az-Zumar 39:3]. So the believer should always be attached to his Lord, asking his Lord himself, not needing anyone and not turning to anyone. And Allah is the One who grants success.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. So, Shaykh Muhammad, may Allah preserve you, is there a permissible type of seeking nearness, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The types of permissible seeking nearness are many.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They are based on the Shari'ah, including seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His names in a general sense.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And among them is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) in the supplication for distress and sorrow:Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 18:73. This is seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by all His names, what we know of them and what we do not know.
The second is seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by a specific name that is appropriate to the request, such as the saying of the one who says: “O Allah, O Forgiver, O Merciful, O Generous, forgive me, have mercy on me, and be generous to me”, and the like of that. This is what came in the Sunnah. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), “O Messenger of Allah, teach me a supplication I can recite in my prayer.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to him, “Say:”Sahih al-Bukhari 6326. Here is supplication and seeking nearness Sahih al-Bukhari 6326, supplication and Sahih al-Bukhari 7387, 7388 seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by these two names appropriate to what the supplicant prayed for. It is also seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His attribute, meaning by one of His attributes, in his saying: Sahih al-Bukhari 7387, 7388.
The third is seeking nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by one of His attributes, as in the hadith of istikhara (prayer for guidance):Sahih al-Bukhari 6382 to the end of it.
And as in the recitation over the sick person:Sunan Ibn Majah 3522Sahih (Darussalam), and as in his saying: , and the like of that.
The fourth is seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His actions, seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted in asking for one of the needs by doing what He, Glorified and Exalted is He, did, similar to what was requested. Among them is:Sahih al-Bukhari 3370.
The fifth is seeking nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by mentioning the state of the supplicant and that he is in need and desperate for Allah, as in the saying of Musa (peace be upon him):[Al-Qasas 28:24]. Here he asked Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by describing his state and that he is in need and poor before Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
The sixth is seeking nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by the supplication of one whose response is hoped for, meaning that one whose response is hoped for prays for you. Among them is the seeking nearness of the Companions by the supplication of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), as we mentioned earlier. And among them is the saying of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he asked for rain: “O Allah, we seek nearness to You by our Prophet, so give us rain, and we seek nearness to You by the uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain”. 'Abbas would stand and pray, and they would be given rain. These are all permissible types.
As for the prohibited seeking nearness, we have referred to it at the beginning of our speech on this question. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Seeking nearness to Allah (tawassul) means adopting a means that leads to the intended goal. It is known that the means must be valid in leading to the intended goal. As for what is not valid in leading to the intended goal, it is invalid and not permissible to do, because what is built upon the invalid is invalid. Based on this principle, we know the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous. Seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous after their death is not permissible, because they will not benefit the one who seeks nearness through them, nor will they be able to pray for him or intercede for him with Allah except by Allah’s permission. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
When a man dies, his deeds come to an end, except for three: A continuous charity, knowledge by which people derive benefit, pious son who prays for him.
إذا مات الإنسان انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث صدقة جارية أو علم يُنتفع به أو ولد صالح يدعو لهAs for seeking nearness to Allah through the living righteous, this is of two types. The first type is seeking nearness through their righteous deeds, or their status with Allah, or the like of that. This is forbidden (haram).
An example of this is to say, “O Allah, I ask You by the prayer of so-and-so that You forgive me.” This is a prohibited and forbidden (muharram) type of seeking nearness, because the prayer of so-and-so does not benefit anyone but so-and-so, and you have no benefit from it. It is not a deed of yours such that you can say it benefits you with Allah.
Likewise, seeking nearness through the person of the righteous man or his status is prohibited and forbidden, because his person does not benefit you in any way, and his status does not benefit you in any way. So if you say “O Allah, I ask You by so-and-so”, whether he is alive or dead, it does not benefit you, and it is not permissible for you to seek nearness through him. Likewise, if you say “I ask You by the status of so-and-so”, whether he is alive or dead, it is not permissible for you to seek nearness through his status, because his status is not a means that leads you to your goal. His status is something he benefits from, not you.
The second type is seeking nearness to Allah through the living righteous by their supplication, and there is nothing wrong with this. For example, one might say, "O Allah, I ask You by the supplication of so-and-so that You accept his supplication", meaning that You accept his du'a', and then he asks that person to supplicate for him, and there is nothing wrong with this. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to seek nearness to Allah the Exalted through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), meaning through his supplication, as in the authentic collections from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man entered while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon on Friday and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been destroyed and the roads have been cut off, so call upon Allah to relieve us." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and said
O Allah, send down rain upon us; O Allah, send dowp rain upon us; O Allah, send down rain upon us
اللهم أغثنا اللهم أغثنا اللهم أغثناO God, round about us, but not on us; O God, on the mounds and knolls, in the basins of the wadis and in the plantations.
اللهم حوالينا ولا علينا اللهم على الآكام والضِراب وبطون الأودية ومنابت الشجرThe second reason is that the one from whom the supplication is requested may be afflicted with arrogance and self-admiration, saying, “Who am I? I am the one through whose supplication people seek nearness to their Lord, so I am destroyed.” And without doubt, it is better for a person to ask Allah the Exalted himself than to ask another to pray to Allah for him. First, because if a person prays to his Lord himself, he has obeyed the command of Allah the Exalted in His saying:
And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.
وَقالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادعوني أَستَجِب لَكُم إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَستَكبِرونَ عَن عِبادَتي سَيَدخُلونَ جَهَنَّمَ داخِرينَSecond, if he prays to his Lord himself, he benefits from that by drawing near to Allah the Exalted, because supplication is worship, and worship draws one near to Allah.
Third, if he prays to his Lord himself, he feels the necessity of Allah the Exalted and his need for Him, and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is his refuge other than His creation.
Fourth, if he prays to his Lord himself, he prays to Allah the Exalted with whatever he wishes, in general and in detail, and thereby he achieves expansiveness in supplication, expansion in it, and persistence in it with Allah.
Fifth, if he prays to his Lord himself, he becomes reliant upon Allah and trusting in Him, not turning to anyone but Allah the Exalted. And without doubt, this has an effect in rectifying the heart and its goodness.
Sixth, if he prays to his Lord himself, he is safe from the one he asked to pray for him boasting over him.
And the important thing is that what is recommended (should) for a person is to pray to his Lord himself in fulfilling his needs for the reasons we mentioned, and perhaps there are other reasons that escaped us in this place. This is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous.
As for what some people think is seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous, which is in reality worship of them, it is not called seeking nearness, but it is shirk (associating partners with Allah). For example, saying to the owner of a grave, “O so-and-so, save me from the hardship,” “O so-and-so, make the matter easy for me,” and the like of what the ignorant do and think is from the category of seeking nearness, but it is in reality shirk, resembling the saying of the polytheists about whom Allah said:
And those who take protectors besides Him [say], "We only worship them
وَالَّذينَ اتَّخَذوا مِن دونِهِ أَولِياءَ ما نَعبُدُهُمWe only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position
ما نَعبُدُهُم إِلّا لِيُقَرِّبونا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلفىThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good. So, Shaykh Muhammad, may Allah preserve you, is there a permissible type of seeking nearness, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The types of permissible seeking nearness are many.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They are based on the Shari'ah, including seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His names in a general sense.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And among them is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) in the supplication for distress and sorrow:
I ask You 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 to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You.
أسألك بكل اسم هو لك سميت به نفسك أو أنزلته في كتابك أو علمته أحدا من خلقك أو استأثرت به في علم الغيب عندكThe second is seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by a specific name that is appropriate to the request, such as the saying of the one who says: “O Allah, O Forgiver, O Merciful, O Generous, forgive me, have mercy on me, and be generous to me”, and the like of that. This is what came in the Sunnah. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), “O Messenger of Allah, teach me a supplication I can recite in my prayer.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to him, “Say:”
Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kathiran wala yaghfirudhdhunuba illa anta, Faghfirli maghfiratan min indika war-hamni, innaka antalGhafur-Rahim.
اللهم إني ظلمت نفسي ظلما كثيرا ولا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت فاغفر لي مغفرة من عندك وارحمني إنك أنت الغفور الرحيمFaghfirli maghfiratan min indika war-hamni
اغفر لي مغفرة من عندك وارحمنيNo doubt, You are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
إنك أنت الغفور الرحيمnone forgives the sins but You
ولا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنتThe third is seeking nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by one of His attributes, as in the hadith of istikhara (prayer for guidance):
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi'ilmika, wa astaqdiruka biqudratika, wa as'aluka min fadlika-l-'azim
اللهم إني أستخيرك بعلمك وأستقدرك بقدرتك وأسألك من فضلك العظيمAnd as in the recitation over the sick person:
a’udhu bi’izzatil-lahi wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa uhadhiru
أعوذ بعزّة الله وقدرته من شر ما أجد وأحاذرO Allah, by Your mercy I seek help.
اللهم برحمتك أستغيثThe fourth is seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His actions, seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted in asking for one of the needs by doing what He, Glorified and Exalted is He, did, similar to what was requested. Among them is:
Say: O Allah! Send Your Mercy on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your Mercy on Abraham and on the family of Abraham, for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious. O Allah! Send Your Blessings on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent your Blessings on Abraham and on the family of Abraham, for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious.
اللهم صل على محمد وعلى ءال محمد كما صليت على إبراهيم وعلى ءال إبراهيم إنك حميد مجيد اللهم بارك على محمد وعلى ءال محمد كما باركت على إبراهيم وعلى ءال إبراهيم إنك حميد مجيدThe fifth is seeking nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by mentioning the state of the supplicant and that he is in need and desperate for Allah, as in the saying of Musa (peace be upon him):
My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need."
رَبِّ إِنّي لِما أَنزَلتَ إِلَيَّ مِن خَيرٍ فَقيرٌThe sixth is seeking nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by the supplication of one whose response is hoped for, meaning that one whose response is hoped for prays for you. Among them is the seeking nearness of the Companions by the supplication of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), as we mentioned earlier. And among them is the saying of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he asked for rain: “O Allah, we seek nearness to You by our Prophet, so give us rain, and we seek nearness to You by the uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain”. 'Abbas would stand and pray, and they would be given rain. These are all permissible types.
As for the prohibited seeking nearness, we have referred to it at the beginning of our speech on this question. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.