excerpt from Shaykh Sayyid Tauseef al-Rahman Rashdi’s book “Aqeedah Tawheed par Jalāli ke Shubuhāt ka Izālah”:
❖ Refutation of Ashraf Jalālī’s Doubts Against Seeking Help from Allah Alone
Ashraf Jalālī al-Barelwī states that some people quote the following ḥadīth:
“إِذَا اسْتَعَنْتَ فَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ“
“When you seek help, then seek it from Allah.”
He responds by saying:
“We do not disagree with this ḥadīth, but no one should fall into misunderstanding. Not every person is at such a level that, when hungry, he would say, ‘I will not ask anyone to bring me food.’ This command is for special people; they have a status and the ruling applies to them. (This command is not general for everyone — that everyone must seek from Allah alone.)”
❖ Response to This Barelwī Misconception
In other words, Jalālī implies that this form of Tawḥīd is only for the elite, a command specifically for the saints, not for the general masses. According to him, the common people should call upon saints, and the saints should call upon Allah.
O Jalālī Sahib! I am but a humble student and servant of the Ahl al-Ḥadīth school. By Allah, I swear — bring us a single ḥadīth from the books of Sunnah which outlines this understanding: that the common people should call upon saints, and the saints will then call upon Allah.
Bring a single authentic narration supporting this division — we are ready to accept. But I know well, no one will ever be able to provide such a ḥadīth, not even till the walls of the Day of Judgement. This concept is the invention of the Ṣūfīs, who divided Tawḥīd into:
- Tawḥīd ʿĀmmah (for the general masses)
- Tawḥīd Khāṣṣah (for the elite)
- Tawḥīd Akhaṣṣ al-Khāṣṣ (for the elite of the elite)
This is not a division made by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
❖ A Question for Jalālī Sahib
Who is more beloved to Allah than the Imām of all Prophets ﷺ? When three of the Companions said:
- One: “I will never marry.”
- Another: “I will fast continuously.”
- A third: “I will not sleep at night.”
The Prophet ﷺ responded:
“فمن رغب عن سنتي فليس مني“
“Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.”
In the Battle of Uḥud, Anas رضي الله عنه narrates:
“من يردهم عنا وله الجنة أو رفيقي في الجنة؟“
“Who will drive them away from us, and for him is Paradise — or he will be my companion in Paradise?”
O Jalālī Sahib! You claim this level of Tawḥīd is for the elite only. Yet here is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, during war, asking his Companions for help — within the means — who could be more elite than him?
But you say: “Even a hungry person should not ask for bread.” This is the terminology of Ṣūfī mysticism, not Islam.
For instance, a story is told of Ṣābir Kalīr رحمه الله:
His murshid appointed him to distribute food from a large cauldron. After some time, he was found extremely thin. When asked why he had not eaten, he replied:
“Murshid Sahib instructed me to distribute, not to eat. I neither asked nor ate, because I had reached the station where one must ask only from Allah.”
These are fabricated legends — tales of surviving without food for years.
❖ What Did the Prophet ﷺ Do When He Was Hungry?
Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrates:
“قال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يا عائشة ذات يوم هل عندكم شيء؟“
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once asked me: ‘O ʿĀ’ishah, do you have anything [to eat] today?’”
She replied: “We have nothing.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“فإني صائم“
“Then I will fast.”
This ḥadīth clearly shows that the Prophet ﷺ asked his wife for food.
You, however, elevate your saints to such a level of “special Tawḥīd” that they are not supposed to ask anyone but Allah — implying before reaching this level, one may ask others. Was the Prophet ﷺ not at the highest level of Tawḥīd?
❖ The Correct Understanding of Seeking Help
✅ Seeking help through natural means from creation is not shirk.
❌ But seeking help beyond natural means, invoking the unseen aid of the deceased or absent, is shirk.
