It asks in it: Is it permissible to mention the lordship of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prayer upon him, whether in the tashahhud or otherwise? And what is better, to mention it or to leave it out?
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The questioner : It asks in it: Is it permissible to mention the lordship of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prayer upon him, whether in the tashahhud or otherwise? And what is better, to mention it or to leave it out? And is it permissible to seek nearness to Allah through him (peace and blessings be upon him) or not?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The answer to the question presented to us in this session, which is regarding the lordship of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) when praying upon him, is that we say: There is no doubt that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of the children of Adam, and that he has absolute lordship over them. But this is human lordship, the lordship of a human over humans.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for absolute lordship, it belongs to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of the children of Adam in this world and the Hereafter, and he is their Imam (peace and blessings be upon him). It is obligatory for the believer to believe this regarding his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for adding "our master" in the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it is ... in the words by which the text was transmitted, it should not be mentioned if it was not mentioned, because the formula that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the description of the prayer upon him is the best of the formulas and the most deserving of being followed. However, if one is praying upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a general way, there is no harm in saying: "May Allah send prayers and peace upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions," for example. There is no harm in saying it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has lordship over humans. But in the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the tashahhud, we do not add it because it did not come from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So we say: "Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," and we do not say: "Peace be upon you, our master, O Prophet." And we say: "O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad," and we do not say: "O Allah, send prayers upon our master Muhammad." Rather, we do not even say: "O Allah, send prayers upon our Prophet Muhammad." Rather, we say: "O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad," as the text came. This is what is more preferable and better.
As for seeking nearness to Allah through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), seeking nearness to Allah through him has categories. One of them is to seek nearness through faith in him. This seeking nearness is valid. For example, one says: "O Allah, I have believed in You and in Your Messenger, so forgive me." This is permissible and valid. Allah the Exalted mentioned it in the Qur'an in His saying:[Ali 'Imran 3:193] And because faith in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is a legislated means for the forgiveness of sins and the expiation of evil deeds, he has sought nearness through a means established by the Shari'ah.
Second, to seek nearness through his supplication (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning that he prays for the one for whom intercession is sought. This is also permissible and established, but it cannot be possible except during the lifetime of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is established from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "O Allah, we seek nearness to You through our Prophet, so give us rain. And we seek nearness to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain" And he ordered al-'Abbas to stand and supplicate to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for rain.
So seeking nearness to Allah through his supplication during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is permissible and there is no harm in it.
The third category is to seek nearness through the status of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), whether during his lifetime or after his death. This is an innovated seeking nearness that is not permissible. This is because the status of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is of no benefit to anyone except the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for you, regarding you, you do not benefit from it, because it is not part of your deeds. And something that is not part of your deeds does not benefit you. And on this basis, it is not permissible for a person to say: "O Allah, I ask You by the status of Your Prophet to forgive me" or "to provide me with such and such a thing," because the means must be a means, and the means is taken from the word "wasl" meaning reaching the thing. So this means must be connected to the thing. And if it is not connected to it, then seeking nearness through it is not beneficial and not useful. And on this basis, we say: Seeking nearness to Allah through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has three categories: to seek nearness through faith in him and following him, and this is permissible during his lifetime and after his death.
To seek nearness through his supplication, meaning to ask the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to supplicate for him. This is permissible during his lifetime, not after his death, because after his death it is impossible.
The third category is to seek nearness through his status and his rank with Allah. This is not permissible, neither during his lifetime nor after his death, because it is not a means, as it does not lead the person to his objective, because it is not part of his deeds.
So if someone says: If I came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at his grave and asked him to seek forgiveness for me or to intercede for me with Allah, is that permissible or not? We say: It is not permissible. If he says: Does not Allah say:[An-Nisa 4:64] We say: Yes, Allah says that. But He says: [An-Nisa 4:64] and "when" is a temporal adverb for what has passed, not a temporal adverb for the future. Allah the Exalted did not say: "And if they, when they wronged themselves, came to you and sought forgiveness from Allah and the Messenger sought forgiveness for them." Rather, He said: The verse speaks of an event that occurred during the lifetime of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and some of the people committed disobedience and wronged themselves, so Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:64] .
The questioner : This perhaps speaks of a specific group or of?
The Shaykh : Yes, and the seeking of forgiveness by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) after his death is impossible.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because when the servant dies, his deeds are cut off except for three, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Bulugh al-Maram 7:178 So it is not possible for a person after his death to seek forgiveness for anyone, nor even for himself, because the deeds have been cut off.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The answer to the question presented to us in this session, which is regarding the lordship of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) when praying upon him, is that we say: There is no doubt that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of the children of Adam, and that he has absolute lordship over them. But this is human lordship, the lordship of a human over humans.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for absolute lordship, it belongs to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of the children of Adam in this world and the Hereafter, and he is their Imam (peace and blessings be upon him). It is obligatory for the believer to believe this regarding his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for adding "our master" in the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it is ... in the words by which the text was transmitted, it should not be mentioned if it was not mentioned, because the formula that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the description of the prayer upon him is the best of the formulas and the most deserving of being followed. However, if one is praying upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a general way, there is no harm in saying: "May Allah send prayers and peace upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions," for example. There is no harm in saying it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has lordship over humans. But in the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the tashahhud, we do not add it because it did not come from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So we say: "Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," and we do not say: "Peace be upon you, our master, O Prophet." And we say: "O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad," and we do not say: "O Allah, send prayers upon our master Muhammad." Rather, we do not even say: "O Allah, send prayers upon our Prophet Muhammad." Rather, we say: "O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad," as the text came. This is what is more preferable and better.
As for seeking nearness to Allah through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), seeking nearness to Allah through him has categories. One of them is to seek nearness through faith in him. This seeking nearness is valid. For example, one says: "O Allah, I have believed in You and in Your Messenger, so forgive me." This is permissible and valid. Allah the Exalted mentioned it in the Qur'an in His saying:
Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.
رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلإِيمَانِ أَنْ ءامِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمْ فَآمَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّئَاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الأَبْرَارِSecond, to seek nearness through his supplication (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning that he prays for the one for whom intercession is sought. This is also permissible and established, but it cannot be possible except during the lifetime of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is established from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "O Allah, we seek nearness to You through our Prophet, so give us rain. And we seek nearness to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain" And he ordered al-'Abbas to stand and supplicate to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for rain.
So seeking nearness to Allah through his supplication during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is permissible and there is no harm in it.
The third category is to seek nearness through the status of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), whether during his lifetime or after his death. This is an innovated seeking nearness that is not permissible. This is because the status of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is of no benefit to anyone except the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for you, regarding you, you do not benefit from it, because it is not part of your deeds. And something that is not part of your deeds does not benefit you. And on this basis, it is not permissible for a person to say: "O Allah, I ask You by the status of Your Prophet to forgive me" or "to provide me with such and such a thing," because the means must be a means, and the means is taken from the word "wasl" meaning reaching the thing. So this means must be connected to the thing. And if it is not connected to it, then seeking nearness through it is not beneficial and not useful. And on this basis, we say: Seeking nearness to Allah through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has three categories: to seek nearness through faith in him and following him, and this is permissible during his lifetime and after his death.
To seek nearness through his supplication, meaning to ask the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to supplicate for him. This is permissible during his lifetime, not after his death, because after his death it is impossible.
The third category is to seek nearness through his status and his rank with Allah. This is not permissible, neither during his lifetime nor after his death, because it is not a means, as it does not lead the person to his objective, because it is not part of his deeds.
So if someone says: If I came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at his grave and asked him to seek forgiveness for me or to intercede for me with Allah, is that permissible or not? We say: It is not permissible. If he says: Does not Allah say:
And if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you, [O Muhammad], and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Accepting of repentance and Merciful.
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًاAnd if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَWhen they wronged
إِذْ ظَلَمُواAnd if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you, [O Muhammad], and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُThe questioner : This perhaps speaks of a specific group or of?
The Shaykh : Yes, and the seeking of forgiveness by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) after his death is impossible.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because when the servant dies, his deeds are cut off except for three, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: