Explanation of the Book of Friday Prayer and the Two Festivals-09a
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The reciter: Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad narrated to us, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari narrated to us, my father 'Abd Allah ibn al-Muthanna narrated to me, from Thumamah ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Anas, from Anas: Mishkat al-Masabih 1509.
The Shaykh : This is from the humility of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that when they were struck by drought and rain was withheld from them, he would seek nearness to Allah through al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because of his kinship with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But what does it mean to seek nearness through him? Does it mean that they say, "O Allah, send us rain through al-'Abbas"? No, because 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) clarified this when he said: "We seek nearness to You through Your Prophet". It is known that by seeking nearness through the Prophet, they are asking him to seek rain and make supplication for them. So the meaning is: we seek nearness to You through the supplication of our Prophet. For this reason, it came in some wordings of the hadith: "Rise, O al-'Abbas, and call upon Allah". So he would rise and call upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
As for seeking nearness through the person himself, through his status, or the like, that is a blameworthy religious innovation. Because it is not permissible for us to make anything a means to Allah except with evidence from Allah. Since the means is that which provides a person with a path to reach Allah (Mighty and Majestic), if that is the case, the means must be established by the Shari'ah.
If someone says: Does this indicate the permissibility of asking another person to make supplication?
We say: Yes, if the supplication is for the general public, there is no harm. Because this questioner is interceding, unlike supplication for the person himself, which is not appropriate. For example, if you come to a righteous man, hoping that Allah will answer his supplication, and you say: "So-and-so, the people have been struck by trials, afflictions, and drought, so call upon Allah for them," then there is no harm in this, and it is good, on the condition that the one asked does not become arrogant. If it is feared that he will become arrogant and say, "Who am I? I am the man who is asked to make supplication, I am one of the awliya (close friends of Allah)," then it is not permissible. But if the matter is free from what is prohibited, there is no harm.
As for coming to him and saying, "So-and-so, call upon Allah for me," this is not appropriate except for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as in the statement of 'Ukashah ibn Mihsan: "Call upon Allah to make me one of them", and the statement of the woman who was possessed: "Call upon Allah to cure her of this". As for anyone other than the Prophet, no, because it involves a type of humbling oneself to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
If someone says: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not ask the Companions to ask Aws al-Qarani to make supplication for them?
We say: Yes, but this is specific to that man, because we know with certainty that Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, and Ibn 'Abbas are better than Aws. And yet, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order them to ask for his supplication. But this is specific to this man, yes.
Anas said that when they experienced a drought ‘Umar b. al-Khattab prayed for rain by virtue of al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and said, "O God, we used to supplicate Thee by virtue of our prophet and Thou didst give us water. We are now supplicating Thee by virtue of our prophet’s uncle, so give us water.” He said that they were then given water. Bukhari transmitted it.
أن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه كان إذا قحطوا استسقى بالعباس بن عبد المطلب، فقال : اللهم إنا كنا نتوسل إليك بنبينا فتسقينا، وإنا نتوسل إليك بعم نبينا فاسقنا، فيسقونThe Shaykh : This is from the humility of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that when they were struck by drought and rain was withheld from them, he would seek nearness to Allah through al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because of his kinship with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But what does it mean to seek nearness through him? Does it mean that they say, "O Allah, send us rain through al-'Abbas"? No, because 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) clarified this when he said: "We seek nearness to You through Your Prophet". It is known that by seeking nearness through the Prophet, they are asking him to seek rain and make supplication for them. So the meaning is: we seek nearness to You through the supplication of our Prophet. For this reason, it came in some wordings of the hadith: "Rise, O al-'Abbas, and call upon Allah". So he would rise and call upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
As for seeking nearness through the person himself, through his status, or the like, that is a blameworthy religious innovation. Because it is not permissible for us to make anything a means to Allah except with evidence from Allah. Since the means is that which provides a person with a path to reach Allah (Mighty and Majestic), if that is the case, the means must be established by the Shari'ah.
If someone says: Does this indicate the permissibility of asking another person to make supplication?
We say: Yes, if the supplication is for the general public, there is no harm. Because this questioner is interceding, unlike supplication for the person himself, which is not appropriate. For example, if you come to a righteous man, hoping that Allah will answer his supplication, and you say: "So-and-so, the people have been struck by trials, afflictions, and drought, so call upon Allah for them," then there is no harm in this, and it is good, on the condition that the one asked does not become arrogant. If it is feared that he will become arrogant and say, "Who am I? I am the man who is asked to make supplication, I am one of the awliya (close friends of Allah)," then it is not permissible. But if the matter is free from what is prohibited, there is no harm.
As for coming to him and saying, "So-and-so, call upon Allah for me," this is not appropriate except for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as in the statement of 'Ukashah ibn Mihsan: "Call upon Allah to make me one of them", and the statement of the woman who was possessed: "Call upon Allah to cure her of this". As for anyone other than the Prophet, no, because it involves a type of humbling oneself to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
If someone says: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not ask the Companions to ask Aws al-Qarani to make supplication for them?
We say: Yes, but this is specific to that man, because we know with certainty that Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, and Ibn 'Abbas are better than Aws. And yet, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order them to ask for his supplication. But this is specific to this man, yes.