Day 18 – Bite Size Ramadan – 1437 A.H. – Miraath Publications
English Audio: Day 18 – Bite Size Ramadan 1437 – Requesting Forgiveness from the Prophet?
Urdu Audio: 18 nabi istighfaar talab 1437
English PDF Download: Day 18 – Requesting Forgiveness from the Prophet?
Urdu PDF Download: 18 nabi istighfaar talab 1437
Requesting Forgiveness from the Prophet?
هـل نـسـتـغـفـر النبي؟
Translated & Compiled By Abbas Abu Yahya
What has been said about the Ayaah:
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا
<< If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you (Muhammad) and begged Allaah’s Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allaah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts repentance), Most Merciful.>> [Nisa: 64]
1 – Shaykh ul-Islaam Ahmad bin AbdulHaleem Ibn Taymeeyah (d.728 A.H.) -Rahimullaah- said:
‘From the people there are those who interpret the saying of Allaah Ta’ala :
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا
<< If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you (Muhammad) and begged Allaah’s Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allaah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts repentance), Most Merciful.>> [Nisa: 64]
They say : ‘If we seek forgiveness from the Messenger after his death then we are of the status of those who sought forgiveness from amongst the Companions.’ However, with this statement they oppose the Ijmaa (consensus) of the Companions and those who succeeded them with goodness and the rest of the Muslims, since not a single one of them sought from the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– after his death that he intercede for them. Nor did they ask him anything and not a single one of the Imams mentioned this in their books.’
[Majmoo al-Fatawa 1/190]
2 – Shaykh Allaama Saddeeq Hasan Khan (d. 1307 A.H.) said about this Ayaah :
‘This ‘visiting/coming to the Prophet’ is specific to his –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– life time, and this does not mean that ‘this visiting /coming to’ is to the enlightened place where he is buried after his death –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam. What indicates to this is what is mentioned in this Ayaah, as is affirmed in the book: ‘Saarim al-Munky’. This is why none from the Salaf of the Ummah and their Imams, not from the Companions, Successors, nor from those who followed them in goodness ever took this extreme possibility [of seeking forgiveness from the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– after his death.]
[Fath al-Bayan fee Maqasid al-Qur’aan 2/315]
3 – Shaykh Abdul Muhsin bin Hamd al-Abbad al-Badr said:
‘As for the saying of Allaah Ta’ala :
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا
<< If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you (Muhammad) and begged Allaah’s Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allaah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts repentance), Most Merciful.>> [Nisa: 64]
Then this Ayaah is in regard to the Munafiqeen, this becomes clear from what preceded this Ayaah and what came after it. ‘Coming to’ the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– is specific to, in his lifetime. What is established in ‘Saheeh al-Bukhari’ from the Hadeeth of ‘Aeysha –Radhi Allaahu anha– that when she said: ‘O my head is hurting!’ The Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said to her:
ذَاكِ لَوْ كَانَ وَأَنَا حَىٌّ، فَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكِ، وَأَدْعُو لَكِ
‘If you die and I am alive then I will seek forgiveness for you and I will pray for you. . . ‘
If the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– was to seek forgiveness for anyone after his death then there would not have been a difference between him dying before her or her dying before him. Some of the people of Bida’ claim that which is much more than that, which is that the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– brought his hand out of the grave and shook hands with one of the followers of the people of Bida’. What clearly invalidates this, is that the likes of this never occurred for the Companions –Radhi Allaahu anhum– and they are the best of this Ummah. The Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said :
أَنَا سَيِّدُ وَلَدِ آدَمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَأَوَّلُ مَنْ يَنْشَقُّ عَنْهُ الْقَبْرُ وَأَوَّلُ شَافِعٍ وَأَوَّلُ مُشَفَّعٍ
‘I am the leader of the son of Adam on the Day of Judgement and I am the first for whom the grave will be opened and I am the first to intercede and the first to be interceded.’ [Muslim] And this opening of the grave will be when the resurrection takes place. Allaah Ta’ala said :
ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تُبْعَثُونَ
<< Then (again), surely, you will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection. >>[al-Muminun : 16]
[Butlaan Qisatay by AbdurRahmaan al-Umaysaan p.179-180]
Shaykh Abdul Muhsin bin Hamd al-Abbad al-Badr also said:
‘As for the saying of Allaah -Tabarak wa Ta’ala:
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا
<< If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you (Muhammad) and begged Allaah’s Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allaah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts repentance), Most Merciful.>> [Nisa: 64]
Then the intent is not approaching his grave –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– after his death, but rather the intent is come to him during his lifetime –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– just as the Companions –Radhi Allaahu anhum– understood it. I clarified this is in a booklet called ‘The Importance of Tawheed al-Eebaadah’ (p.69) where I said:
‘The inmates of graves are visited and Dua is sought for them and they are not supplicated to. Allaah is requested for them and nothing is requested from them, not Dua’ nor cure nor to achieve benefit nor to repel harm. Since this is indeed requested from Allaah, Allaah -Subhanahu wa Ta’ala- is the One Who is supplicated to and to have hope in. Dua is made for anyone other than Allaah and is not supplicated to, the proof for this is that the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– used to request from him to make Dua during his lifetime and he would make Dua for them. After his death –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– during his life of the Barzakeeyah they would not go to his grave –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– and requested Dua from him. This is why when the drought occurred at the time of Umar –Radhi Allaahu anha– he requested Dua for rain from al-Abbas –Radhi Allaahu anha– and Umar requested him to make Dua’.
Indeed Bukhari collected in his book from Anas that Umar bin al-Khattab used to request Dua for rain from al-Abbas bin AbdulMuttalib, if there was a drought and he would say: ‘O Allaah indeed we used to come closer to You (make Tawassul) with Your Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– and You [Allaah] would give us rain, and indeed we come closer to You with his uncle, so give us rain,’ then the rain would come down.
So if the request for Dua from the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– after his death was permissible Umar –Radhi Allaahu anha– would not have turned away from it and requested Al-Abbas to make Dua’ for rain.
[al-Eedhah wa Tibyeen fee Hukm al-Isteeghatha bil Amwaat wal Ghaibeen Page 33-34 ]