Investigative Analysis of the Narration About Seeking Help from Ali (RA)Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid (May Allah protect him)
❖ The Claim: “O Allah! Seek help from Ali (RA) and desire support from him”
According to a narration attributed to Kudayrah al-Hujrī, it is reported:
Abu Dharr (RA) leaned his back against the Ka‘bah and said:
“O people! Come and listen to two or three things I heard from your Prophet ﷺ.
I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say to Ali (RA):
‘O Allah! Support him, and seek support from him. Help him, and desire help from him, for he is Your servant and the brother of Your Messenger.’”
[Mizān al-I‘tidāl: 6/534; also cited by al-Hāfiẓ in Lisān al-Mīzān; al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr: 12/122; al-Hindī in Kanz al-‘Ummāl: 32954; al-Suyūṭī in al-Jawāmi‘: 9741; Ibn Sa‘d in al-Ṭabaqāt: 2/1/49]
❖ Analysis of the Meaning
This narration conveys the meaning that Allah seeks help from Ali (RA) and desires his assistance — a concept that is theologically flawed and dangerous, because:
- Allah is not in need of anyone, let alone His own creation.
- Saying that Allah seeks help from a human is a blatant violation of Islamic monotheism (Tawḥīd) and falls under kufr (disbelief).
The narration, as worded, suggests divinity and dependency upon a creation, which is a severe deviation from the core beliefs of Islam.
❖ The Narrators: Majhūl (Unknown) and Unreliable
✿ ① Kudayrah al-Hujrī
- This narration is reported by Mahallal al-‘Abdī from Kudayrah al-Hujrī.
- Imam al-Bukhari explicitly stated:
"Both are unknown (majhūl) narrators."
When narrators are majhūl (unknown), and their reliability has not been verified, their narrations are rejected in Hadith sciences.
❖ Grave Theological Error
The phrases contained in this narration — such as:
“O Allah! Seek support from Ali”
“Desire help from him”
— are phrases that contradict the very essence of Tawḥīd, as Allah is Al-Ghaniyy (completely free of need), and He does not seek help from His creation.
To attribute such statements to the Prophet ﷺ is a great slander, and we seek Allah’s forgiveness from this type of heretical attribution.
Conclusion:
This narration, which attributes to the Prophet ﷺ the statement that Allah seeks help and support from Ali (RA), is:
① Theologically corrupt,
② In direct contradiction to Tawḥīd,
③ Transmitted by unknown and unreliable narrators,
④ Fabricated and unacceptable in the view of Hadith and Islamic creed.
Hence, this narration must be categorically rejected, and any usage of it to prove exaggerated virtues of Ali (RA) is a distortion of Islamic belief.
