Reality of Supplicating Through the Intercession of Prophets and Saints
Source: Fatāwā al-Deen al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, p.96
Question:
I read in Maʿārif al-Qurʾān by Mawlānā Mufti Muhammad Shafīʿ under Sūrah al-Anʿām that he considers it permissible to supplicate using the intercession (wasīlah) of prophets and saints. Is this view correct or incorrect?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā biLlāh.
From authentic narrations, it is established that the Prophet ﷺ, when supplicating to Allah, only sought wasīlah through Allah’s Names and Attributes.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/302) and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2/353) mention the incident of three men trapped in a cave who supplicated by mentioning their own righteous deeds. Allah accepted their supplication due to this wasīlah.
In the Qur’an, Allah mentions the duʿāʾs of prophets and righteous people, but nowhere is there any mention of seeking wasīlah through their persons or existence.
Had this been permissible or recommended, Allah and His Messenger ﷺ would have instructed us to do so.
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/137) and Mishkāt (1/132), it is authentically reported that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) asked al-ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) to make duʿāʾ for rain — without invoking the existence of the Prophet ﷺ or any saint as a wasīlah.
Allah says:
﴿يـٰأَيُّهَا الَّذينَ ءامَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَابتَغوا إِلَيهِ الوَسيلَةَ وَجـٰهِدوا فى سَبيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُم تُفلِحونَ﴾
(Sūrah al-Māʾidah: 35)
"O you who believe! Fear Allah and seek the means (wasīlah) to Him and strive in His path so that you may succeed."
All the major commentators agree that the wasīlah in this verse refers to:
✔ Īmān (faith)
✔ Righteous deeds
✔ Allah's Names and Attributes
It does not refer to the physical existence or status of prophets or saints.
In Fayḍ al-Bārī (2/379) and Minhāj al-Taʾsīs (p. 157), it is clearly mentioned that none of the scholars ever said that seeking wasīlah through the Prophet ﷺ or righteous people after their death is permissible.
This ḥadīth is found in Tirmidhī and Mishkāt (1/769, Ḥadīth no. 2695), where a blind man requested the Prophet ﷺ to make duʿāʾ for him.
Response:
◈ The Prophet ﷺ himself made the duʿāʾ, and the blind man sought his prayer, not his person.
◈ This is evidence for seeking the duʿāʾ of a righteous person, not seeking wasīlah through their existence.
◈ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah clarified in al-Qāʿidah al-Jalīlah and al-Tawassul wa al-Wasīlah that this ḥadīth does not support wasīlah through a person’s status.
Some present a narration from al-Bayhaqī in which a Bedouin comes to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and requests him to intercede.
Response:
◈ This narration is reported without a chain, and is disconnected (munqaṭiʿ) and fabricated.
◈ Strong criticisms of this narration are found in:
– al-Ṣārim al-Munkī (p. 202)
– Fatḥ al-Manān (p. 352)
– Minhāj al-Taʾsīs (p. 169)
This is an authentic narration from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/137).
Response:
◈ This narration proves the permissibility of requesting duʿāʾ from a righteous living person, not wasīlah through someone's status or existence.
◈ If it were permissible to seek wasīlah through the Prophet ﷺ's person after death, the companions would have done so—but they did not.
◈ This narration refutes the concept of wasīlah through persons after death.
This narration is fabricated.
◈ Reported by Ṭabarānī, Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (8/253), and al-Ḥākim (2/615, 3/333), all of whom deemed the chain unacceptable.
◈ Shaykh al-Albānī in al-Ḍaʿīfah (1/38, Ḥadīth no. 25) declared it fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
This narration is baseless and invalid.
◈ Proven to be unauthentic in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah (Ḥadīth no. 22).
The companions never sought wasīlah through the person or status of the Prophet ﷺ after his passing.
✔ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) asked al-ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) to supplicate.
✔ Muʿāwiyah (رضي الله عنه) asked Yazīd ibn al-Aswad to supplicate.
✔ Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Qays also asked righteous individuals for duʿāʾ — never relying on a prophet’s or saint’s status.
This is clear evidence that wasīlah through a person's existence (wasīlah bi al-dhāt) is neither found in Qur'an, Hadith, nor in the practice of the Companions.
❖ Seeking wasīlah through the person or status of a prophet or saint—whether during their life or after death—is not established by the Qur'an, nor by authentic Hadith, nor by the practice of the righteous predecessors.
❖ Therefore, the opinion of Mufti Muhammad Shafīʿ—permitting such a wasīlah—is incorrect, as it contradicts the principles of Qur'an, Sunnah, and the practice of the Salaf.
Waṣallallāhu ʿalā Nabiyyinā Muḥammad wa ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب۔
Source: Fatāwā al-Deen al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, p.96
Question:
I read in Maʿārif al-Qurʾān by Mawlānā Mufti Muhammad Shafīʿ under Sūrah al-Anʿām that he considers it permissible to supplicate using the intercession (wasīlah) of prophets and saints. Is this view correct or incorrect?
❖ The Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā biLlāh.
❶ Legally Prescribed Forms of Wasīlah
From authentic narrations, it is established that the Prophet ﷺ, when supplicating to Allah, only sought wasīlah through Allah’s Names and Attributes.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/302) and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2/353) mention the incident of three men trapped in a cave who supplicated by mentioning their own righteous deeds. Allah accepted their supplication due to this wasīlah. In the Qur’an, Allah mentions the duʿāʾs of prophets and righteous people, but nowhere is there any mention of seeking wasīlah through their persons or existence.Had this been permissible or recommended, Allah and His Messenger ﷺ would have instructed us to do so.
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/137) and Mishkāt (1/132), it is authentically reported that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) asked al-ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) to make duʿāʾ for rain — without invoking the existence of the Prophet ﷺ or any saint as a wasīlah.
Allah says:﴿يـٰأَيُّهَا الَّذينَ ءامَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَابتَغوا إِلَيهِ الوَسيلَةَ وَجـٰهِدوا فى سَبيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُم تُفلِحونَ﴾
(Sūrah al-Māʾidah: 35)
"O you who believe! Fear Allah and seek the means (wasīlah) to Him and strive in His path so that you may succeed."
All the major commentators agree that the wasīlah in this verse refers to:
✔ Īmān (faith)
✔ Righteous deeds
✔ Allah's Names and Attributes
It does not refer to the physical existence or status of prophets or saints.
In Fayḍ al-Bārī (2/379) and Minhāj al-Taʾsīs (p. 157), it is clearly mentioned that none of the scholars ever said that seeking wasīlah through the Prophet ﷺ or righteous people after their death is permissible.
❷ Critical Examination of Evidences Presented in Favor of Wasīlah
➤ First Evidence: The Ḥadīth of the Blind Companion
This ḥadīth is found in Tirmidhī and Mishkāt (1/769, Ḥadīth no. 2695), where a blind man requested the Prophet ﷺ to make duʿāʾ for him.
Response:
◈ The Prophet ﷺ himself made the duʿāʾ, and the blind man sought his prayer, not his person.
◈ This is evidence for seeking the duʿāʾ of a righteous person, not seeking wasīlah through their existence.
◈ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah clarified in al-Qāʿidah al-Jalīlah and al-Tawassul wa al-Wasīlah that this ḥadīth does not support wasīlah through a person’s status.
➤ Second Evidence: The Bedouin Who Came to the Prophet ﷺ’s Grave
Some present a narration from al-Bayhaqī in which a Bedouin comes to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and requests him to intercede.
Response:
◈ This narration is reported without a chain, and is disconnected (munqaṭiʿ) and fabricated.
◈ Strong criticisms of this narration are found in:
– al-Ṣārim al-Munkī (p. 202)
– Fatḥ al-Manān (p. 352)
– Minhāj al-Taʾsīs (p. 169)
➤ Third Evidence: ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) Seeking Duʿāʾ from al-ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه)
This is an authentic narration from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/137).
Response:
◈ This narration proves the permissibility of requesting duʿāʾ from a righteous living person, not wasīlah through someone's status or existence.
◈ If it were permissible to seek wasīlah through the Prophet ﷺ's person after death, the companions would have done so—but they did not.
◈ This narration refutes the concept of wasīlah through persons after death.
❸ Fabricated and Weak Narrations About Wasīlah
(1) Ādam (عليه السلام) Supplicating Through the Prophet ﷺ
This narration is fabricated.
◈ Reported by Ṭabarānī, Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (8/253), and al-Ḥākim (2/615, 3/333), all of whom deemed the chain unacceptable.
◈ Shaykh al-Albānī in al-Ḍaʿīfah (1/38, Ḥadīth no. 25) declared it fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
(2) Duʿāʾ Through the Status (Jāh) of the Prophet ﷺ
This narration is baseless and invalid.
◈ Proven to be unauthentic in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah (Ḥadīth no. 22).
❹ Practice of the Companions After the Death of the Prophet ﷺ
The companions never sought wasīlah through the person or status of the Prophet ﷺ after his passing.
✔ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) asked al-ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) to supplicate.
✔ Muʿāwiyah (رضي الله عنه) asked Yazīd ibn al-Aswad to supplicate.
✔ Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Qays also asked righteous individuals for duʿāʾ — never relying on a prophet’s or saint’s status.
This is clear evidence that wasīlah through a person's existence (wasīlah bi al-dhāt) is neither found in Qur'an, Hadith, nor in the practice of the Companions.
Conclusion:
❖ Seeking wasīlah through the person or status of a prophet or saint—whether during their life or after death—is not established by the Qur'an, nor by authentic Hadith, nor by the practice of the righteous predecessors.
❖ Therefore, the opinion of Mufti Muhammad Shafīʿ—permitting such a wasīlah—is incorrect, as it contradicts the principles of Qur'an, Sunnah, and the practice of the Salaf.
Waṣallallāhu ʿalā Nabiyyinā Muḥammad wa ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn.ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب۔
