What Is the Ruling of Asking Angels to Wake You Up for Fajr?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I heard from a shaykh about waking up from Fajr by asking the angels to wake you up at Fajr; is this shirk or permissible? If so, how is this attained?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

There are no theological issues preventing one from asking Angels to wake them up for Fajr prayer.

This is the same as asking any created being for something tangible, like asking a doctor for a prescription or someone to close the window.

The Only True Actor

Even when asking of the creation, we must know, understand, and nurture our convictions in the reality that Allah Most High is the sole actor in creation. Everything that occurs in creation is the doing of Allah Most High. This is part of the core Islamic concept of Divine Unity (Tawhid).

Allah Most High says, “(…) when it is Allah Who created you and whatever you do?” [Quran, 37:96]

In order to deeply engrain these meanings, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) encouraged many (not all) of his companions to accustom themselves not to ask anyone for anything.

‘Awf bin Malik al-Ashja’i (Allah be pleased with him) narrated saying, “We were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace), so it was said, ‘Will you not pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah?’ It was repeated thrice. So we stretched forth our hands to pledge allegiance. We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, upon what have we pledged allegiance to you.’ He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘that you worship Allah and not associate with him, that you perform the five prayers, and that you do not ask anyone for anything.’ He said this last one with a lowered voice.” [Nasai’, al-Sunan al-Kubra]

As detailed above, it is prohibited to ask of the creation as long as it remains within limits and is not coupled with wrongful beliefs.

Where is the Heart

If one asks of creation, but their heart remains firm on Divine unity, this is permissible, and there is no problem, legal or theologically, in doing so. In fact, this is what is meant by the verse of Surat al-Fatiha:

Allah Most High says, “You (alone) we worship and You (alone) we ask for help.” [Quran, 1:4]

Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “When you ask, ask Allah, and when you seek aid, seek it from Allah.” [Tirmidhi]

Shaykh Muhammad ‘Alawi al-Maliki (Allah have mercy on him) said, “Many people have erred in their understanding of this narration. They have taken this narration as an absolute, categorical prohibition of asking anyone other than Allah for anything. They also opine that asking or seeking assistance from anyone other than Allah as associating partners with Allah which will remove one from the religion of Islam.”

“The reality of the matter is that asking from other than Allah is not prohibited, but rather that it is prohibited to fall into heedlessness of the fact that Allah Most High is the sole actor regardless of the presence of a means or lack thereof.” [Khattar, al-Mawsu’a al-Yusufiyya]

In summary, “If you ask, ask Allah, and if you seek assistance, seek it from Allah” is understood to mean – if you ask anyone, then know that you’re receiving what you ask for or not is at the discretion of Allah Most High; and if you seek assistance, whether assistance is granted or not, is through the decree and discretion of Allah Most High. The receiving of what was asked and the aid sought is directly from Allah, and the means is merely a spectacle subjugated by Allah Most High.

Summary

In closing, there is no prohibition to asking the Angels or any other created being for assistance to wake up for Fajr prayer.

The condition is, however, that you know that even though they are taken as a means, it is not (in reality) the Angels who will wake you up divorced from the decree, discretion, and doing of Allah Most High. In fact, Allah Most High is the one who will awaken you, whether that is by means of the Angels or without means.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches 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 studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding 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 Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.