The Most Beautiful Names Belong To “Allah” (ﷻ)

And the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him
by them

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness and
we seek refuge in Allah from the evils inside us, and from the evils we
commit, those whom Allah guides are not misled by others, and those
who are misled by Allah have no other to guide them, and I bear wit-
ness that there is no god but Allah, alone without partner, and I bear
witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Allah said in His
Holy Book: “O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be
feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].” [Al-
'Imran 3:102]

102 :‫{يَا أَ�يُّها الَّذين آمنُواْ ا�تَّقواْ اللّهَ حق �تُقاتِه والَ تُوتُن إِالَّ وأَنتُم مسلِمون} آل عمران‬
َ ُ ْ ُّ َ َّ َ‫َ َّ َ ِ َ م‬ ُ َ َِ َ
Transliteration: Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha haqqa
tuqatihi wala tamootunna illa waantum muslimoona

And “O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and
speak (always) the truth. [70] He will direct you to do righteous good
deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and
His Messenger he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will
be saved from the Hell-fire and will be admitted to Paradise).” [Al-
Ahzab 33:70-71]
ِ ِ ِ ِ ُ َ َِ َ
َ‫{يَا أَ�يُّها الَّذين آمنُوا ا�تَّقوا اللَّهَ وقُولُوا �قَوالً سديداً (07) يُصلح لَكم أَعمالَكم و�يَغف ْر لَكم ذُنُوبَكم ومن يُطع اللَّه‬
ْ ََ ْ ُ ْ ُ ْ َ ْ ُ َ ْ ْ ُ ْ ْ ِ َ ْ َ
71-70 :‫ورسولَهُ �فَقد فَاز �فَوزاً عظيماً} األحزاب‬
َ ْ َ ْ َ ُ ََ
Transliteration: Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha waqooloo
qawlan sadeedan (70) Yuslih lakum aAAmalakum wayaghfir lakum
thunoobakum waman yutiAAi Allaha warasoolahu faqad faza fawzan
AAatheeman

The best speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guid-
ance of Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the most evil things are
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the newly-invented (that have no origin), every innovation that is mis-
guiding is evil; and every evil is in hellfire.

The issue of the means or methods of invoking Allah is one of the most
important issues that was tackled by a lot of people; some invented ways
that have nothing to do with it, some turned away from the legitimate
invocation permitted by Allah and which is illustrated in his Book and
in the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him. So, in this message I
am trying to answer some of the many questions that exist in the minds
of people; what is the meaning of invocation? What are the means of
invocation? What are the innovations that have entered it?

I ask Allah that people will benefit from this message, and that He
would accept it as it has been written purely for His sake, and awards
us when we meet Him in the Day of Judgment: “The Day whereon
neither wealth nor sons will avail, [88] Except him who brings to Allâh
a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifâq (hypocrisy)].”
[As-Shu'ara' 26:88-89]

89-88 :‫{�يَوم لاَ يَنفع مال ولاَ �بَنُون (88) إِلاَّ من أَتَى اللَّهَ بِق ْلب سلِيم} الشعراء‬
ٍ َ ٍ َ َْ َ َ ٌ َ ُ َ َْ
Transliteration: Yawma la yanfaAAu malun wala banoona (88) Illa man
ata Allaha biqalbin saleemin

What is invocation? What are the means of invoking Allah?

Allah has revealed the means of invoking Him in the Holy Qur'an: “O
you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. And seek the
means of approach to Him, and strive hard in His Cause (as much as
you can), so that you may be successful” [Al-Ma'idah 5:35]

35:‫{يَا أَ�يُّها الَّذين آمنُواْ ا�تَّقواْ اللّهَ وا�بْ�تَغُواْ إِلَيه الْوسيلَةَ وجاهدواْ يِف سبِيلِه لَعلَّكم �تُفلِحون} املائدة‬
َ ُ ْ ُْ َ ِ َ ُِ َ َ َِ ِ َ ُ َ َِ َ
Transliteration: Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha waibtag-
hoo ilayhi alwaseelata wajahidoo fee sabeelihi laAAallakum tuflihoona

Al-Hafiz Ibn Katheer, may Allah bless his soul, in his book (Interpret-
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ing the Holy Qur'an), explained this verse saying: Allah commanded
His faithful slaves to fear Him, which if connected to obedience, was
intended to stop committing sins and abandon the forbidden. Allah said
afterwards "And seek the means of approach to Him" [Al-Ma'ida 5:35]
ِ ِ
35 :‫{وا�بْ�تَغُواْ إِلَيه الْوسيلَةَ} املائدة‬
َ َ
Transliteration: waibtaghoo ilayhi alwaseelata

Ibn Abbas said: this means draw near to Him by acts of worship" and so
said Mujahid and Qatadah: "this means draw nearer to Him by obey-
ing Him and by doing whatever leads to His satisfaction". There is no
dispute among the interpreters of Qur'an in interpreting this verse.

In interpreting His words: “Those whom they invoke seek means of
access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest,
and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the
punishment of your Lord is ever feared.” [Al-Isra' 17:57]

َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َّ َ َ َ َ‫ُ ْ َ ُ َ ُ َ َ مْ َ خ‬ ِ
َ ُ ِّ‫َ ىَ َ ه‬ َ ْ َِ َ
‫{أُولَـئِك الَّذين يَدعُون �يَْب�تَغُون إِل ربِم الْوسيلَةَ أَ�يُّهم أَ�قْرب و�يَْرجون رحَتَهُ ويَافُون عذابَهُ إِن عذاب ربِّك كان‬
57 :‫مذوراً} اإلسراء‬ ُ َْ‫ح‬

Transliteration: Olaika allatheena yadAAoona yabtaghoona ila rabbi-
himu alwaseelata ayyuhum aqrabu wayarjoona rahmatahu wayakhafoo-
na AAathabahu inna AAathaba rabbika kana mahthooran

Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Al-
lah be pleased with him, said that this verse was revealed by Allah about
a group of Arabs who were worshiping jinn, the jinn embraced Islam
but the Arabs did not know that, so the verse " Those whom they in-
voke seek means of access to their Lord, " [Al-'Isra' 17:57]
ِ ِّ‫َ ىَ ه‬
َ ُ َ َ ْ َِ َ
57 :‫{أُولَـئِك الَّذين يَدعُون �يَْب�تَغُون إِل ربِم الْوسيلَةَ} اإلسراء‬

Transliteration: Olaika allatheena yadAAoona yabtaghoona ila rabbi-
himu alwaseelata

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was revealed" [Sharh Sahih Muslim, and Al-Nawawi].

Bukhari stated the same about the interpretation of this verse in his
Sahih (see Fath al-Bari in Explaining Sahih Al-Bukhari). Al-Hafiz ibn
Hajar Al-'Askalani elaborated that the jinn embraced Islam, but the
people who were worshipping them continued to worship the jinn,
however, the jinn did not accept that because they converted to Islam,
and they (jinn) have become those who desire means of access to their
Lord .. This is the adopted interpretation of this verse ".

From the previous it is clear that the means of invoking Allah is what-
ever that brings him nearer to Allah, and Allah says: {desire means} that
is to say they seek His closeness by good deeds, as explained by Qatada
in the interpretation of the first verse: "this means draw nearer to Him
by obeying Him and by doing whatever leads to His satisfaction".

The second verse points to the strange phenomenon which contradicts
sound thinking and is inconsistent with the laws of Islam: some people
direct certain types of worship (such as invocation and sacrifice, etc.) to
the slaves of Allah; they fear and beseech them, though those slaves of
Allah have declared their Islam and acknowledged Allah's Sovereignty.

Regrettably, this strange phenomenon; which is directing types of
worship to other than Allah, is common in most Muslim countries,
although Muslims read in their prayers seventeen times every day, the
words of Allah in Surat Al-Fatiha “(You (Alone) we worship, and You
(Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).” [Al-Fatihah 1:5]

5 :‫{إِيَّاك �نَعبُد وإِيَّاك نَستَعِني} الفاحتة‬
ُ ْ َ ُْ َ
Transliteration: Iyyaka naAAbudu waiyyaka nastaAAeenu
Al-Hafiz ibn Katheer, may Allah bless his soul, stated in his Tafsir of the
Holy Qur'an, that we do not worship any but You and we do not trust
any but You, and this is perfect worship; and religion, as a whole, is all
about these two meanings.

It is not permissible to direct any type of worship to other than Allah,
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even on the pretext of getting closer to Him, as some may say. Allah
said about the idolaters that they said: “We worship them only that
they may bring us near to Allah.” [Az-Zumar 39:3]

3 :‫{ما �نَعبُدهم إِلاَّ لِ�يُقربُونَا إِل اللَّه زلْفى} الزمر‬
َ ُ ِ َ‫َ ِّ ى‬ ُُْ ْ َ
Transliteration: ma naAAbuduhum illa liyuqarriboona ila Allahi zulfa

However, some people claim that invocation and giving sacrifices to
people are not types of worship. Worship for them is restricted to pros-
trating and bowing in the daily prayers, it is the direct physical acts of
worship; to those we say that all action that draws you closer to Allah
and which is permitted by Him and His Messenger is worship. Say,
"Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are
for Allah, Lord of the worlds. (162) No partner has He. And this I have
been commanded and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.” [Al-
An'am 6:162-163]

}‫{قُل إِن صالَيِت ونُسكي وميَاي ومََات لِلّه رب الْعالَمني ( 261) الَ شريك لَهُ وبِذلِك أُم ْرت وأَنَاْ أَول الْمسلِمني‬
ِ
َ ْ ُ ُ َّ َ ُ َ َ َ َ ِ َ
ِ ِ ِّ ِ ِ‫ِ حَْ م ي‬
َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ َّ ْ
163-162 :‫األنعام‬

Transliteration: Qul inna salatee wanusukee wamahyaya wamamatee
lillahi rabbi alAAalameena (162) La shareeka lahu wabithalika omirtu
waana awwalu almuslimeena

So invoking dead people in shrines and tombs and praying for them is
by far the most specific type of worship, the Prophet, peace be upon
him, said: " Supplication is worship" [Al-Albani said it is Sahih].

‫‹‹الدعاء هو العبادة» صححه األلباين‬

Worship includes all that Allah loves and is pleased with, whether
words, actions both outward and inward.

Those who are accustomed to praying to other than Allah, whether a
prophet, a Jinn, a righteous or other, must be careful. This is directing
worship to other than Allah; it is polytheism, the largest and most way

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out of the pale of Islam. Circumambulating graves and the subsequent
touching and kissing of them and their threshold, dusting the faces in
their soil, prostrating on their doorsteps, all this is a kind of polytheism.
Allah said: “And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah
those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and
they, of their invocation, are unaware.” [Al-Ahqaf 46:5]

5 :‫{ومن أَضل مِمَّن يَدعُو من دون اللَّه من لاَّ يَستَجيب لَهُ إِل يَوم الْقيَامة وهم عن دعائِهم غافِلُون}األحقاف‬
َ َ ْ ِ َ ُ َ ْ ُ َ ِ َ ِ ِ َ‫ْ ِ ُ ى‬ َ
ِ ِ ِ ْ
ُ ُّ َ ْ َ َ
Transliteration: Waman adallu mimman yadAAoo min dooni Allahi
man la yastajeebu lahu ila yawmi alqiyamati wahum AAan duAAaihim
ghafiloona

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever dies praying to other
than Allah will enter hellfire." [Narrated by Bukhari]

‫‹‹من مات وهو يدعو من دون اهلل نداً دخل النار» رواه البخاري‬

Allah the Almighty has taught us in His Holy Book and in the Sunnah
of His Prophet, peace be upon him, how to get closer to Him by doing
the good deeds that He loves and approves of. And Allah has not left
this to be identified by our minds or our tastes; because the minds and
tastes differ and vary to the point that each person or group would have
a religion or cult, but Allah commanded us to return to him on this,
and to follow His guidance and teachings, He said: And, [moreover],
this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other]
ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed
you that you may become righteous.” [Al-An'am 6:153]

}‫{وأَن هـذا صراطي مستَقيماً فَاتَّبِعُوهُ والَ �تَتَّبِعُواْ السبُل �فَ�تَفرق بِكم عن سبِيلِه ذلِكم وصاكم بِه لَعلَّكم �تَ�تَّقون‬
َ ُ ْ ُ َ ِ ُ َّ َ ْ ُ َ ِ َ َ ْ ُ َ َّ َ َ ُّ َ
ِ ِ ِ
ْ ُ َ َ َ َّ َ
153 :‫األنعام‬

Transliteration: Waanna hatha siratee mustaqeeman faittabiAAoohu
wala tattabiAAoo alssubula fatafarraqa bikum AAan sabeelihi thalikum
wassakum bihi laAAallakum tattaqoona

For this we must know the means which draw us closer to Allah, by re-
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ferring to His laws and to His Messenger's Sunnah in every issue. This is
the commandment of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, when
he said: "I left among you two things, you will never go astray after
them: the Book of Allah, and my Sunnah (teachings)" [Al-Albani said
it is Sahih].

‫كت فيكم شيئني ، لن تضلوا بعدمها: كتاب اهلل ، و سنيت›› صححه األلباين‬
‫‹‹تر‬

Stipulations for the acceptance of the righteous deeds

Allah said: “Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed
that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting
with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the wor-
ship of his Lord anyone."” [Al-Kahf 18:110]

‫{قُل إِنَا أَنَا بَشر م�ثْلُكم يُوحى إِل أَنَا إِلُكم إِلَ ٌ واحد فَمن كان �يَْرجو لِقاء ربِّه �فَْل�يَعمل عمالً صالاً ولاَ يُشرك‬
ْ ِ ْ َ ِ‫َ ٌ ِّ ُ ْ َ يََّ مَّ هَ ُ ْ ه َ ِ ٌ َ َ َ ُ َ َ ِ ْ َ ْ َ َ َ ح‬ َّ‫م‬
ْ
ِ ِ
110 :‫بِعِبَادة ربِّه أَحداً} الكهف‬
َ َ َ
Transliteration: Qul innama ana basharun mithlukum yooha ilayya
annama ilahukum ilahun wahidun faman kana yarjoo liqaa rabbihi
falyaAAmal AAamalan salihan wala yushrik biAAibadati rabbihi ahadan

So, how the deed would be righteous, and what are the stipulations
that this deed is to be accepted by Allah?

First: the deed is done by a monotheist Muslim, Allah said about poly-
theists: “And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, poly-
theists, sinners) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating
particles of dust.” [Al-Furqan 25:23]

َّ َ َ َ ٍ َ َ ْ ِ ِ َ َ َ‫َ ِ ْ ى‬
23 :‫{وقَدمنَا إِل ما عملُوا من عمل فَجع ْلنَاهُ هبَاء منثُوراً} الفرقان‬

Transliteration: Waqadimna ila ma AAamiloo min AAamalin fajaAAal-
nahu habaan manthooran

And: “But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for
them would be whatever they were doing.” [Al-An'am 6:88]
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88 :‫{ولَو أَشكواْ لَبِط ع�نْهم ما كانُواْ �يَعملُون} األنعام‬
َ َ ْ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ‫َ ْ ْ رُ ح‬ َ
Transliteration: walaw ashrakoo lahabita AAanhum ma kanoo yaAAm-
aloona

and He said: “And it was already revealed to you and to those be-
fore you that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work
would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the
losers.” [Az-Zumar 39:65]

65 :‫{ولَقد أُوحي إِلَْيك وإِل الَّذين من �قَْبلِك لَئِن أَشكت لَيَحبَطَن عملُك ولَتَكونَن من الَاسرين} الزمر‬
ِ ِ
َ ِ ْ‫َ ْ َ ْ ْ رْ َ ْ َّ َ َ َ َ ُ َّ َ خ‬ َ
ِ ِ َ‫َ ى‬
َ َ
ِ َْ
َ
Transliteration: Walaqad oohiya ilayka waila allatheena min qablika lain
ashrakta layahbatanna AAamaluka walatakoonanna mina alkhasireena

There are a lot of examples in the Qur'an and in the Sunnah: whatever
a polytheist does, whether good deeds, in accordance with the Sunnah
or meant for Allah's sake, his deeds will not be accepted; they are in
vain.

Second: it must be purely for Allah's sake. Abu-Hurairah, my Allah be
pleased with him, said that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Al-
lah the Almighty said: I am the One, One Who does not stand in need
of a partner. If anyone does anything in which he associates anyone else
with Me, I shall abandon him with the one whom he associates Me
with." [Narrated by Muslim]

››‫‹‹ قال اهلل تبارك وتعاىل: أنا أغىن كاء عن الشرك . من عمل عمال أشرك فيه معي غريي ، كته كه‬
‫تر وشر‬ ‫الشر‬
‫رواه مسلم‬

So whoever do good deeds showing them off so that people would say
that he is righteous, generous or brave... his deeds will be in vain, be-
cause Allah does not accept but what is meant purely for His sake. The
Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Allah does not accept deeds except
those that are purely done for His sake", [Al-Albani said it is Hassan]

‫‹‹إن اهلل ال يقبل من العمل إال ما كان خالصا ، وابتغي به وجهه›› حسنه األلباين‬

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Third: the deeds should be in accordance to Allah's Book and to the
Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him. Al-Hafiz ibn Katheer,
may Allah bless his soul, explained in his Tafsir that "So whoever hopes
for the Meeting with his Lord,"

}...‫{فَمن كان �يَْرجو لِقاء ربِّه‬
ِ َ
َ ُ َ َ َ
Transliteration: faman kana yarjoo liqaa rabbihi

means His reward for the good deeds, “let him work righteousness”
ِ‫ح‬
}...ً‫{�فَْل�يَعمل عمالً صالا‬
َ ََ ْ َْ
Transliteration: falyaAAmal AAamalan salihan

what is in accordance to Allah's laws, “and associate none as a partner
in the worship of his Lord." [Al-Kahf 18:110]
ِ ِ
110 :‫{ولاَ يُشرك بِعِبَادة ربِّه أَحداً} الكهف‬
َ َ َ ِْ ْ َ
Transliteration: wala yushrik biAAibadati rabbihi ahadan

this means purely for His sake, not associating any other deity with
Him: these are the two pillars of accepted deeds; it must be for His sake
and following the teaching of His Messenger, peace be upon him.

Legitimate means of invocation

Allah has showed us some of the legitimate means of invocation, rather
than associating other people with Him to draw nearer to Him.

1. Invoking Allah by using one of His beautiful names, or by
one of His sublime attributes:

Allah Almighty said: “And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke
Him by them.” [Al-A'raf 7:180]

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180 :‫{ولِلّه األَسَاء الُسنىَ فَادعُوهُ بَا} األعراف‬
ِ‫ْ ه‬
ْ ْ‫مْ ح‬
ِ
َ
Transliteration: Walillahi alasmao alhusna faodAAoohu biha

This means that you glorify and praise Allah; and acknowledge His
beautiful names and sublime attributes, all this before invoking Him
and asking for what you desire; so that the praise, the glorification and
the sanctification of Allah be the means by which you draw nearer to
Him to accept your invocation and respond to your wishes, God will-
ing.

Ibn Majah and An-Nassa'i narrated that Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be
pleased with him, said: "I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah, peace
be upon him, a man was standing in prayer, after he bowed, prostrated
and said the tashahhud, he invoked Allah saying:" O Allah, I ask You,
You have all the praise. There is no god but You, the Giver of all good,
the Creator of heavens and earth, O Lord of Majesty and Honor, the
Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists, I ask
you... ".. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to his companions:
"do you know what he called by?" they said: "Allah and His Messenger
know best." He said: "by Allah who owns my soul, the man has called
Allah by His greatest name, by which He answers if asked, He gives if
beseeched". [Narrated by An-Nassa'i and Al-Albani said it is Sahih]

‫‹‹كنت مع رسول اهلل صلى اهلل عليه وسلم جالسا يعين ورجل قائم يصلي ، فلما كع وسجد وتشهد دعا ، فقال‬
‫ر‬
‫يف دعائه: اللهم إين أسألك بأن لك احلمد ، ال إله إال أنت ، املنان بديع السماوات واألرض ، يا ذا اجلالل‬
‫واإلكرام! يا حي يا قيوم ! إين أسألك ، فقال النيب صلى اهلل عليه وسلم ألصحابه : تدرون مبا دعا ؟ قالوا : اهلل‬
‫ورسوله أعلم . قال : والذي نفسي بيده ، لقد دعا اهلل بامسه العظيم الذي إذا دعي به أجاب ، وإذا سئل به‬
‫أعطى ›› رواه النسائى وصححه األلباين‬

An-Nassa'i narrated that Mihjan ibn Al-Adra', may Allah be pleased
with him, said: "The Apostle of Allah, peace be upon him, entered the
mosque and saw a man who had finished his prayer, and was reciting
the tashahhud saying: O Allah, I ask you, O Allah, the One, the eter-
nally besought of all, He begets not, nor was He begotten, And there is
none co-equal or comparable unto Him, that you may forgive me my
sins, you are Most Forgiving, Merciful." the Prophet, peace be upon
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him, said: "He was forgiven (repeating three times.)" [Declared authen-
tic by Al-Albani]

‫‹‹أن رسول اهلل صلى اهلل عليه وسلم دخل املسجد ، إذا رجل قد قضى صالته وهو يتشهد ، فقال: اللهم إين‬
، ‫أسألك يا اهلل! بأنك الواحد األحد الصمد ، الذي مل يلد ومل يولد ، ومل يكن له كفوا أحد أن تغفر يل ذنويب‬
‫إنك أنت الغفور الرحيم ، فقال رسول اهلل صلى اهلل عليه وسلم : قد غفر اهلل له ثالثا›› رواه النسائى وصححه‬
‫األلباين‬

2. Invoking Allah by means of a good deed performed by the
invoker:

This means invoking Allah by doing righteous deeds and mentioning
them while invoking Allah. For example Allah said: “Our Lord, in-
deed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your
Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and re-
move from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.”
[Al-'Imran 3:193]

‫{ر�بَّنَا إِ�نَّنَا سعنَا منَادياً �يُنَادي لِإلميَان أَن آمنُواْ بِربِّكم فَآمنَّا ر�بَّنَا فَاغف ْر لَنَا ذُنُو�بَنَا َك ِّر عنَّا سيِّئَاتِنَا و�تَو�فَّنَا مع‬
ََ َ َ َ َ ْ ‫وَ ف‬
ِْ
َ َ ُْ َ
ِ ْ ِ ِ ِ ِ
ُ ْ َ‫م‬
ِ َّ
193 :‫األ�بْرار} آل عمران‬ ِ
َ
Transliteration: Rabbana innana samiAAna munadiyan yunadee lil-
eemani an aminoo birabbikum faamanna rabbana faighfir lana thunoo-
bana wakaffir AAanna sayyiatina watawaffana maAAa alabrari

and: “Indeed, there was a party of My servants who said, 'Our Lord,
we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are
the best of the merciful.'” [Al-Mu'minun 23:109]
ِِ‫م‬ ِْ ِ ِ ِّ ِ َ َ
109 :‫{إِنَّهُ كان فَريق من عبَادي �يَقولُون ر�بَّنَا آمنَّا فَاغف ْر لَنَا وارحْنَا وأَنت خ�يْر الراحني} املؤمنون‬
َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َ‫َ ْ م‬ َ ََ ُ ْ ٌ
Transliteration: Innahu kana fareequn min AAibadee yaqooloona rab-
bana amanna faighfir lana wairhamna waanta khayru alrrahimeena

And the examples from the sunnah is what is narrated by Ahmad and
Abu Dawood: That the prophet -peace and blessings be upon him-
heard a man saying: "Oh Allah, I ask you that I bear witness that You
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are Allah, there is no god but you, The One, the Eternal Refuge, He
neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent", So Al-
lah's apostle said: "You asked Allah by the name that if He is asked with,
he give. and if He is invoked by, He answers."

،‫‹‹أن رسول اهلل صلى اهلل عليه وسلم مسع رجالً يقول: "اللهم إين أسألك أين أشهد أنك اهلل ال إله إال أنت‬
‫األحد، الصمد، الذي مل يلد ومل يولد، ومل يكن له كفواً أحد"، فقال: لقد سألت اهلل باالسم الذي إذا سئل به‬
‫أعطى، وإن دعي به أجاب›› رواه أمحد وابو داود‬

Examples from the Sunnah are abundant, like the story of the three
men who were locked inside a cave, one of them said to the others:
Look to your good deeds that you performed for the sake of Allah and
then supplicate Allah, the Exalted, that He might rescue you; and that
they did. And Allah rescued them from this trouble. It is a long Hadith
narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih.

It is clear from these teachings of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that
it is legitimate to invoke Allah by the good deeds, which the invoker
has done for Allah's sake in times of prosperity, the Prophet, peace be
upon him, said: "Know Allah in prosperity, He will know you in in-
tensity" [Narrated by Ahmad]

‫‹‹ تعرف إىل اهلل يف الرخاء يعرفك يف الشدة›› رواه أمحد‬

3. Invoking Allah by means of the prayer of a living righteous
man:

It is like when a calamity strikes Muslims or that they fall into deep
distress, they turn to someone righteous and pious and who has knowl-
edge, they ask him to pray for them and that he asks Allah to relieve
them from whatever distressing them. This is a legitimate means of in-
vocation to which there is evidence in the Sunnah. Imam Bukhari nar-
rated that Anas ibn Malik narrated: "Once in the lifetime of the Prophet,
peace be upon him, the people were afflicted with drought (famine).
While the Prophet was delivering the Khutba on a Friday, a Bedouin
stood up and said, "O, Allah's Apostle! Our possessions are destroyed
and the children are hungry; please invoke Allah (for rain)". So the
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Prophet raised his hands. At that time there was not a trace of cloud in
the sky. By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, as soon as he lowered his
hands, clouds gathered like mountains, and before he got down from
the pulpit, I saw the rain falling on his beard. It rained that day, the
next day, the third day, till the following Friday. The same Bedouin or
another man stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! The houses have
collapsed, our possessions and livestock have been drowned; Please in-
voke Allah (to protect us)". So the Prophet raised both his hands and
said, "O Allah! Round and about us and not on us". So, in whatever
direction he pointed with his hands, the clouds dispersed and cleared
away, and Medina's sky became clear as a hole in between the clouds.
The valley of Qanat remained flooded for one month, none came from
outside but talked about the abundant rain." [Fath al-Bari].

This happened in the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him. After
his death people turned to those whom they may deem righteous and
nearer to Allah, for example, Anas narrated that: Whenever drought
threatened them, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab, used to ask Al-Abbas ibn
'Abdul Muttalib to invoke Allah for rain. He used to say, "O Allah! We
used to ask our Prophet to invoke You for rain, and You would bless
us with rain, and now we ask his uncle to invoke You for rain. O Allah!
Bless us with rain." And so it would rain." [Fath al-Bari].

The reason they asked Al-Abbas to invoke Allah instead of invoking
Allah by His Messenger is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was
invoking Allah by himself when he was alive, after his death this be-
came impossible; this is why Umar ibn Al-Khattab took Al-Abbas as a
means to invoke Allah, that is to say Umar asked Al-Abbas to invoke
Allah by himself, by praying to Allah and asking for rain (Al-Abbas, by
himself, performs the invoking). It was never established that any of the
worthy ancestors invoked Allah by His Messenger after his death; they
asked the righteous living to invoke Allah asking him for rain.

Ibn 'Asaker narrated in his chronicles that the worthy follower Salim
Al-Khaba'ri said: "there has been a drought, Mu'awia ibn Abi Sufian
and the people in Damascus went out to invoke Allah for rain. When
he sat on the pulpit he said: where is Yazid ibn Al-Aswad Al-Jerashi?
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People called for him, he came over crossing people. Mu'awia ordered
him to come to the pulpit; where he sat. Mu'awia said: 'O Allah we
invoke you with our best men, we ask you today as having Yazid ibn
Al-Aswad Al-Jerashi among us. O Yazid raise your hands to Allah and
invoke Him for rain.' Yazid raised his hands, so did all the people pre-
sent. As soon as they did so, the sky was filled with clouds, wind blew,
rain flooded to the degree that people would not reach their homes"

Mu'awia asked this pious man to invoke Allah, he did not invoke Al-
lah by the Prophet, peace be upon him, as this was impossible after the
Prophet's death. This is how the companions and followers compre-
hended this matter. What was narrated that some of the companions
and followers invoked Allah by His Messenger after his death is refuted,
it is not right to attribute it to them, may Allah bless them all.

Those who comprehend the words of Umar ibn Al-Khattab may, Al-
lah be pleased with him: "and now we ask his uncle to invoke You
for rain ", that Umar meant invoking Allah by Al-Abbas himself, are
mistaken; because they were asking Al-Abbas to invoke Allah for rain.
Mu'awia, may Allah be pleased with him, did the same when he said:
"O Yazid raise your hands to Allah and invoke Him for rain," and Yazid
raised his hands. They ask these pious people, in flesh and blood, to
invoke Allah, they ask for their prayers. Otherwise, they would invoke
Allah by His Prophet, peace be upon him, rather than by one of his kin
or by one of the righteous. It is only men of understanding who will
comprehend.

Texts must be understood in the light of the understanding of the com-
panions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and of those great Imams
who followed their path, it is our duty to follow their path of guid-
ance. Allah said: “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger
(Muhammad) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and
follows other than the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path
he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination!” [An-
Nisa' 4:115]

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‫{ومن يُشاقِق الرسول من �بَعد ما �تَ�بَينَّ لَهُ الُدى و�يَتَّبِع غ�يْر سبِيل الْمؤمنِني �نُولِّه ما �تَول ونُصلِه جهنَّم وساءت‬
ِ ِ ِ
ْ َ َ َ َ َ ْ َ َّ‫ْ َ َ هْ َ َ ْ َ َ َ ِ ُ ْ َ َ َ َ ى‬
ِ ِ َ َّ ِ
ُ َ ََ
115 :‫َ صرياً} النساء‬ ِ‫م‬

Transliteration: Waman yushaqiqi alrrasoola min baAAdi ma tabayya-
na lahu alhuda wayattabiAA ghayra sabeeli almumineena nuwallihi ma
tawalla wanuslihi jahannama wasaat maseeran

It is strange that those who take the graves and shrines of prophets and
righteous people as means of invoking Allah have no Qur'anic verse or
Hadith from the Sunnah to support their allegations. The words they
use in invocation have no foundation either in the Holy Qur'an or
in the Hadith Sahih (the exact sayings of Muhammad, peace be upon
him). Allah Almighty has given us the previous three means of invo-
cation, they have their origin in the Qur'an and Sunnah, the worthy
companions followed them; so then why would we leave them and
turn to innovative novel means that are not legitimated by Allah? they
were not performed by our ideal model; Muhammad, peace be upon
him. The least to tell those people is the words of Allah: “Would you
exchange that which is better for that which is lower?” [Al-Baqarah
2:61]
ِ ِ َ ِ
61 :‫{أَتَستَْبدلُون الَّذي هو أَدن بِالَّذي هو خ�يْر} البقرة‬
ٌ َ َُ َ‫ُ َ ْ ى‬ ْ
Transliteration: atastabdiloona allathee huwa adna biallathee huwa
khayrun

It is to be mentioned that the above three legitimate ways of invocation
fulfill all the needs of people's demands in this life and in the Hereafter...

Allah's blessings be on His slave and Messenger Muhammad and his
family and companions, and the last of our talks is praise be to Allah.

Translated by Wathakker.net website

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The Most Beautiful Names Belong To “Allah” (ﷻ)

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