The Ruling on Seeking Nearness to Allah Through the Person of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
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Question:
You say: There is a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Companions used to seek nearness to Allah through him for the descent of rain, and when he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the Companions used to seek nearness to Allah through al-‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) for the descent of rain. So why is it not permissible for us to seek nearness to Allah through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that he may intercede for us, and other such matters? May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good, and may Allah benefit the Muslims through you?
Answer:
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to seek nearness to Allah through him during his lifetime, meaning: through his supplication and his intercession, not through his person. They used to seek nearness to Allah through his supplication and his intercession to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). So he would deliver the sermon, supplicate, and call for aid, and Allah would relieve the Muslims, or he would supplicate for a person with righteous supplications by which Allah would benefit him. And so it will be on the Day of Resurrection: people will ask him for intercession, and he will intercede for them in the standing place until Allah relieves them from the distress of the standing place. And he will intercede for the people of Paradise until they enter Paradise, after the people proceed to Adam, then to Noah, then to Abraham, then to Moses, then to Jesus. Each of them will make excuses, each one saying: And the last of them will say to them: Sahih Ibn Hibban 62:331 He said: — meaning: people come to him, the believers come to him — and he says: Then the Lord (Exalted and Majestic is He) says to him: Sahih al-Bukhari 7510.
So after permission is granted, he (peace and blessings be upon him) will intercede for the people in the standing place until judgment is passed between them, and then he will intercede for the people of Paradise until they enter Paradise.
And during his lifetime (peace and blessings be upon him), the Muslims would ask him to call for aid for them, to supplicate for them, and they would seek intercession through his supplication, not through his person. So for this reason, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, they left that practice, and ‘Umar sought rain through al-‘Abbas, and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Allah, we used to seek nearness to Allah through our Prophet when we were afflicted with drought, and He would send us rain. And now we seek nearness to Allah through the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain." If seeking nearness to Allah were through his person, they would have sought nearness to Allah through him after his death (peace and blessings be upon him), and they would not have needed al-‘Abbas. So when ‘Umar and the Companions turned to al-‘Abbas to supplicate for them, it indicated that seeking nearness to Allah is through supplication and intercession, not through persons.
So the Muslims today seek nearness to Allah through supplication, asking Allah, and calling upon Him to send them rain, to have mercy on them, and to forgive them, not through the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor through the person of anyone else. And if the Muslims see that so-and-so, or so-and-so, is a person of righteousness and good, it is said to him: "Step forward and supplicate to Allah for us." Or if they find among the family of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) someone known for goodness, virtue, and knowledge, and they ask him to supplicate to Allah for them, all of that is good, just as ‘Umar did with al-‘Abbas. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
You say: There is a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Companions used to seek nearness to Allah through him for the descent of rain, and when he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the Companions used to seek nearness to Allah through al-‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) for the descent of rain. So why is it not permissible for us to seek nearness to Allah through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that he may intercede for us, and other such matters? May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good, and may Allah benefit the Muslims through you?
Answer:
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to seek nearness to Allah through him during his lifetime, meaning: through his supplication and his intercession, not through his person. They used to seek nearness to Allah through his supplication and his intercession to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). So he would deliver the sermon, supplicate, and call for aid, and Allah would relieve the Muslims, or he would supplicate for a person with righteous supplications by which Allah would benefit him. And so it will be on the Day of Resurrection: people will ask him for intercession, and he will intercede for them in the standing place until Allah relieves them from the distress of the standing place. And he will intercede for the people of Paradise until they enter Paradise, after the people proceed to Adam, then to Noah, then to Abraham, then to Moses, then to Jesus. Each of them will make excuses, each one saying:
Go to someone else, I am not the one for this, until Jesus says to them
اذهب إلى غيري، لست لها، حتى يقول لهم عيسىGo to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), a servant for whom Allah has forgiven what came before of his sin and what came after
اذهبوا إلى محمد -عليه الصلاة والسلام- عبد غفر الله له ما تقدم من ذنبه وما تأخرThey come to me
فيأتونيI am the one for this, I am the one for this (peace and blessings be upon him), then he proceeds to his Lord, and prostrates before Him, and praises Him with great praises which Allah opens for him
أنا لها أنا لها -عليه الصلاة والسلام- ثم يتقدم إلى ربه، ويسجد بين يديه، ويحمده بمحامد عظيمة يفتحها الله عليهraise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for your will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted
ارفع رأسك وقل يسمع، وسل تعط واشفع تشفعSo after permission is granted, he (peace and blessings be upon him) will intercede for the people in the standing place until judgment is passed between them, and then he will intercede for the people of Paradise until they enter Paradise.
And during his lifetime (peace and blessings be upon him), the Muslims would ask him to call for aid for them, to supplicate for them, and they would seek intercession through his supplication, not through his person. So for this reason, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, they left that practice, and ‘Umar sought rain through al-‘Abbas, and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Allah, we used to seek nearness to Allah through our Prophet when we were afflicted with drought, and He would send us rain. And now we seek nearness to Allah through the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain." If seeking nearness to Allah were through his person, they would have sought nearness to Allah through him after his death (peace and blessings be upon him), and they would not have needed al-‘Abbas. So when ‘Umar and the Companions turned to al-‘Abbas to supplicate for them, it indicated that seeking nearness to Allah is through supplication and intercession, not through persons.
So the Muslims today seek nearness to Allah through supplication, asking Allah, and calling upon Him to send them rain, to have mercy on them, and to forgive them, not through the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor through the person of anyone else. And if the Muslims see that so-and-so, or so-and-so, is a person of righteousness and good, it is said to him: "Step forward and supplicate to Allah for us." Or if they find among the family of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) someone known for goodness, virtue, and knowledge, and they ask him to supplicate to Allah for them, all of that is good, just as ‘Umar did with al-‘Abbas. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.