Is it Permitted to Say "Ya Muhammad"?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Asalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa baraktuh
Is it permissible to say “Ya Muhammad” out of love and reverence for him (peaace and blessings be upon him) and love for his name and to believe that he sees and hears us at that time?
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
Yes, it is permitted to say “Ya Muhammad.” Many of the righteous have included it with i n their various compilations of sending peace and blessings upon him (Allah bless him and give him peace). [see: Dala’il al-Khairat , for example]
The Hadith of the Blind Man
Tirmidhi relates, through his chain of narrators from ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him), that a blind man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and said, “I’ve been afflicted in my eyesight, so please pray to Allah for me.” The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Go make ablution (wudu), perform two rak’as of prayer, and then say:
“Oh Allah, I ask You and turn to You through my Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy; O Muhammad (Ya Muhammad), I seek your intercession with my Lord for the return of my eyesight [and in another version: “for my need, that it may be fulfilled. O Allah, grant him intercession for me”].”
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) added, “And if there is some need, do the same.”
The Hadith of the Man in Need
Tabarani relates a different hadith from the same Companion, `Uthman ibn Hunayf, in his Mu`jam al-Saghir in which `Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) instructs a man who had a need to perform the ablution and prayer in the manner mentioned above, followed by the words:
“Oh Allah, I ask You and turn to You through our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy; O Muhammad (Ya Muhammad), I turn through you to my Lord, that He may fulfil my need.”
This event occurred after the demise of the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), as well as Abu Bakr and `Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them).
Does the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) see our Actions?
It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “My life is an immense good for you: you bring up new matters and new matters are brought up for you. My death, also, is an immense good for you: your actions will be shown to me; if I see goodness I shall praise Allāh and if I see evil I shall ask forgiveness of Him for you.” [Musnad Bazzar]
This tradition is clear in that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) is shown our actions.
See also: Tawassul: Supplicating Allah through an Intermediary
And Allah alone gives success.
wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
