⚖ Ruling on Making Duʿā Using Phrases like "Biḥaqqi Fulān" or "Bijāhi Fulān"
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khālis, Vol. 1, p. 44
Is it permissible to make supplication (duʿā) to Allah using phrases such as “biḥaqqi fulān” (by the right of so-and-so), “biḥurmati fulān” (by the sanctity of so-and-so), “bijāhi fulān” (by the status of so-and-so), or “bit-tafīl fulān” (by the means of so-and-so)?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
These types of supplications are innovations (muhdathāt) in religion.
Such forms of duʿā did not exist during the time of the Prophet ﷺ or the righteous predecessors (salaf).
Since duʿā is a form of worship, it must be based strictly on divine instruction and prophetic guidance — not desires or innovations.
Allah punished Banī Isrā’īl for altering a divine phrase.
They were commanded to say "ḥiṭṭah", but they changed it to "ḥinṭah", and so Allah sent down punishment upon them:
﴿ فَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ رِجْزًۭا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْسُقُونَ ﴾
(Surah al-Baqarah: 59)
Narrated by al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib رضي الله عنه, when the Prophet ﷺ taught him a duʿā to say before sleeping, he repeated:
اللَّهُمَّ آمَنتُ بِكِتَابِكَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ وَبِرَسُولِكَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ
But al-Barāʾ mistakenly said:
“الَّذِي بَعَثْتَ” instead of “الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ”
The Prophet ﷺ corrected him:
“No! Rather say: ‘وَبِنَبِيِّكَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ’.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/28)
This proves that changing the wording of prescribed duʿās is not permissible.
Al-Marghīnānī in al-Hidāyah (4/475) wrote:
"It is makrūh (disliked) to say in duʿā: 'biḥaqqi fulān' or 'biḥaqqi anbiyā’ika wa rusulik', because the Creator is not obligated by the right of any created being."
ʿAlī al-Qārī stated in Sharḥ al-Fiqh al-Akbar (p. 161):
"Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and his students said: It is makrūh to say, 'I ask You by the right of so-and-so' or 'by the right of Your Prophets and Messengers' or 'by the right of the Sacred House', because Allah is not bound by the right of any creation."
Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī (4/119) also carries this verdict.
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Laṭīf ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Miṣrī رحمه الله stated in Minhāj at-Taʾsīs (p. 155):
"Pleading to Allah with: ‘bijāhi fulān’, ‘biḥurmati fulān’, or ‘bit-tafīl fulān’ is not found among the practices of the Ṣaḥābah, Tābiʿīn, or Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn.”
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله in al-Kāfī (p. 22) wrote:
"Some ignorant people are deceived by love for saints and shaykhs. They go to graves, seek intercession, and call upon Allah using words like: 'by their status, sanctity, or virtue'."
In Sunan Ibn Mājah (1/256, Hadith no. 778):
"اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ السَّائِلِينَ عَلَيْكَ..."
However, this ḥadīth is weak due to multiple reasons:
◉ One narrator, Faḍl ibn Marzūq, is weak.
◉ ʿAṭiyyah is also weak and mudallis (obfuscating narrator).
◉ The ḥadīth is inconsistent (muḍṭarib) — sometimes marfūʿ, sometimes mawqūf.
See: al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah by al-Albānī (1/34), Hadith no. 4, 22, 23
① Through Allah’s Names and Attributes
② Through one’s own righteous deeds
③ Asking a righteous person (while alive) to make duʿā
Saying: "biḥaqqi fulān", "bijāhi fulān", "biḥurmati fulān", "bit-tafīl fulān"
Using Prophets, saints, or graves as intermediaries in duʿā
Refer to: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (1/339),
Anwāʿ al-Tawassul wa Aḥkāmuhu by Shaykh al-Albānī
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khālis, Vol. 1, p. 44
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to make supplication (duʿā) to Allah using phrases such as “biḥaqqi fulān” (by the right of so-and-so), “biḥurmati fulān” (by the sanctity of so-and-so), “bijāhi fulān” (by the status of so-and-so), or “bit-tafīl fulān” (by the means of so-and-so)?
❖ Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
These types of supplications are innovations (muhdathāt) in religion.
Such forms of duʿā did not exist during the time of the Prophet ﷺ or the righteous predecessors (salaf).
Since duʿā is a form of worship, it must be based strictly on divine instruction and prophetic guidance — not desires or innovations.
✦ Changing the Words of Prescribed Duʿā Can Be a Cause of Punishment:
Allah punished Banī Isrā’īl for altering a divine phrase.
They were commanded to say "ḥiṭṭah", but they changed it to "ḥinṭah", and so Allah sent down punishment upon them:
﴿ فَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ رِجْزًۭا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْسُقُونَ ﴾(Surah al-Baqarah: 59)
✦ Hadith Evidence on the Prohibition of Changing Duʿā Wording:
Narrated by al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib رضي الله عنه, when the Prophet ﷺ taught him a duʿā to say before sleeping, he repeated:
اللَّهُمَّ آمَنتُ بِكِتَابِكَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ وَبِرَسُولِكَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ
But al-Barāʾ mistakenly said:
“الَّذِي بَعَثْتَ” instead of “الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ”
The Prophet ﷺ corrected him:
“No! Rather say: ‘وَبِنَبِيِّكَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ’.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/28)This proves that changing the wording of prescribed duʿās is not permissible.
✦ Ruling on Saying "Biḥaqqi Fulān" or "Bijāhi Fulān" in Duʿā:
✔ Ḥanafī Scholars’ Position:
Al-Marghīnānī in al-Hidāyah (4/475) wrote:
"It is makrūh (disliked) to say in duʿā: 'biḥaqqi fulān' or 'biḥaqqi anbiyā’ika wa rusulik', because the Creator is not obligated by the right of any created being."
ʿAlī al-Qārī stated in Sharḥ al-Fiqh al-Akbar (p. 161):
"Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and his students said: It is makrūh to say, 'I ask You by the right of so-and-so' or 'by the right of Your Prophets and Messengers' or 'by the right of the Sacred House', because Allah is not bound by the right of any creation."
Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī (4/119) also carries this verdict.
✦ Views of the Salaf and Early Scholars:
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Laṭīf ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Miṣrī رحمه الله stated in Minhāj at-Taʾsīs (p. 155):
"Pleading to Allah with: ‘bijāhi fulān’, ‘biḥurmati fulān’, or ‘bit-tafīl fulān’ is not found among the practices of the Ṣaḥābah, Tābiʿīn, or Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn.”
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله in al-Kāfī (p. 22) wrote:
"Some ignorant people are deceived by love for saints and shaykhs. They go to graves, seek intercession, and call upon Allah using words like: 'by their status, sanctity, or virtue'."
✦ Weakness of the Hadith: "Biḥaqqi as-sā’ilīn ʿalayk"
In Sunan Ibn Mājah (1/256, Hadith no. 778):
"اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ السَّائِلِينَ عَلَيْكَ..."
However, this ḥadīth is weak due to multiple reasons:
◉ One narrator, Faḍl ibn Marzūq, is weak.
◉ ʿAṭiyyah is also weak and mudallis (obfuscating narrator).
◉ The ḥadīth is inconsistent (muḍṭarib) — sometimes marfūʿ, sometimes mawqūf.
See: al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah by al-Albānī (1/34), Hadith no. 4, 22, 23
Conclusion:
✔ Permissible Forms of Tawassul in Duʿā:
① Through Allah’s Names and Attributes
② Through one’s own righteous deeds
③ Asking a righteous person (while alive) to make duʿā
✖ Impermissible and Innovative Forms of Tawassul:
Saying: "biḥaqqi fulān", "bijāhi fulān", "biḥurmati fulān", "bit-tafīl fulān" Using Prophets, saints, or graves as intermediaries in duʿā Refer to: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (1/339),Anwāʿ al-Tawassul wa Aḥkāmuhu by Shaykh al-Albānī
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
