Seeking Help from Awliyā After Death: Qur’anic and Sharʿi Clarification
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question
Some people believe that the powers (taṣarruf) of the Awliyāʾ (friends of Allah) increase after their death. What is the ruling on this belief?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿAmma Baʿd!
This belief is false and baseless.
- After death, the Awliyāʾ cannot even help themselves, so how can they help others?
- Allah ﷻ has clearly stated that they have no power to grant aid:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَكُمْ وَلَا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَنْصُرُونَ﴾
[Those you call upon besides Him cannot help you, nor can they help themselves]
(Al-Aʿrāf: 197)
❖ Scholarly Statement
✔ Ṣanʿ Allāh al-Ḥanafī (1120 AH):
“To claim that the Awliyāʾ have powers after death is even more abhorrent and innovated than claiming that they had such powers during their lifetime.”
(Sayf Allāh ʿalā man Kadhaba ʿalā Awliyāʾ Allāh p. 32)
❖ Conclusion
- The claim that Awliyāʾ gain powers after death is false, without evidence, and misleading.
- Such a belief contradicts the Qur’an and the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah.
- True help and power belong only to Allah ﷻ.
هذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
