The Ruling on Seeking Nearness to Allah and Seeking Help from the Awliya (Close Friends of Allah) and the Righteous
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This is a questioner from Egypt who says: One person says: The one who turns to Allah in supplication at the graves of the righteous, this is seeking nearness to Allah through the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, and seeking nearness to Allah is permissible by the Shari'ah, and it is asking Allah while seeking nearness to Him through this wali (close friend of Allah); perhaps this supplication, or the questioner's supplication, will be accepted, and there is nothing in this that conflicts with the creed, there is no difference in this between the living and the dead, and the evidence for this is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was approached by a blind man, who said to him: O Messenger of Allah! Ask Allah to restore my sight, and he said to him: And he also says that it is permissible to seek help from the living and the dead; because the questioner asks Allah by the blessing of this righteous person, whether a prophet or a wali (close friend of Allah), and is not asking the person himself to do something, we ask your Eminence to inform us about this topic?
Answer:
This is a question worthy of attention, and it requires detail: As for the living person who is present, there is no harm in asking him to intercede for the questioner, just as the Companions used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to intercede for them, when they were afflicted with drought, to seek help for them, and just as the blind man asked him, so he ordered him to ask his Lord to accept the intercession of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he ordered him to perform wudu' (the ablution for prayer) and ask his Lord, so this is permissible, asking the living to intercede for you, you say: O my brother, supplicate to Allah for me, ask Allah for me, intercede for me that Allah may heal me, intercede for me that Allah may provide for me, that Allah may grant me a righteous wife, good offspring, there is no harm, you say to your brother while he is supplicating to his Lord, raising his hands and supplicating to his Lord, O Allah, heal so-and-so, O Allah, ease his affairs, O Allah, grant him a righteous wife, O Allah, grant him good offspring, there is no harm, just as the Companions used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and just as the Companions -also- did among themselves, all of this is permissible, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them:, so this is something that is permissible.
As for asking the dead and seeking help from the dead, and making vows to the dead, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), this is the practice of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, the practice of Quraysh in their pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and the practice of other disbelievers, asking the dead, and the people of the graves, and seeking help from them, and seeking assistance from them; this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), this is worshipping other than Allah, about which He -Exalted and Majestic is He- said: [al-Jinn:18] and He said, Glorified is He: [al-Mu'minun:117].
And whoever supplicates to the prophets, or supplicates to our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after his death, or seeks help from al-Siddiq, or 'Umar, or 'Uthman, or 'Ali, or others; he has taken them as gods, he has made them gods alongside Allah, Allah -Exalted and Majestic is He- said: [Fatir:13-14] He called it shirk (associating partners with Allah), and He said -Exalted and Majestic is He-: [al-Hijr:5-6] So He, Glorified is He, informed that there is no one more misguided than these; those who call upon other than Allah.
So the point is: That it is obligatory for the believer to beware of supplicating to the dead, or to the absent ones like the angels, or the jinn, calling upon them, asking Jibril, or Israfil, or the jinn of such-and-such a land, or the jinn of such-and-such a mountain, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), He ... -Exalted and Majestic is He- said: [Saba:40-41] and He said -Exalted and Majestic is He- in Surat al-Jinn: [al-Jinn:6].
So it is obligatory to beware, so do not ask the dead, nor the absent ones from the angels, nor others, and do not ask the idols, nor the inanimate objects from trees and stones, and stars, no, ask Allah alone, ask Allah, seek help from Allah, seek aid from Allah, He, the Exalted, said: [al-Isra:23] and He said, Glorified is He: [Ghafir:60], and He, Exalted and Majestic is He, said: [al-Bayyinah:5], and He said, Glorified is He: [al-Baqarah:186] and He said, Glorified is He: [al-An'am:162] meaning: My slaughter [al-An'am:162-163] and He said, Glorified is He: [al-Kawthar:1-2], and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2516Hasan (Darussalam) and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1978b.
So these are great and serious matters, and sitting at the graves supplicating to his Lord at the graves is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), his sitting there reading, or supplicating, this is a means that is not permissible from the means of shirk (associating partners with Allah).
As for if he supplicates to the deceased, and seeks help from him; this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), this is the sin that is not forgiven except by repentance, as for the living person who is present, you say to him: Supplicate to Allah for me, or you ask him to help you with such-and-such, there is no harm, if he is a living person present and capable, there is no harm, just as the Companions used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was present to help them, and to support them with what Allah had given him of wealth, and to supplicate for them, there is no harm, and just as Allah said about Musa in the story of Musa with the Copt: [al-Qasas:15] So Musa helped him, and killed the Copt, because Musa was a living person present who heard the speech.
And so in war, a person with his brothers in war in jihad, they cooperate in fighting the enemies, this one helps with a weapon, and this one helps with a whip, and this one helps with a horse, and this one helps with armor.. and so on.
And so in this world, they cooperate in the farm, he helps him in his farm, he helps him in his buying and selling, a living capable person present, they cooperate in the farm, in buying and selling, in building the house, there is no harm, a living capable person present, there is no harm.
As for a dead person, or an absent person, no, do not seek help from him; it is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), and the polytheists did not believe that they created, or provided, no, the polytheists worshipped them; because in their claim they interceded for them, they brought them closer to Allah, this is their claim, they did not believe in them that they created, or provided, Allah -Exalted and Majestic is He- said: [al-Zukhruf:87] and He said, Glorified is He: [Yunus:31] meaning say to them O Muhammad. [Yunus:31] They acknowledge this, and He said -Exalted and Majestic is He-: [Yunus:18] He did not say so that they would say: This is our Creator or our Provider, no [Yunus:18].
They know that the Creator and the Provider is Allah -Glorified is He-, and they only worship the idols; because in their claim they intercede for them, and they have been refuted in this, and He said -Exalted and Majestic is He-: [al-Zumar:3] meaning they say: We do not worship them except to bring us closer to Allah, Allah -Exalted and Majestic is He- said: [al-Zumar:3] He called them liars, and He called them disbelievers, liars, they do not bring them closer to Allah, and they are disbelievers by this, by their supplication to them, and their slaughter for them, and their vows to them, they are disbelievers by this, whether they are the worshipped prophets, or the righteous, or angels, whoever worships them; he disbelieves by seeking help from them, by his vows to them, by his slaughter for them, he says: They bring him closer to Allah, they intercede for him, this is the religion of the polytheists, this is the religion of the worshippers of idols, they claim that they bring them closer to Allah, and intercede for them, not that they create and provide.
So the one who comes to al-Badawi, or al-Husayn, Sayyid al-Husayn, or others, or ... Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, or comes to others, asks them, and seeks help from them, this has made them gods alongside Allah, and this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), and so if he comes to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and supplicates to him, seeks help from him, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah).
So it is obligatory to beware, it is obligatory for the questioner, and for other than the questioner, to beware of these shirk (associating partners with Allah) practices, and not to pay attention to the callers to shirk (associating partners with Allah) from the bad scholars, and the bad leaders, we ask Allah for well-being, and safety. Yes.
The presenter: We thank Allah for you, O Shaykh, and may Allah bless you, and in your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims with you.
This is a questioner from Egypt who says: One person says: The one who turns to Allah in supplication at the graves of the righteous, this is seeking nearness to Allah through the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, and seeking nearness to Allah is permissible by the Shari'ah, and it is asking Allah while seeking nearness to Him through this wali (close friend of Allah); perhaps this supplication, or the questioner's supplication, will be accepted, and there is nothing in this that conflicts with the creed, there is no difference in this between the living and the dead, and the evidence for this is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was approached by a blind man, who said to him: O Messenger of Allah! Ask Allah to restore my sight, and he said to him:
Go and perform wudu' (the ablution for prayer), and pray two rak'ahs (units of prayer) for Allah, then say: O Allah, I seek nearness to You through Your Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy, O my Master, O Messenger of Allah, we seek nearness to You through him to our Lord to restore my sight, so Allah restored his sight for him
اذهب فتوضأ، وصل لله ركعتين، ثم قل: اللهم إني أتوسل إليك بنبيك محمد، نبي الرحمة يا سيدي يا رسول الله، توسلنا بك إلى ربي ليرد علي بصري، فرد الله عليه بصرهAnswer:
This is a question worthy of attention, and it requires detail: As for the living person who is present, there is no harm in asking him to intercede for the questioner, just as the Companions used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to intercede for them, when they were afflicted with drought, to seek help for them, and just as the blind man asked him, so he ordered him to ask his Lord to accept the intercession of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he ordered him to perform wudu' (the ablution for prayer) and ask his Lord, so this is permissible, asking the living to intercede for you, you say: O my brother, supplicate to Allah for me, ask Allah for me, intercede for me that Allah may heal me, intercede for me that Allah may provide for me, that Allah may grant me a righteous wife, good offspring, there is no harm, you say to your brother while he is supplicating to his Lord, raising his hands and supplicating to his Lord, O Allah, heal so-and-so, O Allah, ease his affairs, O Allah, grant him a righteous wife, O Allah, grant him good offspring, there is no harm, just as the Companions used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and just as the Companions -also- did among themselves, all of this is permissible, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them:
Indeed, a man will come to you who is kind to his mother, he is called Uwais al-Qarani, he was kind to his mother, so whoever among you meets him; let him ask him to seek forgiveness for him
إنه يقدم عليكم رجل بر بأمه، يقال له: أويس القرني، كان برًا بأمه، فمن لقيه منكم؛ فليطلب منه أن يستغفر لهAs for asking the dead and seeking help from the dead, and making vows to the dead, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), this is the practice of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, the practice of Quraysh in their pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and the practice of other disbelievers, asking the dead, and the people of the graves, and seeking help from them, and seeking assistance from them; this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), this is worshipping other than Allah, about which He -Exalted and Majestic is He- said:
And [He revealed] that the masjids are for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah anyone.
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًاAnd whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof - then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.
وَمَنْ يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ لا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ إِنَّهُ لا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَAnd whoever supplicates to the prophets, or supplicates to our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after his death, or seeks help from al-Siddiq, or 'Umar, or 'Uthman, or 'Ali, or others; he has taken them as gods, he has made them gods alongside Allah, Allah -Exalted and Majestic is He- said:
That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed. (14) If you invoke them, they do not hear your supplication; and if they heard, they would not respond to you. And on the Day of Resurrection they will deny your association.
ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ(5) And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they, of their invocation, are unaware. (6) And when the people are gathered [that Day], they [who were invoked] will be enemies to them, and they will be deniers of their worship.
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَنْ لا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ وَإِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُوا لَهُمْ أَعْدَاءً وَكَانُوا بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَافِرِينَSo the point is: That it is obligatory for the believer to beware of supplicating to the dead, or to the absent ones like the angels, or the jinn, calling upon them, asking Jibril, or Israfil, or the jinn of such-and-such a land, or the jinn of such-and-such a mountain, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), He ... -Exalted and Majestic is He- said:
(40) And [mention] the Day when He will gather them all and then say to the angels, "Did these [people] used to worship you?" (41) They will say, "Exalted are You! You, [O Allah], are our benefactor not them. Rather, they used to worship the jinn; most of them were believers in them."
وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لِلْمَلائِكَةِ أَهَؤُلاءِ إِيَّاكُمْ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِنْ دُونِهِمْ بَلْ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ الْجِنَّ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِهِمْ مُؤْمِنُونَAnd there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden.
وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًاSo it is obligatory to beware, so do not ask the dead, nor the absent ones from the angels, nor others, and do not ask the idols, nor the inanimate objects from trees and stones, and stars, no, ask Allah alone, ask Allah, seek help from Allah, seek aid from Allah, He, the Exalted, said:
And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him
وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُCall upon Me; I will respond to you.
ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْAnd they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَAnd when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِSay, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاتِي وَنُسُكِيmy living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. (163) No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims."
وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ(1) Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar. (2) So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].
إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْWhen you ask, ask Allah, and when you seek aid, seek Allah's aid.
إذا سألت؛ فاسأل الله، وإذا استعنت؛ فاستعن باللهAllah cursed him who sacrificed for anyone besides Allah
لعن الله من ذبح لغير اللهSo these are great and serious matters, and sitting at the graves supplicating to his Lord at the graves is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), his sitting there reading, or supplicating, this is a means that is not permissible from the means of shirk (associating partners with Allah).
As for if he supplicates to the deceased, and seeks help from him; this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), this is the sin that is not forgiven except by repentance, as for the living person who is present, you say to him: Supplicate to Allah for me, or you ask him to help you with such-and-such, there is no harm, if he is a living person present and capable, there is no harm, just as the Companions used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was present to help them, and to support them with what Allah had given him of wealth, and to supplicate for them, there is no harm, and just as Allah said about Musa in the story of Musa with the Copt:
the one from his faction called for help to him against the one from his enemy
فَاسْتَغَاثَهُ الَّذِي مِنْ شِيعَتِهِ عَلَى الَّذِي مِنْ عَدُوِّهِAnd so in war, a person with his brothers in war in jihad, they cooperate in fighting the enemies, this one helps with a weapon, and this one helps with a whip, and this one helps with a horse, and this one helps with armor.. and so on.
And so in this world, they cooperate in the farm, he helps him in his farm, he helps him in his buying and selling, a living capable person present, they cooperate in the farm, in buying and selling, in building the house, there is no harm, a living capable person present, there is no harm.
As for a dead person, or an absent person, no, do not seek help from him; it is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), and the polytheists did not believe that they created, or provided, no, the polytheists worshipped them; because in their claim they interceded for them, they brought them closer to Allah, this is their claim, they did not believe in them that they created, or provided, Allah -Exalted and Majestic is He- said:
And if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, "Allah."
وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُSay, "Who provides for you
قُلْ مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ"Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who controls hearing and sight and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and who arranges [every] matter?" They will say, "Allah,"
مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالأَرْضِ أَمَّنْ يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالأَبْصَارَ وَمَنْ يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَمَنْ يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّهُAnd they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِand they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah
وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِThey know that the Creator and the Provider is Allah -Glorified is He-, and they only worship the idols; because in their claim they intercede for them, and they have been refuted in this, and He said -Exalted and Majestic is He-:
And those who take protectors besides Him [say], "We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position."
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَىIndeed, Allah will judge between them concerning that over which they differ. Indeed, Allah does not guide he who is a liar and [confirmed] disbeliever.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ فِي مَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ كَاذِبٌ كَفَّارٌSo the one who comes to al-Badawi, or al-Husayn, Sayyid al-Husayn, or others, or ... Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, or comes to others, asks them, and seeks help from them, this has made them gods alongside Allah, and this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), and so if he comes to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and supplicates to him, seeks help from him, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah).
So it is obligatory to beware, it is obligatory for the questioner, and for other than the questioner, to beware of these shirk (associating partners with Allah) practices, and not to pay attention to the callers to shirk (associating partners with Allah) from the bad scholars, and the bad leaders, we ask Allah for well-being, and safety. Yes.
The presenter: We thank Allah for you, O Shaykh, and may Allah bless you, and in your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims with you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.