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Ruling on invoking Allah by virtue of His Honor, the honor of the prophets and of the Sahabah
Q 165: A fellow believer heard me invoking Allah following Salah (prayer) saying: "O Allah! I invoke You by virtue of Your Honor, the honor of Muhammad and that of his noble Sahabah (Companions) to grant me forgiveness and mercy!" He told me that this Du`a' (supplication) is not permissible! Is this correct? Please enlighten me, may Allah bless you!
A:
Invoking Allah through the honor of the prophets or the honor of the Sahabah is considered an impermissible act of Bid`ah (rejected innovation in religion). There is no harm to supplicate to Allah by virtue of His Honor, which means His Magnificence. However, it is an act of Bid`ah to invoke Allah by the honor of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the honor of his Sahabah, that of the prophets, or that of righteous people. This is the strongest opinion held by the majority of scholars. Some others view it as being permissible, but this is a weak opinion which bears no weight against the preponderant view. So, the valid opinion is that such Du`a's are impermissible.
As for the permissible supplications, they include invoking Allah by virtue of His Names and Attributes, as mentioned by Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) Who says:Surah Al-A`raf, 7:
180
And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them...
(Surah Al-A`raf, 7:180)One can supplicate to Allah saying: "O Allah! I invoke You by virtue of Your Most Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes to forgive me, to have mercy on me, to spare me from the torment of the Hell-fire and to grant me righteous children," and so on. A person can also invoke Allah saying: "O Allah! I invoke You knowing that You are the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the Ever-Compassionate, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, the Ever-Bountiful and the Most Generous, to have mercy on me, to forgive me and to grant me such and such (specifying what one wishes)!" This is permissible.
Similarly,
a person can make Du`a' based on their Tawhid (monotheism) and Iman (faith), saying: "O Allah! I bear witness that You are Allah. There is no deity worthy of worship but You. O Allah! I invoke You upon my belief in You, my love for You and my fear of You!
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I beseech You to forgive me and to have mercy on me! O Allah! I invoke You upon Tawhid and my Iman in You!"
It is also permissible to invoke Allah by virtue of your righteous deeds, saying: "O Allah! I invoke You by virtue of my love for You and for Your Prophet. O Allah, I invoke You by virtue of refraining from what You have prohibited, abstaining from Zina (illegal sexual intercourse outside marriage), returning trusts to their owners and being dutiful to my parents!"
Thus, a Muslim may invoke Allah by virtue of his good deeds, as in the story of the people of the rock. They were three youth who were trapped when a boulder fell and blocked the opening to a cave. Unable to move the boulder they thought: "Nothing will save us except to supplicate to Allah by virtue of the good deeds we have performed for His Sake." Thus, Allah inspired them and they began invoking Allah by virtue of their good deeds. One of them invoked Allah mentioning that he had been dutiful to his parents whom he used to bring milk to, even at times neglecting his family (wife and children). The boulder moved slightly, but they were still unable to get out.
The second began invoking Allah by mentioning the story of his cousin whom he was very much in love with. She was once in distress during a year of famine and came to him asking for help. He refused to help her unless she would give in to him. She agreed in return for one hundred and twenty Dinars (a Dinar is an old Arab coin that equals 2.975 grams of gold). When he was about to have sexual intercourse with her, she said to him: "Fear Allah and do not break the seal of chastity (i.e. virginity) except by lawful means (i.e. marriage)!" He got up out of fear of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He), gave her the money and let her go! The man mentioned this story and invoked: "O Allah! If I did that only for Your Sake, please relieve us from this calamity." So, the rock shifted again, but they still could not get out.
The third youth began invoking Allah by virtue of his fulfillment of trusts. He had once hired some laborers and paid them all except for one who departed without taking his wages. He invested the man's wages in business which prospered so greatly that he was able to buy camels, sheep,
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cows, and servants from its profits. Afterwards, when the laborer returned demanding his wages, he said to him: "All the camels, cows, sheep and servants you see are yours!" The laborer said: "Fear Allah and do not make fun of me!" He said: "I am not, all this is yours! All this is from your wages which I invested." The laborer took all the livestock and left nothing. The man mentioned this story and invoked: "O Allah! If I did that only for Your Sake, please relieve us from this calamity." Then the boulder shifted completely and they got out.
Thus, they invoked Allah by virtue of their righteous deeds which is a permissible manner of invocation.
However, invoking Allah by the honor of any person is Bid`ah and a means leading to Shirk. Therefore, it is obligatory to refrain from these types of invocations, as this is the strongest opinion held by the scholars in this regard. It is Allah Alone whose Help is sought.