Aqeedah
Seeking Assistance from the Dead (Istighāthah)
The difference between the ‘Aqeedah of the Salaf as-Salih and the ‘Aqeedah of the grave worshipping Soofis
Compiled by
Abbas Raheem
Translator
In this article
The grave worshipping Soofis promote matters of Shirk and innovation by way of the media, and from those matters is Istighāthah (seeking aid and rescue in times of distress) from the dead of the Prophets, and the righteous people. This is a refutation against their falsehood and their trickery of the worshippers by mentioning what is ambiguous from the texts of Islaam, and using weak hadeeth and narrations, and their own understanding of the authentic hadeeth other than the understanding of the Salaf as-Salih. This refutation also contains the position of the Salaf as-Salih regarding this issue, according to the ‘Aqeedah of the Salaf as-Salih, and all capability is from Allaah.
Definition
What is Istighāthah?
Istighāthah linguistically means requesting aid and victory.
The Sharia’ definition: There is no difference with the linguistic meaning, since it means requesting help and relief from distress.
And Istighāthah is a type of Dua’ (supplication), and Dua’ is worship, as has been mentioned in the hadeeth of an-Numaan bin Basheer who said that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: ‘Dua’ is worship.’ Narrated by Ahmad and Tirmidhee and he said the hadeeth was hasan saheeh.
From the principles of the Sharia’ is that all worship, whether apparent or internal, is prohibited until there is an evidence from the Sharia’ that makes the action permissible.
Once this is understood, then know – may Allaah have mercy upon you, and may He direct you to His obedience – that making Istighāthah from the people is divided into two sections according to the Salaf:
Section One
The Permissible Istighāthah
The first: The Istighāthah which is permissible: and that is seeking assistance in the time of need from a living person, with that which he has the ability to help with, without having to lower oneself to that person, or with humiliation in any form, or having submission in the same way that you ask from Allaah Ta’ala.
From amongst the evidences that show the permissibility of this type of Istighāthah is:
a) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala regarding the story of Musa – alayhi as-salaam –:
فَٱسْتَغَٰثَهُ ٱلَّذِى مِن شِيعَتِهِۦ عَلَى ٱلَّذِى مِنْ عَدُوِّهِۦ
﴾The man of his (own) party asked him for help against his foe.﴿
Al-Qasas 28:15
And this is from the type of help and rescue.
b) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ
﴾Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression.﴿
Al-Ma’idah 5:2
Section Two
The Prohibited Istighāthah
The Second: The Istighāthah which is prohibited, is of two types:
a) Seeking assistance from living people with that which only Allaah Ta’ala has the ability to help with, and there is agreement amongst the scholars, that this is prohibited.
And from amongst the evidences for this issue, is the saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
وَلَا تَدْعُ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنفَعُكَ وَلَا يَضُرُّكَ
﴾And invoke not besides Allaah, any that will neither profit you, nor hurt you…..﴿
Yunus 10:106
b) Making Istighāthah with the dead, from the Prophets or the righteous people.
And from the proofs of this prohibition is the following:
Proof 1
The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
﴾And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad ﷺ) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.﴿
Al-Baqarah 2:186
So ponder – may Allaah look after you – about when the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was faced with questions, and the answer would come from Allaah Ta’ala, and Allaah Ta’ala would make the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ an intermediary to convey the answer, so Allaah would say to him: ﴾Say….﴿ meaning O Muhammad tell them. The following are examples of that:
1) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَٰقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَٱلْحَجِّ
﴾They ask you (O Muhammad ﷺ) about the new moons. Say: These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage.﴿
Al-Baqarah 2:189
2) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلشَّهْرِ ٱلْحَرَامِ قِتَالٍۢ فِيهِ ۖ قُلْ قِتَالٌۭ فِيهِ كَبِيرٌۭ ۖ وَصَدٌّ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَكُفْرٌۢ بِهِۦ
﴾They ask you concerning fighting in the Sacred Months (i.e. 1st, 7th, 11th and 12th months of the Islamic calendar). Say, “Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allaah is to prevent mankind from following the Way of Allaah, and to disbelieve in Him…﴿
Al-Baqarah 2:217
3) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْخَمْرِ وَٱلْمَيْسِرِ ۖ قُلْ فِيهِمَآ إِثْمٌۭ كَبِيرٌۭ وَمَنَٰفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَآ أَكْبَرُ مِن نَّفْعِهِمَا
﴾They ask you (O Muhammad ﷺ) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.”﴿
Al-Baqarah 2:219
4) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ ۖ قُلْ مَآ أَنفَقْتُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍۢ
﴾They ask you (O Muhammad ﷺ) what they should spend. Say: Whatever you spend of good…﴿
Al-Baqarah 2:215
5) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِى ٱلْكَلَٰلَةِ
﴾They ask you for a legal verdict. Say: “Allaah directs (thus) about Al-Kalalah (those who leave neither descendants nor ascendants as heirs).”﴿
An-Nisa 4:176
6) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَآ أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ ۖ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتُ
﴾They ask you (O Muhammad ﷺ) what is lawful for them (as food). Say: “Lawful unto you are At-Tayyibat [all kind of Halal (lawful-good) foods which Allaah has made lawful (meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables and fruits, etc.)].”﴿
Al-Ma’idah 5:4
7) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلسَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَىٰهَا ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّى
﴾They ask you about the Hour (Day of Resurrection): ‘When will be its appointed time?’ Say: ‘The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (Alone).﴿
Al-A’raf 7:187
8) The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْأَنفَالِ ۖ قُلِ ٱلْأَنفَالُ لِلَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ
﴾They ask you (O Muhammad ﷺ) about the spoils of war. Say: “The spoils are for Allaah and the Messenger.”﴿
Al-Anfaal 8:1
And there are other examples, such as concerning the orphans and menstruation.
So, the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was an intermediary to convey the message directed to him from Allaah Ta’ala by His saying: ﴾Say…﴿, except in the issue of Dua’. Indeed Allaah Ta’ala did not make the Messenger ﷺ an intermediary for Dua’, but Allaah Ta’ala Himself undertakes the answering of the Dua’ directly without saying: ﴾Say…﴿
When the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was asked: ‘O Messenger of Allaah, is our Lord close so we can have intimate discourse with Him, or is He far, so that we have to call in a loud voice?’ Then Allaah revealed:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
﴾And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad ﷺ) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor).﴿
Al-Baqarah 2:186
Narrated by Abdullaah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal in his book ‘Kitab as-Sunnah’1/ 277 and Ibn Hibban in his book ‘ath-Thiqaat’8/436, and at-Tabari mentioned it as a reason for the revelation of the Ayaah in his Tafseer book 2/158, and Ibn Katheer in his Tafseer book 1/219, and Qurtubi in his Tafseer book 2/308, and he mentioned it as a reason for it being revealed, on the authority of Hasan al-Basari – may Allaah have mercy upon him.
And this is a divine indication that Allaah does not love that, nor is a slave in need of intermediaries or intercessors when he supplicates to his Lord Azza wa Jaal, rather he supplicates to Allaah directly and the saying of Allaah Ta’ala ﴾So let them obey Me﴿ means: that they supplicate to Me.
Proof 2
The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
قُل لَّآ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِى نَفْعًۭا وَلَا ضَرًّا
﴾Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): “I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself…”﴿
Al-A’raf 7:188
so indeed this Ayaah clearly explains that he (the Messenger of Allaah) does not control for himself that which will benefit him nor that which will harm him, so how can he possess that for anyone else.
And what confirms this point is the saying of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ:
‘O Fatima daughter of Muhammad, O Safiya, daughter of AbdulMuttalib, O tribe of AbdulMuttalib, I do not possess anything for you from Allaah, but ask me whatever you want from my wealth.’
Narrated by Muslim.
Proof 3
The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ ٱلضُّرِّ عَنكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا
﴾Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): “Call unto those besides Him whom you pretend [to be gods like angels, Iesa (Jesus), ‘Uzair (Ezra), etc.]. They have neither the power to remove the adversity from you nor even to shift it from you to another person.”﴿
Al-Isra 17:56
Some of the Salaf said: There were groups of people who used to supplicate to ‘Uzair, the Messiah and the angels, so Allaah sent down this Ayaah.
So if a person says that those people used to worship them (angels, prophets etc.) and not worship Allaah, but as for us then we don’t worship them, rather, we take them as intermediaries and intercessors with Allaah !!
Then the answer to them is: This statement of yours, is like the statement of the Mushrikeen at the time of the Messenger ﷺ.
The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ زُلْفَىٰٓ
﴾We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allaah.”﴿
Az-Zumar 39:3
and in spite of what they said, their claim was not accepted, nor did it benefit them, and the Messenger of Allaah fought against them.
Proof 4
A fundamental principle is that the dead are not like the living, Allaah Ta’ala says:
وَمَا يَسْتَوِى ٱلْأَحْيَآءُ وَلَا ٱلْأَمْوَٰتُ
﴾Nor are (alike) the living (believers) and the dead (disbelievers).﴿
Faatir 35:22
fundamentally the dead do not hear the living.
Allaah Ta’ala said:
وَمَآ أَنتَ بِمُسْمِعٍۢ مَّن فِى ٱلْقُبُورِ
﴾but you cannot make hear those who are in graves.﴿
Faatir 35:22
except where the evidence shows exceptions to this principle, and here are some examples:
a) When the Messenger ﷺ spoke to the dead of the Mushrikeen after the battle of Badr, while they were in the well before they were buried.
And about this Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdasee – may Allaah have mercy upon him – said: ‘and this was a miracle of the Prophet ﷺ and a matter that was specific to him, so you cannot use for anyone other than him.’ Taken from ‘Kitaab al-Mughnee’10/63.
b) The dead hear the footsteps of his companions.
c) The soul of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ is returned to him so that the Salaam of anyone who sends Salaam upon him reaches him.
d) When the dead person hears the Salaam of the one who sends Salaam to him at his grave. This is according to those who authenticate this hadeeth.
There is no evidence to show that the dead person hears the living person who asks of him and makes a request from him, and if there is no evidence for this then the principle is that the issue remains as it is, that the dead cannot hear the living.
And the fundamental principle is that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ is human, and the origin regarding the issue of death, is that he is like the rest of mankind. Allaah Ta’ala says:
إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌۭ وَإِنَّهُم مَّيِّتُونَ
﴾Verily, you (O Muhammad ﷺ) will die and verily, they (too) will die.﴿
Az-Zumar 39:30
except for what the evidence exempts, that the earth does not eat up his body and that his soul is returned to him in the grave to receive the Salaam of the one who sends Salaam to him, and that the actions of his Ummah are presented to him, and this is according to those who authenticate the hadeeth.
Since the dead not being able to hear the living has been established about the leader of the sons of Adam – alayhi as-Salaam – then this more readily applies to other than the Prophet ﷺ. If this is established that the Prophets do not hear the question of the one asking the question, then ponder over the saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدْعُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَن لَّا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُۥٓ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ وَهُمْ عَن دُعَآئِهِمْ غَٰفِلُونَ
﴾And who is more astray than one who calls (invokes) besides Allaah, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to them?﴿
Al-Ahqaaf 46:5
Proof 5
5 – The saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَٱنصَبْ وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَٱرْغَب
﴾So when you have finished (from your occupation), then stand up for Allaah’s worship (i.e. stand up for prayer). And to your Lord (Alone) turn (all your intentions and hopes and) your invocations.﴿
Ash-Sharh 94:7-8
and He did not say ‘Turn your invocations to the Prophets and the righteous people.’
Imaam at-Tabaree, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, ‘The saying of Allaah Ta’ala: ﴾And to your Lord turn all your invocations﴿ Allaah mentions is: O Muhammad direct your fervent desires to your Lord, and not to any one from the creation since the Mushrikeen from your people have made their fervent desires to gods and their associates. The people of Tafseer have also said similar to what we have just mentioned.
Taken from the book Tafseer at-Tabaree 30 / 237.
Proof 6
6 – Indeed what the Companions – radi Allaahu anhum – knew and understood is that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was not made as someone from who aid was sought after his death nor was he taken as an intermediary, and this is confirmed by what has been narrated by al-Bukhari 1 / 342 and others have also narrated this.
On the authority of Anas – radi Allaahu anhu – that Umar bin al-Khattab – radi Allaahu anhu –, if there was a drought, would request rain by asking al-Abbas bin AbdulMuttalib, and he would say: ‘O Allaah indeed we used to come closer to You (make Tawassul) with Your Prophet ﷺ and You would give us rain, and indeed we come closer to You with his uncle, so give us rain,’ then the rain would come down.
So, if you dear brother, dear reader, being unbiased, ponder that Umar and the senior Companions did not regard the permissibility of (Tawassul) coming closer to Allaah nor seeking assistance with the Prophet ﷺ after his death, compared to when he was alive, in fact in their request for rain they used to make Tawassul with the Prophet ﷺ, but after he passed away they did not make Tawassul with him. Indeed Umar – radi Allaahu anhu – said in his authentic, well-known and established supplication, agreed upon by the people of knowledge, which was said in the presence of the Muhajiroon and the Ansaar in the famous year of the Great Drought. When the drought became severe and the people requested rain, he said: ‘O Allaah we used to, if we suffered from a drought, we used to make Tawassul with Your Prophet, and You used to give us rain, and now we make Tawassul to You with his uncle, so give us rain, and they were given rain.’
This well known supplication was accepted by all the Companions, not one of them denied it. This is one of the clearest examples of (Ijma’Sakootee) silent agreement.
Therefore, if Tawassul with the Prophet ﷺ after his death was like the Tawassul during his lifetime, they would have said, why are we making Tawassul with al-Abbas while we don’t make it with the Prophet ﷺ, who is the best and greatest of creation with Allaah? Since not one of them said this, then this shows us that they knew Tawassul was only during the lifetime of the Prophet, and after his passing away, Tawassul is with the Dua’ of the righteous living people.
Proof 7
7 – The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ did not order any one of his Companions, if they had a need or were afflicted with a problem, that they turn to him and they seek assistance from him after his death. In fact the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said to Ibn Abbas – radi Allaahu anhu –:
‘If you ask of anyone, then ask Allaah, and if you seek help, then seek help from Allaah.’
Narrated by at-Tirmidhee and he said the hadeeth is hasan saheeh.
And there is other evidence which shows that Istighāthah with the dead from the Prophets and the righteous people is not allowed according to Islaam.
All Praise belongs to Allaah, may His peace and blessings be upon our final Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow his guidance.
Taken from sahab.net
Original Arabic by Abbas Raheem: ملتقى أهل الحديث (archived)
Note: Small changes have been incorporated into the English translation to match the original Arabic post.