Ruling on seeking help from the Creation

[Saad]

Sufis of Afghanistan:

Advice of Shaykh Jhinjhanawi’s Murshid

[Below is a translation of an ijazah[1] in Persian from Shaykh Haji 'Abd al-Rahim Wilayati Shahid[2] (may Allah have mercy on him) to his khalifah Mianji Nur Muhmmad Jhinjhanawi[3] (may Allah have mercy on him).]

From Haji ‘Abd al-Rahim to Mianji Sahib:

Dear generous and sincere Mianji Nur Muhammad Sahib Jhinjhanawi,

After the Sunnah salam [of Islam]; it should be noted that you are permitted to take bay’ah (pledge). Whoever intends to give pledge, you should with a fully content heart take bay’ah and provide further instructions. Do not approach this work with affectation (takalluf) and do not let any opposing devilish insinuations (wasawis) or thoughts (khawatir) take root in your heart.

The main purpose and goal is for one to remain steadfast on the Shari‘ah — both outwardly and inwardly — at all times, and abstain from all manners of shirk and bid’ah. Likewise, guiding other sincere believers should remain a priority … Remember, shirk is not limited to simply taking another deity [as God], it has other manifestations such as:

[1] Shirk fi ‘l-’Ibadah — defined as performance of actions that are exclusively reserved for honoring Allah Most High for someone other than He e.g. prostration (sajdah).

[2] Shirk fi ‘l-’Ilm — defined as considering someone other than Allah Most High ‘Alim al-Ghayb (Knower of the Unseen) just as is the belief of the ignorant of this age. For example they say, “Whatever I say, my pir (shaykh) hears”.

[3] Shirk fi ‘l-Qudrah — defined as assigning powers which are exclusive for Allah Most High to someone else e.g. saying this son of mine was granted by such and such shaykh, or my sustenance is provided by such and such shaykh.

Bid’ah is to increase or decrease (in the slightest) from the Shari‘ah of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace). Hence, Shari‘ah has outlined one ruku’ and two sajdah in each rak’ah. If someone increases them to three and considers the extra to be worship, or by decreasing performs one ruku’ and one sajdah, and says I have done worship, then both of these acts stand rejected in Shari‘ah.

That is all. May the salam from Hakim Mughis al-Din and Aman Allah (scribe) also reach you.

_____________________________

[1] From Risalah Anwar-i-Muhammadi[/I] by Shaykh Muhammad Muhaddith Thanawi, as mentioned in Rihan-i-Itrat of Shaykh Sayyid Nafis Shah al-Husayni. Shaykh Muhammad Muhaddith Thanawi was a khalifah of Mianji Nur Muhammad Jhinjhanawi. [↩]

[2] Shaykh Haji 'Abd-al-Rahim Wilayati Shahid (d. 1246 AH) was from the sadat (descendants of the Prophet) of Afghanistan. He left his country in search of a Sufi guide. At first he gave bay'ah to Sayyid Rahm 'Ali Shah (d. 1204 AH) of Ambala in the Qadiri order. After that he gave bay'ah to Shaykh Shah 'Abd al-Bari Amrohi (d. 1226 AH) in the Chishti order. He finally gave bay'ah -- along with hundreds of his followers -- to Imam al-Mujahidin Sayyid Ahmad Shahid (d. 1246 AH) in both jihad and tasawwuf. He himself mentioned: "I am not in need of giving bay'ah to Sayyid Ahmad [as he was a senior Sufi shaykh himself] but I see the pleasure of the beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in giving bay’ah to him.” Shaykh Haji ‘Abd al-Rahim had seen this through kashf. Haji ‘Abd al-Rahim was martyred fighting along with Sayyid Ahmad Shahid and Shaykh Shah Isma’il Shahid al-Dahlawi (May Allah have mercy on all of them). [↩]

[3] He was a khalifah of Haji ‘Abd al-Rahim Wilayati Shahid and the second shaykh of Haji Imdad Allah Muhajir Makki — the shaykh of Qasim al-’Ulum wa ‘l-Khayrat Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi, Imam Rabbani Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani, and Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi, etc. Haji ‘Abd al-Rahim called Mianji Nur Muhammad from Saharanpur and made him give bay’ah to Sayyid Ahmad Shahid. It is interesting to note that Mawlana Sayyid Nasir al-Din Dahlawi, the first shaykh of Haji Imdad Allah Muhajir Makki, had also given bay’ah to Sayyid Ahmad Shahid. Many of those who herald Haji Imdad Allah as theirs and a “pukka Sunni” do so while leveling charges of Wahhabism against both his murshids and murids. [↩]

http://www.deoband.org/2009/05/tasaw...0%99s-murshid/

[Saad]

Contemporary scholars:

[1] Dr. Wahbah Mustafa al-Zuhayli, a contemporary Syrian Shafi’i Ash’ari scholar writes in his treatise entitled Al-Bida’ al-Munkarah (Reprehensible Innovations), “One of the more widespread innovations amongst the Muslim laity is seeking istighathah and madad from other than Allah, the Most Exalted, such as the person who says, ‘Oh Rifa’i, Oh Badawi, assist me, or Oh so-and-so, come to my aid’. All of this is a reprehensible innovation, due to the statement of Allah, the Most Exalted, ‘So do not call upon, instead of Allah, that which can neither benefit nor harm you. If you do so, then you are certainly from amongst the wrongdoers’. (Yunus,106)

And [it is further supported by] the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as reported by Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him:

‘He said, I was behind the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on a donkey called Ya’fur, and he said to me, ‘Young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]: Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah, and if you seek help, seek help from Allah.’” (Musnad Ahmad, Sunan Tirmidhi)

After imploring and seeking help has been restricted to being directed only towards Allah in such a manner, how then can it be said, ‘I beseech so-and-so for help’. The condition of the ignorant and the laity is indeed strange.

Istighathah is not the same as tawassul (intercession), for it is seeking from the Creation that which only the creator is capable of, and tawassul is seeking from Allah by means of His creation. The tawassul that is established from the sunnah is through the living and not the dead, and through one’s righteous deeds, as is the meaning of Allah, the Most Exalted’s, statement, ‘Oh you who believe, be conscious of Allah and seek means (wasilah) towards him’. (Al-Ma’idah, 35) An example of this is the story of the three people who were trapped in a cave when a boulder descended from the mountain and blocked the entrance of their cave, so they supplicated to Allah by means of their righteous deeds, and a third of the boulder budged at the end of each man’s supplication until the entrance was open, allowing them to exit. (Sahih Muslim)” (Al-Bida’ al-Munkarah, p.31-32)

[2] Shaykh Wahbi ibn Sulayman al-Ghawji Albani, another contemporary Ash’ari scholar, writes, “After this introduction I want to mention some of the bid’ahs upon which the ‘ulama and propagators of the religion need to agree as being prohibited since these are blameworthy innovations concerning which there cannot be silence: … (8) “Of the bid’ah is that which some of the ignorant people do when visiting the grave: They ask the dead to cure them of their illnesses and to fulfill their needs. They tie strings of material to the material of the graves of saints and pious people, with the intention of making barren women fall pregnant or that an estranged husband should return to his wife and love her again, and other examples like this. But if these ignorant people were to be asked in a mild tone: ‘Do they really believe that a pious man has power over anything after he has returned to the Mercy of Allah?!’ The answer to them is: ‘No, we believe that nobody else besides Allah Most High causes any real benefit or harm – none being able to cause such in their life or after their death. But this pious man is blessed, in that he has an honorable position in the sight of Allah and we are asking him because of that’. The truth is with those who teach and say to them: ‘Ask Allah the One. And it is acceptable if you ask Allah through the piety of that Friend of Allah (wali), or through the religious uprightness of the devout pious man that Allah fulfils your needs. By the Will of Allah they will return to the lawful commands. They are thus being returned to something permissible, and they will be so returned, InshAllah.”

[Mujib]

Sufis of Afghanistan:

The competition to add names to our lists should not cause us to misread.

What does this quote have to do with the argument that this thread is trying to make, brother?

Tawassul/istighatha is a non-issue for the `ulama and Sufis of Afghanistan. Tawassul/istighatha is part of the very language of Afghanistan.

[Saad]

The link is very much clear to anyone except those blinded with shirk.

[Saad]

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah al-Halabi (d.1417 AH) was falsely attributed with having supported istighathah. He clarified his stance by stating, “I, by the grace and guidance of Allah Most High, His favor and help, did not commit any of the matter which they [falsely] claimed. I subscribe to that which the great scholars and pious predecessors [have already] determined in the past, like Imam Ahmad and other imams (may Allah have mercy on them) who said: ‘It is unlawful to seek aid (istighathah) from the creation; it is impermissible to seek aid from anyone other than Allah in matters which are not in the power (qudrah) of anyone except Allah’. [Thus] I acted upon the clear texts [which] prevailed in the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace). I have no need to provide the texts here, since my purpose here is not to prove and provide evidence for this, but to expose slander and oppression.” (Kashf al-Abatil, p.36)

[Ibrahimhanifa]

[2] Shaykh Wahbi ibn Sulayman al-Ghawji Albani, another contemporary Ash’ari scholar, writes, “After this introduction I want to mention some of the bid’ahs upon which the ‘ulama and propagators of the religion need to agree as being prohibited since these are blameworthy innovations concerning which there cannot be silence: … (8) “Of the bid’ah is that which some of the ignorant people do when visiting the grave: They ask the dead to cure them of their illnesses and to fulfill their needs. They tie strings of material to the material of the graves of saints and pious people, with the intention of making barren women fall pregnant or that an estranged husband should return to his wife and love her again, and other examples like this. But if these ignorant people were to be asked in a mild tone: ‘Do they really believe that a pious man has power over anything after he has returned to the Mercy of Allah?!’ The answer to them is: ‘No, we believe that nobody else besides Allah Most High causes any real benefit or harm – none being able to cause such in their life or after their death. But this pious man is blessed, in that he has an honorable position in the sight of Allah and we are asking him because of that’. The truth is with those who teach and say to them: ‘Ask Allah the One. And it is acceptable if you ask Allah through the piety of that Friend of Allah (wali), or through the religious uprightness of the devout pious man that Allah fulfils your needs. By the Will of Allah they will return to the lawful commands. They are thus being returned to something permissible, and they will be so returned, InshAllah.”[/QUOTE]


Salam

Is this shakyh Gf Haddad's shakyh?

Does GF haddad approve seeking help from the dead

Does the above shakyh approve seeking help from the dead?

What's the difference between tawassul & seeking help through the dead