Source: Fatāwā Arkān-e-Islām
Qur’ānic Proof:
﴿وَقالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادعونى أَستَجِب لَكُم إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَستَكبِرونَ عَن عِبادَتى سَيَدخُلونَ جَهَنَّمَ داخِرينَ﴾ [Ghāfir: 60]
"Your Lord has said: Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell in humiliation."
Prophetic Guidance:
When asked if one may bow to his brother upon meeting, the Prophet ﷺ said: “No.”
[Tirmidhī: 2728]
Even bowing in greeting is impermissible and should be corrected.
This is not always shirk; it depends on the situation.
a) Calling someone alive and able to help
Proofs:
b) Calling someone dead or absent in matters only Allah can do
May Allah grant Muslims the ability to rectify their beliefs and affairs, and protect them from all forms of shirk.
Two Main Types of Duʿā’ and Their Rulings
① Duʿā’ as an Act of Worship
- Includes ṣalāh, ṣawm, and other forms of ʿibādah.
- When a person prays or fasts, he is, in reality, calling upon Allah through his state, asking Him:
- To forgive him
- To protect him from punishment
- To provide sustenance
Qur’ānic Proof:
﴿وَقالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادعونى أَستَجِب لَكُم إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَستَكبِرونَ عَن عِبادَتى سَيَدخُلونَ جَهَنَّمَ داخِرينَ﴾ [Ghāfir: 60]
"Your Lord has said: Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell in humiliation."
- This verse shows that duʿā’ is ʿibādah.
- Whoever performs any act of worship for other than Allah becomes a disbeliever and leaves Islām.
- Bowing or prostrating to a creation as one does to Allah is shirk.
Prophetic Guidance:
When asked if one may bow to his brother upon meeting, the Prophet ﷺ said: “No.”
[Tirmidhī: 2728]
Even bowing in greeting is impermissible and should be corrected.
② Duʿā’ as a Request (Calling for Help)
This is not always shirk; it depends on the situation.
a) Calling someone alive and able to help
- Permissible if the person is alive and capable of doing what is asked.
- Example: Asking someone present to give you water.
Proofs:
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “If someone invites you, respond to his invitation.”
[Bukhārī: 5173; Muslim: 1429; Abū Dāwūd: 1672] - The Qur’ān permits giving to those who ask at inheritance division:
﴿وَإِذا حَضَرَ القِسمَةَ أُولُوا القُربى وَاليَتـمى وَالمَسـكينُ فَارزُقوهُم مِنهُ﴾ [al-Nisā’: 8]
b) Calling someone dead or absent in matters only Allah can do
- Shirk and an act that expels one from Islām.
- Many hold the false belief that the dead can grant benefit or harm, or give children—this is clear major shirk.
- This is worse than admitting to sins like drinking wine, fornication, or sodomy, because it is not just sin (fisq) but outright kufr.
Final Supplication
May Allah grant Muslims the ability to rectify their beliefs and affairs, and protect them from all forms of shirk.
