Asking Allah by the 'Status' (Jah) of the Awliya' and the Righteous

Question

A question from Sister Salih from Iraq, the latest. She says: some people, when supplicating Allah, say 'Our Lord, by their standing with You' — meaning the standing of the awliya' and the righteous. Does this supplication count as an intermediary between the servant and his Lord? Peace and mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.

Answer (English translation)

The Shaykh:

We should know that a means (wasilah) is only legitimately adopted as a means if it is truly a means — whether its reality as such is established by the Sharia or by observable fact. Adopting a means that has been established neither in the Sharia nor in reality is idle talk — indeed a form of shirk, because affirming that something is a cause when Allah the Exalted has not made it a cause means legislating alongside Allah the Exalted in His decree or His law, or associating a partner with Allah in His decree or His law. Whoever affirms a cause that is not established as a cause — neither in reality nor in the Sharia — has associated partners with Allah the Exalted, since he made something a cause that is not one.

Now let us consider: has seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted through the 'status' of the awliya', the prophets, and the righteous been established in the Sharia as a means? The answer: no. And we say to every listener: if anyone has evidence from the Sharia — from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or from the Companions, or those who followed them in goodness — that seeking nearness through 'status' is legislated, let him bring it to this address: Nur 'ala al-Darb, on the Saudi Arabian Broadcasting Authority. We pledge to Allah the Exalted and ask His aid that whenever established Sharia evidence reaches us, we will follow it, for that is our duty. So if anyone holds that seeking nearness through 'status' is legislated, let him kindly present it; we will adopt it and thank him for conveying it to us.

And if there is no evidence from the Sharia — and such is the case — then I have never known that seeking nearness through 'status' is legislated. Could 'status' be a means by virtue of reality? The answer: no, because standing with Allah only benefits the one who possesses that standing. If a man has standing with Allah the Exalted, the one who benefits from that standing is the man himself; as for me, what benefit do I gain from his standing? Therefore 'status' is not a means by virtue of reality either. And since 'status' is a means neither in the Sharia nor in reality, it must not be adopted as a means, and accordingly it is forbidden for a person to say 'O Allah, I ask You by the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)' or 'by the status of so-and-so' among those alleged to be saints — because that is neither a legitimate nor an actual cause, and affirming it as a cause is a form of associating partners with Allah the Exalted.

Instead of saying 'I ask You by the status of the Prophet or the status of the saint,' one should say: 'O Allah, I ask You by Your mercy, I ask You by Your bounty, I ask You by Your kindness.' This is far better, because Allah's bounty, kindness, and mercy are more encompassing and more beneficial to a person than the standing of a man with Allah the Exalted. Asking by Allah's bounty and mercy and the other attributes of Allah the Exalted through which one seeks nearness to Him is undoubtedly better, more beneficial to oneself, and closer to being answered.

(The program host then concluded the episode, thanking Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen — professor at the College of Sharia in al-Qassim and imam of the Grand Mosque of Unaizah — and the listeners.)