Why is it not permissible to ask Allah by the status, right, or sanctity of any of the righteous dead?
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The questioner : Why is it not permissible to ask Allah by the status, right, or sanctity of any of the righteous dead?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. As for asking Allah the Exalted and supplicating to Him by a means, it is not permissible unless that means is one that has been established by the Shari'ah as a means. This is because supplication is worship, and worship is contingent upon what has come in the Shari'ah. Asking Allah Blessed and Exalted by a means is divided into two categories. The first is that the means is something that has come in the Shari'ah, such as seeking nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by His names and attributes, for example, saying: "O Allah, O Forgiver, forgive me; O Provider, provide for me; O Merciful, have mercy on me," and the like.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Or one seeks nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by his faith in Him and His messengers, for example, saying: "O Allah, I have believed in You and Your messenger, so forgive me," as Allah Blessed and Exalted related regarding the people of understanding who say: "Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith: 'Believe in your Lord,' so we believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and blot out our bad deeds and cause us to die with the righteous." Or one seeks nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by mentioning his own state of dire necessity and pressing need, as in the saying of Musa (peace be upon him):[Al-Qasas 28:24].
These types, which fall under the first category, are all permissible because the Shari'ah has come with them. Also, from this category, if one seeks nearness by the supplication of another who is closer to being answered than he is, as 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did when he sought rain and said: "O Allah, we used to seek rain from You through our Prophet, and You gave us rain. And now we seek rain from You through the uncle of our Prophet—meaning al-Abbas. So he said: 'O al-Abbas, call upon Allah.' So he stood up and supplicated."
The second category of means is that the means is something that has not come in the Shari'ah. It is not permissible to supplicate to Allah by such means, because that means you are presenting to Allah Blessed and Exalted something that was not a cause for reaching Him, and this is similar to mockery. Therefore, if you were to seek nearness to a king of this world by something that was not a means to him, such as bringing a man from the common people and saying: "Intercede for me with the king," this would be considered mockery and ridicule of him. Likewise, if you seek nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by something that was not a cause, it is like mockery of Him and of His verses, Blessed and Exalted is He.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And of this type is seeking nearness by the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his sanctity, as mentioned by the questioner, and the like. The status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is of no benefit to anyone except the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) alone. As for others, they do not benefit from it merely because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has status and sanctity with Allah; this does not benefit them. For this reason, Abu Lahab and others who were not worthy of mercy and forgiveness did not benefit from the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And even in seeking nearness to people to fulfill a need, it is not valid to seek nearness to them, nor does it benefit one to seek nearness to them by the status of so-and-so, unless so-and-so has this influence through asking and requesting.
So likewise, seeking nearness to Allah by the sanctity of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his status has not been made by Allah Blessed and Exalted a means for the answer of the supplicant. And in reality, it is not a means, because as we mentioned earlier, a person does not benefit from the status of a person unless that person has a cause that leads to him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The sanctity of the Messenger with Allah is not a cause for fulfilling your need. What is the cause? The cause is either your action, your state, or the names of Allah the Exalted and His attributes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not the one who answers, so we cannot say that asking by his sanctity, his exaltation, and his status is like asking by the names of Allah and His attributes and the like. The Messenger is not the one who is supplicated to, nor is he the one who answers, so we cannot say that describing him with these praiseworthy attributes necessitates an answer. Yes.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. As for asking Allah the Exalted and supplicating to Him by a means, it is not permissible unless that means is one that has been established by the Shari'ah as a means. This is because supplication is worship, and worship is contingent upon what has come in the Shari'ah. Asking Allah Blessed and Exalted by a means is divided into two categories. The first is that the means is something that has come in the Shari'ah, such as seeking nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by His names and attributes, for example, saying: "O Allah, O Forgiver, forgive me; O Provider, provide for me; O Merciful, have mercy on me," and the like.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Or one seeks nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by his faith in Him and His messengers, for example, saying: "O Allah, I have believed in You and Your messenger, so forgive me," as Allah Blessed and Exalted related regarding the people of understanding who say: "Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith: 'Believe in your Lord,' so we believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and blot out our bad deeds and cause us to die with the righteous." Or one seeks nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by mentioning his own state of dire necessity and pressing need, 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 إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌThese types, which fall under the first category, are all permissible because the Shari'ah has come with them. Also, from this category, if one seeks nearness by the supplication of another who is closer to being answered than he is, as 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did when he sought rain and said: "O Allah, we used to seek rain from You through our Prophet, and You gave us rain. And now we seek rain from You through the uncle of our Prophet—meaning al-Abbas. So he said: 'O al-Abbas, call upon Allah.' So he stood up and supplicated."
The second category of means is that the means is something that has not come in the Shari'ah. It is not permissible to supplicate to Allah by such means, because that means you are presenting to Allah Blessed and Exalted something that was not a cause for reaching Him, and this is similar to mockery. Therefore, if you were to seek nearness to a king of this world by something that was not a means to him, such as bringing a man from the common people and saying: "Intercede for me with the king," this would be considered mockery and ridicule of him. Likewise, if you seek nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by something that was not a cause, it is like mockery of Him and of His verses, Blessed and Exalted is He.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And of this type is seeking nearness by the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his sanctity, as mentioned by the questioner, and the like. The status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is of no benefit to anyone except the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) alone. As for others, they do not benefit from it merely because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has status and sanctity with Allah; this does not benefit them. For this reason, Abu Lahab and others who were not worthy of mercy and forgiveness did not benefit from the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And even in seeking nearness to people to fulfill a need, it is not valid to seek nearness to them, nor does it benefit one to seek nearness to them by the status of so-and-so, unless so-and-so has this influence through asking and requesting.
So likewise, seeking nearness to Allah by the sanctity of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his status has not been made by Allah Blessed and Exalted a means for the answer of the supplicant. And in reality, it is not a means, because as we mentioned earlier, a person does not benefit from the status of a person unless that person has a cause that leads to him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The sanctity of the Messenger with Allah is not a cause for fulfilling your need. What is the cause? The cause is either your action, your state, or the names of Allah the Exalted and His attributes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not the one who answers, so we cannot say that asking by his sanctity, his exaltation, and his status is like asking by the names of Allah and His attributes and the like. The Messenger is not the one who is supplicated to, nor is he the one who answers, so we cannot say that describing him with these praiseworthy attributes necessitates an answer. Yes.