Is Asking of Allah by Means of the Prophet Considered Shirk?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is asking of Allah by means of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) considered Shirk (associating partners with Allah)? Is a Muslim obliged to perform ghusl after repenting from major shirk?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Tawassul or using something/someone as a means of drawing nearer to Allah Most High is completely permissible by the Qur’an, the Sunna, and the Consensus of Mainstream Islamic Scholarship. That is, with the condition that one does not ascribe any qualities of Allah Most High to the means. 

Quran

Allah Most High says, “You who believe, be mindful of God, seek means to come closer to Him and strive for His cause, so that you may prosper.” [Qur’an; 05:35]

Also, “Those [angels] they pray to are themselves seeking a way to their Lord, even those who are closest to Him. They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. The punishment of your Lord is much to be feared.” [Qur’an; 17:57]

Sunna

The Hadith of the Blind Man:

‘Uthman bin Hunaif (Allah bless him) narrates that a blind man came to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) and said, “O Prophet of Allah! Ask Allah to relieve me (of my blindness).” He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) replied, “If you wish, I will delay that (prayer) and that will be best for your Hereafter – and if you wish, I will pray for you.” He said, “Rather, pray to Allah for me.” So He (i.e. the Prophet) ordered him to perform ablution, to pray two units of prayer and to make this supplication:

‘O Allah! Indeed I ask you and turn to you by means of your Prophet, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace), the Prophet of mercy. O Muhammad! Indeed I turn, by means of you, to my Lord regarding the fulfillment of this need of mine – so you can intercede for me regarding it and for it regarding me.’

He (‘Uthman) said, “He (the blind man) repeated that many times. So he did it and he was cured.” [Musnad Ahmad]

In this Hadith, which has been graded rigourously authentic (Sahih), the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) not only permits using him as a means to Allah but rather teaches it to the blind man.

The Hadith of Victory:

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddique (Allah bless him) presented Islam to a tribe who was at war with the Persians. They told him that they would consider his offer after the battle. Abu Bakr said, “What if you defeat them? Will you then follow our affair (i.e. accept Islam)? The leader of the tribe said, “We can not agree to such a condition. However, when we have settled that which is between us and them, we will return to the matter and consider it.” When the two armies met on the day of Dhu Qar, the man said (to his army), “What is the name of the man to whom he (Abu Bakr) is calling you (to follow)?” They replied, “Muhammad.” He said, “Then that is your motto (i.e. the name Muhammad).” They were then granted victory over the people. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said regarding them, “It was by means of Me that they were given victory.” [Tabarani]

Nur al-Din al-Haitami says, regarding the authenticity of this narration, “Tabarani narrates it and its narrators are trustworthy (thiqat) all of whom are authentic (Sahih) transmitters except Khallad bin ‘Isa who is trustworthy (thiqa).

[Haitami, Majm’a al-Zawaid]

The Prophet Asking Allah By Means of Someone

Examples of seeking a means to Allah Most High can be found being done by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) himself.

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever leaves their home to go to the prayer should say,

‘O Allah! Indeed I ask you by the right of those who ask you; and by the right of these steps of mine. For surely, I have not come out out of haughtiness or pride, nor ostentation and seeking fame. I came out, due to fear of Your wrath and seeking Your pleasure. Thus I ask that You save me from the Fire and forgive my sins. For indeed, there is none to forgive sins accept you.’

Allah will then turn His divine attention to them and seventy thousand Angels will seek forgiveness for them.” [Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Bayhaqi, Tabarani, and others]

Opinions of Scholars:

Taj al-Din al-Subki (Allah have mercy on him) is qouted by Ibn ‘Abidin saying, “Seeking nearness to one’s Lord by means of the Prophet is good (Hasan) and none of the predecessors nor those who succeeded them objected to it, except Ibn Taymiyya, which is something he innovated as no one before him has said such a thing.” [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar quoting al-Subki]

Summary

From the above verses, narrations, and quotes we understand that seeking to draw nearer to Allah Most High by means of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) is something that is not only permissible, but of the teachings of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) himself and agreed upon by many of the great Imams.

Is Ghusl Necessary When Repenting From Shirk?

We have already established that taking the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) as a means to Allah Most High is not Shirk (associating partners with Allah). 

Shirk is to associate a partner with Allah Most High in either divinity – by believing that there is more than one god, in His attributes – by literally ascribing the attributes of Allah Most High to any created being, or in action – by ascribing the ultimate cause of an action to other than Allah. 

If this does occur – and may Allah protect our faith – one must renew their faith. However, it is not a requirement of such repentance and renewal of faith that one perform ghusl. 

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.