Taken from: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
Is it permissible to seek help (استمداد) from those who are buried in graves?
✔ Seeking help, calling upon, or asking needs from the deceased—whether Prophets, saints (awliya), or others—is not permissible in Islam.
✖ It is regarded as a form of shirk (associating partners with Allah), especially when the help being sought is beyond natural means (ma fawq al-asbab).
(Surah Yūnus: 18)
“These are our intercessors before Allah.”
✔ This is what the mushrikīn (polytheists) used to say to justify calling upon saints, idols, and the righteous.
(Surah Az-Zumar: 3)
“We do not worship them except to bring us closer to Allah.”
✔ This demonstrates that even if a person does not believe in the independent power of the deceased, merely seeking help through them in the way of worship, supplication, or intercession is considered shirk in ‘ibādah (worship).
Istimdad (استمداد), Isti‘ānah (استعانت), Du‘a (دعاء), Nidā (ندا), Istiġāthah (استغاثہ) – all these refer to invoking or seeking aid.
“Whoever believes that anyone besides Allah—be it a Prophet, a saint, or a soul—has the power to remove hardship or fulfill needs, has fallen into a dangerous pit of ignorance and is standing at the brink of Hell.”
“Some people say that the saints (awliya) fulfill needs through their miracles (karāmāt). May Allah protect us from believing that the righteous possess such powers. This is the belief of idol worshippers, not Muslims.”
(Sayfullāh ʿAlā Man Kadhaba ʿAlā Awliyā’illāh, p. 48)
“Some people use the verse of Tawassul as proof that one can seek aid (istighāthah) from the righteous, using them as intermediaries. They say, 'O so-and-so! Pray to Allah on my behalf for sustenance or children,' even when the person is absent or deceased.”
✔ Al-Ālūsī refutes this, stating:
“Seeking such help from the absent or dead is innovation (bid‘ah), and no scholar would allow it. The Salaf (early generations) never did this. No Companion ever requested anything from a deceased, despite being the most eager for goodness.”
(Rūḥ al-Maʿānī: 3/294)
✔ Seeking du‘a from a living, righteous, and present person is permissible,
even if he is not the most virtuous person.
✖ But seeking du‘a or help from the dead or someone not present is not permissible, and none of the Salaf practiced it.
Requesting help from the dead for matters only Allah can fulfill—such as healing illness, granting children, easing hardship—is shirk in worship, unless it is clearly permitted in a specific textual evidence.
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to seek help (استمداد) from those who are buried in graves?
❖ Answer:
✔ Seeking help, calling upon, or asking needs from the deceased—whether Prophets, saints (awliya), or others—is not permissible in Islam.
✖ It is regarded as a form of shirk (associating partners with Allah), especially when the help being sought is beyond natural means (ma fawq al-asbab).
✿ Qur’anic Evidences:
①
هَٰؤُلَاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِندَ اللَّهِ(Surah Yūnus: 18)
“These are our intercessors before Allah.”
✔ This is what the mushrikīn (polytheists) used to say to justify calling upon saints, idols, and the righteous.
②
مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَىٰ(Surah Az-Zumar: 3)
“We do not worship them except to bring us closer to Allah.”
✔ This demonstrates that even if a person does not believe in the independent power of the deceased, merely seeking help through them in the way of worship, supplication, or intercession is considered shirk in ‘ibādah (worship).
❖ Understanding of Istimdad:
Istimdad (استمداد), Isti‘ānah (استعانت), Du‘a (دعاء), Nidā (ندا), Istiġāthah (استغاثہ) – all these refer to invoking or seeking aid.
- Du‘a is itself a form of worship.
- Worship must be directed only to Allah.
- Calling upon anyone besides Allah in matters beyond human ability is shirk.
✿ Scholarly Opinions:
❖ 1. ʿAllāmah Ṣanʿullāh Ḥanafī (رحمه الله) writes:
“Whoever believes that anyone besides Allah—be it a Prophet, a saint, or a soul—has the power to remove hardship or fulfill needs, has fallen into a dangerous pit of ignorance and is standing at the brink of Hell.”
“Some people say that the saints (awliya) fulfill needs through their miracles (karāmāt). May Allah protect us from believing that the righteous possess such powers. This is the belief of idol worshippers, not Muslims.”
(Sayfullāh ʿAlā Man Kadhaba ʿAlā Awliyā’illāh, p. 48)
❖ 2. Imām al-Ālūsī al-Ḥanafī (رحمه الله) in Tafsīr Rūḥ al-Maʿānī:
“Some people use the verse of Tawassul as proof that one can seek aid (istighāthah) from the righteous, using them as intermediaries. They say, 'O so-and-so! Pray to Allah on my behalf for sustenance or children,' even when the person is absent or deceased.”
✔ Al-Ālūsī refutes this, stating:
“Seeking such help from the absent or dead is innovation (bid‘ah), and no scholar would allow it. The Salaf (early generations) never did this. No Companion ever requested anything from a deceased, despite being the most eager for goodness.”
(Rūḥ al-Maʿānī: 3/294)
Permissible Tawassul (Intercession):
✔ Seeking du‘a from a living, righteous, and present person is permissible,
even if he is not the most virtuous person.
✖ But seeking du‘a or help from the dead or someone not present is not permissible, and none of the Salaf practiced it.
❖ Key Principle:
Requesting help from the dead for matters only Allah can fulfill—such as healing illness, granting children, easing hardship—is shirk in worship, unless it is clearly permitted in a specific textual evidence.
Conclusion:
- Seeking help (istimdad) from the inhabitants of graves, regardless of their rank or righteousness, is not permissible in Islam.
- Such actions fall under shirk in ‘ibādah, as defined by the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the consensus of the early scholars.
- Intercession (tawassul) through the living and present is allowed with conditions, but doing so through the dead or absent is innovation and prohibited.
