I have a question if anyone can tell me the answer and where I can find
information about this in Quran or Sunnah. Is it true that we can ask the prophets or sahaba to make du’a for us when we are in need of something? Example:
“Oh Mohammad ask Allah to keep me safe during my travel” or should we only make du’a to Allah SWT?
We can ask living righteous people to make du’a’ for us, but we can’t ask those who are deceased. When a drought took place during the time of Omar (may Allah be pleased with him), he asked al-’Abbas to make du’a’ for them
and the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was only a
few feet away from them.
There is no report from any of the sahaba indicating that they ever asked
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after his death to make du’a’
for them.
That is not to undermine the position of the Prophet, who is the greatest of
Allah’s creations, but rather to protect the purity of tawheed (monotheism)
and remove all mediums between man and God.
A follow up question: How about Shuhada (martyrs) since they are alive according to the Quran and are for sure righteous? Also, the Quran tells us that they are alive but we don’t sense their presence? Shouldn’t we be able to ask them too?
The Prophets and the shuhada’ (martyrs) are alive in al-barzakh (the stage between this life and the day of resurrection) as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The Prophets are alive and they pray in their graves.” (Narrated by al-Bayhaqi who authenticated it and it has some collateral reports in the two authentic collections.)That life in the grave, however, does not mean they didn’t die, but it is a special state in the grave. Allah said to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), “Verily, you (O Muhammad) will die, and verily, they (too) will die” [al-Zumar 39:30]. This means they die, but they have a different state in the grave, a state in which they are alive in the stage of barzakh, with a greater experience of the joys of this stage (for the believers) than the rest of us.
Based on that, you may not ask the shuhada’ for du’a’ either. It is not only that, but you may not ask for du’a’ from anyone that you can’t communicate with, so you may not ask your shaykh back home for du’a’ (unless you call him on the phone). You may ask the creatures for what they can do, and that is by consensus, but there are two conditions:
1- You should be able to communicate your request to them. If someone believes that the prophets can hear everything that takes place everywhere, then they should provide some proofs on that. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lost his camel and the hypocrites said that he claims to be a prophet yet he doesn’t know where his camel is, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “some people say Muhammad claims…and by Allah I know not except what Allah teaches me.” There are exceptions for the Prophet including that Allah returns his soul to him to answer our salaam, but you don’t expand from the exceptions to encroach on the basic principal which is that the encompassing knowledge belongs to Allah.
2- The task should be possible for the individual. Thus, asking an ordinary man to cure you from a heart disease is a form of mythological mysticism that is not acceptable in Islam.
In other words, all people agree that if you ask your son to get a glass of water, this request is reasonable, within his capacity and is not haram or shirk, but if you claim that the prophets in their graves hear our requests for du’a’ made in our bedrooms, that would need some clear proofs.
Had requesting du’a’ from those who are in al-barzakh been allowable, we would have had hundreds of reports about the companions asking the Prophet for du’a’ after his death, but we don’t have any authentic reports in this regard. On the contrary we have Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) asking al-‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) for du’a’ while they were both a few feet away from the Prophet’s grave. The disbelievers said about the sahaba: “If it were a good thing, they would not have gone to it first, before us!” (al-Ahqaaf 46:11); we say: “If it were a good thing, they would have gone to it first, before us!”
You may add to this that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he sought his permission to go for ‘umrah: “Include us in your du’a’ and do not forget us my brother.” (Reported by many including at-Tirmdhi who authenticated it). We know there are no reports of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asking the previous prophets for their du’a’, not even Ibraheem (peace and blessings be upon him). There is no doubt that they are greater and closer to Allah than Omar (may Allah be pleased with him).
The intercession of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is granted to all Muslims who follow his path, obey and respect him and his sunnah, love him more than themselves, and love and respect his family and companions. (may Allah make us amongst them).
Dear sister, speak to Allah directly. He is closer to you than all mediums as He said:
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.” ( al-Baqarah 2:186)
You may also take as waseelah (means of approach) your love for the Prophet, since that love is an action of yours and that you may use as waseelah as agreed upon by AhlusSunnah. So, you may say: “O Allah you know how much I love and follow your best of creation and last of messengers, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); O Allah, for this love, grant me…”
Allah knows best.
Hatem al-Haj