A questioner says: What is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding one who says, "O Allah, I ask You by the right of those who ask," and is there a distinction in this matter, even though I have studied that a created being has no right over Allah except in what Allah has taken upon Himself?

The questioner : May peace and mercy of Allah be upon you, esteemed Shaykh. What is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding one who says, "O Allah, I ask You by the right of those who ask," and is there a distinction in this matter, even though I have studied that a created being has no right over Allah except in what Allah has taken upon Himself?

The Shaykh : Yes. First, it is obligatory for us to know that the servants have no right over their Creator, for He is the Owner and they are owned, He is the Lord and they are created, and they are slaves. But out of His generosity, Mighty and Majestic is He, He made mercy obligatory upon Himself. He said, and He forbade injustice upon Himself. So He said, the Exalted, in the Qudsi Hadith: As for us, we do not make anything obligatory upon Allah, nor do we forbid anything upon Him. It is He who makes things obligatory upon Himself, and it is He who forbids things upon Himself. Based on this, the statement of the one who says, this means to the mosque, contains a problem. That is because the right of those who ask upon Him is their reward. Their reward is the right of the walker as well; the reward for every good step. And the reward is a created thing, and one does not seek nearness to the Creator through a created thing.
But the answer to this is that we say the intended meaning of "the right of those who ask" upon Allah is the right that He made obligatory upon Himself, where He said, the Exalted: And on this basis, the one who asks by the right of those who ask is seeking nearness to Allah through the action of Allah. And seeking nearness to Allah through the action of Allah is permissible. So it is as if the questioner, or the one seeking nearness, is saying: I ask You by what You made obligatory upon Yourself of answering those who ask, such and such. And the right of the walker is also the reward, and who is the one who rewards? Allah. So it is, then, seeking nearness through an action from the actions of Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He. And with this, the problem is resolved, and the argument of those who argued with this hadith for the permissibility of seeking nearness through a created thing becomes weak. Yes.