The Ruling on Calling Upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) After His Death
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Is it considered shirk (associating partners with Allah) if someone in any part of the earth says: "O Muhammad, O Messenger of Allah," calling upon him?
Answer: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made clear in His Noble Book and on the tongue of His trustworthy Messenger (may the best of prayers and peace be upon him) that worship is the right of Allah alone, and no one else has a right to it. Since supplication is a form of worship, if anyone among the people in any part of the earth says: "O Messenger of Allah," or "O Prophet of Allah," or "O Muhammad, help me," or "save me," or "aid me," or "heal me," or "aid your Ummah," or "heal the sick among the Muslims," or "guide their lost ones," or the like, he has made him a partner with Allah in worship. The same applies to one who does this with other prophets, angels, awliya (close friends of Allah), jinn, idols, or other created beings. This is based on the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): : [Surat al-Dhariyat: 56], and His saying, Glorified is He: [Surat al-Baqarah: 21].
And based on His saying, Exalted is He, in Surat al-Fatihah: [Surat al-Fatihah: 5], and His saying, Glorified is He: [Surat Ghafir: 14], and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): : [Surat Ghafir: 60]. He named supplication as worship and informed that whoever is arrogant about it will enter Hellfire in a state of humiliation. And He said, Exalted is He: [Surat al-Baqarah: 168], and He said, Glorified is He: [Surat al-Bayyinah: 5], and He said (Mighty and Majestic): : [Surat Fatir: 13-14], and He said, Glorified is He: [Surat al-Ahqaf: 5-6], and He said, Exalted is He: [Surat al-Jinn: 18].
These verses, along with the other verses and hadiths that convey the same meaning, all indicate that worship is the exclusive right of Allah, and that it is obligatory to devote it to Him alone, because He created the servants for that purpose and commanded them to do it. They also indicate that all those who are worshipped besides Allah do not hear the supplication of those who call upon them, and even if they were to hear it, they would not respond to it. Furthermore, they indicate that those who are worshipped besides Allah will disavow their worshippers on the Day of Resurrection, deny their worship, and inform them that they were heedless of their worship of them. They also make clear that on the Day of Resurrection, they will be enemies of those who worshipped them besides Allah. Allah sent the messengers, peace and blessings be upon them, led by their seal and the best of them, our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), to call people to the worship of Allah alone and to warn them against worshipping anything other than Him. As He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Nahl: 36]. And He said: : [Al-Anbiya: 25]. And He said: in Surat al-Ra'd, commanding His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to convey to them what He had commanded him to convey: [Al-Ra'd: 36]. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: Sahih al-Bukhari 2856 It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim from the hadith of Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him).
In Sahih al-Bukhari, from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) , the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . In Sahih Muslim, from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) , the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 93b. And in Sahih Muslim also, from Tariq al-Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him) , the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 23a.
In the two Sahihs, from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) , he said: I said, "O Messenger of Allah, which sin is the greatest?" He said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6811. The hadiths in this chapter are numerous. There is no doubt that the one who seeks aid from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or from others among the awliya (close friends of Allah), prophets, angels, or jinn, does so believing that they hear their supplication, fulfill their needs, and know their conditions. These are types of major shirk (associating partners with Allah), because the unseen is known only to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Also, the dead have had their deeds and actions in the worldly realm cut off, whether they are prophets or not. Furthermore, the angels and jinn are absent from us and occupied with their own affairs.
It is not for us to divert any part of the right of Allah to them or to call upon them along with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) ; because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, commanded us to worship Him alone and none other, and informed that He created the two groups (humans and jinn) for that purpose, as mentioned in the preceding verses with this meaning. Also, all those worshipped other than Allah are unable to fulfill the needs of their worshippers or heal their sick, nor do they know what is in their hearts. Only Allah alone is able to do that and knows what is in the breasts. Among the verses indicating this is His saying, Glorified is He: [Surat Fatir: 13-14]. In this verse, He, Glorified is He, named the supplication of others as shirk (associating partners with Allah), and in another verse He named it kufr (disbelief), as in His saying: [Surat al-Mu'minun: 117].
And He (Mighty and Majestic) made clear in another verse that those worshipped other than Allah, among the prophets and others, do not possess the power to remove hardship from those who call upon them, nor to change their state from one to another, nor to move them from one place to another, or from one person to another. As He, Mighty and Majestic, said in Surat al-Isra: [Surat al-Isra: 56-57]. The verses with this meaning are numerous.
Important note:
Worshiping other than Allah does not include cooperation among living, capable servants through physical causes, such as a person asking a living, capable person, whether present or absent (via correspondence or the like), to help him build his house, repair his car, lend him some money, or assist him in jihad, or to protect him from thieves or bandits, or the like. Similarly, it does not include a person's fear of his living enemy, or of thieves, or of natural harms such as wild beasts, snakes, or scorpions, and taking measures to protect himself from them.
Among the evidence for this is His saying, Glorified is He, in Surat al-Qasas regarding the story of Musa: [Surat al-Qasas: 15], and His saying, Mighty and Majestic: [Surat al-Qasas: 21], the verse. And His saying, Glorified is He: [Surat al-Ma'idah: 2], and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1425Sahih (Darussalam). The verses and hadiths with this meaning are numerous. One should be alert to this matter and pay attention to it; because many ignorant people and polytheists confuse some callers to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) with such matters. And Allah is the One to be sought for help.
Answer: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made clear in His Noble Book and on the tongue of His trustworthy Messenger (may the best of prayers and peace be upon him) that worship is the right of Allah alone, and no one else has a right to it. Since supplication is a form of worship, if anyone among the people in any part of the earth says: "O Messenger of Allah," or "O Prophet of Allah," or "O Muhammad, help me," or "save me," or "aid me," or "heal me," or "aid your Ummah," or "heal the sick among the Muslims," or "guide their lost ones," or the like, he has made him a partner with Allah in worship. The same applies to one who does this with other prophets, angels, awliya (close friends of Allah), jinn, idols, or other created beings. This is based on the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): :
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِO mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous -
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَAnd based on His saying, Exalted is He, in Surat al-Fatihah:
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُSo invoke Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, although the disbelievers dislike it.
فَادْعُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَAnd your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَAnd 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. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَAnd they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِThat 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. And none can inform you like [one] Acquainted [with all matters].
ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ * إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ(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 لَا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ * وَإِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُوا لَهُمْ أَعْدَاءً وَكَانُوا بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَافِرِينَAnd [He revealed] that the masjids are for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah anyone.
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًاThese verses, along with the other verses and hadiths that convey the same meaning, all indicate that worship is the exclusive right of Allah, and that it is obligatory to devote it to Him alone, because He created the servants for that purpose and commanded them to do it. They also indicate that all those who are worshipped besides Allah do not hear the supplication of those who call upon them, and even if they were to hear it, they would not respond to it. Furthermore, they indicate that those who are worshipped besides Allah will disavow their worshippers on the Day of Resurrection, deny their worship, and inform them that they were heedless of their worship of them. They also make clear that on the Day of Resurrection, they will be enemies of those who worshipped them besides Allah. Allah sent the messengers, peace and blessings be upon them, led by their seal and the best of them, our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), to call people to the worship of Allah alone and to warn them against worshipping anything other than Him. As He, the Exalted, said:
And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and avoid Taghut."
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اُعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَAnd We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me."
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِSay, "I have only been commanded to worship Allah and not associate [anything] with Him. To Him I invite, and to Him is my return."
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبَدَ اللهَ وَلَا أُشْرِكَ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ أَدْعُو وَإِلَيْهِ مَآبِAllah's right on His slaves is that they should worship Him (Alone) and should not worship any besides Him
حق الله على العباد أن يعبدوه ولا يشركوا به شيئاIn Sahih al-Bukhari, from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) , the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever dies while calling upon a rival besides Allah will enter the Fire
من مات وهو يدعو لله ندا دخل النارSupplication is worship
الدعاء هو العبادةHe who met Allah without associating anything with Allah entered Paradise and he who met Him associating (anything) with Him entered Fire.
من لقي الله لا يشرك به شيئا دخل الجنة ومن لقيه يشرك به شيئا دخل النارHe who professed that there is no god but Allah and made a denial of everything which the people worship beside Allah, his property and blood became inviolable, an their affairs rest with Allah.
من وحد الله وكفر بما يعبد من دون الله حرم ماله ودمه وحسابه على الله عز وجلIn the two Sahihs, from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) , he said: I said, "O Messenger of Allah, which sin is the greatest?" He said:
To set up rivals to Allah by worshipping others though He alone has created you
أن تجعل لله ندا وهو خلقكIt is not for us to divert any part of the right of Allah to them or to call upon them along with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) ; because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, commanded us to worship Him alone and none other, and informed that He created the two groups (humans and jinn) for that purpose, as mentioned in the preceding verses with this meaning. Also, all those worshipped other than Allah are unable to fulfill the needs of their worshippers or heal their sick, nor do they know what is in their hearts. Only Allah alone is able to do that and knows what is in the breasts. Among the verses indicating this is His saying, Glorified is He:
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. And none can inform you like [one] Acquainted [with all matters].
ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ * إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍAnd 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 لَا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَAnd He (Mighty and Majestic) made clear in another verse that those worshipped other than Allah, among the prophets and others, do not possess the power to remove hardship from those who call upon them, nor to change their state from one to another, nor to move them from one place to another, or from one person to another. As He, Mighty and Majestic, said in Surat al-Isra:
(56) Say, "Invoke those you have claimed [as gods] besides Him, for they do not possess the [ability for] removal of adversity from you or [for its] transfer [to someone else]." (57) Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever feared.
قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنْكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا * أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًاImportant note:
Worshiping other than Allah does not include cooperation among living, capable servants through physical causes, such as a person asking a living, capable person, whether present or absent (via correspondence or the like), to help him build his house, repair his car, lend him some money, or assist him in jihad, or to protect him from thieves or bandits, or the like. Similarly, it does not include a person's fear of his living enemy, or of thieves, or of natural harms such as wild beasts, snakes, or scorpions, and taking measures to protect himself from them.
Among the evidence for this is His saying, Glorified is He, in Surat al-Qasas regarding the story of Musa:
the one from his faction called for help to him against the one from his enemy
فَاسْتَغَاثَهُ الَّذِي مِنْ شِيعَتِهِ عَلَى الَّذِي مِنْ عَدُوِّهِSo he left it, fearful and anticipating [apprehension].
فَخَرَجَ مِنْهَا خَائِفًا يَتَرَقَّبُcooperate in righteousness and piety
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىAnd Allah is engaged in helping the worshipper as long as the worshipper is engaged in helping his brother.
والله في عون العبد ما كان العبد في عون أخيه
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.