Istighathah: Seeking aid from other than Allah

[Saad]

Istighathah: Seeking help from other than Allah

Du'a (supplication and invoking aid) is worship ('ibadah). Allah Most High says in the Qur'an, "And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you'. Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible" (Al-Ghafir, 60). In this verse Allah has equated du'a to worship. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported to have said, "Du'a is worship, and then he recited the following verse of the Qur'an, 'And your Lord says, Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible'." (Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, 2:173; Sunan Abi Dawud, 1:208; Sunan ibn Majah, p.208; Musnad Tayalisi, p.108; Al-Mustadrak, p.491; Al-Adab al-Mufrad, p.105; Tafsir ibn Kathir; under 40:60) It also comes in another hadith, "Nothing is dearer to Allah than du'a." (Al-Mustadrak, p.490; Al-Adab al-Mufrad, p.105) It is mentioned in another narration, "The noblest act of worship ('ibadah) is du'a." (Al-Adab al-Mufrad, p.105) The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "One who doesn't call (yad'u) Allah, He gets angry with him." (Al-Mustadrak, p.491) And it comes in another version, "Allah is angry with someone who does not ask (yus'al) of Him." (Al-Mustadrak, p.491) Yet in another narration it says, "Du'a is the weapon of the believer and the pillar of the religion." (Al-Mustadrak, p.492 - Al-Hakim and Al-Dhahabi have classified this narration as authentic) Sayyiduna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The most excellent worship is du'a." (Al-Mustadrak, p.491 - classified as authentic by Al-Hakim and Al-Dhahabi) It is apparent from the clear verse of the Qur'an and authentic narrations mentioned above that to make du'a to the creation (i.e. istighathah) is not permissible, since to make du'a is worship and indeed worship is only the right of Allah. It is therefore clear that that Allah is the sole Being deserving of du'a and indeed all worship. Thus the practice of istighathah - which is to call for such help from the creation, which is beyond their natural means - would be impermissible and a possible cause of shirk. And this is because asking such help from the creation, which is not in the ambit of natural means or proven through authentic texts, implicitly attributes such qualities to the creation that in reality solely belong to Allah.

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[Antivirus]

Istighathah: Seeking help from other than Allah

Bro Saad for the link.

Its another amazing article by the deoband.org team. May Allah accept this noble effort and give you guys more courage to produce such valuable piece of literature.

The last part on Shaykh Abd Al Qadir Jilani [R.A] was a much needed one especially when the Shaykh call people towards tawhid:
Declare Allah Most High to be One, and do not leave His door. Ask Him and do not ask anyone apart from Him. Seek aid from Him and do not seek aid from anyone apart from Him. Rely on Him and do not rely on anyone apart from Him.

Its a nice rebuttal to those who have falsely attributed the powers of kun faya kun to him. I even wonder if these people know exactly what the Shaykh has said himself.

[Usman]

barakAllah feekum

[Taliban1]

Much needed article in these times of much spread fitnah.

جزاك الله خيرا

[Husain]

Masha Allah,

Another very beneficial article from brother Sa'd.
Only one who has researched this topic would appreciate the value of the priceless quotes scattered throughout the article.

May Allah Ta'ala accept.

[godilali]

Masha Allah,

Another very beneficial article from brother Sa'd.
Only one who has researched this topic would appreciate the value of the priceless quotes scattered throughout the article.

May Allah Ta'ala accept.

May Allah reward you for your beneficial posts.

What do you think of Sh. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kashf al-Shubuhat? I realize people shy away from the book after seeing who the author is, but I felt the arguments contained therein are quite strong.

[shatibi]

, it is evident that br. Sa'ad has put a lot of effort into the article, may Allah accept and increase.

It's interesting to note that the quotes are from diverse sources, from the recent `ulama of Deoband - such as `Allamah Sarfaraz Khan and Mufti Shafi' - to older, classical `ulama - such as Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jaylani - as well as contemporary Arab `ulama - such as Shaykh Wahbah Zuhayli and so it covers a lot of ground with these scholars.

Looking forward to more such articles in the future

[Ahmad_shakeel]

Masha Allah,

Another very beneficial article from brother Sa'd.
Only one who has researched this topic would appreciate the value of the priceless quotes scattered throughout the article.

May Allah Ta'ala accept.

Ameen.

[SY1]

Fantastic article!! May Allah give you more knowledge.

[hope1]

Assalamu alaikum,

If one reads Futuh al-Ghaib, it is filled with statements of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir Jilani regarding seeking help only from Allah and not to look towards anyone else. His discourses exhibit a pure tawhid which really touches one - far from what people claim.

Reading this article actually makes me understand the importance of dua' itself. JazakAllah.