Calling the Saints and Prophets as Bestowers, Non-Self-Subsistent, and Limited
Allah has manifested some of His perfect attributes in His servants, as it is stated:
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍۢ نَّبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَٰهُ سَمِيعًۢا بَصِيرًا۔
Translation: Indeed, We created man from a drop of mixed fluid, that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.
Abdullah bin Abbas (RA) narrated that a companion came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said:
یَا رَسُوْلُ ﷺ مَاشَاءَ آللَّـه وَمَاشِئتَ۔
(Whatever Allah wills and whatever you will) Upon this, the Prophet ﷺ said (جَعَلْتَنِی لِـلّٰـهِ عَدْلاََ ! بَلْ مَاشَاءَ آللَّـهُ وَحْدَہُ) کیا Have you equated me with Allah? Rather, just say, “Only Allah is to be desired.”
Note: By reflecting a little on this hadith, it becomes absolutely clear that these companions, may Allah be pleased with them, addressed the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, as (a giver, possessor of choice, and one who is not independent in essence) ماشاءاللہ وماشئت, but the Prophet, peace be upon him, declared it as shirk and corrected that companion. This one example is enough to open our eyes. ( الْحَمْدُ للَّـه)
Warning: It is forbidden to say “Whatever Allah wills and you will.”
It is narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, that a man among the Muslims saw in a dream that he met a person from the People of the Book who said: You would be such good people if you did not commit shirk; you say: “Whatever Allah wills and Muhammad wills.” This Muslim narrated this dream to the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said: “By Allah! I know (that saying this smells of shirk). Therefore, you say «ما شاء الله ثم شاء محمد» ‘Whatever Allah wills, then Muhammad wills.'”
Benefits and Issues:
(1) “Whatever Allah Almighty wills, then Prophet Muhammad ﷺ wills.”
This means that only what Allah wills will happen.
The will of the other person is subject to Allah.
To equate the wills of both (Creator and creation) simultaneously is indeed shirk.
Therefore, after the correction of the Prophet ﷺ, the suspicion of shirk was removed. This narration is considered Hasan by some and Sahih by others.
(2) One should avoid words that could imply shirk.
(3) Shariah matters are not proven by dreams, but if a dream contains a sign that does not contradict the teachings of the Quran and Hadith, then there is no harm in acting upon it.
(4) The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, used to narrate their dreams to the Prophet ﷺ to get their interpretation and to know whether the matter in the dream was worthy of acceptance or not.
The issue of calling upon the deceased for help
Observe how the beloved of Allah, Muhammad ﷺ, had a belief that was 100% free from shirk:
Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), “O Messenger of Allah! When people see clouds, they become happy thinking that it will rain, but I see the opposite in you; when you see clouds, displeasure appears on your face.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “O Aisha! What guarantee is there that there is no punishment in them? A people (the ‘Aad) were afflicted by a wind punishment. When they saw the punishment, they said, ‘This is just a cloud that will rain upon us.'”
In a hadith, it is mentioned that when a strong wind blew, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would recite this supplication:
(اللَّهُمَّ إِني أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَهَا، وَخَيْرِ مَا فِيهَا، وخَيْر ما أُرسِلَتْ بِهِ، وَأَعُوذُ بك مِنْ شَرِّهِا، وَشَرِّ ما فِيها، وَشَرِّ ما أُرسِلَت بِهِ)
When the clouds darkened in the sky, the color of your radiant face would change, and a state of fear would come over you, making you restless; sometimes you would go outside, sometimes come inside, sometimes move forward, and sometimes backward.
When it rained, you would breathe a sigh of relief.
2. When the punishment of wind came upon the people of Aad, its speed was such that it uprooted trees and plants and threw them away.
This same storm entered their underground houses, during which they could not even come out of their homes. They froze to death due to the extreme cold.
Nothing was visible there except ruins. The strong and severe cold wind blew continuously on the people of Aad for eight days and seven nights. The lesson we learn from this event is that one should not be fearless because of the outward appearance of anything, nor should one rely on it; rather, one should always fear Allah in every situation.
Note: The permission to send down rain is with Sayyiduna Mikail (peace be upon him), who is the leader of the angels and is also alive. Despite this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) never called upon Mikail for help. So how can it be that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would command seeking help from the deceased? Furthermore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not teach his Ummah the following words to ask for rain:
(O people of my Ummah)
You repeatedly call Mikail (peace be upon him) morning and evening for rain (considering him as having limited granting power and believing him to be dependent) (١) اَلْمَدد یَا مَیْکَا ئیل (2)یَا مَیْکَا ئیل look with mercy (3) یَا مَیْکَا ئیل have mercy (4)یَا مَیْکَا ئیل send down rain,
نَعُوذُ اللَّـهِ Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, instead of these words (صَلَاۃُ الاِسْتِسْقَاء ) taught turning to Allah through prayer for rain because the fact that angels are assigned duties does not mean that we start calling upon angels. Calling angels for help in the unseen is purely shirk (associating partners with Allah) and an unforgivable sin نَعُوذُ باللَّـهِ۔
Blasphemous slogans, and the Ghausiyah prayer,
If calling upon Mikail, the living chief of angels, besides Allah Almighty (for help in absence) is pure polytheism, then what kind of monotheism and what kind of Islam is it to blindly chant the following disrespectful slogans in enthusiasm before elders…?(The decision is in your hands)!
(1) المدد یا علی مشکل کشا,,, O Ali
(2) المدد یا غوث اعظم دستگیر,,,,, O Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani,,, نعوذ باللہ
(3) یا معین الدین چشتی,,,,, Set the boat afloat
(4) Bad bad Sarkar Bari,,,, bad luck makes Hari,,, نعوذ بااللہ
Note: Some blasphemers of Islam have attributed a shirk-related prayer (Namaz-e-Ghausia) to Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, may Allah have mercy on him
. Observe:
The method of Namaz-e-Ghausia for the fulfillment of needs is also very effective through Salat al-Asrar; it is also called Namaz-e-Ghausia. Its procedure is that after the Maghrib prayer, after reading the Sunnah prayers, one should offer two rak’ahs of Nafl prayer, and it is better that after Al-Hamd, in each rak’ah, Surah Ikhlas is recited eleven times. After the salam, praise and thanks to Allah should be made, then send salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ eleven times. Then walk eleven steps towards Iraq and at each step say یا غوث الثقلین ویاکریم الطرفین اغثنی وامددنی فی قضاء حاجتی یا قاضی الحاجات۔.
Translation: O Helper of the jinn and humans, and O elder on behalf of parents, reach my plea and help me, O fulfiller of needs…
(And Barelvi Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadri, Faizan-e-Sunnat, Virtues of Nawafil, page 1054)
Note: The Holy Quran has clearly mentioned the fate of those who call upon saints and religious elders for supplication besides Allah Almighty. Accordingly, the command of the Almighty is as follows:
وَمَنْ اَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَّدْعُوْا مِنْ دُوْنِ اللّـٰهِ مَنْ لَّا يَسْتَجِيْبُ لَـهٝٓ اِلٰى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُـمْ عَنْ دُعَآئِهِـمْ غَافِلُوْنَ۔
And who is more astray than one who calls upon besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they, of their invocation, are unaware.
وَاِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُـوْا لَـهُـمْ اَعْدَآءً وَّكَانُـوْا بِعِبَادَتِـهِـمْ كَافِـرِيْنَ۔
And when the people are gathered, they will be enemies to them and will deny their worship.
Observe the blessed practice of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, the beloved Imam of the Prophets and Messengers, the exemplary model:
(1) حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَاتِمٍ الْمُكْتِبُ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَدْرٍ شُجَاعُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ، عَنْ الرُّحَيْلِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ أَخِي زُهَيْرِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الرَّقَاشِيِّ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ: كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا كَرَبَهُ أَمْرٌ قَالَ: يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ۔
Translation
Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, says that when the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was faced with a difficult task or distress, he would recite this supplication: «يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك أستغيث» “O Ever-Living, Ever-Sustaining! I seek Your help through Your mercy.”
(2) Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه says: We were with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the mosque when the sun rose, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم went outside, and I also followed behind him. He صلى الله عليه وسلم walked until we reached the house of Sayyida Fatimah رضي الله عنها. When we entered, she was lying down asleep. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Fatimah! Why are you sleeping at this time?” She said: I have had a fever since last night. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Where is the supplication that I taught you?” She said: I forgot. Then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Say like this: «يَا حَيُّ، يَا قَيُّوْمُ، بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيْثُ، أَصْلِحْ لِيْ شَأْنِيْ كُلَّهُ، وَلَا تَكِلْنِيْ إِلَىٰ نَفْسِيْ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ، وَلَا إِلَىٰ أَحَدٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ.» “”
(3) وَاِنْ يَّمْسَسْكَ اللّـٰهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَـهٝٓ اِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَاِنْ يَّمْسَسْكَ بِخَيْـرٍ فَـهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ۔
Translation
And if Allah afflicts you with any harm, then none can remove it except Him, and if He bestows any good upon you, then He is capable of all things.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mughira bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to recite this supplication at the end of every obligatory prayer:
«لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير اللهم لا مانع لما أعطيت ولا معطي لما منعت ولا ينفع ذا الجد منك الجد»” There is no deity except Allah, He has no partner or associate. Sovereignty belongs to Him alone, and all praise and thanks are for Him, and He is capable of all things. O Allah! Whatever You grant, none can withhold it, and whatever You withhold, none can grant it, and no one can give a share to any destined person except by Your leave.”
Explanation:
- The supplication mentioned in this hadith indicates that there is no deity except Allah alone, to whom one can turn for the fulfillment of needs and necessities.
Everything in the world and the heavens is His creation, and the creation is always in need of its Creator. - He is the Absolute Power; all authority to give or withhold anything lies solely in His control without any partner.
- In His presence, worldly status, grandeur, honor, and sovereignty cannot be effective or beneficial even to the slightest extent without His grace and mercy.
We pray to Allah to grant all of us Muslims the understanding of pure monotheism and the ability to remain steadfast upon it until death, Ameen.
